Bella's Art School Fund

For as long as I can remember, creating has always been my largest passion. As a child I'd spend hours on end drawing, fueled by an innate fascination with the visual world around me. Growing up, I won a number of awards for my artwork- from coloring and design contests as a child to winning courtroom artist of Mendocino County's Mock Trial competition in my sophmore year of high school.  By the time I had reached my senior year I was confident in my decision to pursue a career in the arts, specifically communication design.  My dream was to attend a prestigious art school where I would have the opportunity to be immersed in a culture of creativity and be able to develop my art skills. This past Fall I applied to my dream school, the PrattMWP in Utica, New York, the Cornish College of the Arts, and the Northwest Pacific College of Art, to all of which I was accepted. Being accepted into the PrattMWP, despite their very low acceptance rate, was one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me. I know that the experiences and opportunities I will have at this school, and then at the Pratt's main campus in Brooklyn, New York for my last two years, will be unparalleled. I am ecstatic to have achieved such an incredible oppurtunity and plan to attend as a freshman communication design student in the Fall of 2018.  However, my cost of attendence for my first two years in Utica comes to a whopping $49,975 per year. Although I am very grateful for the $14,000 merit scholarship I was awarded for each academic year, paying $35,975 is going to be a huge challenge for me and unlike many young people I know, I do not have parents to help support me in paying for my college education. For these reasons, any and all help with paying for my education and allowing me to continue pursuing my passion will be greatly appreciated. The last thing I want is to not be able to attend a school I've worked very hard to get into because of monetary costs. Thank you all so much and again, any donations are tremendously appreciated.