We received a letter of thanks from fellow Concordia University scholarship recipient – Carolyn Neapole this year.
To the donors of the Art Saving Life Foundation Graduate Scholarship in Creative Arts Therapy,
I am honoured to have been chosen to receive this award as I get ready to begin the pursuit of a master’s degree in music therapy at Concordia University. As I have learned about the mission of the Art Saving Life Foundation, I can’t help but feel especially touched to have received this award because I also work in cancer care. I have been the music therapist at the BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver Centre since July 2018 and the idea that art is essential to quality of life resonates deeply with me.
I have been a certified music therapist for 14 years, but it has been over the last three years that I have found the right combination of skills, clients, and curiosity to propel me into graduate studies. I’m excited to begin the program in September and to focus my research on the exploration of music therapy and nervous system regulation.
Every week at BC Cancer I run a Relaxation & Music Therapy group that includes a combination of live instrumental music, singing, guided imagery, and trained volunteers providing therapeutic touch. The group is a highlight of my week because it is incredibly rewarding to work with people as they navigate their personal journey with cancer. People who chose my group do so as an act of self-care, and I am grateful for the chance to learn from them as they share how the different elements of the group affect them. These days the COVID-19 pandemic has stopped the in-person version of my group, but I am busily designing an online version which will start very soon and has the potential to continue even after the pandemic restrictions ease.
Music therapy in cancer care will play a primary role in my graduate studies – I am hoping to complete my practicum at BC Cancer and to grow the music therapy program there which will no doubt benefit from the learning opportunity of my graduate studies.
Thank you so much for the generous act of giving out this scholarship. I am deeply invested in using this scholastic opportunity to benefit the clients I see and ongoingly improve the therapeutic quality of the programs I offer.
With my sincere thanks,
Carolyn Neapole
Each spring is the time for the annual scholarship awards ceremony at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. In the past, we would meet the award winners at the ceremony and communicate with them face to face. This year, due to the pandemic, the ceremony is no longer held, so it’s a warm way to communicate with them through letters instead!
It’s been nearly a decade since the Art Saving Life Foundation began providing scholarships to Concordia University graduate students in creative arts therapy in 2011. The purpose of the scholarship is to encourage and support students of art therapy majors who have both academic and moral qualities to explore and conduct research in the field of art therapy, so as to help them complete their studies better and give back to society, thereby forming a virtuous circle.