Many have suffered increased mental stress over the last several years. Families have suffered death, sickness, job loss, housing loss, food insecurity, loss of friendships and marriages. Many teenagers are struggling from total remote learning, cancelling extra curricular activities, proms/graduations, cancelling family gatherings, not seeing friends socially and so much more. I found myself having so many emotions because my family was impacted by the pandemic. I am also in an urban city that has been impacted by gun violence that also impacts others and myself. I talked to my Mom and friends a lot about how people were feeling, including myself. Many students felt alone with no one to talk to or they felt no one cared because so much was going on. I felt at times alone with my feelings. I wanted to find a way for no one to feel alone and for them to know they have to be OK with themselves before they could be with anyone else. I came up with the saying "Just like in the alphabet I comes B4 U" #MentalHealthMatters. In the beginning, my Mom and I wore green awareness bracelets. This was a reminder to each other that we are here for each other. This helped me everyday whether at school, at home, at games, at practice and out with friends. It also helped my Mom. I bought more bracelets, but only gave them to people I knew would be there for someone. I believe when teenagers know someone cares and are there for them they won't feel so isolated. I want adults and teenagers to be able to see the bracelet and know that person will take the time to be present, listen and maybe even give a hug to someone who needs it. Loneliness is a problem many deal with on a daily basis. We can address this with more awareness and training. We train teachers, coaches and teenagers to listen and we create a universal green bracelet that lets adults and teenagers know the person wearing the bracelet can help. Corporations, Children's Hospitals, Behavior Health agencies, Youth/High School sports organizations and Faith base organizations can be funded and provide funding for this program. My vision is to have more people wearing the bracelets than need to seek the person wearing the bracelet. When that happens we will be healthier and mindful adults and teenagers. Thank you for allowing me to share my plan.

I was adopted when I was 2 months old. I was exposed to several bad things before I was born. My Mom when she picked me up made a commitment to support and advocate for me. I was eventually diagnosed with ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and Vision Tracking Disorder. Many teachers did not believe I learned differently and focused differently, because they are invisible disabilities. My Mom calls me a Neuro Ninja Warrior because I am Twice Gifted/Exceptional. My Mom made sure I had interventions to help me with my challenges. There were so many therapists, specialists, coaches and teachers that were a part of helping me. When I was younger I would get in trouble at school all the time because of behaviors the teachers did not understand were a part of my differences. I was blamed for things I did not do. School was terrible. I spent so much time being sent to in school suspension. Some teachers understood me, others did not. Many did not understand how I could be smart, but also have learning differences. At one point when I was younger the school suggested I be placed in a residential behavioral school. My Mom did not allow it. Many did not believe I could remain in a regular classroom throughout high school. I continued to go to therapy to help with my dyslexia and dysgraphia and I took ADHD and Anxiety medication. The medication suppressed my appetite, gave me headaches and just made me feel bad. It also impacted sports. After going to an Elementary and Middle School in my school district I went to a private high school that understood me. I was on honor roll my Freshman year all A's and one B. But I also wanted to feel good, play sports with energy. My friends liked me when I was on medication vacations. My sophomore year I decided the A's weren't worth it and talked to my school and my Mom about stopping taking my ADHD medication. They all supported me, I don't get all A's anymore but I'm happy with me. So many people did not believe I would graduate high school, my Mom believed in me and invested financially in getting me the best therapy there was. I was admitted to all the colleges I applied to, but I need help with college expenses. I want to give back to my Mom with a college degree and also contribute to my college expenses with receiving scholarships. She deserves it!

I was adopted when I was 2 months old. My Mom knew I may need a lot of love and help when she adopted me. I was exposed to a number of drugs before I was born. My Mom loved me and advocated for me from the day she picked me up. I had learning differently challenges, ADHD and anxiety. I am Twice Exceptional/Twice Gifted, my Mom called me a "beautiful mind". My Mom loved me unconditionally and expected all that were around me to do the same, because I worked so hard in therapy. My Mom made sure she had a village of friends to help her and me be successful. She engaged family, friends, doctors, teachers, administrators, coaches, team mates, peers and neighbors to have a better understanding of me. I saw her working fulltime and also being a full time caregiver for my Grandma who died of Alzheimer's in 2020 and my Great Uncle who is still living. She made sure I never missed an intervention appointment and found activities including sports and music to help me. My Mom is also a volunteer for so many organizations. I see her give her time to people, including families on the Alzheimer's journey, at risk middle/high school students, Honor Flight Veterans trip to DC and Hospice volunteer/End of Life Doula. My Mom has shown me what and who is important in life, I hope to continue that legacy in mine.

1a) Influence means that your actions, words and behaviors are looked at by others and causes them to make decisions regarding what they see. 1b) I try to make sure I present myself in a positive way. I know there are eyes on me and many people see negative when they see me, I'm an African American male. I try to make sure they see the best of me. 2) I play Varsity Ice Hockey, I love playing the game of hockey. I am the only African American on my team. Many of the players on my team have never had African American classmates or teammates. I have had coaches that have never coached an African American player. I have been called very offensive and derogatory names by my own teammates, by opposing players and fans. My coaches and teammates do not know how to respond because they have never been in the situation before. Many times opposing players do it to cause a reaction in me. I take that energy and either score or help my teammates score. Dealing with my emotions and the emotions of others helps me understand how people react when confronted with something that makes them uncomfortable. I continue to play because young African American players need to see me on the ice because HOCKEY IS FOR EVERYONE. 3a) I plan on obtaining a degree in Business/Finance/Entreprenuership. 3b)I believe understanding how businesses operate and how we finance the things in our life. I plan on starting my own businesses for those who may not be able to. This includes people who look like me, learn differently like me and have challenges that I have. 4)This scholarship will help me attend college. I have received direct admissions in the College of Business at the school I want to attend. I have also been invited to participate in the Business Fellows program. I worked really hard to obtain merit scholarships. I also have worked a summer and part time job, but I need help to achieve my goal of attending college and hopefully helping others younger than me who have dreams. Thank you for the opportunity to share.

I am an African American male who was adopted at 2 months old. I was exposed to a lot by my birth mother. I was subsequently diagnosed with learning challenges, ADHD and anxiety. I don’t know if the exposures caused any of my challenges. I am a twice exceptional/twice gifted student, I am also an athlete. Throughout my life my adopted mother/family advocated for me to get the best interventions as possible. For 18 years she engaged the healthcare providers, schools, coaches, peers, peers parents and neighbors so they would understand me better. I was isolated a lot because my peers, teachers and coaches did not understand my “beautiful mind”, that is what my Mom calls me. They did not understand my anxiety and how difficult transitions and changes in plans impacted me. I would get in trouble at school a lot, would be blamed for things I didn’t do. Mostly because I was bored because I knew the topic being taught I just couldn’t articulate it to the teacher the way they wanted done. This caused my anxiety to come out in behaviors that were not understood. I was placed on medication to help me manage and focus. I did not like the way the medication made me feel, it also suppressed my appetite and my personality was flatlined. I was finally in a school that understood me better, I was an honor roll student and did not get in any trouble. I chose my sophomore year to stop taking the medications. My family and school knew of my choice. It was hard and I really had to find ways to focus and manage my anxiety. I made some mistakes and I’m not an all A student anymore. I play sports and have a part time job. I’m happy to be me and my friends like who I am now. I set a goal to apply to college and I was accepted into all 8 of the colleges I applied to, including direct admissions into the Colleges of Business. I plan on getting a degree in Business Economics Entrepreneurship. To obtain this I have to continue to realize when I’m anxious, stay physically active, make good food choices and make good decisions around friends. I also need to continue to reach out for help when I feel overwhelmed. One of my goals is to share my story to help other young men who look like me, so they can see they can achieve and overcome. I’m not perfect, but I am resilient.

I have learning disabilities and ADHD, but I am considered twice gifted/exceptional because I scored high on several achievement tests. My Mom calls me a "Neuro Ninja Warrior". I also happen to be an African American male and was adopted at 2 months old. My experiences through out elementary and middle school were daunting because my peers and teachers did not understand me. I was diagnosed with several different issues and had an Independent Educational and Behavior Plan and took medication. I attended therapy sessions that included OT, PT, socialization skills, Dyslexia tutoring. They were all very painful and exhausting. Very few of the teachers followed the plans. I spent numerous hours and days in the principal's office and sent to in school suspension. Many believed I needed to be in a residential behavior school. I was finally in an environment that not only understood my challenges but also championed my gifts in high school. I was on honor roll my 9th grade year. I choose to stop taking some of my medication in 10th grade, because I did not like the way it "flatlined" my personality and it took away my appetite. It was a very hard transition. But my motto was the "A's weren't worth it". I wanted to be OK with me and wanted others to be OK too. I'm not an A student, but I am graduating from high school with acceptance into many colleges with Merit. I plan on sharing my story, being available and always looking out for that one young man that feels overwhelmed, not liked, blamed for everything, sent to the office, not believed, does not fit in, but has dreams, is very smart and deserves to be recognized for who he is. I wish more would meet us where we are.

I have learning disabilities and ADHD, but I am considered twice gifted/exceptional because I scored high on several achievement tests. My Mom calls me a "Neuro Ninja Warrior". I also happen to be an African American male and was adopted at 2 months old. My experiences through out elementary and middle school were daunting because my peers and teachers did not understand me. I was diagnosed with several different issues and had an Independent Educational and Behavior Plan and took medication. I attended therapy sessions that included OT, PT, socialization skills, Dyslexia tutoring. They were all very painful and exhausting. Very few of the teachers followed the plans. I spent numerous hours and days in the principal's office and sent to in school suspension. Many believed I needed to be in a residential behavior school. I was finally in an environment that not only understood my challenges but also championed my gifts in high school. I was on honor roll my 9th grade year. I choose to stop taking some of my medication in 10th grade, because I did not like the way it "flatlined" my personality and it took away my appetite. It was a very hard transition. But my motto was the "A's weren't worth it". I wanted to be OK with me and wanted others to be OK too. I'm not an A student, but I am graduating from high school with acceptance into many colleges with Merit. I plan on sharing my story, being available and always looking out for that one young man that feels overwhelmed, not liked, blamed for everything, sent to the office, not believed, does not fit in, but has dreams, is very smart and deserves to be recognized for who he is. I wish more would meet us where we are.

I have learning disabilities and ADHD, but I am considered twice gifted/exceptional because I scored high on several achievement tests. My Mom calls me a "Neuro Ninja Warrior". I also happen to be an African American male and was adopted at 2 months old. My experiences through out elementary and middle school were daunting because my peers and teachers did not understand me. I was diagnosed with several different issues and had an Independent Educational and Behavior Plan and took medication. I attended therapy sessions that included OT, PT, socialization skills, Dyslexia tutoring. They were all very painful and exhausting. Very few of the teachers followed the plans. I spent numerous hours and days in the principal's office and sent to in school suspension. Many believed I needed to be in a residential behavior school. I was finally in an environment that not only understood my challenges but also championed my gifts in high school. I was on honor roll my 9th grade year. I choose to stop taking some of my medication in 10th grade, because I did not like the way it "flatlined" my personality and it took away my appetite. It was a very hard transition. But my motto was the "A's weren't worth it". I wanted to be OK with me and wanted others to be OK too. I'm not an A student, but I am graduating from high school with acceptance into many colleges with Merit. I plan on sharing my story, being available and always looking out for that one young man that feels overwhelmed, not liked, blamed for everything, sent to the office, not believed, does not fit in, but has dreams, is very smart and deserves to be recognized for who he is. I wish more would meet us where we are.

I have learning disabilities and ADHD, but I am considered twice gifted/exceptional because I scored high on several achievement tests. My Mom calls me a "Neuro Ninja Warrior". I also happen to be an African American male and was adopted at 2 months old. My experiences through out elementary and middle school were daunting because my peers and teachers did not understand me. I was diagnosed with several different issues and had an Independent Educational Plan and Behavior Plan and took medication for many of the issues. I attended therapy sessions that included OT, PT, socialization skills, Dyslexia tutoring. They were all very painful and exhausting. Very few of the teachers followed the plans. They just thought I was bad and doing bad things on purpose. I spent numerous hours and days in the principal's office and sent to in school suspension. Many believed I needed to be in a residential behavior school. My Mom advocated for me in so many ways, it was exhausting for her. I had some wonderful teachers and coaches who "got" me and supported me. I ended up attending a high school out of my district. I was finally in an environment that not only understood my challenges but also championed my gifts. I was on honor roll my 9th grade year. I choose to stop taking some of my medication in 10th grade, because I did not like the way it "flatlined" my personality and it took away my appetite. I shared with my Mom and school staff what I wanted to do. They supported me. It was a very hard transition. But my motto was the "A's weren't worth it". I wanted to be OK with me and wanted others to be OK too. I'm not an A student, but I am graduating from high school with acceptance into many colleges with Merit. I think representation matters and other young African American males need to see they have a voice and they can succeed. I plan on sharing my story, being available and always looking out for that one young man that feels overwhelmed, not liked, blamed for everything, sent to the office, not invited to birthday parties, not believed, does not fit in, but has dreams, is very smart and deserves to be recognized for who he is. I wish more would meet us where we are. I'm hoping to help communities understand this.

I am an African American(AA) who has played ice hockey since I was 12 years old. I am usually the only AA on my teams and in the rink. I play with teammates who have never had a AA teammate or classmate. Over the last few years negative behavior towards me in the hockey environment has increased. I have been called several different derogatory names on and off the ice. I have had passive/aggressive statements/threats made towards me by teammates. I played on a team that was supported by the NHL Hockey is for Everyone Initiative, I believe in the initiative. I also support Hockey Players of Color Movement(HPOC). I enter every arena knowing there are players, coaches and fans that don't think I deserve to be playing. I also know that my behavior can be highlighted in a negative way. I try my best to understand how what is going on with the divisiveness in our country and figure out a way I can be an ambassador of good will. I believe representation matters and even on days when I receive negativity from others because of my color, I continue to show up and play. If we don't then they win, equality and diversity will not occur.