WKU News

One of the many underappreciated opportunities the Potter College of Arts & Letters provides is the Creative Arts Scholarship. The CAS is designed to assist those pursuing a career in creative and artistic fields, such as Art, Creative Writing, Film, Music, and Theatre & Dance. Not only is this scholarship worth between $1,000-$9,000, but it’s also renewable for 4 years. A total of six present students receive the CAS in the English Department.

Bowling Green senior Alicyn Newman (pictured left) is a senior Creative Writing major and is one of the recipients of the Creative Arts Scholarship.  Newman applied as a senior in high school and therefore has been able to use the scholarship throughout her entire college career. Newman said the scholarship application is less focused on general information or academic achievements and instead focuses on personal creative work, allowing her creative merit to be the main deciding factor. Regarding the impact of this scholarship on her academic and creative endeavors, Newman said, “Becoming a recipient of this scholarship put me – in a positive way – on faculty members’ radars before I even started classes in the English Department. It also gave me more confidence in my creative abilities as a writer, going into my freshman year.”

Adrianna Waters (pictured right), a junior from Florence, KY, is another recipient of the Creative Arts Scholarship. She discovered the scholarship opportunity through the Governor’s School for the Arts, and like Newman, applied as an incoming freshmen. While financial assistance is an obvious advantage with this scholarship, Waters said the application process had a large impact on her as well. “When applying for the scholarship, I asked for feedback from my fellow GSA creative writing alumni, and the workshopping process mirrored what I would later experience in my college creative writing classes.” According to Waters, being awarded the scholarship gave her confidence and a sense of security and acceptance within the English major.

Abbie Booty (not pictured),  a freshmen from Cloverport, is one of the newest recipients of the Creative Arts Scholarship. Booty was originally hesitant to attend a public university due to high financial cost, but was able to make ends meet after being rewarded this scholarship. “With this financial assistance, a huge load was taken off and…I was able to continue my creative endeavors,” said Booty.

The English Department and the students who currently receive this scholarship encourage incoming freshmen interested in creative arts to apply for this award. For more information about the CAS and the application process, check out the Potter College of Arts & Letters website.