The first thing I ever wanted to be was one of those waitresses who brought you food on rollerskates at vintage diners. I wanted to pick a job that I enjoyed, that was fun, and where I could put a smile on people's faces. Since then, a multitude of other professions have piqued my interest, ranging from astronaut, lawyer, novelist, photographer, filmmaker, sociologist, teacher, mountain guide; you name it, I've aspired to it. Now, I am in the sophomore year of my undergraduate program and I've had to get serious about what I see myself doing in the future. But I am also only 19, and I simultaneously think I know everything while being sure of nothing at all. One thing I know for sure, however, is that I will spend my life in service as I believe that is my calling. Working as a camp counselor and teaching assistant for several years, I observed my passion for children, more specifically in underprivileged communities. I am passionate about housing, food, and environmental justice, and how systemic inequalities more greatly impact intersectional communities. That is why I chose to double major in environmental studies and sociology with a minor in child studies and human development. In the future, I'd like to work for a non-profit, working first-hand with low-income and/or unhoused people in need of help concerning educational and job opportunities, long-term housing, and accessible food and healthcare. My ultimate goal is to spearhead my own non-profit organization to work with people experiencing homelessness in Boston, to help provide them with the aforementioned resources. Additionally, I am learning Spanish and ASL in the hopes of being able to better serve a diverse community of people. What is my "why"? I grew up in South Yonkers, NY, which was a high-risk community in several regards. Kids in my neighborhood were exposed to street violence, domestic violence, homelessness, etc. from a very early age. I was fortunate to have received a scholarship to attend a private high school which I believe changed the course of my life, with the help of community and family support. In the past 5 years, my mother who was a public school teacher in the Bronx, NY, was able to move us out of Yonkers and begin a mortgage on a home of our own for the first time. I grew up more easily than my mother, and my children will have an easier time than I did. In that sense, I still believe that to a certain extent, the "American Dream" is still alive. But as a sociology student, I also know that because of structural inequality, this dream is wholly inaccessible to much of the country. I want to help close that gap. So while my current career aspirations are a far cry from my original dream of being a waitress on rollerskates, I can see that my childhood spirit for spreading joy and spending my life doing work that is meaningful to others still lives on in me today.

My name is Alma Mark-Fong and I am a sophomore at Tufts University. I grew up lower-middle class in Yonkers, NY, but with the help of the Prep for Prep program, I gained full-ride admission to a prestigious boarding school, Phillips Academy Andover. I completed the first year of my undergraduate program at Bard College, but I felt it was not the right fit for me academically or socially. In Fall 2024, I transferred to Tufts where I am majoring in environmental studies and sociology and minoring in childhood studies and human development. My academic and career aspirations are certainly influenced by my life experiences. I grew up in a single-parent household, and when I was very young I was exposed to domestic violence. As a child, my mother took me to volunteer at domestic violence shelters because of the experiences we had. In high school, I volunteered at a local nursing home, and volunteered to be a pen pal for underprivileged third-grade students at a local elementary school, and for American soldiers overseas. My interest in environmental studies took shape at Bard College, where I volunteered at the Bard Water Lab, collecting samples to test for water safety and quality. I also became a volunteer with the Kingston Food Collaborative, helping to package and deliver free food packages to people living in local public housing. All of these experiences gave me experience interacting firsthand with my community. It made me aware of the privileges I have in this society and reminded me of the community that helped raise me and supported my mother and me through difficult times. I've just been accepted as a volunteer case reviewer with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. In this position, I will be a panel member for case reviews of children who have been placed in foster homes or group homes. The case review panel determines if any concerns for the child's safety were identified through the review process, whether continued placement of the child is necessary and appropriate, and whether progress is being made to determine a permanent living situation for the child. I am currently seeking work in the non-profit sphere, but my ultimate career goal is to start my own NGO that works with people experiencing homelessness to help them find long-term housing and educational opportunities. Ultimately, I want to use my education to help people in need and the Carla M. Champagne Memorial Scholarship would assist me in that mission.

I grew up in an industrialized, blue-collar neighborhood in an apartment a block away from the idling exhaust fumes of a bus depot. My school did not have sports teams or clubs and our “playground” was a fenced blacktop lot littered with used needles and other remnants of drug use. My hometown is just one of many that are least responsible yet most affected by climate change. They are the ones neglected by lawmakers and congressmen, susceptible to developing lifelong illnesses as a result of industrial pollution. In 2019, I was granted the opportunity to attend a boarding school on a full scholarship. There, I discovered the outdoors; hiking, rock climbing, and canoeing for the first time. Working as a hiking instructor, teaching children to be good stewards of their environment, and sharing my love of nature with them has inspired me profoundly. Children have the right to grow up with clean air, and green spaces to run and play. We have the right to understand our world, how it is changing, and how it will impact our lives, health, and future generations to come. These experiences influenced my interest in environmental studies and my desire to give back in the ways that I can and get involved with efforts for change. The right to a safe, healthy environment is synonymous with the right to cultivate family, and to exist with dignity. I transferred from Bard College last year and have just completed my first semester at Tufts University. Here, I am double-majoring in sociology and environmental studies with a focus on the sustainability, policy, and equity track. I feel lucky to have been presented with these opportunities for educational attainment so I believe I have a responsibility to use my education to give back to the communities that raised me. My hometown is comprised largely of Black and Latinx people, so I am not unfamiliar with how the policies of different levels of government, spanning from local to executive, neglect and harm marginalized communities. I am considering going to law school after completing my BA, in whatever way that might manifest. In the future, I may be interested in working for NGOs or in law practice. Right now, my dream is to eventually run for public office. A few issues I want to work on are access to education and affordable housing, simplification of the EBT application process, access to nutritional food, clean air and water.

The best man I know is an amorphous, genderless thing. My mother, who is also my father, has a bad habit of brushing her nail clippings onto the hardwood floor and not sweeping them out from under the couch. My mother did not teach me to keep house, or preheat an oven, or darn a sock. She showed me how to nail a picture frame onto a wall and how to cartwheel a mattress up three flights of stairs, but not how to work a rice cooker. She raised me to be mentally tough, forced me to do things that scared me, and pushed me to always do the right thing, even if that meant acting opposite to how I felt. All the men in her life failed her, so she became her own man. I grew up in the ultimate feminist household, absent of patriarchy. I was taught that women know how to do everything and can do anything. Being raised in a single-parent household has made me fiercely independent and bold in my aspirations. I am pursuing a BA in sociology and environmental studies, and I plan to use my education to work in policy and government and one day run for public office. As someone who grew up in a low-income neighborhood, largely comprised of Black and Latinx people, I've seen firsthand how government at all levels neglects and causes active harm to minority communities. Equal access to education, affordable housing, clean air and water, and proper nutrition are issues of particular importance to me. My upbringing taught me never to wait around for a hero, but rather to become the change I hope to see.