Integrity is one of the key virtues of what I stand by everyday. Represented in the four letter acronym K.I.T.E, I imply kindness, integrity, truth, and empathy to my everyday encounters. To me integrity is always doing what is right, no matter what the immediate or lasting consequence may be. Integrity highlights what is right and wrong in any situation no matter who is watching. This key moral principle starts within my thoughts and heart which then are displayed in my actions. It defines who I am as a person and how I act. Having integrity builds consistency and trustworthiness within my character because the right outcome will always be served. As a leader, I believe having integrity becomes an asset to your development and serves as an opportunity for others follow your lead and build the same behaviors. Having honor is setting an example for my peers by remaining true and living up to my virtues consistently. A person’s honor will be threaten daily and it is what the person does when under pressure that shows how honorable they are. One of my earliest memories of possessing honor was during a youth chess tournament and I made a blunder that could have cost me the match. After making the move I indulged in a distractive conversation with my opponent sitting across to hopefully make him not reconize the move but I quickly retracted myself. I did lose the match. However, I felt a weird feeling inside walking out the door because I was in some way glad about my actions even though I lost what I had been working towards my whole summer. This experience was the beginning of my journey to building my own morals and character. Keeping my word and commitments to people is my consistent habit of showing my honor daily. Keep my promises provides peace and a support system around me when going through daily life because people know how reliable I am.

At the age of eight, my enthusiasm for deejaying began. I am a visual learner, so when I first touched the turntables, the craft of deejaying came quickly and was instantly fulfilling. My father was the backbone of my success; he handled the business side which allowed me to focus on what I loved doing best: playing records. He never forced music on me or my brother; music was an opportunity that presented itself within all of our lives in unique ways. In the summer of 2018, I had one of my big events as a DJ. I deejayed for Wawa Welcome America’s 4th of July Parade in Philadelphia and the event set the right amount of momentum for me to keep progressing in the music industry. After the event, it felt like I was almost there to make it and achieve my goal to become a national rank deejay at such a young age. However, my father passed away from a massive heart attack the next day July 5th, 2018. It took more than two years for me even to turn on my music equipment again since memories would just rush through my head every time I looked over at my music cases. After my father’s passing, the business world presented itself to me as a dark alleyway with deceitful intentions. Reflecting, having the opportunity to understand the business side of my passion was a diamond in the rough which multiple failures after his death to find. I built up the confidence back up to launch my entertainment by myself in early 2020 and was ready to start doing events again. However, COVID-19 hit and I couldn’t DJ during the pandemic. It forced me to learn the production & creation side of the music industry, including how to produce beats and record. Everything I have learned is from my research. It has been challenging to find a mentor or the right program to help me be successful due to my family circumstances. Receiving this scholarship would assist me in gaining the knowledge I need to make it as an entrepreneur and help me on the road to breaking into the industry with my own business. I do not have many resources for me to be able to get into many classrooms providing this type of education because of my family’s financial burden. So receiving this scholarship would allow me to grow and explore as an entrepreneur in the fashion and music industry. Being a young entrepreneur will enable me to strive for success in the industry where my passions are fulfilling and can scale an operation to impact and change the community surrounding it. The scholarship presents the perfect role and fits my dreams, thus qualifying me for this opportunity.