Mark Green Memorial Scholarship

I do not come from a wealthy family, I knew going to a top school would not only be a challenge mentally but a financial challenge as well. My father died before my first birthday, leaving me and my mother alone to provide for ourselves. This was not easy for my mom since she was only 20 years old, was still living with her parents, and had a terrible relationship with her father. She drives a school bus and we live paycheck to paycheck. My mother has had to work for everything we have. There is nowhere we can pull money from to pay for my education. I need all the help I can get to have any hope of having a successful and educated future. Because we have limited resources, I have worked tirelessly to go above and beyond to ensure my chances of going to my dream school. I researched schools, did all the steps to determine what school was best for me: Howard University. Howard is one of the top HBCUs but also a top school for pre-law. Going to a top school, like Howard, ensures I have all the best resources to accomplish my goals. Howard has even produced notable alumni like Former Vice President Kamala Harris, whose career path I model mine after. Howards pre-law program provides ample internships, and with Howard having a law school as well, allows me to shadow people who have established themselves already in their career. Howard is even in a prime location to learn about politics and what being a lawyer really is. I knew it would be hard to achieve but my goal was to be a Howard Bison. I came into high school with the plan to work as hard as possible to set myself apart from the rest. I joined every club I could fit into my schedule; Student Council, Peer Jury, Peer Mediation, Class Leadership, Girls Basketball, Girls Flag Football, Theater, Marching Band, Bible Club, FCCLA, Deca, I have even balanced a job on top of that for the past two years. I have taken honors and AP classes, so I am in the top 10% of my class With my degree, I will be a voice for my people in the courtroom. Only the devastation and tragedies of the black community are shown in mainstream media. Often we hear about an African American being brutalized by the police, the crimes of poor black people who are struggling to survive, or African American people just being terrorized in their everyday life for being black. I want to be a part of the community that flips the script. We see black people in cuffs and behind bars too often . We never see black lawyers being a voice for those unjust realities. That is because there are not many. Only 5% of all attorneys are African American. Black people need more representation because lawyers who do not understand the trials and tribulations of being black are not fighting hard enough. I want to be another voice for my people.