Dr. Jade Education Scholarship

My favorite part about dreaming is that it's not as much pressure as settle goals. Don't get me wrong, I love working towards a goal, but when I dream, it's out of the box, and it relieves me of the pressures of my goals because dreams don't necessarily have to be realistic. When I imagine myself living the life of my dreams, I imagine myself wealthy and able to pour into every black athlete around the world. I would start professional sports leagues for HBCU and black students, build strength and conditioning facilities around the world with technology only the professionals have access to. This wouldn't only benefit athletes, because in the world of business, there's a job for everyone. This dream would have to involve coaches, mentors, therapists, psychologists, physical therapists, doctors, trainers, chefs, nutritionists, tutors, and much more where that comes from. As a former collegiate student athlete, I know I needed all of this. I needed a community, and not everyone has access to these things. Mental and physical health are two of the most important things for anyone, but especially for a young adult using their body every day to pay for school or take their talents to the next level. Going from a PWI to a HBCU, I know that resources start to run slim especially when it comes to athletics. At Clark Atlanta, I ran so much, that my shoes grew holes and I formed stress reactions in my metatarsals on my right foot. Meanwhile at Kennesaw State, we had a pair of shoes for practice, a pair for home games, a pair for away games, and a pair for breast cancer awareness month. Black students deserve better. Black athletes deserve to be reimbursed for their hard work the same way athletes at a PWI would. Providing an environment for black students and athletes to be surrounded by the proper love and care that they deserve would help them perform in the classroom. They would be surrounded by people that look like them and want to pour into them. They would be taught to become leaders by those who care about more than how they are performing on the field/court right now, but how they are performing in life after the ball stops. Black athletes are more than just what they do on the field, but some of us need help finding that out about ourselves. My dream is to provide an environment for black athletes to excel in their sports, classroom, life, and post-graduation while being surrounded by black leaders, mentors, friends, and family with similar goals. We have suffered, we have had our ideas and talents striped from us. We deserve better, and it’s ok for us to do things for ourselves. This Dream is investing in our future.

My dream life would be surrounded by happiness and health. I would be comfortable with myself and in my skin. For me, this looks like managing my health and wellness. I want to have a life where I am actively managing my anxiety and depression, keeping active, and focusing on my spiritual connection with God. This dream life involves me focusing on the betterment of myself. I wish to always be challenging myself to learn and grow in ways that I have not experienced. I will likely have pursued higher education. I will build a rehabilitation center for women. I want to create a safe space for survivors of traumatic events to recover from their injuries. I would work with like-minded women in healthcare to provide spaces for Black Woman to receive care. I also want to work in maternal health care, focusing on providing women with the resources to obtain safe birthing plans. The maternal morbidity of Black women around the world is something that I want to spend a lot of time advocating for. I would love to work closely with a non-profit that focuses on the health and wellness of Black Women. In this dream life I want to be the best friend, sister, daughter, and aunt that I can be. I want to be present in the lives of my loved ones. I want to continue to grow in these relationships as they are so important to me. I will have enough to support my family, allowing my mom to retire. My entire family will be in optimal health and living out their dreams as they see fit. My dream life includes travel, philanthropy, advocacy, and volunteerism. My mother has always wanted to build a women's clinic in. I her native home of Sierra Leone and it would be amazing to help her actualize this dream. I hope to travel the world and experiences all the pleasantries that life has to offer. My dream life includes enjoyment, laughter, and nature. I would love to visit every continent at least once with my loved ones. I am most looking forward to exploring Africa. I want to be able to build a home for my family in Sierra Leone. I hope that my family and I are able to visit frequently. I want my future children and nieces and nephews to be able to connect with our culture.