Help RISD Alum Get Their MFA's
Donation protected
Hello Everyone,
First, we would like to say Thank You in advance for your compassion, time and consideration while reading our story. We are extremely excited and grateful for any and all gestures of support and generosity that may enable us to experience and share this amazing educational opportunity to study at Goldsmiths, University of London this Fall.
If you’ve ever lived through a catastrophe such as losing your home and all of your belongings in a fire, you know what kind of life changing event it can be. It is also through such tragedy that you realize what is really important in life. So what happens when you’ve lost everything, but still have your health and still have each other?
“I need something I can take with me no matter where I go or what challenges I may face. That’s education, that’s what I need.”
These were the resolute words García voiced to me 6 months after a fire in the restaurant below our apartment left us homeless and destroyed our belongings just after the New Year of 2008 in San Francisco.
You can give into feelings of emptiness, question your place and identity, or you can decide that this is where everything begins and that anything is possible. It was through this personal tragedy that we both decided to return to school to finish pursuing our first bachelor’s degrees, and we never looked back.
In 2009, we enrolled together at City College of San Francisco, a community college that provides tens of thousands of students each year with fundamental classes that facilitate successful transfers to four-year colleges and universities. We began our studies in the fine arts department where we achieved honors, maintained high GPA’s, attained merit scholarships, became members of the AGS Honors Society, all while working nearly full time jobs and volunteering weekly.
In 2012, we both applied to one of the top art and design colleges in the world, the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and were both accepted and awarded large scholarships to attend. Without a doubt in our minds or hesitation in our hearts, we packed up our lives and said goodbye to our beloved San Francisco, our city and home of 11 years, and headed out east to pursue our dreams of becoming world-renowned artists and educators.
Now in 2015, we recently graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) with highest honors and were both accepted to the MFA Fine Art program at Goldsmiths, University of London for the Fall of 2015. Goldsmiths is home to one of the most influential MFA programs in the world and our top choice for graduate studies, so needless to say, we accepted their offer and are thrilled to begin our two year MFA journey in London come September. Words cannot begin to adequately express how significant this opportunity will be for us.
As a first generation student to graduate from both high school and college in her family, García has worked hard to overcome the obstacles and adversity of being raised in poverty. Her mother who died of Cancer in 2004 raised her, her brother and sister alone with only a middle school education and little comprehension of English after moving to the US. Witnessing decades of her mother’s constant struggle, García searched for empowerment through knowledge and education, establishing resourceful ways to attain them even when her own family told her it would be impossible to support her. Her perseverance and vision are what has motivated her to thrive not only in her academic pursuits, but also in her artistic practice.
Nafis was adopted as an infant and grew up in a family that valued education and pushed her to always do her best. She is the only one of four children to achieve a college education in her family and now aspires to gain her Masters and then PhD so that she may bring arts education to disadvantaged youth in the U.S. Nafis wants to use her studio art practice to create change across communities and cultivate the next generation of artists while making thought provoking, critical work that is celebrated and shown the world over.
Being that we will be attending Goldsmiths as international students, the tuition and fees are significantly higher than if we were EU or UK based applicants. We need additional financial support towards tuition, visas, plane tickets, room and board, and insurance. As both resumer students, up to this point we have been shouldering the expenses and responsibilities of our education ourselves, with some financial assistance in the form of scholarships and the remainder in loans. We are asking for your financial support so that we may continue our educational journey together. Please donate and help make our dream a reality.
Any donations beyond fulfilling our goal will definitely assist our cause further. We will continue to apply for scholarships and grants in order to make up the difference.
We are truly grateful for any and all assistance toward our educational goals. Thank you again for making the time to learn more about us and for considering investing in our futures.
With Warm Regards,
Nafis and García
If you are interested in seeing some of our work, please visit our websites below...
Nafis White - www.nafiswhite.com
García Sinclair - www.garciasinclair.com
First, we would like to say Thank You in advance for your compassion, time and consideration while reading our story. We are extremely excited and grateful for any and all gestures of support and generosity that may enable us to experience and share this amazing educational opportunity to study at Goldsmiths, University of London this Fall.
If you’ve ever lived through a catastrophe such as losing your home and all of your belongings in a fire, you know what kind of life changing event it can be. It is also through such tragedy that you realize what is really important in life. So what happens when you’ve lost everything, but still have your health and still have each other?
“I need something I can take with me no matter where I go or what challenges I may face. That’s education, that’s what I need.”
These were the resolute words García voiced to me 6 months after a fire in the restaurant below our apartment left us homeless and destroyed our belongings just after the New Year of 2008 in San Francisco.
You can give into feelings of emptiness, question your place and identity, or you can decide that this is where everything begins and that anything is possible. It was through this personal tragedy that we both decided to return to school to finish pursuing our first bachelor’s degrees, and we never looked back.
In 2009, we enrolled together at City College of San Francisco, a community college that provides tens of thousands of students each year with fundamental classes that facilitate successful transfers to four-year colleges and universities. We began our studies in the fine arts department where we achieved honors, maintained high GPA’s, attained merit scholarships, became members of the AGS Honors Society, all while working nearly full time jobs and volunteering weekly.
In 2012, we both applied to one of the top art and design colleges in the world, the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and were both accepted and awarded large scholarships to attend. Without a doubt in our minds or hesitation in our hearts, we packed up our lives and said goodbye to our beloved San Francisco, our city and home of 11 years, and headed out east to pursue our dreams of becoming world-renowned artists and educators.
Now in 2015, we recently graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) with highest honors and were both accepted to the MFA Fine Art program at Goldsmiths, University of London for the Fall of 2015. Goldsmiths is home to one of the most influential MFA programs in the world and our top choice for graduate studies, so needless to say, we accepted their offer and are thrilled to begin our two year MFA journey in London come September. Words cannot begin to adequately express how significant this opportunity will be for us.
As a first generation student to graduate from both high school and college in her family, García has worked hard to overcome the obstacles and adversity of being raised in poverty. Her mother who died of Cancer in 2004 raised her, her brother and sister alone with only a middle school education and little comprehension of English after moving to the US. Witnessing decades of her mother’s constant struggle, García searched for empowerment through knowledge and education, establishing resourceful ways to attain them even when her own family told her it would be impossible to support her. Her perseverance and vision are what has motivated her to thrive not only in her academic pursuits, but also in her artistic practice.
Nafis was adopted as an infant and grew up in a family that valued education and pushed her to always do her best. She is the only one of four children to achieve a college education in her family and now aspires to gain her Masters and then PhD so that she may bring arts education to disadvantaged youth in the U.S. Nafis wants to use her studio art practice to create change across communities and cultivate the next generation of artists while making thought provoking, critical work that is celebrated and shown the world over.
Being that we will be attending Goldsmiths as international students, the tuition and fees are significantly higher than if we were EU or UK based applicants. We need additional financial support towards tuition, visas, plane tickets, room and board, and insurance. As both resumer students, up to this point we have been shouldering the expenses and responsibilities of our education ourselves, with some financial assistance in the form of scholarships and the remainder in loans. We are asking for your financial support so that we may continue our educational journey together. Please donate and help make our dream a reality.
Any donations beyond fulfilling our goal will definitely assist our cause further. We will continue to apply for scholarships and grants in order to make up the difference.
We are truly grateful for any and all assistance toward our educational goals. Thank you again for making the time to learn more about us and for considering investing in our futures.
With Warm Regards,
Nafis and García
If you are interested in seeing some of our work, please visit our websites below...
Nafis White - www.nafiswhite.com
García Sinclair - www.garciasinclair.com
Organizer
Nafis White
Organizer
Providence, RI