I am a High School Senior at Dedham High School in Massachusetts. I have lots of interest in music. I take voice and piano lessons; I sing in the church and school choir. I also take part in the school musical and I'm in Tri-M - school music honor society- and I'm in the national honor society. In addition to my tutoring requirement for the National Honor Society, I am in another club that tutors kids at the Dedham Middle School. I enjoy science team, and I did Varsity Cross-Country this year. I've volunteered at churches, at town events, and non-profit organizations like the Dedham School of Music and Rodman Ride for Kids (10 years- Present). I also started my own club called Helping Hands, where we make care bags for the homeless. I am going to Northeastern University for Criminal Justice and Psychology with a minor in Songwriting, and I am hoping to join the pre-law track. My goal is to become a detective for human trafficking cases and missing person cases. The songwriting minor is just for fun as it is something I really enjoy doing. I am very passionate about becoming a detective because there are so many underrepresented people of color who go missing and are not found, there cases go cold because the police force labels them as runaways, but I want to change that. Whether the person is a runaway or not, they deserve to be found. If I could start my own charity, it would be a continuance of my Helping Hands Club. I really believe I can make this possible since I started my own drives. My biggest drive was making 100 care bags and 6 boxes of supplies for an organization called Father's Bills. Father's Bills helps transition homeless people into permanent housing, and to give items to those who are homeless living in shelters. My mission would be to help as many people as I can in many different situations. My main focus would be poverty. I grew up homeless for 8 years, so to build a charity to help others would be amazing. I've always wanted to do a charity on the side even in college and beyond. I am currently working on doing more things. I want to do Christmas and Thanksgiving drives, sending gifts and cards to cancer patients, while also going to nursing homes and giving the elderly flowers and chocolate on valentine's day. This is especially important to me since I take care of a 93-year-old, and I know how crucial it is for the elderly to experience this kindness as they navigate feeling alone. I also would like to make care bags for veterans-on-Veterans Day. And lastly, I would keep doing the care bags for the homeless.

I am going to Northeastern University to pursue a degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology, a minor in songwriting, and possibly a law degree. I have always wanted to be a detective for human trafficking and missing person cases. This career path is super important to me because there are so many underrepresented people of color who are being unheard, they are being failed by the justice system and their cases are going cold. I follow many cases of missing people on the news, and it is very uncommon for me to see a person of color. It saddens me because I am aware that if I were to go missing one day, I would be forgotten, and the police wouldn't care to look for me. I want to make a difference. I want to be the one who brings justice, not just for one person, but for an entire community that has been marginalized and forgotten. Officers often claim that people of color who go missing are "runaways," but whether they are run aways or not, they are vulnerable. They are in danger, and they deserve to be found. I want to make sure that voices are heard, and I hope to bring more awareness and more closure to families whose kids are missing. With a law degree I hope to be an advocate for longer human trafficking sentences and accountability, this includes Sexual assault cases. With a degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology, I plan to pursue a master’s degree to further enhance my expertise in the field. Having these advanced degrees will not only allow me to be more effective in my work but will also give me the credibility and authority needed to push for real change. With these degrees, my main goal is to do a big sting operation that can take down a massive human trafficking ring. I get very disgusted when I hear people's bodies are being sold for other people's pleasures, and it must stop. As a woman of color, I believe it is so important to do this. The importance of having more women of color in law enforcement cannot be stressed enough. Our voices, experiences, and perspectives are important in making sure justice is served. By increasing the representation of women of color in the police force, we can bring a much-needed diversity to the system that will help reshape how cases are approached, investigated, and solved. Many years from now, I hope to look back and be proud of myself for the accomplishments I've made.

I am a Senior at Dedham High School, and I always had a passion for helping people. I grew up in homeless for 8 years, and during those 8 years, I learned how to stay strong even when there wasn't food on the table or a home to live in. I am no longer homeless, but homelessness is something I'll never forget. During junior year I decided to create a club called Helping Hands. In this club, my goal was to create 100 care bags for the homeless. All care bags would be sent to an organization called Father's Bill, which is an organization that gives items to the homeless but also finds long term housing for those who need it. I was told many times that my idea was not going to work and that I should give up. However, I did not listen to those people, I knew this was something I've always wanted to do and if I couldn't make exactly 100 care bags, something was better than nothing. I started by finding some people to join my club and not only did I get a lot of people to join, but I was able to get help from my town's Youth Commision. I made donation boxes and posters of the items needed and sent them to all the libraries in town, town hall, and many other places. I also called various places to see if they could accept boxes or could give donations. While many places unfortunately could not help, I didn't let that stop me. I kept calling multiple places until I could find places that could help. I ended up getting donations from stores, and many people were filling the boxes I had placed around town. I was surprised at how successful my drive had become. When we finished collecting items. We had so much, my club ended up making 100 care bags and we had 6 boxes worth of supplies for people's houses. The day I sent off all the supplies to Father's Bills, I felt grateful because I knew I was helping someone in need, the same way others had helped me when I was at my lowest. I learned not to let people's words discourage what I want to do, and to instead prove them wrong and try even harder. I learned that there are so many people willing to help and that it takes a team to make a difference. I plan on continuing this care drive every year even throughout college and beyond that. I want to expand to holiday drives and Thanksgiving drives, as well as care bag drives for veterans, the elderly and cancer patients. Volunteering is something I truly enjoy, it makes me happy to know someone's day is going to be better.