During the summer of 2016, senior Luke Ebora attended the California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA), where he was awarded the Herb Alpert Scholarship for Emerging Young Artists.
As a film and video student, Ebora developed and showcased his works over a course of four weeks in July and August. He was deemed the top student of the film/video department, earning him the Herb Alpert Scholarship of $40,000. The CSSSA program, which features multiple disciplines ranging from Visual Arts to Dance, asks each department to choose one student showing potential collegiate success to award the scholarship, which grants the recipient $10,000 each year for four years of his or her college career.
When asked about the presentation of the award, Ebora said he was surprised to receive the scholarship.
“Honestly, I didn’t imagine winning the award my whole time at CSSSA. I was solely focused on developing as a filmmaker and collaborating with my peers. All winners were notified the morning of the last day of school and were presented the scholarship beside our instructors. The award was something I wasn’t expecting.”
Ebora further discussed the emotional impact the Herb Alpert Scholarship had on him and his family.
“When I received the award, I broke down in tears and broke down again when I called my parents to tell them about it.”
Because of the scholarship’s monetary assistance, Ebora said that the Herbert Alpert award is an honor that will enable to him more freely pursue his prospective film career and passion.
“Money has always been tight for our family, so we thought that being able to afford college without debt would be extremely difficult. Having this scholarship now, I have a little more freedom in selecting a potential university. It’s taken a lot of weight off my family’s shoulders.”
The Herb Alpert Scholarship has been making significant contributions to the lives of many artists since the 1980s, and Ebora feels great pleasure and gratitude in being offered the opportunity and possibility to shape his interests and college dreams.
“Next year I hope to major in Film Production at one of the numerous universities I am currently applying to.”
Ebora plans to take full advantage of this scholarship, which, he said, gave him “not only the financial means to pursue a higher education but also the confidence to continue working in the field of cinematic arts.”
