Hello friends! 

For those of you who don’t know me yet, my name is Gianna Tippett. In the end of winter, I auditioned for The Young Americans (YA) College of Performing Arts, and in April I was accepted. A dream come true! Knowing I had to pay my own way, I got right to work applying for scholarships and working as a barista. When I broke my foot in May, I didn’t let it slow me down! Unable to take on the second job I had lined up as a lifeguard, I worked more barista hours, babysat, and applied for MORE scholarships. I have a motorcycle and a piano for sale, and I have qualified for some small loans, but with 4 weeks until school begins, I realize I do not have enough to get started. Also, the rigorous program at YA makes it impossible to work during the school year, and since they are a newly accredited school, they do not yet qualify for the any student loan programs.  Can you please help me get in the door? 

Let me explain more.

Young Americans (YA)  is a performing arts company that teaches elementary and high school students during International Music Outreach Tours. Over the past few years, I participated in a few of these camps with the Young Americans. While working with these talented performers, I was so energized and inspired that I dreamed of becoming a Young American. 

Last March, I sat in an auditorium prior to a YA performance in which my three younger siblings were singing and dancing. During the opening, the emcee announced that an audition for the company’s Performing Arts College would take place after the show. Suddenly everyone I was sitting with starting prodding me. 

“Do it, Gianna,” said my mother. 

“You’d make a fabulous Young American,” said my grandma.

Then my friends and other siblings chimed in, “Yes, do it Gianna.”

As I sat watching the performance, their encouragement blossomed into a pathway to pursue my love of performing arts. I’ve been dancing since 8th grade, including two years on a dance competition team. My skills in dance transferred to being a member of the varsity cheer squad in high school. When I was a sophomore, I joined show choir at Summerville High School. This lead to auditioning for the elite Jazz @ 8, which I was a part of for the next two years, performing all over the state of California. When I enrolled in Columbia College last year, I was invited to be a part of their jazz choir. After watching my siblings cameo moments in the spectacular Young American performance, I headed for the audition space full of hope and possibility.

A month later, when I woke to the email message saying I was accepted to the college, I knew my dream was coming true, and I could hardly wait to start the adventure of moving to Southern California. After I was accepted, my mother and I took a trip to the campus, and my excitement grew. 

However, that’s also when reality set in. The total cost of the college program, including books, housing, and costumes is about $25,000. Up until I was accepted to YA, I had planned to do a second year at Columbia College near home under the Promise Grant, which offered free tuition. But now I had to get to work. As described above, I’ve been hard at it ever since getting accepted.

I am making some headway raising money, and I have yet to hear about many scholarship applications. However, with only 4 weeks to go and so much money left to raise, my dream began to dissolve. That’s when I decided to humbly ask others for donations.

Thank you for your consideration and much gratitude for any and all donations.