Tyrell Terry "Challenge and Opportunity" Scholarship

During the pandemic, especially during the quarantine portion, I had more time at home to explore what my passions were and what I want for my future. Half of my sophomore year and my full junior year of high school were moved to online education meaning I had more time at home. Since I knew that graduation was coming soon, I figured it was a great time to explore possibilities for my future as I had no clue what I wanted to be when I grew up... School has not always been easy for me, as I have dyslexia and was late to be diagnosed. I was drowning before I finally knew what was wrong with me....school was miserable. Once I was diagnosed though and got the help I needed, I discovered that my work ethic is strong and that I can do anything I set my mind to. I dug in, worked hard, and put my effort into the areas of school where I had more talent: math, science and art. Where I lacked in reading and writing, I could make up for in these subject areas and in my work ethic. By the time the quarantine was in place, I had advanced to the top of my class and was fascinated by my subjects of choice. During the beginning of Covid things were so scary and confusing and misinformation was everywhere so I took to Instagram to find some experts who were actual scientists doing covid research. In my search, I found Laurel Bristow and she became my hero. Laurel is a medical researcher/Infectious Disease Specialist working on Covid research full-time by day, and in her free time using social media as a platform for helping the world understand what is happening regarding cover and our ever changing knowledge and understanding of it. She is an excellent teacher and I love how she simplified complex scientific information for the general population so that people could have a place to go for new they could trust in a time of so much misinformation. Through following her and becoming more interested in scientific research topics, I also came across a talented PhD/artist on Instagram who explains complicated Science using Art! How fun is that?! Sciencewithanni aka Dr. Annicka Evans showed me one simple way that my two passions for art and science could be combined to help others. So exciting! Because of both of these ladies, I am understanding that I want to remain very open to creative ways to fuse my passions and abilities to find my place in the world for changing it....I am excited to take that next step! I have applied to several colleges and am planning to major in medical laboratory science with a minor in art. Thank you for taking the time to read my story and for investing in students like me who want to be world changers!

Covid-19 instilled much fear within the community in its prevalence. Little to no information was known of its severity, causing the world to turn into complete panic. In its difficulty of understanding this new disease, there was an external factor that would prove to raise difficulty. At its start, the pandemic was soon accompanied by the murder of George Floyd. With both the events of a pandemic and civil unrest towards police brutality occurring simultaneously, I knew immediate action was needed on my part to help restore solidarity within my own community. I would do so by beginning with my education setting and working outward from there. Regarding the pandemic, I began to actively volunteer to assist my school administration in providing a seamless transition to distance learning for our graduating seniors. The abrupt change did not permit the class of 2020 to receive necessary materials to properly celebrate their accomplishment of a diploma. In this way, with a combination of student and administrative ideas, we put into action an outdoor, easy pick-up entrance to allow seniors to collect their necessities, with little possibility for coronavirus transmission. At this time, staff was quite short, so the need for student volunteers was needed. Since then, I have volunteered at multiple vaccination clinics, ranging from ages five to ten, in efforts to ensure our youth is staying safe in these uncertain times as well. In these roles, I act as a support, to assure the children that the shot is quick and easy! To expand my efforts beyond the community, I have spent countless hours at Feed My Starving Children. An organization whose mission statement is to provide nutritional meals to children in environments where it is not easily accessible. The pandemic has created a degree hardship for everyone, in which drove me to my involvement and beyond. Aside from the pandemic, my eyes were widened to the issue of police brutality, and the killings of my people. In support of racial justice, I rallied a group of my fellow peers together to bring about solidarity, which we so helplessly needed and deserved during this time. With an appearance of over 200 students from neighboring schools, we were able to host a walkout to our local precinct. This provided the opportunity for the community to come together and understand one another’s struggle and experiences within a system that aims to disadvantage minorities. My work did not stop here, as I thought more was to be done. Upon the beginning of this current school year, I have organized and created a Black Student Union. In this way, our mission statement is to empower our young black students and encourage them to become courageous, inspiring leaders in any field they desire. Black Student Union creates safe space for BIPOC students and allows those to connect with others who can relate to them on aspects only they understand. This extracurricular activity allows black students to feel like the majority, compared to being often placed in the minority. Overall, I have spent my time ensuring that I am doing everything within reason to promote a safe community, as well as advocate for black lives. Going forward, I am hoping to continue to be of help within my environment to create a more productive society for our youth.