Meet the 2019 Adobe Creativity Scholars

Twenty young creative leaders who are shaping our world.

Every year, creativity rises on the list of the most important skills, as found in research by the World Economic Forum and LinkedIn. Creativity is key for businesses and for anyone looking to future-proof their careers, including students who have yet to start out.

In the face of this demand for creativity, the next generation must be equipped to imagine and create new possibilities and embrace the creative spirit that makes us uniquely human. This is the drive behind the Adobe Creativity Scholarship, a college scholarship program that provides young leaders around the world the opportunity to foster their creative skills. It’s one of the reasons we are so excited to announce the 2019 class of Adobe Creativity Scholars.

These 20 new scholars are from 10 different countries, and many are first-generation college students. Despite their differences, these students share a dedication to using their creative skills to make a positive impact on the world around them. They have developed their creativity through the study of art and design and will go on to wield these skills in a range of disciplines from game design, film, and VR/AR, to kinesiology, education, and landscape architecture.

“I want to use the skills I’ve developed through graphic design to create elegant, effective, and innovate systems that help combat climate change,” says 2019 scholar River Wittke, who will study landscape architecture in the United Kingdom. After graduating, River plans to establish an NGO to work with communities most hard-hit by climate change.

Geneva Heyward will study game design in New York with the goal of creating independent video games highlighting characters otherwise underrepresented in the industry. One of Geneva’s recent games, “Skate & Dance,” was inspired by her love of ’70s music, roller skating, and the lack of lesbian representation in games — she funded the development of this passion project with a Kickstarter campaign.

Mya Jonisha Cross, a multidisciplinary artist and dancer from Oakland, California, is dedicated to movement as a form of healing and creative expression. After a visit to a sports medicine clinic that helped her overcome an injury, she was inspired to pursue a career in physical therapy. Looking ahead, she wants to help young athletes realize their dreams while also taking care of their bodies.

A young designer from Mexico City, Mónica Acedo seeks to remind people we are all human — and we need to be kinder to one another. With her innovative project No Estás Solo — (“You are not Alone”), Monica recently won the Boards for Change design challenge hosted by Adobe Students and Tony Hawk, inspiring her peers around the world.

In their approach to everything they do, the 2019 scholars not only demonstrate their creativity, but also a host of other critical skills and capacities that research shows are developed through an education rich in the arts and design — including empathy, a strong sense of self, and skills for critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration. They are truly the kind of leaders our future demands, and we’re proud to introduce them.

Interested in applying for our 2020 Creativity Scholarships? Stay tuned here for updates on deadlines.

And with many educators heading back to school, here are a few ways you can foster creative skill-building in the classroom:

Get Started with Digital Storytelling
Learn to produce engaging digital stories with intuitive Adobe Spark, and get teaching materials and ideas to help your students create graphics, web pages, and video stories as part of their assignments.

Making STE(A)M Creative
Explore digital storytelling and how to incorporate it into your STEAM curriculum with easy-to-use Adobe Spark tools. Your students will be creating engaging graphics, web pages, and video stories in no time.

Get Started with Adobe
Explore the value of digital literacy, and learn to use Adobe Creative Cloud tools to engage your students and boost their creative-thinking skills.

For more inspiration and resources, including lesson plans, check out the Adobe Education Exchange.