My name is Andra and I have recently graduated from Colgate University in Hamilton, NY with a 3.82 GPA, summa cum laude and High Honors in Art & Art History.
Ever since I was a little kid, I have always loved visiting art museums, gazing with quiet fascination at paintings and drawings for hours, following each brushstroke and gentle line with my curious eyes.
I love art and my dream is to learn how to take care of it, how to make sure that the future generations will be able to admire with their own youthful eyes the astounding works of the great minds of the past and of our present.
I wish to become an art conservator and, as I discovered during my previous summer internships in museums, I feel ignited with passion and determination whenever I think about this path.
(These are pictures taken during my conservation internship during my sophomore summer. I was helping the museum conservator restore a painting from the 1940s.)
Although I am certain that I have found my mission and I feel very lucky to have discovered my talent and sense of purpose, I am unfortunately not so lucky from a financial point of view.
During my undergraduate studies, my parents have supported me as much as they could and in the meantime I tried to diminish their burden by taking two student jobs. These four years of college have nevertheless taken their toll on my family’s budget.
I have been accepted as an MA student of art conservation at a prestigious university in London, Camberwell College of the Arts, and I will commence my master’s in 2016. Until then, I have also been accepted to a rigorous year-long postgraduate program in art conservation in London.
I feel very lucky to have been offered places at both these wonderful schools but most of all, I feel especially rewarded for all my hard work as a student. The path that my skills and my passions have led me to is indeed very narrow and there sadly very few opportunities for those dedicated to conserving art. Through determination and hard work, I managed to seize two of the very very rare opportunities in art conservations. These programs are in fact my only chance to follow my dream and to bring my contribution to the protection of our fragile cultural heritage.
(Camberwell College of the Arts in London)
However, London is a very expensive city and only around $3000 stand in the way of my achieving this goal. Renting a room in London costs around 500 pounds and monthly public transportation passes cost over 50 pounds. Beyond the money that I have managed to save through my two student jobs, I would still need some help to get myself started. More specifically, I still need money for the airfare and for a month’s rent. I plan to start working in London as soon as I arrive and I have already started applying for jobs at different museums around the city.
I would be grateful if you could help out with just a few dollars and I would like to express my gratitude to you by creating and sending you a drawing or an illustration. I especially love to draw portraits but I enjoy creating any kind of illustration and I would be very very happy to send you a token of my immense appreciation and gratitude.
Thank you so so so so much!
Lots of love,
Andra