During grad school at Parsons the New School for Design, I discovered that I enjoyed mentoring students, especially those who wanted to learn more in the creative fields. I became a college mentor at East Harlem Tutorial Program where I helped a high school senior go through the college process. Applying to schools went relatively smooth, but we hit a huge roadblock when it came to financial aid. The student was undocumented.

 

This particular student came to America when he was only 8 months old! All he knew was the American dream.

 

We searched for scholarships (because the FAFSA was out of the question for undocumented students), but everywhere we looked, the applicant either needed to have straight As (my mentee was a B/C student), or had to be a U.S. citizen. He was actually my best 3D animation student from the summer class the year before, and this is what he wanted to study in college. We continued to search for creative scholarships, but yielded very limited results.

 

He felt helpless, as did I, and he wanted to drop out of school completely. It broke my heart, but I had to stay strong to support him. This is when I wished that I could give him money, or provide a scholarship for him. Thankfully he earned some scholarships from his high school and ended up going to a community college in New York City.

 

I do not wish for another fellow designer/animator to feel helpless, and that is why when I incorporated my graphic design business, I also started the Support Creativity Scholarship.

 

The first year, in 2013, I had 7 applicants; the second year I had 553 applicants. This, along with the support from all of those who donated and collaborated with me, has inspired me to continue with the scholarship, as well as to continue to mentor those passionate creatives who deserve a shot at their dreams.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve Lucin

Founder & Creative Director

Steve Lucin