Julian Wakefield began in DAVA’s Computer Art Lab at age 12. He was then selected to be Junior Staff, working as a special assistant in our programs through high school. Julian will quickly testify that after-school programs kept him off the streets and out of trouble during peak youth crime hours. What began as a choice to do something fun after school led to a 10 year relationship with DAVA and staff mentors that literally changed the trajectory of Julian’s life. A graduate of Aurora’s Central High and recipient of the 2007 DAVA Scholarship for Excellence, he is currently a junior in graphic design at the University of Colorado Denver. In his award acceptance speech, he spoke of the importance of having access to a place like DAVA, “this involves me, and you, and everyone…I had a choice to wander or a choice to expand and create personally and for others.” Julian continues to volunteer helping kids in DAVA’s OASIS Open Studio. Most recently, he represented DAVA at a fundraiser attended by 800 people, speaking about how the arts changed his life, “You just don’t forget your roots, you don’t forget where you came from.”