Hello, my name is Beverly Boampong. I am 26 years old attending Glendale Career College's vocational school known as Marsha Fueste School of Nursing. I am working on getting an ADN in Registered Nurse that will be completed in two years in December 2026. It is an exciting opportunity given the fact, I have been a caregiver for 2 years and a licensed CNA. While working in an assisted nursing home, my life had changed for the better. Not only have I worked with the elderly who need 24 care of assistance, but they have taught me how much life is such a precious gift and cannot be wasted. My purpose in life is to serve my community in any hospital field after two years of receiving my ADN so I can later assist in any life-aiding decisions for my future patient. Making this decision was not light. My vocational school requires me to be a full-time student. Not only that but I have cut out hours of my work in order to focus on my studies for school. I would be working a maximum of 20 hours with minimum wage page so I can focus on my studies. My school in total cost about 80k in tuition. Because my Fasfa covered only half my tuition, I would be paying about 40k out of pocket. I would be making monthly payments along with paying for gas and food expensive to keep up with my studies. Despite the cost, I believe I lead to this journey because you cannot put a price tag in helping a life heal back together. If awarded with this scholarship, this would help pay 3 months worth of school. This would alleviate a huge burden that I am now carrying. I would be forever grateful for this blessing and would make sure it would be put to great use. Thank you for reading my story.

"With God, all things are possible." This is a verse that you can easily find in Matthew 19:26. Yet, I grew up finding this verse on my father's lips. This prompt ask the question, 'what does legacy mean to you and why?', and the first thing I picture is my Ghanaian father, who was handed a lottery green card to not just make a legacy in his family, but a legacy that brings validity to the verse he has mouthed since he a child. My upbringing has been impacted my father, which is why this scholarship means so much to me because I know what it is like to be in and witness the testimony of greatness in a man. My father was born in Kumasi, Ghana with no father and a mother that sent him away to live with his low-earning grandmother, who I am named after. He first became a shoe shiner at the age of 9 and worked his way up to be a teacher at the age of 25. He suffered from a early stroke at the age of 22, due to having high blood pressure, thinking that it would be the end. He would share stories of how he went to church and how it became the new beginning of his life. One day, when he was a math teacher for children in Accra, Ghana, a student gave him a lottery ticket for a green card in 1995. He placed his name and my mothers and mailed it to the U.S. embassy. You would think since I am writing about my father that he won. Plot twist, it was my mother that he meant at the church. After several questions that my parents had to pass to grant entry to the United States, they passed and their whole life had change. Now, my father told me how he was the kid that got Cs and Ds in class. He was so disruptive and to be honest, not the best student, but the one thing he was that he passed down to myself was this, "With God, all things are possible." He changed his life. He started as a mechanic and warehouse worker in the United States to become a Family Nurse Practitioner. My upbringing is based on a man that decided to place that verse in his life and I was lucky enough to be a witness to this journey. My upbringing consisted of moving from house to apartments twelve times due to his change of his financial struggles and work to become a nurse. He was not always present with award ceremonies and sport competitions I had in school. It infuriated me growing up, not knowing that he was cleaning up patients and taking care of them to reach for the stars. He taught me to break any cycles of feeling you do not belong in spaces that don't represent those who look like me. Why, because "With God, all things are possible." He shared his legacy by having a dream to build schools and housing in Ghana for those who cannot afford so. I want to continue to break the cycle of thinking that just because you reached for the stars, doesn't mean you have to stop shining. Anyone can set their mind, if they are willing to persevere. My legacy is to continue with the journey that my father has created. With this scholarship, I would not only be helping my community, but a man that proved, "With God, all things are possible."

"With the medicine that you are taking, I'm afraid that your baby will come our abnormal. We suggest aborting your child, to avoid any abnormalities she will face." This was the direct line my mother heard when she was carrying me in the year 1998. Being the first child that she was carrying, she did not know what to do. She had me in a new country, away from her home, Ghana, away from family, where she carried fear and loneliness where she went. She was an African immigrant in land that was ready to give citizen too but was told her child was not going to make it. After twenty six years, I can happily say, I did not come out abnormal, and my mother made the best choice of not listening to her doctor. Growing up in a Christian home, I was taught that all life is sacred, even in stressful situations. My mother had a choice to listen to doctors, who were more skilled and educated than herself, but she trusted in her God, prayed every single day while she carried me, and the results proved so. Since knowing that I was at risked of being aborted, I realized how much life would of been so different for my parents. It's appalling how there are individuals who do not see the life starting the minute a baby is born. According to CDC, over 600,000 babies are aborted in the United States. It pains me to think that once upon a time, I could have been part of that statistic. I worked as a certified nurse assistant and I can't help but think of the times I caught my elderly patient from falling and saving her from a deadly situation. I can't help but think of meaning the love of my life who survived cancer. I can't help but think of the family the Lord has blessed me too, even when times were hard. Those 600,000 lives that are lost because of one irrational and selfish choice to remove a blessing on this earth. As a believer of Jesus Christ, it is my sole mission to spread the good news to every single individual that I meant. I have promoted his mission at work, groceries, church, strangers at a bench, and anywhere that I was called to be in. I wear it with honor and with gladness hoping to free this way of thinking that our life is our own. It is not. Every life is sacred because we have an amazing God that has created us in His image. In Psalms 139:14 NIV, His Word says, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." I know this because He is the truth, the way, and life. If he says that we are his work. Scratch that, if he calls us his children, it's because he knows that we are wonderfully made by Him. I advocate this where I go, especially in social media like my Instagram. I don't care if I am hated or disliked, this is the truth. It is the truth that set my mother and I free and I pray that this is the truth that set all of us free.

"With God, all things are possible." This is a verse that you can easily find in Matthew 19:26. Yet, I grew up finding this verse on my father's lips. This prompt ask the question, 'what does legacy mean to you and why?', and the first thing I picture is my Ghanaian father, who was handed a lottery green card to not just make a legacy in his family, but a legacy that brings validity to the verse he has mouthed since he a child. My upbringing has been impacted my father, which is why this scholarship means so much to me because I know what it is like to be in and witness the testimony of greatness in a man. My father was born in Kumasi, Ghana with no father and a mother that sent him away to live with his low-earning grandmother, who I am named after. He first became a shoe shiner at the age of 9 and worked his way up to be a teacher at the age of 25. He suffered from a early stroke at the age of 22, due to having high blood pressure, thinking that it would be the end. He would share stories of how he went to church and that was the beginning of his life. One day, when he was a math teacher for children in Accra, Ghana, a student gave him a lottery ticket for a green card in 1995. He placed his name and my mothers and mailed it to the U.S. embassy. You would think since I am writing about my father that he won. Plot twist, it was my mother that he meant at the church. After several questions that my parents had to pass to grant entry to the United States, they passed and their whole life had change. Now, my father told me how he was the kid that got Cs and Ds in class. He was so disruptive and to be honest, not the best student, but the one thing he was that he passed down to myself was this, "With God, all things are possible." He changed his life. He started as a mechanic and warehouse worker in the United States to become a Family Nurse Practitioner. My upbringing is based on a man that decided to place that verse in his life and I was lucky enough to be a witness to this journey. My upbringing consisted of moving from house to apartments twelve times due to his change of his financial struggles and work to become a nurse. He was not always present with award ceremonies and sport competitions I had in school. It infuriated me growing up, not knowing that he was cleaning up patients and taking care of them to reach for the stars. He taught me to break any cycles of feeling you do not belong in spaces that don't represent those who look like me. Why, because "With God, all things are possible." He shared his legacy by having a dream to build schools and housing in Ghana for those who cannot afford so. I want to continue to break the cycle of thinking that just because you reached for the stars, doesn't mean you have to stop shining. Anyone can set their mind, if they are willing to persevere. My legacy is to continue with the journey that my father has created. With this scholarship, I would not only be helping my community, but a man that proved, "With God, all things are possible."

ADHD. First generation African-American. Having your own boyfriend who proposed to you in the Santa Monica Pier tell you that he cheated on you within months of your engagement. Witnessing your father cheat on your mother with several woman. Seeing your mom commit suicide from while working 7 days to keep the house while your father leaves.... I've been through too much. Too much to even list that has left emotional scares that not only therapy can heal me from. Through all of this, I never really asked for much. Not amount of money, success or friends could cure the pain that came along with the journey of trying to find one thing. A home. Not just a home. A home where peace, restoration, and fruit of thy works can grow. A home that is filled with laughter and purpose. I searched for a home in everything, my school, relationships, work. None of them fulfilled me. Not until I meant the One that found a home in me. Jesus. I remember how I would cry to sleep. Isolate myself from everyone and people would questioned if I knew I was loved. Of course, I knew. However, my mind convinced me that not even the love that surrounded me can be enough to overpower the deep sorrow that remained in me. It was also like a shadow that continued to follow me, as if it didn't even need a sun. I became a leader of a kitchen, made so many friends, traveled around the country and it still wasn't enough. One day, I cried and wrote a letter to God and he spoke. Since that day, he has made my laugh better. He direct me to write my first debut book about the the emotional hardship I faced with my family and ex, and funny enough, my editor became the love of my life. Managing ADHD had been a challenged, especially since I was diagnosed in my early 20s. Yet, I was able to pursue my passion of being a great service to my community. I worked as a caregiver and realized there are people who are in desperate in need of help. The elder taught me so much of myself that pushed a nursing career out of me. Despite the intensity and the hardship, healthcare workers witness, I want to be a part of the journey. The good and the bad. Why, because the value of each person is there. As horrible it is, I'm thankful to witness what I went through so Jesus could be the light in me for those who also suffered in that way. Where there is in need. I want to be there. That is all that is to tell. I live for others just like my Lord and Savior.

Maya Angelou's impact on my life has been profound and transformative, whether through her poetry, her wisdom, or even her life she shared. Angelou's was more than an artist. She was a voice for me when I needed to persevere in the hard times and love myself during the needed times. I did not grew up with a lot of access to black voices. She was the black voice that I read and rejoice over. When I heard that she even travelled to Ghana, my second home, I was like wow, she knows that my country exist. She loved, and I mean loved through her words and I held on to that love for decades. When I read Letters to My Daughter, I felt like I had another mother. My mom is a wonderful black woman who has been working overnight as a nurse to make sure I am fed and taken care of. However, she did not have the chance to be there for me during the emotional and mental struggles I had. Yet, when I read, Letters to My Daughter, it was like she was there to empower me as a woman but also as a daughter to all woman. My job is to nurture those who come my way. To empower those who are weak. To encourage those who are facing any battle, because that is what she did for me as I read. Her words were not just the anchor to my foundation. It was the truth. Love conquers all. Love makes things possible. She not only elevated this secret but she place this idea of how love is truly scarce in this world and it is my duty to make sure that it never runs empty wherever I go. She didn't grow up having everything together, but she did what she loved. I thought it may have been writing or traveling, but no. It was fueling that love that she had into others. That's when I knew I had to do the same. In a world where black woman did not always experience that love with others, it is vital to rise above any circumstances that is weakening the ability to have that freedom. She inspired me to know that light can be found even in the darkest places. It starts with the individual. It starts with me. Whether this opportunity comes my way, its vital to remember that love transform even the grumpiest toughest soul. She did that for me and I pray I can do that for others.

When I was a child, I wanted to be... everything. When I was a kindergarden, I wanted to be a firefighter because sliding down the pole and spraying the fire out with the hose sounded so cool. Then I wanted to be a doctor that got to tell the five little monkeys to stop jumping on the bed. By the time I hit 3rd grades, I wanted to be a teacher, passing out stickers to all the students that they can make smile. In 7th grade, I wanted to be a mortician, where I can make sure those who are put to rest and in good condition, I can comfort those who have loss. 11th grade, I wanted to be a pharmacist, I even took a pharmacy clerk class, so I can help give out medicine to those who are sick and are in desperate need of a saving grace. I wanted to be a lot of things since I was a kid. When you are young, you have so many options that are given to you, which is a blessing, however, when you are diagnosed later with ADHD, it can be quite confusing. I was part of that statistic of woman who were later diagnosed with ADHD. It felt like I was good in a little bit of everything, however, I wasn't sure what I was going to become. I loved being around people and helping them. Hence, my middle name means 'little helper' if it even signifies the importance of how much I want to be involved. However, I did not have a clue. Until... I became a caregiver. As a caregiver, I was able to take care of many elderly who have been in some of the fields mentioned. I took care of soldiers, teachers, doctors, hotel managers, and even a sous chef. I had the privledge of learning so many skills and lessons from those who I was so thankful for making an impact in my life. There was one hobby that always followed me through and through... and for that it has been writing. I am currently a nursing student going into a field that is experiencing a shortage at the moment. Yet, it is not stopping me from doing what I love. I will be able to take care of many patients who are in these fields who are in need of assistance. The best part of it all, is able to tell their stories so their words can always be lived and reminded. Their words never get to pass on. It almost feels like a duty to be blessed to be in the field where I get to encourage another way of living. I was able to do so in my first debut book that I got published and I am thankful to be able to do it again. I'm so grateful for this career path. It may not be how I imagined as a child but it is the best path that has been set forth for me. If selected with this opportunity, I would love to tell children to dream big. Not to focus on being just one thing. Life hands you in so many places and may lead you to more, especially as someone who has ADHD. Thank you for taking the time to read my story.

Writing is a way of life, at least, in mind. I grew up with a family who only focused on being in the medical field. There is not one person who was not in the medical field. Before I knew, I thought that was the same road I had to walk on. It wasn't until in 7th grade, my teacher had us write poetry for extra credit about life science and pre- algebra. Baffled, I did because I wanted that extra credit. Soon enough, learning to play with words and learn about alliteration, rhyme schemes, and soon enough, free writing, I soon discovered a new freedom to myself that I didn't know I needed. Growing up in a family who wasn't emotionally expressived, writing helped find emotions that I did not know clouded my mind. I wrote poetry and essays about family history, emotions, future goals, and desires all around. I was about to express how I felt to friends that thought I was silent. There is so much to say that sometimes our voices don't get heard enough for. Writing was that outlet. A little back story, but we all had that one love that broke our hearts. The young love that you never seem to forget. Writing saved me from that heartache. After that huge heartache, I was able to write a forgiveness and prayer book for my ex that I can peacefully closed the chapter. I met an editor who edit that book, who is also a talented writer, that soon became the love of my life. I don't just love writing. I am blessed to be able to write. To be able to free. To be able to find opportunties that I never knew that would come my way. Writing saved me. It saved my ADHD brain from being overloaded by emotions and burnout. Writing helped me express the way I thought. It even helped me in my faith journey. I didn't just walk to a church or heard a prayer. I wrote on a prayer journey to God. He answered my prayer when I wrote to Him. Writing is the beacon of my life and I will forever be grateful for it. I am currently a nursing student. There is so many shortages of nurses that are in need of helping. However, it does not end my career as a writer. Not only will I be in fields where I can tell those I meet along the way stories, but I will write lives that once living, to make sure that they say alive through paper. Words never die, even after the grave. That is my purpose of furthering my education, to make sure that those who are sick can still live through words. If you consider me through this amazing opportunity, I vow to not let it go to waste. Writing will forever be in my blood and I will continue to encourage those to use it as their power no matter what stage of life they are in. May our words never be forgotten. Thank you and God bless.

Growing up in an African household, mental health wasn’t a priority. What was a priority in my household was succeeding and being the best I could be. I Getting good grades, being Co-president of STEM and Environmental Club, I did what any high schooler would do to get into a good college. I took AP classes and studied my hardest to get As and Bs, unless you aren’t great in Physics and ended with a ‘C+’. I studied to be the best. I studied to not put my family’s last name to shame. Then, I went to college. My first year was learning how to manage my classes. Somehow, I couldn’t get up. I would stay in bed, unable to get up. I would prefer to study at home instead of going to class. There was this strange feeling of overwhelmedness that I couldn’t explain. It wasn’t that I couldn’t do the class, it was the fact that I had no desire or motivation for it anymore. It wasn’t until an amazing teacher noticed my symptoms and asked me to get checked for ADHD. I grew up into my twenties finding out that I had ADHD and I was experiencing an unheard burnout. This burnout affected my self-imaged, it affected my motivation and my will to continued. I had to get out of college to understand and focus on my mental health. My family did not believe into mental health as a priority. I choose to not listen to them and I am so proud to say it was the best decision I have done. During my time away, I was able to go to therapy and speak to a specialist in my case. I was able to channel my thoughts into writing and published my first book on Amazon for anyone that struggles on forgiveness and letting go. I took a fulfilling job of being a caretaker for the elderly. I spent my time have random days of taking the elderly to clinics ot hospital, taking care of them on great days and tough days. It soon became a fulfilling moment of knowing this is the area that I was meant to be in. Seeing how much they are in need of help and the shortage of healthcare worker, it lead me to where I am now, a nursing student. Taking that gap year to break out of family norms was the biggest blessing I choose to do especially a ADHD woman.I’m hoping to encourage those to prioritize their mental health because it can lead to an outcome you wouldn’t expect. I’m thankful that I’m lead into a profession where not only can I help someone in their health but encouraged them mentally.