My palms were sweaty as I accompanied my equally nervous girlfriend into the courtroom. Department 510, Hayward Hall of Justice… the family law court room. I looked at Amal and told her to breathe, just as the judge called her name. Amal had been in an abusive relationship for 12 years and today I was accompanying her into the court room where she would sit before a judge and officially divorce her abuser. Amal was Pakistani and Muslim in every sense of the word, she came from a country where women rarely divorce, and they certainly never talk about abuse. After months of assisting Amal with paperwork and asking her painful questions about the background of her abuse, she finally signed the papers, told the judge what REALLY happened, and gained full custody of her two small children. After assisting Amal in not only finalizing a divorce from a physically abusive husband but helping her win custody of her children, I knew that law was for me. I originally went into the area of law because I thought that the word “Paralegal” sounded cool. While working at my parent’s restaurant, the attorneys who would come in and sit at my tables during their lunch breaks seemed well spoken and intelligent. After COVID-19 shut down my parents business I thought I would go hang out with the attorneys and be a glorified secretary. My law firm (State Farm) had quarterly pro-bono clinics that staff could participate in; after a particularly exciting teaching session where we were taught how to fill out the paperwork expunging the records of misdemeanor crimes and certain felonies for people who were unable to afford an attorney, I knew that law was THE thing I was supposed to be doing with my life. I started school again to complete my bachelors degree. During my undergrad, I sold cookies outside of a local hay and feed store to pay for tuition and housing. Simple as this may seem, I was working an additional 15 hours a week on top of school and a full time job. My hard work paid off and I graduated August 2025 with only $1000.00 in debt. As things stand, I know that graduation without student debt is possible and I am going to strive to achieve debt-free graduation. I have a daughter now (5 months old at the time of this writing), I want my little girl to grow up with funds in her 529 account, ready for use when she comes of age. I want to give her a platform to stand on so that she does not have to work as hard as I have. My parents were poor, her mother will not come home from work each day and stress about how we will pay rent. Thank you for considering me for your scholarship. Thank you for helping me achieve my dream and also investing in the life of my little girl, an investment in me is an investment in the next generation because I intend to pass it on. Warmly, -Eleni Nickolopoulos 🇬🇷

My palms were sweaty as I accompanied my equally nervous girlfriend into the courtroom. Department 510, Hayward Hall of Justice… the family law court room. I looked at Amal and told her to breathe, just as the judge called her name. Amal had been in an abusive relationship for 12 years and today I was accompanying her into the court room where she would sit before a judge and officially divorce her abuser. Amal was Pakistani and Muslim in every sense of the word, she came from a country where women rarely divorce, and they certainly never talk about abuse. After months of assisting Amal with paperwork and asking her painful questions about the background of her abuse, she finally signed the papers, told the judge what REALLY happened, and gained full custody of her two small children. After assisting Amal in not only finalizing a divorce from a physically abusive husband but helping her win custody of her children, I knew that law was for me. I originally went into the area of law because I thought that the word “Paralegal” sounded cool. While working at my parent’s restaurant, the attorneys who would come in and sit at my tables during their lunch breaks seemed well spoken and intelligent. After COVID-19 shut down my parents business I thought I would go hang out with the attorneys and be a glorified secretary. My law firm (State Farm) had quarterly pro-bono clinics that staff could participate in; after a particularly exciting teaching session where we were taught how to fill out the paperwork expunging the records of misdemeanor crimes and certain felonies for people who were unable to afford an attorney, I knew that law was THE thing I was supposed to be doing with my life. I started school again to complete my bachelors degree. During my undergrad, I sold cookies outside of a local hay and feed store to pay for tuition and housing. Simple as this may seem, I was working an additional 15 hours a week on top of school and a full time job. My hard work paid off and I graduated August 2025 with only $1000.00 in debt. As things stand, I know that graduation without student debt is possible and I am going to strive to achieve debt-free graduation. I have a daughter now (5 months old at the time of this writing), I want my little girl to grow up with funds in her 529 account, ready for use when she comes of age. I want to give her a platform to stand on so that she does not have to work as hard as I have. My parents were poor, her mother will not come home from work each day and stress about how we will pay rent. Thank you for considering me for your scholarship. Thank you for helping me achieve my dream and also investing in the life of my little girl, an investment in me is an investment in the next generation because I intend to pass it on. Warmly, -Eleni Nickolopoulos 🇬🇷

My palms were sweaty as I accompanied my equally nervous girlfriend into the courtroom. Department 510, Hayward Hall of Justice… the family law court room. I looked at Amal and told her to breathe, just as the judge called her name. Amal had been in an abusive relationship for 12 years and today I was accompanying her into the court room where she would sit before a judge and officially divorce her abuser. Amal was Pakistani and Muslim in every sense of the word, she came from a country where women rarely divorce, and they certainly never talk about abuse. After months of assisting Amal with paperwork and asking her painful questions about the background of her abuse, she finally signed the papers, told the judge what REALLY happened, and gained full custody of her two small children. After assisting Amal in not only finalizing a divorce from a physically abusive husband but helping her win custody of her children, I knew that law was for me. I originally went into the area of law because I thought that the word “Paralegal” sounded cool. While working at my parent’s restaurant, the attorneys who would come in and sit at my tables during their lunch breaks seemed well spoken and intelligent. After COVID-19 shut down my parents business I thought I would go hang out with the attorneys and be a glorified secretary. My law firm (State Farm) had quarterly pro-bono clinics that staff could participate in; after a particularly exciting teaching session where we were taught how to fill out the paperwork expunging the records of misdemeanor crimes and certain felonies for people who were unable to afford an attorney, I knew that law was THE thing I was supposed to be doing with my life. I started school again to complete my bachelors degree. During my undergrad, I sold cookies outside of a local hay and feed store to pay for tuition and housing. Simple as this may seem, I was working an additional 15 hours a week on top of school and a full time job. My hard work paid off and I graduated August 2025 with only $1000.00 in debt. As things stand, I know that graduation without student debt is possible and I am going to strive to achieve debt-free graduation. I have a daughter now (5 months old at the time of this writing), I want my little girl to grow up with funds in her 529 account, ready for use when she comes of age. I want to give her a platform to stand on so that she does not have to work as hard as I have. My parents were poor, her mother will not come home from work each day and stress about how we will pay rent. Thank you for considering me for your scholarship. Thank you for helping me achieve my dream and also investing in the life of my little girl, an investment in me is an investment in the next generation because I intend to pass it on. Warmly, -Eleni Nickolopoulos 🇬🇷 *Name changed to preserve privacy