Janean D. Watkins Overcoming Adversity Scholarship

When I was a young child, I had a speech impediment and it was hard for people to understand me when I spoke. This made me self-conscious when I would speak to people other than family. I had a hard time speaking to strangers, ordering my food at restaurants, and speaking in front of crowds to give speeches because they would always ask me to repeat it or say I didn’t understand what you’re saying. This made me not want to speak at all sometimes. This created a lot of anxiety for me in school with classmates, presentations, and social activities. I had a hard time making large groups of friends and mainly kept to my small group of friends that I felt comfortable with. A couple of years ago I went to work at a pizza restaurant, and this was a huge obstacle speaking to customers but through strength and a lot of discussions with myself, I powered through. With the support of my boss, friends, and family I worked really hard to battle the struggles. I am now able to speak to people at a comfortable level and very proud that I have conquered this obstacle and now have confidence in myself to speak. For my future, the confidence I have gained through this obstacle will help me with interviews, and speaking to others in my employment and allow me to continue to achieve goals for my career in biology and forensic sciences. In this career, I feel I will be successful in courts for testimonies, presenting to superiors’ evidence and providing investigation outcomes with confidence and being heard clearly. I have come a long way and am extremely proud and humbled by this experience/obstacle. I have great compassion for those with disabilities or those who struggle with social anxiety. I feel through my experience, I understand what it takes every day to wake up and conquer the day with strength, and courage and to be able to keep a smile as I have lived it. I hope to make the world a better place through science, law, compassion, tolerance and empathy. I dream of a great future and this scholarship would make it possible for me to achieve my educational and future goals and minimize my debt. I thank you for your time and consideration. If I am not chosen I thank you for this opportunity. Sincerely, McKenzie Morgan