Unity. We hear this buzzword on podcasts, on the news, in advertisements, and on the lips of politicians and influential pop culture figures alike. Society is painfully aware of the role unity must play as we face today's many complex issues. To attempt to unify without empathy or empathize without understanding is an exercise in futility. Community engagement is crucial to gain an empathic understanding of those around us. This empathetic understanding is necessary to achieve the real and lasting unity that our society desperately needs. I have had the pleasure of working with Pegasus Therapeutic Riding Academy, where I helped give therapeutic horseback riding lessons and assist both children and adults with various disabilities. I was able to watch their progress from where they began and how much they were able to grow because of this nonprofit I volunteered for. I also worked as a volunteer for Project Sunshine, where I visited kids hospitalized and left all alone during the day. When I walked into the hospital rooms the children were always so excited, and I really felt like I was making a difference. I witnessed remarkable physical and emotional growth from the people I helped in both programs. I truly felt like I was able to make a positive impact. Most importantly, I gained a better understanding of the struggles of the people and groups I helped during my time with these organizations. I will never truly know what it is like to struggle with the issues I saw; however, I feel like I have a better understanding thanks to my experiences. I hope to continue to take advantage of community engagement at my future university around issues of race, gender, and sexuality as a vital tool to increase my empathic listening and understanding to bring about positive change. I plan to earn a bachelor's degree in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and eventually earn my master's degree in Speech Pathology, allowing me to achieve my dream career as a practicing speech pathologist. I hope to one day own and grow my own pediatric practice because I can think of no greater joy than a job that allows me to help children unlock the power of speech. Whether I am working directly with a patient or managing my business's people and culture, I will work tirelessly to promote an uplifting message and infectious positivity that helps my patients achieve their highest potential both inside and outside of my practice. The importance of positivity and encouragement when working with kids who may already struggle to have confidence due to a speech impediment or stutter is even higher. I want to be the best speech pathologist I can be and a genuinely positive and unifying force in my community. With that in mind, I must go beyond the surface of merely learning the best practices in my field. I must continuously work to understand the complexities around intersectional relationships and inherent societal biases within society. When I accomplish my career goal, I will achieve my dream of giving hope and confidence to my clients I come across.

"Wrong!" Mrs. Kephart exclaimed. "You are unteachable! I have tried everything, and nothing seems to work!" Mrs. Kephart never taught me again after that summer day going into my 4th-grade year, but she would have a lasting impact on my life that neither of us probably could have ever fathomed. Mrs. Kephart was the first in a long line of teachers that echoed a sentiment of academic hopelessness back to me. I became so accustomed to feeling hopeless that I genuinely believed I was a lost cause by the time I reached high school. My grades began to slip, I fell behind, and I ultimately dropped out. After I decided to drop out, I felt as if I was doomed to carry the label of "failure" with me for the rest of my life. That all changed when I met Bonnie Kaye in September of 2018. Bonnie founded the Northeast GED Learning Center. Bonnie took the time to get to know each of her students and found a unique way to motivate them with unwavering positivity and encouragement. With Bonnie's help, I earned my GED in December of 2018, and a little less than a year later, I enrolled in a full-time course load at the Community College of Philadelphia for the Fall 2019 term. The first couple of weeks of classes were challenging. Some nights, after hours of studying, I felt like just giving up, but on those nights, I remembered Bonnie, who reminded me that there are no limits to what I can learn. After much hard work and dedication, I am proud to say I have a 4.0 GPA at CCP after completing 37 hours of college coursework. Bonnie inspired me not to allow the "unteachable" label previously placed on me to define the course of my life. Bonnie's gift of inspiration and kindness made me who I am today and undoubtedly inspired my career path. I plan to earn a bachelor's degree in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and eventually earn my master's degree in Speech Pathology. I hope to one day own and grow my own pediatric practice because I can think of no greater joy than a job that allows me to help children unlock the power of speech. I know firsthand the sheer potency just a few words can have to either build or destroy a child's confidence. Knowing this, whether I am working directly with a patient or managing my business's people and culture, I will work tirelessly to promote uplifting messages for my clients and infectious positivity in my practice. When I accomplish my career goal, I will achieve my dream of gifting the same hope and inspiration that Bonnie gave me to other children. I have the utmost confidence in my ability to achieve my goal because my motivation stems from myself, Bonnie, and all those I hope to help in the future.

Twenty minutes felt like 20 years as the piercing glare of Mrs. Kephart burned a hole in my brain. I officially convinced myself that any further effort I exerted to solve this all too familiar enigma would only prove that the task was, at its core, nothing more than an exercise in futility. I decided the only thing left for me to do was accept defeat. Long division defeated me once again. I hesitantly scribbled my best guess on my paper and anxiously awaited my fate. My heart was pounding. Within seconds of putting my pencil down, my worst fear became a reality. "Wrong!" Mrs. Kephart exclaimed. "You are unteachable! I have tried everything, and nothing seems to work!" Mrs. Kephart never taught me again after that summer day going into my 4th-grade year, but she would have a lasting impact on my life that neither of us probably could have ever fathomed. Mrs. Kephart was the first in a long line of teachers that echoed a sentiment of academic hopelessness back to me. I became so accustomed to feeling hopeless that I genuinely believed I was a lost cause by the time I reached high school. My grades began to slip, I fell behind, and I ultimately dropped out. After I decided to drop out, I felt as if I was doomed to carry the label of "failure" with me for the rest of my life. That all changed when I met Bonnie Kaye in September of 2018. After going from a high school dropout herself to eventually successfully earning her master's degree, Bonnie founded the Northeast GED Learning Center. Bonnie took the time to get to know each of her students and found a unique way to motivate them with unwavering positivity and encouragement. With Bonnie's help, I earned my GED in December of 2018, and a little less than a year later, I enrolled in a full-time course load at the Community College of Philadelphia for the Fall 2019 term. The first couple of weeks of classes were challenging. Doubts about my academic potential began to creep their way back into my mind. Some nights, after hours of studying, I felt like just giving up, but on those nights, I remembered Bonnie, who reminded me that there are no limits to what I can learn. After much hard work and dedication, I am proud to say I have a 4.0 GPA at CCP after completing 25 hours of college coursework. I recently received acceptance to all my top choice schools. Bonnie inspired me not to allow the "unteachable" label previously placed on me to define the course of my life. Bonnie's gift of inspiration made me who I am today and undoubtedly inspired my career path. I plan to earn a bachelor's degree in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and eventually earn my master's degree in Speech Pathology, allowing me to achieve my dream career as a practicing speech pathologist. I hope to one day own and grow my own pediatric practice because I can think of no greater joy than a job that allows me to help children unlock the power of speech. I know firsthand the sheer potency just a few words can have to either build or destroy a child's confidence. Knowing this, whether I am working directly with a patient or managing my business's people and culture, I will work tirelessly to promote an uplifting message and infectious positivity that helps my patients achieve their highest potential both inside and outside the classroom. The importance of positivity when working with kids who may already struggle to have confidence due to a speech impediment or stutter is even higher. When I accomplish my career goal, I will achieve my dream of gifting the same hope and inspiration that Bonnie gave me to other children. I have the utmost confidence in my ability to achieve my goal because my motivation stems from myself, Bonnie, and all those I hope to help in the future.

“Well, the jig is up!" I thought to myself. I walked into the kitchen to discover the secret I kept from my parents was a secret no more. Looking at my laptop screen seemed almost unbearable, as it displayed for the world to see that because of my anxiety, I was a year and a half behind in my studies. Almost immediately, I was greeted by a momentary feeling of relief because the months' long burden of keeping my struggle with anxiety a secret from my family vanished. That sense of relief quickly disappeared when I remembered I now faced my parents' reaction and the seemingly impossible task of figuring out where I would go from here Much to my surprise, my parents were not angry but disappointed. My parents' disappointment stemmed from my falling behind and my reluctance to come forward with my anxiety struggles earlier. My parents and I agreed I needed to finish school. We decided that because of my anxiety, I should work to find a different program that still did not require me to be in a traditional classroom setting but provided me more support than my current 100% online program. My mom and I researched other possible options. We came across Bonnie Kaye program which focused on helping nontraditional high school students get a fresh start. Bonnie ran a class to help adults pass the HiSet test, making them eligible to go on and earn their GED. I was intimidated going into the classroom, terrified of failing again. This class was my chance to prove to myself that my struggles with anxiety would not define me for the rest of my life. I passed with flying colors and earned my GED in December of 2018. I felt confident enough to continue my studies the following semester at Community College of Philadelphia, where I was able to apply my newly found confidence to hold a 4.0 GPA. I plan to use my story to inspire others in my future career as a Speech Pathologist to show others with enough hard work you can do anything.

Twenty minutes felt like 20 years as the piercing glare of Mrs. Kephart burned a hole in my brain. I officially convinced myself that any further effort I exerted to solve this all too familiar enigma would only prove that the task was, at its core, nothing more than an exercise in futility. I decided the only thing left for me to do was accept defeat. Long division defeated me once again. I hesitantly scribbled my best guess on my paper and anxiously awaited my fate. My heart was pounding. Within seconds of putting my pencil down, my worst fear became a reality. “Wrong!” Mrs. Kephart exclaimed. “You are unteachable! I have tried everything, and nothing seems to work!” Mrs. Kephart never taught me again after that summer day going into my 4th-grade year, but she would have a lasting impact on my life that neither of us probably could have ever fathomed. Nearly five years removed from the ruthlessly unforgiving tutelage of Mrs. Kephart, I was faced with yet another challenge that, in comparison, made the once daunting task of long division look as simple as learning my ABCs. My new challenge...enrolling in high school. My academic and social life had done little to increase my confidence since my fateful last encounter with Mrs. Kephart. My parents knew that I struggled with social anxiety and agreed to allow me to enroll in an online program for high school. Needless to say, I was elated at the prospect of avoiding awkward encounters with both teachers and peers alike. Much to my chagrin, my online high school experience was not as free from trials and tribulations as I had once hoped. My parents worked full time, and I received little to no support from my virtual teachers, who were located hundreds of miles from my makeshift virtual classroom. In the wake of this immense pressure, my grades began to slip. What little that was left of my confidence quickly dissipated. I spiraled into a deep depression. I started by only falling a few days behind, then weeks, and eventually, months. I often did not leave my bed for days at a time. I became so overwhelmed. I ultimately decided to drop out. After I decided to drop out, I felt as if I was doomed to carry the label of “failure” with me for the rest of my life. That all changed when I met Bonnie Kaye in September of 2018. Bonnie founded the Northeast GED Learning Center after going from a high school dropout to eventually earning her master’s degree. Bonnie took the time to get to know each of her students and found a unique way to motivate them with unwavering messages of positivity and encouragement. With Bonnie’s help, I completed my High School Equivalency in December of 2018, and a little less than a year later, I enrolled in a full-time course load at the Community College of Philadelphia for the Fall 2019 term. The first couple weeks of class were difficult. Doubts about my academic potential began to creep their way back into my mind. Some nights, after hours of studying, I felt like just giving up, but on those nights, I remembered Bonnie, who reminded me that there are no limits to what I can learn. After much hard work and dedication, I am proud to say I have a 4.0 GPA at CCP after completing 37 hours of college coursework. I hope to use what I have learned through my experiences to not only inspire others but make a positive impact on the university I decide to attend, and eventually as a speech pathologist. I will work tirelessly to promote an uplifting message of unity that helps my peers achieve their highest potential both inside and outside the classroom because I know firsthand the sheer potency of just a few words.