By Elaine Bonilla/se news editor
Procrastinating is something many students know about. That’s exactly what “The Flourishing Artist” did, but it paid off.
SE student Chipo Moyo entered the Achieving the Dream 2012 DREAM Big for College Scholarship contest and won third place nationally. Moyo saw an advertisement on the TCC website about the video contest and decided the day before the deadline to enter.
In the video, Moyo had to tell what her dream job is, what obstacles she might face and how TCC factors into reaching her goal.
“I saw it as an opportunity to show people who I am, where I come from,” Moyo said.
The shoot itself didn’t take that long, but Moyo spent close to eight hours editing the video and ended up going to bed about 4 a.m. By the time she went to sleep, it was only a few hours until time for her to go to school.
“The [SE] president made a joke to me saying if only I had given it more than a day, I probably could’ve won first place [$1,500],” she said.
Still, she’s proud of the message she tried to present.
“As an artist, ideas are always brewing, and you just have to experiment and play around with them. For the contest, I just want to communicate the positive and to be able to inspire someone,” she said. “Curiosity is a necessary ingredient for creativity. It’s something you can’t live without.”
Her video was creative and inspiring, SE Campus president William Coppola said.
“It is great to see someone with so much talent and determination achieve her dreams and goals and that we are playing a part in their accomplishments,” he said.
Moyo went to school and submitted her video. In the first round, the judges looked at the submissions and weeded out videos. The 131 videos left were opened up to public voting. The top 10 videos were then reviewed by a panel of Achieving the Dream judges who selected the final three winners. Moyo won third place and a $500 scholarship.
“This is a wonderful achievement,” Coppola said. “Having Ms. Moyo recognized on a national level is a testament to the outstanding dedication and commitment of our students at TCC.”
The Zimbabwe native moved to the United States in 2010 at age 28 to pursue her education. She has been in Texas for only about five months. Before attending TCC, she attended the Columbus College of Arts and Design in Ohio where she was studying graphic design and fashion. Back home in Africa, she has a degree in psychology.
“My dream is to open a school of arts in South Africa where I can take what I have learned here and share it with those at home,” she said. “I am very grateful to have this opportunity to attend school here.”
Back in Ohio, Moyo had a friend who attended TCC and kept telling her about the college. She finally decided it was time to go somewhere different.
“I am an adventurous kind of girl, and I heard a lot of positive things about Texas,” she said. “I had never been to Texas before, so I came.”
Moyo said she loves Texas because of its environment and people. Texans are very curious, she said.
“I was at a store once, and a lady from California and another from Texas just came up to me and started a conversation,” she said. “People are curious to know where you’re from.”
SE speech instructor Rebekah Pointer had Moyo as a student in the fall.
“She is an awesome student, and her speeches were great. Classmates loved her,” Pointer said. “She always contributed something amazing.”
Pointer said her speech class saw the video when Moyo submitted it so they could vote for her. Several of her classmates were blown away by the video.
“I’m really proud of her,” Pointer said. “I can’t wait to see what else she is going to do.”
To see Moyo’s winning video “The Flourishing Artist,” visit http://youtu.be/lVxYcRax-tw.
