2022 Recipients of Alexandra Skiba Memorial Scholarship in Association with 10 ARTS Foundation and New York Film Academy

In cooperation with 10 ARTS Foundation, we are proud to announce the inaugural four awardees of the Alexandra Skiba Memorial Scholarship: Lianne Chang-Leon, Mayté Losada, Sofiia Stasevska & Mitez Vick. The 2022 financial awards support next-generation storytellers who are currently enrolled at the New York Film Academy (NYFA) in pursuing their passion for the crafts of filmmaking and acting. Alexandra Skiba was a star student who attended NYFA’s 1-Year Acting for Film program in Los Angeles, California.

Lianne Chang-Leon

Lianne is in her 3rd Semester of her BFA program in Acting for Film at NYFA/South Beach. Lianne is from Austin, Texas.

Lianne notes “To get to convey a feeling to someone, and being in constant search of the human essence is something so precious to me that, over the years, I have focused my activities to help me be more present and aware of what happens in my surroundings. As an artist, I think this is fundamental. My goal is to become an excellent performer, meet the requirements of most of the leading roles, and in the future be able to have my own projects as a director. I would love to direct, build, and transmit good stories in my own unique way, to an audience, that nowadays is more demanding.“

Mayté Losada

Mayté is in her 6th Semester of her BFA program in Acting for Film at NYFA/NYC. Mayté was born in Switzerland and is now from Pennsylvania.

“Throughout the years where I let my creativity flow in different directions, there was always that pull towards the movies, the tv shows. For so long, even despite having done the acting program I was scared of pursuing it. And then one day I saw a video on YouTube of a man who spoke of how long ago there was the belief that man could not break the four-minute running barrier. Until one man called Roger Bannister broke it, and since then more than 20,000 people as well. And the man in the video said that those 20,000 plus people had done it because they knew it had been done before. And they had known that because it had done before, that there was a possibly they could to it too. It was then that I really began to think. I thought of my favorite actors like Lena Heady, Emilia Clarke, Denzel Washington and all the actors in general. They were once people with a fear inside them like I had. But despite that fear, like me, they had a dream, an idea and they had perseverance and determination. They worked and they pushed through, and they turned their dreams into their own empires. And I thought, if they had done it, if they could do it, so could I.” said Mayté.

Mitez Vick

Mitez is in his 6th Semester towards his BFA in Acting for Film at NYFA/South Beach. He comes from Virginia.

“Mitez is a wonderfully talented, thoughtful actor. He is a diligent and hardworking student who is quite simply a joy to be around. Mitez elevates those around him and cares deeply about his growth and training. As an actor he brings a nuanced honesty to his characters that is believable, engaging, and powerful. He has a bright, bright future ahead of him, and exemplifies the qualities NYFA wants from our student body“

….. Mark Mocahbee, Faculty Member, New York Film Academy

Sofiia Stasevska

Sofiia is in her 4th Semester towards her MFA in Filmmaking in Los Angeles. She is from the Ukraine and attended the Ukrainian Film School in Kyiv prior to attending the New York Film Academy.

“Filmmaking has been my life dream since I could remember myself. Apart from vocation training at Ukrainian Film School in Kyiv, I have tried my hand in commercials, short documentaries and music clip-making. However, I have come to realize that my professional growth is impossible without a substantial education at a leading international institution in the field. Ever since I learned about the NYFA it has become my ambition to study where they know the chemistry of filmmaking best of all.” notes Sofiia.