Gilman Scholarship Essays

Statement of Purpose

1. Why do you wish to study abroad and what factors led you to this decision? What do you hope to gain from and what do you anticipate will be the impact of your experience abroad?

2. Describe your study abroad program. What factors led you to select this program and length of study?

3. Why have you chosen your country of study? What factors led you to select this country?

4. How will this study abroad program and the coursework you take abroad impact your academic, career, and future professional goals?

5. Are there any distinctive components to this program, beyond coursework, that will impact your overall learning experience abroad? (i.e. home-stays, internships, field research, volunteer activities, extra-curricular activities, etc.)

6. What challenges, if any, did you face in your decision to study abroad? How did you meet these challenges and what impact do you foresee them having on your experience abroad? These could include, but are not limited to, being a parent, being a non-traditional student, having a learning or physical disability, being in a field of study for which it is difficult to incorporate study abroad, etc.

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As a painting major at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), my future goals do not include elite galleries or fame in the world of high art. I consider myself a community artist, painting murals around Baltimore city, teaching art at two after-school centers, and creating dialogue on campus about Baltimore's social issues that exist outside of our safe bubble. As a minority at my high school, I became aware of the physical racial divides of my surroundings, as well as the psychological separateness of the “other”. Today, as a resident of Baltimore City, I encounter oppression, privilege, racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance daily. I am interested in how community arts can be used to create public dialogue surrounding these issues in an effort towards reconciliation and tolerance. SIT's Durban based program on Social and Political Transformation in South Africa is an ideal place to pursue these interests. Baltimore and Durban have both begun to use community art as the catalyst for deep personal, social, and political change. Durban has had an active community arts scene since the 1970’s, and is now home to organizations like “Art for Humanity” and “Create Africa South,” whose missions are to use art to “promote human rights awareness regionally and globally” and to “develop, preserve and publish, exhibit or market South African creativity, both in the visual and literary arts." These mission statements run parallel with my own academic and artistic interests. I have contacted these organizations, and may serve an internship with one, doing field research, as part of my independent study project required by SIT. SIT's program also includes a home-stay with a Zulu family, allowing me to become immersed in their language and culture. This cultural and linguistic understanding will greatly enrich my collaborative work with inner city Baltimore communities, especially Baltimore's large population of African refugees. Through SIT's experiential based coursework, I anticipate obtaining a solid grasp of the historical background of South Africa's apartheid system, contemporary developments leading to the dismantling of that system, the visions for post-apartheid South Africa, the political, economic and social structure of the future South Africa, and an anthropological and cultural look at South African society. This will benefit my current study of community art and my future professional goals in the fields of community development, social justice, international relations, and of course, arts and culture.

Follow-On Project Proposal

Gilman Scholars are required to carry out a Follow-on Project upon their return to the U.S. which promotes the Gilman Program and international education on your home campus and/or in your community. Projects should maximize the impact of your experience abroad by extending the benefits you received to your campus and community. Projects should be clear, able to be completed in approximately one semester, and have obtainable goals.

Summarize your Follow-on Project in paragraph format by addressing the following questions.

1. Briefly outline your proposed project to promote the Gilman Scholarship and international education. How will this project impact your home university or home community? What are your project goals?

2. What is your target population and how will your project impact this group?

3. How will you integrate the impact of your experiences abroad into your project?

4. What, if any, campus departments, student organizations, and/or community organizations will you collaborate with in promoting the Gilman Scholarship and international education? Have you already made contact with these groups?

5. Upon completion of your project you will be required to submit a two-page final report. What documentation, if any, do you plan to include along with this report highlighting the completion of your service project?

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The Global Africa Project is an exhibition of design, art and craft created in and out of Africa by creators living and working in Africa, Europe, the Americas and Asia. The goals of the exhibition are to "illuminate the rapid and pervasive interchange in the contemporary practice of design, craft and art to portray the truly global nature of being African, or African-descended in today's world." The exhibit will open in the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City in February 2011, and move to Baltimore's Reginald F. Lewis Museum in February 2012. The project is a collaboration between the Museum of Arts and Design and the Center for Race and Culture, Maryland Institute College of Art, and it's founding director, Leslie King-Hammond.

When talking to Leslie about how this exhibition could be a part of my Gilman Follow-On Project Proposal, she suggested that I write a guest blog on the Museum of Arts and Design's blog, (www.madblog.org) offering insight into my study abroad experience. I contacted the museum curator, Lowery Sims, and he has given me permission to report on all of the artistic findings I encounter aborad. As a community artist drawing connections between Baltimore and Durban, South Africa, I will greatly contribute to the discussion of community impact/creative collaboration and global morphing/cultural fusion. The blogs target audience includes international readers, especially those interested in the arts.

In addition to reaching the broad audience of an international museum blog, my study abroad experience will impact the students at the Maryland Institute College of Art through a blog that I create about international experiences. The goal of this blog is to provide a place for students who are studying abroad to report their experiences and findings to the rest of the MICA community, inspiring other students to study internationally as well. I will spearhead the blog by recording my own study abroad experience in Durban, South Africa, made possible by the Gilman Scholarship. I will start in July, the month before I leave, by reporting on my preparations and expectations. I will record my experiences and findings through December, when my program ends. I will recruit other MICA students studying abroad in Fall 2010 to begin the blog with me. The blog will exist on MICA's website under the Center for Race and Culture (http://www.mica.edu/Research_at_MICA/Research_Centers/Center_for_Race_and_Culture.html) by permission of Dr. Leslie King-Hammond. The website is currently being designed by myself through Wordpress.com, and will be transfered to MICA's server by MICA's Communications Department. The actual blog will be the primary source material for my final Follow-Up Project report. I will report on the structure and content of the blog as it evolved over the semester, as well as the impact it had on encouraging MICA students to study abroad. I will also discuss the content and impact of my writing for the Museum of Art and Design's blog.