For summer vacation I traveled back to my hometown in Belle Glade, Florida. While I was there, I saw a flyer that mentioned community service hours under the organization of FSR (Feeding South Florida). Feeding South Florida rescues 119 million pounds of food per year to help serve the individual citizens of South Florida that struggle to put food on their table. My family and I used to be some of those individuals. I was reminded of a time when my family did not have such good luck, and this prompted me to sign up immediately. This passing summer I was able to be a part of the people who helped families like mine. It was rewarding not only to help those in need, but also to see that my mother’s demanding work as a single parent for several years has paid off. She single-handedly brought our family to a place full of opportunities and created a better life for my siblings and me. Moreover, with everything that has happened during the pandemic with the Black Lives Matter Movement and the Asian hate crimes, these times have only solidified my aspiration to become a lawyer. In ten years, and even before then, I hope to have fulfilled this dream and have shown to people that the law is at our mercy, and when used correctly, can accomplish so many tasks to better the conditions for minorities and any other person facing discrimination and tribulations. I want to be helping those in need using the justice system; reinforcing the notion that the justice department is there to be utilized to help its citizens. In addition, a dream of mine is to have traveled the world. I wish to become a well-off lawyer travelling the world gaining knowledge about the different individual and social perspectives, while also spreading the knowledge I have gained along the way. I aim to challenge systems that have been in place since the 13 colonies and how that has affected systems that are being constructed today in relation to discrimination. This scholarship would provide me with the opportunities to project my personal circumstances as a minority female and do research that can potentially lead to new behaviors that create better predicaments for women of color, and other minorities. Honestly, I have never been one to doubt my abilities or act without integrity, but this year made this extremely difficult. This experience of the pandemic made it exhausting to do my best and uphold my values as an International Baccalaureate student. At the beginning of the year, my mindset was something like: “why do I have to be the one to push through this? Why do I have to be the strong one?”, but then my Philosophy teacher Dr. Lynch told me something that changed this around. She said: “Alexia, you are one of my most intelligent students you can do this! You are not the only student struggling right now. I have been getting email after email from students in the same predicament as you. Get back to the point you use to be, then go beyond!” She made me realize that IB is a community to be used in these exact circumstances. She reminded me that I have peers to help me. This situation has made me so much stronger mentally, emotionally, socially and even physically. It is depicted through my grades at the beginning of the school year to now.

Statistically, one could argue that the effects of racism, discrimination, and gender inequality have dramatically lessened over the years. There may be a partial truth to this notion, however, it can be argued that, in actuality, there has been nominal progress towards changing racial and gender disparities. Inequity, racial and gender bias is still very much present, and extremely prevalent in most cases. Women have always been intellectually able to be a part of this “man’s world” and yet, we are still viewed as second class citizens. Even in the 1850’s when comparing black women and black men, Sojourner Truth advocated for all the things Frederick Douglass stood for and did not get nearly as much press as he did. Kamala Harris has broken the mold for minority lawyers, shattered the ceiling of politics, but still faces verbal harassments claiming that she “slept her way to the top.” Michelle Obama was pigeon-holed as an “angry black woman” because she is educated. Since the beginning of this nation there has been a class system of Tribalized US vs. THEM. African American women are still regarded as someone who must prove they are worthy, then when we do and are assertive, we are placed in another bracket; one just as equally denouncing as the “inferior” one. The “Bitch” Bracket. A bracket characterized for women who have tried to rid themselves of the boundaries and obstacles presented in front of them and persevere but are just caught in another trap. Most people recognize that racism and sexism are morally wrong, but what they do not consider is the true effect this has on the discriminate. They do not know what it means to our families when we lose our jobs or fail at obtaining one because of our genitalia and the amount of melanin in our skin. They do not know what the toll is on one's mental health when we are constantly being bashed for something we cannot control. They do not know what it means to work harder than everyone else and stress every part of your body to still receive less recognition and respect. This scholarship would provide me with the opportunities to project my personal circumstances as a minority female and do research that can potentially lead to new behaviors that create better predicaments for women of color, and other minorities. I have already commenced research on how the intersectionality has come about, however, conducting in-field research requires finances that I do not have. With this aid, I will have the unrestrained access to research facilities and a wide diaspora at a college or university.