2021 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

Jocelyn Williams is the 2021 recipient of the $5,000 Adrienne L. Green Scholarship. She is 20 years old and has a unilateral cleft lip and palate. Her father was in the military, stationed in Germany where she was born moving to the United States when she was 12. While living in Chicago, she discovered Shriners Hospital for Children. Jocelyn has been with the Shriners team for some time, and getting close to the end of her cleft repair journey. She recounts, “It is exciting and also strange, knowing that the countless surgeries I’ve had since childhood are coming to an end next year! With all of the knowledge I’ve attained over the years about what it’s like to be different, I will continue making art, expressing it long after I am done with surgeries.”

Jocelyn has a great support system within her family. This has enabled her to be strong and proud in all that she does and pursues in life, never letting her differences stop her. She has been an artist all her life and very proud to be able to pursue it as an adult. Jocelyn is now pursuing a BFA in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and has managed to get one of her pieces of art showcased in the Chicago Parent Magazine! She is working on creating a book, teaching children about kindness, and have many more projects planned. Thanks to this scholarship, she is able to confidently navigate her path through school knowing that her work is appreciated and recognized. She is confident that what she creates will make a difference to someone, somewhere, someday. With this in mind, Jocelyn will continue to strive to reach her goals and show her work to anyone that cares to see it.