“Hope Ignites Colorado has connected me with a sense of community and they truly want me to succeed. They value me as a person and not just as a scholar. They helped me through my education journey, but have also helped develop me as an all around person.”
Animating His Way Through High School
Tishawn, a junior at Charles Burrell High School, on the campus of Aurora Central High School, is a very enthusiastic scholar with Hope Ignites Colorado so it’s no surprise that he is exploring the field of animation and visual arts. “I didn’t know I wanted to go into this field. I followed my friends to this art school and was thinking graphic design, but then I took an animation class and fell in love with it,” Tishawn stated.
Not only did Tishawn follow his friends to Charles Burrell, but he also followed his friends, applied, and was accepted into Hope Ignites Colorado his freshman year of high school. “I’m so glad I found Hope Ignites Colorado. I love the community and knowing they are setting me up for success to get into college. The Program Managers keep me on track and have helped me realize that this is the path I want to take,” he replied.
Tishawn’s path includes concurrent enrollment courses through Community College of Aurora, taking classes at Pickens Technical School to receive his Multi Media Design Certificate, plus regular courses through Charles Burrell. “I’m excited for the future. I know what I want and Hope Ignites Colorado is helping me achieve it,” he exclaimed. Next year, Tishawn plans to apply to CU-Denver and CU-Boulder and two out of state schools, California Institute of the Arts and University of Southern California. “My dream is to be working for Walt Disney, Pixar or DreamWorks as a director and top notch animator,” he said without hesitation.
Currently, Tishawn is working on his Capstone Animation Project, through Charles Burrell entitled, “Why Not Me” where he is writing the script, casting voice actors, and creating visuals. His project will be wrapped up by the end of his junior year.
Current Project
Tishawn’s front cover of his most recent completed animation project, “Moth to the Flame” You can find the entire project via Instagram or click HERE.
