Leanne Saberola
Leanne is an 8th grader at Vegas Valley Adventist Academy and was awarded a Special Motiv8sian Scholarship in 2021 by the Cre8sian Project and has previously been a sponsored student of Positively Arts. She has been a consistent honor student and a member of the National Junior Honor Society. She is also a brown belter in taekwondo. She has been a member of the Mountain View Church Pathfinder Club since 5th grade, that paved the way for her to win a spot as a soprano in the International Camporee Choir in 2024. Leanne has won multiple awards in piano competitions such as the Orbiford Global Competition and Golden Swan International Music Festival Competition. She was also a harpist for the Young Artists Orchestra, and has played alongside talented musicians in the valley, with events at the Smith Center. She works as an office aide and a drummer for the praise band for her school. She has written songs in the ukelele and will be sharing them with you at the AAPI Month Celebration.
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2025 Cre8sian Project Scholarship Finalist
2022 Cre8sian Project Educ8sian Scholarship Winner
2021 Cre8sian Project Motiv8sian Scholarship Winner
Performer/Artist
Heritage: Filipino/Chinese
Age: 13
Grade: 8
School: Vegas Valley Adventist Academy
Brianna Gracia
Brianna is a passionate performer and lover of musical theatre. She is currently a freshman attending Southern Utah University. While she studies Communications, she dedicates her free time to performing onstage, writing, and bringing new stories to life. Recently, she had the honor of performing at the Monday’s Dark 11th Anniversary event. She also received the Best Actress Spotlight Award in 2024 at the Nevada High School Musical Theatre Awards. Previous notable roles of hers include Sister Mary Robert (Sister Act), Tanya (Mamma Mia), Gretchen Wieners (Mean Girls), and Beth (Little Women).
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2024 Cre8sian Project Special Senior Scholarship
2022 Cre8sian Project Concentr8sian Scholarship Winner
2020 Cre8sian Project Determin8sian Scholarship Winner
Performer
Heritage: Japanese/Filipino/Mexican/British
Age: 19
Grade: Freshman
School: Southern Utah University
Cheryl daro
Cheryl Daro is a Filipino-American, Multi-Hypenate Performer in its truest sense. Hailing out of Las Vegas, Nevada, she has not only performed on stages and screens across the US as a professional Actor & Singer, but also is deeply involved in her community, opening a venue called The Space and founding a nonprofit called Mondays Dark, which has raised over 2 million for local charities over the last 12 years. Recently, she has found a new love for classic works, with her most recent performance being Titus Andronicus, as Tamora Queen of The Goths.
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Marshun Entertainment
Ella Mariano
She is a Singer- Songwriter, Youtuber, Model, and Fashion Influencer based in Las Vegas. Ella Preslyn has been singing since she was 4 years old and captivates her audience by including them into her songs with every lyric, and melody she writes. Ella is not only a songwriter, but an artist who stays authentic to her audience, connecting to them with honesty and vulnerability. Ella is currently studying at UNLV majoring in Business Marketing with a Music Technology Minor.
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2023 Cre8sian Project Scholarship College Winner
2020 Cre8sian Project Scholarship Winner
Performer
Heritage: Filipino
Age: 21
Grade: Junior
School: University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Katrina-Ubalde
Katrina Ubalde is a self-taught artist, writer and musician attending East Career and Technical Academy. This fall, she will study at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to pursue degrees in Entertainment Engineering & Design and Mechanical Engineering. Alongside her artistic and engineering studies, she seeks to continue her entrepreneurial education and start a business in the arts.
Currently, Katrina is working on an original comic and improving her fiction writing skills. Her favorite artistic subjects are her original characters and media like Arcane, the Spider-Verse trilogy, Winx Club, and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Additionally, she is most musically inspired by Elliott Smith, Radiohead, Lana Del Rey, Toby Fox, Liana Flores, and Nobonoko.
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2025 Cre8sian Project Scholarship Winner
Stage Manager/Producer
Heritage: Filipino
Age: 18
Grade: 12
School: East Career and Technical Academy
Fall 2025 - University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Mya Cabrere
Mya is an anime and design artist! She has been studying animation at Desert Pines High School, and has been creating art, including traditional and digital graphics and paintings, for over 12 years! She hopes to become a professional animator or artist!
Hello, my name is Mya, and I'm an anime artist where I focus on cute design as well.I'm an animator, basing my illustrations on anime that I watch, and this is something that I would like to take the next step in my career. I was studying animation during my time at Desert Pines High School until the program was shut down. I've been an artist for over 12 years and can do traditional and digital graphics, and painting.
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2025 Cre8sian Project Scholarship Honorable Mention
Artist
Heritage: Mexican/Chinese
Age: 17
Grade: 12
School: Desert Pines High School
Sophia De Lima
Sophia is one of the first Cre8sian Project scholarship winners! Since then, she has become an undergraduate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the theater program within the stage and screen, acting concentration (SSA), where she has been in various Nevada Conservatory Theatre (NCT) productions, as Ellis U/S in Climate Shorts: The Wait, mr. Burns: A Post electric play as Jenny U/S and ensemble, UNLV’s Parking Lot Plays as Gwen in Cut and May in Hitch in the Giddyup. She is also minoring in film, where she has been featured on various student films. She is excited to be working with Positively Arts again and is grateful for the support that she has received from her friends, family, and Ms. Chan throughout the years.
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​2023 Cre8sian Project Educ8sian Scholarship Winner
2020 Cre8sian Project Scholarship Winner
Performer
Heritage: Filipino
Age: 20
Grade: Junior
School: University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Zian Leung
Zian Leung is a passionate singer, actor, and dancer who has performed in numerous cultural festivals throughout the city with her dance team Tevakanui. She has also appeared in many theatrical productions, most recently as part of Annie at the Las Vegas Little Theatre. With dreams of attending Juilliard and one day performing on Broadway, Zian brings heart, talent, and dedication to every stage she steps on.
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Performer
Heritage: Marshall Islands (Pacific Islander)
Age: 13
Grade: 7
School: Homeschool
Angela chan
Angela Chan is a musician, composer, lyricist, music director, and vocal coach living in Las Vegas. She has performed all over North America as the Associate Conductor & keyboard player on the national tours of “Wicked,” “Back to the Future,” “Beetlejuice,” “Six,” "The Wizard of Oz,” "CATS," "Phantom of the Opera," “Sound of Music,” & “South Pacific.” She has also performed as a local keyboard sub on the national tours of “Mean Girls,” “Anything Goes,” "Waitress," "An American in Paris," and "Addams Family." In Las Vegas she has performed in "The Producers," "Spamalot," "Mamma Mia," “Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular,” “The Lion King,” "Jersey Boys," the Las Vegas Philharmonic, Cirque du Soleil’s “KA,” Assistant Bandleader/Keyboard 1 at “Le Reve: The Dream” at the Wynn, Associate Conductor/Keyboard 2 at “Bat Out of Hell” the musical, and most recently the Assistant Conductor/Key 1 on Jersey Boys that was at the Orleans Hotel! Angela’s writing accolades include “Legacy of the Tiger Mother, ” which won a “Best of the Fringe Festival” award in the San Francisco Fringe Festival in 2012 (book, composer, lyricist) and "Sudoku" which won a "Best of the Fringe Festival" award in Las Vegas in 2013 (composer)! In addition to her music career, Angela is also a notary public, wedding officiant, graphic designer, t rex enthusiast, and the founder of the Cre8sian Project, which highlights AAPI women in the arts!
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Music Director
Founder of The Cre8sian Project
Pilita Simpson
The Founder of Positively Arts, Pilita Simpson currently holds an Education Master's Degree in Arts in Education from Harvard University. Pilita has worked for such amazing companies as Sesame Workshop and Walt Disney before founding this 501(c)(3) nonprofit. She believes that the best way to nurture young, developing minds is to use the transformative power of the arts to develop essential life skills, build resilience, and solidify a strong sense of self. Arts integration enhances cognition and provides our youth with the tools for self-expression and confidence-building. She is continuing her work to strengthen a child’s education and social-emotional development through her reinvented curriculum and design, woven into all of Positively Arts' programming. ​
Pilita worked as the Director of New Media and Learning Technology for The Public Education Foundation in Las Vegas where she developed a passion for serving children in and through the arts. She uses arts-integration models to enhance learning and raise student achievement, while using the arts to empower, inspire, educate, and heal. Beyond her arts and education background, Pilita is an active member of Actors’ Equity Association for over 25 years, having performed around the world as a vocalist, actress, and emcee for Disney and other professional companies. Pilita is passionate about giving young people the tools and skillsets necessary to become confident and resilient adults who go on to be leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs. She is confident that youth raised in an arts-enriched environment are best set up to succeed in this ever-changing world.
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