I want to build a future where financial independence is not just something I hope for, but something I have the knowledge and ability to create. I am pursuing a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance because I want to understand how money, businesses, investments, and financial decisions can shape a person's future. Coming from a single-parent, low-income family has shown me how much financial circumstances can affect a person's opportunities. I have watched my family work hard to make things work, and those experiences have motivated me to build something different for myself. I want to graduate from college, establish a career in finance, become financially independent, and create a stable foundation for my future. However, I do not want to stop there. I want to build knowledge that I can share with other people. Financial literacy can give people the confidence to make better decisions about saving, budgeting, investing, and planning for the future. I want to eventually use what I learn through my education and career to help people who may not have grown up with financial resources or opportunities. I also want to build resilience. My educational journey has included academic struggles, and dealing with depression, anxiety, and ADHD has sometimes made reaching my goals more difficult. Those experiences have taught me that building a future requires more than having a dream. It requires learning how to overcome setbacks, ask for help, and continue moving forward when things do not go as planned. I have already started building the future I want by pursuing my education and gaining experience through work and community involvement. Through my family's farm and FFA, I have learned about responsibility, leadership, teamwork, and serving others. Those experiences have shown me that what I build for myself can also become something that benefits the people around me. Ultimately, I want to build a life based on opportunity, independence, and service. I want my education to give me the tools to create stability for myself while allowing me to help others create stability for themselves. To me, that is what makes education so powerful: it does not just change one person's future. When knowledge is shared, its impact can continue through an entire community.

My story is one of perseverance, growth, and learning that my circumstances do not have to determine my future. As a young woman pursuing higher education, I have faced challenges that have sometimes made reaching my goals more difficult, but those challenges have also given me a stronger understanding of the person I want to become. I come from a single-parent, low-income family, and growing up in that environment taught me the value of hard work and determination. I have watched my mother work hard to provide for our family, and seeing that sacrifice has motivated me to build a future where I can become financially independent and create opportunities for myself. It has also shown me that success is not something I should take for granted. My path through education has not been perfect. I have experienced academic struggles while dealing with depression, anxiety, and ADHD, which affected my motivation, concentration, organization, and ability to manage my responsibilities. There were times when these challenges made me question whether I was capable of succeeding in college. However, those experiences forced me to become more self-aware. I have learned that struggling does not mean I am incapable, and that asking for help and changing my approach are important parts of moving forward. I am currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. I chose this field because I want to understand how businesses and finances work and develop the skills necessary to build a successful career. I am particularly interested in financial management, investing, and helping people make better financial decisions. My goal is to use my education to create financial stability for myself while eventually helping others achieve greater financial independence. Outside of academics, I have also tried to give back to my community. Through FFA, I have participated in community service activities such as food drives and the Color Run. I have also donated to soup kitchens and participated in local donation efforts through my family's farm. These experiences have taught me that making a difference does not always require something extraordinary. Sometimes, it simply requires being willing to show up and help. Receiving this scholarship would help me continue pursuing my education while reducing some of the financial pressure that comes with college. More importantly, it would be an investment in the future I am working to build. I want to graduate with the knowledge and confidence to establish a career in business and finance and become someone who can create opportunities not only for myself but for others. I know my journey has not been perfect, but I am proud of the fact that I continue to move forward. I am determined to learn from my past, make better choices, and use my education to build a future that reflects my potential. This scholarship would help me take another step toward that future.

I have learned that making a difference in a community does not always require doing something huge. Sometimes, it means giving your time, helping someone who needs it, or being willing to contribute whenever an opportunity comes along. Through FFA, my family's farm, and community service, I have had several opportunities to give back to the people around me. One of the ways I have served my community is through FFA. I participated in community service projects such as food drives and the Color Run, where I helped support an event that brought people together while raising support for a good cause. Participating in food drives especially showed me how something as simple as collecting and donating food can help families who may be struggling. These experiences taught me that community service is not always about receiving recognition. It is about recognizing a need and being willing to help. I have also donated to local soup kitchens and participated in other local donation efforts. Being able to contribute to organizations that help people who may be experiencing difficult circumstances has made me more aware of how important community support can be. There are people in every community who need assistance, and I believe everyone has something they can contribute, whether that is money, food, time, or simply a willingness to help. My family's farm has also given me a unique way to contribute to my community. Through the farm, I have helped with local donations and interacted with customers and other members of the community. Working on the farm has taught me the importance of hard work, responsibility, and serving others. It has also shown me how local businesses and individuals can work together to strengthen their communities. These experiences have shaped the way I think about leadership. I have learned that being a leader is not just about being in charge. It means being willing to work alongside others, take responsibility, and contribute even when nobody is watching. Through FFA and my work with the farm, I have learned how important teamwork and dependability are when trying to accomplish something that benefits other people. As I continue my education, I want to carry those lessons with me. I am pursuing a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance, and I hope to eventually use my education and career to create opportunities for myself while helping others. My experiences have made me especially interested in helping people who may face financial challenges or lack access to the resources they need. I believe strong communities are created when people are willing to look beyond themselves. The food drives, Color Run, soup kitchen donations, and other community efforts I have participated in may seem like small contributions individually, but they have taught me that small acts of service can add up to something meaningful. I want to continue giving back throughout college and my future career because I believe that success is more meaningful when you can use it to help other people succeed as well.

Addiction does not always look the way people expect it to. My experience has been with nicotine addiction, something that is often treated as harmless or simply a bad habit. For me, however, it became something I depended on and had difficulty giving up. Over time, I realized that being dependent on something was affecting my life and that I did not want to continue allowing an addiction to control my choices. Giving up nicotine has been a difficult process because addiction is not simply about deciding to stop. There are habits, cravings, and routines that can make change challenging. I have had to learn to recognize my triggers, manage cravings, and remind myself why becoming free from nicotine matters to me. I am still learning, and I do not want to pretend that the process has been perfect. What matters to me is that I am actively working toward becoming healthier and more independent from my addiction. This experience has taught me lessons that extend beyond nicotine. I have learned that meaningful change takes patience, consistency, and the willingness to start again after setbacks. I have also learned that asking for support and acknowledging that you need to change are signs of strength, not weakness. Those lessons are important to me as I continue my education. I am currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. My education is important because I want to build a stable and independent future for myself. Coming from a low-income background, I understand how difficult it can be to have limited resources and opportunities. I want to use my education to build a career in finance while developing the knowledge and skills necessary to create greater financial stability. In the future, I hope to use what I learn to help others who are facing challenges of their own. My experience with addiction has shown me how easy it can be for people to struggle privately, especially when others do not recognize the seriousness of what they are experiencing. I want to be someone who understands that change is possible and that someone's current circumstances do not have to determine their future. Overcoming nicotine addiction is one part of the person I am becoming. I am learning to make decisions based on the future I want rather than the habits that have controlled me in the past. I want to carry that same determination into my education, career, and life. My goal is not only to succeed for myself, but eventually to use what I have learned from my experiences to encourage and support others as they work toward better lives.

For me, pursuing higher education is about creating a future where I have the knowledge, skills, and independence to determine the direction of my own life. I am pursuing a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance because I want to build a career that provides financial stability while allowing me to continue learning, growing, and creating opportunities for myself. My educational journey has not always been easy. Living with depression, anxiety, and ADHD has affected my ability to succeed academically in ways that were not always visible to the people around me. Depression could make it difficult to find motivation, anxiety could make responsibilities feel overwhelming, and ADHD affected my concentration, organization, and time management. When these challenges occurred together, staying on top of schoolwork became much more difficult. There were times when I struggled academically and questioned whether I was capable of succeeding in college. However, those experiences have also taught me a great deal about myself. I have learned that needing additional support does not mean that I am incapable. I have become more aware of the environments and strategies that help me succeed, and I have learned that asking for help is a strength rather than a weakness. I am determined not to let the challenges I have experienced become the reason I stop pursuing my education. I intend to use my education to build a career in business and finance. I want to understand financial management, investing, business operations, and decision-making so that I can create a stable future for myself. I also hope to eventually use my financial knowledge to help others make better decisions about their own futures. Independence, to me, means having the ability to support myself, make my own decisions, and build a life based on my goals rather than being limited by circumstances outside of my control. It does not mean never needing help. I believe true independence means knowing when to ask for support while still being capable of taking responsibility for my own life. Education is one of the most important tools I can use to achieve that independence. Earning my degree can provide me with career opportunities, financial stability, and the confidence that comes from knowing I have developed skills that I can use throughout my life. It can also give me greater control over my future and allow me to create opportunities for myself that may not otherwise be available. My disability has made my educational journey more challenging, but it has also made me more determined. I know that there may be obstacles ahead, but I no longer see obstacles as a reason to give up. I see them as challenges that require preparation, patience, and persistence. My goal is to graduate, establish a successful career, become financially independent, and use what I learn to positively impact others. Receiving this scholarship would help me continue pursuing that goal. More than financial assistance, it would represent an investment in my ability to overcome barriers and build an independent future. I am determined to make that investment count.

Choosing to pursue a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance is about more than choosing a career for me. It is about building a future where I can create financial stability, independence, and opportunities that I have not always had access to. Growing up in a single-parent, low-income family has shown me from an early age how important financial stability can be. I have seen how hard a parent can work to provide for a family and how quickly financial challenges can affect everyday life. Those experiences made me interested in understanding money and business, not simply because I want to have a successful career, but because I want to understand how financial decisions can change the direction of a person's life. My interest in business and finance has continued to grow as I have gotten older. I want to understand how businesses operate, how investments work, how people build wealth, and how financial decisions can create either opportunities or limitations. I believe studying business and finance will give me practical knowledge that I can use throughout my life, regardless of where my career takes me. My journey through college has not always been easy. I have experienced academic struggles while dealing with depression, anxiety, and ADHD, which affected my motivation, concentration, organization, and ability to manage my responsibilities. Those experiences were difficult, but they also forced me to become more self-aware and determined. I have learned that setbacks do not have to determine my future. Instead, they can teach me how to approach challenges differently and become better prepared for the next opportunity. Earning my degree would have a major impact on my life because it would give me the education and qualifications necessary to pursue a career in the business and finance field. It would also give me greater financial independence and the ability to build a more secure future for myself. Coming from a low-income family, I understand that college expenses can become a major obstacle. Receiving this scholarship would help reduce some of that financial pressure and allow me to focus more of my energy on my education and career preparation. In the long term, I want my education to benefit more than just myself. Financial knowledge is something that can empower people to make better decisions about their futures. I hope to eventually use what I learn to help others understand budgeting, saving, investing, and financial planning, especially people who may not have grown up with access to strong financial resources or education. My career path is ultimately about creating opportunity. I want to turn my experiences into motivation, earn my degree, establish a successful career, and build a future where I can support myself while helping others do the same. This scholarship would not simply help me pay for college; it would help me continue moving toward a future I have worked hard to create.

Seeking a second chance at higher education is important to me because I have learned that academic struggles do not have to define my future. My previous academic experience was not what I wanted it to be, and I take responsibility for the areas where I could have done better. However, I have also learned that there were personal challenges affecting my ability to succeed that I did not fully understand or know how to manage at the time. My depression, anxiety, and ADHD contributed to many of the difficulties I experienced academically. Depression sometimes made it difficult to find the motivation to complete assignments or keep up with responsibilities. Anxiety could make schoolwork and deadlines feel overwhelming, while ADHD made it difficult to maintain focus, stay organized, and manage my time effectively. When these challenges occurred together, falling behind could quickly become overwhelming, making it harder to recover. Understanding this has helped me realize that my struggles were not because I lacked intelligence or potential. I needed to learn better ways to manage these challenges and become more aware of what I need to succeed. I am seeking a second chance because I still believe in my ability to earn a college degree and build a successful career. I am pursuing a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance to develop practical skills that will create long-term opportunities for me. I am interested in learning about financial management, business operations, investing, and decision-making. My goal is to become financially independent and use my education to create a stable future for myself. One of the biggest differences between my previous academic experience and where I am now is my self-awareness. I understand my strengths and challenges much better, and I know that I cannot simply hope things will improve on their own. I have to be intentional about how I manage my time, responsibilities, and education. To ensure my success, I plan to maintain a consistent schedule and track assignments, exams, and deadlines rather than relying on memory. I will break larger assignments into smaller, manageable tasks so that I can make progress without becoming overwhelmed. I will also communicate with professors and academic advisors when I need help rather than waiting until I am already struggling. I plan to use tutoring, academic resources, and other available support systems. I also understand that setbacks are going to happen. The difference now is that I am learning not to allow one difficult day, assignment, or grade to become a reason to give up. If something goes wrong, I will look at what caused the problem, make adjustments, and keep moving forward. I know that asking for help is not a weakness; it is part of being responsible for my education. My motivation comes from wanting to prove to myself that my past does not determine what I am capable of accomplishing. I cannot change my previous academic struggles, but I can decide what I do differently moving forward. A second chance would allow me to demonstrate the growth, maturity, and determination I have developed from those experiences. Ultimately, I want to graduate with my degree, build a successful career in finance, and create a future that I can be proud of. I know that reaching those goals will require discipline and consistency, but I am better prepared to provide them now. I am ready to take this opportunity seriously, learn from my past, and make the most of my second chance at higher education.

When I started my first year of college, I knew it would be hard. I did not expect the hardest part to be managing my own mind. I have ADHD, and although I understood that about myself before college, I did not fully realize how much it would affect me until I was on my own. In high school, there was more structure and more reminders. In college, everything depends on you. You decide when to start assignments, how to pace yourself, and how to manage your time. That freedom has been one of my biggest challenges. The moment I realized it was harder for me than for other people happened during a conversation with a friend. She was taking six courses and completing about fourteen assignments in one week. She told me that when she needs to get work done, she just decides to open her computer and start. That stuck with me. For her, starting was a simple decision. For me, it feels like a battle. In that same week, I only had five assignments. Even so, it could take me three to five days to finish tasks that should have taken a few hours. It is not because I am not trying. In fact, I am trying harder than I ever have before. I know how important this opportunity is. As a low-income student who moved twenty hours away from my family to attend a four-year university, I understand what is at stake. I did not come this far to waste this chance. The hardest part is the constant noise in my head. When I sit down to work, my mind jumps from one random thought to another. I think about things that have nothing to do with my assignment. Even when I want to focus, it feels like I cannot turn that noise off. Watching other students complete their work so easily made me question myself at first. Over time, though, I realized that comparing myself to others was only making things worse. Instead of seeing my ADHD as a reason to doubt myself, I started learning how to manage it better. I began breaking assignments into smaller parts so they felt less overwhelming. I started using timers to help me focus for short periods of time. I also looked into campus resources and strategies designed for students with ADHD. Most importantly, I remind myself every single day why I am here. I remind myself why I chose to leave my family and move twenty hours away. I remind myself that I came to college to build a better future for myself. When focusing feels impossible, my “why” is what pushes me to keep going. It is what makes me open my laptop even when my mind wants to do anything else. This challenge has forced me to grow. I have become more disciplined, more self-aware, and more determined. While my path may look different from others, I am proud of the effort I put in each day. ADHD has not stopped me. It has taught me resilience and strengthened my drive to succeed.

My story begins with a loss I was too young to understand. My father passed away due to violence when I was only one year old. Because of my age, I have no memories of him, but his absence shaped my life in profound and lasting ways. As a child, I often noticed that other children had their fathers present at school events, celebrations, and everyday moments, while mine never was. At the time, I didn’t know how to express what I felt—only that there was a quiet emptiness I couldn’t explain. That absence became something I carried with me as I grew older. Throughout my childhood, my mother became my foundation and my shield. She worked tirelessly to protect my siblings and me from the reality of our circumstances. While I was growing up feeling supported and cared for, she was working double shifts, making difficult financial and personal decisions, and carrying responsibilities that no one should have to face alone. She made sure we had everything we needed and often everything we asked for, even when it meant sacrificing her own comfort, rest, and peace of mind. She never allowed her struggles to overshadow our childhood, and because of her, I grew up feeling secure rather than deprived. As I matured, I began to understand the magnitude of what my mother had done for us. She didn’t just provide—she protected. She chose stability over ease and long hours over personal comfort so that we would not have to experience the violence or instability that had taken my father away. Watching her persevere taught me resilience, discipline, and the value of hard work. Her example showed me that strength is not about avoiding hardship, but about rising above it with intention and grace. As I grew older, my curiosity about my identity and roots deepened. I longed to understand my father’s side of the family and where I came from. I searched for connection through ancestry research and social media, discovering relatives I had never known. While these discoveries helped answer some questions, they also reminded me of what I had missed. That sense of absence remains, but it has shaped my appreciation for family, perseverance, and the importance of creating meaningful connections. To process these emotions, I turned to meditation and walking as tools for healing and self-reflection. Walking gave me clarity and space to think, while meditation helped me learn how to sit with difficult emotions instead of avoiding them. These practices taught me patience, emotional awareness, and inner balance—skills that have helped me grow both personally and academically. They reinforced my belief that healing is not about erasing pain, but learning how to move forward with purpose. These experiences are the reason I am committed to pursuing higher education. College represents opportunity, stability, and the chance to honor my mother’s sacrifices by building a future grounded in intention and achievement. I am motivated to break cycles, create lasting impact, and prove that adversity does not determine one’s outcome. The greatest influence in my life is my mother, whose resilience continues to inspire me daily, along with individuals who have transformed hardship into success. Through loss, perseverance, and self-discovery, I have developed the determination and drive that I will carry with me throughout my academic journey and beyond.

Sustainability should be a priority in the field of business because business decisions directly influence how land, water, and natural resources are used. Growing up with a background in agriculture gave me an early understanding of this connection. In farming, sustainability is not an abstract idea or a marketing tool. It is a necessity. When land is overused or resources are mismanaged, the consequences are immediate and long-lasting. Those early experiences shaped how I view responsibility, long-term planning, and the importance of protecting the systems that sustain us. My agricultural background taught me that every decision creates lasting effects. Farmers must think beyond one growing season and consider how today’s actions will affect future production. This perspective strongly influences my belief that sustainability must be central to business practices. Many modern businesses prioritize short-term profits without fully accounting for long-term environmental costs. Agriculture shows that ignoring sustainability eventually leads to loss, including reduced productivity, instability, and diminished trust. Business functions in much the same way. As I grew older, I began to recognize how environmental challenges often stem from business decisions made far removed from the land itself. Large-scale production systems, extended supply chains, and cost-focused strategies can place significant strain on natural resources, especially in agricultural communities. These impacts may not be visible to consumers, but they are deeply felt by those who depend on the land for their livelihoods. This realization encouraged me to pursue a business degree so I could better understand how business decisions can either harm or protect the environment. In my future career, I hope to help reduce environmental impact by applying a sustainability-focused approach to business decision-making. Whether I work in finance, management, or entrepreneurship, I want to support practices that balance profitability with environmental responsibility. This may include promoting sustainable sourcing, improving efficiency, or investing in methods that protect land and water resources. My background in agriculture allows me to evaluate these decisions not only from a financial perspective, but also from a human and environmental one. I am particularly interested in how financial planning and investment choices can support sustainability. In agriculture, resources are limited and must be managed carefully, and this principle applies equally to business. Understanding budgeting, risk assessment, and long-term returns will help me support strategies that reduce waste and encourage responsible growth. To me, sustainability means making decisions that consider their full impact, including effects on the environment and future generations. Ultimately, sustainability should be a priority in business because economic success depends on a healthy environment. My background in agriculture taught me that stewardship is essential, not optional. As I move forward in my career, I hope to apply these lessons by contributing to business practices that respect natural resources, support communities, and promote long-term stability. By combining my agricultural experience with my business education, I aim to help create solutions that protect both environmental and economic futures.

Earning my degree in business represents far more than completing a set of academic requirements; it represents a chance to change the direction of my life. Growing up with limited financial resources meant that stability was never guaranteed. Financial stress influenced many of our everyday decisions in the household, from what we could afford to how far into the future we could plan. Those experiences made me aware, at a young age, of how deeply money and access to opportunity influence a person’s life. They also planted the seed for why I chose to pursue a business degree. For much of my life, financial systems felt distant and confusing, something that affected me but was never explained to me. I saw the consequences of not having access to financial knowledge, and I knew I wanted something different for my future. Studying business has given me language for experiences I lived through but did not fully understand. Courses in finance, management, and strategy have helped me see how decisions are made, how resources are allocated, and how planning can turn uncertainty into possibility. With each class, I feel more confident navigating systems that once felt overwhelming. This degree is opening the door to a career that offers financial empowerment and growth. More importantly, it is giving me the ability to make informed decisions in my own life. Whether it is budgeting responsibly, working effectively within a team, or planning for long-term goals, my education is equipping me with tools that extend far beyond the classroom. I hope one day to start a business of my own, and this degree is helping me build the foundation necessary to do that thoughtfully and responsibly. To me, this education is a way out of financial unpredictability and a step toward creating lasting security for myself and my family. My motivation is not limited to personal success. I want my education to have meaning beyond my own advancement. Having witnessed how financial barriers can limit potential, I feel a responsibility to use what I learn to support others facing similar challenges. A business degree gives me the opportunity to contribute to my community through ethical leadership, responsible financial practices, and initiatives that prioritize access and opportunity. I believe that business, when done with integrity, can be a powerful force for positive change. Pursuing higher education while managing financial pressure has required resilience and determination. There have been moments of doubt, setbacks, and exhaustion, but each challenge has strengthened my commitment to finishing what I started. This journey has taught me that growth is not always linear, and success is often built through persistence rather than perfection. My degree represents the effort it took to keep moving forward, even when the path felt uncertain. Ultimately, obtaining my business degree is not just about earning a credential, it is about transforming my circumstances and building a future grounded in knowledge, stability, and purpose. It reflects my determination to break cycles of financial insecurity and create opportunities where there once were limitations. Through this degree, I am not only investing in my own future, but also in the possibility of making a meaningful difference in the lives of others.

The value of service, sacrifice, and bravery that lies in the legacy of Sgt. Albert Dono Ware is not limited to the history of the military but reverberates throughout the generations as the values of civic duty and mutual advancement. All these values have influenced my life experience because they have made me conceptualize success not simply in the personal successes of a particular person, but in a sense of obligation to bring other people to great heights. They also shape my complex of how I am going to resolve the ongoing issues in the current African diaspora in the United States today, specifically, the disparity in education, financial access, and political participation. In my life, service has involved enduring hardship and going the extra mile to grow over time despite the conditions. I can attest to this as a learner in higher education with limited financial means that service is a phenomenon, which can be facilitated by service beginning with self-discipline, staying dedicated, and getting ready to play a significant role in my community in the future. It has been an inevitable aspect of the journey that includes sacrifice. Social pressure on finance, college obligations, and long-term aspirations have made hard decisions to strike a balance between academic demands, financial commitments, and future objectives. In my case, bravery can be attributed to being willing to keep going in the face of uncertainty,y as well as to having a life vision beyond my own situation. These values are traditionally embedded in my family history. My background is also a product of service to this nation, with my grandfather serving in the Union Army during the Civil War. He was not just doing what he was doing because he had been entangled in a historic war; it embodies a duty to the principles of unity, justice,e and helping to save human dignity when those principles were more strongly opposed. These facts remind me of the fact that my own family helped to make the nation more just, when I am convinced that only with courage and continuous work, people may get what they want, at the moment when the result is not sure or in the future. The African diaspora in the United States is still struggling with systemic issues, which require this same advocacy of service and courage. Among other issues, educational inequity is still burning. The disadvantaged access to education, along with underfunded schools and unequal distribution of resources and opportunities to higher education target African American communities disproportionately. To overcome this issue, there is a necessity to implement policy change that focuses on unbiased school funding, enhanced access to need-based financial assistance, and robust support mechanisms for first-generation and low-income pupils. Education is not merely a means to personal development; it also provides a basis for community empowerment andthe sustainability of an economy in the long-run. Another problem of vital concern is economic inequality. Most of the African diaspora also have obstacles to wealth-building processes, such as inaccessibility to capital, discriminatory lending processes, and pay inequalities. There should be policies that facilitate the development of small businesses, fair lending, and training programs to educate the workforce. Local programs that may be used to transform the community into a less fortunate area include community-based programs to encourage financial literacy and entrepreneurship about which people may be given the instruments to make self-sufficient economic expectations for themselves and their households. Community engagement is important in addition to policy reform. The African American communities have had a long history of being pillars that were made up of grassroots organizations, faith-based organizations, and local nonprofits. These stakeholders have to be actively used in formulating and instigating reforms because they have firsthand information on community requirements and challenges. Institutions of education are also not left behind since they create inclusive settings, facilitate mentorship services, and collaborate with local agencies to provide more opportunities outside the classroom. It is the responsibility of the government leaders and policymakers to deal in tandem with the community stakeholders such that reforms become not only intended but effective and sustainable. This would involve engaging with marginalized voices, gathering and assessing information to make decisions, and holding institutions responsible for achieving fair results. The participation of the private sector, especially the business able to invest in the community, to establish fair employment policies, and contribute to the causes of social impact, is also of utmost importance. The partnership with Sgt. Albert Dono Ware is an indicator that significant progress can hardly be quick and always painless. Service demands business dedication over and above convenience, sacrifice needs stamina, and courage requires action even amidst opposition. These values have influenced my life as it has helped me to have a sense of purpose, based on the responsibility to other people. They have given me the dream of one day when the African diaspora will experience the benefits of just systems, empowerment, and leadership that can take necessary actions of integrity and courage. We should also do the same to finish what was started by previous generations, like my grandfather, when he was serving in the Union Army, who responded to the call of enriching a more just society. We can use education, policy change, and locally based action to pay tribute to these legacies by creating a pathway to opportunity and making sure we don’t just stay on the path but continue and make progress.