My name is Aubree Saunders, I am 18 years old, and have a 2 year old son named Ezra. I currently attend Georgia Chaffee TAPP with a 3.46 cumulative GPA and I plan to attend Berea College for psychology. I am described as creative, mature, passionate, and open-minded. My career aspiration is to become a mental health practitioner and either work in a middle/high school or private practice. I have a passion for activism, and have been a speaker at Women’s Equality Day hosted by the Metro Office for Women. I also have used my AP Art portfolio to raise awareness for sexual assault victims. I was always the kid who didn’t understand why I had to go to college and do more school after 12 years of it. So, I tried to find careers that I didn’t need schooling for, such as singing or photography. As kids and teens do, I grew out of those dreams and kept finding new ones. That is, until I found out I was pregnant at the age of 15. I didn’t know what I was going to do or how I was going to make it through life. Finding out I was pregnant isolated me from the people I had in my circle at the time. My parents were supportive in whatever decision I chose but we never had a good relationship and I couldn’t lean on them. I was scared and in a really dark place. I didn’t know what my future would hold. TAPP introduced me to great teachers and administrators that showed support and motivated me. During my time at school I was able to reflect on my past experiences and I found my passion for helping people. I had always been the friend that people went to when they needed someone to talk to, and I loved it! I loved being that shoulder to cry on or the person to help them get back up. When I found out I could turn it into a career and make a life for my son and me, I was set on going to college to work in the mental health field. Being able to work in the mental health field has a lot of aspects that are significant to me. One aspect is being a representation of a Black person acknowledging that addressing your mental health is important. In many Black communities, getting help for your mental health is a taboo and often not encouraged. I want to help my community embrace how vital it is to get help and take care of yourself mentally. Another important factor to me is helping people that are struggling. Being a therapist means giving people tools to cope with their emotions in their everyday life and especially when tragedies happen. I would also like to make time to participate in more programs and activities raising awareness for equality issues. This can be life changing for people and sometimes even life saving. Women’s and LGBTQ+ equality issues are what I would like to focus on, because these are issues that not only affect me but people I care about. I sincerely thank you for the opportunity to earn the Law Family Scholarship.