Boldly, Unapologetically Me ​My journey began in the eighth grade as a girl who was far too shy and far too careful for the world of wrestling. I walked into that room as the only girl and I spent my entire first season losing almost every single match. The boys laughed at me and the whispers from my peers felt like a constant pressure to just give up and be what everyone expected me to be. There is a specific kind of pain in feeling like everyone is waiting for you to fail. I felt the weight of that expectation every single day but I realized that conforming to their idea of what a girl is capable of just wouldn't work for me. ​I chose to be unapologetically myself by staying in that room even when it was lonely. I showed up for every summer practice and I outworked everyone until the laughter stopped and the respect began. I stopped trying to fit into their mold and I started building my own. I transformed from the timid girl they ridiculed into a three year captain and a national level competitor with over twenty five titles. By the time I became the athlete with the most pins on the team for the second year in a row I was no longer an outlier. Choosing to be my true self meant proving that my gender was not a weakness but a source of absolute power. Now I am headed to Penn State to wrestle on a collegiate level because I refused to let their whispers define my worth. Creating Connection ​I believe that true leadership is about building a bridge so that no one else has to swim alone. When the state officially sanctioned women’s wrestling I knew I had to be the person I needed when I was fourteen. I spent my own money to print high quality flyers and posted them at both the high school and the tech school inviting girls of every size and skill level to join us. I wanted to create a space where every girl felt safe and seen and valued regardless of her experience. Our team has grown from just three girls to seventeen in only two years because I wanted to prove that there is room for all of us on the mat. I stepped into a role that was essentially an assistant coach by teaching the new girls the fundamentals and sacrificing my own training time to ensure they felt capable. Even during my junior year when I was struggling through the trauma of a physical violation and a diagnosis of PTSD I never stopped showing up for my teammates. I took over our team photography and social media because I wanted to make sure every single athlete was celebrated for her hard work. I made sure our tournament results were read on the morning announcements so the whole school knew what these girls had achieved. Creating connection means making sure that the legacy I leave behind is one where no girl ever has to feel like she is fighting the world by herself.

1. I believe being a You Got It Girl means being the person who builds the room she was once told she did not belong in. I started as the only girl on an all boys wrestling team and I lost almost every single match my first year. My peers laughed at me and they whispered about me. I did not let that stop me. Instead I worked through every summer and outpaced everyone until I became the captain and the top performer. I spent my own money and time to recruit other girls because I wanted to make sure no one else had to feel as alone as I did. This scholarship will help me achieve my goals by closing the financial gap for my dream school. It will allow me to focus on my education and my wrestling career at the collegiate level without the constant weight of financial stress on my family. 2. I have been a competitive wrestler since the seventh grade. Over the last six years I have transformed from a timid beginner into a national level competitor. I am a three year captain of my high school team and I have won over twenty five titles during my career. For the second year in a row I hold the record for the most pins on the entire team. I have been placed nationally and I have earned a spot on the women’s wrestling team at Penn State. Beyond my personal medals I am most proud of growing our women’s program from three athletes to seventeen through my own recruitment and coaching efforts. 3. During my junior year I faced a devastating setback when an assistant coach violated my physical safety and trust. This led to a very difficult legal process and a diagnosis of PTSD and depression. There were days when I felt like I was falling apart. However I chose to turn that trauma into a reason to be a protector for my teammates. I showed up to every practice with a positive attitude even when I was struggling internally. I took over the team photography and social media to make sure every athlete felt celebrated and safe. I learned that my strength is not just in my physical moves but in my ability to lead through the darkest moments of my life. 4. I admire my mother more than anyone else. She has watched me go through the highest peaks and the lowest valleys of my athletic career and she never let me give up on myself. She taught me that coming from poverty does not define my future and that being a first generation college student is a badge of honor. Her resilience and her belief in my vision for a women’s wrestling legacy at our school gave me the courage to keep going. She inspires me to be a woman who leads with empathy and grit. 5. I have worked so hard to maintain a 4.0 GPA while being a caretaker for my grandfather and a leader for my team. My family has supported me through every tournament and every medical appointment during my recovery from trauma. This scholarship would cover the final financial gap for my tuition at Penn State. It would take the pressure off my parents and allow me to enter my freshman year focused entirely on being the best student and athlete I can be. It would be the final piece of the puzzle that allows me to step into my future. 6. I want you to know that I plan to return to my high school after I earn my master’s degree. My goal is to become the first black female wrestling coach at Harry S. Truman High School. I have already started building the foundation for the women who will come after me and I intend to spend my life ensuring that every young girl has a safe and empowering place to compete. I am not just an athlete. I am a builder and a survivor and a leader. 7. I will be competing in women’s wrestling at Penn State starting this fall. I have earned a spot on the team and I am entering as a committed student athlete. Being a student athlete means everything to me because it is where I found my voice and my confidence. It taught me that I can handle any challenge whether it is a national tournament or a personal hardship. I look forward to representing my community and the You Got It Girl values on a collegiate stage.

Helpfulness to me is not always about a single grand gesture. Sometimes it is about the quiet and exhausting work of building a bridge so that others do not have to swim alone. My life changed the moment I stepped onto a wrestling mat in eighth grade. I was a timid and shy and careful girl entering a world that did not seem to have a place for me. I was the only girl in a room full of boys. During that first season I lost almost every single match. I heard the whispers and I felt the sting of my peers laughing at me. But instead of walking away I chose to stay. I showed up for every practice through the heat of the summer and the isolation of being the only one. I realized that if I could endure the laughter and the losses I could pave a way for the girls who would eventually come after me. My helpfulness manifested in my refusal to quit. I became an unofficial coach, a recruiter and protector. I spent my own money on flyers and sacrificed my own training time to teach new girls the fundamentals. I helped grow our team from three to seventeen. I took on the team photography and social media because I wanted my teammates to feel the celebration I was denied when I started. I chose to be the person I needed when I was fourteen. My journey is a testament to the fact that persistence isn't just about surviving. After that winless first year, I outworked everyone. I didn't just want to be "good for a girl". I wanted to be the best in the room, period. That persistence resulted in a transformation I never thought possible. The success is not just in the medals or the college commitment though. The true success was found in the moments I was falling apart while dealing with the trauma of a physical violation by a former coach and the weight of a PTSD diagnosis and still choosing to show up. Perseverance is cheering on your teammates with a smile when your own heart is heavy. It is maintaining a 4.0 GPA while coaching a new generation of athletes. Today I am a three year captain. For the second year in a row I hold the record for the most pins on the entire team. I have placed nationally and this fall I am headed to Penn State with a spot on their women’s wrestling team. . Wrestling taught me that I am not a victim of my circumstances. I am the architect of my own strength. I started as the girl they laughed at and I finished as the leader they respect.