In the summer of 2007 my parents signed me up for an art camp run by the Minneapolis Institute of Art. My final painting, and all of the rest of the kids’ paintings, were hung up in the museum at the end of the summer. I told my mom that I did not have to go to kindergarten because there was nothing else to learn. I knew my abcs and 123s and had my art in a museum. I was ready to move out. My mom did not let me drop out of kindergarten and I ended up doing the whole K-12. My mom worked with the airlines and my dad flipped houses. These two jobs made us move around. Our last big move was from an urban northern city to a rural southern town called Fayetteville, Georgia. My new high school that did not have art classes. Things were not looking promising for my future artistic prodigy career.
Thankfully, Fayetteville had Mike Dillard. Mike would not be my high school teacher but he’d be my life teacher. Mike is an artist and an animator and encouraged me to pursue art. Mike encouraged me to not only make art but share it with the world. There wasn’t a lot happening in Fayetteville so I’d hop around county farmer’s markets to sell my art. I started making money. It was a small amount but enough to hold out in my hand to show the people who said it wouldn’t be in my hand. Mike even convinced me I could go to college for it.
My initial college plan was to dual major in both art and business. This way, I could still learn to make great art but also know how to market it. Secretly, just maybe, this business major would be a backup plan when my art didn’t end up making money like I was told. I found out that I was not able to dual major. I had to choose between what I thought as a prospective college student was a life of happiness in poverty or a life where at least I’m stable. After much consideration, I went with art.
When I graduated from my undergrad program in 2024, I realized that neither of my freshman fears were true. My friends who graduated from the business school lead interesting self-fulfilling lives. Following art does not mean a life of poverty. My portfolio ended up paying for all of my tuition thanks to a scholarship called First Wave. I started putting more energy into my online business selling my art which has generated over $30,000. I submitted the art that classes already required of me everywhere I could. In the end, art made me more money than any side job I took up in fear of instability. Facing my graduation, I started to think about what side job to take up next, but couldn’t help but feel disappointed that a side job was even a consideration. What if I could combine stability and art?
One could imagine my revelation when I heard about the Bolz Center for Administration; a place where both creativity and business are valued. This year, I am proud to say I have been given an Applied Learning Placement with the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI) the organization that funded my undergraduate degree. I am now the Arts Engagement Coordinator and I get to work with featured artists, and artists in residencies, to put together the programming, workshops, and events I was so lucky to participate in as an undergraduate student. I realize I am working with artists I aspire to be. I know I’m networking with the right people, and I feel like I am where I need to be. The Bolz Center is teaching me how important it is to bring everyone to the table. The program is giving me the resources that I need…to pass on the resources that others need. I hope to create opportunities like the ones that I’ve been given.
Categories: