Ever since I was young, I loved to draw but yearned for more creativity and the ability to color. Little did I know that one day I would have the chance to reach that goal and that drawing would become a talent that would grow into different talents and skills. Before that could occur, I had to learn and discover who I was capable of becoming and how I could develop the extent of my talents. Regardless, I always knew I would become a professional artist. As the years passed by, many things occurred but it didn’t stop me from trying to reach my goal. Born and raised in Brooklyn with my parents and two sisters. I am the first to attend college and have the ability to finish. I am a Fine Arts student currently studying at LaGuardia Community College with a 3.7 GPA and 48 credits towards my 60 credit Associate’s degree. I am currently a Phi Theta Kappa member and have been on the Dean’s List since my first semester here.

           Being a good student wasn’t always what I wanted to be. In high school, I had some bad experiences. Many students including myself grew up with the attitude that many of us wouldn’t be able to attend college because of our low-incomes. I went to three different high schools before getting my high school diploma. During my senior year in 2002, at the age of 19 my father who was a Korean War veteran passed away from Alzheimer’s. My father’s death, although a hard one taught me I needed to do something with my life regardless of the struggle. I began to look for employment and started working full-time job in Brooklyn at a non-for-profit organization called Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, Inc. as a Program Assistant for the Youth and Education Department. I worked there for nine years with about 100 different people a day from all types of backgrounds and with all ages from the very young to the very old. I performed duties such as clerical work, data entry, recording logs for certain counselors and was also a receptionist. Besides these duties, I worked closely with an afterschool program for the ages 11-14 and likewise at a summer camp for the same ages. As an employee there I grew tremendously in my office skills, work habits, and in most of my social skills. Although I learned many life lessons working there I knew it wasn’t my passion. My goal to become a professional artist was still in my heart and I was determined to reach it. So in my last year working there, I applied to Laguardia Community College and was accepted.

            Going back to school was not easy for me after so many years away but I was able to apply my work habits and ethics, plus life experience as tools to grow as a college student as well as an artist. Besides learning new skills such as painting and design, I have been lucky enough to have awesome professors since my first semester. They have not only motivated me to improve as a student but have taught me to analyze and learn the curriculum as more than a school subject. These tools I am able to use for the world around me and to better myself at what I want to be as an artist such as relating history to the present. I was motivated to do even better on other subjects and to never limit myself but to always seek challenges. I'm planning to finish my Fine Arts Associate degree in June 2013, and obtain a scholarship to transfer to the School of the Visual Arts for my bachelors and masters in Illustration. I hope to find a career that I will enjoy growing, and help others through it.

             As a Christian, I‘ve learned that the purpose of God is way beyond what a person may want. I’ve had the gift to draw and after many years, I needed to make the decision to leave my full time job and go forward with studying full time to develop this gift. I have no regrets in making this decision. God has never left me alone or in a situation that I cannot bear without his strength. I do believe God has given me many skills, gifts, and abilities to use and succeed in. God willing I will reach my goals, but at the meantime, I will continue and stay determined to work as hard as I can and take the necessary steps to reach them.

Photo: Personal Collection