So last year, a friend of mine won the Miss Treasure Coast Empowerment Scholarship—the modeling portfolio one. And let me tell you, it changed her entire life. She went from posting the occasional selfie on Instagram to getting full-on professional photos that looked like they belonged in Vogue. She took those shots, popped them on a Model Mayhem account, and now she’s booking gigs left and right. Like… real ones. Not “your uncle’s friend’s cousin needs a bridesmaid to stand still while he tests his camera lighting” gigs, but actual modeling jobs. She even told me she’ll be in Playboy next year, which I think officially qualifies as a mic-drop moment. Website: https://misstreasurecoast.org/
And the crazy part is, it all started with one scholarship application. One essay, a little courage, and the nerve to put herself out there.
The Miss Treasure Coast Scholarship isn’t just some little thing where you get a $50 gift card to Target and a pat on the back. No. This is either five grand to put toward your creative degree—hello art, fashion, theater majors—or a completely free professional modeling portfolio that could set you up for an actual career. Like, the kind of portfolio that usually costs more than my monthly grocery bill (and trust me, with Nico eating like a teenager already and Anthony insisting that dinosaurs need their own “snack plates,” that’s saying something).
I love that it’s all about creative girls. I mean, if you’re already in college or about to start, and you’re the kind of person who spends hours doodling in the margins of your notebook or can dance for three hours straight in your bedroom without realizing it, that $5,000 could be the difference between “ugh, student loans forever” and “okay, maybe I can afford real groceries this month.” And if you’re leaning toward modeling? That portfolio could be your ticket.
And it’s not limited to girls who already have their lives perfectly figured out. You just need to live in the Treasure Coast area—Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, or Okeechobee counties. You don’t have to already be enrolled in college. You don’t have to have 100,000 followers on TikTok. You just have to have the guts to say: “Here’s what I want to do with my creative life. Here’s why it matters to me.”
Honestly, watching my friend transform from “girl I used to run into at Target” to “soon-to-be-in-Playboy model” has been a wild ride. And it’s not like she became someone new—she just finally had the tools to show the rest of the world who she already was. That’s the thing. These scholarships don’t change you, they just give you that push you’ve been waiting for.
I keep thinking about what it would feel like to be 18 again and get that kind of opportunity. At 18, I was mainly worried about whether my bangs looked okay and how I could avoid gym class (spoiler: I did not succeed). If someone had handed me a scholarship for creative writing or theater or literally anything where I could have leaned into the things I loved instead of trying to fit into something practical? Oh, I would’ve been running through the streets with confetti cannons.
And moms—don’t you think about this for your daughters, too? I look at Nico, who is basically part Broadway actor, part mad scientist, and I think… what if in ten years he had someone giving him money or professional help to chase those big dreams? What if Anthony decides he’s not just staging “dinosaur productions” in my living room but actually wants to do set design one day? Knowing there are programs like this makes me feel so hopeful.
The application part is straightforward: pick which scholarship you’re going for, write your essay (500–750 words about your goals and how this would help), toss in a resume or list of experiences, and if you’re applying for the college scholarship, include proof you’re going to school or planning to. That’s it. No twelve-step process, no having to know someone who knows someone. Just you, your words, and your ambition.
So if you’re sitting there, scrolling this while sipping your iced coffee, thinking, “Could I actually do this?” The answer is yes. Yes, you can. Whether you’re the girl who’s been choreographing dances since you were five or the one secretly writing poetry under your covers at night, this is your sign.
And maybe, just maybe, next year we’ll be reading about you booking gigs, building your career, and—who knows—making your own confetti cannon moments.