Voila Natural Lifestyle Scholarship

I was born and raised in a small house in Barranquilla, Colombia. While my dad labored away on another continent, my mother worked long hours at a local laboratory to ensure that my brother and I could live comfortably. My brother, my grandparents, and an aunt who is not significantly older than me made up the majority of my immediate family. Growing up in a community where everyone had similar backgrounds resulted in always believing that society places a great value on the health and education of all children since society instills the notion that children are the future of the world. However, as time passed after I moved to the United States, I experienced a huge cultural shift. The lack of representation for minorities is a major issue in my town. As an Afro-Latina woman surrounded by a majority of black and Hispanic peers, I realize there aren't many non-white staff members at our school who we feel genuinely understand us, therefore our voices often go unnoticed as a response. I realized this even more when I became fluent in the English language and walked into the doctor's office to rarely see healthcare providers who are people of color, so I didn’t always feel understood. During my freshman year amid a pandemic, I became aware of a tutoring program. Rhode Island Tutoring consisted of instructing a few minority-identifying middle school students through Zoom. These same students would frequently speak about the issues in their homes, particularly their financial situations. Because I also come from an underrepresented background, they felt comfortable telling me about their situations, such as their lack of adequate healthcare. These comments made me understand that even children can see fundamental issues within society, even if they can't understand them completely. I concluded there aren't many people who come from similar backgrounds in positions of power and representation truly holding heavy weight. This lack of attention toward those students required further discussion and action. I contacted families directly and asked for their input then urged school administrators around the state to find ways to cover these students and their families' health insurance. Unfortunately, we were dismissed like these families when it comes to adequate healthcare. Many of the parents are immigrants who don't speak English or don't know how to get themselves and their families the right help. Without advocacy, these students would not receive any assistance because of the lack of representation and familiarity in places that most people do. Learning society’s biased attitudes can influence equal access to quality care pushed me to become more community oriented for the rest of my high school career. I decided to become a member of the Black Student Union at my school, joined a program to read to Elementary School students, lead my own donation drive to give back to my homeland and organize my own contribution campaign to help those being affected by environmental injustices, as well as many other things. With the assistance of the Voila Natural Lifestyle Scholarship, I wish to continue dedicating my time to campaigns, drives, and other activities to promote underprivileged communities throughout my life. I intend to later attend medical school to assist those who are experiencing hardships similar to those I have seen in my community and those who have had similar experiences to the one I first had with my parents.