For as far back as I can remember, it has always been my mother and I. My biological father is somewhere in those memories but my mother takes the helm. She is the person that drives me to succeed and pursue even greater heights afterwards. We are a team. Not only is she my mother, she is my best friend. She is supportive and helps me anyway she can every step of the way. I’m grateful for her, I’ve worked hard to not saddle her with any debt through higher education as I pursue my BSN. My single-mother has taught me so much about love, life, and living for yourself and your family. I have always noticed the variations between my family and others. It's just my mom, me, and the rest of my surrounding family and community. My friends' family structures vary, some have one mom, one has two dads, and most have a mom and a dad with varying marital statuses. When I was younger I was frustrated by the fact that I didn’t have a present dad. A double income household would mean I could afford fencing classes, a sport I held an innate talent for but could not act on due to financial barriers. Two parents would mean I could still go places when the other is busy. The after school fencing program that would train me, for a very low rate–if not free–was too far away in New York City for an ambitious 11-year-old from New Jersey. These missed opportunities stuck with me and I think about how much better it would be to have another person invested in my livelihood. I have so much potential and it felt as if I had no way to use it due to the barriers constraining my life. My father did not leave my mom. She left him on her own accord. While she had loved him and had me, things had changed in their relationship. Education was not a high priority in my fathers mind. My mom was told what to do by my father, stay home and watch the kids. She could have worked to help pay for childcare and other expenses. Instead, my father would rather ask others for money. With this terrible situation possibly becoming the foundation of my life, she left to give me a better one. While there may have been many other underlying reasons that contributed to her decision, she chose it because of me. She wanted me to live a good life, she did not want anyone else to ruin my chance to live a successful life. My education and extracurriculars have made my college education at a private school affordable. I now compete at the collegiate level. I have high hopes at making it to nationals my sophomore year. While sometimes I find myself dreaming of a different reality, with the ‘picture perfect’ family, I’m grateful and present in this reality. My mom has taught me an important lesson pertaining to love. Love isn’t scarce. Love doesn’t have to be a relationship, afterall, my mom has shown me enough love for a lifetime. It is important to leave bad situations, love comes and goes, move with it onto better things. I don’t believe staying with my father would have done my mother or I well. There is no obligation to stay. I am thankful for my mother each and every day for reminding me that I am capable on my own. She did what she could for me and I continue to live my life honorably for her.

I am a fencer. I suit up into a white and grey uniform, wear a mask, and hold a sword, my sabre, in my left hand. Just as being left-handed is uncommon, my place in fencing is as well. As an African-American woman, I've witnessed and understood how my skin tone is distinct in comparison to the majority of my peers. While I have faced adversity and numerous barriers, I still hold my passion for my sport and hope to be a role model to others. I want to exist and show other young women 'you got it' with my actions. To provide context, fencing is a niche, but continuously growing, sport with three disciplines: sabre, epee, and foil. The three disciplines have varying rules and uniforms. The goal is to touch your opponent with the blade and thus score a touch—this can be up to 5, 10, or 15 touches depending on the tournament format; collegiate is 5, and youth and senior tournaments are 15 touches at most for direct elimination rounds. Within my sport, my skin tone and economic status have always felt like barriers. A single-parent household could not afford the gear, classes, and tournaments I desperately wanted to join. A sport known for its elite nature made me doubt myself and my efforts. I could not compete at the competitive level, and while I would progress slowly, others with access would surpass me quickly. I could not participate as other athletes I admired did, and it made me extremely jealous, but even so, I trained, and I worked within my bounds to do my best within what I could. I took every opportunity that was within my grasp, I dedicated my Saturdays to an affordable fencing program that taught me the importance of civic duty, I fenced for my high school, and I volunteered with my coach to train elementary and middle schoolers. Knowing I could not do or attain certain things had stumped me for much of my life, but it has made me look towards different pathways for growth. A closed door isn't the end, and I am living proof of that. In my senior year of high school, I was the county and district champion for girls' sabre, and I was even recognized as the ‘Outstanding Athlete’ by my high school. My efforts, while long and hard, have payoffs. I now attend Fairleigh Dickinson University and fence at the Division 1 level as I pursue nursing. I am incredibly lucky to have an affordable education through my athletic endeavours. Fencing has thrown me another bone, and I want to see just how far I can make it with the next 3 years ahead of me. I placed 17th at regionals, and I know there is a chance, if I continue to improve and dedicate time to athletics, to make it to NCAA Nationals. The 'YGIG' scholarship would help me fund my education but also my athletic endeavours as I reach beyond my limits and see my potential at play. Not only would this scholarship help me, but it also impacts all the people I mentor. I teach, coach, and support my teammates, but I also go back to my roots volunteering at my high school, Teaneck High School, and my former fencing program, Peter WestBrook Foundation. When I improve, the people around me improve as well. Giving back has been central to my character; I have been shaped by the civic duty and volunteerism of my community. It is only fair that I give that back. YGIG would help me not only in my personal aspirations for athletics but also in my goals to help the next generation of women flourish.