Living in a progressional society, and especially living in a state that lacks diversity, I am seeking for change. The first step to seeking change is acknowledging a problem. I chose the specific path of becoming a divorce lawyer due to the high statistics of divorce amongst uneducated individuals. Firstly, minorities are the leading individuals who lack a good education in America. Without a doubt, tuition in America is extremely expensive, that’s why we even have scholarships in the first place. Minorities are disenfranchised and set up to fail because 1.) minorities are less likely to get high paying jobs in comparison to white individuals and 2.) some minorities can not afford high quality education because they are embracing the stereotypes that society has placed upon them. After time, it’s come to an extent where some Mexican people feel like their worth of an occupation goes no further than physical labor, nor do they want to compete with white people in getting that higher paying job because of the harsh reality of living in America. With minorities having such a high rate of divorce in correlation to education, I believe that it is my social responsibility to help out disenfranchised individuals in that particular field. Before anyone tries to twist my words, I am not stating that I will only help minorities navigate divorce, but I am speaking to bring this attention to light. I want to go beyond the spectrum of divorce in law, I also want to bring to light the social injustices I find while being a divorce lawyer. On top of that, I personally have gone through countless arguments between my mother and father. It’s gotten to a point where I’ve picked up certain ways to argue for or against individuals in relationships, and ultimately that will benefit me throughout law school as well as becoming a divorce lawyer in general. With all the inspirations and ambitions I have within me, I acknowledge that I am not yet in law school, but that hasn’t stopped me from getting connected with law school students here at the University of Utah. I have started my journey to seek change by reaching out to the law clubs and communities here at my school. My school barely offers any law-related classes or clubs for undergraduate students, yet that didn't defy my journey. I reached out to my school's Minority Law Caucus in efforts to get them to open up a new club for undergraduates, and most recently they sent out an email calling for minority undergraduates with a passion for law to reach out to them for tips on how to get full rides to SJ. Quinney Law School in Utah. The fact that I was able to create this stepping stone for minority undergraduates with similar passions makes me determined and understanding that I could use my voice to represent everyone. Although I want to continue using my voice as representation, I do not have the funds to continue going to school here in Utah. I am taking out private loans, and this has caused immense stress to both me and my mother. I have been granted so many opportunities and I am doing excellent in my higher level classes, I would be absolutely crushed to lose these opportunities through the costs of school. With this scholarship, I would be able to relieve the immense stress on my mind of being able to continue my education or not.

I am a woman of color, a daughter of a single mother, an aspiring lawyer, and a determined young girl with destinies that are in near reach. I am currently attending the University of Utah as a first-year student with a major in Communications. I have previously obtained an associate degree at the College of Southern Nevada, while also completing my Junior and Senior years of high school at the same time. Although my mother makes less than 60,000 a year, she has made my education a top priority. She isn't able to help me with the costs of tuition, which for me is a rough 40,000 dollars a year. Although the costs are high just for me to finish my last two years of undergraduate studies, my plan is to attend law school here in Utah. Utah heavily lacks diversity in their law schools, therefore I have made it a goal to get my name out there so that I may build connections and represent every Latina out there with similar goals as myself. Growing up, I never had a role model in the law field that I could look up to, and I can openly admit that it caused a lot of discouragement. I had to bring it upon myself to use that as motivation to get through school. There's this big stereotype that Latinos can't fit in with law enforcement because of what people see in the media. I think it's utterly ridiculous how if you were to search for "Latino lawyers", you'd find search results for either people who aren't well-known or male lawyers from decades ago. Living in a progressional society, and especially living in a state that lacks diversity, I am seeking for change. I have started my journey to seek change by reaching out to the law clubs and communities here at my school. My school barely offers any law-related classes or clubs for undergraduate students, yet that didn't defy my journey. I reached out to my school's Minority Law Caucus in efforts to get them to open up a new club for undergraduates, and most recently they sent out an email calling for minority undergraduates with a passion for law to reach out to them for tips on how to get full rides to SJ. Quinney Law School in Utah. The fact that I was able to create this stepping stone for minority undergraduates with similar passions makes me determined and understanding that I could use my voice to represent everyone. Although I want to continue using my voice as representation, I do not have the funds to continue going to school here in Utah. I am taking out private loans, and this has caused immense stress to both me and my mother. I have been granted so many opportunities and I am doing excellent in my higher level classes, I would be absolutely crushed to lose these opportunities through the costs of school. With this scholarship, I would be able to relieve the immense stress on my mind of being able to continue my education or not.

I have chosen to major in criminal Justice because I plan to impact the labor law field in the future. This is my greatest aspiration because I come from a family of workers who have experienced inequality throughout their careers due to their nationality. I want to be a source of representation for not only migrant workers like my grandparents, who are disenfranchised to factory jobs that pay below minimum wage but also factory workers and blue collared. My mom works in a job that pays her well, however still less than the men who work the same job. I know this just the tip of the iceberg that all labor attorneys do, but that’s exactly what creates my drive to succeed in law school. The law field needs diverse representation for our nation. Diversity means more than just equality, it also should be about inclusion. Diversity is the inclusion of different identities and ideas. Diversity important because everyone should have exposure to different ideas. It is may be easy for some to shut down people’s voices because of their differences. I plan to promote diversity through learning criminal Justice by just being true to myself and not being influenced by the status quo. By just being myself, I am representing diversity. My ideas come from my unique view of the world which is constantly evolving the more I learn and accomplish things. This scholarship would add to my accomplishments and helps me to get the next level of my education so that I can properly represent the people who need it. As I finish my last two years of college as a 17 year old Black and Latina woman, I can proudly say that law school is within the reach of my finger tips. Just as I have made it my goal to learn about our Justice system, I challenge every person in our nation to fufill themselves with the knowledge of our system. The system we have created for this nation has forced minorities to hide behind the shadows and not speak our minds about the injustices we see in our world. We have been given the connotation and stereotype that we are not as knowledgeable as the average white man. With this scholarship, I will be able to get to the next step of my education and bring my resilience and strong passion for law into the future of our nation.

Coming from a family of low income, I have been consistently reminded to apply for scholarships. As a young girl, the thought of scholarships terrified me. Surely, thousands of girls with similar dreams as of mine would apply for the same scholarships as I have. I have always wanted to stick out to others, impress people around me. Yet, I do not want to stick out to others to only give off a good impression of myself, but of others. I desire representation for Latina women, in specificity, hard working Latina women who struggle to pursue a career in law. Latin people are often given a stereotype from the government because of encounters between law enforcement and Latinos regarding border control. While the matter is quite saddening, what this country needs is representation and something to make up for ends. I want people to look at not only my hard work as someone who has influence, but the hard work that Latinos have put forth for centuries. Children need education and the ability to freely discuss social injustices especially in times of such chaos and idiocrasy. I was granted this opportunity to partake in a diversity youth camp called Camp Anytown. At the camp, I learned how to diminish personal opinons to let others discuss their opinions. What society lacks is the ability to listen to others. We are so wrapped up in trying to be right, that we can't find the root of the issue of social injustices. A big outlet to discussing these injustices is through social media. Social media plays such a factor in the growth of our nation, yet isn't necessarily a bad thing. Social media can highlight the lack of representation that minorities have. In the media and television shows, minorities are told to play stereotypical characters. For example, in Modern Family, Sophia Vergara is meant to play a stereotypical Latina women who is loud and very expressive. Society does not need a laughing stock of representation for Latinos, we need someone that can show society how hardworking we are. To be hardworking does not mean that you have to have all the knowledge in the world. I am apart of We The People at my school, which is a civic engagement comitee that goes to a district competition to discuss with attorneys in Nevada about injustices in the world. I was group leader for Unit 6, which the topic was about prejudice in society today. I was granted the oppourtuntity to even discuss my case about diversity in law in front of a General Attorney. Going into the competition, I certaintly didn't have all the knowledge about civics and the statistics of Latinas in law to present in front of a General Attorney. What matters is not much knowledge you have, rather this is about how much drive you have to learn to fix things that need to be fixed.

Growing up, my father was never in my life, whether that be visiting me occasionally or paying child support. Yet, I promised to never let that defy my odds of reaching my academic goals. My Hispanic mother who makes less than 70,000 a year has strongly inspired me to fufill my aspirations of becoming a lawyer. Instead of relying on my mother to pay towards my education, I choose to work harder to get offers to attend academically challenging schools and strive throughout my education. For example, I was recently offered the chance to travel abroad to Ireland based on my academic achievements through College of Southern Nevada HS. Initially, I was ecstatic to have been offered such a grand opportunity yet my only limiting factor was cost. The trip would be a whopping total of 4,000 dollars, where my mom would be directly paying 200 dollars a month to pay off the full cost. I could tell that she was incredibly proud of me, yet I also could see how pained she would look in the beginning of every month. I knew the large cost was a burden on her, considering the fact that the rent for our apartment skyrocketed and we could not afford groceries. So, I devised a plan. I started to work more hours so that I could replace my mother with paying monthly. I work as a lifeguard and swim instructor, which makes me a total of 15 dollars an hour. Working so much affected my mentality at school immensely. Between working, taking college classes, and high classes, I instantly noticed the pile of stress that was loading onto my back. Although my stress was loaded, I didn't present that through my work at school. My counselor started to notice how drastically my overall emotions changed at school and brought me in to discuss. She taught me how to manage my stress, but also prioritize academics over working. When she told me this, I automatically obliged because I was focused on helping my mom out of a situation that I felt guilt for putting her in. Just from that conversation, I not only got closer to my academic mentor, but also I learned that I could help my mom in various ways rather than money. I could help my mom by getting the best grades possible. With success comes well deserved opportunities. I already have a plan to attend college to obtain a bachelors, since I am about to already graduate from high school with my associates degree, then I will transfer to a law school. Carrying a strong work ethic already, I will strive as a strong family lawyer. I want to give back to others through aiding in adoptions, divorce proceedings, and other impactful things that families may endure. Although my dad wasn't in my life, I feel as if it my duty to help other families so that they do not undergo the same pain my mother and I have felt emotionally and with money.

Applying for a scholarship is quite similar to that of riding a rollercoaster. The thought of doing the action is quite intimidating and nerve-racking. In the sense of applications, it can be quite scary to apply because of the competition that comes with the reward. Yet in comparison to a rollercoaster, once you complete the action, you want to do it again and again. Scholarships highlight the influence that you have "gave off" to the community. My proposition is that scholarships are not given, yet they are earned and deserved for those who put forth the work required. Coming from a family of low income, I have been consistently reminded to apply for scholarships. As a young girl, the thought of scholarships terrified me. Surely, thousands of girls with similar dreams as of mine would apply for the same scholarships as I have. I have always wanted to stick out to others, impress people around me. Yet, I do not want to stick out to others to only give off a good impression of myself, but of others. I desire representation for Latina women, in specificity, hard working Latina women who struggle to pursue a career in law. Latin people are often given a stereotype from the government because of encounters between law enforcement and Latinos regarding border control. While the matter is quite saddening, what this country needs is representation and something to make up for ends. I want people to look at not only my hard work as someone who has influence, but the hard work that Latinos have put forth for centuries. Applying for a scholarship will better my chances of sticking out to the world, benefit my low-income Hispanic household, and steady my determination. I understand that scholarships are not a given, and that I might not get this particular scholarship. This will not stop me from continuing to pursue my desired goals. Scholarships are beneficial for a society who desires progression, especially students of low-income households. I have also learned that scholarships are created from the good of society. People who choose to extend their wealth to people in need are the Samaritans of society. I am greatly appreciative of such an opportunity to even apply for this scholarship. Children need education, especially in times of such chaos and idiocrasy. Social media plays such a factor in the growth of our nation, yet isn't necessarily a bad thing. With a scholarship, I will proudly be able to represent minorities, use my social media platforms for benefit, and continue the pursuitment of success that one so heavily desires.

I have a destiny, rather than a dream, that I will represent every Latina women who has been shamed by the government due to stereotypes that have regressed us from entering a field of law as an occupation. We need strong representation in the law field with minorities. Our society is in a great time of progression with more diversity in our work forces, and I am a hardworking candidate that will fill that position with pride and purpose.