When I was a senior in high school, my grandfather passed away, which negatively impacted my mental health. It made me so sad and depressed that I didn’t want to be around anybody. I would lock myself inside my room in a corner and stopped attending school for about two months. My twin sister and mother would grab my homework and take it back for me every day. I felt like I didn’t have the strength or courage to continue. After the first month, I had a truancy officer come to my home to ensure that everything was ok and to confirm if I was going back to school or not. I mentioned to him that I was unsure, but I was continuing with completing my coursework. Two months later, I returned to school and tried to catch up on quizzes, exams, and other projects that needed to be complete in person. It wasn’t easy to deal with as I still had my grandfather on my mind. Thinking about him every day and breaking down on special occasions like father’s day and his birthday that I use to spend with him. After four months of hard work catching up with old coursework and completing the new homework, I graduated in the top 10% of my class. It was an outstanding achievement, considering the obstacles I had overcome. However, that didn’t stop the crash of the massive wave from hitting me. During that time, my grandmother was diagnosed with gangrene and was unable to attend my graduation ceremony. She was in hospice and was given less than six months to live. She had her leg amputated twice and didn’t want to go through it a third time. She didn’t want to go through the pain and wanted to be at home peacefully with my mom taking care of her. I will never forget when my mother asked me when I tried to have my graduation party, and I told her I didn’t want one until grandma came home. I never had that graduation party, even until this day. My grandmother passed away during my second week in college, and my father was murdered the following morning. I felt that the world was against me and taking everyone that I loved and held dear to me away. I hated the pain, and I hated feeling as depressed as I did. I had to drop out of college to get a job to pay for my father’s funeral expenses and was unsure if I would go back to college. All these events occurring in such a short period caused me to have doubts and cope with reality. I didn’t want to believe that my grandfather, grandmother, and father are out of my life. Even to this day, I do still think that they are still alive and here with me. Despite all the obstacles, struggles, and heartaches I’ve gone through, I have faced all odds and achieved great heights. The experience with mental health shaped my goals as it motivated me to strive to achieve what my loved ones saw me capable of. After taking a semester off, I picked myself back up, enrolled in school, and went year-round. I never took a semester off when going for my associate’s, bachelor’s, and won’t when I start my Master’s this fall. I want to show my loved ones that I have become the woman they want me to be. That I never gave up on my goals and won’t have anyone hinder my growth or success. I am doing this not only for them but also for myself to show how strong I am despite all odds. I want to be an inspiration for others that anything is possible if you are motivated and believe in yourself. It has shaped my relationships as I am a little more reserved and to myself than I use to be in the past. I use to be more friendly and open to having relationships with people at school and people overall. Due to my history, I have a small circle of people with whom I interact and have a friendship. Once on occasion, I might be friendly to someone I rarely know, unless it’s at work. This is due to the loss of the people dear to me and because I was bullied a lot in elementary and middle school for multiple reasons. I was bullied because I was an introvert and wasn’t around people, I was intelligent, and the way I dressed. All these experiences and events in the past and even now have shaped my understanding of the world. No matter what happened years ago and what happened five minutes ago, the world will continue. I’ve learned that you cannot dwell on the past and have to look toward the future. There will always be obstacles in your way, but it’s up to you to find ways to handle these situations.

I wouldn't necessarily say I "need this scholarship," but it would be a blessing if I received this scholarship. This scholarship would help me further my education to obtain a Master's Degree in what I love, Accounting. This scholarship will allow me to attend college stress-free from needing student loans or figuring out how I will pay for books, tuition, food, etc. I recall how stressed out I was trying to find ways to fund my Bachelor's Degree. I had to try to cash flow for textbooks by working a full-time job, attending school full time, and taking out student loans that caused more financial strain on me. There were nights that I would cry and want to give up on everything, but I pulled myself together and worked hard. I wanted to be the first person in my family to receive and also be the first to obtain a Master's Degree. Coming from a low-income family and achieving what I have today, I want to show people that anything is possible. I want to change my family tree by showing that taking on financial burdens and obligations isn't the way to have a bright future. I want to show my younger siblings and my future family that anything is possible. I want to show them the person I have become and inspire them to follow in my footsteps. It's the people who work hard, persevere, and find alternative ways who have clear skies ahead and are constantly growing.

I am interested in joining the Luv Michael Volunteer Program as I believe that people with autism should have the same opportunity as everyone else. In my exploring ability and disability course at Hiram College, I learn about the autism spectrum and how autistic people were treated back in the 1900s until the present day. Many people see them as non-normal or incapable. In today's society, they are seen as incompetent or dunce. However, I think that autistic people will have a significant impact on society with their innovative minds in fields such as health, science, technology, and engineering. The first step that anyone needs to take is acceptance, and my course at Hiram College allowed me to do that. It allowed me to understand better how the outside world looks to them, such as becoming overwhelmed when there's too much going on around them, having sensory sensitivities to light and loud noises. Volunteering for the program will allow me to provide equality for autistic people who are just like me.

I’ve never thought twice of the teacher who inspired me to reach for the stars and beyond. In the fall of 2017, I met my accounting professor Claudia Lubaski who was an Accounting professor. Her current status is Professor Emeritus, Accounting at Lorain County Community College. She was very passionate about what she taught, and it was very apparent in the way she talked and how her face would light up when every student understood the daily lesson. She was a professor who cared about her students and wanted to see them succeed, and that’s exactly how she made me feel. Claudia always stayed late to answer any questions I had about homework, needed more clarification on topics for our exams, and made me feel more comfortable asking questions. I recall when I failed my first exam in my intermediate accounting course, I felt like the world was crumbling around me and wanted to give up, but Claudia wouldn’t allow me. She took the time to go over that exam to show me it was a little mistake that caused me to fail, not that I wasn’t capable. Professor Lubaski brought me up when I felt like I was letting myself down. When another student or I needed an explanation on a lesson in class or a problem we were working on, she didn’t hesitate to provide as much clarification as possible. Professor Lubaski helped me academically and made me feel comfortable talking about my future goals and aspirations. She gave me the confidence to go beyond obtaining my associate’s degree and not let my family tree define what I can achieve. I won’t let being a first-generation student stop me from becoming the best person I can be. She allowed me to believe that anything is possible if you work hard enough and are dedicated enough. These are words that I thought of every day when I felt like it was impossible to finish my Bachelor’s degree. Because of Claudia, I obtained my Bachelor’s from Hiram College last fall, and the reason I am pursuing my Master’s in Accountancy through Baldwin Wallace University this fall. She has inspired me to continue my education after my Master’s to sit for the CPA exam after graduation. Although Claudia has stimulated me to chase my goals and ambitions, I have other reasons I am continuing forward. I am not doing this to have a better impact on society, have a better future, or change my family tree, but myself. When I learned about the obstacles and hardships that Professor Lubaski went through, it encouraged me to thrive and move onward. Maybe it’s because I was going through things of my own that made me want to give up, and seeing how she made it to the other side gave me the strength I needed. I know one thing for sure is that I wouldn’t have obtained my associates if it wasn’t for her. She gave me the encouragement, motivation, and influence that I needed. She made me understand that the sky is the limit and the sea is my oyster. Because of her, I am making strides that I thought were impossible three years ago and continuing to make jumps and hurdles. Those things that were such a huge dilemma for me in the past are now seen as roadblocks I had to overcome to get to the other side.