The sound of a door slamming and my father's absence on the day he decided to pull away still haunt me. I found myself frozen, my entire future shifting in one moment. I was left with the words my father spewed like venom: 'Figure it out yourselves. I'm done.' How was a 15-year-old girl still trying to find herself supposed to figure out a world as hard as ours today with such an absence? While those words were meant to hurt, I forged ahead. There were moments of weakness and sadness, but I pursued my work and studies to push through my next two years of high school. Instead of sitting in my hurt, I turned to my strength and forged my way with the help of my mother, who has been a constant role model of support, integrity, and responsibility. I would say that every moment that broke me was also a moment I became stronger. Academically, I haven't faltered and continue to strive for greatness, showing myself that I am still capable. While the experience was painful and something that will forever affect me, I accept that it helped shape who I am today and pushed me to be even more successful, proving that my worth is not determined by my father, who chose to put me down. With the lessons I've learned over the last two years, I want to continue working toward my dream of becoming a professional pastry chef by attending college and learning even more. Through this, I have already given back to my community through my culinary classes, as we've made meals to give to our local food shelters. As I continue on this journey, I keep in mind the words of a restaurant owner I spoke to: "I want people to come to my restaurant to come together over food and forget their troubles outside of it. I love to see people smile and come together over something everyone loves...good food." And I aspire to bake in such a way that it brings my community together while also having a lasting impact on people's relationships. Outside of this long-term goal, I have kept myself active in my community by giving my time to my local library and serving as an officer in my school's Black Student Union. Both of these opportunities have given me a better view of parts of my community and the people in them. The support from both parts of these communities has helped me find my new normal, and I wish to continue to pay back their kindness through my actions and commitment to them. And with this scholarship, college will be even more possible for me and will one day allow me to pay them back for their kindness. Thank you for the time and consideration you have put into my future.

Cooking is a skill anyone can acquire, but some hone it more than others and choose to make it their livelihood. I've always had a calling for the kitchen. And in recent years, it's been more compelling than ever after hearing the words of a local restaurant owner in my town. He said, "I want people to come to my restaurant to come together over food and forget their troubles outside of it. I just love to see people smile and come together over something everyone loves...good food." And since then, there hasn't been a shadow of a doubt in my mind that I wanted to go into culinary arts more than anything else. My main reason for pursuing culinary was because of my love for creativity. While there are other art forms, culinary drew me in with the idea of exploring all five senses: taste, sight, smell, touch, and sound. The taste of spices, the sight of a beautiful plate, the smell of a bakery when you step in, the feeling of kneading out a dough till it's ready, and the sounds of simmering in a pan when it hits the right temperature to cook your food. It's an art for the senses and brings a love you can give a physical form to share with the world. While I have chosen culinary as my future, in a way it chose me as well. When I was younger, I never truly knew what I wanted to be, but then I learned about Food Network. My mom recalls times I'd rather watch that over cartoons with my siblings; I'd laugh and agree that, even to this day, I still watch it. Those instances helped me learn more about myself and pave the road that I now follow towards my dream of being just like those chefs. And when things were uncertain in my life, I knew that I'd still have baking as a pillar to bring me back down to earth. As for my goal in choosing culinary, there's no one exact goal. Short-term, my goal is to finish at the top of my class in culinary arts as well as to re-enter the South Florida Fair culinary competition and secure the first-place prize for my school this year, as we achieved second place previously. By achieving these short-term goals, I hope they will push me further into going to a college where I will have the best opportunities possible to continue bettering my skills and one day secure my own pastry shop and share my love for culinary arts with even more people. And with this scholarship, it would change my life in a way that makes college possible for me and to one day achieve my dream of being just like those chefs. Thank you for the time and consideration you have put into my future.

To answer simply I would tell you I’m just your average person. But since the age of 9, I wanted to be a pastry chef. I remember the days I’d spend in the kitchen making food and all kinds of desserts with my grandma. We’d always love to make my great-grandmother's special cookies that she had passed down to my grandma. In which my grandmother passed down to me. Being in the kitchen making those cookies always gave me this sense of accomplishment, especially when I got to see the smiles of the ones I baked for. From that day forward I knew the kitchen was a place I wanted to be. As I started my middle school career I was accepted into the Culinary Arts Academy. I spent those three years learning and building on my skills. Eventually getting the opportunity to pursue my passion even further as I continued into the academy in high school. The past two years I faced many trials and tribulations I never expected to face, but being in the kitchen always gave me peace of mind and time to unwind. If I didn’t feel like talking at the moment, I’d be baking. During my 2 years thus far in High school my teacher has made me her chef’s assistant. I work alongside her for school catering events and keeping the chaos of the kitchen in order during class. My teacher has told me of how while working under the pressure with time constraints and of course the rowdiness of teenagers I have worked well under the pressure and gone above and beyond, becoming one of her best students for her class. She has since become almost like a mentor to me and has shown me the tips and tricks of the kitchen. Being in the class has helped me prepare myself for what I want to work towards. Which is hopefully one day opening a restaurant or bakery myself. More and more every day I can see myself achieving the goal the little girl inside of me wished for, for so long. One thing I can say for sure is that good food and being surrounded by even greater family always put me in a good mood, so being able to make that happen in my community is something that has driven me as well. The thought of bringing people together and seeing them make memories like I was able to has driven me to push forward. Through the stress of the kitchen, I’ve learned to find balance and work with others to achieve the goal we all have in common, to learn to bake. Looking back I realize how much work I’ve done to reach this goal. Always taking it a step further and going above and beyond to make sure that my dream becomes reality.