I am the child of immigrants that was raised with six brothers in the grip of poverty and housing instability. My childhood was the very typical "kids from the wrong side of the track". Our entire neighborhood was bussed to schools made up of kids whose parents were in the higher economic brackets. In middle school, my classmates were children of judges, public school superintendents, and funeral home owners. The adversity I faced came in the form of being an outsider that was not granted a seat at the table of inclusivity. I overcame this adversity by using my intelligence to show my classmates that I did in fact belong. I knew that I could not and would not integrate into the social circles with hair, clothes, make-up, or fancy parties. But, I could make a space for myself by competing in knowledge competitions. I worked hard and was begrudgingly accepted as a smart kid. That acceptance somehow granted a pass to my brother's hand-me-down clothes, my mom's flea market no-name shoes, and my crooked/missing teeth. This adversity shaped me by teaching me that I needed to stand up for myself and not be scared of situations that I could not control. I could not change the fact that my parent's don't read, write, or speak English. I could not change the fact that we did not have water, electricity, gas, or food at times. I could change how I reacted to all of it, however. I went to work between twelve and thirteen at a local bakery six days a week. I gave up on my education to help provide for my younger siblings. I became a teen mom and that is when I had a light-bulb moment. I reverted to what I knew. I would not be scared of the unknown. I would pull myself up and make a space in the world with my child just like I did as a teenager. I hold this core value to this day and advocate for others when they are marginalized, mistreated, or bullied. I intentionally reach out to those that seem to need a friend. The advice that I would give to someone facing the same circumstances is to hang on. Life will be what you make of it and you can change your trajectory. Lean on your teachers and trusted adults to help guide you to a brighter future. Your situation can get better if you have trust in yourself. Thank you for your consideration. Anna Pace

In the field of fire service and code enforcement, sustainability is often mistakenly viewed as a secondary concern to immediate safety. However, my nearly 26 years of experience in Aurora, IL have taught me that safety and sustainability are two sides of the same coin. To protect a community's future, we must protect the environment that sustains it. As a Fire Inspector and MBA candidate, I believe sustainability should be a priority for three critical reasons. The first is risk reduction and resource preservation. Traditional fire suppression and outdated building materials often involve toxic chemicals and heavy water usage. By prioritizing sustainability in code enforcement, we advocate for "green" building materials that are energy efficient and more fire resistant. Reducing the frequency and intensity of fires through sustainable prevention directly reduces the release of carbon emissions and toxic runoff into our local ecosystems. Secondly, is operational efficiency. From a leadership and business perspective, sustainability is about the efficient stewardship of resources. This includes transitioning municipal fleets to hybrid or electric vehicles, much like my personal choice of a hybrid, to reduce the carbon footprint of daily inspections. It also involves "paperless" enforcement through digital permitting and reporting reducing waste and streamlining government operations. Lastly, is community health and equity. Environmental issues often disproportionately affect the diverse, high density areas I serve. Sustainability in my field means ensuring that all residents, regardless of neighborhood, live in structures that are energy efficient and free from environmental hazards. This aligns with my value of restorative leadership where the goal is to improve the long-term quality of life for the entire community. In the future, I see myself bridging the gap between technical fire safety and environmental strategy. I plan to use my education and experience to advocate for sustainable codes. I will work with city planners to integrate the latest International Green Construction Code Standards into local ordinances ensuring that new developments in Aurora are built with a safety and planet first mindset. I will use my MBA training to lead departmental shift to green by spearheading initiatives to audit our department's energy consumption and waste. This includes moving toward a model where fire prevention reduces the need for constant vehicle idling. I will educate the next generation by utilizing platforms to engage youth on the intersection of fire safety and environmental care. I will show them that being a public servant also means being a steward of the Earth. By merging fire science with sustainable business practices, I will ensure my profession doesn't just respond to emergencies, but actively prevents the long-term emergency of environmental degradation. Thank you for your consideration. Anna Pace

I am the child of immigrants and the product of a loveless and abusive marriage of over 50 years. My six brothers and I grew up in poverty and we had to give up school, dreams, and fantastical ideas to contribute to family funds. I was an accelerated student until I the summer of my freshman year of high school. I started working at a local bakery six days a week to give my entire wages to the family for essentials. I wanted to be a brain surgeon, but instead, I became a teen statistic with a child at 18. Through sheer determination and grit, I finished high school and began a career in public service almost 26 years ago in the vibrant and diverse community of Aurora, IL. I survived an abusive marriage to the father of my four children for over 22 years. I drew strength from my family and filed for divorce. After an arduous 2 year divorce process, I put myself through college for a bachelor's degree in psychology. My children have seen their mother rise from the ashes to reclaim what was once a lost dream of education. My personal values have been carved from first hand experiences with the hard knife of domestic violence and poverty. I believe that our community will be a better place when we lift each other up. My career aspirations are tied to my commitment to community service as I strive to serve others with empathy, inclusivity, and understanding. With a two-decade career in public service and an educational background in psychology and fire science, I have a dual lens understanding of the mechanics of public safety and the nuances of the human mind. I have witnessed the friction that often exists between local government and the citizens it serves. I have seen how a single interaction can define a citizen's trust in their institutions. These experiences shaped my core values that public service must be restorative, culturally inclusive, and anchored in empathy. I am pursuing an MBA in Leadership at Aurora University at this stage in my life because I recognize the need for a "human centric" business strategy in the public sector. I want to bridge the gap between high-level administration and the diverse community of Aurora. My goal is to lead public safety initiatives that don't just enforce rules but build partnerships. Integrating my nearly 26 years of "boots on the ground" experience with the strategic frameworks of an MBA, I plan to modernize how we manage human capital and community relations thereby ensuring that our department reflects the diversity and heart of the people we serve. This scholarship is the essential final piece of this transition. Pursuing a graduate degree while working full-time is a significant undertaking and these funds will allow me to focus entirely on the application of my studies to the Aurora community rather than the financial burden of tuition. It is the investment in a leader who is already deeply embedded in the community and who is ready to use the tools of higher education to ensure that our local government serves with both a business mind and a servant's heart. Thank you for your consideration. Anna Pace

As a public servant with over 25 years of experience in fire inspection and code enforcement, I have spent my career ensuring the safety of my neighbors in Aurora, Illinois. My foundation in both Psychology and Fire Science has taught me that effective public service begins with empathy and active community engagement. However, to meet the complex challenges of modern local government, technical expertise alone is no longer enough. I am currently pursuing my MBA with a concentration in Leadership at Aurora University to transform my decades of field experience into strategic, business-oriented leadership. Higher education is fueling my future in business by providing three critical pillars for my professional evolution: 1. Strategic Operational Efficiency In public service, "business" is the efficient stewardship of community resources. My MBA coursework in organizational behavior and strategic management allows me to view municipal safety through a corporate lens. I am learning to apply Lean Six Sigma principles and data-driven decision-making to fire prevention and code enforcement, ensuring that our department operates with the fiscal responsibility and agility of a high-performing private enterprise. 2. Restorative Leadership and Human Capital My background in psychology taught me how people think; my MBA is teaching me how to lead them. By studying advanced leadership theory, I am gaining the tools to manage diverse teams and navigate the "human element" of organizational change. Higher education provides the framework to transition from a technical supervisor to a Chief-level strategist who can mentor the next generation, foster an inclusive culture, and manage the complexities of human resources within a public framework. 3. Innovation in Community Integration Business is built on the relationship between an organization and its stakeholders. For me, those stakeholders are the citizens of Aurora. My graduate studies are refining my ability to design and implement community programs that act as "social investments." Whether through participating in cultural celebrations like Fiestas Patrias or hosting youth outreach events, I am learning to market public safety as a collaborative partnership rather than a distant authority. Ultimately, this degree is the fuel that allows me to bridge the gap between local government and the diverse community it serves. It empowers me to lead with a dual perspective: the heart of a public servant and the mind of a business executive. By integrating these worlds, I will ensure that my future contributions to Aurora are not only impactful but sustainable and strategically sound. Thank you for your consideration. Anna Pace

My name is Anna Luisa Pace. I am the the fourth child in a family of seven born to immigrants. I am also the only girl. My father has a third grade education while my mother was not allowed to go to school, but, instead went to work with her mother by the age of six years old cleaning houses. In our lives, basic survival was the priority. Education was not really something that had any weight for our survival. I had to go to work by the age of twelve so that I could help put food on the table or to pay the utilities. I went from a very bright student with accelerated classes to a high school drop out many times over. I could not figure out how to balance working six days a week and getting up for school through the week. I started working in fast food where I became an assistant manager at the age of sixteen and retail stores. I plugged along in life going back to high school only to drop out again and again when it got in the way of work. I became a pregnant teenager by the age of 17. That is when the light bulb went off in my brain. I had a serious discussion with my self about my past, my current situation, and my future for the child I was carrying. I faced the self-imposed obstacle with determination and willpower. I finished high school and walked the graduation line with a toddler in the audience. I went to work full time to have insurance benefits. I married the father of my child and had three more children. I survived a twenty one year marriage full of domestic violence and persevered when I filed for divorce. The threats of destitute gloom and doom were acceptable compared to a continued life full of violence. I excelled in my career and have reached the glass ceiling in my civilian position. In fact, I was the first female and Hispanic person to hold the job in the entire history of the position. I believe in giving back to my community in the form of holiday drives and mentoring. Having experienced debilitating poverty, I have a deep desire to help those that need a hand up when I can. I budget all year to sponsor children through United Way holiday drives. I budget to find back to school sales and donate to groups such as the San Antonio Foundation in my community. I coached in my older children's school even though I never played sports. I watched many videos on how to coach sports and read up on teaching techniques in order to be the best coach I could be. Currently, I am a safe person for youth to talk with in order to get through tough times. I believe in uplifting each other. I believe in empathy. I believe that with the help of our community, we can make a better world. This scholarship will help me focus on my rigorous program by easing the financial burden on my family.

The youth and young adults of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color are disproportionately affected by negative mental health because of some deep rooted reasons that contribute to overall distress. BIPOC persons can face micro aggressions from a very young age from being slighted in groups, ignored in class, to witnessing mass incarcerations of extended family. Hiding mental distress in BIPOC families comes from a deep rooted fear of being stigmatized as broken, unreliable, or contagious. The micro aggressions faced are not only learned first hand, but, the knowledge of what we face is passed down from generation to generation. Our elders teach us what we must do when we are faced with certain situations so that we can be safe. Since we know that we are already seen as "other", knowing that we may be experiencing mental illness or mental distress makes BIPOC people feel like they have to hide their condition for their safety or out of shame. As a Mexican, I speak from first hand experience. I faced my mental health issue with the help of my doctor and counselors. I also faced the stigmatization placed on my condition from my peers. I knew that I had to push through despite the fall out. I strive to make a difference in my community by promoting into a position of policy making authority where I can ensure that our community has the funding for community mental health programs. I feel that I can make a lasting impact.

If one has ever taken on just one more task, one more phone call, one more minute to get this "thing" done, one has definitely experienced an impact on one's mental health. Ignoring signs of declining mental bandwidth can lead to burnout, breakdowns, and the impossibility of completing schooling. I have experienced times in my life where I needed help from health practitioners to get through those rough patches. As a woman, I am expected to raise the children, provide in the household, work to contribute financially, drive the children, care for the pets, be a good partner, exercise, and do my school work so that the debt that I am bringing unto the family ultimately adds value. The stress of "being enough" while adding the stress of "going to school" can drop kick a person right out of their path to achieving their goal(s). I understand that I cannot meet the expectations placed on me at work, at home, and at school if my mental health is suffering. I need to be able to critically think in order to make the best decisions in the moment. If I am shut down where I cannot make decisions, I will not be able to be there for my family. I will not be able to perform at work. I will not be able to complete my coursework and graduate. If I ignore my mental health, I put myself at risk of spiraling into a hole where the work needed to pull myself out could prove to be insurmtountable. I recognize the signs of spreading myself too thin. In order to make my mental health a priority, I need to take this recognition of overextending myself and make changes. Changes can be as small as setting up uninterrupted study time on the family calendar. Changes can be as large as saying No to others and their demands. I am a firm believer in cognitive behavioral therapy. To take care of myself, I seek out help from mental health professionals unashamedly. I take walks outside. I take breaks to reset myself when I am frustrated. I set boundaries in my professional life. I talk to my family instead of falling back into old habits of receding into myself. I take the time to recognize my own feelings. I look to understand the big picture of whatever I am experiencing at the time in order to make informed decisions. I know that I cannot function if the hub of my supercomputer is lagging. I take care to ensure that I am connected to people that will be able to assist me if my mental health is negatively impacted. Thank you for taking the time to read my application.

My name is Anna Luisa Pace. I am the middle child born to immigrant parents. I am also the only girl in the group of seven offspring. My dad went to school in Mexico until third grade. My mother was not granted the opportunity to obtain any formal education as she was forced to work as a young child with her mother. Survival was the primary focus for our family. My parents did not push the value of education. My parents could not help me with homework. My parents could not communicate with the principal players in my early education. Hard work in the employ of outside parties resulted in gaining wages. We were financially insecure. We faced hunger pains daily. We were kicked out of homes because our family was too big or we couldn't pay the rent. All of these uncertainties cemented my drive to reach for the stars and to take rejection as an opportunity to reset, improve, and retry. From a teen mother and high school dropout, I pulled myself out of the cycle of poverty by sheer determination to never face financial, food, or housing insecurity. As the first person in my family to attend college, I felt the weight of the pride that my family held when I crossed the stages of my college and university. I accepted at a young age that I would only really be accepted by my peers by using my intelligence as a means to gain entrance to their worlds. I continue to purposely exercise my brain, not to gain acceptance to clubs where I am not the typical member, but to make my own space wherever I feel that I can make a difference. I accept that I was forced to grow up as a child in order to survive. I embrace the determination, grit, and perseverance that I learned long ago. I use these strengths today to lift up my family and their pride. I am proud of how far I have come. I am thrilled to be a model to my children that it is never too late for higher education. I hope to embolden others in my community to follow their dreams through the storms they may face in their lives. Being granted this scholarship will ease the financial burden that my family is taking on in order to help me achieve that childhood dream that seemed impossible. Thank you for taking the time to read my submission. If granted to me, I will not squander the opportunity, but rather, I will shine in my studies. Thank you.

My name is Anna Luisa Pace. I am a non-traditional student returning to Aurora University in Aurora, Illinois in pursuit of a masters in business administration with a concentration in leadership. I have lived in Aurora my entire life. I am the child of immigrants born into a large family of seven children. I am the middle child and the only girl in the group. We grew up facing enormous food. shelter, and financial insecurities. My dad left school in the third grade while my mom was not allowed to go to school at all. Instead, mom went to work as a very young child helping her mom clean homes. Although my parents put us in public schools, education was not high on the priority list when we were struggling daily to survive. I was a bright student and was placed into accelerated classes when my teachers noted that I was not being challenged. I have always loved to learn and I flourished. That time came to an end, however, the summer between ages twelve and thirteen. Dad found a job for me. I went to work at a local bakery. I worked six days a week right after school until nine or ten at night and half days on Saturdays. This is around the time that I gave up on school and focused on going to work so that I could help put food on the table or so we could shower with hot water. I struggled with the deep desire that I always held to go to college with the ingrained sense of duty to support my siblings. I always found my way back to high school only to inevitably drop out again. I became a teenage mom and my baby forced me to take a hard look at my future. I went back to high school for one last time and graduated. I went to work full time so that I could have health insurance for my son. I experienced intimate partner violence for the first time when our son was less than a couple of months old. The only model that I had in my life was my parent's relationship where mom lived with partner violence during her whole marriage. I was young and in love. I stayed with him, married him, and had three more children with him. After twenty-one years, our divorce was final. I walked away with my clothes, and our daughter's clothing. He committed tax fraud and left me to be responsible to the government. He stole from us and left us with nothing. I knew that I would never let my children face the hardships that I did. I worked harder. I put my anger and bitterness aside to provide for myself and my younger children. I ended up meeting the love of my life. I landed on my feet where my older children found their way in life. I put myself through my undergrad school with the support of my family. The work ethic that I was forced to develop evolved. I learned to balance my personal life, my work life, and my school life so that I could persevere. It has been a year since I earned by bachelor degree in psychology. I am ready to put in the work to gain my master's degree. With the help of your organization, the financial burden will be lessened where I can concentrate more fully on the work of learning. Thank you for reading my essay.

My name is Anna Luisa Pace. I am a non-traditional student pursuing my master's degree in business administration with a concentration on leadership from Aurora University in Aurora, IL. As the middle child of immigrant parents with six brothers, I grew up surrounded by financial, food, and housing instability. My father has a third grade education while my mother was not privy to any education. As a result, we were very poor. I feel that my mother struggled with depression, anxiety, and a sense of despair her whole adult life. Now, mom can admit that she suffers from depression, but, back in my early years there was no name for the unmentionable. Mom shared a story with me that I will carry to my death, where she attempted suicide while pregnant with one of my younger siblings because she could not take the physical abuse from my dad any longer. At one point in my first marriage, I went to my primary care doctor because I recognized that I was not feeling like myself. My doctor prescribed medication to get me through this rough time. I shared this information with my very closest friend. I felt that she looked at me through a different lens once she knew that I was struggling. Even though I have always been open and understanding with others, I understood in that moment that I would not be treated as I treat others. I understood that the bad stigma attached to mental health struggles were still applicable. I was heartbroken and I felt shame for a hot second. Once I took a beat to re-center myself, I took the chance to talk to her about the realities of shining the light on struggles that mothers can face. I talked to her about my finding help did not lessen who I was. That it was an act of self love and self care. I could not make her see where I was coming from, however, I feel that I showed her that it was okay to admit that one was struggling and that seeking help was not only okay, but, a necessity. From that experience, I was able to help my children when they needed help. I became an advocate for myself and for others. I am a safe person for my children always. I learned to set boundaries. I set my goals to understanding how we are shaped by earning my bachelor's degree in psychology. I have set another goal of earning my master's degree in business so that I can continue to make serve my community in an inclusive, equitable, and humane manner. Thank you for your time and consideration.

My name is Anna Luisa Pace. I am a non-traditional student striving for my masters of business administration with a concentration in leadership from Aurora University in Aurora, IL. Receiving my MBA will fuel my future in business by opening doors that were previously closed to me. My road to higher education took many side trips, thus, forcing me to wait to look after me and my goals. I was a teenage mother and graduated from high school after dropping out numerous times to work and support my siblings. The proverbial light bulb went off when I found out I was to have a baby. I looked long term at the life that I would be able to provide a child and decided that I needed to do better. Because of sheer determination, I finished high school and entered the workforce full time so that I had private health insurance for my son. I dabbled in higher education when I could afford to take a class. Upon my oldest child's high school graduation, I graduated with an associate's degree from my local community college. It took seventeen years to reach that goal. Education is a required factor in many job markets where growth and the opportunity to make a significant difference are available. I worked hard through the last twenty five years at my current employer to move up the ranks. I studied hard to be considered for internal positions as most of them required passing and scoring high on a civil service test as a metric to be considered for the position. I would go to the local library to check out books and study on my off time. I enjoy the work that I do. I am able to work within my community and teach others about safety. I also have to use critical thinking skills every day and in every interaction when I answer questions or educate the public in every interaction. My undergraduate degree helped me realize the power held by understanding, empathy, and action with the interactions that I hold with others. Unfortunately, I have met my glass ceiling with the position that I hold. It is not acceptable to me to slow down and produce only the minimum. I find no joy in just being another brick in the wall. This is where my graduate education will fuel my future in business. I hope to continue to work for my employer until I retire (in many years due to a less than civil divorce). However, in order to be able to continue my career growth, I am required to have higher education degree so that I can burst through that glass ceiling. I am encouraged by my immediate supervisor, the chief of my department, the leadership in my organization, my family, and most importantly my spouse to continue on with my educational goals. In order to contribute my ideas in a global manner for my community, I must make a place at the table. To pull up my chair, I need to get in the door with my MBA. A scholarship from your organization will ease the burden on my family immensely. Thank you for your time and consideration for this incredible opportunity.

My name is Anna Luisa Pace. I am a non-traditional graduate student at Aurora University in Aurora Illinois. I am the only daughter of immigrant parents and sister to six brothers. We were raised in an environment of food, financial, and housing insecurity during our entire childhoods. I learned to translate legal documents, fill out legal documents, and to be an interpreter by the age of seven. I can clearly remember asking my dad for bits of paper out of his wallet to fill out our free lunch forms for public school. I did not fit in with the kids at school when it came to clothes, shoes, cheerleading, sports, etc... My parents could not afford to feed us, much less splurge on proper clothing for their only daughter or for extra curricular activities. By the age of thirteen, I was working six days a week at a local Hispanic bakery. I learned early on from my parents that I needed to work if I wanted to eat or to take a hot shower. I was an honor student through high school, but, I did not fit in with most of my peers. I used my brain to force the other kids to accept me as an equal. I studied hard and I was proud of the grades that I brought home. Once I had to go to work, I ended up not being able to balance both. School suffered. I dropped out of high school numerous times. However, I always dreamt of going away to college. I kept going back, even when I became a teen mom. I knew that I did not want to be another statistic in my own opinion. I went back one final time, worked hard to get back into honors classes, worked a part time job, and graduated with a toddler. The only people at my graduation were my parents and their neighbors, the Evans. All those years of struggle and my accomplishment felt like just another day. I felt like I was at a crossroads in life. I fulfilled my goal of graduating high school. I went full time at work and was able to purchase health insurance for myself and my child so that I could get off of public aid. I married the father of my son and had three more children with him. I always wanted to go to college, so I made a new goal for myself. I was able to gain a better paying job and take night classes here and there. I am proud to say that I volunteered with my church, the children's schools, and graduated with my associates degree in psychology when my first born graduated high school. After more than twenty years with their abusive father, I divorced my first husband despite all the threats of physical, mental, and financial harm. I learned to love myself and to trust my adult children with the truth of what happened between their mom and dad. I was lucky to find my partner through the turmoil I was experiencing. With his support, I got myself together and continued with my higher education goal. I received my bachelor's degree in psychology in 2024. Now, I am pursing my master of business administration with a concentration in leadership. I hope that the committee will find that I have faced many obstacles in my life. However, I did not let them defeat me. I took what I learned and used that knowledge to push myself forward with determination and grit. Your scholarship will be a great help. Thank you.

My life journey has been full of twists, turns, obstacles, and miracles. I am one of seven children born to immigrant parents. My father has a third grade education while my mother started to work as hired help at the age of six with her mother. To this day, my mother cannot read or write. I grew up watching her struggle and feel like she was less than because of her lack of education and opportunities. I followed the same path that she did. I thought that being a good mother and good wife meant that I needed to silently suffer at the hands of my partner. I am a survivor of intimate violence in a relationship and marriage that was well over twenty two years. It took the words of my Angel of a mother "Daughter, you were born here. You have the benefit of going to school and bettering yourself. You don't have to do as I did and give your life to a man that doesn't love or respect you". I cried and I knew that I could break the cycle with her strength and encouragement. I took control of my life. I went through a bitter divorce that lasted two years. I walked away with the clothes on my back and an agreement to sell our family home to our oldest child where I about broke even. I have always been outgoing, supportive, and an advocate for others. I lacked the courage at home and I wore that shame in my home. I did not share what I was going through because I felt almost like a fraud because I would fight the good fight for others but never myself. These experiences helped me realize that through education, I can reach heights where I can be a bigger agent of change through strong policies and action. Throughout this turmoil, I met my current husband whose silent strength and out loud love helped me to go back to school for my undergraduate degree. He knew how important higher education was to me. He supported my dream of going back to school in my forties. He is still rock solid by my side as I pursue my graduate degree to meet the goal of being a change agent. I believe in mentoring the youth of our future. I have personally mentored troubled girls. I have coached middle school volleyball. I have assisted in middle school basketball. I have given my time and talents to our church. I believe that I can break my glass ceiling in my current role and move up to a position at my employer where I can be a policy maker and drive change. I believe that I could foster employee involvement with mentoring the youth in our city. Being awarded this scholarship will allow me to be able to ease the financial burden to my family of my dream of higher education. This scholarship will help me open doors to a more fulfilling future. Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from the committee.

I believe that education can help reduce intimate partner violence by lifting the veil on women in intimate partner violence relationships. A higher education can help women understand that they have a chance to survive on their own despite what their partner has repeatedly told them. A higher education will open doors to career opportunities that will translate to a woman being able to financially support herself, her children, and her pets. Writing from a personal experience lens, I can wholeheartedly affirm that women whose partner's perform acts of violence against them believe the verbal abuse and lies that the partner continually showers upon them. Predators look for women with vulnerabilities that can be exploited so that their own egos and self worth is boosted by beating down the person that loves them be it physically, verbally, emotionally, psychologically, or financially. When these women are pounded down to a nub, then the violent partner can re-shape the woman to the image that he or she deems to be a deserving partner. Many times the woman suffering the abuse has friends or family encouraging her to leave. However, the hold of the violent partner is trauma based and the woman cannot find the courage to finally leave. In other worse scenarios, the woman keeps the abuse to herself out of shame, guilt, or remorse. She may be filled with shame that her partner perpetrates such acts against her. She may feel guilt because her partner has convinced her that he or she had to commit the act because of some infraction the woman did. Or she may feel remorse because she is living that lifestyle alone or with her children and feels like a failure because she can't do any better. I lived this life for over twenty years. I was a teenage mother. The first act of intimate violence occurred when our first born was a few months old. It was a cold rainy day. We were outside of his rooming house. I don't know what we were arguing about. The baby was in his carseat on the gravel ground with a blanket over it to keep him warm and dry. My partner reared back and delivered a smack so hard to my face that I saw stars. I was ashamed, hurt, embarrassed, and crying. He let me load the baby up into my car and leave. He then came back on bended knee to apologize and promise that it would never happen again. It was just that I frustrated him so much... This cycle would repeat itself the entirety of our marriage. If I'd had the opportunity to obtain a higher education, I believe that I would have been exposed to other strong female figures. I would have seen that what was happening to me was not normal and not okay. I believe that learning about the world and learning that I could expand my horizons with an education, I would have had the courage to leave the first time it happened. An educated mind teaches us critical thinking. Critical thinking will lead to measured actions. Measured actions will lead to a better life. Thank you for taking the time to read this submission. I look forward to hearing from the committee.

My educational goal has always been to seek higher knowledge through formal education ever since I was a child. My college career has taken a very diverted route and many years to come to fruition. Using my brain to excel in my early education years helped me "fit in" because we were raised in a very impoverished home and environment. My parents are immigrants to this land. My father has a third grade education, while my mother went to work by the age of six as a house cleaner and servant with her mother. Mother had no formal education and cannot read or write. I have six brothers and the four oldest of us knew from an early age that we were also responsible for the survival of our family. We all went to work at young ages. I started to work six days a week at a local bakery from about three in the afternoon to nine or ten in the evening. As a result, I became truant in my freshman year of school. I went from an accelerated student to a barely passing freshman. In my sophomore and junior years of high school I would re-enroll and drop out many times. I became a teenage mother working full time with no prospects for a good future for my son and myself. I had a lightbulb moment after he was born. I knew that I didn't want to repeat the cycle of poverty and that the only way to do that was to get an education. I went back to high school for a final time. My counselor at the time had seen me fail many times and laughed out loud when I said I was going to finish this time. That lit a fire under me because I knew that I had let myself down and that everyone around me did not believe that I would ever succeed. I graduated as a nineteen year old with my son in the stands. My parents, my son, and their neighbors were the only people at graduation for me. I was super proud of that accomplishment and I knew that I would not stop there. I found a job in local government where I saw that I needed to use my intelligence to move up in the corporation. I was able to study for promotions and made some upward movement. I was finally able to gain some higher education seventeen years after my first born which helped me gain some more upward bound momentum. At this point in my career, there is no further upward movement in my current role. Receiving this scholarship will help me achieve my dreams of a graduate degree which will then help open doors to executive positions within my corporation. I know that I have more to offer. I believe in lifting each other up. Being in an executive position will allow me to put into practice the strategies that I will gain in a MBA program so that the front line staff and the corporate goals align. I have to take loans out to pay for my school. Gaining the opportunity to utilize this scholarship will greatly ease the financial burden on my family as a result of my educational and career goals. Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from the committee.

I am worth the dreams that I aspire to achieve because I believe I can achieve greatness, so, I will. I am one of seven children born to immigrants to this country. My father went to school until third grade and my mother was sent to work as a house cleaner and servant by the time she was six years old. Mother still cannot read or write. I knew from an early age, around seven years old, that we would be the interpreters, application filling, and representatives of our parents. Because of our precarious and uncertain economic station in life, my brothers and I knew that the only way to survive was to work and help pay for bills, food, and clothes. I was bussed to a public school where my classmates were the children of prominent business owners, the district superintendent, judges, etc... Meanwhile, I wore the same clothes as my brothers and had one bra that mom bought for me at the second hand store. I did not fit in with my peers in terms of fashion, sports, or social events. I had missing and crooked teeth. Wild curly hair that I brushed out every day, and I dressed like a "boy". The only way I felt that I earned respect was by using my brain. I was in constant competition in middle school and usually won. As a freshman, I started to work six days a week resulting in constant truancy. I ended up dropping out, getting pregnant as a teenager, and getting the lead out by going back to high school to graduate with my son in the crowd. It's been a long road for me. As a forty-eight year old, I am still aspiring to achieve my dreams of higher education. I obtained my bachelor's degree in 2024 and I am ready to move forward with my graduate degree. I have pulled myself up by my bootstraps since I was a child. I will continue to do so as I enter the middle stage of my life. I plan on continuing to model perseverance and resilience to my children. I hope that their experience of watching me work full time and attend school full time shows them that anyone can achieve their dreams as long as they work for it. I am working for it. Being granted the opportunity to help pay for my degree by This Woman's Worth Scholarship will be a great honor for me. Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from the committee.

I became a parent at the age of eighteen. I had dropped out of school to work and help support my parents and siblings. Once I found out I was destined to be a teenage mother, I went back to high school and graduated when many thought I wouldn't. Motherhood helped me realize that I needed to be educated to provide a good life for my child. My journey to higher education met many detours, however. I went to work full time right after high school graduation in order to obtain health insurance for my son. My son's father was an abusive partner, but, in my naive youth, I felt that I was in love and that he never meant to hurt me. I married him and had three more children. I went to work for my local government and found that there were opportunities for me if I used my brain to move up in the organization. All the while, though, I always yearned to go to college. I was a gifted student through my freshman year of high school and I had dreamed of being the first in my family to go away to college. I started taking one or two classes a semester so that I could make myself a more attractive fit for job openings while balancing being a full time employed wife and mother. It took some time, but, I was able to put myself through community college and I graduated with my second Associates Degree in Fire Science Technology at the same time that my first born graduated high school. I knew that studying at the kitchen table while my children did their homework at the same time was cementing how important education is in one's life. I took a break from school when I gathered the courage to leave my abusive husband. He prophesied that our children and I would be homeless and destitute without him. I knew that I would do all I could to make it. Today, I am happily remarried. Now is the time to continue my education and to set an example for my youngest child as I did for my older children that education is an important part of life. I want her to grow up knowing that her mother persevered in spite of a divorce and that she continued to follow her dream to get her college education. I will be able to utilize my higher education to continue to move up in my organization and in turn help my children fulfill their dreams for a college education.

I believe life itself is an act of beautiful creativity whether it is through the lens of religion or the lens of science. I was in an abusive marriage for most of my life and I had to find creative ways to survive every day. Some examples this creativity were spending countless hours planting and cultivating a home vegetable garden, spending afternoons in the outdoors with my children in tow, and spending my evenings journaling my thoughts away from the abuser. When I finally gathered the courage to leave the abusive marriage with my children, I had to get creative with my salary and budget to afford the split. My ex-husband made it clear at the time that I would never survive without him and I knew that I would make it work. Today, I am happily remarried and I use creativity every day to keep our marriage happy and healthy by creating new exercise routines for us, finding ways to spend quality time together, and hosting functions where our children and extended family can come together to grow. My job involves firm code interpretation that sometimes results in hard lines and frustrations for all parties involved. I use creativity in finding solutions to issues that meet the intent of the code while working with affected parties to alleviate costs, burdens, and overhead. I also have to be creative in creating content for educational programs for the community such as safety talks, videos, and presentations. I utilize this content for senior citizens, children, Spanish speaking citizens, as well as refugees from various countries. By having the gift of waking daily to find creative ways to improve another's day, helps make life beautiful. I know I enjoy using my heart and brain to make the world better every day.