This student’s creative approach to the representation of disabled populations was sparked during a battle with bone cancer that cost him his leg. We’re thrilled to award Bryce Williams the 2020 Flora Marie Jenkins Memorial Disability Scholarship, which he will use to inject new perspectives into the world of film.
Bryce Williams
Just two days before Christmas 2008, Bryce Williams was diagnosed with osteosarcoma bone cancer in his left leg. After a year of 99 chemotherapy appointments and a leg amputation, Bryce’s cancer went into remission, where it continues to be to this day. Bryce doesn’t remember much about this time other than the games his parents created to try to make his treatment fun and the countless movies he watched to distract himself.
Today, Bryce’s reliance on movies has transcended into
a passion and his studies.
Bryce is earning a bachelor’s degree in global film art from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. Bryce studies at Emerson in the summer and studies in Paris during the school year. As he transitions from his sophomore year to junior year, Bryce is motivated by a desire to make movies that obscure traditional points of view.
“I’m interested in fringe societies … I really like pushing the normal away from western-centric perspectives of what the body is supposed to look like,” Bryce says. “It’s a time to oversaturate the world with as many perspectives as possible.”
As an amputee, Bryce explains that this scholarship will help him continue to develop his craft while studying in an old city that wasn’t built for people with disabilities.
“I know it’s a small population, but the point is that the population still matters,” Bryce explains. “This helps me do it, so I can exist there, and I can show people in Paris that there is a way to thrive while being disabled.”
You can learn more about our scholarships and other resources online at College Scholarship.
Terms and Conditions:
Entry materials will not be returned to you. By submitting an entry for the Flora Marie Jenkins Memorial Disability Scholarship, you acknowledge that if you become a scholarship recipient, Marc Whitehead & Associates will own all rights to publish and promote the submission.
Publicity:
All applicants agree that they consent to the use of their name and city/state of residence, as well to the use of their likeness (as in a photograph) and award information.
Marc Whitehead & Associates’ RIGHT TO MODIFY, SUSPEND OR TERMINATE. In the event Marc Whitehead & Associates is prevented from continuing with the Scholarship Program by any event beyond its reasonable control, then Marc Whitehead & Associates shall have the right in its sole discretion to modify or terminate the Scholarship Program.