There was a time when I expected my education and professional experience to lead to a traditional career. However, living with a chronic health condition forced me to reconsider what sustainable employment would look like. I recognized that returning to a conventional work environment without meaningful changes would likely place my health and livelihood at risk. I needed to find a way to continue contributing professionally while building a career that could accommodate circumstances I could not always control. Entrepreneurship became that path. Drawing from my experience in financial services, insurance, and public speaking, I began developing a business focused on helping people understand and address the effects of financial stress. What started as a way to create sustainable employment for myself grew into a larger vision: making education and resources accessible to people whose financial circumstances affect their confidence, decisions, and opportunities, both in the United States and internationally. That vision is one reason I am pursuing a master's degree in communication at Arizona State University. I want to strengthen my understanding of communication research and practice so I can connect with diverse audiences more effectively. However, I am equally determined to pursue this education without creating student loan obligations that could undermine the financial stability I am working to establish. As an entrepreneur preparing to pursue graduate education, I recognize the importance of making financial decisions that support both my immediate responsibilities and my long-term goals. As a nontraditional student, I understand that pursuing a higher degree can create opportunities while also introducing significant financial obligations. Rather than relying on student loans to finance my master's degree, I am pursuing scholarships, exploring institutional funding, and developing sustainable income opportunities that can help me complete my education responsibly. My approach to managing future student loan debt begins with preventing unnecessary borrowing. I am actively pursuing scholarships, grants, and institutional funding while developing business income that can eventually contribute toward my educational expenses. I recognize that entrepreneurship takes time to build, so I am not relying on projected earnings alone to finance my degree. Receiving the Ruthie Brown Scholarship would reduce the financial gap I must address and help me move toward my educational goals without sacrificing financial stability. More importantly, it would allow me to invest in developing the communication expertise needed to expand my work and help others navigate financial challenges. My goal is not simply to earn another degree. It is to build a financially sustainable future while contributing to solutions for a problem that affects people far beyond my own circumstances.

Attending college is one way of evening the playing field when you are looking for employment. A friend told me her experience when working at a large retail bank in Arizona. She is African American and when she was two months away from earning her first Bachelor's degree she began looking into a higher position at the bank. She and a former classmate of her's who was Caucasian were part of the final candidates. When my friend interviewed they told her she did well but they couldn't consider her because she did not have her degree. Her classmate got the position. She was disgusted by this blatant racism. Why was it blatant racism? Well that classmate she knew did not do well in high school while she graduated with honors. While she was earning her degree with honor's in a couple of months from the interview her classmate was not attending school at all and had no plans of doing so. So why tell her only that the position required a degree when you choose to hire someone who is not pursing one or already earned one? She knew then she would make sure her education would never be something that could be held against her. No one can take away your education. A person with a completed degree is one that cannot be easily overlooked when you are looking to support yourself and your family in the future. Don't put yourself in a position where you can only go so far or you will hit the glass ceiling at most jobs. Get your education to shatter that glass ceiling and put yourself in a better position.

I wanted to be a Business Communications major but having transferred schools many time it was not a possibility at my current university. Regardless, I desired to improve my communication to improve relationships with family, friends and business associates. I will use my education to effectively communicate with future business associates and law makers alike. I have a long history of communicating with children and young adults. I will improve it as I get my financial literacy books gain an agent and national distribution in schools and the like. I also intend on creating an application for cell phones and computers for classroom use and personal use as a game for learning. Many people are visual learners. I believe that those who do not have access to books in the library or on a limited budget at school will have access to the program at school or on their parent's phone.

When I was in school I have been in honor's classes since they tested me in elementary school. I was always the only African American female in class. My opinion was often dismissed in the homogenous community that I live in. My I was about 8 or 9 when my parents explained that regardless of my character people will dismiss what I say because I am black and female. The intersectionality of my dilemma will give people double the time to disregard me. It was the same throughout my educational career. I learned with gusto and made sure I was accurate when I voiced an opinion and then concerns. This stigma then seeped into my employment. I despise being put into a box of no emotions because people continue with the asinine mindset that any emotion outside of the box constitutes an 'angry black woman'. These are my regular challenges with people constantly watching me everywhere I go. I am working on my Communications degree. I will use my education to communicate and dissolve any issues that arrive when working to enact financial literacy in the states that do not have it as mandatory learning for children and teens. I have started a company for financial education. I have written books for children and I am working on the illustrations. I will then look for an agent to distribute nationally with a focus on the underserved and underrepresented communities. I long to speak publicly with these students and teachers.

I believe we are to share our light with others in the world. I want to help many in any capacity that I may. My passion is in financial literacy. I choose to be a financial literacy educator. While I am an adult fiction writer, writing children and young adult books for education have been a true joy. I had nearly a decade of experience of working in retail banking and two years in insurance. I believe that basic financial literacy is necessary but it is not mandatory in all states. I know people in underrepresented areas lack resources. I love helping people learn something that will improve their lives. I have a business that will work on advocating for financial literacy. I want my books to become a national staple in the classroom. I know that I am able to speak to people of all ages and backgrounds. I started my educational talks when I worked in the banks and allowed them to evolve to meet the changes in the industry.