Scholarship Winner | Christina

In 2019, the Jet Future Business Leaders Scholarship was created to bring college students a chance to win some money to put toward their future education. There were over 300 applicants this semester and, after careful deliberation, Christina Wu has been chosen as the winner of the $1,000 award

Christina plans to attend the California Institute of the Arts to study character animation. In her free time, Christina enjoys reading books of all genres and creating original illustrations and mini-comics.

Prompt: You are given the unbelievable choice to work your dream job right out of high school - or - you can go to the college of your choice for free. No guarantee that the dream job will be there once you finish the college route. Which path do you take and why?

Christina's Essay:

I am an aspiring artist and animator, and my dream job would be to work for a studio to create original films for the public, as well as work freelance on the side on my own personal projects. It’s not a secret in the animation industry that a college degree really isn’t needed in order to find a job, and one can become a freelance artist solely through individual practice and perseverance. So it might be strange that I’d rather choose to go to a college of my choice for free with no guarantee that a job will be waiting for me after graduation. That’s the reality of my situation right now after I’ve just recently applied and been accepted into my dream school, the California Institute of the Arts, which is known for its amazing animation program, but also its extremely expensive tuition. Some people may say that this action is not financially sound, but I think a college experience is a crucial part of one’s life, apart from just the goal of getting a degree to find a job, or even the education. College is an essential part of self-discovery and relationships, and I believe the people I will meet and live with for the next four years will be my second family and future colleagues to come. For the past twenty years, I’ve been sheltered like a baby chick under my parents’ wings, and have never really known life apart from the things I was taught in school and my home environment. Today at 20 years of age, I feel that I haven’t received as much life experiences as my peers, nor understand how to navigate within society. I believe college ultimately serves as a gateway between the disillusionment and immaturity of the teenage years to the reality of a messy imperfect society. It is also a time where I hope to get away from home and be immersed in a community filled with like-minded artists like myself, and nurture creative ideas and potential. Sure, I can be plucked from where I am right now and be placed directly into my dream job, but what’s the worth of the goal if it required zero effort to get there? I think being an artist was always about the journey and personal growth, never the fame, and the works we create also reflect the evolutionary mindset of the artist by undergoing genuine experiences that shape our identities. California Institute of the Arts, or any art school or community for that matter, is one of those life-changing events in my life that I wish to personally experience and gain new perspectives from. This is all the more crucial as an artist, where individualized thoughts and ideas are the basis of a successful creative career.

If you know of a future businessperson entering or currently attending college/university, encourage them to apply to our current Jet Future Business Leaders Scholarship at https://jetsurety.com/scholarship.