My long-term career goal is to become a successful mechanical engineer, working in the automotive industry on innovative solutions that improve people’s lives. At the heart of this goal is a deeply personal motivation: I want to live a life free from financial stress. I’ve seen firsthand how financial instability can impact mental health, limit opportunities, and make even the simplest dreams feel out of reach as these have been done to me. I am determined to build a career that not only provides stability for myself and my family, but also allows me to give back to communities like the one I came from. My fall semester of 24’ my academic advisor didn’t think my major was a good fit for me, she felt my major decision was too tedious for me and to told me that I should I go undecided for now, but that made no sense to me. Why would I go undecided when I know exactly why I came to college. I don’t have the money or time to waste because of what someone else thinks. So, I changed my academic advisor and continued my path, I made the presidents A honor roll my fall semester. When Christmas break came around and it was time to register for Spring classes I was unable to due to my remaining tuition balance being 4,000$, my financial advisor randomly leaving without notice and OSU claiming they were unable to help me. My financial support wasn’t the best at this time because in April of 24’ my mom had a on the job injury while working at southwest airlines, this caused her to be out of work for over a year due to her healing process and physical therapy. This took a toll on my mental health during Christmas break because I felt helpless. It didn’t make sense to me to come this far, work so hard and then be told be other people I can’t continue. I called every staff member I could, I emailed my schools president who didn’t get back to me, and I kept asking! What else can I do? Shila a financial planning coach reached out to me just a week a before school and learned of my situation, she awarded me a one-time emergency scholarship that paid out 2 days before spring semester classes started and I was able to get it due to my good academic standing with the school. The problem didn’t go away though because I’m facing it again right now over the summer from my spring semester, same remaining balance little to no help and apply for scholarships to help fund my education for the upcoming semester. However, if there’s one thing, I have learned throughout my freshman semester is to keep fighting for myself and showing up for myself even when no one else will and that’s exactly what I did, I focused on the things I could control and made the presidents A honor AGAIN! With a cumulative GPA of a 3.9. Despite facing financial hardship, early doubt from those around me, and the weight of racial microaggressions, I remained committed to my education. These challenges taught me resilience, sharpening my time management skills, and showing me the importance of advocating for myself.

As a young African American woman, my long-term career goal is to become successful mechanical engineer, working in the automotive industry on innovative solutions to improve peoples lives and contribute to sustainable development. At the heart of this goal is a deeply personal motivation: I want to live a life free from financial stress. Ive seen firsthand how financial instability can impact mental health, limit opportunities and make the simplest dreams feel out of reach , which has been done to me. I am determined to build a career that provides stability for myself and family and allows me to give back to communities like the one I came from. The values that drive my career aspirations are resilience, independence, and impact. Resilience comes from overcoming the obstacles Ive faced while pursuing a higher education. My fall semester of 24’ my academic advisor didn’t think my major was a good fit for me, she felt my major decision was too tedious for me and to told me that I should I go undecided for now, but that made no sense to me. Why would I go undecided when I know exactly why I came to college. I don’t have the money or time to waste because of what someone else thinks. So, I changed my academic advisor and continued my path, I made the presidents A honor roll my fall semester. When Christmas break came around and it was time to register for Spring classes I was unable to due to my remaining tuition balance being 4,000$, my financial advisor randomly leaving without notice and OSU claiming they were unable to help me. My financial support was the best at this time because in April of 24’ my mom had a on the job injury while working at southwest airlines, this caused her to be out of work for over a year due to her healing process and physical therapy. This took a toll on my mental health during Christmas break because I felt helpless. It didn’t make sense to me to come this far, work so hard and then be told be other people I can’t continue. I called every staff member I could, I emailed my schools president who didn’t get back to me, and I kept asking! What else can I do? Shila a financial planning coach reached out to me just a week a before school and learned of my situation, she awarded me a one-time emergency scholarship that paid out 2 days before spring semester classes started and I was able to get it due to my good academic standing with the school. The problem didn’t go away though because I’m facing it again right now over the summer from my spring semester, same remaining balance little to no help and apply for scholarships to help fund my education for the upcoming semester. However, if there’s one thing, I have learned throughout my freshman semester is to keep fighting for myself and showing up for myself even when no one else will and that’s exactly what I did, I focused on the things I could control and made the presidents A honor AGAIN! With a cumulative GPA of a 3.9. Despite facing financial hardship, early doubt from those around me, and the weight of racial microaggressions, I remained committed to my education. These challenges taught me resilience, sharpening my time management skills, and showing me the importance of advocating for myself.