Albright, Carter, Campbell Ohana Scholarship for Academic Excellence

As an African American, I have overcome many life experiences that have left a deep engraving mark on me. I have witnessed and experienced the numerous racial disparities not only in my community but around the world as well. I have seen stigmatization of minorities, more specifically African Americans. African Americans in my community are constantly treated unfairly in comparison to White Americans. These occurrences have caused me not only to reflect on my own identity but also how societal norms impact African Americans. In America, our Constitution, laws, courts, decisions, and regulations not only attest to the fact that racial inequality has extraordinarily deep roots in American culture, but it is frequently its underlying cause as well. These systemic issues, in great measure, fail to adapt and adequately serve the communities dependent on them. This misfortune has shaped not only my identity but has also manifested my desire to be an agent of change. After graduating with my bachelor's in political science, I will be pursuing a Juris Doctorate to become a lawyer. I believe studying the law is the best way to understand how society functions, the rules and regulations, how political issues are involved, and how these issues affect individuals in a society. To familiarize myself with law and government, I am currently majoring in pre-law political science. This major allows me to familiarize myself with the necessary skills for becoming a lawyer, which are analytical reasoning, interpersonal skills, and reading comprehension. Furthermore, to gain experience in the legal field, I have been a part of internship programs focusing on law. As an intern, I had the opportunity to work with legislators at the Maddy Institute. This internship allowed me to work directly with government officials and also allowed me to familiarize myself with public policy and civil litigation. When I graduate from university, I want to continue to offer people in my community access to legal resources that they can use in their future endeavors. After being victims of unjust cases, African Americans believe that the law targets them. As a minority, I understand the feeling of hopelessness and helplessness. More minorities than ever before are incarcerated in our prisons. Exonerations and civil suits are becoming more frequent, which indicates that the judicial system is unstable. Major cases of erroneous convictions have damaged not only the reputation of our justice system but the lives of innocent men and women. Becoming a layer will allow me to actively help people and make a difference in their lives. By advancing justice through a just process, I will be able to uphold my ethics and integrity in my practice. I believe it is imperative to remove the barriers put in place by racial inequalities if we are to advance both as individuals and in society. As an aspiring civil rights lawyer, I want to use the law to cultivate opportunities for children and families to thrive, thus creating more stable communities. I want to create tangible resources for individuals who have been deemed by society as undeserving. I want to know the law on a deeper level, so I can use the law to its full extent. Furthermore, I want to acquire the skills to defend the unrepresented and bridge the enormous gap between minorities and the judicial system.