In high school, I decided I wanted to become a veterinarian. I remember the moment that solidified this decision. It was a day during vocational schooling at the ACE Center for Hermitage High School. I was taking a veterinary science program that interested me, and I was still deciding whether this path was right for me. We had loads of animals ranging from hamsters & gerbils to dogs & kittens. There was a specific hamster named Eloise, who was old for her species. She started developing a lump on her neck. This concerned me since I believed it was a malignant tumor, which is a common death within hamsters of old age. I explained to my teacher at the time of my suspicions but she thought it was just food in her pouches. One night, my teacher noticed that Eloise was a bit sluggish and overall was not as active as she should have been. She took her home for the day and during the night she passed away. When my teacher dug deeper to see the cause of her death, it was indeed a malignant, cancerous tumor that caused her death. My teacher was very impressed with how I could identify something serious in one of our many class pets. After two years, I’ve developed why I want to become a veterinarian. I come from a low-income family, meaning that my family does not make the average income. We have an emotional support pet named Heaven aka Tootie Boots (her nickname). She has been our pride and joy for years, but taking care of her can be expensive, especially since she’s an older dog. As she got older, she developed a condition called “collapsing trachea” which is when the cartilage rings in her throat collapse during excitement or stress, making it difficult for her to breathe normally. Most of the veterinary clinics around where I live are very high-tech, expensive clinics. They do not match my mother’s income range since their medications cost around $300-500 dollars, and even simple checkups can cost more than $200. We care for Heaven a lot, and we see her as more than a pet, we see her as a family member. After doing a ton of research, we found the Susan M. Markel Hospital, designed to give treatment and care to pets that live within lower-income families. Taking Heaven there has been one of the best decisions me and my mother has made for her. We were able to get her treatment that would normally be over our price range at other vet clinics. The Susan M. Markel Hospital & my pet, Heaven, are my two inspirations for the reasons why I want to become a veterinarian. With this scholarship, I will be able to make a positive impact by putting it towards my education, which will build up to my dream of owning a veterinary clinic that is advertised to people like me, who come from low-income families. I am not doing this just for my family, I am doing this to represent all families like mine. I specifically want to be a Veterinary Radiologist, in honor of my pet, Heaven, who did not have as many options for treatment as we would have liked her to have. Although her access to advanced treatment was limited, she is still living her best life. I will be grateful to have been awarded this amazing reward, as it would be put towards good for those struggling to make ends meet with their pet, and will help me inspire others to achieve their dreams.

In high school, I decided I wanted to become a veterinarian. I remember the moment that solidified this decision. It was a day during vocational schooling at the ACE Center for Hermitage High School. I was taking a veterinary science program that interested me, and I was still deciding on whether this was the right path for me. We had loads of animals ranging from hamsters & gerbils to dogs & kittens. There was a specific hamster named Eloise, who was old for her species. She started developing a lump on her neck. This concerned me since I believed it was a malignant tumor, which is a common death within hamsters of old age. I explained to my teacher at the time of my suspicions but she thought it was just food in her pouches. One night, my teacher noticed that Eloise was a bit sluggish and overall was not as active as she should have been. She took her home for the day and during the night she passed away. When my teacher dug deeper to see the cause of her death, it was indeed a malignant, cancerous tumor that caused her death. My teacher was very impressed with how I was able to identify something serious in one of our many class pets. After two years, I’ve developed my reasons for why I want to become a veterinarian. I come from a low-income family, meaning that my family does not make the average income. We have a beloved pet named Heaven. She has been our pride and joy for years, but taking care of her can be expensive, especially since she’s an older dog. As she got older, she developed a condition called “collapsing trachea” which is when the cartilage rings in her throat collapse during excitement or stress, making it difficult for her to breathe normally. Most of the veterinary clinics around where I live are very high-end, expensive clinics. They do not match my mother’s income range since their medications cost around $300-500 dollars, and even simple checkups can cost more than $200. We care for Heaven a lot, and we see her as more than a pet, we see her as a family member. After doing a ton of research, we found the Susan M. Markel Hospital, designed to give treatment and care to pets that live within lower-income families. Taking Heaven there has been one of the best decisions me and my mother has made for her. We were able to get her treatment that would normally be over our price range at other vet clinics. The Susan M. Markel Hospital & my pet, Heaven, are my two inspirations for the reasons why I want to become a veterinarian. With this scholarship, I will be able to make a positive impact by putting it towards my education, which will build up to my dream of owning a veterinary clinic that is advertised to people like me, who come from low-income families. I am not doing this just for my family, I am doing this to represent all families like mine. I specifically want to be a Veterinary Radiologist, in honor of my pet, Heaven, who did not have as many options for treatment as we would have liked her to have. Although her access to advanced treatment was limited, she is still living her best life. I will be grateful to have been awarded this amazing reward, as it would be put towards good for those struggling to make ends meet with their pet, and will help me inspire others to achieve their dreams.

My name is Oriana. It means “Sunrise” in Latin. Recently, my life has not been sunny. My tuition has been stressing me out, I do not have the funds for it. My mother cannot afford to pay it nor does my dad want to chip in. I often like to remind myself that even during times like this, I will rise like the sun. A lot of people have not been nice to me, even my own parents. My mother feels like I do not try hard enough to accumulate as much money as I can for my college funds, and my father does not try to help me at all. My own friends can sometimes be harsh towards me. But, even through everyone and everything, I am the nicest person I know. Everyday I wake up with a headache from immense amount of stress, but I am still nice to everyone I know. My coworkers are sometimes rude to me, but I am still nice to them. My mother often tells me that I am too nice and sometimes I need to be mean, but I do not believe that. I believe that being kind is what gets me through life. I love my mother when she’s at her lowest, when she’s at a time where her anger gets redirected towards me. I love my father, even though he does not help me as much as he should. I use kindness to rise through my life. My mother often recommends me to harass people on their job to get my way, but I often refuse to. You may be wondering why I am telling you this. Many people believe that being mean, or condescending with others will get them through life, but I truly do not believe that. My name means Sunrise for a reason, and I use my kindness to allow others to rise, just like the sun. I love how being nice to others makes an impact on their life. I love to see my kindness shine through others like rays. I look for any opportunity to make someone smile. For example, my job is the main place I use to spread my affection. Whether it be reuniting an owner with their pet after a long vacation, or consoling a customer when they’re in doubt about their pet’s wellbeing at the facility, I always make sure someone leaves with a smile on their face. Even when I am down, or having a rough day, I make sure to make the most of it by being kind. My life isn’t the best, but I want life for others to be the best it can. I want people to allow their happiness to rise like the sun through their toughest moments.

The loss of my father. He has not left the world itself, but it feels as though he’s left my life. His presence from my past still lingers today and I yearn for him to return to me. When I speak to him, it feels empty. I have been struggling for years with my mother. Any time I ask him for a favor, he always tells me to ask my mother. She’s done everything from day 1 to now just for me. I cannot ask my dad for anything without him bringing up child support, and emphasizing that that’s the only thing he feels that he owes me. Our relationship was never like this though. When I was younger, he was active and present. He made me feel loved and appreciated, & he never made me feel like a burden. He took time out of his day just to spend it with me. But now, I cannot talk to him. Our relationship is cold and dead. I do not remember the last time I have saw him. It’s been so long that some times I forget that he exists. I wonder where he has been, or what he has been up to. I often question if he’s even alive, and when I do communicate with him, it’s like he doesn’t want to. His absence as a father has pushed me to work harder to get to where I am now. It has taught me that I cannot rely on anyone but myself. I am now 18, going to college for an animal science degree out-of-state. I worked hard to be in the position that I am now. I am academically prepared, but not financially. Me and my mom can’t pay my tuition together. If my dad could help, I would ask, but I can’t. He has not helped out financially, or at all really since he has been off of child support payments. It hurts to feel as though someone who is alive is dead in your life. I’ve decided that now, I should not live in my past but live in my future. I use his absence as a push for me to apply to scholarships, get grants, & to excel in my education. He is not here to encourage me, so I encourage myself.

An adversity I have overcome was the possibility of being homeless. My mother was diagnosed with a severe case of generational osteoarthritis in her hips and knees. At the time, my grandma was the only person she could confide in since she was the only one who understood her pain. I, a 12-year-old, could not comprehend why my mother was always groaning in pain & constantly needing to count to 5 before getting up to make it as painless as possible. For 3 years, she tried her best to live a normal life while battling this ferocious disease. Soon enough, she let her arthritis win her over. She quit her job of 5 years and applied for social security. The next few months were one of the most reality-hitting experiences I’ve ever had. We went days, weeks, months without money. My mother did not have enough to keep our rent up, and I wanted to support her but finding a job at 15-16 was hard since most places around me were not hiring. I wanted to help out so badly, it was so difficult watching my mother struggle the way she did. Some nights, we went to sleep hungry together but most nights, she was the one who went to sleep hungry after making sure I was able to eat, which filled me with even more guilt knowing she was doing what she could with what we had. She was so stressed, she started to form wrinkles and started losing patches of hair. All while dealing with the inevitable pain from her arthritis. While not being able to keep up with our rent, it piled up more and more. We were at risk of being homeless. At some point, my mother went into surgery for her right hip. I was worried about a numerous factor of things, but the main issue that concerned me the most was being home alone while at risk of being evicted. While she was in the hospital healing from surgery, we received a notice on the door for eviction. I proceeded to have one of the worst breakdowns in my entire life. My home, gone. My happiness, gone. I could not fathom that this was my reality. If it wasn't for my mom's good connections with family and friends, we would not be living in this home anymore. The wait for social security was lengthy and tedious, but we both made it out alive and are doing somewhat well. While I was going through one of the worst times of my life, I excelled through with focusing on my education rather than my struggle. I am passionate about pursuing my degree in Veterinary Science because it is one of the few things that kept me going during dark times. Although my financial situation will never be the same, my passion and devotion to making sure I come out with a better outcome with my love for my field will never change. With my financial circumstances, it is quite difficult. My tuition is pretty high due to going to an out-of-state college. My mother has been doing everything she can to make sure that I have no issues regarding tuition, but I want to lay the pain off of my mother by retrieving scholarships that will help pay for it. This scholarship will support me as I achieve my goals by paying off my tuition and helping me strive for a better future financially and educationally.

One of my greatest achievements to date was yesterday. I was able to buy my mother pizza with my hard earned money. For the first time in my life, I gave back to my mom after she gave me so much for the past 18 years. In my younger years, my mother was always a hard working woman. She shielded me from the cruel world and made sure I grew up with a positive outlook on any and everything, regardless of how negative life could get. She always reminded me of how much I was loved and appreciated. She would shower me with love, spoil me and made sure that I had a promising childhood. I would grow up to be a loving and kind person, filled with empathy and sympathy for those around me. Although I had a good childhood, things took a turn for the worst. My mother was diagnosed with a severe case of generational osteoarthritis in her hips and knees. At the time, my grandma was the only person she could confine in since she was the only one who understood her pain. Me, a 12 year old, could not comprehend why my mother was always groaning in pain & constantly needing to count to 5 before getting up to make it as painless as possible. For 3 years, she tried her best to live a normal life while battling this ferocious disease. Soon enough, she let her arthritis win her over. She quit her job of 5 years, and applied for social security. The next few months were one of the most reality hitting experiences I’ve ever had. After growing up, thinking everything was peaches and cream, it was not. We went days, weeks, months without money. My mother did not have enough to keep our rent up, and I wanted to support her but finding a job at 15-16 was hard since most places around me were not hiring. I wanted to help out so badly, it was so difficult watching my mother struggle the way she did. Some nights, we went to sleep hungry together but most nights, she was the one who went to sleep hungry after making sure I was able to eat, which filled me with even more guilt knowing she was doing what she could with what we had. She was so stressed, she started to form wrinkles and started losing patches of hair. All while dealing with the inevitable pain from her arthritis. The wait for social security was lengthy and tedious, but we both made it out alive and we are doing somewhat well. I would then job hunt for 2 years straight to make sure that I would never put my mother in the position to help me while she struggled. I found the perfect job for me, a job that I loved and would pay me well. Yesterday, I bought her favorite food, pizza. I had never been so proud of myself. For years, I told her that I would repay her for what she’s done for me, and seeing her smile because I bought her favorite food made me tear up. Although it may not seem like much to you, it means a lot to me. I was able to treat my mom to her favorite meal after years of her struggling to treat me. This experience has taught me that I am open to change. How I easily accepted my life for what it was after years of living a completely different lifestyle. How I overcame one of the most challenging periods of time for myself and still manage to live comfortably. It taught me that what I felt was not guilt, but the empathy that my mom sought for in family who did not have it. I hope to support her with more than just pizza in the future. I pray that with my field of career, I can give more than just pizza. I want to be able to give her the whole world.

I have contemplated multiple jobs in the medical field, but I’ve decided to become a veterinarian. I specifically want to work as a veterinary sonographer. I vividly remember what led me to this. It was under some extraordinary circumstances I will say. I had always been an animal lover but I didn’t want to be a veterinarian at the time. I had wanted to be a plastic surgeon (strange, I know). I also had two Lhasa apsos at the time. They were both pretty old and they grew up with me as childhood dogs. One of them had become completely deaf and blind. He was very miserable and it made me sad to see him in the condition he was in. At some point, he started having involuntary seizures. I didn’t know how to help him during the episodes, but I tried my best to keep him comfortable and comfort him during it. At some point, my mother decided to have him put down to put him out of his misery. Our other Lhasa apso started going through the same conditions shortly after that. She was unfortunately put down after this as well. What was weird about it though, was that both of the veterinarians could not put their finger on what was wrong with them. They both said that they could not help it and immediately recommended that they should be put down. This angered me because there must have been something wrong with them. I wasn’t aware that they didn't have the equipment for it. But instead of recommending my mother to go get them checked out at an emergency vet, they decided to recommend putting them down. I decided that I wanted to be a veterinarian at that point. I researched different kinds of veterinarians and landed on a veterinarian sonographer. Ultrasound technicians in the vet field can detect tumors and internal issues within pets to take ahead of issues before they worsen. I want to be able to give pet owners other options on how to keep their pets healthy and disease-free without making them take the easy route of putting their animals down. I plan on achieving this by earning my Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science and doing internships to learn how to handle ultrasound equipment. Although I have pretty big plans, for a person of color this may be a challenge for me. The veterinary field offers plenty of opportunities but it is difficult to come across a vet that is a POC also known as a person of color. I plan on making a change by inspiring younger audiences who are like me to pursue any career they please, even if they feel like an unfit puzzle piece. I am inspired by the show "Critter Fixers" which is hosted by two African American male veterinarians. They have the same aspirations as me, which is to influence people who look like them to be confident about the career they want to pursue and they often host events for kids and teens to get hands-on experience for those who do not have the resources to do so.

1. My name is Oriana Alexander and I am a senior graduating from Highland Springs High School. Life has not been easy ever since I dealt with financial issues and started stressing about finances at an early age, but what keeps me going is my financial situation. I am not a rich person I am poor. I have almost become homeless, and have gone through numerous occasions of money drought. If I could do anything in my life, I would take my mother's stress of finances away from her. She has taken care of me my whole life and has always tried her best as a mother to shield me away from the pain she was going through. Her disease caused her to ultimately make life-changing decisions which had a great effect on her and me. Although our situation has left us consistently worried, I do not allow our financial burden to affect my quality of life. I've found the perfect way to relieve my stress which is through music. I play music for my mom to relieve of her stress which is my way if taking stress away from her. I play the violin, and my mother loves the violin and classical music. Whenever she needs me, I am always ready to pick it up and play a tune for her. Another thing I would do is make every financial situation as stress-less as possible. Understanding what people go through, it has made me want to do good for the world. I often go out and participate in food drives, and consistently give back to those in need around my neighborhood. 2. What excites me about STEM is the consistent opportunities it provides! Although it may provide amazing opportunities, such are sometimes not easy for women to obtain. I see myself supporting and making a positive impact on the world by crossing boundaries and breaking limits. I come from a family of women, and it is not easy for us to come across big opportunities such as this. I want to be able to inspire women like me and younger generations to believe that there is no limit to success within our community. I want to be able to empower women to feel confident within themselves and get out there, showing the world that they can represent in all spaces we were once not welcomed in. 3. Throughout my life, the only people I had were my mother and my grandmother. Soon after in May of 2019, my grandmother passed away. She was our biggest support, so losing her felt like losing a part of us. Around this time, my mother found out that she had two hereditary diseases: osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. She fought hard to keep going for us but soon enough she gave in to her disease and had to quit her job. We were already a low-income family, so this big change worsened our financial situation. Right after this, my mother had applied for Social Security. This process was very lengthy and stressful. While waiting for approval, we tried to find money everywhere we could. It was not easy. It felt like a game of hide and seek, looking for money opportunities whenever possible. During these tough times, I vowed to keep up with work in school but also help out at home whenever I could. Doing physical activities was extremely painful for my mother, so I tried my best to help her with anything that would cause her physical exhaustion. Her mental health started to deteriorate due to stress about bills and rent. The amount of money my mother was losing felt endless like she could never satisfy anyone. Our rent started piling up and became almost inevitable to not stress about. I coped with this stress by playing the violin. I had been playing since I was in 2nd grade, for nearly 10 years. I met Mr. Raphael, my violin teacher, and my biggest support since then. He was one of the very few people I could confide in about my financial situation. He and his wife started to work with me when it came time to start working on colleges and scholarships. He’s helped me tremendously with violin skills, and learning how to handle the stress and overwhelming feeling of college. In July of 2023, we received an eviction notice. We almost became homeless. Thanks to my violin teacher, offered to loan money to my mother to pay off our rent. Soon after, she was approved for social security. Even though we still struggle financially here and there. I have continued to excel in school for better opportunities, and this situation provided me with a goal: to become financially stable and keep my mother financially stable. I have not allowed the burdened thought of financial debt to stop me from doing what I love and working hard to get what I deserve.

My mother found out that she had two hereditary diseases: osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. She fought hard to keep going for us but soon enough she gave in to her disease and had to quit her job. We were already a low-income family, so this big change worsened our financial situation. Right after this, my mother had applied for Social Security. This process was very lengthy and stressful. While waiting for approval, we tried to find money everywhere we could. It was not easy. It felt like a game of hide and seek, looking for money opportunities whenever possible. During these tough times, I vowed to keep up with work in school but also help out at home whenever I could. Doing physical activities was extremely painful for my mother, so I tried my best to help her with anything that would cause her physical exhaustion. Being that her mental health was deteriorating due to stress about bills and rent, I wanted to make things easier for her at home. As bills continued to rob my mother of her finances, life started turning into a real-life hell. Our fridge was empty at times, I started to often go to sleep hungry. The amount of money my mother was losing felt endless like she could never satisfy anyone. Our rent started piling up and became almost inevitable to not stress about. In July of 2023, we received an eviction notice. We almost became homeless. Thanks to my mom’s connections, she was able to pay it off with a loan from a family friend I appreciated dearly. Soon after, she was approved for social security. Even after, we still struggle financially here and there. I have continued to excel in school for better opportunities, and this situation provided me with a goal: to become financially stable and keep my mother financially stable. I want to go to college for something that I love and that would pay me well. I have been a better support for my mother and also some of my friends who have dealt with scary finances. I devoted my time to learning how to effectively save and prepare for future problems such as student debt. After all of my hard work, taking two SATs, and staying afloat my senior year, I have been accepted at North Carolina A&T’s Fall 2024 semester, majoring in Animal Science. I chose animal science because not only does it involve working with animals which I love, but it is also a high-paying field that will help me be financially afloat in the future. I want to use my field to put my mother in a better position so that she will never have to worry about another due bill ever in her life.

Throughout my life, the only people I had was my mother and my grandmother. Soon after in May of 2019, my grandmother passed away. She was our biggest support, so losing her felt like losing a part of us. Around this time, my mother found out that she had two hereditary diseases: osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. She fought hard to keep going for us but soon enough she gave in to her disease and had to quit her job. We were already a low-income family, so this big change worsened our financial situation. Right after this, my mother had applied for Social Security. This process was very lengthy and stressful. While waiting for approval, we tried to find money everywhere we could. It was not easy. It felt like a game of hide and seek, looking for money opportunities whenever possible. During these tough times, I vowed to keep up with work in school but also help out at home whenever I could. Doing physical activities was extremely painful for my mother, so I tried my best to help her with anything that would cause her physical exhaustion. Being that her mental health was deteriorating due to stress about bills and rent, I wanted to make things easier for her at home. My father was in my life but it never felt like it. He has expressed to me multiple times that he felt like the only thing he owed me as his kid was child support. He rarely ever paid it, even during these times his regular payments had stopped. Asking him for help about anything never went without him complaining and treating me like a burden. As bills continued to rob my mother of her finances, life started turning into a real-life hell. Our fridge was empty at times, I started to often go to sleep hungry. The amount of money my mother was losing felt endless like she could never satisfy anyone. Our rent started piling up and became almost inevitable to not stress about. In July of 2023, we received an eviction notice. We almost became homeless. Thanks to my mom’s connections, she was able to pay it off with a loan from a family friend I appreciated dearly. Soon after, she was approved for social security. Even after, we still struggle financially here and there. I have continued to excel in school for better opportunities, and this situation provided me with a goal: to become financially stable. I want to be able to do something I love, which is caring for animals while working somewhere that will pay me well. I decided to be a veterinary sonographer. My situation motivates me to work as hard as I can so that I would NEVER go through anything as such and also keep my mother from ever going through that again. This scholarship will support my goals by helping me excel through school financially out of debt while being able to pursue a degree that'll help put good in my family and put good out into the world. After my struggle, I even started doing food drives & giving back to those in need around my neighborhood. I frequently vouch to volunteer when I can and I plan on joining a sorority to further my volunteering to help out in the future.

My goals are to become financially stable and reach my future career of being a veterinary sonographer. I have contemplated multiple jobs in the medical field, but I’ve decided to become a veterinarian. I specifically want to work as a veterinary sonographer. I vividly remember what led me to this. It was under some very strange circumstances I will say. I had always been an animal lover but I didn’t want to be a veterinarian at the time. I had wanted to be a plastic surgeon (strange, I know). I also had two Lhasa apsos at the time. They were both pretty old and they grew up with me as childhood dogs. One of them had become completely deaf and blind. He was very miserable and it made me sad to see him in the condition he was in. At some point, he started having involuntary seizures. I didn’t know how to help him during the episodes, but I tried my best to keep him comfortable and comfort him during it. At some point, my mother decided to have him put down to put him out of his misery. Not long after that, our other Lhasa apso started going through the same conditions. She was unfortunately put down after this as well. What was weird about it though, was that both of the veterinarians could not put their finger on what was wrong with them. They both said that they could not help it and immediately recommended that they should be put down. This angered me because there must have been something wrong with them. I wasn’t aware that they didn't have the equipment for it. But instead of recommending my mother to go get them checked out at an emergency vet, they decided to recommend putting them down. I decided that I wanted to be a veterinarian at that point. I researched different kinds of veterinarians and landed on a veterinarian sonographer. Ultrasound technicians in the vet field can detect tumors and internal issues within pets to take ahead of issues before they worsen. I want to be able to give pet owners other options on how to keep their pets healthy and disease-free without making them take the easy route of putting their animals down. I plan on achieving this by earning my Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science and doing internships to learn how to handle ultrasound equipment.

Empowerment to me means confidence and bravery. I have always wanted to be like Daisy Bates, an African American female leader who fought for the desegregation of schools in Arkansas. She led the charge to desegregate Central High School with the infamous Little Rock Nine. Her perseverance and resilience through the Jim Crow era inspired me to want to be just as durable. Daisy’s mother was killed by 3 white men when she was at the age of 3, which forced her to fight against racism at an early age. She would go on to publish a newspaper with her then-husband, The Arkansas Weekly. She was one of the very few newspaper outlets that was only dedicated to writing about the Civil Rights Movement. She also worked with local Civil Rights organizations. She served as the President of Arkansas’ National Association for the Advancement of Colored People also known as NAACP. When the Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional in 1954, Bates used her newspaper to highlight various local schools that followed the mandate. After countless rejections from these schools, Bates continued to persevere. She then organized the Little Rock Nine, which would then be highlighted as one of the most important pieces of protest for the Civil Rights Movement. She worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of her nine students from the violent and angry crowds and even drove them to school herself. I chose to speak about Daisy Bates because I believe she represents empowerment in a way that I strive to achieve. Growing up, I never considered myself a leader but more so a follower. I remember wanting to be a leader but I often did not take the chance to because I always believed there was someone better than me and who deserved it more. Most positions I ran for did not feel organic to me. I felt as though I had to put on a show, like a mask to hide who I am. As I get older, I become more comfortable with myself and who I am. I read Daisy Bate’s story to inspire me to push forward regardless of what competition I may have. I do not let the burden of someone being “better” than me stop me from getting what I want. Although empowerment is important, I believe that seeing other women feel empowered affects my life as well. It brings me the confidence to see other people confident. But in a world like this, empowerment is an issue regarding women like me, aka black women. As Viola Davis says quote, "The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity." We are often not offered roles that will impact society due to the belief that black women do not represent. I want to allow empowerment to affect my life by putting me in a position to uplift other women to allow the same effect to take place on them.

Throughout my life, the only people I had was my mother and my grandmother. Soon after in May of 2019, my grandmother passed away. She was our biggest support, so losing her felt like losing a part of us. Around this time, my mother found out that she had two hereditary diseases: osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. She fought hard to keep going for us but soon enough she gave in to her disease and had to quit her job. We were already a low-income family, so this big change worsened our financial situation. Right after this, my mother had applied for Social Security. This process was very lengthy and stressful. While waiting for approval, we tried to find money everywhere we could. It was not easy. It felt like a game of hide and seek, looking for money opportunities whenever possible. During these tough times, I vowed to keep up with work in school but also help out at home whenever I could. Doing physical activities was extremely painful for my mother, so I tried my best to help her with anything that would cause her physical exhaustion. Being that her mental health was deteriorating due to stress about bills and rent, I wanted to make things easier for her at home. My father was in my life but it never felt like it. He has expressed to me multiple times that he felt like the only thing he owed me as his kid was child support. He rarely ever paid it, even during these times his regular payments had stopped. Asking him for help about anything never went without him complaining and treating me like a burden. As bills continued to rob my mother of her finances, life started turning into a real-life hell. Our fridge was empty at times, I started to go often to sleep hungry. The amount of money my mother was losing felt endless like she could never satisfy anyone. Our rent started piling up and became almost inevitable to not stress about. In July of 2023, we received an eviction notice. We almost became homeless. Thanks to my mom’s connections, she was able to pay it off with a loan from a family friend I appreciated dearly. Soon after, she was approved for social security. Even after, we still struggle financially here and there. I have continued to excel in school for better opportunities, and this situation provided me with a goal: to become financially stable and keep my mother financially stable. My mother's resilience through terrible times as such pushed me even more. She always supported me even through our roughest situations and always put me in the spotlight. When I told her that I wanted to be a veterinary sonographer, she was delighted. Not because it paid well, but because she could see I had genuine interest. She constantly drives me to achieve higher than what I expect and always cheers for me on the sidelines. She helps me find opportunities such as this. This scholarship would help me achieve my future goals by helping me pay off my tuition to be able to do good in the world. I want to use this scholarship to give back to others in the world.

Music. Music has been the most influential person in my life. From my music teacher to the instrument, it has brought me through the roughest of times. I see Music as my closest friend, my favorite relative. In May of 2023, my life took turns for the worst. My mother had been diagnosed with two hereditary diseases: rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. She soon had to quit her job and apply for social security. The process was a living hell. Let me tell you the story of it. A month after my mother applied, the office called to tell my mother they had “lost” her application. Right after, the website for applications was down for weeks on end. My mother was able to apply after at least 5 weeks. Soon enough, things began to worsen. My mother had been so low on money, she had to take money out of her savings account to pay for bills. Everyday it felt like I woke up to something new. Rent is due, no food in the fridge, gas is low, etc. I began to stress about things that I shouldn’t have been at the age of 16. Stress has been one of my worst enemies getting older. The stress of college finances, the stress of money, the stress of the college process. I used to believe there was no way around stress until I picked up a violin. I had been playing violin since the 2nd grade, mostly off and on. I had not appreciated the art of it until I needed it the most. I remember the only times that I had felt at peace was with my violin, myself, and my music teacher, Mr. Raphael. Mr. Raphael had been one of my biggest supporters since my early years. He has been not only my mentor, but my rock, a shoulder to cry on, a guardian. He has taught me everything, from music to life lessons. When I had no one to talk to, he was there for me. Throughout this period of drought, he had been my strongest friend. Most of my friends did not understand my struggles, or my problems. Only he did, and that’s why I appreciate him. Aside from my teacher, I also appreciated my violin. As soon as I laid my bow across the strings, I felt at ease. It took my mind away from the harsh reality I faced and put me in a trance of joy. I never felt happy until I stepped into my violin lessons. But as soon as it was over, I had to face reality again. One day, I had been at home by myself while my mother was in the hospital healing from surgery. It had been a scary period as we had been threatened to be evicted beforehand. Soon enough, the big notice was on the door. A big wave of emotions had crossed me. I didn’t know whether to be angry, or to cry, or to stay content. It was a lot to manage, especially with my mom in the hospital healing. I was scared, but I had not known that Mr. Raphael offered to help pay off our debt of rent to my mom. Soon after, we were back on our feet. We still struggle here and there but I do not let the fear of financial debt get in the way of my success as a student or my education. From this, I learned that even the most inconvenient things in life can influence you the most.

I am passionate about the degree I am pursuing because I'm going for it to make my mother proud. I have always been about doing things not just for myself, but for my mom. My mother has also been to college, but she hasn't been able to use her degree to the fullest. She has always been a hard-working woman, always making sure that I do good and even going to the extent of making sure I do better than her. She is a single mother and has raised me my whole life. My father is in the picture, but it does not feel like it. In May of 2022, my mother had to quit her job due to the amount of pain she was in. She has two joint conditions, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. For the few months she was at work, she was miserable. Every day was painful for her, even sitting down in comfort was painful for her. She had to quit her job and apply for Social Security. We were already a low-income family before the big change, so things became even harder financially for us after this. In July of 2023, we were almost met with homelessness. Luckily, my mom had managed to make ends meet and paid off our rent. We still struggle here and there, but I am lucky to have a mother as strong as her. During these times, I had been attending a Veterinary Science tech class along with my regular high school classes. I have always had a passion for animals and my mom knew that too. I have always wanted to steer in a path of the medical field. I love the idea of helping people, especially saving lives in danger, but my soft spot was with animals, so why not go with Vet Science? Ever since I started the class, I have loved every single moment and opportunity it has brought me. I've been on countless wonderful trips revolving around animals, seen and had experience with different animals, species, breeds, etc. It has brought me plenty of knowledge about the health of pets as well, which helped me incorporate my notes for when I go off to college. Animals to me are a special addition to our world. They keep our ecosystem safe and healthy along with providing it with beauty. I have never been so passionate about something before. It brings me joy to go into my vet science class and help out with our animals there. I have met amazing people and made wonderful friends, but nothing is more important than the bizarre opportunities it has provided me. This class has had a major effect on me, it helped me realize that Veterinary Science is a career that I want to go for. Not only does it make me happy, but it makes my mother happy too. She's been my number-one support since day one. I've never had trouble with any fees in my classes because my mother has always found a way to keep me in it. She was the one who recommended me this scholarship as well. I've realized that in our financial situation, affording college tuition would be extremely difficult. We have both been looking for genuine scholarships that will help out with paying off student debt. This scholarship will help me tremendously, as it will help me boost myself into a career that will pay off this debt and also put me in a position to be able to help my mother out in the future.