My parents have instilled the need for education, excellence, and religion. Whenever we talked about college their words were "scholarship, scholarship, scholarship". This past June I graduated high school with a 3.9 GPA, an honor society member, a German club member, and while working part-time after school most days. Because of my hard work in high school, I was accepted into my dream school Johnson & Wales University in their Culinary Arts program. Today I was looking at the cost of my schooling. It will cost me $8,351.50 per semester after aid and loans to get a higher education. I thought because I did what I was supposed to in school, got good grades, joined clubs, got a job, listened to my parents, prayed to God, and overall was responsible that that would be enough for me to be able to go to college and everything would work itself out. Now I'm not so sure. I want to go to school and become better but I cannot afford it really. If everything works out and I am able to afford college and graduate on time, with my education I would further invest time and energy into how food impacts the Black community. Specifically how food insecurity, food stamps, and food accessibility have a major impact on the trends we see within our own community. Although these aren't the most pressing matters facing the community today with my knowledge of culinary arts and food business management I can better help those who do not understand what they are facing. I want to help people and I want to go to school, more than you could ever understand. I do not know what I will do if I don't go. Truly. Now I'm painfully aware that there are many applicants who need this scholarship as well and I'm not going to pretend or assume that I deserve it more than any of them. Because they are probably in the same situation that I am in but I appreciate your time reading my story. I'm glad I could tell someone about it.