“Coming from a Mexican immigrant household, creativity was seen as a waste of time. When my parents and older family members asked what I planned to do in the future I would respond with “teacher” or “nurse” to meet their expectations of success, knowing the real answer was “Artist.” I think my love for art first developed with my admiration for murals from my neighborhood in East Los Angeles. Particularly, “Inner Resources”, a mural painted in my local park depicting the history of Latin american people and culture. I would stand staring at it in awe as a kid; the mural spread across a series of intricately drawn symbolic images that meld into one another, all to celebrate our community’s cultural pride. I believe this is when my unspoken dream to become a painter was cemented. During high school I immersed myself in art through every way I could; I won scholarships to attend art programs free of cost such as Otis Summer of Art, led the Visual Arts Club of my High School, and took AP studio Art. For my AP drawing class, I made pieces centered around the rich culture of East Los Angeles and chose to paint Matilda, a family friend and Mexican snack vendor who sells in my neighborhood street for my piece “La Nievera.” Yet the more I created, the more disapproval I received. My family members encouraged me to stop spending so much time making art. “Los dibujos no pagan ni la renta ni los billes,” (Drawings don’t pay rent or bills) my mom would say to me. Despite basing much of art around my culture, I felt alienated from it. The judgment I received from my family for wanting to pursue a “white person career” made me feel like I was somehow less Mexican. When my painting was posted on my school’s social media website, I was recruited by the local Eastern Projects Gallery to exhibit two of my artworks in their “Blossom” Chicana Women Artists Group Exhibition. I was suddenly surrounded by a group of successful Latina artists and learned from them that art was in fact an option for me. I was able to sell my art to none other than Paul Botello, the muralist of “Inner Resources.” Meeting Mr, Botello, the artist I had long admired, inspired me as he expressed he believed I would thrive as an artist and acknowledged my work. My family has begun to be interested in what I make and even ask me to draw things for them. While they are worried that I have applied to study Illustration in college, they no longer express discontent towards art. “Si de veras mucho quieres esto, tienes que echarle muchas ganas” (if this is really something you want, you’re gonna have to give it your all) is what my mom has recently started saying. Although it isn’t a passion that is encouraged in many families, art is a human practice and I believe it’s time for people like me to be allowed to love art. Convincing my parents to allow me to apply to art school was a long process, with years of proving my dedication to what I love, and though I will only be able to attend if I receive a lot of financial aid and scholarships, I am willing to work for it. I want to show my parents that I can succeed in what I have set out to do and show them that it is possible for someone like their daughter to do what she loves for a living.”

Tania was awarded the Phong & Bao Duong Foundation Scholarship by Doan Foundation of $1000

“From a young age, I was an avid reader, taking virtually any moment of free time to read whatever new book I had just bought from the thrift store. The words leapt off from the pages creating vivid images in my head that only I could see. When asked by my teachers or parents if I enjoyed my book, I could hardly describe my love for the story to them, unable to communicate the colors and movements the book invoked. While reading, I wouldn’t envision the scenario that the author had written for me, instead, stories were full of what seemed like meaningless shapes. Each letter and number had its own color, and as I would read, these colors would swirl together in a nonsensical dance of swirling and swaying, but explaining this to people was frustrating. Making sense of the fact that the letter U was a bright yellow color, or that the word “immediately” was a sharp green that turned red was utter nonsense to anyone curious. My inability to get others to understand what I could so clearly see caused distress in my young, irrational mind and made me question if I would even be able to navigate life correctly. However, I came to find out that the colors I saw glowing within each letter was a phenomenon called synesthesia. I randomly stumbled across this information when I came across an online video of an artist who also had the same thing. They talked about how people’s names evoked different colors and they had created a series of paintings, each painted with the colors in reference to the selected name. This sparked my interest. Maybe I could use art as a medium to express what I could see. Prior to this realization, art had been just a hobby. I had enjoyed picking up new skills such as sewing, crocheting, painting, and drawing, but had never seen them as anything more. But with this, my entire outlook on art widened, I could create works that could show people what I so deeply desired to share. By the time middle school came around, I began experimenting with sculptural elements in my art. This piqued my interest in a way that nothing else had. I realized that I wanted the rest of my life to be filled with art, I wanted to learn as many possible mediums as I could and turn it into a career to sustain the rest of my life. I was hungry for an art education, but the fact that it was inaccessible to me in my middle school made my tiny pre-teen heart ache. Thankfully however, I ended up moving to California right in the middle of my freshman year of high school, and the new school I was enrolled into gave me a plethora of options. I explored digital arts, delved into a more comprehensive painting class, and by then, I knew that no part of my future could make me happy in a different career field. By now, my scope of the arts is broadening and what was once an indescribable mashing of colors can now be shown through my hands. Even with what I have learned now, I still crave to learn. As a senior in high school, accumulating my work into a portfolio has assured me that art college is the next step in my life, a place where I can further grow my understanding, to share to people how I perceive the world and to also see how others do as well.”

Chloe was awarded the Doan Foundation for the Arts Scholarship of $1000

“Throughout my whole life, I’ve had a harder time talking about or expressing how I feel than other people would. I feel like I had so much to say, so much to let out, yet nothing would. Bottling up my emotions like that affected me for a long time, I knew there was something I had to do about it. Then I realized that art was a perfect outlet for me. These images flowed out from my pencil so much easier than words ever could. I feel like it got my point across, it let out a release. Drawing has made me express myself more than anything else could. Over the years I still use drawing to show emotions, whether it’s digital or traditional, but not just negative ones anymore. For example, I always draw for my boyfriend, it can be a silly doodle or a full portrait of him. These pieces I make for him are gifts of love, to show that he is my muse, my favorite person. My sketchbook is filled with drawings of him, he has brought so much joy into my life since I met him and I love to draw the happiness and love he gives me. I also enjoy drawing stuff for my family and friends as gifts to show how much I love and care for them too. This experience made me want to let other people know how much art can help and let you release these bottled emotions. This started my passion for wanting to become an art teacher. I want other individuals to know that art is an option and that no one should have to hide how they feel. What I love about art is that it’s all selective and personal. No one draws identically, I love seeing different versions of how people express themselves through it, scribbles, thin lines, thick lines, bright colors, dark colors. It’s fascinating. My dream of becoming an art teacher would let me see this every day and I’d treasure every single second. Even when I feel alone, I know art is always there for me. I know I can always rely on it when I can’t really get the words out. Art has made me improve my mental health and even learn how to communicate better. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without it and I can’t wait to accomplish my dream of sharing this discovery with other people.”

Paula was awarded the Kumo SD Scholarship by The Doan Foundation of $500

“It doesn’t matter that it’s a nightly tradition at my house, I never tire of the moment when I get to hop on the couch wrapped in a fuzzy blanket with a piece of cake, ready to embark on a new adventure. My family TV time is not only a loved practice for the three of us but has inspired my current goal of working in the animation industry. To me, art has always been about storytelling. Anyone from my third-grade class will recount with a groan how my friend and I spent every recess illustrating our own book series, Pip and Froggy. After that, it was comics that carpeted the floor of my room as I sketched out scenes from the chaos of middle school life. Now, I am drawn to the way a picture can dance across a screen, or clay can be moved one frame at a time to tell a story. As a lifelong creative, my artistic practice informs my outlook on life. On one hand, there are the technical abilities any great animator must master. So whether it’s figure sketching on the train or plein air painting at the beach, I aim to constantly study from the life around me. This builds an immediate deeper connection between me and every place I go, as my perception of it is forever cemented in the sketchbooks I fill. It also motivates me to seek adventure as I jump at the chance to leave the house, always excited for unlikely subjects waiting to be discovered. On the other hand, it is narratives that drive any great piece of media. I collect stories daily from my own life like postcards, storing them in note apps and Google Docs on my phone. I jot down funny remarks overheard on the bus and deep conversations I’ve had with my parents. I sketch characters of the people I meet who are brimming with personality. Collecting these stories reminds me to look up from my sketchbook every now and then. It compels me to take risks and meet new people because I never know what may become my next inspiration. Taking risks has been a particularly important part of my artistic journey. It is with this skill that I learned to let my art be seen, an inevitable part of being a creator. When I started high school, my art was something I hid away from prying eyes. I was ashamed of every imperfection and self-conscious of my weird stories. In 10th grade, four other artists and I decided to collaborate on a huge mural for our school art show. Although we faced setbacks, and communication issues, in the end, we completed the project. The support I received from my teachers and peers inspired me to show my solo work at gallery shows for my remaining years of high school. Through this work, I told my own stories. I presented digital paintings of places in my life, often with an added magic touch. When I share my work, my hands still sweat and my voice still shakes, but it gets a little bit easier every time. As this year’s Film and Media Arts Festival rolls around, I am excited to be submitting animation for the first time. I hope that someone in the crowd may look at my humble beginnings and feel a resemblance to the joy I get every night with my family in front of my TV. That magical moment when I watch a drawing come alive before my eyes and marvel at the cross between art and storytelling.”

Annika was awarded the NotPolish Scholarship by The Doan Foundation of $500

“My background in music starts off as a 10 year old who is inspired by my brother who plays the piano and introduced me to music. Since then I’ve been playing the piano at my local church and started to get more into the musical part. From there I’ve fallen in love with music and started to create some with my brother and is now a huge part of my family. My goals in pursuing a musical degree is to make christian music and influence others during tough times. Piano is a way where I can express my feelings and impact others through my music. By using my talent and creating songs with the piano I can encourage other people I know about music. Another goal is being a piano teacher and encouraging others to pursue their dream of music. My career aspirations are to give comfort through music and relieve stress from the world through music. It has impacted me greatly and I would like to share my experiences with others. Through my experience with music I faced challenges like feeling lonely or having stress and anxiety but music help me get through it. I use Music to express my feelings and help me get through many challenges. It’s a way where I can feel safe and free from stress in my life. Music has affected my life in a very positive way because it helps me get through the tough seasons in life. Loosing my grandpa during COVID was a very hard time for my life. One way that help our family overcome the sadness was through music. It has impacted our family because today we continue as a family band. My hopes for my career is to influence young people to get involved with music and have a great experience with it. From the help of scholarships I could achieve my goals to teach children and adults the piano and give lessons that will inspire them. This college will help me achieve my career aspirations by learning more about music and increase my skill of the piano and other aspects of music. My dream school includes music which is my passion and I believe that this school will help me achieve my dreams. It would be an honor to be accepted to this school because I grew up with a musical family and it’s very important to me. With all being said I would appreciate this opportunity to be a part of this scholarship and have a bachelors degree that will help me with my career.”

Emely was awarded the Digicom Networks Scholarship by The Doan Foundation of $500

“Art has been a big part of my life. It has helped me express my creativity and emotions. But it has also helped me have fun and release any negativity that I have outside of life. I’ve always enjoyed drawing since I was younger, especially drawing many different cartoon shows like Power Rangers and Pokemon. Those shows have influenced me to become more serious about art and develop a passion for art but now as my future career. I have been drawing since I was a child until now when I am a young adult. I draw every day to improve this talent and show others my art, and I’ve also developed relationships with my community and family by creating art that also represents where I come from. I create characters that will someday inspire other youth like myself to be proud of where they come from. I started my art journey by drawing the Pokemon from the library books I would read. When drawing Pokemon I started to learn some of the fundamentals like implementing shapes to sketch the actual drawing and learning how to create good proportions for my art. After learning from Pokemon I went and started drawing characters from my favorite animes. When drawing those, helped me understand a little bit about human anatomy and using more shapes for the structure of the body. At that point, I was happy with what I drew, but I felt like something was missing from my art. So that’s when I started to add more color to my pieces and that helped me find the missing piece within my art. From there I kept practicing drawing and started to learn more by watching videos on YouTube. But now, I feel like I can do more than just draw something and color it, I can tell a story with my art. I learned this extra skill by taking an AP Art class right now for my senior year. This class has helped me improve the simplicity of the art. It also helped create my first original piece one that I never thought I would make too. It’s fun sitting in the class and just drawing, it gave me more freedom and enjoyment with art. Also while taking this art class, I’ve been thinking about having a career in art and studying in an art school when I go to college. Without that class, I wouldn’t have been able to have the motivation to strive for an art career. Throughout this whole process of my art journey, I’ve learned that it takes lots of time to improve on what you want to do, and when you do improve you’ll start enjoying this talent that you’ve improved on. I’m happy that I’m choosing this path with art and would like to see what my future holds with my art journey.”

Jesus was awarded the Doan Foundation for the Arts Scholarship of $500

“From preschool to my junior year of high school, I was a huge procrastinator, and when you are always waiting until the last minute to do things, you have to get creative. I have taken photography, dance, acting, and filmmaking classes. Expression comes in many forms, and these forms of visual arts have always allowed me to find comfort in difficult situations. Photography, dancing, and acting have led me to my passion, filmmaking, and I will forever be grateful for those opportunities. Filmmaking has allowed me to exercise my emotions, and I intend to help do the same for others. Everyone has experiences that are both challenging and trouble-free. My goal as a filmmaker and human being has always been to help people find comfort. We go through so much very fast, grow, and sometimes stunted from expressing those feelings. I want to take the experiences of myself, my friends, and my family and bring them to the screen. To know that you aren’t the only one battling something can be very powerful. One of my favorite films, besides Coraline, is Waves. Waves explores things the black community tends to avoid discussing, and I love it. Waves discusses abuse in relationships, both physical and verbal, and heavy drug use. The main male character’s life ended in a moment based on bad decisions. I have watched many of my friends go from promising athletes to gangbangers, later living their life in prison. The feelings that family and friends experience after watching the downfall of their relative or friend, is also rarely discussed. It’s a painful process and Waves presents the process of healing. While the topic of the film is gut-wrenching, the beautiful shots captured by Drew Daniels add a calmness to the storm. I find comfort, inspiration, and motivation in this film. As a cinematographer, I hope to do the same for others. While movies can be cathartic, they can also help to induce shock, clarity, and knowledge. We can learn about our history in a way that is easy to understand. There is so much beauty to be shown through a camera lens. I see through the lens of a creative, young black girl with a strong black mother and influential role models. I aspire to be a cinematographer, and after being behind the camera lens for so long, I believe this will help me flourish in that department.I am excited to make psychological thrillers, horror films, and coming-of-age films. When I create movies, I work a lot with the eyes of my actors. They hold so much information, and as I grow into my style of filmmaking, I cannot wait to explore them.”

Jayde was awarded the Linda Vista Dentistry Scholarship by The Doan Foundation of $500

“Ever since I was younger, I have always had a passion for art and design. I would always love to draw my favorite characters and make collages of my favorite things. This can be little flower petals on trees, cutting out magazines, and accessorizing with stickers. My love for art has never left, and I am now in my senior year of high school. During my middle school and high school years, I was told by adults around me what I should do with my life and what I should do on my career. My parents often pushed me towards the medical field, since it was deemed the best stable job in their eyes. This made me feel more and more pressured, since I didn’t know what I wanted to do then. During my 16-17 years of age, I realized that I found passion in design. As I explored and experienced more, I really enjoyed seeing other peoples’ designs, and thought of doing something similar myself. I talked to my family about considering design as a possible career field. However, my father was disappointed, and my mother was strongly against it, as she always wanted me to do something in the medical field. I was often feeling down because of societal standards, and what is seen as stable careers such as engineering, law, or a doctor. This led me to feel trapped and lost about what I should do with my life. So, as I began my research within the design field, I found out about universities and colleges that have the majors that would help me for my career. I wanted to somehow put my artwork into the designs I create, and make unique creations that make me who I am. I overcame the obstacles in my way by speaking up with my counsellors, videos, and gain more experience with design. With inspiration from videos online, art, and things I see outside. I love to look at people and take references because everyone is so unique, different, and diverse. Everyone has their own stories and preferences, which I want to implement in what I do. Same with different stores, objects, and natures I get inspired. I created my own website with a theme of a fake cafe, by creating the logo, mockups, and designing the visuals. I also created countless art of my characters that gave me design ideas. I enjoy creating digital art and digital design since there are various of creativity and entertainment to explore. I was always more on the creative side and had a great imagination. I love to look up to some of my favorite artists and designers, by going to museums, online resources, and galleries that help inspire me for my career. I want to use my artistic and creative abilities in my designs where my work stands out. Although my family wasn’t exactly happy with the path I was taking, I knew myself and what I wanted to do in the future. I want to be able to show others I that succeeded, and even if there are many challenges that come my way, I am not afraid to face them. In the end, art is something I am very passionate about and want to pursue in the future. I want to not only make myself happy but to change peoples’ mindset and imagination when they view at my work.”

Cindy was awarded the Doan Foundation for the Arts Scholarship of $500

“My love for art is something that has followed me everywhere for as long as I can remember. It’s something that’s helped me grow into the person that I am today. It’s been my most loyal friend, it’s always there for me when I’m feeling anything. It’s a part of everything I’ve ever known, it’s in every aspect of the world if you know how to look for it and I’ve been fortunate enough to learn this at a young age. Since before I was born my dad has had an admiration and eye for creating art. It was a part of the culture of growing up in East Los Angeles. With graffiti, local murals, and prison art that was well respected throughout the community but never really seen as a career. So when I was born and my parents moved away, they were always very supportive of the arts and what they could teach me from it. I was drawing every chance that I got, coloring pictures with my dad while my mom was at work, or painting with him in our old garage. He’s been one of my biggest supporters and is now a big inspiration because being an artist is his full-time job, breaking a stigma in our Latino household. My parents have been able to influence my expressive personality at such a young age and I’ve been able to find that passion rise in me slowly as I got older. A challenge I’ve had was being so insecure with myself so creating art has always been an outlet for me. It’s been my biggest way of expressing myself and the way that I feel, even if that meant just picking out my outfit. Whether it was painting, collaging, or drawing, I used what I had learned my whole life to my greatest advantage. I pour my heart into every project I make, spending days if not weeks to perfect my vision. Originating your own art can teach you so much about yourself. It teaches you patience and kindness towards yourself. It showed me how to overcome my battles and to ground myself when I felt that the chaos of my brain was too much for me to handle. I love to not only make work of my own but to enjoy the work of others. Just being able to see how every good and every bad part of the world has pushed people to be inspired to use their voices. I think that creating something that makes people feel less alone is one of the most beautiful things that life has to offer. To know that art has made such an important impact and not just in my life but in all of history as we know it. And I mean this in every form of art. Film, music, and painting are all forms of it that have shaped the creativity that I hold so close to my heart. Seeing the works of others, the love, and the sense of community it gives to people makes me want to push my adoration for the topic toward my future career and study art history in college. I don’t know the person I would be without the influence of art in my life. My parents’ being supportive of the things I’ve gone on to show interest in is a blessing alone. I think art is something so complex and it’s done so much for me. It’d be a dream to pass that love to other kids who have that spark of light as I once did.”

Ruu was awarded the Doan Foundation for the Arts Scholarship of $500

“Arts have had a positive impact on my life for the twelve years I have done it. At the ripe age of five, I started my true passion for dance and continue it now as a seventeen-year-old. Throughout my twelve years of dancing, I trained at local dance studios perfecting my craft and experiencing the idea of collaboration with many talented artists in creating beautiful pieces. I began sharing my art with the world by volunteering at her local studio called Adage Dance Center where I taught the young dancers ballet and tap, I also became a student representative at my arts high school called Lachsa. One challenge I overcame was breaking a bone in my foot which stopped me from doing what I love the most. It was in 2018 right before the most important competition of the year and I broke a bone in the most important part of a dancer’s body. The 2 months I was sitting out felt like the longest months of my life. As a dancer, I wanted to get up and move every second of the day but I couldn’t and it was truly heartbreaking. Luckily, I pushed and constantly iced my foot every night to make a full recovery just in time for the competition. Although it was a difficult experience, I overcame it and came back stronger and ready to learn and dance more. Dance has always been a part of my life and I may have had a few setbacks, but this is what pushed me to grow tremendously and allow me to continue my passion for the arts in college for my professional career. In my professional career, I am hoping to continue dancing, and working with artists in the industry, while also becoming a dance therapist, becoming this beneficial person to lean on when dancers need support for their foundation, moral, and overall physical selves. The arts have truly affected my life for the better, influencing creativity, well-being, cultural understanding, and social change. Dance specifically has become my whole world, the surrounding, the drive, and the overall passion I have for this art is everything. I am hoping to get into an amazing college to continue pursuing and excelling in my craft. Art as a whole gives me meaning and helps me with my understanding of the world. The appreciation I have for art improves my quality of life and makes me feel good. Creating art specifically in dance elevates my mood, improves my ability to problem solve, and opens my mind to new ideas in the near future.”

Annabelle was awarded the Doan Foundation for the Arts Scholarship of $500