For the last year and a half, I have dedicated myself to advocacy to end the Tigray Genocide in the form of non-profit work, community activism, and legislative lobbying. To say that I am shocked to continue this work over 600 days would be an understatement. The gravity, scale, and duration of the situation, manmade starvation, weaponized sexual and gender based violence, concentration camps, and chemical warfare, were initially stifling. To contemplate personal impact in this context felt naive, and still, I decided to take action in the face of the most inhumane images I have witnessed. Courage and the possibility of impact pulled me out of the paralysis. My work as a board member of the Tigray Action Committee, has required an unyielding level of grit, prioritization, focus, and leadership. I've learned that I am able to lead under even the most challenging of circumstances. Despite the billion dollar programs I have worked on, my service to Tigray under the circumstance of life and death has been one of the significant leadership opportunities of my life and has truly sharpened my leadership skills. In the midst of darkness, I am able to see the silver lining that by being courageous enough to live boldly and use my voice and skills to stop my family members from being killed in Tigray, my value add to my classmates at Wharton and as a business leader will be strengthened by the growth I am experiencing in this devastating work. My past contributions to society are a minor representation of what I will accomplish in the future with enhanced skills and resources. Driving positive impact is not an annual day of service, but a perpetual way of life. I look forward to continuing my record of courage driven service.

For the last year and a half, I have dedicated myself to advocacy to end the Tigray Genocide in the form of non-profit work, community activism, and legislative lobbying. To say that I am shocked to continue this work over 600 days would be an understatement. The gravity, scale, and duration of the situation, manmade starvation, weaponized sexual and gender based violence, concentration camps, and chemical warfare, were initially stifling. To contemplate personal impact in this context felt naive, and still, I decided to take action in the face of the most inhumane images I have witnessed. Optimism and the possibility of impact pulled me out of one of the darkest periods of my life. My work as a board member of the Tigray Action Committee, has required an unyielding level of grit, prioritization, focus, and leadership. I've learned that I am able to lead under even the most challenging of circumstances. Despite the billion dollar programs I have worked on, my service to Tigray under the circumstance of life and death has been one of the significant leadership opportunities of my life and has truly sharpened my leadership skills. In the midst of darkness, I am able to see the silver lining that my value add to my classmates at Wharton and as a business leader will only be strengthened by the growth I am experiencing during this devastating period. My past contributions to society are a minor representation of what I will accomplish in the future. With enhanced skills and access to greater resources, I will make an impact on the injustices in the world. Driving positive impact is not an annual day of service, but a perpetual way of life. I look forward to continuing my record of optimism driven service.

For the last year and a half, I have dedicated myself to advocacy to end the Tigray Genocide in the form of non-profit work, community activism, and legislative lobbying. To say that I am shocked to continue this work over 600 days would be an understatement. The gravity, scale, and duration of the situation, manmade starvation, weaponized sexual and gender based violence, concentration camps, and chemical warfare, were initially stifling. To contemplate personal impact in this context felt naive, and still, I decided to take action in the face of the most inhumane images I have witnessed. Optimism and the possibility of impact pulled me out of one of the darkest periods of my life. My work as a board member of the Tigray Action Committee, has required an unyielding level of grit, prioritization, focus, and leadership. I've learned that I am able to lead under even the most challenging of circumstances. Despite the billion dollar programs I have worked on, my service to Tigray under the circumstance of life and death has been one of the significant leadership opportunities of my life and has truly sharpened my leadership skills. In the midst of darkness, I am able to see the silver lining that my value add to my classmates at Wharton and as a business leader will only be strengthened by the growth I am experiencing during this devastating period. My past contributions to society are a minor representation of what I will accomplish in the future. With enhanced skills and access to greater resources, I will make an impact on the injustices in the world. Driving positive impact is not an annual day of service, but a perpetual way of life. I look forward to continuing my record of optimism driven service.

Amelia Boynton Robinson and Samuel William Boynton were business leaders, community leaders, activists and ultimately American heroes. They understood the criticality of ownership and utilizing your vote to attain financial and educational strength. They advocated for and provided resources to help the African American community register to vote and buy land. They held philosophies such as "a voteless people is a hopeless people" and "ownership makes any man respected" and shared their philosophies broadly to drive change in the community even before the start of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. To have such courageous leaders sacrifice their lives to ensure the standard of life for African Americans improved in this country has taught me to view everyday items and information as imbued with ethical import. It is my responsibility to understand, access, and leverage resources for my own aspirations and those of my community. Me pursuing my MBA is an ethical duty and the resources and skills that come with graduate school will be ones I share with my community. Amelia and Samuel have taught me self reliance, taking action when no one else is, and maintaining grit to make an impact on lives. The most talented children in the African American community are often not afforded the guidance, resources and opportunities to maximize their potential and flourish: thus quite often, they do the opposite. While exploring my own graduate school journey, I founded the Tens Scholars Honor Society. Our purpose was to provide comprehensive college preparation that enhances performance on standardized tests, and increases the intellectual prowess and critical thinking skills of our under-served, African-American scholars. We employed two staff members along with three full-time volunteers and launched a full-suit pilot program. Simply raising test scores is not what makes this my most significant accomplishment, but rather what my decision to act represents. The societally accepted practice of waiting until the pinnacle of one’s success before engaging in arduous community service is not a practice I choose to live by. The Tens Scholars Honor Society is a minor representation of the impact I have and will make on civil rights and equal opportunities for all with enhanced skills and access to greater resources attained while pursuing my MBA at The Wharton School.

Horrified, I watched a man, paralyzed from the waist down, dig two wooden blocks into the ground, one in each hand, and use his upper body strength to drag himself across a dirt path. I stared at the flesh that had been rubbed raw and saw his determination despite his discomfort. It was my first trip to Tigray, Ethiopia, the region my refugee parents emigrated from. I interrogated my mother about what I had witnessed, why no one rushed to help. The two wooden pegs were his only access to mobility after suffering great injuries during a war based on ethnic persecution and unfortunately his condition was a standard for locals. I became intimately aware of how difficult lack of access to resources can be. Upon returning home to Colorado, I announced to my family that I was going to conduct a wheelchair drive. My family celebrated my 10-year-old aspirations, but as immigrants new to American systems, no one knew how to establish charitable drives; my lofty aspirations amounted to a personal failure. Failing to actualize my goal taught me to view everyday items and information as imbued with ethical import. It is my responsibility to understand, access, and leverage resources for my own aspirations and those of my community. This experience taught me self reliance, taking action when no one else is, and maintaining grit to ultimately make an impact on lives. Now 20 years later, for the last year and a half I have dedicated myself to advocacy efforts to end the genocide happening in Tigray, Ethiopia in the form of non-profit work, community activism, and legislative lobbying. To say that I am shocked to witness the cycle of oppression, ethnic cleansing and human rights violations resurface in the same region my parents fled from causing my aunts, uncles, grandmothers, and cousins to currently be facing active genocide would be an understatement. I have re-directed all of my time to bringing awareness to and ending the genocide. While incredibly mentally exhausting and traumatic, it has been the honor of my life to be able to serve my community in this capacity. Throughout this work, the most moving moments I’ve experienced have been shared with allies who have shown up, taken the initiative to do the work, and shared their resources. Once the borders of Tigray are accessible, I know images far darker than that of the man with the two wooden pegs await me. However, unlike my 10 year old lesson of self reliance and gaining resources to help my community, my lesson today is that to stop the inhumane cycles of oppression and exclusion from repeating throughout history, not only must my ethical compass be rooted in take care of those I am connected to in community, but it must also extend to those in communities I do not have direct affinity to. I now choose to apply this ethical compass professionally, philanthropically, and academically to make a mark on the world that I’m proud of.