iMatter Ministry Memorial Scholarship

Hands, the word is precisely one syllable, comprised of 27 bones, and is one of the easiest ways to connect with another person. With elegant yet thin hands, impacting my community was bigger than me and was a courageous act. When I joined Girl Scouts in kindergarten, I became committed to improving my community. Some of the activities I have taken part in included working with homeless people in the Houston area, fixing over 10,000 sandwiches for those who lived in food deserts, and protesting with other women who bravely marched in the rain for reproductive rights. However, working with special needs kids left a mark on me. In eighth grade, I volunteered to serve as a life-skills aid for Mrs. Cooks' class. I assisted them with classwork and participated in life skills exercises such as cooking with the teacher. Through our conversations, Mrs. Cooks helped me understand that my community is broad and even includes those without a voice or the ability to use their hands. Not only did the enrichment I took part in during her program touch me, but it unknowingly exposed me to the lack of inclusivity within discussions about nutrition for special needs people inside public schools. These standard programs never considered the deformities, lack of mobility, and how some foods may be inaccessible to them due to financial restraints. While attending the Spelman Early College Program last summer, I began formulating my Gold Award project for Girl Scouts. I immediately thought about the awareness I could bring to the issue and how passionate I was about it. I planned out my project, which includes a web seminar, an in-person workshop with educational activities, pamphlets for administrators on how they can educate others, and the importance of refraining from using ableist language in their day-to-day lives. I planned to also adequately explain the benefits of teaching these concepts to children who are non-disabled as well. I began officially filling out my application and starting the process. Praying that the council would approve me, I turned it in and waited impatiently for an email approving for me to start. Soon enough, my mentor delivered a glowing email that I had been approved and could start my project and research. I felt so excited my hands shook. Currently, I am finishing my research, cultivating my website and pamphlets, and pouring good intentions into this new endeavor. Being able to advocate for those within my community who may not have the means or voice means a lot to me. It has allowed me to be an example for multiple people and think outside of the box. I hope to continue to inspire and motivate people to examine the policies being applied within public schools and within America as a whole.

What is the point of studying psychology? Isn't it just mental gymnastics? If anyone can do it, why should it be a career? This is the question my father has asked me for the last ten years, ever since I told him I wanted to work in the medical field like my mother. I've been shamed and ridiculed for something I believe is more important now than it has ever been. Growing up was never easy for anyone...especially with a father and mother who decided divorce was a good idea when their children were young...things have always seemed black and white and green. Green in the sense of as in money, this world is full of greed, pain, and money...child support doesn't make ends meet, child support isn't support, it isn't picnics, it isn't showing up for that last basketball game of the season. It's money sent via text once a month, no phone calls, no effort in seeing those children who have to grow up watching their mother struggle. They have to sit back and be yelled at because that money does not cover groceries, electric bills, or gas. It instills this fear, the fear of pursuing a degree that isn't guaranteed with such a small number of people in the social work fields; this fear devastates me because children now require therapists more than ever. We seem to have a school shooting every other week, the divorce rate has skyrocketed, and what are we to do but mock our children when they actively want to help society? Helping professions have never been viewed positively, and I know this better than many of my peers because I grew up with a mother in a helping profession, a teacher for the past 25 years. What I've seen and heard about the minds of tomorrow that she's been given the opportunity to teach. It is heartbreaking that these children should not only be safe in schools, but also have access to outside resources and affordable assistance. Despite the fact that it is a drop in the bucket, I would like to study psychology and become a psychotherapist in order to better this sickening world, There should never be parents who try to discourage their children from helping, but there are, and while completely cutting him off isn't a wise decision, it discourages me from working in this field; I want to help and pursue my passion without struggle.