My grandfather has dropped me off at school almost every day since elementary. And every day before I got out of the car, he would always make me promise to pursue my passions. He told me if you take care of your passions, then your passions will take care of you. Most of my life has been dedicated to fulfilling that promise and applying it to everything I do. From starting my first Kool-Aid stand in their front yard because a 5-year-old me was passionate about everyone having Grape Kool-Aid, selling snacks to my classmates out of a backpack in middle school because the admin wouldn't change the menu for the student store despite requests from my peers. Then, helping keep my grandpa’s small business afloat when he got sick. And now, much of my high school career has been dedicated to making good on that promise. I took college-level business classes in order to turn my passions into a career path. I participated in DECA to help me develop and experience the skills needed to become an emerging business leader, I interned at a Diversity and Equity firm, co-founding a youth mentorship cohort, geared towards supporting and fostering future business leaders in minority groups. Finally, I founded my own Public Speaking company spreading my voice all across the country to shed light on the voices covered under the darkness of financial disparity in our public education system. I have found a passion for helping people and fostering change in my community through an innovative, entrepreneurial, business-oriented mindset. So, I decided on this area of study in hopes of continuing this passion. I want to expand my knowledge, find new opportunities, and collaborate with like-minded people to make an even bigger impact in the spaces I reside. With this scholarship, I will be able to continue to keep that promise to my grandfather by going to college. My academic career has given me a passion for helping people and fostering change in my community through an innovative, entrepreneurial, and business-oriented mindset. By being accepted into my dream school and the number 2 undergraduate university for Business at UC Berkeley, I am one step closer to achieving that dream. However, the price of that dream is $80,000 a year. My family is in extreme financial disparity with my unemployed mother being the sole caretaker of our family of 6, living in section 8 housing, and having a twin brother who is also entering college this year. I am prepared to commit to my dreams no matter the cost. I am asking for you to commit to me, and make an investment So that I can invest in others

It only took 4 years of life to learn what it meant to be a convicted felon. A few months before giving birth to my little brother, my Mom and Dad started to fight. I was only four, but I remember a knife and I remember yelling. Nobody was stabbed, but I watched as my mom was put in handcuffs while the Duncan family made yet another video on Disney Channel’s Good Luck Charlie on my TV in the background. Growing up, a stable household was almost nonexistent for my Black family. With my father being in the military, my parent's divorce, and my family's lack of financial stability, staying in the same house longer than a year was impossible. I've lived in 6 different states, 2 times as many schools, and 3 times as many houses, My father’s job in the military meant he was a few states away while my single mother with a felony charge found little to no opportunity in a country that doesn’t offer second chances. Nearly half of Black males have been arrested at least once by the age of 23 (University of South Carolina) and those chances are 2.4 times higher when they are a child of a criminal parent (University of California, Berkeley). My whole life has been shaped by the goal of avoiding becoming one of these statistics. My experiences made me strong, resourceful, and adaptable. God gave me the brain and the work ethic to defeat the odds. Each time we moved, I met new people and discovered new skills. I can evaluate situations, see potential risks, and prevent them or turn them into success because I have seen them before. But, this success comes with the sacrifice of my childhood. I don’t have any lifelong best friends or a secret spot I go to let off steam. I can’t give anyone directions because I haven't lived there long enough to remember the street signs. There was never time to transform from the new kid across the street to just the kid across the street. But, lack of time has made me efficient; no minute is taken for granted. I was the MJ of pickup ball because the Rec League’s season was too long, and I always made sure to add an adjective to “new kid across the street”. This has allowed me to leave a legacy wherever I go. In 5th grade, my elementary school went on a camping trip and a couple of my peers and I wandered off and got lost on a night hike. But, I knew that our cabin was South of us and that the sword on the Orion's Belt Constellation pointed in that direction, so we followed the star and we made it back. I was able to get us out of a possibly scary situation all because the previous year I attended a school on a military base that taught us about navigation in case of an emergency. I became friends with the kids I was with that night, gaining more perspective on life by just being with them. Being able to experience different communities and opinions everywhere I move has given me more insight and philosophical knowledge than I ever would staying in one place. But moving constantly means I must make the most of the little time I have. I don't have time to just achieve so I overachieve. I don’t have time to just dream so I materialize. Success is survival for me, my whole family, and my entire community.

My grandfather has dropped me off at school almost every day since elementary. And every day before I got out of the car, he would always make me promise to pursue my passions. He told me if you take care of your passions, then your passions will take care of you. Most of my life has been dedicated to fulfilling that promise and applying it to everything I do. From starting my first Kool-Aid stand in their front yard because a 5-year-old me was passionate about everyone having Grape Kool-Aid, selling snacks to my classmates out of a backpack in middle school because the admin wouldn't change the menu for the student store despite requests from my peers. Then, helping keep my grandpa’s small business afloat when he got sick. And now, much of my high school career has been dedicated to making good on that promise. I took college-level business classes in order to turn my passions into a career path. I participated in DECA to help me develop and experience the skills needed to become an emerging business leader. I interned at a Diversity and Equity firm, co-founding a youth mentorship cohort, geared towards supporting and fostering future business leaders in minority groups. Finally, I started my own Public Speaking and Facilitation company with the goal of inspiring the voices not yet discovered and amplifying the words that are not yet heard. Our company focuses on advocacy for minorities and low-income students in public education, through education policy, grant-making, curriculum building, teacher and student training, and education funding. I have found a passion for helping people and fostering change in my community through an innovative, entrepreneurial, business-oriented mindset. So, I decided on this area of study in hopes of continuing this passion. I want to expand my knowledge, find new opportunities, and collaborate with like-minded people to make an even bigger impact in the spaces I reside and continue to keep that promise to my grandfather. However, my grandfather's words should not end with me, living in a capitalistic society I have learned that every passion comes from opportunity and every opportunity comes with a price tag. With the expansive reach of a business career, I can help those struggling to pursue their passions due to financial burdens and lack of opportunity. I will spread my grandfather's wishes for me through entrepreneurial non-profits helping low-income minority youth such as myself find internships that match their goals so that they can pursue their passions while helping support their families financially, I can engage in philanthropy of mentorship programs, help families find housing through real estate, and help low-income individuals build generational wealth through consulting and banking.

Going to a school that is 70 percent white, being the only black kid in my Advanced Placement classes, being 1 out of the seven black kids in a speech and debate program of 70 plus, simply being on track to graduate while also being a part of the largest demographic of dropouts at my school has accurately demonstrated what the term minority truly means. Society has created a stigma and stereotype around this term, and it has rooted itself in our community, being fertilized by systemic and internalized racism. But these challenges have only made me realize that if I showed my community that we are only the minority when we conform to it when we are separate, and if we worked together, we wouldn’t be the “minority” anymore. This is why I founded the Young Educated Black Men’s group at my school. A group that strives for black excellence in and outside of the classroom, engaging in community service and outreach, tutoring, mentorship, with college preparation raising thousands of dollars for our program to attend HBCU visits. I also became the speech and debate head captain. I strived for diversity and inclusion in my program, producing three state finalists of color and introducing a blueprint for an integration system for the upcoming years. I started a tutoring program for my football team with the help of coaches and teachers to make sure all student athletes had the tools they needed to be successful in college. I became a mentor in a Rights of Passage program at my church with the goal of keeping young black men off the streets and into a safe and constructive environment. I have interned at an Equity firm with the goal to increase financial literacy in the minority community Co-founding a youth Mentorship cohort in order to start the next-generation on the right foot. I have started a Freelance public speaking media company to spread my voice across the country to ensure everyone in my community can find representation in me. All of these activities help me foster inclusivity and success in my community, to prove that although we are the minority in this country, it does not mean we are any less capable of success. Throughout my academic career I have found that knowledge is the greatest superpower that any person can have especially minorities. When all youth are given the opportunity to learn through representation and equal and safe environments there is no telling what they can achieve. Whether it is sports, extracurriculars, or community engagement I apply this principle to all aspects of my life.

There's a time in every child's life when they believe that magic and superpowers are a reality, that if they got bitten by the right spider, they could climb walls, that if they wore a cape and put a big S on their chest, they could fly. To them, being a superhero meant having powers and defeating evil. I was 6, riding in my Dad's car, looking out the window, imagining Spiderman swinging from the buildings. However, this world that I conjured disappeared at home. Luckily for me, the car was our home; we were evicted and sleeping in our car. To a child who couldn't grasp the severity of our situation, it was just fine by me. I'd watch Superman save Lois from Lex Luther on top of whatever building we parked next to until I fell asleep. I woke up ready for the rematch, but this time, it was on top of an Army recruitment office. My father was walking into the building, and I jumped up and down with excitement. My Dad was going to be a superhero; like Captain America or Wolverine. They even gave us a house, which meant no more car rides, but I didn't care I had a real superhero at home. What powers did he have? What monsters did he fight? Usually, I would receive whatever fake response he could make up to excite me. Then, he finally answered truthfully. He told me he didn't have powers; he had a gun. He didn't fight monsters; he fought people. He wasn't fighting to save the world; he was fighting so my family would never have to sleep in a cold car again. With only human abilities, he could still defeat even the worst of evil. Yes, there comes a time in every person's life when the magic starts to fade, and powers start to become unfathomable. But thanks to my father, I realized that learning is the greatest superpower anyone has. So, I expand my knowledge, take every opportunity afforded to me, and forge a work ethic that helps me overcome academic obstacles. With this scholarship, I will be able to continue the expansion of my father's teachings by going to college. My academic career has given me a passion for helping people and fostering change in my community through an innovative, entrepreneurial, and business-oriented mindset. By being accepted into my dream school and the number 2 undergraduate university for Business at UC Berkeley, I am one step closer to achieving that dream. However, the price of that dream is $80,000 a year. My family is in extreme financial disparity with my unemployed mother being the sole caretaker of our family of 6, living in section 8 housing, and having a twin brother who is also entering college this year. I am prepared to commit to my dreams no matter the cost. I am asking for you to commit to me, and make an investment So that I can invest in others.