Posted September 15, 2014
There is a lot to be said for “grit.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2013) defines it as, “firmness of mind or spirit: unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger.” No doubt, there are countless stories of grit shown throughout the lives of many Denver Online High School students. One of those stories is told beautifully through Kyra Kaviani.
Kaviani moved from California to Colorado a few years ago where she started Denver Online High School. While it was a challenge moving into a new place and jumping into a completely new learning environment, she persevered and worked through the changes. But the move to live with her dad came with an unexpected turn of events: cancer. Her dad was diagnosed with leukemia, sending Kaviani’s family in and out of the hospital. Kaviani said that while some deem their biggest accomplishment as winning a competition, her biggest accomplishment was learning how to be humbled enough to put others’ needs before her own. While caregiving started to be a daily routine, Kaviani marks her dad as her biggest inspiration. Talking about her parents she said, “They always put my brother and me first and our needs before their own.” While her family has had some setbacks, these challenges have only made her more determined. They lit a fire behind her to relentlessly pursue her career aspiration of becoming an actress.
When she first heard about the ArtLab internship from her Denver Online High School advisor, she immediately got to work. She met with her advisor multiple times to prepare her application and practice interview questions. The ArtLab internship is produced by PlatteForum which is a nonprofit that pairs underserved Denver youth with contemporary master artists. This was a perfect fit for the 16 year-old. Kaviania was drawn to the internship because it helps students to develop relationships with professionals who make a living as artists, opening the doors for students to try multiple different art forms including painting, sculpting, photography, video production, and more. She also was interested in the internship because of its College Access Mentoring Program. It is the organization’s goal for 100% of their ArtLab interns to graduate from high school and go onto post-secondary education by providing one-on-one mentoring and college readiness trainings. This mentorship program is significant to Kaviani because of the necessity for her to obtain scholarships in order to go to college, much like many students working to continue their education.
As a result of Kaviani’s determination, she was selected as one of the 15 interns chosen for the 2014 year. She will be working with other interns and professional artists to produce projects around social issues. She will also have the chance to impact younger at-risk youth through learning labs.
While she will jump into the internship in the near future, in the mean time, Kaviani has been participating on the Denver Online HS Verizon Innovative App Challenge Team. She helped lead the team in editing the video portion of the competition, giving her prior experience with video production before she begins her ArtLab internship.
This internship is twofold for Kaviani. First, this internship is one huge stepping stone on her journey to pursue acting. It will give her a foundation in art, connections to professionals, and the tools she needs to get into college. However, maybe most importantly, it will allow her to share with younger kids those special traits she’s learned from her own family in the midst of hardship: grit and selflessness. Having the opportunity to mentor children allows Kaviani to give back to kids that need that extra help and opportunity, just as she did. While the road to accomplishing your dreams is many times not easy, struggles are sometimes what makes the journey most memorable. For Kaviani, her adventure is just beginning.
