My name is Elle Pierre and I have chosen to pursue the field of environmental ecology and biology to support my desire of going to medical school and becoming a pathologist. My life has not been easy as I have experienced homelessness and abusive situations from my father. Despite this adversity, I chose determination and developed resilience to help me move through difficult situations to find my sense of peace. My personal goals of studying science started when I was a young child. I had a secret window where I would look out at the animal feeders and study their behaviors. I am still an inquirer and I stay curious through different research projects to help find solutions for environmental and physical problems For example, last summer at Yale I was a part of a research team looking at how to reduce methane emissions in cattle. I have chosen the field of pathology because I am always looking at problems like a puzzle that might have many different ways of finding a solution. I am also a musician and actor, so I enjoy the challenge of discovering a new song or playing a new character and developing an identity for the performance. After experiencing adversity at home and continuing to strive for success, I have developed the ability to be a bridge-builder for others as well. I like to volunteer at a local non-profit called Friendship Circle which focuses on providing true friendship for children with special needs. While volunteering for many years at Friendship Circle, I have been able to find my voice while helping other children develop their own. I want to be able to give voice to people struggling with different health concerns as a pathologist and help find solutions to live a healthy life. My great-grandmother is an inspiration in my life. She grew up in New Orleans before the Civil Rights movement and she had the amazing ability to claim space in every room. Her life as a young black girl who achieved in athletics and academics is inspiring. She also inspired me to learn how to make my version of gumbo, which is a dish we shared at her house to bring our family together. Sharing a bowl of gumbo on her porch, was the place where my family found comfort and connection. Unfortunately, her recent passing made me even more aware of my part of her legacy of carrying on the tradition of being a bridge-builder between people.

My name is Elle Pierre and I have chosen to pursue the field of environmental ecology and biology to support my desire of going to medical school and becoming a pathologist. My life has not been easy as I have experienced homelessness and abusive situations from my father. Despite this adversity, I chose determination and developed resilience to help me move through difficult situations to find my own sense of peace. My personal goals of studying science started when I was a young child. I had a secret window that I would look out at the animal feeders and study their behaviors. I am still an inquirer and I stay curious through different research projects to help find solutions for environmental and physical problems For example, last summer at Yale I was a part of a research team looking at how to reduce methane emissions in cattle. I have chosen the field of pathology because I am always looking at problems like a puzzle that might have many different ways of finding a solution. I am also a musician and actor, so I enjoy the challenge of discovering a new song or playing a new character and developing an identity for the performance. After experiencing adversity at home and continuing to strive for my own personal success, I have developed the ability to be a bridge-builder for others as well. I like to volunteer at a local non-profit called Friendship Circle that focuses on providing true friendship for children with special needs. While volunteering for many years at Friendship Circle, I have been able to find my voice while helping other children develop their own. I want to be able to give voice to people struggling with different health concerns as a pathologist and help find solutions to live a healthy life.

My name, Elle, is a palindrome. You would think sliding forward and backward through life would be effortless with a palindrome name. Throughout my high school career, I have experienced housing security and homelessness. Unfortunately, this past January I had to move out of my home due to my father's addiction and abusive situation. With the help of my high school counselor and social worker, I was deemed certified as an independent youth at risk of homelessness under McKinney-Vento. I go to school in an affluent community that does not understand homelessness and I have kept this entire situation quiet because my peers would not understand. My mother is a teacher in the district, so I can attend the schools in the area because of her employment. Being homeless revealed my resilience. I have developed an inner strength that has helped shape my character and how I support others who may be struggling in silence. I embrace the uncomfortable feeling of going forward even when a path isn’t clear or I have no idea what the end product might be. I look forward to being a college student with a safe place to live, and I imagine all of the things that I can accomplish without the weight of housing insecurity. Moreover, it isn’t that I have been doing things backward. Instead, it’s that I need to step back and see the bigger picture first. Now that I know that is part of my process I can see the broader view of what I see for my own life. Pursuing a major in science provides a structure for creative discoveries and a path for moving forward when unknown variables enter the equation. My palindrome name requires courage and an ability to embrace the unknown. The financial assistance from this award would provide financial security for me to reach my goal of funding my college dreams of attending Northwestern University. I am declared an independent student, so I am relying on student loans, merit awards, work-study, and a Pell Grant to cover my costs. At this time, I am about $10,000 away from meeting my goal and this scholarship would help fill the gap.

A place where I have felt more connected to my personal history/identity is on my great-grandmother’s, GG, porch. GG was the matriarch of my father’s side of the family, and she claimed space wherever she found herself. GG would share stories of what growing up in New Orleans was like for a young black girl before the Civil Rights era. I admired her unwavering faith in her worth and the value she brought to the world even in the middle of adversity. She was self-assured, and she valued connection within our family as a place of stability. Visiting GG was my only way of connecting with my extended family on my father’s side. I also loved GG’s gumbo. Both sides of my family come together on her porch for one thing – her gumbo. My mother’s side of the family is white European, and my father’s side is black Creole. My family genealogy is incredibly diverse, and I am the sum total of all that was and will be. With my family history ranging from incredibly conservative political beliefs to boundlessly liberal and inclusive diversity, I am oftentimes caught in the crosshairs of debate. The two different ethnic sides of my family and their shared love of gumbo demonstrate the intersection of these cultures in my life. Although both sides struggle with getting along, when we sit together on GG’s porch with her gumbo, we view each other with kindness and respect due to our respect for GG. Unfortunately, her recent passing prompted the loss of her recipe – and a loss of our connection as a family. I took the initiative to learn how to make gumbo. With my limited knowledge, I set out with the goal of not recreating my GG’s gumbo but instead creating my own version of gumbo for my family to enjoy. After spending large amounts of time scrolling through the internet, reaching out to family members, and failed cooking attempts, I finally created my own acceptable gumbo. It has a blend of delicious flavors that are a little bit different from GG’s, but I always include the blue crab, just like her. Now every time both sides of my family visit, I have the pleasure of making gumbo and becoming a link between my two families. I ladle out the perfect balance of rice and gumbo to each of my family members. Learning how to be a connector is a personal point of pride, and I know that GG would support me bringing people together around a bowl of gumbo. Discovering I have the ability to connect with people who don’t always agree has enabled me to search for other ways to be a bridge builder in my community. I am able to connect and lead with other folks by giving space and creating safe open conversations between diverse groups of people. My empathy for others and modeling diplomacy in the face of adversity is how I have claimed space in my own family, community, and beyond. The most influential thing that I have learned from her is that I have permission to create my own version of something good. Sometimes the recipe needs to change because I might have access to limited or different ingredients or the roux might take longer than expected. Likewise, I take risks to further development within my community. Uncertainties are ok because I am willing to start the conversation, and I hope it’s over a bowl of gumbo.