New York

Entering my senior year of high school my parents informed me they had filed for a divorce. Their decision had come completely unexpected; it left me feeling incredibly shocked. But there was little time to, I quickly had to take the responsibility of being the mediator between my two parents who would not speak to each other. I also learned I would bear the responsibility of paying my way through college. It was then I realized I had to become more independent, as my whole life I had relied on two people who were now unreliable. I didn't have time to learn how to be mature, and responsible, I was thrust into those roles. I knew I wanted to go to college, particularly DePauw, but neither I nor my parents had enough money to pay for it. Driven to succeed by the failure of my parents, I did everything in my ability to receive the Braden Scholarship, which provides full tuition exclusively to DePauw. With hard work and perseverance I earned that scholarship and the chance to go to a great college. The experience also impacted my ability to deal with change and become flexible to adjust to those changes. I had to deal with moving to a new house and the unfamiliarity of only having one parent around.

The New York Arts Program requires many of the traits I've developed through this experience. Living in the city will require enormous amounts of maturity as well as flexibility since it will be such a culture change from my small town. In the big city there will be numerous things to distract my focus, but I will have to continue to be hard-working and motivated to get the most of what the program has to offer me. By participating in the New York Arts Program, I will be given the opportunity to utilize these like skills and build upon them, which will give me the resources and skills I need to have a successful career.