My name is McKenzi McGill and I am currently a junior at Michigan State University. I am majoring in Environmental Studies and Sustainability with a minor in Environmental Social Science. Outside of my education, I enjoy playing tennis as well as diving deeper into my faith in God. My favorite leadership roles I’ve had are those that have combined my love for the environment and the betterment of my community. My first leadership role came in high school through my school’s Students for Environmental Action (SEA) club. In high school, I was the social media manager for SEA as well as a member of the National Honor Society (NHS). As a club, SEA provided NHS members with an opportunity to gain service hours by holding a bottle and can drive at my high school. Community members were encouraged to drop off their recyclable bottles and cans as a way to raise money for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). In total, we raised over $500, all of which we donated to the WWF to help further their global mission. The summer after I graduated from high school, I had the most amazing opportunity to work with an environmental organization in Detroit called Green Door Initiative. I specifically worked with the Youth Program whose participants consisted of high school-aged students. That summer, we spent our time exposing them to environmental opportunities they otherwise would not have had the chance to experience. Some of these opportunities included learning survival skills, determining the value and ages of trees, as well as participating in the Detroit River Skiff and Schooner Program, building fully functional boats that were launched in the Riverside Marina. The world of sustainability is a large one and it seems to be growing every day. My past leadership roles, as well as my degree, have directly influenced the career I aspire to have one day. My dream field is one that involves environmental justice work. As the effects of climate change become more evident, there is also growing evidence that those most affected are people who are minorities and lower income. Past practices like redlining have forced minority groups into less desirable areas like industrial zones with poor air quality. The effects of this are already known as Black people are much more likely to have asthma than white people. I want to center my career around these communities, learning what they need to improve their environment to live better, healthier lives. As mentioned earlier, I am beginning the third year of my bachelor’s degree at Michigan State University. At this point in my life, I do not see myself getting another degree once I have completed my current one, but this is something that could change in the future. My education is the first stepping stone in a long line of accomplishments I wish to achieve in this world. I’m blessed to have the opportunity to receive my education from one of the best public universities in the country, and I want to use everything that I’ve learned to better the world around me. My degree is based on system-thinking processes, teaching me to analyze life as an interconnected web, not a set of isolated variables. Bringing this perspective with me into the professional world will allow me to help communities in a way that is most impactful to them.

Success can look like many different things depending on the circumstances. Because success has a dynamic quality to it, I like to define it in a general way so that I can apply it to multiple areas of my life. For me, success looks like progress. I think that too often in life, I can get caught up in the big picture, the final goal, but I don’t take the time to appreciate the smaller successes it takes to get there. I think that my definition of success is most applicable to my education. Whenever I have to write a paper or study for a test, I take time to be proud of myself for the work I do along the way as it gets me one step closer to my goal. One of the more recent examples of this from my own life comes from an exam I had to take for my chemistry class. For the test, I had to memorize between 20-30 equations and several chemical formulas. To be able to memorize this information, I decided the best method was to write all of this information on flash cards. When I was finally done writing the flashcards, I had over 50 notecards of everything I needed to memorize for this exam. While I could have brushed past this as something that needed to be done, I took a moment to be proud of myself. This was a small success, but a success nonetheless, that pushed me one step closer to my goal of getting a ‘B’ on my chemistry exam. Once I had created all of my flashcards, I needed to work on memorizing the information on them. As I slowly worked through the pile of cards, I split them into a pile of information I knew and information I still had yet to learn. The pile of cards I had memorized was a visible success, a sign that I was confident of my knowledge of the unit going into the exam. The pile of cards I had to work on memorizing reminded me that there was still progress to be made. As the second pile slowly began to shrink, it was a sign to myself that my big picture, passing my exam with a ‘B’, was within my grasp. When I finally took my exam, there were multiple moments where I was able to recognize that my hard work had paid off. Several of the equations as well as chemical names and formulas were on the exam and I was confident in my answers and work. All of my progress, my smaller successes, helped me reach my larger goal as I passed my exam with an 88%. I use this thought process about success in how I think about scholarships as well, including this one. Receiving this scholarship would be both a big success for me but also a step towards my bigger goal of graduating with my Bachelor’s degree debt-free. I have been blessed to have been awarded two scholarships already, one directly through my university and another through Bold.org. While these have both been huge successes for me, these scholarships have totaled a few thousand dollars, and my education costs much more. Being awarded this scholarship would be a huge step towards my larger goal of paying for my education and securing my future.

My passion for science stems from my belief that science is a tool that can be used to change the world. I really began to take an interest in science when I was a junior in high school. That school year, I took AP Environmental Science and fell in love with learning about the environment and how the world and humanity interact with each other. After I graduated high school, I secured a summer internship with an environmental organization that fueled my passion for the environment even more. Following these experiences, I chose to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Sustainability. Even though I am only in the second year of my studies, the classes I have taken so far have been extremely eye-opening to the multitude of environmental issues around the world, including in the United States. While it’s incredibly important to discuss the problems the world is facing, what truly excites me is learning about how these problems are being solved. One subject I love to learn about, and one day plan to pursue a career in, is environmental justice. This subject is so important to me because I am a Black woman and environmental issues tend to negatively impact predominately minority communities at a higher rate than predominately white communities. While I don’t live in a predominately Black community, I lived in Detroit during the summer of my internship I previously mentioned. Detroit is a major city where almost 80% of its residents are Black and it is a city that suffers a lot when it comes to environmental issues. These issues can range from air pollution to food access, but they all have severe negative impacts on the communities that make up the city. While these problems can seem big, too big to solve in a city as large as Detroit, it is being done. This is where I see myself becoming a small part of a bigger solution. Being a STEAM major, there is a world of possibilities being made available to me through my education. I have been blessed to begin my studies, but finishing them will allow me to have a positive and meaningful impact on the world. Being the recipient of this scholarship would move me one step closer to completing my goals and being able to positively impact minority communities, helping to ensure environmental justice for those who need it.

@mckenzi.mcgill

My name is McKenzi McGill, and I am a 19-year-old undergraduate student currently entering my second year of university. This upcoming fall semester will be my third semester attending Michigan State University and my first attending Lansing Community College, as I have recently decided to dual enroll in both schools. I am planning to graduate after the fall semester of 2025 with my Bachelor of Science in environmental studies and sustainability. I am an East Lansing High School graduate, and my time in high school is where I discovered many of my passions through the extracurriculars I participated in. Some of my favorite after-school clubs included Black Student Union and Students for Environmental Action. My involvement in these two clubs had a unique impact on my life. As a Black woman, Black Student Union provided me with a space to connect with other Black students on a deeper level as we would discuss issues the Black community faces. Students for Environmental Action provided me with a similar sense of community; only I was surrounded by students that shared my passion for the environment. My membership in these clubs shaped my future and continues to fuel my passion for helping my community and the environment. Because I had such a positive experience in both clubs, I wanted to find a career where I could work with the Black community and the environment. This desire led me to pursue a degree in environmental studies and sustainability so that I can eventually have a career in environmental justice. Winning this scholarship would have an incredibly positive impact on my life. Currently, I am using the last of the money my parents have set aside for my college to pay for this upcoming semester while financing a few courses on my own. With the cost of my tuition increasing each year, I know that the rest of my education will cost just under $25,000. Whether I win the award of $10,000 or $5,000, this scholarship would pay for a substantial portion of my schooling. On top of this, it would allow me to save the money I earn from my campus job to finance a future semester of my degree. While this scholarship would assist me in creating a better life for myself by furthering my education, it would also help me create a better life for other people and communities as well. The intersection of the Black community and the environment is one that can be easily forgotten, but it’s incredibly important. Black people and other groups of racial minorities are more likely to suffer from environmental racism, which negatively impacts their health and overall well-being. When I graduate, I will use my education to make a difference in minority communities by committing to a career in environmental justice and dedicating myself to making a meaningful change in the world.

The summer of 2022 was a very special time in which I truly realized how negatively the environment can impact minority communities, specifically the Black community. I spent my summer working with an all-Black environmental organization in Detroit, and that’s where I began to learn of the intersection between racial disparities and the environment. The organization I worked with highlighted the higher rates of asthma in Detroit residents compared to the state of Michigan as a whole due to a lower quality of air. As a Black woman, it pains me to see my community struggling with something that is largely out of our control but simultaneously negatively impacts our lives. What I experienced and learned during that summer has inspired me and influenced what I have planned for my future. Although I had already decided to study environmental studies in college, that one summer solidified that choice in my mind. I have since completed one year of my degree, and while I love my major, it hasn’t come without its challenges. I am a student at Michigan State University, which is a predominately white institution. On top of that, I’m majoring in environmental studies and sustainability, which is an incredibly small major. Combining these two factors means that there isn’t much racial diversity among my peers. For some, the lack of diversity might be seen as a deterrent to their goals. While I don’t know every one of my peer’s plans for after graduation, I know that my motivation and end goal is unique and very personal. I have chosen to go to college for two particular reasons. One of these reasons is that I want to grow my knowledge of a subject that I love. I also want to use my degree to better the Black community and help predominately Black communities receive the environmental justice they deserve. More often than not, communities that consist primarily of racial minorities are left to fend for themselves. It is up to members of the community to enact the changes they want, but this can be next to impossible if the resources aren’t there. Being able to attend college is a privilege that I am grateful for every single day, but there are still obstacles that are stopping me from meeting my goals. Winning the Kim Moon Bae Underrepresented Students Scholarship would alleviate the stress of paying for my education and allow me to focus on bettering myself for my community. Once I’ve graduated, I will use my education to become an asset to my community, working towards eliminating environmental disparities within the Black community.

The environment has always played a significant role in my life. Since the time I was born, my parents would take me and my older sister camping in the northern part of Michigan’s lower peninsula. While my love of the environment has always existed, I found my passion for it in middle and high school. Although I am majoring in environmental studies and sustainability, I don’t think I would be here without my 7th-grade science class. My 7th-grade science class was so long ago that I can’t even remember what the lesson that day was about or even the class as a whole. The one thing I do remember from that class was my teacher having us take a BuzzFeed quiz to see which area of science would suit us best as a career. On the board, she had listed some of the more common responses that students received, but my quiz answered that I should study environmental science. At that point in my life, I was 12 years old and had no idea about what I wanted to do with my future, but something about this answer intrigued me a lot. I researched the major more and discovered that my school district’s high school offered AP Environmental Science as a course. Four years after taking that BuzzFeed quiz, I took AP Environmental Science during my junior year of high school. Subsequently, I decided to major in environmental studies and sustainability at Michigan State University. While environmental science and environmental studies sound similar, the two majors have many differences between them. The main reason why I chose environmental studies over environmental science is that it will allow me to combine my interests in environmental sustainability and uplifting disadvantaged communities. This past summer, I had the incredible opportunity to work with an environmental organization called Green Door Initiative in Detroit. Through their program, I learned more about the environmental injustices that many communities in Detroit face. One injustice I learned of through their program was the problem of poor air quality that burdens many residents of Detroit, specifically the Black community. During my first year of college, I was able to combine what I learned over the summer with my freshman-year courses. For one of my classes, I had the opportunity to create a video discussing the poor air quality in Detroit compared to other places in the world. This video project opened my eyes to how poor the air quality can be in Detroit, a city with one of the biggest populations of Black people in the entire country. Once I graduate with my bachelor’s degree, I aspire to be a part of the environmental community, trying to improve the health of predominately Black communities. Environmental issues are typically complex problems resulting from the failure of different systems in both the state and the country. I want to use the knowledge I will obtain over the next few years to assist the communities in improving their livelihoods for the better.

My name is McKenzi McGill, and I am currently a sophomore at Michigan State University. In high school, I participated in clubs like National Honor Society, Black Student Union, and Students for Environmental Action. In addition to these clubs, I had the privilege of being placed in multiple leadership roles. I was co-caption of my high school's girls' varsity tennis team my senior year of high school and a clarinet section leader for our school's marching band. These experiences have shaped me into the person I am today as they allowed me to explore my passions and develop my interests. My participation in multiple clubs furthered my love for the environment and desire to work with predominately Black communities in the future. Because of these experiences, I decided to pursue higher education, majoring in Environmental Studies and Sustainability at Michigan State University. The summer after I graduated from high school, I received an internship with an environmental group based in Detroit, where I worked with Black teenagers from Detroit and the surrounding area. The entire summer was spent exposing them to environmental opportunities they most likely would not have known about without this program. These opportunities ranged from simple tasks like picking up trash to complex activities like learning how to filter water and identifying microplastics in the Detroit River. The entire summer was an experience unlike anything I've done before, but it was also one of the most incredible summers of my life. One of the lasting impacts that this program had on me was that it both shaped and inspired what I wanted to do with my life. On top of this program providing me with experience in the environmental world, it also gave me the opportunity to provide this experience to Black teenagers. Exposing Black teenagers to the world of sustainability is hugely beneficial to both the sustainability community and the Black community, as the Black community is largely affected by environmental problems. After seeing the disparity between who gets recognized in the environmental community versus who the environmental problems have the most significant impact on, it inspired me to want to continue the work I was able to be a part of for one summer. I have decided to pursue a degree in environmental sustainability because I want to help communities become more sustainable in their daily practices, along with helping the environments they live in become healthier. I specifically want to help predominately Black communities as they often live in unhealthy environments, both historically and to this day, which has lasting effects on individuals' health. Often, the people living in these environments cannot move away from these conditions, so making their communities safe to live in is crucial. Once I graduate from college, I plan to work closely with the Black community to cultivate more sustainable and healthier communities to improve their quality of life while positively impacting the environment.

Attending a four-year university is incredibly expensive. To actually complete a degree, the cost of attendance can easily exceed $100,000 over the span of 4 years. Given that tuition is thousands of dollars for a semester, on top of room and board, a four-year college experience is an unattainable dream for most. When I began to apply for colleges during my senior year of high school, this reality was made abundantly clear. At large universities, even public institutions, one-credit classes are hundreds of dollars, and these classes are few and far between. While the financial advice I’ve been given hasn’t been explicitly stated, the idea has been prominent since I was in high school. Avoid college at all costs, literally. I don’t mean don’t go to college at all and never get a degree. What I mean is, seek places besides four-year universities to take required college courses at lower costs. The first time I was introduced to this concept was in high school. From the moment I stepped into high school, it seemed as though everyone was talking about AP classes and their corresponding exams. At first, I only understood AP classes to be a GPA boost, as getting a 4.0 in an AP class was better than a 4.0 in a regular or even a Pre-AP course. I soon understood that taking an AP Exam in high school for $100 could save you thousands in the future. In all honesty, during my freshman year of high school, I thought my classmates who took these classes were crazy. I remember students being overworked, stressed, and crying about their AP World History classes at 8 am, so I thought it wasn’t worth it. On top of that, they would pay $100 to take a test. Clearly, there was something wrong with them. I could never be bothered with the stress or the cost when I could easily get a 4.0 in the regular version of the same class. But once I realized just how expensive college was, I was right there beside them. This reality hit me once again during my senior year of high school. During the application season, I had already decided on my major. I chose to attend a college in-state, but the financial pressure was so high that a wave of anxiety would wash over me whenever I thought about it. Thankfully, my dad was there to help me along. He received both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s, the latter of which his job helped to pay for. Out of everyone in my family, he was the most valuable in helping me understand the financial responsibility of a college degree. One of the best pieces of advice he gave me was to attend community college. While I wouldn’t be able to receive my bachelor’s degree from a two-year university, it would be an excellent place for me to start, and at a fraction of the cost. Often, I find that there is a stigma around students who attend community college. Community college is often looked down upon as if it isn’t good enough for most people to attend, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, the reason my dad shared the possibility of community college with me is because he attended community college himself. He shared with me that he attended community college for two years before transferring over to a four-year university to finish his bachelor’s degree in education. Seeing how well community college worked out for him made me realize that the same can also be true for me. Just recently, I have begun to put his advice into practice. There is a community college extremely close to the university I attend, and I have started the dual enrollment process. My goal for enrolling at a community college is to complete as many classes as possible so that I can transfer the credits over. While this process will take a few semesters to complete, on top of taking classes at a four-year university, in the long run, this will save me thousands of dollars. While the idea of avoiding a four-year university to receive a degree might seem counterintuitive, it has provided me with the best college experience possible. Considering that college is inaccessible to so many, and the cost is only getting higher, I believe that this advice has set me and my future up to be incredibly successful.

The environment has always played a significant role in my life. Since the time I was born, my parents would take me and my older sister camping in the northern part of Michigan’s lower peninsula. While my love of the environment has always existed, I found my passion for it in middle and high school. Although I am majoring in environmental studies and sustainability, I don’t think I would be here without my 7th-grade science class. My 7th-grade science class was so long ago that I can’t even remember what the lesson that day was about or even the class as a whole. The one thing I do remember from that class was my teacher having us take a BuzzFeed quiz to see which area of science would suit us best as a career. On the board, she had listed some of the more common responses that students received, but my quiz answered that I should study environmental science. At that point in my life, I was 12 years old and had no idea about what I wanted to do with my future, but something about this answer intrigued me a lot. I researched the major more and discovered that my school district’s high school offered AP Environmental Science as a course. Four years after taking that BuzzFeed quiz, I took AP Environmental Science during my junior year of high school. Subsequently, I decided to major in environmental studies and sustainability at Michigan State University. While environmental science and environmental studies sound similar, the two majors have many differences between them. The main reason why I chose environmental studies over environmental science is that it will allow me to combine my interests in environmental sustainability and uplifting disadvantaged communities. This past summer, I had the incredible opportunity to work with an environmental organization called Green Door Initiative in Detroit. Through their program, I learned more about the environmental injustices that many communities in Detroit face. One injustice I learned of through their program was the problem of poor air quality that burdens many residents of the area, specifically the Black community. During my first year of college, I was able to combine what I learned over the summer with my freshman-year courses. For one of my classes, I had the opportunity to create a video discussing the poor air quality in Detroit compared to other places in the world. This video project opened my eyes to how poor the air quality can be in Detroit, a city with one of the biggest populations of Black people in the entire country. Once I graduate with my bachelor’s degree, I aspire to be a part of the environmental community, trying to improve the health of predominately Black communities. Environmental issues are typically complex problems resulting from the failure of different systems in both the state and the country. I want to use the knowledge I will obtain over the next few years to assist the communities in improving their livelihoods for the better.

Every time I've applied for a scholarship, I've always been told the same thing. Whether it comes from my parents, the person helping me write my application, or tips from the application's website, I've always been told to stand out. And this rings true no matter the prompt, and I've done my best to do so. In high school, I was a part of 3 clubs, co-captain of my varsity tennis team, and maintained a 4.0 GPA. Directly out of high school, I was blessed with an incredible internship opportunity in Detroit, working with Black youth for the duration of July and August in 2022. Even with having done all of this, I've struggled with scholarships. And not just winning them, as I know I can't win every scholarship I apply to, but feeling as though my education is worth enough for a stranger to give me money in order to accomplish my goals. Often, scholarships are limited to those with an extreme economic disadvantage or those raised by single parents. Understandably, this is where many people and organizations who offer scholarships choose to have their money go to these individuals. These are all extremely valid reasons for someone to receive a scholarship. But I often find myself in a gray area. Economically, my life has been very stable, but the one area my parents always fell short of was having enough to fund my college education. Because of this, I chose a university close enough for me to commute to every day, so I could cut the cost of college in half. Even with this, my parents didn't have enough to fully fund my degree. Because of that, I look to scholarships like this so that I can fund my education with the least amount of debt possible. While I have been using some of the money my parents set aside for college, it's simply not enough. Winning a scholarship, big or small, would move me one step closer to graduating with my degree. Winning this scholarship would be an immense weight lifted off of my shoulders and would allow me to spend more time on my studies. When it comes to answering the question of how this scholarship would affect me and my future, I try to stay away from simplistic answers, but often, the simpler the answer, the better. At this point in my education, I know what I could be worth to the sustainability community as a Black woman whose goal is to help predominately Black communities. In my scholarship journey, all I need is someone to believe in me and give me a chance to achieve my goals.

My biggest struggle in high school as I was preparing myself to apply for colleges was figuring out how to combine both my interests and ambitions. Eventually, I realized that majoring in environmental studies and sustainability was the perfect path for me. I decided on this major because it allows me to deepen my understanding of sustainability and the environment and apply this knowledge to my community. Once I've graduated, I hope to use my degree to better the lives of Black people and predominately Black communities by making them more environmentally sustainable and helping create healthier lives. As of now, I have completed my first year at Michigan State University, and I am on track to receive my degree by the spring of 2026. I can see myself stopping school after receiving a bachelor's degree, but I am keeping my mind open if I want to return for a master's. As I've gotten to the point I am at in life, I've learned that life comes with imperfections. Anyone who knows me would describe me as a Type-A personality. I strongly desire to be the leader of group projects and do things my way, but that's not how life goes. I learned this lesson multiple times during my senior year of high school. During this time, I was a section leader in my high school's marching band, specifically for the band's clarinet section. This was the first real year of marching band after COVID happened, and there were nine new members of the band who had never marched before. Marching band by itself is a difficult activity for anyone to take part in as there are so many moving parts, from learning the fundamentals of marching to memorizing pages of music. What made the role of section leader even more challenging was that not every student picks up on marching band as fast as others. Being a section leader meant working with every student at their own pace but also bringing them to the level expected by the band director. Learning to work with such a large group of students but learning to lead them with no previous experience is one of the biggest challenges I've ever faced. While it was a challenge, it is also an experience I am forever grateful for and will never forget. The students within my section inspired me to do my best every day, not only for me but for them as well. Every day of my senior marching band season was another day to execute perseverance and for us to grow together as a group, which I can proudly say we did. This experience as a section leader taught me many things about myself and my role as a leader. It made me more willing to accept my imperfections but also continue to strive for my best every day.

My absolute favorite Disney character is Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog. When I watched that movie on Disney Channel for the first time in 2009, she was cemented in my mind as my favorite Disney princess and Disney character of all time. As a Black girl, it was great to be able to see someone who looks like me get their Disney prince and fairytale ending. Growing up, there wasn't a lot of media that depicted a Black girl as the main character. Seeing Tiana as the main character of a movie, a Disney movie at that, was the representation that I desperately needed growing up. Another reason why I love Tiana more than any other Disney character is because her movie and story are much more realistic. When first introduced in the film, unlike other Disney princesses, Tiana's a working woman trying to get her own restaurant. It was so unexpected from a Disney movie because she was the first Disney princess to be portrayed with this unique, yet more realistic, set of struggles. While so many Disney movies aim to let go of reality, Tiana's story was the first to embrace it, which I really love. I also grew to love Tiana as a little girl because I relate to her in many ways. Throughout the film, it is evident that she is a very strong-willed, focused, and independent woman. Tiana knows exactly what she wants and does everything she can to get it. She never waited for anyone else to help her solve her problems and instead took matters into her own hands. I personally believe that this is one of the most important lessons that there has been in a Disney film. This lesson has applied to every stage of my life so far, and I'm sure it will continue to do so. This is why Tiana is my favorite Disney princess and character, as she is a strong Black woman who inspires me through every stage of life.

As a college student, some might think it is more difficult for me to maintain my overall health. But as a commuter student who lives at home, I can continue many of the daily routines that help me stay healthy. Playing tennis is one of my favorite ways to maintain my physical health. I have played tennis ever since I was four years old, and I still do whenever I get the chance. Another fantastic way to maintain my physical health is to take my dog on walks. He's a little over two years old and has a lot of energy, so for him, the longer the walk, the better. The longer the walk, the better for me as well. On top of this, during the last few months of 2020, I had to go to physical therapy because I had problems with my back. To keep my back strong, I continue to do the exercises I was given at home to decrease the chances of my physical health deteriorating again. Regarding my nutritional health, I have always relied on my parents to take care of it for me. My mom and dad have always been very active people and pushed me towards a healthier lifestyle concerning what I eat. My parents often make meals at home and do their best to use the most nutritious ingredients they can find. In addition to this, my dad became a vegan a few years ago, so he will often incorporate meals into our family's diet that are either vegan or vegetarian. One of the easiest things I've ever done to improve my overall health was buying a water bottle with a straw. Having a straw on my water bottle makes it more convenient to drink a sufficient amount of water daily, which has increased my health substantially. Being a college student can be extremely stressful. Now that I'm coming up on the end of my first semester in college, I now have begun to focus on having a semester exam or final project in every class I have. Even before finals, most of my classes are structured to have either a quiz or exam every week. To keep my mental health intact, I put the due date for every assignment into my planner as soon as I know when they are due, and then I complete them as quickly as possible. Being proactive in my work allows me to have mental health days where I don't have any assignments to work on, but I also stay caught up. This method or organization has helped me realize that being a proactive student can help myself and my mental health in the long run. This lifestyle has allowed me to become the best version of myself. Having the ability to take care of my health is something I am incredibly fortunate for and wouldn't ever take for granted.

When I was in elementary school, my dad went back to college. When he made this decision, he had already received his bachelor's degree from Central Michigan University and had been teaching at my elementary school for a few years. For his master's, my dad decided to attend Grand Valley State University. For the duration of his master's program, I remember how he would leave his job as a teacher on Fridays before going to Grand Valley for the weekend. During this time, we would only talk to him over the phone a few times during the weekend as his sole focus was obtaining his next degree. But during the week, he wasn't just a teacher. To further support our family, my dad also had a warehouse job where he worked the night shift. I'm not sure how he did it, but juggling two jobs finally paid off when he received his master's degree in educational leadership from Grand Valley. Seeing how much my dad sacrificed for my family and me is what makes higher education so important to me. He wanted to return to school to get his master's degree to better his chances of moving up in the education system, hoping to become a principal one day. My dad has always stressed the importance of higher education and has explained how it can improve my life. In addition to the benefits of a bachelor's compared to a high school diploma, he explained what it can do for me, specifically as a young Black woman. From a young age, my dad has told me that 'you have to do twice as much to get half of what they have,' generally referring to people in power compared to Black women. From an educational standpoint, attending college and receiving a bachelor's degree puts you a step above so many other people, but I've always envisioned myself continuing to grow from there. As a Black woman, I do feel extremely fortunate to have the ability to attend a higher institution to further my education and pursue a degree that I love. Currently, I am attending college to receive a bachelor's in environmental studies and sustainability, a field in which Black people are severely underrepresented. I would love to be a role model for other Black kids so they could have someone to look up to in a unique but highly impactful field. I feel this field requires a degree, whether that be a bachelor's or higher, to be an influential community member. So many concepts and ideas feed into the environment and different sustainable topics; I feel that college is the best place to be exposed to many of these ideas and be thoroughly educated in them. Having the opportunity to attend college allows me to better myself for the environmental community I will be a part of one day.

I am a freshman at Michigan State University, working towards a bachelor's in environmental studies and sustainability. While I am only in my first semester of college, what I have learned has opened my eyes to the world around me. The class I have learned the most is my film class, where we watch movies and documentaries that discuss different environmental topics from around the world. The issues addressed in the films range from bee populations moving towards extinction to mining in the Appalachian mountains. Every movie we have watched in the course has exposed me to a new and unique problem in the world. While each circumstance is separate from another, they all have one similarity. Science is the solution to environmental issues. Although I had never heard of these issues before, there are extremely real, prevalent, and potentially detrimental to people's livelihoods. For example, one film shown in the course followed the former president of the Maldives as he fought to lessen the guidelines the world was to abide by so that the planet's temperature wouldn't rise too high. Because his country was barely above sea level, his fight and desperation as the president of such a small but incredibly valuable country was amazing to watch. Another film showed how a boy in Malawi built a turbine out of scraps, reversing a drought, and subsequent famine, in his home. While people have heard of the environmental crisis and know that the earth's temperature is rising, seeing the true scale of the crisis and how it affects every aspect of the world is extremely eye-opening. I want my life to have a purpose, and I want to put myself in a position to help others. I also want to spend my life doing something I enjoy. The one thing that I have genuinely imagined myself being able to have a career and do meaningful work in is a career fixing the world and humanity's past mistakes. So much work is being done around the world to lessen the environmental crisis. People purchase electric cars to lower carbon dioxide emissions. Some people no longer eat meat as it can negatively impact the environment. Entire countries are moving away from the sources of energy that they have used for decades in exchange for renewable resources like wind energy and hydroelectric power. I am incredibly fortunate to have the ability to attend college and receive my bachelor's degree. One day, I want to be a part of the incredible movement to change the world for the better, for people now and for future generations.

My goal in life is to help minority communities and the environment around them. Specifically, I would like to work with predominantly Black communities to improve the environment that affects them. I want to reduce pollution and enhance sustainability to eliminate health problems and provide cleaner living conditions.

Healthy eating has been a part of my life since childhood. My mom always believed in the importance of eating healthy, organic foods. She would make us eat many different vegetables during our family dinners. Even our cereal wasn’t the ‘good stuff.’ Instead of allowing us to eat Cocoa Puffs or Frosted Flakes, she would have us eat the off-brand, but much healthier version, of the same cereal. So my whole life, that’s what my family has always done. While it cost more, my parents recognized the importance of buying organic and natural foods. When I started college, though, things began to change. While most people have heard of the ‘freshman 15’, I didn’t realize I would also experience some form of it, even though I lived from home. As a college student, I am often busy attending classes, doing schoolwork, or doing my job. Commuting to school left me with less time to prepare healthy meals. I found myself eating fast food more frequently as it was always readily available for me at any point during the day. While excluding every unhealthy food product is possible for some, it had become highly unrealistic for me. The lifestyle that I was used to living wasn’t possible anymore. My health was pushed to the forefront of my mind after being told I was prediabetic. When my doctor told me, I was so scared about what it meant for my health and what my life would look like if I continued down an unhealthy path. I was so busy with my schoolwork that I hadn’t taken the time to invest in my body. Instead, I ate whatever was the quickest and most convenient option. But after talking to my doctor more about my diagnosis, I realized that turning my life around wasn’t as tricky as it had seemed. Between work and school, I had to force myself to find time to take care of my body. I had to figure out better meals to eat instead of something quick and cheap. Once I began to make changes, I realized how much of what I consume impacts my life. Eating healthier foods and drinking more water was changing everything about me. I was no longer tired during my long lectures. I noticed that my skin began to clear up as well. Overall, I saw so many positive changes in my life, which solidified how vital a healthy lifestyle is.

Healthy eating has been a part of my life since childhood. My mom always believed in the importance of eating healthy, organic foods. She would make us eat many different vegetables during our family dinners. Even our cereal wasn’t the ‘good stuff.’ Instead of allowing us to eat Cocoa Puffs or Frosted Flakes, she would have us eat the off-brand, but much healthier version, of the same cereal. So my whole life, that’s what my family has always done. While it cost more money, my parents recognized the importance of buying organic and natural foods. When I started college, though, things began to change. While most people have heard of the ‘freshman 15’, I didn’t realize I would also experience some form of it, even though I was living from home. As a college student, I am often busy attending classes, doing schoolwork, or doing my job. Commuting to school left me with less time to prepare healthy meals. I found myself eating fast food more frequently as it was always readily available for me at any point during the day. While excluding every unhealthy food product is possible for some, it had become highly unrealistic for me. The lifestyle that I was used to living wasn’t possible anymore. My health was pushed to the forefront of my mind after being told I was prediabetic. When my doctor told me, I was so scared about what it meant for my health and what my life would look like if I continued down an unhealthy path. I was so busy with my schoolwork that I hadn’t taken the time to invest in my body. Instead, I ate whatever was the quickest and most convenient option. But after talking to my doctor more about my diagnosis, I realized that turning my life around wasn’t as tricky as it had seemed. Between work and school, I had to force myself to find time to take care of my body. I had to figure out better meals to eat instead of something quick and cheap. Once I began to make changes, I realized how much of what I consume impacts my life. Eating healthier foods and drinking more water was changing everything about me. I was no longer tired during my long lectures. I noticed that my skin began to clear up as well. Overall, I saw so many positive changes in my life, which solidified how vital a healthy lifestyle is.

I am pursuing a bachelor's degree in environmental studies and sustainability from Michigan State University. I chose to pursue this degree after I took AP Environmental Science during my junior year of high school. What I loved so much about this course was that I was learning more about the environment than I ever had in any other science class I had taken. I began to understand why a healthy environment is essential and how humans impact it, negatively or positively, daily. While Michigan State University offers other environmental-related degrees, further research into the specifics of each major chose me to pursue environmental studies and sustainability instead. What I love most about my major is being taught about how humans and the environment are connected. I have seen how much of an impact that humans can have on the environment and vice versa. Because humans have the most significant negative impact on the environment, I believe it is our job to fix our past mistakes to make a healthy and life-sustaining planet for us and many more generations of life. I want to have a career where I can work towards bettering the environment through the actions of humans. One topic I am most interested in learning about through my major is environmental justice. As defined by the Environmental Protection Agency, "Environmental justice (EJ) is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies." I want to work towards ensuring environmental justice for people everywhere, but specifically minorities. As a Black girl, I have seen how environmental injustice has affected people in my home state of Michigan. It can be seen in the Flint water crisis, where just over half the population is Black. It can be seen in the poor air quality in Detroit, where almost 80% of residents are Black. I want to work to help my community and ensure that they receive environmental justice and can live a healthy and prosperous life.

Clean living has been a part of my life since I was a child. My mom always believed in the importance of eating healthy and organic foods and exercising multiple times a week. So my whole life, that’s what my family has always done. While it does cost more money, my parents recognize the importance of buying organic and natural foods for all of us, and we have multiple memberships to different gyms. I also recognize that what I put on my body should be healthy too. My parents have taught me the importance of taking a few extra moments to read the ingredients on a bottle of lotion or shampoo before we buy it. While excluding every unhealthy food product is possible, it’s not realistic for me. As a college student, I am often busy with schoolwork or my job. Commuting to school leaves me less time to have fast, healthy meals. So while perfection in what I consume would be amazing, it’s not a reality that I can live every single day. Instead, when I have multiple options for what I want to eat in a day, I do my best to choose what is best for my health. My health was pushed to the forefront of my mind after being told I was prediabetic. When my doctor told me, I was so scared about what it meant for my health and what my life would look like if I continued down an unhealthy path. I was so busy with my schoolwork that I hadn’t taken the time to invest in my body. Instead, I focused on the quickest and most convenient option for me. But after talking to my doctor more about my diagnosis, I realized that turning my life around wasn’t as tricky as it had seemed. Between work and school, I had to force myself to find time to take care of myself. I had to figure out better meals to eat instead of something quick and cheap. I had to find more time to work out at a gym or take my dog for a walk instead of going through my social media on my phone. Once I began to make changes, I realized how much of what I consume impacts my life. I wasn’t falling tired during lectures, my skin looked better, and my life improved overall. Another thing I enjoy about finding healthy and organic products to use is if the packaging they come in is recyclable or compostable. As an environmental studies and sustainability major, I recognize the impact that the packaging we throw away has on the earth. Anything I can do to limit my impact on the planet makes me even more motivated to live a clean and healthy lifestyle.

As a child, tennis consumed my life. My sister forced me into the sport when I was only four years old, and I was not excited about it. I was so shy as a child that the last thing I wanted to do was play tennis with a bunch of kids I had never met, and for once, my sister was not at my side as she was in a different age group. My worries disappeared as I quickly grew to love the sport and have played ever since. That one summer led me to be on my school's varsity tennis team for four years, and I became captain of the tennis team during my senior year of high school. When I wasn't playing tennis, my family and I were camping in different state parks along Lake Michigan. My mom loved camping with her family growing up and wanted to share her experiences with us. Camping with my family included hooking up our old and tiny pop-up camper to my mom's car while packing enough clothes for two and a half days and plenty of towels for the beach before heading North. The experiences I had camping in Michigan shaped the course of my future and continue to influence my life to this day. I am currently a student at Michigan State University. I began my freshman year in the fall of 2022 and am now majoring in environmental studies and sustainability. I chose this major after taking AP Environmental Science during my junior year of high school and fell in love with the course. While environmental science is offered at Michigan State as a separate major, I chose environmental studies and sustainability because I love how it connects the environment and people as it studies how the two interact daily. Something I've been excited about within my major is learning more about sustainability and its impact on people's lives. Over the past couple of centuries, the world has become increasingly polluted due to humanity's actions, and I believe it is up to us to fix our mistakes. Some of the courses within my major deal with more specific topics within sustainability, like environmental justice. Environmental justice deals with the idea that certain groups have an unequal burden in different environmental issues like air and water quality. Minority groups are usually the most impacted due to problems like redlining that historically determined where minorities can live. In the summer of 2022, I had the incredible opportunity to intern with the Green Door Initiative in Detroit. They work to ensure environmental justice in served in communities in Detroit as the city is majority Black. Still, communities in the city suffer from diseases resulting from environmental injustice. I want to be able to help these groups that suffer from environmental injustices to ensure a better quality of life for them. I want to be able to participate in more work like this to help ensure a healthy and fulfilling future for minorities everywhere.

When I began my application process for college, I knew I wanted to major in some field related to the environment. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do with such a broad topic though because it can go in multiple different directions. In my junior year of high school, I had taken AP Environmental Science and I absolutely loved the course. As I did more research about the environmental science major, I came to the conclusion that I liked it, but it wasn't for me. During the time I spent researching, I came across environmental studies and sustainability. What I loved about that major was that it combined my love for the environment, but it had a social, a human, element to it too. It was focused on connecting people with the world around them and how we interact in our daily lives. Even though it is not offered at many colleges, I was lucky that it was offered at Michigan State University, which is close to my home, and it is where I am currently enrolled in my freshman year of college, pursuing said major. Because of how costly college is, I chose to go to school in my home state of Michigan for the cheaper, but still expensive, in-state tuition prices. After I chose to go to MSU, I was hoping for the best college experience, but I still knew that MSU is a Predominately White Institution or a PWI. Having gone to a predominately white school district for my entire life, this was nothing new to me, but still something I wasn't satisfied with. There is nothing as comforting as being surrounded by people who look like you, whether you know them or not. Within my first few weeks of classes at MSU, I realized just how isolating a PWI can be. I was surrounded by 350 other incoming students in a lecture hall for my math course, and only 10 looked like me. This has been a concern for me ever since I decided to pursue a degree in the environmental field. I hardly ever see anyone who looks like me, so there's a chance that I could be it. The only Black woman on my team, in my department, or in my field. I could be all that there is. But when you finally do see someone who looks like you, it's like you can see yourself standing in their shoes. That's why I believe that diversity is so important because being able to surround yourself with people who have similar backgrounds and experiences as you will only make you better and more comfortable in your field. My math professor is a Black woman, one of the only ones I've seen and the only one that I have for all six of my classes. Not that I want to be a math professor, but having the representation of a Black woman who was able to become a professor at Michigan State University helps me to believe that I can achieve my own goals. I hope to be able to one day surround myself with people similar to me. Black women that are creating more welcoming work environments and a better environment for the world.

Stay organized! Freshman year of college is a big step up from high school. Between having a different schedule every day and just figuring out where your assignments are, it's a lot to get used to. One of the biggest things that helped me was learning new ways to stay organized for my classes. I created a Google spreadsheet to organize all of my assignments with their due dates and put all of the classes into a digital calendar to remind me where I had to go and when. Your level of organization is essential to being a successful student because there is no one holding your hand anymore. Keeping my work organized has helped me to become a more efficient and less stressed student. Instagram: @mckenzi.mcgill