Samuel L. Goodman Educational Scholarship

The ability to say "I did it." The pursuit of higher education is extremely important to me as it helps you become a more well rounded person and see different perspectives that you might not have been able to see before. It also gives you opportunities that can vastly change your life. Going to college as a first generation college student was one of the hardest choices I had to make. While to others it may seem like the most logical option in their next step in life it is a lot harder for someone who comes from a more challenged background. I say this because the fact that it is hard is what makes education itself even more important. Higher education can pull you out of poverty and break the generational cycle. Another benefit of pulling yourself out of poverty is that you can also bring others up with you. I want to be able to bring back what I have learned in school and life experiences back to my community. I have a dream of going back to my school and stepping into the small auditorium we have and giving a speech about how it is possible. Even though we come from a lower income area, it does not define who we are. Yes, we might have a disadvantage as we are minorities and don't have the same resources but that is what makes us stronger. If our car breaks down are we going to have a mental breakdown and give up? No! We are going to give ourselves a little breather and then figure out a solution to the problem. Maybe using your pants string to tie up your muffler that had broken off just to get you home then figure out a more permanent solution. (Funny thing this has happened to me). The tenacity to keep going is what I want to bring to my community. Higher education brings hope, something I hold dear to my heart. In the end, no one can take away the time and money you have invested into yourself. The late nights studying for an exam while somehow creating a professional network and running an organization is something I would never regret. I have learned and experienced so much in short amount of time thanks to higher education. I am not the same person I was a couple of years ago when I started college. For this I will be forever grateful.

My name is Miracle Hall and I am a senior at Arizona State University. I am majoring in neuroscience and plan to graduate in the Fall of 2023. I plan to become a physician so I will be applying to medical school in the upcoming application cycle. My grandma is the reason I want to become a doctor I was her caregiver for most of my childhood. When she passed away it hurt me to my core I made a promise that I wouldn't want anyone to feel how I felt. Becoming a doctor is to help more than my patients I want to protect their loved ones as well. Higher education is important to me because I am a first-generation college student. My parents nor my grandma even graduated middle or high school. I want to stop the generational curse and make them proud. By graduating college I hope to show my little sisters that you can make it out of poverty and become something. I pave the way for myself so that when their time comes it will be easier for them. I am from Memphis, TN where most people do not make it out of poverty alive. My high school graduating class is either in jail or pregnant and had to drop out of school. This experience played a big part in finding a way to leave my hometown. Little did I know the key to leaving my hometown would be my education. Currently, I am volunteering at an equestrian therapy center for disabled children. This program is an alternative and intentional therapeutic learning opportunity for children with social learning challenges and related disorders. This is a full-time educational program this is for than just classroom learning. We teach them to break out of their shell and normal habits and to gain confidence in themselves. I hope to create a program that will help my community in Memphis on the mental health side of things. I see the lack of resources in the mental health community once they leave treatment. I want to create a home for them that will give them the tools to be a regular citizens again and stay out of inpatient. The tools I want to provide are gaining a job, opening a bank account, shopping for food, and how deescalate a situation. I will provide medical care as well if needed. This scholarship can help me continue my education and finish my senior year stress-free of financial burden. Being a first-generation college student means you pave your own way financially and on the education side of things.