MFAA was the best three weeks of my life. It’s so hard to explain to people who haven’t been there just how amazing the whole experience really is. I believe it made a huge impact on my life because it encouraged and inspired me to follow my dreams. Being surrounded by other artists of all sorts of disciplines is a unique and wonderful experience in itself, but the guest artists, resident assistants, and teachers at MFAA were an even bigger source of inspiration and education. The three weeks were filled with fun, new experiences, and gaining knowledge in my discipline (dance). I still keep in touch with friends I made at MFAA, and I know they will go far in life and in the arts. After MFAA and graduating high school, I made the big decision to move to Philadelphia and attend college to study dance further. I have to be honest — one of the reasons I picked my art school/college was because it reminded me of a bigger, longer MFAA! And I know that one of the reasons I even felt I had the confidence and knowledge to move on to becoming a dancer/dance teacher roots back to my great experience at MFAA. —Emily Ackin, MFAA 2006