On Nov. 2016, we spoke with Kacie Martinez, a Year 2 Fellow in Chicago and Prosser Career Academy senior, about getting accepted to college and planning for the road ahead. Since recording these thoughts, Kacie has been accepted to Bradley University and University of Illinois at Chicago.
Condensed Transcript:
I’m Kacie Martinez, I’m a senior at Prosser Career Academy, and I am also part of the OneGoal family. This year I’m really excited about receiving my first acceptance letter, considering the fact that I’ve applied to several schools. I’m really excited [because] this Friday … I will be going to the School of the Art Institute [of Chicago] to review my portfolio and discuss [it] with people from there. I’m really stoked to visit the campus and get a feel for what it’s like.
I think that’s what I’m most excited about: the idea that college is getting closer and closer, … being able to talk about college, to visit these colleges and hopefully start receiving my acceptance letters.
What I’m finding challenging, especially for me, is building that confidence … to show the people from the School of the Art Institute [of Chicago] what I have to offer. Considering the fact that there are so many talented artists out there, I’m really nervous, I’m not 100 percent confident, but I’m trying to build that and I’m trying to make myself believe that I have what it takes to get into that school.
Before doing OneGoal my thoughts for college were all over the place. It seemed terrifying, because I felt like I didn’t have that direction … and it just seemed like a whole big mess.
[Applying to college] is a very complex process: you have to file FAFSA, you have to get in your recommendation letters, your applications [and] it’s very time-consuming. … I did not know where to start. I felt really scared because I had this worry that I wouldn’t have the motivation to pursue a college career. Being able to go to school and get my degree seemed very terrifying.
I hope, with my future, what stays true is the fact that I do become a curator or exhibition designer because I love designing, I love coming up with ways to improve things. It’s such a fun concept for me. I really hope that I do pull this through, that I do have what it takes, and that I do become and exhibition designer because honestly, it’s the career I aspire for. But even if in 10 years or 15 years I decide that it’s not what I want to do, I think my second option would be to become an art teacher because I do want to work in the art field. … It’d be really fun to work with kids and show them how great art is, how you can express yourself within the arts.