James Lynn Baker II #BeACoffeeBean Scholarship

My name is Savannah Wilson and I am a High School student who works hard. I attend Skyline High School and I plan to graduate in May, 2024. An issue in my community that I desire to see changed is the violence of the younger African/American demographic lower significantly, more affordable housing and affordable health care. I plan on graduating this year and pursuing a degree at Midwestern State University to become a Radiologist Technician. I am trying my hardest to get as many scholarships as possible to help me pay to go to school because my mom is a single mom and with the cost of everything today especially with raising two kids alone, she has no money left to help me pay for school but she still supports me in any way she can. The way that I can work to address this issue is to create a place where young children to come and gain education about their health and inspire the kids of my community to reach for something higher than what we are typically and automatically given. I want to teach them how to take care of themselves by not only their physical health but their mental health is extremely important too. If we can cater to their mental, emotional AND physical health, I conclude that the violence in my community amongst my generation of peers will SIGNIFICANTLY decrease because they now have tools to deal with anger, anxiety, hurt and the trauma that comes with being from where I am from. My hobbies include: playing the piano/guitar, singing, playing basketball and cooking. These things listed prior are my passions and I think that activities and interests are what makes me uniquely me. I have to be quite honest, I am a little scared to attend college because if I have a job and go to school full time, I wont have any time left over to do the things that I enjoy AND my grades won't be the best that they can be, given I have to work full time just to survive. What I would like is enough money to get me at least through my freshman year of college so that I don't have to work full time and I can save my money that I make to be able to afford an apartment and a down payment on a car. Thank you so much for your consideration! sincerely, Savannah Wilson

A huge issue that I see affecting my country that I want to change, especially after seeing Black History Month wrap up and Women's History Month begin, is black female representation in the STEM fields. This may seem like a very specific issue, that doesn't affect many people, but it has been a real and constant issue that I have dealt with since I became interested in STEM as a young elementary school student. Worse yet, I have noticed that as I venture into the STEM community, the more involved and committed I get, I experience more and more discrimination and isolation. When I began high school I already knew that I wanted to be an engineer so I decided to join the engineering pathway that my high school offered. At this time only 25% of my engineering class were girls, with me being the only black girl in the entire class of 24 students. For the next 2 years, I was the only girl in my entire engineering classes, which were still comprised of about 24 students each year. This year, I was lucky enough to be in an engineering class along with one of my close friends, who is also a young black woman, but we are the only two girls in the class. I mention all of this to say that even though I have been 100% sure that I want to be an engineer and work in the STEM field for years, being this isolated in all of these classes that directly relate to my future career has often left me to seriously question if I would even want to continue down this career field. I would say to myself "I have had to put forth my best effort while being constantly discriminated against for being a black girl in a male-dominated field for years; do I want to do this to myself for the rest of my life?". After having to deal with the feeling that following my aspirations meant that I would be constantly putting myself in situations where I would always be initially judged by my race and my gender, I decided to try to put an end to this. A few months ago, I contacted my AP Calculus teacher in an effort of creating a 'Women in STEM' club. Though we are both very busy, we have both been trying to get this club up and running, even if it has to begin next year. After having to deal with constant judgment, discrimination, and isolation based on 2 factors I have no control of and can't change, it has become very important to me to try to help others in this situation (all women, but black women more specifically) and for them to know that they are not alone. I don't want anyone else to deal with the self-loathing and self-doubt that comes from thinking that they are less-than because of their race or gender.