Artist Biography In my youth I was tortured by way of starvation, neglect, and an abusive parent. No one seemed to notice what was really going on. I dreamed of owning a camera one day and even teaching art. I was diagnosed with scoliosis at age eight by the school. I took the letter home, and my mom took one look at it and threw it in away. With the help of some people from a church I got into college but came back home after the first year. I had gotten into drugs and alcohol and prayed that I could stay away from it. I took various jobs, depending on where I was living, sometimes with family, sometimes with friends. I went to school when I had a job, which was off and on. I did my best to make my life seem professional and act accordingly. I was terrified on the inside confused on how to make it. Unfortunately, I was a very quiet person, which made things harder as I look back. I am currently a student at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. I will be finishing my MA in Photography in May 2023. I have loved the art of photography since I was very young. I appreciate it for its technical nature and ability to capture the lighted world around us almost as we perceive it. Photography has been through many stages. Digital and photo editing capabilities, the availability of the digital camera to most of us is alien compared to when I studied photography for the first time in 2003. I was 23 when I received my first camera from my father, whom I had just started to get to know. He told me stories of when he was a photographer. Even though I knew I had had a tough road already and a tough one ahead, I became even more determined to follow a dream of one day being a photographer. I apprenticed for a well-known photographer that year and took my first photography course at a local community college. I still look back on these experiences today and remember what an influence this time in my life was. I went through my first complete recovery program at age 27, after being homeless for 3 years. I found many things in recovery, but the most important thing was the will to continue. I worked hard on myself, for me and for my newborn daughter, Ena. I became stronger and continued my associate degree in Studio Art. When I returned to school in 2009-2016 for my AAT in Studio Art. I began studying digital photography in 2015 and found what I didn’t know about Photoshop self-taught to be amazing. I applied at The Academy of Art University, feeling ready to go back to a university. I finished my BFA in Art Education, being a first-generation college graduate. I decided to keep going for my masters and had made up my mind that I wanted to continue to study photography. I have been through many things in my life and find it amazing that it is hard to look back and remember any of them when you are blessed with a loving daughter and husband, stepchildren, and the dreams of the future ahead.