I want to change the world by being an example of what it looks like to give back to your community in a fruitful way. One way that I give back to my original church community is that on Sunday nights I hold a Bible study for the teenage girls in their youth group. I do this because I never had a safe place that I could go to where we talked about things that are specific to girls and the struggles of being a girl in this society. As a Nigerian-American who goes to a predominantly African Immigrant church I have parents who didn't understand what I was going through and these girls are in the same boat as me. Since I'm a little bit older than them and I have a little bit more knowledge on what it's like to grow up here I'm able to connect with them in ways that older leaders are simply unable to. I also lead the Black Student Union at my college. My events have taught people about the difficulties of being a black student at a predominantly white college, how challenging it can be to be a black person in a white normative society, and how draining it can be to be the only black person in a workplace and the challenges that come from people not understanding your hurt or offense at someone’s language. I support black students on my campus by listening to the issues that they're facing and taking them up with administrators. I have access to people with the power to enact change and have been working on creating classes that require students to engage with diverse material from diverse voices in the world of academia. I am studying to prepare for law school to receive a JD. I intern at an immigrant legal defense center, where we provide representation to those who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford it. In using this to give back to my community, I see myself taking on work for those who can’t afford proper representation. Public defenders are incredibly overworked and often have neither the time nor the resources to do the best job possible. I want to help those who aren’t able to hire those higher-end attorneys. I want to be that high level attorney that can support them and fight for them when the system is ready to throw them away. I want to be that black female attorney that little girls look at and think, "I can be powerful." What drives me is the chance to be what I never had-- a positive black female role model in the field of law. What drives me is the opportunity to uplift my community and people who look like me. What drives me is the chance to make things better or at least go out fighting. This is what I hope to accomplish over my career. I want to become a trusted black face in the black community that people know always has their best interest in mind and wants the best for their business. I want to be the attorney that fights for you in the courtroom or in the paperwork. I want to be the attorney that has the time and resources to volunteer at her local recreational center. I want to be the attorney that is so knowledgeable about her field that she is a mentor to younger girls who aspire to be like her. I aspire to be the black woman who dealt with her demons, fought her anxiety, and continues to win every day.

“What are you doing this weekend?” “Are you free to hang out?” “Do you want to see a movie after school?” “Can we hang out more this summer?” To all of these questions, I always answered, “I have basketball and soccer, sorry.” And to be totally honest, I loved the constant games and the practices and even working out with my teammates. Growing up as an athlete gave me structure and a network of friends that I still have today. I already even know that two of my future bridesmaids are two of my teammates from my first club basketball team from when we were all eight years old. Growing up playing sports also allowed me to travel around stateside. I have been to twenty-nine states, including Hawaii, and have had insanely fun road trips with my different teams. I have more athletic gear than I can feasibly wear and I know what to eat and how to work out to stay fit and healthy. I have been forced to learn discipline and how to organize my time well. I follow directions extremely well and as captain of many a team, I can lead with the guidance of my coach. I take all of these skills into my academic life and use them to structure my time and commitments outside of athletics. They have helped me to navigate situations in quick improvisation moments when I have had to think on my feet. Most of the compliments I receive from professors and others are based on actions I do that are derived from abilities that I acquired from playing sports all my life. As great as all of these things are, I never really got the opportunity to develop social skills or have any life experiences outside of the athletic sphere. My dream since I was little has always been to study abroad in Spain but we have never had the funds or the time. I have spent years studying Spanish and now that I am in college, I have the chance to do so. Traveling and studying abroad will force me to become more comfortable in uncomfortable situations and I will get to make friends and play basketball with people in a completely different country! It’s an opportunity I have been waiting for and that has finally arisen despite the global pandemic attempting to sabotage my plans. In Spain, they structure their days differently with siestas in the middle of the day that allow them to recharge for the rest of the day. Adapting to a new way of life will be a great way to learn how to be less rigid in organizing my time and teach me to go with the flow more often. Academically, it is an opportunity to learn every subject in a different language and connect with people of another culture through the lens that they’ve created. Athletically, I get to try new workouts and train in a new place. The new gym discomfort will definitely be amplified but this is an amazing opportunity to get more comfortable in new workout locations before living on my own and having to do it for the rest of my life without a team. Traveling and studying abroad will give me a chance to truly and properly combine my athletic life with the other aspects of my life and enrich both.