Help Marie Study Game Design in Japan

UPDATE:

It's July 5th and I leave for Japan in just FOUR days! Thank you all for your amazing support! With your help, I have reached a third of my overall goal! That means I have raised enough money to cover my round trip airfare.

Last month, I spent the weekend in NYC with my Godparents. They know I'm interested in video game design so they took me to Immersive GameBox, a place that allows you to experience what it's like to be inside a game as a player. I am so grateful for this experience! We played Squid Games -- one of my favorites shows ever. Here I am in the game room, surrounded by the sounds and graphics that bring the game to life.

Even though I'm leaving soon, I plan to leave my campaign open until the end of the summer. Thanks again for supporting me. I can't wait to tell you all about Japan when I return!

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Hi, my name is Marie, and I’m a high school junior in the Visual Arts Department at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC. I’m earning and raising money to go to a CIEE Video Game Design program in Japan this summer, an incredible opportunity to study art, gaming, and design in Kyoto! CIEE is a nonprofit international exchange organization that has been helping students study abroad since 1947.

Since I was little, I have loved sketching. I got better by teaching myself using free lessons I found on the internet. I got good enough to make it through Duke Ellington’s rigorous and competitive application process to attend their dual curriculum Academic and Visual Arts program. For the first time, I have been receiving formal, structured instruction and training. In my free time, I enjoy playing Persona 5, Super Mario Bros, and Danganronpa Series -- and I find myself admiring and analyzing the art.

In addition to Drawing, some of my favorite classes this year are AP Psychology and Advertising Design. In Psychology, we are learning how the physical and mental influence our mind and behavior. In Advertising Design, we students get to work directly with a world class global digital design and communications agency. We are creating original key art for video cames. We have to follow the specifications the staff gives us, present our ideas, then incorporate feedback into developing and presenting our final pitch. I am really energized by what I am learning! That's why I decided I had to try to get into the Video Game Design program in Kyoto.

Japan is considered the gaming capital of the world and Kyoto is "Mecca for video gamers". The CIEE program offers a chance to help shape my future in the $500 million and growing gaming industry. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to receive instruction in game design and digital art, and gain firsthand insight into Japan’s gaming industry while also expanding my art portfolio.

The good news is I’ve been accepted into the program! Now I need to cover the program fee AND roundtrip airfare -- $8,856. That's where you can help!

Cost Breakdown:

Program Fee $6,450

Roundtrip Airfare 2,906

9,356

CIEE scholarship -500

TOTAL NEEDED $8,856