This scholarship is awarded by Counseling & Art Therapy to one rising second-year student who demonstrates financial need and excellence academically and in the self-expression of his/her artist-therapist identity in artwork and written commentary. The monetary value of the scholarship varies yearly and is dependent upon the growth of the funding source. The scholarship is awarded as tuition remission.
History and biography
This scholarship was created in 1997 in memory of art therapist James J. Consoli, ATR-BC, LPC (1956-1997), and additional funds were given in 2014 in memory of Meghan Kirkpatrick (1987-2014).
Jim Consoli earned a Master of Arts in Art Therapy from George Washington University. He was a registered and Board-certified art therapist, a National Certified Counselor, a Licensed Professional Counselor in Tennessee and Virginia, and an AAMFT-approved supervisor. He held a faculty position from 1990-1997. At the time of his early passing, Jim was the Assistant Director of the Art Therapy & Counseling program (now Counseling & Art Therapy) and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He served a term as president of the Virginia Art Therapy Association. He presented locally, nationally, and internationally and was an instructor on the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) Family Art Therapy Regional Symposium team. James Consoli is best remembered for his strong artist-therapist identity, playful sense of humor, and interests in family therapy, hypnosis and visualization, and the creation of educational videos. He was instrumental in his contributions to a major curriculum revision of the Art Therapy & Counseling program in 1990, which included a new studio course in Processes and Materials of Art Psychotherapy, the development of the family therapy specialization track, and the alignment of coursework with the potential for licensure of graduates as professional counselors. In his 1991 film, Psychimagery, he used a technique he called "ushered imagery" to allow patients to serve as their own guide in order to create personal solutions through their own empowerment. Jim served as the first video reviewer for Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association. He is now remembered through the Jim Consoli Video/Film Award, given by the AATA in recognition of a video or film of high quality that adds to the existing fund of knowledge about the field of art therapy.
From a very early age, Meghan Kirkpatrick discovered her joy and talent were connected to art. That led her to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree at a small liberal arts college. Upon graduation, unsure of how to best utilize her education, she worked for almost 2 years at a graphic design company. During her time there, she came to realize that this was not going to be her career. In the fall of 2011, after plenty of soul-searching and an equal amount of trepidation, she entered the Art Therapy & Counseling program. The classes, fellow students, and faculty all led her to understand that becoming an art therapist was exactly what she wanted to be doing with her life. Always a compassionate person, she looked forward to the opportunity to affect others' lives through art therapy. Unfortunately, the cancer that Meghan was initially diagnosed with at age 12 returned after the completion of her first year and ended her hopes of returning to complete her degree and sadly, her life. It is hoped this award will help other students with the same aspirations as Meghan to complete their studies and allow them to pursue this worthy career.
Criteria and application
This scholarship is awarded to a student progressing into the second year of Counseling & Art Therapy.
The scholarship will be awarded based on the following:
- The student must have a GPA of at least 3.5
- Student needs to demonstrate financial need, as determined by Financial Aid, based on the evaluation of submission of the following:
- Online Financial Aid Application
- FASFA Application
- All applicable forms are available on the student portal or the Financial Aid website. Please note deadlines posted on the Financial Aid website.
- Submission of the completed James Consoli Scholarship application.
- Submission of a qualifying art piece and accompanying written statement.
- The artwork (in any media/style) should conceptualize the development of your artist-therapist identity. The accompanying written statement (i.e. prose, poetry, dialogue) should describe what you sense, feel, think, and know from the artwork.
The artwork, application form, and commentary must be delivered to the program by the last day of the spring semester of the first year of the program.
Evaluation and award process
The James J. Consoli Scholarship Committee, comprised of the Counseling & Art Therapy Program Director and core faculty, will select the winner based on the completeness of the application and the evaluation of the following:
- The artwork’s ability to stand on its own merit as a work of art.
- The congruency between the written statement and the artwork.
- Conceptualization of the theme: Development of your artist/therapist identity.
Faculty will determine the winner and Financial Aid will notify the award winner during the summer. The winner of the scholarship will receive a certificate, and a financial tuition remission and will have their artwork and written statement prominently displayed on campus for one year.