Just as schools search for motivated and creative students, I am on a journey of my own, searching for schools that challenge me as a student and future leader. As a first-generation American, I value being well-versed in a multitude of areas so that I can solve big challenges ahead. I envision myself ensuring equitable educational access to people who identify as low-income, first-generation, Black, Indigenous, and other groups farthest from opportunity. As a daughter of Haitian immigrant parents in an affluent, predominantly white community, I always pushed myself to foster human connection and uplift my peers around me. From writing my own book on social justice to spearheading advocacy on highlighting inequities in honors and AP course enrollment, I have done just that. For so long, the enrollment in Honor and Advanced Placement (AP) classes didn’t reflect the school’s diversity. I made it my goal to change this. As the president of the Black Student Union, I’m supporting the small Black population at my predominantly White and Hispanic school. With only 1.8% of the student body being Black, I feel we are never first in people’s minds, and by making AP classes more accessible to students of color and shining a light on students from low-income areas, I worked towards making my high school a place focused on making change a reality. My efforts helped enroll 126 new students of color, an increase of 12%, into AP classes for the Fall of 2022. As one of few Black students taking AP classes, I am proud of how my experience elevated my school community by helping create an environment where students start looking toward their futures by allowing there to be discussions regarding post-secondary pathways. Growing up in the United States, a country where freedom of expression and risk-taking are touted values, I have learned to meld the cultures and worlds of my identity, combining my individual free spirit with my family’s values of hard work and discipline. I am proud of how I have invested my time and focused on growing my own passions for social justice, and self-advocacy to amplify and highlight the voices of Black and Indigenous, and other diverse experiences. I value being well-versed and multi-skilled so I can develop my own nonprofit to uplift marginalized communities through the power of educational empowerment. Learning how to navigate multiple aspects of my identity and how to advocate for myself in multiple worlds brought me to this point. Because of my experience, I have learned what drives me, and I look forward to building a future and path that is uniquely mine. I am determined to inspire my parents, family, and community to break free from the scarcity and survival mindset. With more doors and opportunities ahead, I will redefine the definition of success, by showing my parent’s the power of earning our family’s first college degree, and by showing the world the power of following your dreams, especially as a First Generation child.

My struggle as a first-generation American stems from the fear that following through on my own desires and future plans will not meet my parents' expectations for success. Because my parents are immigrants who have worked hard to provide opportunities for my sisters and I, they want the best for us, but what is best in their minds is related to money and prestigious jobs like a doctor or lawyer. Growing up in a country where freedom of expression and risk-taking is a shared value, I am a lot more "free-spirited" and carry beliefs that have altered my family dynamics. In High School, I started to invest a lot of time and focus on my own passions, social justice, and advocacy using every chance to highlight the struggles many Black, Indigenous, and other people of color go through. During my junior year, I was one of eight students that earned the opportunity to create a new business. I established my business Flavor Profiles with the motto of connecting people through food and storytelling. The purpose of Flavor Profiles is to honor and celebrate the lives of Black women who died due to police brutality. I reached out to Black chefs, cooks, and influencers who are known for their cuisine and incorporated their dishes into my book, knowing that food creates moments of connection and long-lasting memories, similar to storytelling. I had the opportunity to interview Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor's mother in 2021. Before meeting Tamika Palmer, I had a goal to research a method to uplift the Black community, more specifically, Black women. I realized with the story of her daughter and many other Black women, I wanted to showcase who they were before their deaths. With each person, I made sure to show respect for their careers, passions, and most of all, their stories by acknowledging them before I talked about their passing. I created Flavor Profiles to push people to leave their indifferences in order to have a coalition among the diverse members of our community. We need to learn about each other, in order for us all to work towards solving socially-driven political issues not just within our own communities but in our society. Being able to explore a person's culture and pain brings life to what you not only see, and hear but also learn. Because of this, I believe that my work now, and in the near future, will allow others to experience new life. Seeing the impact the past few years have had on both me and the world, influenced me to construct something that changes the way people view others and digest information. My parents want me to be happy and financially independent but their fear for my future has put a strain on our relationship. Because they see success in specific professions, I’ve been putting in the work and effort in and out of school to showcase a different type of success. By being committed to giving back to my community as well as building relationships with important figures and community members, I'm not rejecting my parents' concerns, I'm working hard to show them what’s possible for me and for others. This challenge has pushed me to be a lot more socially and academically inclined because I’m working to show my parents a future that revolves around passion and desires. I’m determined to help them break free from this working-to-live mindset. One of my goals in life is to be successful and passionate about the work that I’m doing to broaden my parent's perspective and the perspective of others.