Thibodaux High School student seeks to win a national scholarship competition with her art

Dan Copp, The Courier
·2 min read

Thibodaux High School senior Promise Shinall refused to let anxiety get the best of her.

Instead, the 18-year-old used anxiety as inspiration to launch her own embroidery apparel business called Promiseful Art.

“I was always self-conscious about my business but I feel I’ve become more confident opening it up to the community and showing my success,” Shinall said. “During my freshman year, I was struggling with anxiety and decided to embroider to kind of ease that. I came up with this piece that says, ‘You’ll do great things,’ and began to sell it online. People said it really helped them out a lot. So I just stuck with it.”

Her business later expanded into embroidery apparel, stickers, prints and other artistic creations.

Now Shinall’s work has landed her a chance to win a national scholarship and she needs to community’s help.

Promise Shinall's contest entry is a collage of how she envisions her future.
Promise Shinall's contest entry is a collage of how she envisions her future.

Shinall is one of 24 finalists in the Church Hills Classics Frame My Future Scholarship Contest. Church Hills Classics is a Connecticut-based company that creates college and university diploma frames.

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“I kind of entered the contest last-minute and they ended up picking me as a finalist,” she said. “It’s a collage of how I envision my future: continuing to create art that provides comfort to myself and others.”

There were over 2,000 entries in the online national scholarship contest which runs through May 20. Participants submit pieces that illustrate the theme, "This Is How I Frame My Future."

In past competitions, student submissions have included photographs, collages, poems, drawings, paintings, graphic design work, short essays or a mix of these creative expressions.

First through fourth place winners who receive the most online votes will receive a diploma frame and cash prizes.

“My small business brings me peace and a sense of purpose in the world,” Shinall said.

To vote for Shinall’s project, visit bit.ly/3vKWOOL or visit her Facebook page.

— Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 448-7639 or at dan.copp@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanVCopp.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Thibodaux student seeks to win a scholarship competition with her art