SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
Culture Arts Initiative, Inc. has awarded $50,000 in dance tuition scholarship awards to deserving young dancers so that they may continue to pursue their dream to dance and receive a high quality dance education.
McKenna Armwood
2021 Black Swan Project Scholarship Award Recipient
-Houston Ballet Academy
" Thank you so much Culture Arts Initiative. This is an honor and I am so excited. Just know that I will continue to work hard and I hope that I make you all proud. "
Morgan Manning
2021 Traci Greene Collegiate Dance Scholarship Award Recipient
Point Park University
GOLD AWARD
"I'd like to say thank you to the Culture Arts Initiative and the [Scholarship] Review panel for this award...Receiving this scholarship makes me feel very empowered...
I know that in this world people of color and underrepresented kids can feel neglected or feel that their worth doesn't matter but with scholarships and foundations like this, it shows that we are special, we are important, and we are needed in the arts."
Nessaja Sharber
Nazareth College
GOLD AWARD
2021 Traci Greene Collegiate Dance Scholarship Award Recipient
"My school's dance program has opened me to genres and opportunities that I never would have considered before going. I've also been able to create really amazing bonds with my professors...and they have helped guide me in so many ways."
"I am so truly grateful to have been awarded this scholarship because it allows me to further my dance education in a program that I truly feel is fit for me....so that I can continue that education and hopefully improve even more."
Alexia Jones
American Musical and Dramatic Academy COPA-Los Angeles
2021 Continued Education Scholarship Award Recipient
Mykiah Goree
2020 Traci Greene Collegiate Dance Scholarship Award Recipient
PLATINUM AWARD
The Juilliard School
"My first semester experience at the Juilliard School in New York was nothing short of special. I've met so many amazing artists that inspire me every day as well as so many amazing teachers that are encouraging and molding me to become the best me possible...
All of this was made possible with the Traci Greene Collegiate Scholarship. It has funded part of my tuition and I am beyond grateful for the financial support that it has given me. I would like to thank Mrs. Traci Greene, every member of the board, and all of the donors that made it possible for this scholarship."
Jannah Collins
2020 Traci Greene Collegiate Dance Scholarship Award Recipient
GOLD AWARD
University of Texas at Austin
"My first semester at the University of Texas Austin was a success! Although I stayed home this semester, the Traci Greene Collegiate Scholarship helped me receive a rigorous education from the comfort of my home....
I am thankful for this scholarship because it has helped provide me with an experience that I will cherish and look back on forever! I am super excited for my next semester on campus!"
Joshua Francis
2020 Traci Greene Collegiate Dance Scholarship Award Recipient
BRONZE AWARD
Alabama State University
"Receiving this scholarship was beneficial to me and was a blessing towards my journey in life of receiving my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. This scholarship made me push to the highest level of work ethic and will help to make my dreams come true of having a successful career as a professional dancer...
I am tremendously blessed that I am given this opportunity to be awarded a scholarship to fulfill my dream and I will prove that I do have what it takes to not only be a successful student but an amazing professional African-American male dancer."
Alya Horvat
2020 Spread My Wings Scholarship Recipient
The Master Ballet Academy
"Thank you so much for this scholarship and for being like a second family! Words cannot express my appreciation for everyone at Culture Arts Initiative and Houston's Urban Nutcracker"
" I had such a wonderful time at Master Ballet Academy's 2020 Summer Intensive. Thank you MBA for inviting me and Culture Arts Initiative for giving me the scholarship to go. I couldn't have had a better summer than this one."
Alycia Williams
2020 Spread My Wings Scholarship Recipient
Elite Classical Coaching
"I attended Elite Classical Coaching this summer. It was so much fun! I got to train with alot of amazing teachers at that intensive and was able to apply what I learned to my home studio...
Thank you for putting your trust and faith in me... to think that someone actually believed in me and thought that I could do it... it means alot to me and I just want to say, Thank You! "
Brianna McMahon
2019 Spread My Wings Scholarship Recipient
Texas Ballet Theatre
“Culture Arts Initiative’s scholarship provided me the opportunity to flourish as a dancer at the Texas Ballet Theater Summer Intensive. I learned what it is to have a career as a dancer from directors and instructors such as Ben Stevenson and Lauren Anderson, who have had a huge impact on the Houston Dance community. I was able to achieve my ultimate goal to audition and be selected for the Professional Division Training Program...Thank you to the Culture Arts Initiative for opening doors for me to become closer to my dream of becoming a professional dancer!”
