The Patrick Chittenden '14 Memorial Endowed Scholarship and the Hartt School Endowed Scholarship Recipient
I have been acting and dancing for most of my life since I was very young. Around the 6th grade, I started dancing and it became a passion of mine. In high school, I became a theater major and took singing lessons. My voice teacher asked if I considered musical theater for studies, so I went to a musical community theater and learned that there is a career that combines the three things I love: dance, singing, and acting. In Israel after high school, you are required to serve in national civil services—I worked with special needs children and was thinking about what I want to do afterwards. I just knew that I had to be in the arts. I applied to 18 schools and I chose UHart—really because of how they made me feel when I visited for my audition at The Hartt School.
To the donors of this scholarship, I would like you to know the effect it has had on my life...You gave me a push and helped me pursue my art, and you are helping me achieve my dreams to one day get to Broadway—thank you so much.
Going through the process of auditioning for the schools and colleges was challenging. I had to visit them by myself, see them, and make the decisions on my own. When I came into the room for the UHart audition, I felt a good connection. They looked at each person as an individual and made me feel that they really wanted me to come to the school. The audition team came up afterwards and privately talked to me, and on Accepted Student Day, Allan Rust waited outside to see me—it made me feel special and really helped me decide on UHart. The scholarships I received were very generous which also helped me in my decision and makes me, as a student, want to succeed more because I want to show them I am worth their investment.
In my first semester, I was chosen to be assistant director for Brigadoon. I was an assistant to Alan Rust—going through rehearsals every night, sharing his notes, watching him work so hard, learning choreography, working on scenes, and watching students pouring their hearts into their performances. Eventually seeing the whole process and putting it together from beginning to end and on to opening night was an experience I will cherish and never forget.
To the donors of this scholarship, I would like you to know the effect it has had on my life. Thank you for being a person who wants to contribute, who cares for other people and gives to others because they want to. It is a choice, and it takes a big personality to give to others. This scholarship means so much, as I could not afford to move to America and just settle for an average school. I was moving and changing my life, leaving my family, and I wanted to go to the best school. I want it to be worth it and this allowed me to go to The Hartt School, one of the best in the country. You gave me a push and helped me pursue my art, and you are helping me achieve my dreams to one day get to Broadway—thank you so much.