Help Nikki Finish School!
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Nikki Knight is a queer Japanese-American studying Film & Television at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Originally from Livermore Falls, Maine, Nikki is currently in the second semester of their junior year, concentrating on animation. Nikki has a 3.9 GPA and is Vice President of the NYU Student Animation League, a major student organization. As of right now, Nikki will not be able to pay for the full 2019 Fall semester, let alone the entirety of their senior year.
Nikki was orphaned in November of 2013 at the age of 15. Their dad, Robert Knight, died suddenly and unexpectedly of squamous cell carcinoma that had metastasized around his carotid artery. Nikki’s mom, Kaoru Knight, died in 2000 of acute myeloid leukemia. Nikki lived with relatives until the age of 18, but since then has been fully independent. Until now, Nikki has been paying everything entirely out of pocket, with the exception of a Pell Grant and a small scholarship of $1000 from Tisch. They have been using their dad’s life insurance policy for tuition and working as an animation technical assistant to pay for food, books, and transportation. They have done all of this while still working as a full-time student with a near-perfect GPA and holding leadership roles on campus.
Since financial aid has now been centralized at NYU, Tisch has no power to offer aid. Because Nikki only needs six more credits to graduate due to all of the advanced coursework they have completed in the last three years, the university financial aid office has refused to provide additional funding, suggesting that they “take the six credits and go.” While they will be able to get a diploma with what they have, not having a full senior year means that Nikki will not be able to complete their senior thesis film for Tisch, which is a fundamental part of the animation department’s educational experience. Because Nikki came to Tisch in order to create their own animated work, not being able to take advantage of this filmmaking opportunity is a huge loss. Nikki’s professors, fully support them having a senior year and making their advanced film:
"It is my pleasure to write on behalf of Nikki Knight, a gifted, nuanced film animator and
diligent young artist.
This past year Nikki has been a stand-out student in two of my classes: Action Analysis II, and
Intermediate Animation Production. The latter, in which students complete a short film start
to finish, impresses me not only for the subtleties Nikki brings to the character animation, but
the emotional feelings displayed in the telling of the story. Nikki's ability to empathize with
the plight of others through their art is priceless.
Also, in both classes, they display excellent technical knowledge of the essential principles of
animation and motion.
As a person, Nikki is honest, reliable, eager to learn, delivers assignments on time, cheerful and
always helpful to their peers -- a joy to work with and to be with. I know a bright career awaits
them in the very near future.
I support the Nikki Knight GoFundMe campaign with enthusiasm."
- John Canemaker, Academy Award Winning Animator and Head of the Animation
Program at NYU Tisch
As mentioned earlier, Nikki has been paying for tuition almost entirely out of pocket using their father’s life insurance policy, which will no longer contains enough to pay for another semester. We are asking for $8000 so that Nikki can take the senior-only advanced animation class to complete their senior thesis work at NYU. This $8000 gift will cover tuition for Nikki to take the first semester of advanced animation production so that they can have a final film. They will pay for their remaining general education classes out of pocket using the remainder of their dad’s life insurance money. Nikki has slipped through the cracks in the University’s financial aid system, but appealing has gotten them nowhere with the University thus far, as they are not taking the Tisch curriculum structure into account when assessing how much schooling they “need.” Nikki is a very talented animator who has a bright future ahead, and it would be devastating to have their education be so severely hindered solely because of financial reasons. They have already been through a lot in life even as a 21-year-old, and deserve as much as any of their peers to have a full education.
If you know Nikki, you know how bright and talented of a student they are, and how much they have contributed to the NYU Tisch animation community. If you do not know Nikki, I can assure you that they are an incredibly kind and driven person who does as much as they can to help the other people around them be happy and successful. Whether you know Nikki personally or not, this is a chance to help a wonderful person overcome a monstrous obstacle. Please consider giving whatever you can to help Nikki ensure that their stellar work as a student pays off. If you are interested in seeing Nikki's work, a sampling can be found at nikkiknightanimation.com.
Nikki was orphaned in November of 2013 at the age of 15. Their dad, Robert Knight, died suddenly and unexpectedly of squamous cell carcinoma that had metastasized around his carotid artery. Nikki’s mom, Kaoru Knight, died in 2000 of acute myeloid leukemia. Nikki lived with relatives until the age of 18, but since then has been fully independent. Until now, Nikki has been paying everything entirely out of pocket, with the exception of a Pell Grant and a small scholarship of $1000 from Tisch. They have been using their dad’s life insurance policy for tuition and working as an animation technical assistant to pay for food, books, and transportation. They have done all of this while still working as a full-time student with a near-perfect GPA and holding leadership roles on campus.
Since financial aid has now been centralized at NYU, Tisch has no power to offer aid. Because Nikki only needs six more credits to graduate due to all of the advanced coursework they have completed in the last three years, the university financial aid office has refused to provide additional funding, suggesting that they “take the six credits and go.” While they will be able to get a diploma with what they have, not having a full senior year means that Nikki will not be able to complete their senior thesis film for Tisch, which is a fundamental part of the animation department’s educational experience. Because Nikki came to Tisch in order to create their own animated work, not being able to take advantage of this filmmaking opportunity is a huge loss. Nikki’s professors, fully support them having a senior year and making their advanced film:
"It is my pleasure to write on behalf of Nikki Knight, a gifted, nuanced film animator and
diligent young artist.
This past year Nikki has been a stand-out student in two of my classes: Action Analysis II, and
Intermediate Animation Production. The latter, in which students complete a short film start
to finish, impresses me not only for the subtleties Nikki brings to the character animation, but
the emotional feelings displayed in the telling of the story. Nikki's ability to empathize with
the plight of others through their art is priceless.
Also, in both classes, they display excellent technical knowledge of the essential principles of
animation and motion.
As a person, Nikki is honest, reliable, eager to learn, delivers assignments on time, cheerful and
always helpful to their peers -- a joy to work with and to be with. I know a bright career awaits
them in the very near future.
I support the Nikki Knight GoFundMe campaign with enthusiasm."
- John Canemaker, Academy Award Winning Animator and Head of the Animation
Program at NYU Tisch
As mentioned earlier, Nikki has been paying for tuition almost entirely out of pocket using their father’s life insurance policy, which will no longer contains enough to pay for another semester. We are asking for $8000 so that Nikki can take the senior-only advanced animation class to complete their senior thesis work at NYU. This $8000 gift will cover tuition for Nikki to take the first semester of advanced animation production so that they can have a final film. They will pay for their remaining general education classes out of pocket using the remainder of their dad’s life insurance money. Nikki has slipped through the cracks in the University’s financial aid system, but appealing has gotten them nowhere with the University thus far, as they are not taking the Tisch curriculum structure into account when assessing how much schooling they “need.” Nikki is a very talented animator who has a bright future ahead, and it would be devastating to have their education be so severely hindered solely because of financial reasons. They have already been through a lot in life even as a 21-year-old, and deserve as much as any of their peers to have a full education.
If you know Nikki, you know how bright and talented of a student they are, and how much they have contributed to the NYU Tisch animation community. If you do not know Nikki, I can assure you that they are an incredibly kind and driven person who does as much as they can to help the other people around them be happy and successful. Whether you know Nikki personally or not, this is a chance to help a wonderful person overcome a monstrous obstacle. Please consider giving whatever you can to help Nikki ensure that their stellar work as a student pays off. If you are interested in seeing Nikki's work, a sampling can be found at nikkiknightanimation.com.
Organizer and beneficiary
Laine Elliott
Organizer
New York, NY
Nicole Knight
Beneficiary