Art reflects our life, our celebration, deepest fears, and greatest hopes. As someone who has followed the arts throughout my life, I especially enjoy helping applicants who go on to fill leadership positions in the arts and arts education, enhancing the quality of and access to arts education for our nation’s young people. Arts education, in particular, plays a pivotal role in helping youth to develop skills necessary for the 21st century workforce--creativity, collaboration and communication, as well as helping the nation improve high school graduation rates, counter the achievement gap in urban and rural communities, and respond to innovations in technology that may transform how and what young people learn. I have helped to support projects that provide opportunities for youth, educators, and community leaders to gain in-depth arts education knowledge and skills in the arts.  I am particularly interested in projects that have significant potential to be shared and/or replicated, or are likely to lead to innovation in arts learning, instruction, and assessment.

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First Paragraph Sample Personal Statement for Art Therapy Program

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I earned my undergraduate degree in Studio Art and Art History because Art has always been at the center of my world. It has long been my foremost form of personal expression. By earning my PHD in Art Therapy at XXXX University, I will be inspired and empowered to help others to not only express themselves through art but to heal their wounds and surmount their challenges through artistic creation and sharing. I hope to put to beneficial use many of the valuable things that I have learned as an artist, applying them to the cause of healing and recovery for those who have been touched by tragedy and loss. My own art was mostly unfettered joy and celebration until my first year of college, when my best friend died in a car crash. I also lost a close family member to cancer in that same period as well as two other close friends who suffered freak accidents during my undergraduate years, helping me to better appreciate the beauty and especially the fragility of life. This opened new doors for me for artistic expression as an exercise in overcoming grief. Now, I want to learn how to harness the full power of art as healing by earning my doctoral degree in Art Therapy at XXXX University.