I am very interested in exploring a business career in management and innovation. When I was younger I had many small businesses (mostly for my immediate family, but often for guests who came over) such as “Foot & Spa”, a laundromat, snow shoveling, renting books and movies, shoe cleaners, and so many more. I had all of my prices on the door to my room, creating contracts with my customers, and offering seasonal promotions. And from that, I started my own landscaping business where I fell in love with the administrative aspect such as creating flyers, setting prices, and employing my siblings for bigger jobs. I did all of this because my parents taught me the value of not only money but motivation and drive. What is an artist that cannot market their wares? What is a scientist that cannot advocate for funding? What is an engineer that cannot defend their solution? Business is the bridge between the intangible technical world and the tangible economy. I have always been interested in STEAM, as I was a part of various engineering programs, as well as acting as Captain of my high school robotics team in addition to being heavily involved in the arts as a music composer and filmmaker. It is through these kinds of programs that I discovered my love of business. I realized that while my team was not lacking in technical skills, we were lacking in leadership, management, networking and planning. And that’s when it hit me, a lot of times people in STEAM and other careers tend to lack the skill set to market themselves and manage a team to complete tasks. In my opinion, education is the key to freedom, I see freedom as the ability to pursue any passions, make educated decisions about my own life, and not rely on anyone to handpick the knowledge taught to me. Pursuing education is committing to dedicating yourself to curiosity, opening yourself up to new experiences, and finding how you can positively contribute to the world. I have seen firsthand the negative effects that come with the traditional business mindset that sacrifices quality, customer satisfaction, and employee life quality. This is why I plan to use my education to evolve capitalism and consumerism by developing and setting a new standard of operation, to create a more diverse and inclusive business model that abandons traditional business values and shifts the focus on general societal benefit especially including those not designed to benefit from the current systems like people of color, those in poverty, and many more. Overall by dedicating myself and my career to improving the way we conduct business, I believe that I can have a great effect on my community and America as a whole, which is why I believe that awarding me this scholarship is not only an investment in me but in American society altogether.

My name is Colby Gray and I am a senior at Morgan State University pursuing a bachelor's in Business administration. I am passionate about being an innovator in many different industries that focus on pushing for ethical operation standards. I am also an experimental filmmaker and documentarian based in Washington, DC, who is seeking to bring the spotlight to underrepresented and underserved communities that do not get significant coverage in traditional media. I am very interested in exploring a business career specifically either in management or innovation. When I was younger I had many small businesses (mostly for my immediate family, but often for guests who came over) such as “Foot & Spa”, a laundromat, snow shoveling, renting books and movies, shoe cleaners, and so many more. I had all of my prices on the door to my room, creating contracts with my customers, and offering seasonal promotions. And from that, I started my own landscaping business where I fell in love with the administrative aspect such as creating flyers, setting prices, and employing my siblings for bigger jobs. I did all of this because my parents taught me the value of not only money but motivation and drive. In my opinion, education is the key to freedom. What is freedom you may ask, while it may have different meanings to different people, I see freedom as the ability to pursue any passions, to make educated decisions about my own life, and to not rely on anyone to handpick the knowledge taught to me. Pursuing education is committing to dedicating yourself to curiosity, opening yourself up to new experiences, and finding how you can positively contribute to the world. I have seen firsthand the negative effects that come with the traditional business mindset that sacrifices quality, customer satisfaction, and employee life quality. This is why I plan to use my education to evolve capitalism and consumerism by developing and setting a new standard of operation, to create a more diverse and inclusive business model that abandons traditional business values and shifts the focus on general societal benefit especially including those not designed to benefit from the current systems like people of color, those in poverty, and many more. I also know that I was only able to achieve everything that I have because of the kindness and dedication of my community, the parents, teachers, experts, and so many more who volunteered their time, resources and valuable insight to help better not only my teams, clubs and programs but me personally. These invested members of the community have made a tremendous difference throughout the city by sharing their vast work experiences and being there to guide us in the right direction. Can you Imagine a community without high school sports, clubs, programs for the youth, food pantries, or donated supplies? It is so important to give back the same, if not more and better opportunities for future generations. That is why I will be committed to doing the same, by giving back the information I have learned throughout my education, connections made, and my time to help the youth and community members learn about financial literacy and logical thinking. By giving people the proper tools to succeed, I believe that I can have a tremendous effect on them. Overall by dedicating myself and my career to improving the way we conduct business, I believe that I can have a great effect on my community and America as a whole, which is why I believe that awarding me this scholarship is not only an investment in me but in American society altogether.

I am very interested in exploring a business career specifically either in management or innovation. When I was younger I had many small businesses (mostly for my immediate family, but often for guests who came over) such as “Foot & Spa”, a laundromat, snow shoveling, renting books and movies, shoe cleaners, and so many more. I had all of my prices on the door to my room, creating contracts with my customers, and offering seasonal promotions. And from that, I started my own landscaping business where I fell in love with the administrative aspect such as creating flyers, setting prices, and employing my siblings for bigger jobs. I did all of this because my parents taught me the value of not only money but motivation and drive. In my opinion, education is the key to freedom. What is freedom you may ask, while it may have different meanings to different people, I see freedom as the ability to pursue any passions, to make educated decisions about my own life, and to not rely on anyone to handpick the knowledge taught to me. Pursuing education is committing to dedicating yourself to curiosity, opening yourself up to new experiences, and finding how you can positively contribute to the world. I have seen firsthand the negative effects that come with the traditional business mindset that sacrifices quality, customer satisfaction, and employee life quality. This is why I plan to use my education to evolve capitalism and consumerism by developing and setting a new standard of operation, to create a more diverse and inclusive business model that abandons traditional business values and shifts the focus on general societal benefit especially including those not designed to benefit from the current systems like people of color, those in poverty, and many more. I also know that I was only able to achieve everything that I have because of the kindness and dedication of my community, the parents, teachers, experts, and so many more who volunteered their time, resources and valuable insight to help better not only my teams, clubs and programs but me personally. These invested members of the community have made a tremendous difference throughout the city by sharing their vast work experiences and being there to guide us in the right direction. Can you Imagine a community without high school sports, clubs, programs for the youth, food pantries, or donated supplies? It is so important to give back the same, if not more and better opportunities for future generations. That is why I will be committed to doing the same, by giving back the information I have learned throughout my education, connections made, and my time to help the youth and community members learn about financial literacy and logical thinking. There is so much that our school systems are lacking in terms of preparing our children to become successful adults and giving them the necessary life skills to not only survive but to compete and rise to the top of whatever industry they want to go into. By giving people the tools to start their businesses, manage their money, write professional documents, or ace an interview I believe that I can have a tremendous effect on them. Overall I would like to explore a career that will allow me to improve the quality of life for a lot of people and I think that business might allow me to do that.

While at first glance, you might think, “Why is a Business major applying for a STEAM-related scholarship?” However, I challenge you to think outside of the box. What is an artist that cannot market their wares? What is a scientist that cannot advocate for funding? What is an engineer that cannot defend their solution? Business is the bridge between the intangible technical world and the tangible economy. I have always been interested in STEAM, as I was a part of various engineering programs, as well as acting as Captain of my high school robotics team in addition to being heavily involved in the arts as a music composer and filmmaker. It is through these kinds of programs that I discovered my love of business. I realized that while my team was not lacking in technical skills, we were lacking in leadership, management, networking and planning. And that’s when it hit me, a lot of times people in STEAM careers tend to lack the skill set to market themselves and manage a team to complete tasks. I am applying for this scholarship because I am passionate about bringing innovation to STEAM to advance our society. In my opinion, education is the key to freedom, I see freedom as the ability to pursue any passions, make educated decisions about my own life, and not rely on anyone to handpick the knowledge taught to me. Pursuing education is committing to dedicating yourself to curiosity, opening yourself up to new experiences, and finding how you can positively contribute to the world. I have seen firsthand the negative effects that come with the traditional business mindset that sacrifices quality, customer satisfaction, and employee life quality. This is why I plan to use my education to evolve capitalism and consumerism by developing and setting a new standard of operation, to create a more diverse and inclusive business model that abandons traditional business values and shifts the focus on general societal benefit especially including those not designed to benefit from the current systems like people of color, those in poverty, and many more. I also know that I was only able to achieve everything that I have because of the kindness and dedication of my community, the parents, teachers, experts, and so many more who volunteered their time, resources and valuable insight to help better not only my teams, clubs and programs but me personally. These invested members of the community have made a tremendous difference throughout the city by sharing their vast work experiences and being there to guide us in the right direction. Can you Imagine a community without high school sports, clubs, programs for the youth, food pantries, or donated supplies? It is so important to give back the same, if not more and better opportunities for future generations. That is why I will be committed to doing the same, by giving back the information I have learned throughout my education, connections made, and my time to help the youth and community members learn about financial literacy and logical thinking. By giving people the proper tools to succeed, I believe that I can have a tremendous effect on them. Overall by dedicating myself and my career to improving the way we conduct business, I believe that I can have a great effect on many communities and America as a whole, which is why I believe that awarding me this scholarship is not only an investment in me but in American society altogether.

I will be a revolutionary pioneer who not only sticks to her core values of integrity, innovation and compassion, but will evolve capitalism and consumerism by developing and setting a new standard of operation, to create a more diverse and inclusive business model that abandons traditional business values and shifts the focus on general societal benefit especially including those not designed to benefit from the current systems like people of color, those in poverty, and many more.

Ever since I could remember I was always interested in business. When I was younger I had many small businesses (mostly for my immediate family, but often for guests who came over) such as “Foot & Spa”, a laundromat, snow shoveling, renting books and movies, shoe cleaners, and so many more. I had all of my prices on the door to my room, creating contracts with my customers, and offering seasonal promotions. And from that, I started my own landscaping business where I fell in love with the administrative aspect such as creating flyers, setting prices, and employing my siblings for bigger jobs. I did all of this because my parents taught me the value of not only money but motivation and drive. In my opinion, education is the key to freedom. What is freedom you may ask, while it may have different meanings to different people, I see freedom as the ability to pursue any passions, to make educated decisions about my own life, and to not rely on anyone to handpick the knowledge taught to me. Pursuing education is committing to dedicating yourself to curiosity, opening yourself up to new experiences, and finding how you can positively contribute to the world. I have seen firsthand the negative effects that come with the traditional business mindset that sacrifices quality, customer satisfaction, and employee life quality. This is why I plan to use my education to evolve capitalism and consumerism by developing and setting a new standard of operation, to create a more diverse and inclusive business model that abandons traditional business values and shifts the focus on general societal benefit especially including those not designed to benefit from the current systems like people of color, those in poverty, and many more. I also know that I was only able to achieve everything that I have because of the kindness and dedication of my community, the parents, teachers, experts, and so many more who volunteered their time, resources and valuable insight to help better not only my teams, clubs and programs but me personally. These invested members of the community have made a tremendous difference throughout the city by sharing their vast work experiences and being there to guide us in the right direction. Can you Imagine a community without high school sports, clubs, programs for the youth, food pantries, or donated supplies? It is so important to give back the same, if not more and better opportunities for future generations. That is why I will be committed to doing the same, by giving back the information I have learned throughout my education, connections made, and my time to help the youth and community members learn about financial literacy and logical thinking. There is so much that our school systems are lacking in terms of preparing our children to become successful adults and giving them the necessary life skills to not only survive but to compete and rise to the top of whatever industry they want to go into. By giving people the tools to start their businesses, manage their money, write professional documents, or ace an interview I believe that I can have a tremendous effect on them. Overall by dedicating myself and my career to improving the way we conduct business, I believe that I can have a great effect on many communities and America as a whole, which is why I believe that awarding me this scholarship is not only an investment in me but in American society altogether.

Ever since I could remember I was always interested in business. When I was younger I had many small businesses (mostly for my immediate family, but often for guests who came over) such as “Foot & Spa”, a laundromat, snow shoveling, renting books and movies, shoe cleaners, and so many more. I had all of my prices on the door to my room, creating contracts with my customers, and offering seasonal promotions. And from that, I started my own landscaping business where I fell in love with the administrative aspect such as creating flyers, setting prices, and employing my siblings for bigger jobs. I did all of this because my parents taught me the value of not only money but motivation and drive. In my opinion, education is the key to freedom. What is freedom you may ask, while it may have different meanings to different people, I see freedom as the ability to pursue any passions, to make educated decisions about my own life, and to not rely on anyone to handpick the knowledge taught to me. Pursuing education is committing to dedicating yourself to curiosity, opening yourself up to new experiences, and finding how you can positively contribute to the world. I have seen firsthand the negative effects that come with the traditional business mindset that sacrifices quality, customer satisfaction, and employee life quality. This is why I plan to use my education to evolve capitalism and consumerism by developing and setting a new standard of operation, to create a more diverse and inclusive business model that abandons traditional business values and shifts the focus on general societal benefit especially including those not designed to benefit from the current systems like people of color, those in poverty, and many more. I also know that I was only able to achieve everything that I have because of the kindness and dedication of my community, the parents, teachers, experts, and so many more who volunteered their time, resources and valuable insight to help better not only my teams, clubs and programs but me personally. These invested members of the community have made a tremendous difference throughout the city by sharing their vast work experiences and being there to guide us in the right direction. Can you Imagine a community without high school sports, clubs, programs for the youth, food pantries, or donated supplies? It is so important to give back the same, if not more and better opportunities for future generations. That is why I will be committed to doing the same, by giving back the information I have learned throughout my education, connections made, and my time to help the youth and community members learn about financial literacy and logical thinking. There is so much that our school systems are lacking in terms of preparing our children to become successful adults and giving them the necessary life skills to not only survive but to compete and rise to the top of whatever industry they want to go into. By giving people the tools to start their own businesses, manage their money, write professional documents, or ace an interview I believe that I can have a tremendous effect on them. Recently it has been hard to volunteer in my usual nature due to the pandemic, however, in the past, my robotics team started 2 FIRST Lego Leagues for middle and elementary school students to introduce them to the world of STEM. In these events, we help host, run, and assist them. We’ve fostered FLL teams in D.C. from Langley Elementary and Walker Jones Education Campus, Alice Deal and more. It is inspiring because most of the time kids from urban areas do not have a lot of access to these kinds of programs which could limit their growth and put them behind students in other areas. It was such a great experience to teach the kids about not only robotics, but leadership, teamwork, business, and marketing. I spent a lot of my time with these kids and to see them grow and excel is truly rewarding. I also volunteered at the DC City Food Bank. As the nation has started to open back up I have since visited my FIRST robotics during my semester break, and plan to visit more throughout the summer as well as the food bank. Overall by dedicating myself and my career to improving the way we conduct business, I believe that I can have a great effect on many communities and America as a whole, which is why I believe that awarding me this scholarship is not only an investment in me but in American society altogether.

Ever since I could remember I was always interested in business. When I was younger I had many small businesses (mostly for my immediate family, but often for guests who came over) such as “Foot & Spa”, a laundromat, snow shoveling, renting books and movies, shoe cleaners, and so many more. I had all of my prices on the door to my room, creating contracts with my customers, and offering seasonal promotions. And from that, I started my own landscaping business where I fell in love with the administrative aspect such as creating flyers, setting prices, and employing my siblings for bigger jobs. I did all of this because my parents taught me the value of not only money but motivation and drive. In my opinion, education is the key to freedom. What is freedom you may ask, while it may have different meanings to different people, I see freedom as the ability to pursue any passions, to make educated decisions about my own life, and to not rely on anyone to handpick the knowledge taught to me. Pursuing education is committing to dedicating yourself to curiosity, opening yourself up to new experiences, and finding how you can positively contribute to the world. I have seen firsthand the negative effects that come with the traditional business mindset that sacrifices quality, customer satisfaction, and employee life quality. This is why I plan to use my education to evolve capitalism and consumerism by developing and setting a new standard of operation, to create a more diverse and inclusive business model that abandons traditional business values and shifts the focus on general societal benefit especially including those not designed to benefit from the current systems like people of color, those in poverty, and many more. I also know that I was only able to achieve everything that I have because of the kindness and dedication of my community, the parents, teachers, experts, and so many more who volunteered their time, resources and valuable insight to help better not only my teams, clubs and programs but me personally. These invested members of the community have made a tremendous difference throughout the city by sharing their vast work experiences and being there to guide us in the right direction. Can you Imagine a community without high school sports, clubs, programs for the youth, food pantries, or donated supplies? It is so important to give back the same, if not more and better opportunities for future generations. That is why I will be committed to doing the same, by giving back the information I have learned throughout my education, connections made, and my time to help the youth and community members learn about financial literacy and logical thinking. There is so much that our school systems are lacking in terms of preparing our children to become successful adults and giving them the necessary life skills to not only survive but to compete and rise to the top of whatever industry they want to go into. By giving people the tools to start their own businesses, manage their money, write professional documents, or ace an interview I believe that I can have a tremendous effect on them. Overall by dedicating myself and my career to improving, I believe that I can have a great effect on many communities and America as a whole, which is why I believe that awarding me this scholarship is not only an investment in me but in American society altogether.

In my opinion, education is the key to freedom. I see freedom as the ability to pursue any passions, make educated decisions about my own life, and not rely on anyone to handpick the knowledge taught to me. Pursuing education is committing to dedicating yourself to curiosity, opening yourself up to new experiences, and finding how you can positively contribute to the world. Black Excellence is not to be the richest, to prove people wrong, or to achieve society's definition of success, but it is to have the opportunity to live as we choose and not be held back by institutional chains that limit our education, opportunities and experiences. Black Excellence is to show that black people can live peacefully outside of struggle and pain. To live freely and authentically is to embody black excellence at the highest level. I plan to evolve capitalism and consumerism by developing and setting a new standard of operation, to create a more diverse and inclusive business model that abandons traditional business values and shifts the focus on general societal benefit, especially including those not designed to benefit from the current systems like people of color, those in poverty, and many more. Overall my education is a vital part of achieving black excellence by helping me to have the freedom to pursue my passion for helping underserved communities in a society that is not designed for them with the knowledge that I am learning in school.

I was only able to achieve everything that I have because of the kindness and dedication of my community, the parents, teachers, experts, and so many more who volunteered their time, resources and valuable insight to help better me personally. These invested members of the community have made a tremendous difference throughout the city by sharing their vast work experiences and being there to guide us in the right direction. Can you Imagine a community without high school sports, clubs, programs for the youth, food pantries, donated supplies, or Advisory Neighborhood Commissions? People often do not realize how much of a difference giving back actually makes to a community. It is so important to give back the same, if not more and better opportunities for future generations. I have been able to recognize just how much giving back to the community can change someone's life. That is why I will be committed to doing the same. I plan to give back the information I have learned in school, the connections made, and my time to help the youth and other community members. I want to be a business owner not because of money and fame, but to revolutionize the way we do business in America. America is a capitalist society and essentially that means that we are a money-hungry society, which unfortunately leads to people putting finances over happiness, family, and even other human lives. This causes business people to adopt a mindset that they must sacrifice quality, customer satisfaction, and or worker happiness to make the most money. While this lines up perfectly with capitalist ideals, if done improperly it will cause opposite results: very little profit and worker shortage. I want the world to see just how successful we, as a society, can be when we are not focused on profit, but on the betterment of our society. This is why I plan to evolve capitalism and consumerism by developing and setting a new standard of operation, to create a more diverse and inclusive business model that abandons traditional business values and shifts the focus on the general societal benefit to those not designed to benefit from the current systems like people of color and those in poverty, and we will begin to see an upward shift in wages, which will boost the economy and combat mass housing displacement. In addition, when customers know that the workers are being treated well, coupled with great products and customer service, they tend to shift their loyalties and expect this from other corporations. Overall my education is a vital part of achieving black excellence by helping me to have the freedom to pursue my passion for helping underserved communities in a society that is not designed for them with the knowledge that I am learning in school. ​​I truly believe that I can have an extraordinary impact on the American business industry and gear our focus on the betterment of our society and the roles that big businesses play.

Stolen History - I'm sick of my stuff being stolen I try to lock it up, but they call it gatekeeping They say they want to appreciate it, but they know that their appropriating They take our inventions and give it a different name like it’s their creation When they do it, “it’s cute” but when we do it, it’s “an abomination” They say that it’s not about race and That they just liked the style But what they don’t realize is The heritage and cultural significance That in the end, it becomes some new fad or trend And they don't see the hurt in our heart When they call us dumb, stupid, ugly and rachet For speaking with an accent And expressing our history The same history they tried to erase from us And when they did not succeed They tried to whitewash, downplay and brainwash us Through the education system Just look at the textbooks They try to say that american history Is full of victories But I haven't seen one yet Unless you count the false pursuit of transparency, freedom and equality They say “we’re trying our best”, and “we didn't know” But I'm sorry white people, there's a thing called google on your phone When I see our black heroes in this so-called history That's when I’ll say we finally have victory

The Purpose of Education - Education is so important to me as I am currently pursuing a degree in business that will help me achieve my lifelong dreams. I want to talk about the importance of specifically secondary education. I remember at the end of my senior year right before graduation when I found myself thinking about what I had done in high school. I am very proud of what I have accomplished during my high school years, particularly outside of my academics, such as holding the position of captain of the robotics team for 2 years, being appointed brass section leader in the band, I learned to play the trumpet and compose music, being the president of Youth & Government club, playing softball and tennis for 4 and 3 years respectively, earning 3rd in State in Impromptu Speaking, being elected as the DC youth City Council Chair, winning State Championships for LifeSmarts, being elected as FBLA parliamentarian, I even had my own side hustle doing landscaping. However, I had to go beyond the surface-level accomplishments because now all of that means nothing to anyone. When I began to ponder what I wanted to do with my life I looked back on my experiences and realized that I was not so much the actual club that I was interested in, but the business aspect of the activity. This is when I realized my life purpose, to revolutionize business in America. I want to shatter the American mindset of sacrificing quality, customer satisfaction, and or worker happiness to profit. I want the world to see just how successful we as a society can be when we are not focused on profit, but on the betterment of our society. I thought “Well this is a no-brainer, I will study Business Administration to expand my knowledge of business and cultivate a true business mind. This will also help me learn how to expand my business and properly implement my ideas within my own business and others alike.” But for some reason that did not satisfy the hunger within my soul. I have so many passions that I could not just choose one. I want to learn about so much that it would take me 1,000 years to be satisfied. “Well you can’t major in everything”, “do what will guarantee a good job” “do what you're good at” and “don’t waste your parent's money” is what people told me. I almost gave in to those pressures, yet that fiery passion that God gave me told me no. “do you not go to school to learn, then learn to your heart's content? And that is when I realized my true passion: learning. I believe that the purpose of education varies between general education and higher education. Until you attend a university, college or trade school, education prepares you to be an employee. However higher education promotes not only in-class learning but personal growth and exploration through learning. I believe that education is whatever you want to take from it, that could be work experience, academic skills and proficiency, spiritual growth and maturity. For me, I want to take as much as possible from my time here, which includes all of the above.

There should definitely be more federal involvement when it comes to requiring the basic standards of education and providing students with educational opportunity. “The Common Core State Standards were developed to specify exactly what students should know before graduating high school. It was developed in 2009 to promote educational equity across the country, holding all students to the same standardized testing requirements.” (publicschoolreview, 2019). Why did it take until 2009 to implement the first step of improvement in the education system by the federal government? The federal government has a role to play as well as the states. I am very proud of what I have accomplished during my high school years, particularly outside of my academics, such as being of captain of the robotics team for 2 years, being in band for 4 years, and appointed brass section leader, leading my LifeSmarts team to become District Champions, playing varsity softball and tennis, being elected as the DC youth City Council Chair, being elected as FBLA parliamentarian, and so much more. My school does not fund many of the programs that I was involved in, so we had to find our own funding. This has made it significantly harder to get the full experience in my extracurriculars. Most students do not find their passion through the classes they take, but through clubs and sports during high school. When I began to ponder what I wanted to do with my life I looked back on my experiences and realized that I was not so much the actual club that I was interested in, but the business aspect of the activity. This is when I realized my purpose and passion, to revolutionize business in America. I want to shatter the American mindset of sacrificing quality, customer satisfaction, and or worker happiness in order to profit. Schools are not properly preparing students for life beyond high school, leading to students' loss of faith in education itself. Most people who think that education does not matter are referring to a traditional college education, not realizing that there are other non-traditional educational paths. There are many options that the school system does not educate students about, such as going to trade/technical school or getting an apprenticeship. For people who say “they don't need to go to school to take extra non-major related classes” or “most schools don’t teach skills”, then trade school would be a great option because you can learn specific skills that will definitely get you a job and maybe start a business in that field. For those who say “they don't want to sit through lectures or learn from textbooks” then getting an apprenticeship would be an excellent alternative. With an apprenticeship you can get hands-on experience in your field and still get paid. I think that after explaining the options to this person I hope that they would be able to make a more educated decision about attending higher education. I don't think that higher education in any form is necessary to everyone's success, but I think people should explore all of the options. But somehow schools only teach you about going to a traditional 4-year university. I bet that if students learned about all of these kinds of education opportunities that they would not give up so easily and could probably become hopeful of their future once again. The main changes that I would like to see in our education system is allocating more funds towards clubs and creative activities, mandating “life-skills” classes and properly informing students of all of their options and not forcing the basic cookie-cutter path when it is clearly not applicable to a lot of students. Our government needs to pay more attention to the education that their students are receiving. Education should be where a large portion of a state's money is going towards. This is because educated students become educated citizens, and educated citizens are the ones who engage in public policy as well as advocacy. Governments cannot keep expecting to have the best members of society if they are not willing to teach us how to become those great members of society.

I am Colby Gray, a follower of Christ and a student of the world, always willing to learn from any and everyone. I aspire to change the world for the better with my God given gifts, which include a strong sense of business and innovative thinking. I value transparency, originality, and determination. Ever since I could remember I was always interested in business. When I was younger I had many small businesses (mostly for my immediate family, but often for guest who came over) such a “Foot & Spa”, a laundromat where I would wash, dry, fold and iron clothes, snow shoveling, renting books and movies, shoes cleaners, and so many more. I had all of my prices on the door to my room, and even created contracts with my customers. I often offered seasonal promotions to encourage more sales during holidays. I did everything that I could to make a little cash here and there, because my parents taught me the value of not only money, but motivation and drive. I plan to gain experience in the major sectors of business, such as, finance, management, operations, and relations in order to extensively study the inner workings of a business then start my own consulting company. I want to change the traditional business mindset that you must sacrifice quality, customer satisfaction, and worker happiness in order to be successful. I plan to evolve capitalism and consumerism by developing and setting a new standard for management through my own operation model, to create a more mixed economic system by having one of the most successful businesses, while abandoning traditional business values and focusing on our societal benefit. I was only able to achieve everything that I have because of the kindness and dedication of my community, the parents, teachers, experts, and so many more who volunteered their time, resources and valuable insight to help better not only my teams, clubs and programs, but me personally. These invested members of the community have made a tremendous difference throughout the city by sharing their vast work experiences and being there to guide us in the right direction. Can you Imagine a community without high school sports, clubs, programs for the youth, food pantries, donated supplies, or Advisory Neighborhood Commissions? People often do not realize how much of a difference giving back actually makes to a community. It is so important to give back the same, if not more and better opportunities for the future generations. I have been able to recognize just how much giving back to the community can change someone's life. That is why I will be committed to doing the same. I plan to give back the information I have learned in school, connections made, and my time to help the youth learn about financial literacy and logical thinking. There is so much that our school systems are lacking in terms of preparing our children to become successful adults and giving them necessary life skills to not only survive, but to compete and rise to the top of whatever industry that they want to go into. By giving these kids the tools to start their own business, managing their money, write professional documents, or acing an interview I believe that I can have a tremendous effect on them and the economy as a whole. As for the rest of my community I plan to evolve capitalism and consumerism by developing and setting a new standard for operations and management through my own business model. This will allow other businesses to see that they do not need to sacrifice quality, customer satisfaction, and or worker happiness in order to make the most money. If I can change the narrative through the city we will begin to see an upward shift in wages, which will boost the economy and combat mass housing displacement. In addition, when customers know that the workers are being treated well, coupled with great products and customer service, they tend to shift their loyalties and expect this from wherever they are shopping. Overall this will have an extraordinary effect on my city for the better. ​​I truly believe that I can have an extraordinary impact on the American business industry and gear our focus to the betterment of our society and the roles that big businesses play.

I was only able to achieve everything that I have because of the kindness and dedication of my community, the parents, teachers, experts, and so many more who volunteered their time, resources and valuable insight to help better not only my teams, clubs and programs, but me personally. These invested members of the community have made a tremendous difference throughout the city by sharing their vast work experiences and being there to guide us in the right direction. Can you Imagine a community without high school sports, clubs, programs for the youth, food pantries, donated supplies, or Advisory Neighborhood Commissions? People often do not realize how much of a difference giving back actually makes to a community. It is so important to give back the same, if not more and better opportunities for the future generations. I have been able to recognize just how much giving back to the community can change someone's life. That is why I will be committed to doing the same. I plan to give back the information I have learned in school, connections made, and my time to help the youth learn about financial literacy and logical thinking. There is so much that our school systems are lacking in terms of preparing our children to become successful adults and giving them necessary life skills to not only survive, but to compete and rise to the top of whatever industry that they want to go into. By giving these kids the tools to start their own business, managing their money, write professional documents, or acing an interview I believe that I can have a tremendous effect on them and the economy as a whole. As for the rest of my community I plan to evolve capitalism and consumerism by developing and setting a new standard for operations and management through my own business model. This will allow other businesses to see that they do not need to sacrifice quality, customer satisfaction, and or worker happiness in order to make the most money. If I can change the narrative through the city we will begin to see an upward shift in wages, which will boost the economy and combat mass housing displacement. In addition, when customers know that the workers are being treated well, coupled with great products and customer service, they tend to shift their loyalties and expect this from wherever they are shopping. Overall this will have an extraordinary effect on my city for the better. ​​I truly believe that I can have an extraordinary impact on the American business industry and gear our focus to the betterment of our society and the roles that big businesses play. This past year it has been hard to volunteer in my usual nature due to the pandemic, in the past my robotics team started 2 FIRST Lego Leagues for middle and elementary school students to introduce them to the world of STEM. In these events we help host, run, and assist them. We’ve fostered FLL teams in D.C. from Langley Elementary and Walker Jones Education Campus, Alice Deal and more. It is really inspiring because most of the time kids from urban areas do not have a lot of access to these kinds of programs which could limit their growth and put them behind students in other areas. It was such a great experience to teach the kids about not only robotics, but leadership, teamwork, business, and marketing. I spent a lot of my time with these kids and planned to volunteer for the duration of the summer. I also volunteered at the DC City Food Bank. As the nation plans to open back up I plan on volunteering with FIRST Lego League and FIRST robotics during my winter and summer breaks when I return from school.

Ever since I could remember, I was always interested in business. I had many small businesses (mostly for immediate family, but often for guests who came over) such as Foot & Spa, a laundromat where I would wash, dry, fold and iron clothes, snow shoveling for the neighbors, renting books and movies to my siblings, and so many more. I had all of my prices on the door to my room, and printed countless flyers. I remember the immense joy it brought me whenever someone would say they wanted my services, I would immediately start writing a contract for my client and then post their appointment dates on my door. I started my most profitable landscaping business in 2017, where I cleared pathways of overgrowth and debris or hazards such as snow, trimming shrubbery, pulling weeds and other general maintenance. At first, I started out just helping people in my neighborhood, because the majority of my neighbors are senior citizens, so most of them cannot do their own yard work, like they used to. Soon it was suggested that I start my own business and that is where it all started. It was never really about the money, but to successfully create a product or service that someone wanted and to complete the transaction with satisfied customers. I did everything I could to sell my services, because my parents taught me that hard work and drive were the most important qualities in being successful in life. Not only was I able to provide my services, but as time went on I was able to learn valuable business tips. For the laundromat, I was able to capitalize on the fact that my brother did not know how to properly fold and iron his clothes at the time, so I was able to raise my prices to fit the demand. When I often offered seasonal promotions to encourage more sales during holidays, I was able to learn the art of discounting and marketing. I even learned how to write basic contracts and policies before providing the service (learned that one the hard way). The most important thing I learned is to find out what people didn’t know how to do or could not, learn how, then charge them a higher price for not only the service, but the craft. Although I did not realize it at the time, I was gaining valuable business knowledge that would be very helpful in the future. I want to be a business revolutionary not because of money and fame, but more to transform the way we do business in America. America is a capitalist society and essentially that means that we are a money hungry society, which unfortunately leads to people placing finances over happiness, family, even other human lives. This causes business people to adopt a mindset that they must sacrifice quality, customer satisfaction, and or worker happiness in order to make the most money. While this lines up perfectly with the current capitalist ideals, if done improperly it will cause the opposite results: very little profit and worker shortage. I want the world to see just how successful we, as a society, can be when we are not focused solely on profits, but the betterment of our society. I have many business ideas that I cannot wait to introduce to the world, including but not limited to tasty drinks infused with medicine, a cereal fast food franchise, and a flight escort business. I truly believe that my business sense and values will bring a greatness into our society that we have not seen before.