Every year, the Marian Locks Senior Award is given to a graduating senior at Moore College of Art & Design, providing them with an opportunity to jumpstart their career. The Locks Family Foundation has endowed the Marian Locks Award, which is granted competitively, to help Moore graduates make the transition from undergraduate education to a creative career.
Congratulations to this year’s winner! Leah Stein is an Illustration major and Visionary Honors scholar from Fort Washington, PA. Read on for a Q&A with Stein as she shares her post-graduation plans and advice for Moore students.
Be sure to join us on Saturday, May 11 at 11 am at the Kimmel Center for Moore’s 175th Commencement to celebrate the rest of our graduating seniors!
How did it feel when you found out you won the Marian Locks Senior Award?
I wasn’t expecting it all. First I found out that Helen Vo ’24 won the Happy Fernandez Senior Award, for which I also applied. For the Marian Locks Senior Award, I knew it was anyone’s game and I didn’t think I was going to get it. When I heard my name [at Senior Awards], I was shocked, overjoyed and thankful.
What is your proudest accomplishment from your time at Moore?
I’m really proud of the booklet that I put together for Senior Show. It came together at the last minute, but I ended up writing a whole short story and putting all my illustrations into this booklet. I got a bunch of them printed and I think they turned out great, so I’m happy with it.
What was your favorite part about being a student at Moore?
I really liked my interactions with my professors. They know me very well and want to help me with my career, and they’re never stingy with their time or their resources. That’s something that meant a lot to me during my at Moore. I ended up finding my junior year internship at Night Kitchen Interactive through my professors.
How do you plan to use the monetary gift that accompanies this award? Do you have any post-graduation plans?
I plan to use the money on a computer and a Wacom tablet so that I can better complete my work. My post-graduation plans include applying for jobs and illustrating two children’s book manuscripts that I wrote in a class a year or two ago. I want to make book dummies and send them out to publishers.
What is your biggest piece of advice for future Moore students?
Time management is so important. It’s something that I struggled with, but it’s possible to get better at it. Learn to manage your time with all the work you have to do.
