My name is Nourhan Ali, and I am the first in my family to attend college. My family is originally from Sudan, and we immigrated from Egypt to the United States in 2006. My mother was not fortunate enough to further her education as she had hoped. Which has not only helped me learn the value of education but has also motivated me to succeed. Not only for myself but also for my parents. My life objectives include achieving success in all parts of my life, including my work and education. I'm serious about my education and ready to go to considerable lengths to ensure I develop as a critical thinker and achieve every goal I set for myself. My reason for applying for this scholarship is that I need the money for college. We all know that college is not cheap, and my parents don't have much to spare, so I have to find ways to pay. I've already completed my FAFSA and trying to apply to as many scholarships as I can. If I win this scholarship, it will go toward funding my education. I plan to go into computer science, and I've already been accepted by a few schools. It's a field that allows one to grow and create solutions and learn from them is something I'd love to be a part of. There is another slight obstacle in my way. You see, in the Sudanese community, it is not common for girls to pursue any other field besides medicine. Often we are married off after high school, while our brothers are coddled to pursue whatever career they wish. I believe I can promote these changes in my community, and this scholarship will help me get one step closer to my goal. When I succeed, I want to give back to my community and see us all thrive. Sharing my knowledge with them will help us advance and develop strong-willed individuals.

My name is Nourhan Ali, and I am the first in my family to attend college. My family is originally from Sudan, and we immigrated from Egypt to the United States in 2006. My mother was not fortunate enough to further her education as she had hoped. Which has not only helped me learn the value of education but has also motivated me to succeed. Not only for myself but also for my parents. My life objectives include achieving success in all parts of my life, including my work and education. I'm serious about my education and ready to go to considerable lengths to ensure I develop as a critical thinker and achieve every goal I set for myself. My reason for applying for this scholarship is that I need the money for college. We all know that college is not cheap, and my parents don't have much to spare, so I have to find ways to pay. I've already completed my FAFSA and trying to apply to as many scholarships as I can. If I win this scholarship, it will go toward funding my education. I plan to go into computer science, and I've already been accepted by a few schools. It's a field that allows one to grow and create solutions and learn from them is something I'd love to be a part of. There is another slight obstacle in my way. You see, in the Sudanese community, it is not common for girls to pursue any other field besides medicine. Often we are married off after high school, while our brothers are coddled to pursue whatever career they wish. I believe I can promote these changes in my community, and this scholarship will help me get one step closer to my goal. When I succeed, I want to give back to my community and see us all thrive. Sharing my knowledge with them will help us advance and develop strong-willed individuals.

My name is Nourhan Ali, and I am the first in my family to attend college. My family is originally from Sudan, and we immigrated from Egypt to the United States in 2006. My mother was not fortunate enough to further her education as she had hoped. Which has not only helped me learn the value of education but has also motivated me to succeed. Not only for myself but also for my parents. My life objectives include achieving success in all parts of my life, including my work and education. I'm serious about my education and ready to go to considerable lengths to ensure I develop as a critical thinker and achieve every goal I set for myself. My reason for applying for this scholarship is that I need the money for college. We all know that college is not cheap, and my parents don't have much to spare, so I have to find ways to pay. I've already completed my FAFSA and trying to apply to as many scholarships as I can. If I win this scholarship, it will go toward funding my education. I plan to go into computer science, and I've already been accepted by a few schools. It's a field that allows one to grow and create solutions and learn from them is something I'd love to be a part of. There is another slight obstacle in my way. You see, in the Sudanese community, it is not common for girls to pursue any other field besides medicine. Often we are married off after high school, while our brothers are coddled to pursue whatever career they wish. I believe I can promote these changes in my community, and this scholarship will help me get one step closer to my goal. When I succeed, I want to give back to my community and see us all thrive. Sharing my knowledge with them will help us advance and develop strong-willed individuals.

My name is Nourhan Ali, and I am the first in my family to attend college. My family is originally from Sudan, and we immigrated from Egypt to the United States in 2006. My mother was not fortunate enough to further her education as she had hoped. Which has not only helped me learn the value of education but has also motivated me to succeed. Not only for myself but also for my parents. My life objectives include achieving success in all parts of my life, including my work and education. I'm serious about my education and ready to go to considerable lengths to ensure I develop as a critical thinker and achieve every goal I set for myself. My reason for applying for this scholarship is that I need the money for college. We all know that college is not cheap, and my parents don't have much to spare, so I have to find ways to pay. I've already completed my FAFSA and trying to apply to as many scholarships as I can. If I win this scholarship, it will go toward funding my education. I plan to go into computer science, and I've already been accepted by a few schools. It's a field that allows one to grow and create solutions and learn from them is something I'd love to be a part of. There is another slight obstacle in my way. You see, in the Sudanese community, it is not common for girls to pursue any other field besides medicine. Often we are married off after high school, while our brothers are coddled to pursue whatever career they wish. I believe I can promote these changes in my community, and this scholarship will help me get one step closer to my goal. When I succeed, I want to give back to my community and see us all thrive. Sharing my knowledge with them will help us advance and develop strong-willed individuals.

Change begins within our communities before it takes off in other places. We need to focus our attention on the treatment between daughters and sons in the Sudanese community regarding education. You see, in my Sudanese community, it is not common for girls to study anything other than medicine, and if that's not the case, marriage after high school. I'm pretty sure that they have an idea of what they want to study but need to see someone else do it and be inspired to do the same. It is not fair that our brothers are allowed to go off to college in different states or live on campus and make their own decisions about their lives, while the rest of us have one or two options. I don't want to go into a field that I'm not interested in nor do I plan to get married off in exchange. Fortunately for me, my parents have allowed me to choose what I want to study. If there's a little girl in our community who wants to go after her passion, then I want to support her. Whether she wants to go into the arts or become an athlete. I hope that she sees me following my dreams and decides to do the same. Of course, all of this is much easier said than done, and not everyone's parents are like this, but our community tends to influence each other solely based on what others have done or accomplished, and in the future might be willing to let their daughters have a bit more freedom and be more lenient when it comes to what they want to do in life. This is the type of change that does not happen overnight, and I'm aware of that. However, it's never too late to start discussions and try to figure out how we as a community have come to be like this. Looking at the bigger picture and focusing on allowing our sons to choose their paths and lives, but have our daughters' lives planned out at birth and how we can regain balance to support our sisters to have the same rights as them; only then can we move forward together. I believe that I can be the one to promote these changes in my community and that it will eventually take off in other places as well. We know all too well that one person does not have the power to force anyone to do anything, as it is up to every individual to decide for themself if they want to change.

Change begins within our communities before it takes off in other places. We need to focus our attention on the treatment between daughters and sons in the Sudanese community regarding education. You see, in my Sudanese community, it is not common for girls to study anything other than medicine, and if that's not the case, marriage after high school. I'm pretty sure that they have an idea of what they want to study but need to see someone else do it and be inspired to do the same. It is not fair that our brothers are allowed to go off to college in different states or live on campus and make their own decisions about their lives, while the rest of us have one or two options. I don't want to go into a field that I'm not interested in nor do I plan to get married off in exchange. Fortunately for me, my parents have allowed me to choose what I want to study. If there's a little girl in our community who wants to go after her passion, then I want to support her. Whether she wants to go into the arts or become an athlete. I hope that she sees me following my dreams and decides to do the same. Of course, all of this is much easier said than done, and not everyone's parents are like this, but our community tends to influence each other solely based on what others have done or accomplished, and in the future might be willing to let their daughters have a bit more freedom and be more lenient when it comes to what they want to do in life. This is the type of change that does not happen overnight, and I'm aware of that. However, it's never too late to start discussions and try to figure out how we as a community have come to be like this. Looking at the bigger picture and focusing on allowing our sons to choose their paths and lives, but have our daughters' lives planned out at birth and how we can regain balance to support our sisters to have the same rights as them; only then can we move forward together. I believe that I can be the one to promote these changes in my community and that it will eventually take off in other places as well. We know all too well that one person does not have the power to force anyone to do anything, as it is up to every individual to decide for themself if they want to change.

Change begins within our communities before it takes off in other places. We need to focus our attention on the treatment between daughters and sons in the Sudanese community regarding education. You see, in my Sudanese community, it is not common for girls to study anything other than medicine, and if that's not the case, marriage after high school. I'm pretty sure that they have an idea of what they want to study but need to see someone else do it and be inspired to do the same. It is not fair that our brothers are allowed to go off to college in different states or live on campus and make their own decisions about their lives, while the rest of us have one or two options. I don't want to go into a field that I'm not interested in nor do I plan to get married off in exchange. Fortunately for me, my parents have allowed me to choose what I want to study. If there's a little girl in our community who wants to go after her passion, then I want to support her. Whether she wants to go into the arts or become an athlete. I hope that she sees me following my dreams and decides to do the same. Of course, all of this is much easier said than done, and not everyone's parents are like this, but our community tends to influence each other solely based on what others have done or accomplished, and in the future might be willing to let their daughters have a bit more freedom and be more lenient when it comes to what they want to do in life. This is the type of change that does not happen overnight, and I'm aware of that. However, it's never too late to start discussions and try to figure out how we as a community have come to be like this. Looking at the bigger picture and focusing on allowing our sons to choose their paths and lives, but have our daughters' lives planned out at birth and how we can regain balance to support our sisters to have the same rights as them; only then can we move forward together. I believe that I can be the one to promote these changes in my community and that it will eventually take off in other places as well. We know all too well that one person does not have the power to force anyone to do anything, as it is up to every individual to decide for themself if they want to change.

My knowledge and the impact I have in my community is what I value most in life. You see, in my Sudanese community, it is not common for girls to study anything other than in the medical field or simply get married off after high school. I'm pretty sure that they have an idea of what they want to study but need to see someone else do it so they get to be inspired to do the same, and together we can end these cultural - yet misogynistic norms. It's not far that our brothers are allowed to go off to college in different states or live on campus and make their own decisions about their lives, while the rest of us have one or two options. I don't want to go into a field that I'm not interested in or go get married off to college, and fortunately for me, my parents are allowing me to decide what I want to study. But if there's just a little bit of hope that a little girl in our community wants to go after her passion and go into the arts or become an athlete and sees me following my dreams and decides to do the same, then that would make me not only happy for her but proud and want to cheer her on as a fellow sister. Of course, all of this is much easier said than done, and not everyone's parents are like this, but our community tends to influence each other solely based on what others have done or accomplished, and in the future might be willing to let their daughters have a bit more freedom and be more lenient when it comes to what they want to do in life. This is the type of change that does not happen overnight, and I'm aware of that. However, it's never too late to start discussions and try to figure out how we as a community have come to be like this. Looking at the bigger picture and focusing on allowing our sons to choose their paths and lives, but have our daughters' lives planned out at birth and how we can regain balance to support our sisters to have the same rights as them. And only then can we move forward together. Therefore, I believe that I can be the one to promote these changes in my community. When I succeed, I want to give back to them and see us do well together. Being able to help my community by sharing my knowledge with them will help us better ourselves and become more united.

One of the most helpful pieces of financial advice I ever received was during my sophomore year of high school. My Economics & Personal Finance teacher stressed to my class the importance of sticking to a budget and invest in a savings account. She taught us that by budgeting you can identify problems before they occur and manage your money efficiently. I always thought saving money was important, but sticking to a budget never really interested me as I thought as long as there is some leftover money then I'll be fine, but she insisted not to keep that mindset as you are constantly spending and don't know where your money is going. After hearing this, I decided to start limiting my spending and put more money aside, so every time I got my paycheck, I would lay out a budget plan on my phone to ensure that I followed it. Of course, it was much easier said than done, so I arranged penalties so that if I failed to stick to my budget by lowering the amount of my spending. By doing so, I ensured that I kept myself in check as nobody else will do it for me. However, I did not forget about investing in savings. I made sure to take out at least 60-70% of my paycheck and put it into savings. It eventually became a habit to do this without even realizing it. I owe a great deal of being financially intelligent to my economics teacher because she did go in-depth to ensure that each and everyone one of her students engraved her advice into our memory. I believe it's very important for everyone to monitor their finances and plan for their future to become sucessful.