My decision to attend college was an easy one. My parents have always stressed the importance of education. They stated that a good education is something that can never be taken away. Over the past year, my career path has become clearer. In order to achieve this career aspiration, a college degree is a necessity. I will be attending North Carolina A&T University this fall majoring in Biological Engineering. Sustainability is a passion that I deeply consider a core value of my professional aspirations. I am a huge aficionado of nature, the complex cycles that run the Earth and humans' pivotal place in them. Ever since the industrial revolution, humans have added different chemicals that alter the composition of different parts of the atmosphere. Some of these industrial practices are outdated and alternate solutions are available to reduce emissions. My career and educational goals are to contribute to innovation and sustainability by pursuing research in the designs of different renewable resources. Additionally, finding ways to make them more widespread for residential use. This will include more solar panels and collecting and purifying rainwater for other uses. These changes can ensure sustainable energy is more achievable for those in all socioeconomic statuses. Along with continued education, I want to create as many different sustainable outlets as I can in order to further the impact of sustainable designs. Another goal of mine is to pursue an advanced degree to do more research on finding more ways to preserve the environment. Receiving this scholarship would make a difference in my life because it alleviates some of the financial costs of college. I have two incredible other siblings that should have the opportunity to travel out of state to attend college. Therefore, I must be aware of the fact that I am not the only person going to college in my household. Offsetting the cost of college by any amount helps. If I can get room and board or books taken care of for a semester, it would help my family and I out tremendously. I would be beyond appreciative of any additional funds to help pay for these expenses. Additionally, as an out of state student, tuition is exponentially higher than in-state. Paying this higher cost for four years or more adds up quickly. This affects my family's ability to continuously pay for my college education as well as my siblings. In summary, this scholarship will help make college more affordable for my family and help me follow my dreams.

My decision to attend college was an easy one. My parents have always stressed the importance of education. They stated that a good education is something that can never be taken away. Over the past year, my career path has become clearer. In order to achieve this career aspiration, a college degree is a necessity. I will be attending North Carolina A&T University this fall majoring in Biological Engineering. Sustainability is a passion that I deeply consider a core value of my professional aspirations. I am a huge aficionado of nature, the complex cycles that run the Earth and humans' pivotal place in them. Ever since the industrial revolution, humans have added different chemicals that alter the composition of different parts of the atmosphere. Some of these industrial practices are outdated and alternate solutions are available to reduce emissions. My career and educational goals are to contribute to innovation and sustainability by pursuing research in the designs of different renewable resources. Additionally, finding ways to make them more widespread for residential use. This will include more solar panels and collecting and purifying rainwater for other uses. These changes can ensure sustainable energy is more achievable for those in all socioeconomic statuses. Along with continued education, I want to create as many different sustainable outlets as I can in order to further the impact of sustainable designs. Another goal of mine is to pursue an advanced degree to do more research on finding more ways to preserve the environment. I have been able to broaden my horizons by getting involved in my community. I started to get involved and explore different volunteer opportunities year- round to understand that communities are filled with personalities and people different from my own. By volunteering, I have seen the different kinds of kids in elementary schools, unrestricted gratitude that lies in the senior citizen community, and the diverse student leadership that was creating change in my school district. Moreover, I have volunteered at a local food pantry during the holidays, assembled and written Valentine’s Day cards to senior citizens, and assorted prom dresses for low-income teenagers. Moreover, the National Honors Society has provided me with the opportunity to assist my community further by working at a community plant and pollinator garden, reading to elementary school kids, tutoring Junior High School students, and assisted with the organization of the library at my school. My relationship with my community has created core parts of my personality. Without my community bringing diverse perspectives and ideas to my bubble, I would never be able to understand my crucial need for diversity. It has helped me grow into a person who is beyond curious, and ready for the next journey in my life. I plan to be an avid member of communities and clubs that promote giving back to the community and implementing diversity. Additionally, I plan to give back to my community by becoming a mentor to young girls who are considering engineering as a profession; explaining to them the many career options that are within the industry.

The first time that I sat inside of a science class, I was a little bored. I shrugged off what the teacher said for the first couple of classes, and then she suddenly began to talk about how things worked. She discussed why they existed, how they existed, and how they came to be. All of a sudden, I was absolutely captivated. Here I was living in this big blue ball of life, and now I had the opportunity to understand why it was revolving at 23.5 degrees. I studied energy and plants and realized that these two, broad, almost opposing, things could be one in the same. Energy, at first, was something that I barely paid attention to; it simply existed. However, when I began to pay attention to how many different ways there were to harness energy in a sustainable way; I became a lot more interested. Sustainability is a passion that I deeply consider a core value of my professional aspirations. I am a huge aficionado of nature, the complex cycles that run the Earth and humans pivotal place in them. Ever since the industrial revolution, humans have added different chemicals that alter the composition of different parts of the atmosphere. Some of these industrial practices are outdated and alternate solutions are available to reduce emissions. My contribution to innovation and sustainability includes pursuing research in the designs of different renewable resources and finding ways to make them more widespread for residential use. This will include more solar panels and collecting and purifying rainwater for other uses. These changes can ensure sustainable energy is more achievable for those in all socioeconomic statuses. Along with continued education, I want to create as many different sustainable outlets as I can in order to further the impact of sustainable designs. Moreover, I took an environmental science class my junior year of high school and realized that the great outdoors that I adored so much could be transformed into something that could power giant skyscrapers. I was astounded that communities could benefit from the planet instead of working against it. While visiting South Africa on a family vacation, I observed many excellent uses of solar energy. Most of the buildings had solar panels installed on the rooftops. Further, I was shocked by the poor infrastructure that did not provide electricity for the entire country. Most of the big cities had plentiful electricity, while the smaller towns were stuck with rolling blackouts for specific hours of the day. My desire to learn more about the design of environmental systems became much clearer. I was attracted towards the field of engineering. Engineers have the ability to contribute to communities by creating sustainable design systems. Moreover, I could continue to create these systems that would use renewable resources for our communities, and to power buildings. This was all the convincing that I needed in order to choose what I wanted to be. A creator. A helper. A little bit of an environmentalist as a biological engineer.

Even though we are in the early 21st century, there are many spaces where black women are severely underrepresented; one noticeable field is in the creative industry. However, a black woman is beginning to step into the spotlight. This black woman is Amanda Gorman. Amanda Gorman is the youngest black female poet to speak at a presidential inauguration. She helped me realize that no matter the gift that you have, it must be celebrated and shared. No matter if this gift was speech or writing. I researched more of Gorman’s poems and I was inspired by how she weaves social issues into her poems. This brought awareness to me about many issues and inspired me to actively research social issues. This helped me to visualize myself taking stances on issues that were important to me. I did not know what I wanted to advocate for until I took an environmental science class my junior year of high school. My research led to my discovery of incredibly expensive solar panels that were on the cusp of becoming more efficient. I realized that the outside that I adored so much could be transformed into something that could help to power giant skyscrapers. I was astounded that we could benefit from the planet instead of working against it. There is so much water that goes unused during storms and I want to find a way to harvest it into energy. This revelation helped me put my thoughts into concrete goals. I wanted to pursue research in the designs of different renewable resources, and find ways to make them more widespread for residential use. This can include more efficient solar panels, collecting and purifying rainwater for other uses. Through continued education, I will work to educate myself of all of the different paths of sustainability. Watching Amanda Gorman flourish has made me feel like there is a safe space for black women to be successful in a niche field; which in my case is enhancing existing energy sources. This woman is a trailblazer in her respective fields which has inspired me to light up a room with my ideas and insight instead of fade into the background. I should let every idea be heard and put myself in positions that allow me to be in charge when it comes to engineering products for my company. The success of this woman has given me inspiration to pursue my goals while majoring in engineering.