Alumna Maya Scriven is Making Her Mark

As a freshman at Ithaca College, Maya Scriven ’16 is determined to use her creativity to amplify people’s voices – including her own. “I have always been an advocate for social justice, and I want to share the untold stories,” she says. Maya plans to major in film and television so she can give those narratives a platform. “I love telling stories through dialogue, camera angles, and editing techniques. Whether on my phone or a Canon Rebel T3i camera, I always have the record button on standby.”

Her passion for storytelling began long before college. While a high school student at United Nations International School, Maya was a member of the literary magazine and yearbook. She honed leadership skills as a member of the senior class committee and by joining with other students to raise funds for a clean water system in Nepal.

Maya also served as a teen curator of the digital exhibition "Nonlinear Pendulums: Voyage Through Infinite Blackness" at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. “I fell in love with what the Teen Curators Program stands for: enriching Black youth in their culture,” says Maya. “Over the course of one year, we researched and created art that is now showcased at the Schomburg. I didn’t know how much this program would change me as a person.”

A line from Harlem Academy’s School Creed continues to resonate with Maya to this day: I choose to do what is right, even when it is hard or no one is watching. “I still stand by that. An act of good can create a domino effect around the world.”