I Can and I Will Scholarship

Growing up in Fort Mill, SC, with just my mom, I quickly learned that resilience wasn't an option; it was how we got by. She worked multiple jobs to keep the lights on, and while those tight times often felt overwhelming, they also ignited a fire in me. Being the first in my family to go to college is a big deal, and every lecture I sit through at Howard University feels like a promise to my younger self: that tough times don't have to define you; they can propel you. Mental health has always been a quiet, yet powerful, thread in my life. My mom has battled chronic depression, a heavy weight from the stresses of being a single parent and constant financial strain. Seeing her quietly navigate those invisible hurdles showed me how mental illness can hold people back, not because they lack talent, but because of the sheer exhaustion of silent struggle. Watching her push through, even on her hardest days, taught me that excellence means nothing without empathy. It also made my career path crystal clear: I want to be an attorney, fighting for criminal justice reform and community wellness. My goal is to ensure people like my mom are protected, not punished, by the systems that should be helping them. At Howard, I chose Criminology & Legal Communications with a Political Science minor because I knew I needed the right language and policy smarts to tackle structural inequities. But textbooks alone couldn't show me the real human toll of injustice; that came from getting involved. As a Volunteer Crisis Texter with Crisis Text Line, I've provided real-time emotional support to people in distress. Those late-night conversations hammered home how deeply mental health ties into race, poverty, and the law. And as Program Coordinator for Reading Partners DC through AmeriCorps, I saw firsthand how literacy gaps often mirror socioeconomic divides, creating yet another mental burden that just grows over time. These roles have demanded patience, cultural humility, and the ability to turn compassion into tangible results, all skills I'll definitely bring into the courtroom. My professional experiences have only solidified this path. As the CEO’s Executive Assistant at Tangé Wellness, I've handled communications for an organization focused on holistic health in marginalized communities. At Apple, troubleshooting tech issues for customers taught me how to decode problems under pressure and explain solutions clearly (a skill I know will be crucial in court). Whether I'm presenting my poverty-and-pandemic research at the National Environmental Justice Conference or organizing DC clean-ups with the Climate Change, People & Environment Club, I'm always looking for ways to turn what I've learned personally into something that benefits the wider community. Beyond the work, mental health advocacy is also deeply personal for me; it's something I practice every day. Keeping a 3.8 GPA while balancing work, study, and leadership roles can definitely take a toll on my own well-being. I've learned to see rest as resistance and therapy as maintenance, aiming to model healthy coping strategies for my family and fellow first-generation peers. My journey has taught me that achievement without wellness is just unsustainable, and that true systemic change needs leaders who get both the policy and the people. This scholarship would significantly ease the financial strain that, for families like mine, often magnifies mental stress. More importantly, it would propel me directly into a legal career committed to dismantling the barriers that make mental health a privilege instead of a fundamental right. By investing in my education, you're investing in communities that have been silenced for too long by stigma and scarcity.