As the first child born to parents who had both dropped out of high school, I always knew that I wanted my life to turn out differently than my parents' lives did. My parents had four children in the span of just barely over four years, and we relied heavily on welfare and other people’s generosity to get by. This caused me to develop a lot of anxiety around the topic of money or spending money, even on necessities as a young child, but also caused a sense of not belonging, because the other kids I went to school with didn’t seem to be experiencing the same financial barriers I saw my family experiencing. I always felt like I was the one kid that didn’t quite fit in, and as I’ve grown older, I now realize that I am not the only person who felt that way as a child. It has become important to me to do something to help those children who feel alone. I promised myself when I was young that I was going to make some different choices than my parents did because I did not want the cycle of dropping out of school and just scraping by as a low-income household to continue on with me. I chose to take school very seriously because I viewed that as my only opportunity to build a better life for myself. I skipped 7th grade and then began taking college classes online, earning enough credits to complete high school in 3 years and go straight off to college at 15. While I felt truly alone in every step I had to take to get here, I am so grateful that I took that leap. I didn’t have anyone to support me while I was applying to colleges, choosing where to go, or even as I was transitioning into college life 1,500 miles away from home. All I had was the knowledge that I just needed to get myself through it so that I could succeed after college. I wholeheartedly believe that everyone should be able to work toward their dreams and building a life they love, regardless of their financial circumstances and that they should have ample support during the process. For my whole life, my family’s financial circumstances have interfered with my ability to continue making progress toward my goals. A big reason why I still have the opportunity to keep working hard toward my goals is because there are people who believe in me, and who have offered me great generosity. As someone who grew up relying on welfare and other people’s help, I believe that it is incredibly important to always do what you can to help other people. I dream of doing this by creating a scholarship foundation that will help students who are only being held back by financial circumstances. Growing up in a low-income household and being the first in my family to graduate from high school and go to college has impacted the way I view the world; I feel like these circumstances have led me to become compassionate toward others and recognize barriers that other people may not even notice.

I decided that I was going to be a forensic scientist when I was 8 years old. When an 8-year-old tells you about their future career, you expect them to change their mind, but I didn’t. I’m not sure how I knew that I wanted to be a forensic scientist, but I do know that I was right. 11 years later, as I am working toward completing my bachelor’s to get closer to that career goal, I still get just as excited thinking about being a forensic DNA analyst as I did in third grade. I grew up in a rural town in Idaho, just above the poverty line to parents who had dropped out of high school. As the oldest of four children, I always knew that my siblings’ perceptions of what they can accomplish would be partially based upon how big they saw me dream and what they saw me accomplish. I knew that I wanted something bigger and better for myself, and for them, than staying in my hometown, and I knew that I needed to take school seriously and work hard if I wanted to achieve my goals. I tested out of 7th grade and went straight from 6th to 8th grade, and then I began taking high school classes in 8th grade. By doing this, I was able to accumulate high school credits at an accelerated rate and I graduated in 3 years rather than 4. I began taking college courses in 9th grade so I would be able to graduate from high school having college credits. I graduated from high school at 15 and I decided to move almost 1,500 miles away from home to Iowa for college. As a first-generation college student, I didn’t have a support system coming into college. I felt alone, but knew that regardless of how daunting everything seemed, I just needed to persist. After arriving at my college, I found a support system within TRIO and I was able to connect with other first-generation students that I could relate to. Having this support system was crucial because it taught me how to reach out and ask for help when I need it. As an oldest child and first-generation student, I didn’t have anyone in my life that could give me guidance, so I felt the need to figure everything out myself. Eventually, I learned that part of succeeding is knowing when you need help, and knowing who you can ask for that help. While I was just shy of graduating from high school with my associates, having those college credits has been advantageous to me. I finished the requirements for my majors, Biology and Social & Criminal Justice, early and can now take other courses that could be useful. Currently, I am taking Wrongful Convictions and Analytical Chemistry, which are both useful to me as someone who will soon be entering the field of forensic science. In these courses I will learn about forensic science, the role it can play in trials, including in wrongful convictions, and analytical lab techniques which I will use in my work. I expect to continue facing hardships resulting from the fact that I grew up in a low-income family and do not have financial support from anyone other than myself in any capacity. Working 30+ hours a week on top of being a full-time student, student-athlete, and being a student who holds executive positions in multiple on-campus organizations is not easy, but knowing that with every accomplishment I grow closer to achieving my goal is what keeps me going.

I have only ever been to two concerts, and I consider both of those nights to be two of the best nights of my life. I tend to be introverted and keep to myself, but at both of these concerts, I felt so safe and comfortable. I experienced the most amount of joy I have ever felt at these concerts, both of which had an entirely different vibe. The first concert I ever went to was The Eras Tour in July of 2023. I remember genuinely being in awe when Taylor Swift appeared on stage, and I truly had the time of my life. On this tour, she sings two surprise songs each night. I had hoped, since opening night, that I would get to hear Tied Together with a Smile, and when it came time for the piano surprise song, I knew what it was from the very first chord. I remember looking over at my sister in shock that she happened to play that song on the one night I was there. I left the concert and immediately thought to myself, "I want to go again!" My favorite concert memory is from a Jonah Kagen concert in April of 2024. While I do love a lot of Jonah's music, I actually went to that concert because a small artist I love named Vincent Lima, was opening for Jonah. I found Vincent back in December of 2022 through TikTok and immediately dived into his entire discography. I feel a strong connection with his music, and when I heard he would be playing only half an hour away from me, I knew that I absolutely had to go. His set was pretty much all sad music, but hearing the crowd sing along and being a part of that very vulnerable moment was beautiful. After the concert, I got to meet Vincent and take a picture with him (the attached picture- it's not a great photo, but I cherish it because I am obsessed with his music and know he won't be a small artist for long) and he wrote "Somewhere" which is the title of one of his songs on a piece of paper for me to get tattooed- I haven't yet but I still intend to. That song really speaks to me and when I listened to it for the first time, I felt like I was being understood. For now, I carry it in my wallet with me because every time that I see it, I get to remember being at that concert and swaying in the crowd while I got to sing along with him.

I started college when I was 15 years old. I spent my whole childhood focusing on academics because I grew up in a low-income household with parents who never even finished high school. I felt totally alone when I flew over 1,000 miles away from home, by myself, to start my college journey. I didn't feel like I had anyone to turn to for advice or anyone who really understood what I was going through. On top of feeling alone, it was also my sole responsibility to fund my education from the get-go, which has been very stressful. It has taken a lot of my time and focus off my education. This semester in particular has become very stressful because I was unable to work over the summer due to a surgery that I spent months recovering from. This semester, I have been working 2 jobs and saving as much as humanly possible, but it is still improbable that I will be able to fund my education without taking out private loans. My goal has always been to leave this world better than it was when I came into it. As a forensic scientist, I will be able to make a positive impact by helping find justice. It is important to me not only to do this by helping find people who are guilty of crimes but also by helping to exonerate those who were wrongfully convicted. In high school, I took a forensic science class in which we had a weekly assignment where we looked at the Idaho Innocence Project website, and picked out one case to write about. These were all cases of people (especially black men) who had been convicted and had usually served a lengthy amount of time in prison for a crime they did not commit. It was this that made me realize that forensic science and the advanced technology used can be dangerous in the wrong hands. I want to help make sure guilty people are held accountable for their actions and that innocent people are not punished for things they did not do. It wasn't until I started college that I decided that I wanted to add on a Social & Criminal Justice major. Through this program, I have become passionate about a lot of issues, like homelessness and substance abuse. It has become important to me to also devote time to helping people who are struggling with these issues. In the future, I plan on working with a nonprofit that is aimed at reducing and hopefully eliminating these issues. My STEM education has made me a better learner and a critical thinker, which are skills that will be useful to me regardless of where I end up. These skills are skills I will be able to use in the future to make an impact on the world.

My name is Alejandra Ramirez and I am from Idaho. I am an archer. I love Taylor Swift, Gracie Abrams, and Phoebe Bridgers. I love rain, and wearing baggy sweaters. I love taking walks with my headphones in. I love flowers and glitter. I don't like coffee, but I love iced chai lattes. I like collecting pens and burning candles. I like to cook, but I like to bake even more. I like sitting outside and reading. My favorite color is pink. And, I am going to be a forensic biologist for the FBI. Growing up, my family was always back and forth over the poverty line. Both of my parents dropped out of high school and never got a GED. I have seen firsthand how that limited their options in terms of jobs, so I always knew that I would go to college. I have always found science interesting, and I know for certain that I will end up working in a science field. When I was 8 years old, I decided that I was going to be a forensic scientist. I'm not quite sure how I knew what a forensic scientist was, but I just knew that it was exactly what I wanted to spend my life doing. That goal has remained unwavering. Here I am, a decade later, still set on that goal. I chose to pursue a degree in science because, well I want to be a forensic biologist. Ultimately, there are a lot of reasons that I chose to pursue a STEM degree, not just limited to the fact that it is an advisable choice considering my career aspirations. I love science and math, and by pursuing a STEM degree I get to take science and math classes that prepare me for my future career, as well as other science and math classes that are not directly related to my future career field, but I still find interesting. For example, I got to take a Herpetology course as a biology elective this semester, which has nothing to do with my career, but I have learned so much and it is easily one of my favorite classes I have taken. Earning this scholarship will ensure that I can afford to continue my education. I only have a year and a half left in my degree program, but it is becoming more and more difficult to finance each passing semester. I have not had any financial support to fund my education, since I started college at 15 years old. This past summer, I was unable to work because I spent months recovering from surgery. Because of this, even working two jobs is no longer sufficient. Working two jobs takes up a lot of time that I would otherwise be able to use to focus on my education, and it still does not put me in a financially stable position. This scholarship will help me by ensuring that I can continue my education and keep working toward my life-long goal of making this world a better place via a career that I will enjoy greatly.

She has a candle collection, goes to the farmer's market on Saturdays, and spends all her free time with her dog.

2 a.m. It’s dark but the TV playing Grey’s Anatomy illuminates the room. I should be asleep, but instead, I lie awake, spiraling with anxiety. I don’t have money to buy dinner tonight, or the money to pay my tuition bill that’s due in two weeks. How will I ever be able to rent an apartment or pay my bills? Is it even possible to live a life so financially stable I don’t have to live in fear of not having enough money? I wish I could say this scenario, this feeling, was foreign. Unfortunately for me, it’s not. I’ve felt this anxiety my whole life. Growing up in and on the threshold of the poverty line had its benefits but it was a degrading, exhausting experience. It is a feeling I don’t want to feel anymore. Sure, I work very hard for everything I have and work ethic and grit have been instilled deeply in me, but is that enough? Is a good work ethic enough to escape generational poverty? I simultaneously hope so and fear not. When I was a little kid, I spent my recess sitting under a tree in the corner of a playground reading a book. I have always loved reading, and when I was asked why this is how I spent my recesses, I said that I just loved reading so much that I would rather read than play with the other kids. That was probably the furthest thing from the truth I could’ve possibly said. The real reason I spent my recesses alone was that none of the other kids wanted to play with me. None of the other kids wanted to be friends with a child who wore old hand-me-downs that were often the wrong size and in a hardly wearable condition. None of the other kids wanted to be friends with a child who relied on food stamps and free school lunches in order to eat. My childhood was filled with embarrassment. I was embarrassed about my family. I was embarrassed about our financial status and the lack of resources we had. I have known for as long as I can remember that both of my parents dropped out of high school and that I was expected to be better than that. Ultimately, what motivated me was not that I knew I was expected to do better, but that I knew that I deserved to build a better future for myself. I also knew that I was expected to be a good role model for my younger siblings, as I am the oldest of four. This is where my academic ambition arose- this place of shame and embarrassment. The only way for me to escape generation poverty is by being extraordinary. I pushed myself so much that I was able to graduate from high school, with plenty of college credits, at 15 years old. At 15, I began college, studying to become a forensic DNA analyst. Along with working toward my two majors, I am involved in on-campus extracurriculars and I have two on-campus jobs. This scholarship would be life-changing for me. Really, life-changing is a gross understatement. It would pay my college tuition for the remainder (2 years) of my college education. My mom is a single mom who has to also care for my siblings, so she is unable to contribute any financial support to further my education, so I have been funding my education entirely by myself. Earning this scholarship would mean that I have made substantial progress on my lifelong goal of creating a better life.

In the future, I will be a forensic biologist for the FBI. I also want to work with a nonprofit aimed at helping with victim advocacy and ending homelessness. I will live in a huge city and go to farmer's markets and cafes on the weekends. I want to read books and walk through flower-filled meadows. I have very ambitious goals, and I am completely intent on achieving them. But I also want to live a relatively calm, idyllic life. I have spent a large portion of my life dedicated to accomplishing my goal of becoming a forensic DNA analyst and working for the FBI. I decided I wanted to be a forensic scientist when I was in third grade, and I have never wanted to do anything else. All that is standing between me and the goal I have been working for for the past decade is a few more years. I only have two years of college left, and after I graduate I can begin gaining experience and the qualifications that will allow me to do the thing I've dreamt of since I was 8 years old. Receiving a scholarship such as the Bright Lights Scholarship is something that could genuinely change the trajectory of my life. Both of my parents dropped out of high school, and hardly anyone in my family has become successful in any facet of life. I grew up very poor, in a family with few resources. I knew that as soon as I could get away, I was going to go as far away as I could possibly manage. I did just that by moving almost 1,500 miles away from home to go to college. My whole life, I have pushed myself as hard as possible, allowing me to start college at 15. I knew that the odds were stacked against me, and I needed to be truly extraordinary in order to make it. Unfortunately, I have no financial support to fund my education, and I have had to work two jobs simply to afford to survive. This scholarship would pay for a semester of tuition, which means I could put some money into savings. I currently have no savings, and I know that I will not have financial support from anyone else after college, so I need to build up my savings as much as possible so I can afford life after college. Maybe $500 isn't a lot of money to some people, but it could change my life. It would mean that I can afford to keep chasing my goals. It would mean that the last decade of my life working toward this goal meant something. There are not enough words to express how much this scholarship would mean to me. All I can say is that $500 might be the difference between me being able to keep attending college or having to settle for a different life goal.

My mom was a Disney kid, so by default, I was too. When I was little, we watched Disney together all the time. I can recite, word for word, the entire script of Mulan because that was always her favorite Disney movie. I became not only a fan of Disney movies, but a Disney fan in general. I have never been to Disneyworld or Disneyland, but I have promised myself that after I “make it” (i.e. finish college and become a successful forensic biologist) I will treat myself to a trip. Some days thinking about this helps motivate me to finish a long reading I don’t want to do, or spend 10 more minutes studying. It is incredibly difficult for me to pinpoint my favorite thing about Disney because there are too many things I could say. I think that seeing strong female characters achieve their goals is just one way in which Disney has impacted my life. At the age of 8, I developed a very ambitious goal of becoming the first in my family to graduate from high school and go to college in order to become a forensic DNA analyst. There are three Disney princesses that I have looked up to as role models for my whole life, and I think they are the reason why I felt capable of accomplishing ambitious dreams. Those three princesses are Mulan, Rapunzel, and Tiana. My favorite movie (not just Disney, but in general) is Tangled. I even named my veiled chameleon that I got several years ago Pascal, after Pascal from Tangled. I greatly admire Rapunzel because of how positive, upbeat, and free-spirited she is. These are all things that I am actively working towards being. She is not fearless, but she’s brave, and I think that’s even better. In my opinion, the most underrated Disney movie is The Princess and the Frog. Tiana is such an ambitious woman, who decided what she wanted to do, and then worked hard and made sacrifices to make that happen. As a little girl, it was motivating for me to see Tiana be so disciplined and hardworking. As I have grown older, I now better understand the sacrifices she had to make, and I can now relate to that, which has only made me admire her so much more. I spent my junior high and high school years focused on my academics, and not much else. I sparsely hung out with friends, I never went to dances, and I always prioritized schoolwork over having fun. While this is clearly not ideal, I decided when I was little that I was going to be someone that mattered. I was going to graduate, go to college, and have a successful career. The scene where Tiana declines going out so she can work and save up money is a scene that has been very impactful to me. It reminds me to stay disciplined. Another specific scene that has really stuck with me and impacted me is when Mulan said “You said you'd trust Ping. Why is Mulan any different?” I think this scene just speaks to me because it is so frustrating as a female to constantly be doubted by men for no reason other than you’re not a man. I love that Shang Li listens to her after she says this because that is a subtle way of him acknowledging that she was right- she should not be doubted simply because she’s a woman.

When I look back at the things I have accomplished thus far in my life, I can pinpoint the exact achievement I am most proud of. The achievement that I think has had and will continue to have the greatest impact on my life and my success. When I was 15 years old, I graduated from high school. I began my college career the following fall, still 15 years old. I tend to talk about this so nonchalantly that I forget how much time and effort when into it. At the end of my 6th-grade year, I was tested to skip a grade. I placed several grades above my grade level in both math and reading, so with the encouragement of my guidance counselor, I skipped a grade. She also recommended that I started taking online courses, which would provide me with additional advancement opportunities down the line. So, that summer I took my first online course, and I continued taking at least one online course each semester, including the summers, until I graduated. By the fall of my sophomore year of high school, I had racked up enough credits to be considered a junior by credit. It was at this point that my guidance counselor convinced my very reluctant parents to allow me to petition the school board to graduate early. It took quite a while for them to agree, but once they did we met with the school board, who enthusiastically approved my early graduation. The next fall, I began my senior year of high school. I was able to actually take fewer classes than normal because I had already accumulated more credits than necessary for graduation. I graduated in the spring of 2021 and spent my summer working to save up money before going off to college in the fall of 2021. I am now about to begin my third year of college, where I am majoring in biology and social & criminal justice, hoping to become a forensic biologist for the FBI. This achievement is so incredibly important to me because I truly believe that I will be able to break my family’s cycle of generational poverty. Through this accomplishment, I have learned so much about myself. It made me realize how resilient I am. It made me realize that all I need is to trust in myself because if I set my mind to something, it doesn’t matter if everyone thinks I’ll fail. It taught me to not give up when something is hard. It taught me that I really enjoy always encouraging others to do their best, to take the leap. It taught me that no goal is too unrealistic. It taught me that there is a way out, as long as you don’t give up. I have always dreamed of becoming a forensic DNA analyst, and I hope to one day be a forensic biologist for the FBI. I can feel myself getting closer to this goal, and being able to continue my college education, and graduating from college will be probably the biggest steps forward possible. I am halfway done with my college education. In two years, I will be done with college, and hopefully, I will be working in a lab, collecting the experience that will allow me to capture the goals and dreams I have had since I was 8 years old.

From a very young age, I have known that I want to be a forensic scientist. I am going to become a forensic DNA analyst, and hopefully, I will be able to work as a biologist with the FBI. I think that finding justice for victims and their families is very important, and I am excited at the prospect of contributing to that. Over the past couple of years, I have immersed myself in the true crime world and it has become very important for me to do everything I can to help people. I want to work with a nonprofit that is aimed at victim advocacy. Recently, I took a sociology class where I got to pick a public issue and do some research on it and propose a solution. I chose to research homelessness, and I learned so much about homelessness that I did not know. Ever since I completed that research and wrote that paper, I have been very passionate about taking part in initiatives to end homelessness. There was a period of three or four days a couple of years ago when I did not technically have a house to stay at because of family issues, and the only reason we had somewhere to sleep was that my mom’s coworker let us stay in her living room. It was so scary knowing that we almost did not have anywhere to go, and it really put into perspective how easy it can be to lose your house. This is why I chose to research homelessness for my sociology project, and I am glad that I did because I realized how passionate about ending homelessness I am. Currently, I am a sophomore majoring in biology & social and criminal justice. At this point in my academic career, I am considering attending graduate school after undergrad, but I have not made any finalized plans yet. Regardless, after I get my degrees, I want to immediately start working in a lab. I want to establish myself in my career while beginning to do what I can to help people. I will hopefully work myself up to a high-profile position, which will allow me to have a voice that is heard. I want to be able to use my voice to advocate for the people that need it. The goal is that once I am established in my career, I will be able to take the lead in some initiatives like increasing awareness for victims, advocating for victims, helping the unhoused, and making sure people have access to food. I hope that my impact will expand further than just my community. I hope it can reach everyone that needs help.