My greatest achievement to date is not marked by a title or salary, but by a defining combination of service, survival, and steadfastness in pursuit of education and purpose or passion for helping others in need. As a teenage mother, abuse survivor, and first-generation college student, my journey has been anything but linear. Yet through years of setbacks and sacrifice, I have made it to the final stages of earning my associate degree in Business Management at Devry University. That accomplishment alone is a testament to my resilience. But my proudest achievement lies in how I’ve used my experience, not just to uplift myself, but to uplift others most notably through my work in disaster response during Hurricane Harvey as a data analyst with Humanity Road, Inc. In 2017, while volunteering remotely from Virginia, I contributed to digital crisis mapping and social media monitoring during Hurricane Harvey’s devastation in Texas. Humanity Road, Inc. was contracted to support emergency responders like FEMA and the U.S. Coast Guard by identifying urgent needs, locating stranded individuals, and helping direct resources to “silent zones” with limited communication. Using tools like GIS mapping and social media analytics, I helped verify and organize real-time data to inform rescue missions. I didn’t wear a uniform or fly into flooded cities, but I helped save lives from behind a screen and that changed everything I thought I knew about impact and leadership. That experience taught me that no act of service is too small when rooted in purpose. It proved that women like me a minority, living in a rural southern area, and underestimated can be powerful forces in both data and disaster response. I learned to trust my analytical skills, my research instincts, and most importantly, my voice. I saw that even amidst chaos, I could bring clarity, order, and hope. It solidified my calling to not only pursue data science but to do so in ways that serve communities left behind. Beyond the technical skills, the Hurricane Harvey response showed me that leadership is about being a bridge connecting information to action, people to help, and potential to purpose. That perspective now guides everything I do. I see myself as more than a student or employee; I am a connector, a catalyst for change. I’ve carried that same spirit into my academic and professional life. Over the past 19 years, I’ve chipped away at my degree while working full-time, raising two children, and navigating housing insecurity and financial strain. The pandemic derailed my progress when I contracted COVID-19 and had to withdraw from a class hurting both my GPA and financial aid status. Still, I persisted, often choosing rent over tuition, but never giving up on my dream. Now, my goal within the next five years is to become a data scientist, with a focus on public-sector or government innovation or tech-driven community support. Whether it’s improving government systems or working with companies like Microsoft or Google, I want to use data to make life better for underserved communities. But my vision doesn’t stop at corporate success. I also dream of creating a rural community center where I’m from that offers digital skills training, resume support, job placement services, and cybersecurity education. It would be a space that empowers people to believe in their worth and prepares them for the modern workforce. I’ve already begun this work by helping dozens in my community find legitimate work-from-home jobs, educating others on cyber hygiene, and mentoring those re-entering the workforce. My volunteerism, lived experience, and professional background have uniquely equipped me to recognize overlooked gaps and fill them with compassion, strategy, and innovation. Ultimately, my greatest achievement has been the unwavering belief that I and others like me deserve a seat at every table. My past taught me grit, but my service taught me grace. With this scholarship, I will finally complete my degree and continue building platforms where others can rise. Thank you for considering my application and for investing in women who lead with both heart and skill.

Hello my name is Crystal Chavis. I am trying to finish up my associates degree in business management at Devry University. I am a full time worker & full time student. I am a mother of 2 kids. My is 19 about to start her 2nd year in college at NSU and my 10yr old son is in 4th grade. I was a teenage mom but I never gave up my dreams of being a college graduate even after 19yrs. I tried my entire momhood to at least take 1 class while trying to grow up and raise my daughter alone due to an abusive relationship with her father. I have failed many times in my life but I always got back up and kept taking classes. Failing has never been an option for me to settle with. Due to the pandemic I had to drop my initial class because I got covid which dropped my gpa and made me ineligible for scholarships or financial aid with them. It was a horrible time getting sick and not being able to not have that counted against me. I really need help paying for my last 4 classes it has been hard trying to decide if I pay rent or the large payment required for my classes. I am a great resource to any and everyone I know. I love researching. I have helped several other people obtain work from home positions to help them due to my area is rural and does not offer good pay. I plan to use my degrees towards of course educating businesses & general public on cybersecurity (cyber hygiene). I want to open my own resource center that teaches the public skill sets to land a job. I’ve worked in disaster response with Humanity Road, Inc virtually by using my data analysis skills and finding the silence where help was needed and provided emergency response with situation reports to help save lives. I lost my military father to an aneurysm & liver failure at the age of 16. He always told me going to college was important and his words stuck with me all this time. Motherhood has given me joy and taught me how to be responsible, independent, a hard worker and determined to finish what I started. In the future I see myself as a Data Scientist either for the state or federal government or a company like Microsoft or Google.

Hello my name is Crystal Chavis. I am finishing up my associates degree in business management at Devry University. I am a full time worker & full time student. I am a mother of 2 kids. My daughter is 20 in her 2nd year in college at NSU and my 10yr old son is in 4th grade. I was a teenage mom but I never gave up my dreams of being a college graduate even after 19yrs. I tried my entire life to at least take 1 class while trying to grow up and raise my daughter alone due to an abusive relationship with her father. I really need help paying for my last 4 classes it has been hard trying to decide if I pay rent or the large payment required for my classes. I am a great resource to any and everyone I know. I love researching. I have helped several other people obtain remote positions to help them due to my area is rural and does not offer good pay. I want to open my own resource center that teaches the underserved public skill sets to land a job. I’ve worked in disaster response with Humanity Road, Inc virtually by using my data analysis skills and finding the silence where help was needed and provided emergency response with situation reports to help save lives. I lost my military father to an aneurysm & liver failure at the age of 16. has given me joy and taught me how to be responsible, independent, a hard worker and determined to finish what I started. The next 5 yrs I see myself as a Data Scientist for the state or federal government or a company like Microsoft or Google. This scholarship would remove the last barrier in graduating. Thank you!

Hello my name is Crystal Chavis. I am trying to finish up my associates degree in business management at Devry University. I am a full time worker & full time student. I am a mother of 2 kids one is 19 in her 2nd year in college at NSU and my 10yr old son is in 4th grade. I was a teen mom but I never gave up my dreams of being a college graduate even after 19yrs. I tried my entire momhood to at least take 1 class while trying to grow up and raise my daughter alone due to an abusive relationship with her father. I have failed many times in my life but I always got back up and kept taking classes. Failing has never been an option for me to settle with. Due to the pandemic I had to drop my initial class because I got covid which dropped my gpa and made me ineligible for scholarships or financial aid with them. It was a horrible time getting sick and not being able to not have that counted against me. I really need help paying for my last 4 classes it has been hard trying to decide if I pay rent or the large payment required for my classes. I had to pay for my IT & Cybersecurity certificate courses and it got me into debt although I am so grateful I finished my program December 2024. My goal is to pursue a Bachelor’s in IT fall of this year. I know I will need help with getting funding because when I was younger I also messed up my financial aid. It wasn’t explained to be properly and now I don’t qualify for it due to reaching a maximum limit. I am a great resource to any and everyone I know. I love researching. I have helped several other people obtain work from home positions to help them due to my area is rural and does not offer good pay. I plan to use my degrees towards of course educating businesses & general public on cybersecurity (cyber hygiene). I want to open my own resource center that teaches the public skill sets to land a job. I’ve worked in disaster response with Humanity Road, Inc virtually by using my data analysis skills and finding the silence where help was needed and provided emergency response with situation reports to help save lives. I discovered I was really good at data analytics being able to collect large data sets and scrub them to format them into an AI generated system from 2019 to 2020. I am also interested in AI and power Bi analytics having that skill set will help me be able to be an asset to any corporation. I lost my military father to an aneurysm & liver failure at the age of 16. He always told me going to college was important and his words stuck with me all this time. Motherhood has given me joy and taught me how to be responsible, independent, a hard worker and determined to finish what I started. In the future I see myself as a Data Scientist either for the state or federal government or a company like Microsoft or Google.

Hello my name is Crystal Chavis. I am trying to finish up my associates degree in business management at Devry University. I am a full time worker & full time student. I am a mother of 2 kids one is 19 in her 2nd year in college at NSU and my 10yr old son is in 4th grade. I was a teen mom but I never gave up my dreams of being a college graduate even after 19yrs. I tried my entire momhood to at least take 1 class while trying to grow up and raise my daughter alone due to an abusive relationship with her father. I have failed many times in my life but I always got back up and kept taking classes. Failing has never been an option for me to settle with. Due to the pandemic I had to drop my initial class because I got covid which dropped my gpa and made me ineligible for scholarships or financial aid with them. It was a horrible time getting sick and not being able to not have that counted against me. I really need help paying for my last 4 classes it has been hard trying to decide if I pay rent or the large payment required for my classes. I had to pay for my IT & Cybersecurity certificate courses and it got me into debt although I am so grateful I finished my program December 2024. My goal is to pursue a Bachelor’s in IT fall of this year. I know I will need help with getting funding because when I was younger I also messed up my financial aid. It wasn’t explained to be properly and now I don’t qualify for it due to reaching a maximum limit. I am a great resource to any and everyone I know. I love researching. I have helped several other people obtain work from home positions to help them due to my area is rural and does not offer good pay. I plan to use my degrees towards of course educating businesses & general public on cybersecurity (cyber hygiene). I want to open my own resource center that teaches the public skill sets to land a job. I’ve worked in disaster response with Humanity Road, Inc virtually by using my data analysis skills and finding the silence where help was needed and provided emergency response with situation reports to help save lives. I discovered I was really good at data analytics being able to collect large data sets and scrub them to format them into an AI generated system from 2019 to 2020. I am also interested in AI and power Bi analytics having that skill set will help me be able to be an asset to any corporation. I lost my military father to an aneurysm & liver failure at the age of 16. He always told me going to college was important and his words stuck with me all this time. Motherhood has given me joy and taught me how to be responsible, independent, a hard worker and determined to finish what I started. In the future I see myself as a Data Scientist either for the state or federal government or a company like Microsoft or Google.

Hello my name is Crystal Chavis. I am trying to finish up my associates degree in business management at Devry University. I am a full time worker & full time student. I am a mother of 2 kids one is 19 in her 2nd year in college at NSU and my 10yr old son is in 4th grade. I was a teen mom but I never gave up my dreams of being a college graduate even after 19yrs. I tried my entire momhood to at least take 1 class while trying to grow up and raise my daughter alone due to an abusive relationship with her father. I have failed many times in my life but I always got back up and kept taking classes. Failing has never been an option for me to settle with. Due to the pandemic I had to drop my initial class because I got covid which dropped my gpa and made me ineligible for scholarships or financial aid with them. It was a horrible time getting sick and not being able to not have that counted against me. I really need help paying for my last 4 classes it has been hard trying to decide if I pay rent or the large payment required for my classes. I had to pay for my IT & Cybersecurity certificate courses and it got me into debt although I am so grateful I finished my program December 2024. My goal is to pursue a Bachelor’s in IT fall of this year. I know I will need help with getting funding because when I was younger I also messed up my financial aid. It wasn’t explained to be properly and now I don’t qualify for it due to reaching a maximum limit. I am a great resource to any and everyone I know. I love researching. I have helped several other people obtain work from home positions to help them due to my area is rural and does not offer good pay. I plan to use my degrees towards of course educating businesses & general public on cybersecurity (cyber hygiene). I want to open my own resource center that teaches the public skill sets to land a job. I’ve worked in disaster response with Humanity Road, Inc virtually by using my data analysis skills and finding the silence where help was needed and provided emergency response with situation reports to help save lives. I discovered I was really good at data analytics being able to collect large data sets and scrub them to format them into an AI generated system from 2019 to 2020. I am also interested in AI and power Bi analytics having that skill set will help me be able to be an asset to any corporation. I lost my military father to an aneurysm & liver failure at the age of 16. He always told me going to college was important and his words stuck with me all this time. Motherhood has given me joy and taught me how to be responsible, independent, a hard worker and determined to finish what I started. In the future I see myself as a Data Scientist either for the state or federal government or a company like Microsoft or Google.

Hello my name is Crystal Chavis. I am trying to finish up my associates degree in business management at Devry University. I am a full time worker & full time student. I am a mother of 2 kids one is 19 in her 2nd year in college at NSU and my 10yr old son is in 4th grade. I was a teen mom but I never gave up my dreams of being a college graduate even after 19yrs. I tried my entire momhood to at least take 1 class while trying to grow up and raise my daughter alone due to an abusive relationship with her father. I have failed many times in my life but I always got back up and kept taking classes. Failing has never been an option for me to settle with. Due to the pandemic I had to drop my initial class because I got covid which dropped my gpa and made me ineligible for scholarships or financial aid with them. It was a horrible time getting sick and not being able to not have that counted against me. I really need help paying for my last 4 classes it has been hard trying to decide if I pay rent or the large payment required for my classes. I had to pay for my IT & Cybersecurity certificate courses and it got me into debt although I am so grateful I finished my program December 2024. My goal is to pursue a Bachelor’s in IT fall of this year. I know I will need help with getting funding because when I was younger I also messed up my financial aid. It wasn’t explained to be properly and now I don’t qualify for it due to reaching a maximum limit. I am a great resource to any and everyone I know. I love researching. I have helped several other people obtain work from home positions to help them due to my area is rural and does not offer good pay. I plan to use my degrees towards of course educating businesses & general public on cybersecurity (cyber hygiene). I want to open my own resource center that teaches the public skill sets to land a job. I’ve worked in disaster response with Humanity Road, Inc virtually by using my data analysis skills and finding the silence where help was needed and provided emergency response with situation reports to help save lives. I discovered I was really good at data analytics being able to collect large data sets and scrub them to format them into an AI generated system from 2019 to 2020. I am also interested in AI and power Bi analytics having that skill set will help me be able to be an asset to any corporation. I lost my military father to an aneurysm & liver failure at the age of 16. He always told me going to college was important and his words stuck with me all this time. Motherhood has given me joy and taught me how to be responsible, independent, a hard worker and determined to finish what I started. In the future I see myself as a Data Scientist either for the state or federal government or a company like Microsoft or Google.

Hello my name is Crystal Chavis. I am an Information Technology & Cybersecurity student in my last semester of the certificate program at Southside Virginia Community college and also trying to finish up my associates in business management at Devry University online. I am a full time worker in a long term care facility as an administrative assistant senior to the Administrator. I am a mother of 2 kids one is 19 about to start her 2nd year in college at NSU and my 9yr old son about to start 4th grade. I was a teen mom but I never gave up my dreams of being a college graduate even after 19yrs. I tried my entire momhood to at least take 1 class while trying to grow up and raise my daughter alone due to an abusive relationship with her father. I have failed many times in my life but I always got back up and kept taking classes. Due to the pandemic I had to drop my initial IT class because I got covid which dropped my gpa and made me ineligible for scholarships or financial aid with them. It was a horrible time getting sick and not being able to not have that counted against me. I really need help paying for my last 2 classes it has been hard trying to decide if I pay rent or the large down payment required for my classes. I am a great resource to any and everyone I know. I have helped several other people obtain work from home positions to help them due to my area is rural and does not offer good pay. I plan to use my degrees towards of course educating businesses & general public on cyber hygiene. I want to open my own resource center that teaches the public skill sets to land a job. I am a non traditional student because I am pursuing 2 degrees at the same time at 2 different colleges. I’ve worked in disaster response with Humanity Road, Inc virtually by using my data analysis skills and finding the silence where help was needed and provided emergency response with situation reports to help save lives. I lost my father to an a aneurysm at the age of 16. Motherhood has given me joy and taught me how to be responsible, independent, a hard worker and determined to finish what I started. In the future I see myself as a Data Scientist either for the state or federal government.

Hello my name is Crystal Chavis. I am an Information Technology & Cybersecurity student in my last semester of the certificate program at Southside Virginia Community college and also trying to finish up my associates in business management at Devry University online. I am a full time worker in a long term care facility as an administrative assistant senior to the Administrator. I am a mother of 2 kids one is 19 about to start her 2nd year in college at NSU and my 9yr old son about to start 4th grade. I was a teen mom but I never gave up my dreams of being a college graduate even after 19yrs. I tried my entire momhood to at least take 1 class while trying to grow up and raise my daughter alone due to an abusive relationship with her father. I have failed many times in my life but I always got back up and kept taking classes. Due to the pandemic I had to drop my initial IT class because I got covid which dropped my gpa and made me ineligible for scholarships or financial aid with them. It was a horrible time getting sick and not being able to not have that counted against me. I really need help paying for my last 2 classes it has been hard trying to decide if I pay rent or the large down payment required for my classes. I am a great resource to any and everyone I know. I have helped several other people obtain work from home positions to help them due to my area is rural and does not offer good pay. I plan to use my degrees towards of course educating businesses & general public on cyber hygiene. I want to open my own resource center that teaches the public skill sets to land a job. I am a non traditional student because I am pursuing 2 degrees at the same time at 2 different colleges. I’ve worked in disaster response with Humanity Road, Inc virtually by using my data analysis skills and finding the silence where help was needed and provided emergency response with situation reports to help save lives. I lost my father to an a aneurysm at the age of 16. Motherhood has given me joy and taught me how to be responsible, independent, a hard worker and determined to finish what I started.