Snap Finance “Funding the Future” Scholarship

My name is Raheema Morris. I am an international student in my senior year currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Business Management and Administration at St. Francis College. to gain a better understanding of who I am, I usually use 3 words to describe myself. Resourceful, Open-minded, and Adaptive. Earlier this year, I began working as a Student Social Media Assistant on campus. I knew I knew I had a lot to learn since I had little experience but I can now say that I have learned so much from my colleagues and supervisors through keeping an open mind. My experience working as Student Social Media Assistant this past Spring semester allowed me to interact with athletes, coaches, the crowd at live games, and followers on social media. While working as a Student Social Media Assistant my focus along with my other colleague on the Social Media Team was to increase social media engagement for the student-athlete pages and to increase student turnout, especially at home games. This experience was like no other and I am looking forward to next semester and what it holds for me. From a young age I have always known that there are many ways to get something, but that does not mean that I have to do something out of my character or something morally wrong or illegal. we are all bound to meet up on roadblocks and we can all admit that it makes us feel hopeless at times and it makes up want to give up on our goals and dreams. It is good to accept how we feel about any situation and how it may affect us, especially if it is affecting us negatively. After accepting the fact that I have faced a roadblock, I try my very best not to stay in that state of mind for too long. I try to brainstorm another way to get whatever it is I had set my mind to while still maintaining my integrity and self-respect. I try to be as resourceful as possible to keep my mind going and it helps to maintain a certain level of creativity. A good example of this was earlier this year when I was a part of a Finance Program back in January, we were placed in groups and we had the task of selling financial products to large companies. My Team decided to implement ESG in our financial products and it was a challenge to combine it with the financial product because there was limited information on ESG as it pertains to Financial products. Eventually, I found a solution to the technical problems that we were having. After running it through with my mentor he said that it was a great idea and then I further explained it to my team members so they can better understand how we would sell this product to the buyer. the presentation was a success and it was one of my most recent proudest moments. Coming to the United States from a small island was definitely one of the most crucial decisions I have ever made especially for my career development. there was a lot for me to get adapt to and I can say so far I have met many great people and have made some lifelong memories here. Over the past 3 and a half years I have learned so much about the American culture and how far the country (the people) has come and where it is going. As we all know the global pandemic that started 2 years ago left everyone no choice but to go completely online for everyone's safety. It was my first time doing online courses and it was definitely a new experience for me. I had to make a lot of adjustments and adapt to my new classroom which was my home, which had so many distractions but with a lot of determination and perseverance, I am glad to say I came out victorious that semester even though I had my doubts. I still maintained high grades and I was still on The Dean's List for Academic Excellence even though I had to make such an adjustment in the middle of a college semester. I have always been passionate about business and the art of it. It allows one party to provide a good or service to satisfy a need or a want of the other party. Business is a very diverse and broad industry that can be incorporated into anything, especially today. Businesses are more than transactions, businesses play a very big part in society, the government, and their communities. I love the idea of giving back and what better way to do that than doing what I am passionate about. To play my part in society to ensure and secure a better future not only for myself but for future generations to come would be the ultimate accomplishment for me and that is what I hope to do when I start my own business.

During the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, my mom opened a new business. Like many people affected by mass layoffs, she had just lost her job and needed to figure out how she would support our family. She had always been tenacious and driven, so her sudden spring into entrepreneurship did not surprise me. However, her faith in my abilities to market her business did. In hindsight, I realize that her confidence in my capabilities and my desire to make her proud instilled a deep drive to excel at marketing in me, which has blossomed into a love for digital branding and marketing strategy. While the creative and strategic nature of digital marketing is intriguing for me, it is most rewarding knowing that as a first-generation Nigerian immigrant, my mom's pursuit of entrepreneurship ignited a zealous ambition in me. She not only ventured on a new path in a world where only 2.3% of US businesses are black-owned but also built a small business during one of the most uncertain periods in recent history. Getting the chance to help my mom pursue her business goals during a grueling pandemic opened my eyes to the possibilities available to me in digital marketing. It allowed me to witness the birth and growth of a small business and its positive impact on a local community. The following fall semester, I declared a concentration in marketing analytics at my university. Through classes in that concentration, I expanded on my experiences by refining my knowledge of digital marketing and exploring the tools I could use to guide the growth and expansion of other companies. After performing a variety of tasks associated with digital marketing: measuring customer engagement, tracking analytics, and curating digital marketing strategies for my mom’s business and a few other startups and large firms, I acknowledge how challenging it can be to grow a brand without the abundance of resources and funding that larger companies can more easily attain. I also know how overlooked and under-resourced small businesses, particularly minority businesses, can be because of systemic inequalities. Therefore, after graduation, my ideal plan would be to help rectify these inequalities while working for a small startup in a digital marketing or brand strategy role. Whether through socially-conscious social media campaigns or by recentering human experiences in targeted SEO content strategies, I hope to employ my skills to create innovative digital marketing solutions that underscore the unique experiences of a diverse set of overlooked users. I also intend to open doorways for black women pursuing marketing through industry leadership, peer advocacy, and community building. Ultimately, my long-term career goal is to make strides toward reducing these disparities by utilizing industry expertise to help other minority-owned small businesses bring their brand goals to fruition through the power of digital marketing.

Life is an adventure waiting to be explored, one step at a time. My name is Trinity Chatley, I am 19, newly married, just moved to Alaska from Michigan. I drove 4,000 miles over 5 days alone with two cats to get here and would do it all over again. I recently finished my associates degree and am working to continue my education. I grew up moving from upper Michigan, to Nebraska and then back to Michigan where we settled in Flint area. I strived to fit in in a place where I moved so much that I didn't have childhood friends. I got involved in church and helped my community where I could which ultimately decided my degree and what I wanted to do in this world to help those around me. Having a divorced split family, I was an odd ball, my father lived in Nebraska while my mom was in Michigan. I was often alone and we struggled to afford things, we lost our home and had to move deeper into Flint which ended up being a blessing in disguise. Had we not, I would have been very different and not studying what I am now. I am a business major, I went for my associates at a community college for business admin and I am now transferring for either finance or accounting as those are topics that greatly interest me. I choose my area of study as I found myself surrounded my family who was in debt and struggling my whole life. I grew up in Flint Michigan, surrounded by people barely getting by and struggling. Many of my friends, including my own family, struggled to keep food on the table and the lights on. We then all went through the water crisis together and many were poisoned by led in their water. I want to be able to help those around me by teaching others financial opportunities and how to open a business. I want to make a difference in my community and help others become financially stable. As mentioned, I did just move to Alaska but only as my husband is stationed here via the Army and it is a short term stay until we move back home. To me, home is where I grew up, I was very active in my church, I would help those around my community and what I saw the most is that many families didn't understand finances and didn't know what options are there for them. I want to help the families I grew up around learn how to become stable and secure in life to support themselves and their families.

My name is Lauren Dudley. I am an African American, low-income student from Stone Mountain, Georgia. I am a rising sophomore currently enrolled at Mercer University with a 4.0 GPA. I am the parliamentarian of Minorities in Business. This club gives minority business majors access to people who currently excel in careers they are interested in. I was raised in a single-parent household. My mother worked part-time in order to provide for her four children. Even though we did not have everything we wanted growing up, we had everything we needed. Les Brown, an American politician, states, “You are bigger than your circumstances or life situation.” This quote instills in me that I am so much more than a low-income student. My situation growing up did not define me, instead it inspired me to have a desire to help those less fortunate than me. I believe the things I experienced growing up helped establish my greatest strength, my spirit of giving and service. I love using my passions to give back to the community. While enrolled at Mercer University, I planned and implemented a service project for Daybreak, which is a Homeless shelter in Macon Georgia. I filmed and edited yoga videos that attended to the needs of the residents of the shelter. I included yoga positions that people with limited mobility could participate in, such as chair yoga. I was pushed toward the major of finance because of my childhood. We didn't understand how to properly manage our money, and we didn't keep enough money saved for unexpected events. I chose finance because I want to learn how to properly manage money. Also, I have a love for mathematics and understanding numbers. Lastly, after I graduate from college, I plan to utilize the knowledge I gained to teach individuals in my community about financial literacy, which is the ability to understand how to make sound financial decisions. Research has shown that the majority of low-income individuals lack a true understanding of personal finance, which leads to struggles in saving for and investing in their future economic success. CNBC reports, “63% of Americans have been living paycheck to paycheck since Covid hit.” I want to help reduce this statistic by teaching individuals how to save and invest money. Being financially healthy has various benefits such as, reducing stress, being offered a lower interest rate, and so much more. I want to be the change that I would like to see in the world, making sure everyone understands how to effectively manage their finances.

Leaving high school with over 30 college credits was amazing, but required me to walk into college knowing what I wanted to do with my life at the age of 18. Fortunately for me though, I had found 3 passions in high school. First is the love of reading, second is the love of music, and third is computer science. In high school, I took several different electives trying to find what I enjoyed. Computer Science was the one that most clearly clicked with me. My teacher was great and the subject matter was very engaging and exciting to me. Fast forward to finishing my first year of college, majoring in computer science, and I am still just as excited about expanding on my knowledge in the field of computer science. Next year will be my second year as a computer science major at the University of North Texas, but with my dual credit and AP credit transfer classes, I will technically be in my third year of college courses. I am looking forward to diving completely into my computer science curriculum with all of my core classes out of the way. The world of computer science is so diverse in what you can do with it once you are finished with school. I am really excited to begin my computer science elective classes and to start seeing firsthand more what all of the options look like in the actual workforce. Computer science majors can go into cybersecurity, game design, artificial intelligence, software development, computer graphics and so many more options. The opportunity to be able to sample several of these areas of computer science to discover what I most enjoy and am best at is something I am really looking forward to. With computers and technology being such a huge part of our lives and culture these days, I think that no matter what area of computer science that I eventually settle on for my future, that it will make a difference in the world. At this time, I think I am most interested in game programming and design, which provides entertainment for people all over the world. I am interested in this aspect of computer science because it ties together several of my separate interests, such as programming, video games and fantasy. I know how much I have enjoyed games growing up, so the opportunity to work in the area of game programming is extremely appealing to me. I believe though that all areas of computer science are important and that no matter what area I end up in, that it will make a positive difference in the world.

Hello, my name is DeAndre Malone, I am from St. Louis, Missouri, and I am a twenty-year-old junior in college studying Agricultural Science with a specialization in business and Economics attending Truman State University. I am a first-generation college student, I come from a low-income household, I lost my father at the age of three and I have six other siblings that I grew up with within the same nine-person household. My mother works very hard to support my family as my step-father cannot work due to health reasons. My mom is everything to me and my biggest goal in life is to make her proud of me and what I want to accomplish in my life. I have also worked very hard to get to where I'm at academically, as I have not always been the greatest student. Throughout middle school and into my second year of high school, I frequently got bad grades, detention, and suspensions due to a lack of effort and direction. Once I reached my sophomore year of high school, I realized I wanted more for myself and my life and decided to change who I was in an academic sense. I worked hard my last two years in high school and was able to get into multiple schools but ultimately chose Truman State University with a 3.0+ GPA. It was at Truman I realized I had an interest and genuine talent involving science and math, so I decided to major in Agricultural Business and Economics. I have maintained a 3.25 accumulative GPA despite financial issues, COVID-19, and being involved in multiple programs, including McNair, MOLSAMP, Vice President for the Association of Black Collegians, Women's basketball management for Truman State University's women's basketball team, and peer mentoring. The reason I chose a STEM degree is that I know that there aren't enough minorities in STEM fields, so I would like to encourage younger kids who look like me to go into these fields to make significant strides in gaining equity between us and our Caucasian counterparts through the accumulation of wealth, knowledge, education, through advocacy and support for other minorities in STEM fields. I would also like to change my life and the lives of my family by working hard to get to a position where I can support myself and them financially. After undergrad, I plan on pursuing a doctorate in Agriculture and Applied Economics in graduate school. Some research that I am conducting currently is looking at the discrepancies in income, contract negotiations, aid program acceptances, loan acceptances, commodity asking prices, pricing strategies and education, and many other economic factors between minority and Caucasian farmers. Agriculture specifically is a field of study that is dominated by older white people and families, so inserting myself into that field as a black man is how I see I can use my education and research to make a difference in the world or the workforce. Education is everything to me and I feel that is the most important asset that we minorities have to take advantage of if we want things to truly change in our society. And because of that, I will use my education to encourage and serve as a resource for other students like me, fund other students like me, and advocate for every student that needs it in higher education, because I know how badly my community needs it. I am currently a peer mentor at my university, and the vice president of a minority club, and work hard to encourage my peers to understand that they belong in higher education. I see myself performing the same task in my graduate career and my professional career and will continue to use my education to eliminate the barriers that exist to minimalize the continuation of all minorities in higher education. I can count on one hand the number of black people or minority students that I have seen in the Agriculture and Economic classes that I have attended at my predominately white institution, and have often felt uncomfortable, alone, and lost at times. I am positive that this is an experience that many other minority STEM majors have shared, and often it becomes too much for some of us to handle. Because of this, I can understand how it feels to be in those situations and will serve as a mentor for other students who feel the same way as I once did.

I strive to be college-educated and to assist my family endeavors in any way possible. I would be the first person male in my family to be college-educated. The reason why I am applying for a scholarship is the fact that my family is financially insecure. My family and I are in poverty. We do not live in a house or an apartment but in a motel in NJ. We reside there to this day but have not lost hope to have a home to call our own. Between my family and I, we share one room. We are regulars at our local food pantry. Without resources like that, it would be extremely difficult for us to get by. To be completely honest, I do not like talking about this situation as people look at me differently when I tell them the truth about myself. Nevertheless, I felt it was necessary to be raw with the Selection Committee about my financial situation. Furthermore, I was able to become a student through scholarships and financial aid. This scholarship would relieve a burden not on my shoulders but my family as well. Clarkson University is the college I currently attend. Being in college offers me an opportunity to be able to learn outside of my comfort zone. Ultimately, being with students whose goals align with my own makes me want to work that much harder. Truly, knowing how much effort the academics at my university put forth developed an attitude of gratitude for myself. Not every person my age can say that their university or institution goes above and beyond to get them a chance at life. All of the challenges I have faced groom me into a representative of those who gave their all to get me to where I am at. My family is counting on me to be extraordinary, the margin of error is minute. I chose innovation and entrepreneurship as my area of study because I find interacting with people taught me empathy and facilitates problem-solving. To my understanding, everyone has a story that needs to be heard and in my line of study I am able to hear their needs and provide the aid that is necessary. I plan on using my education to create a non-profit organization for veterans in America. My grandfather fought in the Korean War as well as many of my friends are enlisted. The creation of this organization will not only give these veterans aid but also a way for them to connect with the citizens who recognize their exemplary sacrifice. With this scholarship, I would be able to not worry about the financial burden and instead focus my time on being an asset to the organization that requires my skill set. In doing so I can efficiently make the organization run better and receive dividends that can be disturbed into my own family and eventually my community. Winning this scholarship will be monumental for my time at uni. With the help of this scholarship, I can better help my family with food and shelter.

Hello! As a women going into tech, I'm excited to shake up the industry with diversity and use technology innovations to combat some of the challenges we face pertaining to education and marine conservation. Since May 2022, I've been attending Florida Atlantic University to finish pursuing a higher education and obtain my bachelors in Computer Science. My motivating factor has been my mom and being the first in my family to have a bachelors degree from a university. Since high-school, I knew that my life and priorities were different from my peers. Although college was always encouraged, as a first generation student the finanical and college system was confusing. Fortunately, attending my community college allowed me to explore different areas of my personality and taught me more about navigating the college system. As I attended, my initial career choice was in medicine. Yet, in college I was reinstating the Art Alliance in order to allow other students to share their interests in different forms of art, teaching students how to work on the potters wheel with clay, and developing a e-commerce business with swimwear that I made myself. Going into the medical field allowed me to help people, and is a stable career path so why wasn't I satisfied? I applied to the Medical Sonography program, the only program at my community college that I was interested in, I was rejected. The moment I received that email, the feeling that came over me was neutral. It was a bit of a blow to my ego, but I knew in my heart that the right career would allow me to express my creativity, hone in on my leadership skills, and develop multiple hard skills. After receiving my associates, and the pandemic happening. My interest in finishing my bachelors waned because my ambition and work I was doing would create the opportunities I was looking for. For the last two years, it has and continues to do so. My swimwear business was a perfect example to social media marketing agencies and prospecting clients that I was able to create a community and brand. I transitioned into a social media manager talking as the voice of companies that value sustainability in ocean conservation. However, not every social media client can be as awesome as the people I'm working for now. My aspirations are even bigger, instead of talking about how important it is to value sustainability to protect marine environments. I want to create the solutions that can help regenerate these environments through technology, and design applications through virtual reality that can be use as a visual asset for education. With my dad being deceased, and growing up in an unstable household because my mom struggled to support me during my adolescent years. It has been a motivating factor for me to pay her back for all the sacrifices she's made to raise me on her own. When I started my e-commerce business, it was to be an example that no matter your background. If you are determine and can persevere, you can live a life of abundance. I chose computer science, throughout my life. As I developed throughout the years, so has technology. From my first computer, phone, laptop, and now virtual reality headset. I've always been fascinated with virtual reality concepts since I was a kid. Growing up in poverty, I've always dreamt of a place to escape too. Which is why I became engrossed with gaming, the internet, social media, etc. That being said, my choice in majoring in computer science is really work on the issues that the world is facing today, not distract ourselves from them. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I hope that this entry can give you a better sense of who I am and who I strive to me.

Since I was little, I have always played sports. As a baby, my parents put me in swimming lessons, and then a little later, I started judo. I think I was the youngest student of my first sensei. After that, I set out on daring adventures, artistic rolling skating, and horseback riding. I was also in team sports, like basketball and soccer. This evolvement led me to participate in many official games, competitions, and demonstrations. Championship can sometimes be challenging, it was tough to lose, but the presentations were magical. Each sport has its difficulties and particular joys, leading me to learn many new things. They directed me to know new realities and to see the world differently. The sports I practiced in childhood taught me great lessons. They encouraged me to persevere and have faith even when the opposing side looked like a monster! They also taught me that results could be unexpected and surprising. Each match is a different experience. These precious lessons helped me not only in my personal life. And also in my academic life. I will report here on one of these events. When I was still in elementary school, the leading Brazilian Astronomy Institute invited schools to participate in the Brazilian Astronomy Olympics. That invitation was for all students. Of Course, the oldest ones had more knowledge about the subjects. But still, I decided to take the test. I thought I wouldn't have a chance. I was among the youngest to participate. Indeed, I was not the best candidate; however, I learned that victory is always possible if one believes in one's capability. Despite the odds, I submitted my application and decided to study very hard to score well among my age children. I used video lessons from science channels and a collection of books that my mother gave me. My teachers also provided their collaboration with essential lessons about stars, constellations, and the universe. I was thrilled to participate in my first Olympics. I was so involved in this project that my efforts and dedication influenced my friends. Some joined me in searching for knowledge about the stars and the universe. It was a fantastic period of growth and study until the test day. I was amazed and thankful when the school principal told me I had gotten the entire school's best score. That day, I went home with the gold medal. But my family and friends felt as victorious as I was! That little experience encouraged me to trust my skills, be prepared, and be focused. And above all, it taught me that sometimes, we must look beyond appearances, circumstances, and odds to understand life. I also learned that one could achieve outstanding results with proper training, self-control, perseverance, and faith. It's funny how a little fact can change our lives in many ways. And it did change my life!. After that day, I became interested in developing other skills and working on other areas of my intelligence. These studies are part of who I am today and reflect how I act and think. I became fearless in the quest to try discoveries and new experiences. It was as if, in the blink of an eye, I discovered that a person could learn in many ways, not only in regular school. So, I learned to play guitar and drums and started a family band with my brother and twin sister, but that is another story. Suppose I had to make a critical analysis of existence. I would say that our life is like a road, self-built stone by stone along the way. Our steps are many times right, but sometimes are wrong. On this route, we are not alone. We walk in a community and as a family of the creator. With God's help and our lady's intercession, we hope to move towards a more fraternal, prosperous, and humane future for all. To succeed, we need to have enough courage in our hearts to face our mistakes confidently and continue the journey with sufficient humility so that our achievements are a reason for joy and encouragement for those who walk with us. Today I am a sophomore honor student at Mizzou's College of Engineering, majoring in Industrial Engineering. I am doing my best to maintain my excellence. Gratefully I am on the High Dean's List and had a perfect 4.0 GPA last semester with 16-hour credits. I am also engaging in organizations such as S.H.P.E. (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers) and I.I.S.E. (Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers) to learn more about my major and interact with fellow engineers. Furthermore, I have also participated in the Robotics club, where we designed a cheaper drone that farmers could use. I am also working on Undergrad Research, where I received a S.T.A.R. award and began my project. We study how to optimize fire stations' locations using Excel, R coding, and Simio. Besides academic activities, I volunteer with the Newman Center at Loaves & Fishes, handling meals for food-insecure people. Those are beautiful experiences! And while I want to relive all those moments next semester, I have some challenges to overcome. For example, my father lost significant income due to the pandemic. Besides, we have covid cases in the family with severe sequels. I also have three siblings, and although I work part-time, it hasn't been very easy for us. Therefore, this scholarship will help me significantly. It will guarantee I have enough funds to graduate with honors, become an outstanding engineer, and realize my dreams. As Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." I want to be that change! Please, help me conquer that!

Education and Goals to Improve Economy I established my first small company twenty years ago, a private math tutoring company. When I moved to the United States of America in 2010 from my home country Brazil, I sold my company and found a job in the cleaning services field. A few years later, I founded a small family cleaning business from scratch, planning and managing all aspects of my small company, which include services, business development, and marketing. Since then, I am trying to balance work with my personal life, as I am a single mother who works hard during the day and goes to college at night to get new opportunities in life for me and my child. I started undergraduate education in 2018 as part-time student, but today I am on my third year of college as a full-time student. This way, I am very pleased with myself for being on the path to accomplishing my academic plan. In addition, I choose finance as my field of study because I love math and investments. My passion for math started in kindergarten, and by middle school I had in mind that I wanted to work in the banking industry. As today, my childhood dream has not changed, it is just grown bigger. Most important, the major I chose to build a career on connects with my short- and long-term goals. In fact, my shot-term career goals are to find a new job and learn a new skill set to gain more knowledge and experience in the financial field. I would also like to improve my leadership performance standard, be fluent in the Spanish language as today I only know the basics, and pursue a financial services credentials such as Certified Financial Planner (CFP). Along these lines, my long-term career goals are to become a financial advisor and get my Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, strengthen my leadership networking skills, and learn a new language: French. Finally, I want to reach a brighter future for myself and my family. To do so, I need to fulfill higher education and training requirements while developing knowledge and skills set to enhance both business and economic growth. At the same time, I intend to use my education to make a difference in the world and/or in the workforce by positively influencing people about the importance of investing and saving, using my leadership skills to improve a collaborative workgroup as to build strategies together and get different opinions, and performing tasks efficiently to expand the productivity of the economy. In this way, my education will bring many benefits to the workplace and economy overall, as it will support economic competitiveness and profitability worldwide.

My name is Roland Davis and I am a third year Finance major here at The University of Texas at Austin. Since I've been in college, business has been a high interest of mine and I've been doing the best I can to improve my technical, professional, and personal development in this field. I yearned for an education in finances, because I did not get a proper one in the household I grew up in. My mother and father always made sure I was taken care of and provided for despite their financial struggles, but I unfortunately was never showcased great financial habits. Because of this, I thought business finance was the best major to pursue to get insight on managing money and just future financials. I also felt as if the way I managed money was a lot more imminent for me than most of my peers, because I knew I was going to be in complete control of all of my finances throughout the entirety of college. I wanted to be mindful of my financial decisions and make sure I was in the best position to plan for my future. Planning and prepping for this as a freshman in college was stress induced, but me being a junior now I've fell into the rhythm a bit and am doing the best I can to finish off my college career strong. Along the way, I have shared my financial tips with my peers and family members informing them and giving them insight about what all I am learning. I hope to continue to do this post grad and help people out with investing, personal finance, and other means of financial security. I enjoy doing this and I've gotten to the point where I have already made a lot of mistakes and went through the "hardships" of not budgeting correctly, learning how to save, etc. Again, I have made my mistakes and had no one guide me, so I hope to be in a position to prevent others from making the same ones and starting them off on a better foot than me. Successful business is also dependent on a lot of networking, connections, and finding the best people to keep in your circle. By continuing this, I hope to make important and valuable connections that are present throughout my adult life. My education in these aspects will hopefully help many people out with their finances, while also keeping my own in check at the same time. Business and finance have grown to consume my life and I think it is for the best. One day I hope to be in a position to live comfortably, help out my family, eventual wife, and put my kids in great schools. I want to provide everything my family was not able to provide for me as a kid, and that in itself will be a huge milestone met for me. As they say -- happy wife, happy life.

Hello, my name is Nadiatou Morou. I am a 22 years old first generation college student, first generation immigrant of Togo. I speak four languages, French, Ewe, Kotokoli, and English. I have been in the United States for almost 6 years. When I first arrived in the United States, my family's plans were for me to stay with my father, a man I never met, and because he wanted to get to know me and have a relationship with me. He is the only family member I have here in the US. I could not speak English, I didn't even know how to say hello. Unfortunately within a year of living with him our plans got shortened as my father became abusive to me, and since communication with my mother was not allowed. I quickly had to fight harder and learn English so I could communicate and reach out for help. My dad soon after kicked me out and left me to become homeless in high school, but thankfully I was surrounded with teachers, and friends that were willing to help me. He took all the documents that I needed to get a job, and which will be relevant to me later in life. Thankfully a friend of mine was kind enough to speak to her family and hired me in their family restaurant to wash dishes. While I lived in a shelter, I was also working, and I was determined to go to college. I graduated high school, got a scholarship to attend a community college, and graduated with an associate in computer engineering. I have now transferred to a four year university, and now I need help paying for tuition so I can get a bachelor's degree. At a young age, I had no choice but to fight and survive. My life experience has made me the strong, kind, loving and hard working woman that I am today. And Throughout my journey I had lots of help. One thing I am Passionate about is to help people like me succeed in life. I deserve a chance to make it in life, so do they. My plan is to have a degree in computer engineering, make money and donate and allow people like me and more a chance to become somebody. I also would like to open an organization that will help children and youth immigrants regardless of their genders like me, that have been abused to be protected against their abuser

Hello, My name is Ashaunna Diggs and I am currently a junior in college pursuing a degree in accounting. I choose this area of study because it is a topic that interest me a lot and a career that I feel like I will be able to give back to my community in. I love working with numbers and understanding concepts that pertain to money and figuring out ways that people are able to make good financial decisions for their future. Growing up, my family struggled a lot when it came to finances and having money for basic necessities and I feel that my past is a big reason as to why I gravitated to this field. I feel as if this is a way to take control of the things that I didn't have control over when I was young. I am working with money which I did not have a lot of growing up. I am not able to help people that were in the same situation as me and to give them good financial advice that they otherwise are not able to get. I would love to be able to provide services to people who are low income and need help bettering themselves. Another difference that I would like to make is being an advocate for minority groups in the accounting field. I recently interviewed for a few internship positions at many accounting firms and one thing that I realized is that this is a field that lacks diversity. As an African American female, I would like to be an advocate in this field and speak up for the voices that aren't heard. I feel that their are many ways that this industry can improve to make the minority groups feel more heard and seen and I would like to raise awareness for that. I currently have a intern position at a firm right now and their are a few issues that I have witnessed that I want to be able to speak on once I get in position to. Lastly, I want to be able to show the people in my community that it is possible to be successful and to accomplish your goals. I want to be an example of a successful college student and show people that education is key. The education that I have received so far has been very beneficial and I feel like I am able to accomplish any dream that I have.

I was born in a city of cultural affluence yet perpetual poverty: Newark. Whenever I visit, the wealth disparity between my neighborhood in Virginia and my old neighborhood in Newark is jarring. As I pace the streets of Newark, there are boarded-up businesses, bullet pierced homes, and disenfranchised residents. These issues have historically plagued lower-income neighborhoods, and they are the culmination of many systemic failures and other multifaceted issues. But I can change this. My goal is to major in computer science so that I can teach it to lower-income students in Newark and help them start a career in STEM. My career goal is to start a non-profit to help lower income students in neighborhoods like mine get into college and STEM fields and hopefully pull them out of poverty. I became interested in computer science my freshman year of highschool after my older brother recommended a computer math class to me. My teacher made computer science seem like an art form where your fingers were the paintbrush and the monitor was the canvas. With a little bit of thought and a lot of characters, you can make a masterpiece. I had an affinity for coding that made me love it all the more, thus when it came time to decide on a college major, the answer was simple. Computer science gives me an insider's perspective on technology in our increasingly digital world. Technology plays a powerful role in almost every aspect of life and I want to be in a position to help positively influence the changes it will bring. Majoring in computer science will also help me better understand the applications I use for my various tasks and enable me to create my own solutions to these tasks. This major will also allow me to advise my friends and family in technology and help make their lives easier. I also plan to become a teacher’s assistant (TA) so that I can help tutor students at my college in computer science. I also plan to seek out students of color in my major and help and encourage them to press on in a field with little representation but much promise. My family has influenced me heavily in this goal, as they always encourage me to give back to those who helped me grow. My parents are Ghanaian immigrants, and their sacrifices for me have taught me the importance of giving yourself to work that will benefit others, not to receive something in return, but to better their lives. My older brothers have also inspired me to pursue computer science, as they majored in it and also exemplify the joy of giving to others through this field and seeing them flourish with that help. They helped show me that though the major is challenging, it is also incredibly rewarding. I have also been inspired by friends along the way, many of whom being girls and people of color in my computer classes. Seeing all the diversity in my classes leads me to believe that diversity in the STEM field is not only possible, but it is already taking shape. Furthermore, as a first-generation Ghanaian-American, I know how important representation in the work field is, so another reason I want to study computer science is to show young girls who look like me that it is very much possible. Entering this field will also help close the racial gap in the STEM field and in the process, galvanize others to do the same. I also want to help students in Ghana gain the same opportunity that I have to apply to college and pursue higher education, especially in fields like computer science. Becoming a computer scientist will lead me to close the racial gap in STEM, and lead my goal of reducing poverty in Newark. I also want to use computer science to help squash the digital pockets of hate around the web. As we move towards an increasingly digitized world, spaces for hate have also become digitized and have plagued many social media platforms. While many factors contributed to what happened in the Nation's capital on January 6th, one factor that made it possible was the ability of extremist groups to gather and organize on platforms like Facebook. With my degree in computer science, I will be able to help engineer solutions that detect hateful extremist activities on social media platforms and mitigate them appropriately. My hope is that I will be able to help play a role in stopping events like January 6th's insurrection from ever happening while also helping cultivate spaces that foster common grounds for discussion. Along with my computer science degree, I plan to minor in African and African American studies. By pursuing this minor, I will enrich my understanding of the various cultures of peoples of African descent, as well as help educate others who, out of ignorance, may exercise certain prejudices. Knowledge coupled with love has the power to shake hate and foster productive conversations that change hearts. My ultimate goals are to give back to the communities I came from and help build a more connected, understanding community, and computer science will help me achieve this while educating and inspiring others along the way.

Hello, I am a half Korean and half Samoan, LGBTQI+ (alphabet mafia as some would call us), first generation college student from a single parent low income household. Mom and I came here in 1993 from American Samoa and it's been a great experience so far. I do not miss the humidity, typhoons nor tsunamis. I like that there's a lot more options here and opportunities to become whatever you want to be. I am clinically diagnosed with ADHD and do take medication for it. So yea, life is definitely not that of your average Joe for me. I chose to study Accounting because I'm good with numbers and figured I might as well perpetuate the stereotype of one of my ethnicities. Joking aside, I've just always seen many successful people in the Finance industry and Accounting was pretty close to that. I've always wanted to be successful because it's what my mom would have wanted as well and I'd like to do it for her since there aren't a lot of successful professional Samoans compared to other ethnicities. I also plan on majoring in Instructional Design/Education and maybe one day, my path may lead me to teaching Finance. Schools need to teach basic adult skills like finance and home economics. We took a lot of classes we don't really use in our every day life. I hope one day we can influence the school curriculum to include Finance and Home Economics to become required classes rather than optional classes just to fill a credit type quota. A lot of adults tend leave home and do not even know how to balance a check book let alone cook for themselves. This creates a lot of problem especially when one goes to apply for credit. Let's face it, ethnic people tend have a lower credit rating than those of our Caucasian counterparts. Majority of us do not come from a background of wealth and are systematically oppressed. We do not have a the proper financial education to be able to compete on the same level as our Caucasian counterparts. Perhaps in a few decades, things might become better. I hope to become one of the reasons it does though teaching and creating financial literacy in high school. When I am successful, I plan on also creating a scholarship foundation in honor of my mom that passed away in 2018 due to Parkinson's disease. I think this will help give back to the community as well. Thank you for your time.

“Education is a powerful tool.” My parents would always remind me how powerful getting an education can be and the opportunities it can bring, this shaped my perspective on school and my desire to do well in school. The fact that I have always enjoyed learning also helped me perform well academically. However, when the question of what my plans were after high school and what I wanted my career would be, I was lost. As the oldest of five, a first-generation student in a Hispanic household, I did not know how to answer either questions. I did not know what I wanted as a career path and I did not know how I would proceed after high school. Thankfully, my high school advisors were able to help me with college applications and scholarships. I enrolled at my local university to save money while I got my general education done and figured out what I wanted my area of study to be. Eventually, I decided to major in Biomechanics because I enjoyed math and science and I wanted to do something that would use that and help others in the medical field. It has not been easy to navigate college life as a first-generation student, there is a lot I still do not know, and as a Latina, there were not a lot of peers that I could relate to in my courses. Nonetheless, this year I am senior set to graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in biomechanics and plan to get my master’s degree this fall in mechanical engineering with a concentration in biomechanics to later go on and work in the medical device industry. Biomechanics, which is the study of movement mechanics in relation to living organisms, is still a fairly new discipline. I came across biomechanics during my second semester in college as I was deciding on what to major in. In the introductory class, the professor explained what the field was about and how it translated to the real world. I was intrigued from the start because there was a lot of involvement with medical care and human anatomy. At the time I wanted to do something in the medical field to help others but I knew that becoming a doctor or nurse was not in my interest. One of the sections covered was the role of biomechanics in prosthetic devices, it was were that I decided that this was what I wanted to do. I wanted to learn to make these prosthetics and figure out how to help those that are less abled. It has an engineering aspect that intrigued me and it also poked at my creative side with designing and optimization. Biomechanics can also help in realms of cardiovascular health, neuroscience and physical therapy. I like this idea, that it could branch out to different aspects of human health, but what I was most interested in was the engineering and development. I have family that have been afflicted by neuromuscular diseases that have impeded their abilities to fully sustain themselves and I want to develop assistive devices that could help them regain their mobility. Thus, biomechanics and mechanical engineering will help me gain the skills and experience to help develop and optimize assistive devices to help those that feel limited in their abilities to freely move around. The difference I want to make in my career are both within industry and outside. I aim to develop medical devices that are user, efficient most importantly, economically accessible. I am sure there are plenty of product out there that could help people regain their mobility, however, often times these products are quite expensive and people do not have the means to access them. I want to find ways to create safe and useful medical devices more accessible prices to allow more people to access them no matter what their economic status looks like. Outside of industry and in STEM mostly, Latinos are small portion in the workforce and Latinas represent a much lower portion, which is also translated in the classrooms. There were many times that I felt discouraged in my career choice because there were not many people who looked like me in my classrooms, I felt like no one would understand my struggles and it was hard to motivate myself when representation was limited. Thus, I want to be able to help other Latinas and Latinos get into STEM and not feel lonely or out of place while trying to get their education. Representation encourages others, there is a moment when you think “If that person who is similar to me could accomplish this or that, then I can too.” I want to mentor, first-generation student and Latinos specifically, to encourage my community to network, push themselves to achieve their goals and bring up the numbers of Latinos in STEM related careers. At the end of the day, getting where I am at today was not easy, there was a lot of doubt and worry about the next course of action and whether I was going to be able to finance my education. Nonetheless, I am about to get my bachelors degree and will now move on to get my masters. I aim to gather the skills and experience to create and optimize medical devices and prosthetics that will help people regain their mobility and lower the cost of such devices. I also aim to inspire others like me to keep working hard and help them in any way to propelled them towards their goals. I look forward to my next chapter in my journey and I cannot wait to see what comes next

Hello: When I began my education with Southern New Hampshire University, I had expectations that the online program would allow me to gain insight into beginning of my educational career and gaining success in the Business Operations Management program. I am so grateful that I was selected to participate, because I wanted to be fully prepared for the first semester. Fortunately, my Academic Advisor introduced me to the Business Operation program with online beginner classes to prepare me for the curriculum, allowed me to build relationships with my peers, and enabled me to thrive from the first day of classes and beyond. The program has made a tremendous impact on my first semester at Southern New Hampshire University. I am succeeding wonderfully in my program. I am utilizing every opportunity that I am privileged to take advantage of in this BOM program. I do not feel pressured, and I have cordial comradery with my uniquely diverse classmates. In every class I have had the pleasure of speaking to my instructors and receiving constant feedback. I appreciate the support. There is a network of professional resources. There is even a career support network that assists you with career decisions. At Southern New Hampshire University they assist with creating proper social media to help you put your best efforts in the face of many recruiting areas. I am currently creating a LinkedIn page, and I am sharing this with my peers and family members for job opportunities, networking with alumni, and connect with organizations that support diversity and career advancement. It is these experiences that I will take with me throughout my life and utilize every day. I value these experiences as a student. In this essay, I want to express my intent of being the best I can be in life. I want to give a good first impression to all that read this essay. I want you to learn about the person that is asking for this scholarship. I am a single mother of one child, I work full-time at a great company that offers room for advancement, and I attend class full-time online. I have a 3.4 GPA and I intend to stay on the honor roll. I have a certification in the esthetician practice, and I have short- and long-term goals planned and in the works. What this scholarship will mean to me. I want to be a part of a rewarding experience. Receiving this scholarship will allow my work, school, parent, and overall life balance to prosper. I will be able to elevate my quality of life. I have a great inner circle within my work community. However, with taking on my online program I am not able to receive over-time pay that usually is available. I have commitments with my child’s education and childcare that has to be paid. Since the pandemic a lot has changed in our life and what was considered ordinary before does not exist anymore. With these changes I have the need for monetary assistance, and this is the first time that I have the need for a scholarship, and I am happy you make this opportunity open for people like me. I promise I will represent your company in the best respect. Respectfully, Jenee Allen-Robinson

As an international student who has been privileged to study in the United States, my ultimate goal is to make my mother who worked so hard to get me here proud. Growing up, I have witnessed her grow into the strong woman she is now. After my father passed away a few years back, my mother has been living with the sole purpose of making sure me and my sisters succeed in life. She is my biggest motivation and inspiration in life. Through her, I have seen that whatever I put my mind to, I can do. This gave me a better outlook to stay focused on my studies. Ever since I started school, mathematics has been my favorite subject, particularly statistics. This pique of interest is what led me to major in Computer Information Systems. I believe the reason why I liked math so much is because I’ve always believed that I’m good at it. Being born and raised in Ethiopia, the educational curriculum was different from the United States. As a junior high student, I took college-level math classes. So, by the time I started college in the US, I really enjoyed the math classes, because they weren’t new to me. After joining Concord University for my undergrad studies, I was lucky enough to have had the best professors in the Computer Science and Mathematics department. My interest in technology and all its advancements grew bigger as I took more CS courses. Diving deeper into my major, I fell in love with data; it is fascinating just how much our daily lives are affected by it. Following this, I decided to further my studies beyond undergraduate and get my MS in Data Science. In this process, various universities piqued my interest in their prestigious Data Science programs. I am prepared to put my all into my education and become a knowledgeable Data Scientist with a purpose. In my junior year, I joined a work-study for the Geology Department at Concord University as a Microprobe Lab Software Developer. This study was mainly focused on data mining, data interpretation, data manipulation to import data from various files such as excel files and CSV files to different databases. I worked with Python and various libraries to do the tasks. The more I participated in this work-study, the more I realized I was greatly fond of it. This work-study gave me a bit of insight into what I could do as a Data Scientist and how I could be of help to my community. Through my career, I plan to help my community back home and enable them to live better life with decent living conditions. Acquiring or producing data by itself is not enough to develop a country. The accumulated data should be used for future predictions, policy-making, and accountability. In order to make this happen, we need more data scientists in Ethiopia; in this regard, I believe I can produce a change even in the slightest form, which will, in turn, produce vast ripple effects.

My name is Yailyn Compres, I’m a first-generation junior student at Hope College studying Communications with a focus on Media Production and Criticism. Choosing my area of study was a struggle at first. During my freshman year I came to college believe I was going to major in chemistry to become a veterinarian. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy chemistry leaving me lost, taking random general education classes. As a first generation student, it has taught me to face many challenges with understanding finances, classes, and many first times. I have had a passion for creation and creativity most of my life. Since high school I always made creative videos and edited them. I took many creative classes in high school such as photography, two art classes, and a ceramic class. I soon found out about a media production class and when I took it I absolutely loved it. I continued to take media classes and finally decided I wanted to be apart of media production as a cinematographer, director, or editor. I plan to use my education to make a difference in the world by using my passion for video creation to inspire and help others in any way I can. The ability to bring a companies vision or a persons story to life is something I am passion about. I have always loved being able to help people in any way possible. I plan to use my education to influence other young marginalized students to chase their dreams. I want to be an inspiration to not only the younger generation but also to my family. As a first generation college student, I have inspired many of my young cousins and older aunts and uncles to get an education. In my family they believe the way to success is through hard work or to marry a man. I believe working hard is a way to success but working hard toward your passion is just as important. I want to teach young generations that you do not have to settle for something you don’t enjoy doing. The ability to chase your dreams regardless of money is something that not many young generations understand. I think being an example of can make a big difference to those around you. I want to inspire, influence, educate, and motivate young generations of marginalized communities to believe in themselves and pursue their passions no matter what how out of reach they believe they are.

Growing up in the poverty-stricken areas of Philadelphia, I witnessed an immense lack of resources that could provide bright young children with tools to lead them to success. In addition, many of my close friends were trapped in harmful environments such as abusive or neglectful homes due to guardians using drugs or other harmful substances. These environments often lead to self-destructive behaviors that resulted in the repetition of abuse, addiction, and poverty cycles, and at times lead to younger populations serving time in criminal justice systems. Having experienced food insecurity and other symptoms of poverty myself, I quickly realized at a young age that education would serve as a portal to a better future. From these obstacles growing up originated my desire to graduate with a degree in engineering, so that I could be equipped to research and develop innovative solutions to the challenges that plagued my community, and so that other young minorities and those in marginalized communities could see the empowerment behind breaking generational curses that often follow us. Recognizing the injustices that cycled through generations of those that lived around me prompted me to speak up and start something big, something that would put an end to the harmful behaviors and systematic challenges that kept my community stagnant. My vision and desire to cultivate this change in the world has become concrete through a humble organization I founded called the Young Professional’s Club (YPC). I dream of continuing and growing the YPC to empower the next generation of brilliant minds in STEM in the years to come. The YPC is filled with bright eyes and big smiles. It fuels dreams as big as the brain can imagine and fills rooms with words of encouragement – which are sometimes the first positive affirmations youth members will hear that week, month, or year even. The YPC brings together professionals in STEM from underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized communities, to serve as representation to children who may not know of all the possibilities that exist for their futures within the world. Together we provide education, technology, and mentorship to communities that have not been afforded the same opportunities as better funded, higher socioeconomic areas. One large constraint that many of our students face is the lack of finances to fund an education past high school. For many of our mentors such as myself, this is a shared experience, so we provide information and hands-on help to apply for scholarships, financial aid through the university, budgeting tactics, and other lessons that may not be provided in a traditional classroom. This financial literacy education is crucial to combatting the crippling debts my community often bears through lack of financial education. Our students are often also experiencing devastating extenuating circumstances such as homelessness, so we also work to provide resources that fulfill these children's needs, so that their main focus can be achieving well in school. These resources evolve depending on the needs of the community but may look like hot meals, school supplies, or personal items such as clothing and toiletries. By fulfilling the needs of students and young members of the communities, the YPC reduces the likelihood for some students to return to a life of crime to afford their necessities is reduced. In addition to mentorship and necessities, the YPC also places a focus on sharing STEM education with our community. While many private and public schools in wealthier communities can offer a variety of STEM courses that prepare students for studies in fields such as computer science, engineering, and technology-related fields, our students often do not experience being offered this curriculum. Our professionals provide hands-on work for our children to experience what it is like to begin a career in STEM, whether it be learning the basics of Arduinos to explore programming, building upon their mathematics principles to explore more challenging problems, drafting small projects through software like SolidWorks to understand the basics of computer-aided design or looking at samples from outside under microscopes. Involved in the program are professionals in computer science, biochemical research labs, mechanical and aerospace engineering, and physics, who come from all different backgrounds and even countries. The YPC adult mentors serve as the representation needed for children in the YPC to believe they can one day also contribute their unique thoughts and diverse opinions to the world of STEM. At the heart of YPC is the desire to show our young individuals in the community that they are more than a product of their environment. They are brilliant, talented, unique, despite what others may judge them for because of their pasts. They can change the world and deserve an equal and fighting chance to do so. We will continue to strive to serve our children, be their biggest cheerleaders in life and hopefully show them the vast opportunities that rest on the horizon for them. The YPC rebuilds the confidence that vulnerable populations in my community need to escape the holds that have prevented them from blossoming. I will continue to utilize my STEM education and life experiences to close the gaps between well-resourced and under-resourced communities and ensure that all have access to an education that can allow them to rise above their circumstances and environment. Coming to reality with some of the experiences I endured as a child due to my family’s circumstances has been incredibly difficult at times, but knowing I can turn those experiences into transformative actions for my community is my driver to persevere.

In October 2020, I knew I wanted to pursue a cybersecurity and information assurance degree. I was offered a position with the Department of Defense. To qualify for the job, I had to obtain a clearance, so the process began. I was finally in a position that offered me the opportunity to further my career in a secure environment and all of its responsibilities. During this process, I received a briefing to ensure I understood the associated responsibilities and maintained awareness to perform duties accurately and securely. The briefing was an excerpt of the Osama Bin Laden operation from the documentary released within recent years. It was my first time watching this documentary, and I was very impressed by all parties' knowledge and dedication, specifically the cybersecurity team. The cybersecurity department worked tireless hours. Members vigilantly communicated information to team members and utilized various cyber-related methods that were at their disposal to capture Osama Bin Laden. Watching this excerpt was highly inspirational; I was experiencing concepts and methods that I was familiar with and experienced throughout my career. I had a security-based information technology background, but it was comprehensive in focus. This experience allowed me to narrow my career path, and I felt ecstatic because I had now realized what I wanted to pursue with a particular direction. In the past, I could not narrow down and never gravitate to any specific focus in life. Following this briefing, I sought and acquired mentors within this industry, researched the cybersecurity analyst role countless times, and mimicked its steps for pursuit. In addition, I utilized free-open source applications to be more acquainted with tools for future courses taken with the program. This field took my brain by storm, and I wanted to learn more. All in all, the time to pursue my degree in cybersecurity and information assurance is now. All of my spare time has transpired into using this time for research in the field, getting accustomed to software, learning new technical concepts, and reading technical articles from companies about their advancing practices within the industry. I am very focused on continuing my education, and I am in the right place now! I understand the demands and financial responsibilities of pursuing a degree, and I am ready to tackle it. The passion, drive, and motivation that fills my body thinking of the endless possibilities of my future has awakened similar to first taking amusement to the information technology field. I love voicing my passions with other like-minded individuals as I could speak on the subject for hours. Enclosed in this essay, I have expressed why a scholarship board should offer me the opportunity and support to achieve my future aspirations. If given the chance of a scholarship, I am confident that I will obtain the degree and be a tremendous asset to a cybersecurity department team.

When you ask a child what they want to be when they grow up, “comic book creator and animator” isn’t the typical answer you’d expect. Especially from a child who cycled from wanting to be a doctor in kindergarten to wanting to be a cop in the first grade; with a mob boss, rock star, knight, and superhero thrown in the mix. But at nine years old, sitting at the coffee table before the TV with paper and pencil in hand, making comics felt right for me. I always loved watching cartoons and doodling short scenes in the back of my brother’s old notebooks. I loved detailing the action-packed journeys of my characters on the page, and the faces of my classmates when they asked what happened next. It felt like something I could do for the rest of my life. As I grew older, that vague want to “make cartoons” for a living solidified into a desire to make an impact with my art. I don’t want to just make comic books; I want to make comics unlike anyone has ever seen. I want to create a world of magic, superpowers, and wonder. This world will be vast yet interconnected, unbelievable yet relatable, an escape yet a mirror. I want to build my own brand in the entertainment industry, telling unforgettable stories capable of bringing people together. I want to use my craft to uplift my community and give a voice to underrepresented people in the industry--particularly women and people of color. Going to college as an illustration major, I plan on running a business where I can create, publish and animate my own comic book stories. My creative team will be people from various backgrounds, and my stories will positively represent a diverse audience. I’m crafting a grand narrative that shines a light on issues such as race relations, marginalization, and societal standards. I aim to tell stories about growing up and chasing your dreams, especially when the odds are stacked against you. I want to use my stories to take issues normally seen as “black problems” or “women’s struggles” and recontextualize them for everybody to understand; because at the end of the day, these issues affect everyone. Most importantly, I strive to find and acknowledge the aspects of life that connect us and bring hope for a better future. I want to use my craft to show people that success is possible--no matter who you are, where you come from, or how difficult it might seem. “To make cartoons” isn’t a typical answer you’ll get when you ask a child what they want to do when they grow up. Then again, I was never a typical child, to begin with.

I grew up in a household that was very low income with parents rotating through incarceration sessions. Eventually being put into foster care and would eventually end up being adopted by my grandmother. Living everyday by the bare minimum is something I’ve become accustomed to. Experiencing anything “luxurious” is a seldom occurrence. I went to Disney World for the first time as a twenty-five-year-old adult. Through all the hardship I’ve been through its always made me want to be stronger and better. Sometimes I’d think to myself I’m glad this has happened to me instead of somebody who couldn’t handle it as well. Recently I decided enough was enough and enrolled myself into Full Sail University into their online Bachelors in Computer Science degree course. It is an accelerated two-year course where I will be working as much as a full-time job every week just to keep pace with my classes, and I’ve never been more ready to delve in to give it everything I have. Living with financial freedom is something I’ve only ever dreamed of as all my money goes back into paying rent and insurance with nothing to save; not even with a vehicle to my name currently. As you can tell I have many motivations for wanting this scholarship. It would completely cover my schooling, and allow me to focus all of my time and energy into it so that once I am on my own feet, I can become self-sustaining. I am ready to live a life I’ve always dreamed of and someday in the future help those who are in a similar situation to my own as you are doing. My ultimate goal is to not have to worry about money, and be in a position to help those who do have to. To continue this cycle that your scholarship has the potential to accomplish. Thank you very much for your consideration.

I am a single mother of two. I have a daughter that is now 22 years old and a son that is now 18. My daughter has a son as well, giving me a handsome grandbaby boy. I've waited for my children to become older to go back to school due to the time constraints that were placed on my life while they were young. They were both into sports and I was working full-time, taking care of them and the bills alone. I've always shown my children, that no matter how much we may struggle, it's always best to continue to help others. I created the Community Outreach Ministry Program (C.O.M.P.) here in Las Vegas, NV through my church. I helped families with food, clothing and hygiene items on the weekends. My children helped as well in between going to practices and school. I felt that this only helped on a small scale and decided to open a Mental Health agency in 2013. This allowed me to assist hundreds of families with depression, communication, bipolar disease, schizophrenia, psychosis and so much more. I did this through positive reinforcements: family planning, therapy(individual, group and family), activities, goal setting and hobbies, family planning, and more. I've always known that my life mission is to assist others. However, this still isn't enough. Although I was able to assist my community in a large way, I'm still no where close to the capacity that I wish to reach, which is an international scale. I know a lot about business, but not very much about law. I feel that by understanding law, the lawmaking rituals, politics and more, I will be able to enhance my ability to push my efforts to help heal the world further. Through my law degree, I will establish a non profit to secure housing for the homeless through communities built specifically for them that offer job placement and educational opportunities as well. I will, of course, have an increased number of pro bono cases for those that are unable to afford an attorney. I will also create several programs to continue to assist with the food crisis that many families are facing during these challenges times in our world. By creating these programs I will also be creating jobs, allowing the community to become financially stable while working within the community. . Living in Las Vegas, Nevada, I have seen and met so many people that have lose everything and all they need is one person to care enough to give them a chance. I am that person. We are those people. We need to continue to be those people.

Hello! Thank you for reviewing my application. I've decided to submit a video entry via YouTube on my interest for this scholarship. Thank you for your consideration and best of luck in the selection process!

Hello, my name is Luckensley Paul, and I'm a computer engineering major at the University of Bridgeport. As immigrants from Haiti, my mother's dream has been to provide my little sister and I with opportunities that she never had. Seeing my mother work hard for me motivates me to work as hard as I can and be the best that I can be. In Haiti disabled people suffered greatly mainly because no one was helping them. After receiving my degree I will end that. “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." Giving back is an important part of my plan for the future. I believe that everyone who enters the world should strive to leave it in a better state than they found it. Giving back is also an excellent way to become acquainted with your city and its residents. Giving back to your community helps to strengthen it. It could be as simple as cleaning up a street or reading to children at the library. Growing up I had a passion that I wanted to help people who I personally felt weren’t helped as much; disabled people. In our society we have many disabled people, including our veteran soldiers who are disabled and aren't receiving the help that they should be getting. Through this scholarship I will major in the computer engineering field which will allow me to help the disabled. I will dedicate myself to a place where they’re disabled people in need. I will work hard so that someday I will be able to help the disabled and accomplish my dream. I must stay focused to be a successful black man. Being successful helped motivate me everyday and also helped guide me through life. I am currently working on a project to help them do things with ease. Despite my enthusiasm for assisting individuals with disabilities, if I can help anyone in need, I will try my hardest to aid them in any manner I can. I wanted to have an immediate impact. Volunteering at my local food banks is what I've been doing currently to give back to my neighborhood. I was able to help underprivileged individuals while meeting new people who shared my interests. I've also tutored children who require assistance in math. I've also made tremendous donations by collecting clothing from my community, whether from family, friends, or others wanting to donate, and sending it to Haiti.

I chose to pursue accounting because I grew up poor and wanted to get into a career to be able to help others who struggled like my mother did to be able to create better lives for themselves through financial independence. I am working on finishing my degree and then moving into becoming a financial advisor (CFP) to help more women take control of their finances, so they don't feel they have to rely on a broken system or men who are unreliable to have financial independence and peace in their lives. In order to really make a difference, I need to empower hundreds of women (and their children) by teaching them about money, how money truly works, and how to manage their money better to create good lives for themselves and their children. To spend time educating them on the value of working towards financial independence so they won't have to be like my parents who are in their 60's and struggling to survive because they didn't take care of their health, they don't have good insurance, and they didn't save for retirement so if they don't work, they don't have money to live. That is no way for someone who is in their "golden age" to have to live. I want to teach people how to manage their finances so that when they get to retirement age if they work it's because they want to, not because they must. That to me is true financial independence. Knowing that you don't have to continue to work to survive and that your basic needs will always be met. I grew up never knowing if I was going to eat dinner that day, we hardly ever had breakfast, and when my mom found out that they handed out tokens at school in front of the class to those who were getting free or reduced lunch, she took us out of the program because of the embarrassment. So, instead of us being embarrassed or ashamed, instead, we just went hungry. Every month it was utility roulette. Was there going to be water today? Heat? Electricity? Living with that kind of scarcity made my siblings become just like my parents, but I needed to make a better life for myself, so I became educated and in turn, started educating others and it's been the most rewarding thing I've ever done for myself. I love the feeling of knowing that I helped someone put money into savings, to help them stop living paycheck to paycheck, to help them start putting money away for retirement. That to me is more rewarding than any amount of money.

Being first does not mean being the best but that does not mean I cannot be the best I can be. My name is Alyxes and I am first generation in my family in America. I am in my 3rd year of my field of study in Finance. I am the oldest of four siblings and younger cousins. My family is my greatest motivator, and I tend to help the younger generations build a life for themselves once I am able to support my own dreams. Especially during these strange times, being motivated to continue and work at my best has been crucial. I am a full time student at night and part time employee as a banker during business hours. It is my goal higher my education and hone my skills in finance to help others know how to and where to spend their money where it can grow.

Since I was a child, computers have been a prominent aspect of my life. This occurred because my father worked in the technology field even before he immigrated to America from the country of Nigeria. My earliest childhood memories consisted of seeing my father helping others with their computer issues since he specialized in the IT field and playing computer games on one of the several computers that my father had placed around our home. Because of the amount of technology surrounding my everyday life, I became enthralled with technology, and more specifically, computers. Therefore, I pursued a bachelor's degree in computer science in college after I graduated high school because of the programming classes I took during my junior and senior years of high school. In my junior year of college, I was selected, alongside 3 other individuals, for an internship with the company NetApp to create a cluster mobile application. I believe completing this internship helped to inspire my dream of becoming a UI developer. I was assigned to focus more on the front-hand part of the application, which deals with the design of the app. I enjoyed being able to alter the look of the app however I wanted and also utilizing the skills I had developed from my previous computer science classes with the app. I dream to create my app and/or video game in the future with the abilities I learn as a UI developer. I hope that the software I create will be able to bring joy and also make lives more comfortable for other individuals.

My name is Ashley Maharaj. I currently attend Clemson University and is a first generation student to attend college in my household. I have two immigrant parents who dedicate their life to taking care of my brother and I. I chose to pursue a career in Mechanical Engineering because there are fewer to none female engineers in my family, let alone females that have jobs. In my family, most of the women are subjected to taking care of their significant others and nothing more. With this being said, most of my younger female cousins only look forward to this as their coming of age years are near. I am the first female in my family to pursue a career as a female of color in a male dominated field, pursue a bachelor's degree in another state, and give my younger cousins an inspiration for their future years to come. Because of my college journey this semester, I have influenced my younger cousin to apply to college and become a mechanical engineering major. This influenced me to encourage all of my cousins, male or female, to apply to college and pursue their goals and dream. I plan to use my education to influence other young women to chase their dreams as well. I aspire to be an inspiration to not only the younger generation in my family but the younger generation as a whole. I can start off by speaking at schools to interact with the children one on one. Interacting with them personally can influence an inspiration so impactful they will make a difference in the future. By educating, inspiring, and influencing the younger generation to believe in themselves is the ticket to how I can make a difference in this world.

Kindly find the essay link below. Happy New year, Thank You

A bit about myself; I am 23 year old student from Venezuela, I moved here when I was 16 years old knowing not english and I had help from a lot of people to get to where I am now. I chose my area of study because since I moved here even thought I did not speak English, I always understood numbers and I am really good at it, I took Accounting classes during my first 2 years of college and I liked it a lot. I plan to use my education to make a difference in the world by guiding people who are probably in the same shoes I was. Helping them get in the right paths and showing them everything I had to go through and probably finding more easier ways now.