Ever since I can remember and even before I was born my father has always been in and out of the system. I would remember one year where my father would be present in my life. Then the next year all the teachers and students would be confused as to why my father had disappeared. It was an ongoing cycle that was detrimental to my psychological well being especially because of my young age. As a result of my father's instability in my life, I was very challenging to deal with in school and at home. I became very defiant and was quickly labeled as a "troubled child". Because of my behavior, I was given a paraprofessional to make sure I abided by school rules and wasn't being disruptive to others. Later on, in my last year of elementary school, my mother was also arrested which devastated me to the point to which I became depressed. Not only was she arrested, but her face was also plastered all over the news and media. At a young age, I learned a very valuable lesson by understanding the correlation between education and poor decision-making throughout my parents' lives. Both of my parents were robbed of their college experiences due to a lack of help and funding throughout their communities at the time. These experiences have impacted me because at that point I feared if I wasn't given the opportunity, I would end up like my parents. From that point on, I attended a college prep middle/high school in hopes of someday attending college. I worked really hard in middle school so that I can someday be accepted into a dual enrollment program at my school. Since not only one, but both of my parents have been incarcerated, it made me more determined to further my education so that I do not make the same mistakes. I even took it to the extreme by managing to obtain 60 college credits throughout my short 4 years of high school. I proved myself to be ambitious and took advantage of the opportunities at stake so that my family wouldn't be burdened when it came to finances. My main goal for the future is to leave my hometown for good and further my education in psychology. More specifically, I will become a Forensic Psychiatrist one day so that I can help those that are incarcerated on a medical and psychological level. I have overcome my worst fear of not attending college because as of today, I can say that I am working on completing a BS in Psychology and preparing for med school. Although I am very fixed on this career, I still face many obstacles that often leave me discouraged. Especially when I think about how I will be able to afford to stay in school. But by learning from my parents' rough patches in life I have gained a feeling of being unstoppable. I know that I will find a way to conquer my expenses because I refuse to be a statistic and I don’t give up easily.

The best word I can use to describe myself is strong-willed. Believe me, it takes a very determined individual to not end up as a statistic in my community. I have defeated all odds by graduating from college and high school simultaneously and pursuing a degree in psychology. I aspire to become a Forensic Psychiatrist to ultimately give back to my community and help them with issues I can relate to firsthand. As a teen growing up in the East New York section of Brooklyn, I have been forced to combat mental illness and practically learn about it through these encounters. For starters, I have many family members who deal with different mental health issues daily. From my mother combating lasting postpartum depression and anxiety to my dad dealing with bipolar disorder, I have experienced it all. Luckily in my case, I was raised in a supportive housing system so my mom received as much support as possible to raise me effectively. Ironically, mental health is an unusual topic for my family because it is often looked down upon . Despite the fact that mental health is the downfall of many of my family and friends, the stigma is still there today. Individuals look at finding help as a weakness and often go without the proper treatment and fall victim to their illnesses. I became passionate about psychology through my curiosity of the risk factors of mental illnesses. Also how it affects everyone around you and most importantly how to recognize the signs as early as possible. I would like to some day give back to my community where it is needed most. That would be supporting them from an intellectual but empathic manner. I have started this journey by working with a community organization helping older adults recover from different issues. I would assist them with finding jobs, furthering their education and many other skills needed for everyday life. Many of them also suffer from mental health issues and my organization helps them with this as well. The feeling I get when I help my clients is unmatched and I am sure they all can say the same. Sooner than later, when I become a Forensic Psychiatrist, I will be working with criminals in order to determine their psychological state. I believe I will excel in this position being that incarceration and mental health usually go hand in hand when it comes to my personal experiences. I am attracted to this specific field being that mental health and incarceration is the most prominent issue in not only my community but all over the world. Being that I will be able to start at the source of the problem, I believe I will make a change. I have dedicated my life to this field of work and I know I have the power to turn this cycle around.

Growing up in the East section of Brooklyn, NY was not quite an experience any young child would want to go through. From gun violence to drug abuse to homelessness, and hunger, we saw it all. Due to a lack of help regarding finding homes to live in or even aid in paying for these places, many individuals were either on the streets or crammed up in very small apartments. As for making sure children are fed, the school systems helped out a bit by providing children with food during and after school. From my parents' generation to my generation I can say that although my community isn’t perfect, we have come a long way from the start of it all. And I would have to say what I admire most about my community are the strong-willed individuals who have endured hardships but managed to overcome them for the sake of our community. I have watched many of my peers change their life around for the better and seeing this gives me hope for the future. We have lots of recreational centers which I feel will encourage children to find something to do or a passion that can steer them in the right direction. In my opinion, there are still many things that this community can work on. If I were ever placed in a position where I can help to improve the obstacles my community has to face I will without any hesitation. I also believe that if everyone is allowed to further their education someday, it will inspire them and won't leave any time for obstructive activities or behaviors. During the pandemic, I volunteered to make a change in my community by combatting COVID-19. At the NYPD Community Center, I was allowed to become a youth advocate for the Test & Trace (T2) Outreach internship. I helped to distribute free masks to locals to stop the spread of COVID-19. I also create social media posts for the community center regarding important information on how to stay COVID-free. I believe that giving back to the community is important because I was brought up on the idea that it takes a village to successfully raise a child. During this time, I also assisted children in my community with homework help/tutoring free of charge. Based on the negative impact Covid-19 had on my peers and I , it was only right that I did something to help others. It also took the stress off of many of the single mothers in my community who can’t afford a tutor for their children. Sometimes, the parents didn’t have time to help their child with homework, like my mother who is usually working most of the time. Whatever the case was, I was happy to assist as many children as I was able to during that time. However, before Covid-19, I would help my grandmother and her church to serve our community with a pantry on the weekends. We gave out tons of food to anyone who waited in line typically and made sure no one went hungry on our watch. Along with the pantry, my grandmother and I also served soup to those who needed a way to stay warm during the winter. All of these instances of community service have been very rewarding to me knowing that I was able to help in whatever way I could at the time.

For as long as I can remember, my father has always been in and out of my life as a result of the prison system. I remember one year when my father would be present, then the next year all of the teachers and students at my school would be confused as to why my father had disappeared. It was an ongoing cycle that was detrimental to my psychological well being especially at my young age. As a result of my father's instability in my life, I was very challenging to deal with in school and at home. I became very defiant and was quickly labeled as a "troubled child". Later on, in my last year of elementary school, my mother was also arrested which devastated me into becoming depressed. Not only was she arrested, but her face was also plastered all over the news and media. At a young age, I learned a very valuable lesson by understanding the correlation between education and poor decision-making throughout my parents' lives. Both of my parents were robbed of their college experiences due to a lack of help and funding throughout their communities at the time. These experiences have impacted me because at that point I feared if I wasn't given the opportunity, I would end up like my parents. From that point on, I attended a college prep middle/high school in hopes of someday attending college. I worked hard in middle school so that I can someday be accepted into a dual enrollment program at my school. Since not only one but both of my parents have been incarcerated, it made me more determined to further my education so that I do not make the same mistakes. I even took it to the extreme by managing to obtain 60 college credits throughout my short 4 years of high school. I proved myself to be ambitious and took advantage of the opportunities at stake so that my family wouldn't be burdened when it came to finances. My main goal for the future is to relocate from my hometown and further my education in psychology. More specifically, I will become a Forensic Psychiatrist one day so that I can help those that are incarcerated on a medical and psychological level. I became passionate in this specific career due to my lived experiences with offenders. I have overcome my worst fear of not attending college because as of today, I can say that I am working on completing a BS in Psychology and preparing for med school. Although I am very fixed on this career, I still face many obstacles that often leave me discouraged. Especially when I think about how I will be able to afford to stay in school. But by learning from my parents' rough patches in life I have gained a feeling of being unstoppable. I know that I will find a way to conquer my expenses being that I refuse to be a statistic and don’t give up easily.

When the Constitution was first written, it gave everyone hope that we would come to a somewhat normal nation despite its rough past. Amongst the many promises that came with this, American citizens believed that our nation will be equal and will protect us from discrimination of our differences. Although it was a huge step towards normality, we still face issues today that violate the many amendments created to better our society. This topic is paramount to me because many have fallen victim to these injustices and I know I will someday have the power to make a difference from a cognitive point of view. As an aspiring Forensic Psychologist, it will be my job to ensure individuals are treated equally regardless of their psychological state in the legal system. Civil rights can be easily disregarded, especially in the prison system where you practically have no voice and are prone to internal distress. Most individuals who suffer from mental instability tend to have unfair trials, and labels placed on them and the underlying factors often go unnoticed. Mental health creates a divide in our society and many aren't helped until it is too late. I hope that my efforts to alter this system help to eliminate the stigma placed on these individuals. It is almost as if our nation has failed these individuals. Even after incarceration they often do not receive the treatment needed to become better people in society. In many cases, they usually end up back in prison with their conditions worse each time. Many conditions can increase one's risk of committing a crime if untreated which is unfair to those who are neglected care. Within my jurisdiction, I will be able to identify behavioral patterns and underlying social issues that may have motivated criminal behavior. By addressing the causes of the criminal's conduct, the government and those who pass laws about these crimes can benefit. Economic hardship and social constraints can occasionally play a significant role in what motivates criminal actions. People who have never experienced poverty, mental illness, or other socioeconomic issues may find it challenging to comprehend the motivations behind criminal behavior. This is one of the underlying factors that increase the violation of constitutional rights as many are not looking from this angle. Connecting the dots between a crime and the motivations behind why a person committed it aids in both criminal justice reform and crime prevention. Being that I was raised in a community where this kind of injustice is prevalent, I would like to make a change as it will not only help my community but make the world as a whole a better place.

​​Ever since I can remember and even before I was born my father has always been in and out of the system. I would remember one year where my father would be present in my life. Then the next year all the teachers and students would be confused as to why my father had disappeared. It was an ongoing cycle that was detrimental to my psychological well being especially because of my young age. As a result of my father's instability in my life, I was very challenging to deal with in school and at home. I became very defiant and was quickly labeled as a "troubled child". Because of my behavior, I was given a paraprofessional to make sure I abided by school rules and wasn't being disruptive to others. Later on, in my last year of elementary school, my mother was also arrested which devastated me to the point to which I became depressed. Not only was she arrested, but her face was also plastered all over the news and media. At a young age, I learned a very valuable lesson by understanding the correlation between education and poor decision-making throughout my parents' lives. Both of my parents were robbed of their college experiences due to a lack of help and funding throughout their communities at the time. These experiences have impacted me because at that point I feared if I wasn't given the opportunity, I would end up like my parents. From that point on, I attended a college prep middle/high school in hopes of someday attending college. I worked really hard in middle school so that I can someday be accepted into a dual enrollment program at my school. Since not only one, but both of my parents have been incarcerated, it made me more determined to further my education so that I do not make the same mistakes. I even took it to the extreme by managing to obtain 60 college credits throughout my short 4 years of high school. I proved myself to be ambitious and took advantage of the opportunities at stake so that my family wouldn't be burdened when it came to finances. My main goal for the future is to leave my hometown for good and further my education in psychology. More specifically, I will become a Forensic Psychiatrist one day so that I can help those that are incarcerated on a medical and psychological level. I have overcome my worst fear of not attending college because as of today, I can say that I am working on completing a Psychology/MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Although I am very fixed on this career, I still face many obstacles that often leave me discouraged. Especially when I think about how I will be able to afford to stay in school. But by learning from my parents' rough patches in life I have gained a feeling of being unstoppable. I know that I will find a way to conquer my expenses because I refuse to be a statistic and I don’t give up easily.

I grew up in a very low-performing neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY where the odds were put against us children every single day. So, I have always wanted to become a judge or some sort of government figure in order to make amends in my community. This was something that I was very passionate about at the time and I prepared to succeed in the field someday from a very young age. I would help with serving my community by assisting in pantry giveaways, soup kitchen help, and even tutoring sometimes. However, as I transitioned from secondary school to high school, I was given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to complete a dual-enrollment program. Since my community is very underrepresented in many aspects, I decided to take on this challenge to have a step further in success and perhaps beat the odds. The only issue with this opportunity was the fact that it was very limited not only regarding occupancy but also the majors offered to pursue. Ultimately, I had to choose between Computer Science and Biology. I chose Biology in hopes of somehow combining this focus with my aspirations. While completing this dual-enrollment program, I did lots of research to figure out how science can be combined with some form of justice to create the perfect profession for me. I did not want my degree in Biology to go to waste although it wasn't my plan from the beginning. So later on after countless sleepless nights of research, I stumbled upon Forensic Science. To be more specific Forensic Psychiatry is what caught my eyes. As I read about it, the idea of a scientist being in a courtroom working alongside the legal system was very relieving. It almost felt like that moment where you know how a song goes but can't think of the name of it. I didn't even know something like that even existed. But, ever since I've gained knowledge on the profession, I have been striving ever since. Following my graduation from high school and college in 2021, I have gone on to pursue a Psychology major. Slowly but surely, I will be off to med school, and then residency, and so on. My main passion for science is the psychological aspect being that mental health is a worldwide ongoing issue that many face on a daily basis. Especially since in my community, a vast majority of the individuals who commit crimes aren't really the criminals they are portrayed to be in the media. It is usually those that have been ignored or were forced to deal with mental illness on their own for various reasons. As a Forensic Psychiatrist, I will be able to help these individuals by assessing a diagnosis, supporting them in legal situations, being their advocate and so much more. I believe that the problem is that in today's world, everyone is worried about outbreaks of viruses and ignoring the outbreak of mental illness that has actually gotten worst since this pandemic. Since it is not something that can be physically seen or measured, it is often gone unnoticed or unimportant which is heartbreaking. I feel that it would be very rewarding to be in a position where I can help turn this nightmare upside down. I am also eager to conduct lots of research so that I can someday pioneer a better health system. I am also dedicated to bringing awareness to and destigmatizing mental illness.

I have always aspired to be a judge growing up because I loved to see how much a change these leaders make in a community. I come from Brooklyn, NY where crime is at an all-time high and I have always strived to go a separate route. There are many hardships that I've faced on a daily basis to defer me from greatness. Some were the lack of resources at my school and others were the excessive amount of gang and gun violence I had to work through. I feel that seeing the outcome of the individuals in my community has often left me discouraged with no hope. One day, it dawned upon me that mental illness is a huge factor in the failure of my community and I have to do something about it. Especially since I've watched my mother combat depression growing up. I will eventually become a Forensic Psychiatrist in the future regardless of how long it may take me. Luckily, I have always been a strong individual and I never let anything come in the way of my success. I was determined enough to manage to receive an Associate's Degree at age 17 before my high school diploma. While juggling between high school and college classes, I also made time to give back to my community. During the start of Covid-19 up until my graduation, I was dedicated to tutoring children who needed the extra help but couldn't afford it. I would help children with their homework and broke down difficult topics. I assisted my local NYPD Community Center by handing out masks to people in my community and informed them on how to stay Covid-Free. In addition to that, I helped out at the pantry that my grandmother's church hosted in order to give back essentials during a great time of need. Since I knew paying for college was going to be a determining factor in my success, I did everything in my power to save my mother from expenses. Unfortunately, after receiving all the scholarships that I could have possibly received, I still ended up in debt of about $25,000. Due to this, I have decided that I will have to defer from my education and transfer to a SUNY school so that I can lessen any future debt. With the money I save by paying down my student loans, I will save as much as I can in order to invest in medical school. Hopefully, by then I will find some way to pay it off but if not, I will work as hard as I can to take borrow the least amount of money. I have discovered a program that SUNY offers for pre-med students like myself. I hope to be admitted so that I can have the highest chance of someday getting into med school and pursuing my career. As, of right now, I am very proud of all I have accomplished at the age of 18 and I am sure there is more to come.

​​Ever since I can remember and even before I was born my father has always been in and out of the system. I would remember one year where my father would be present in my life. Then the next year all the teachers and students would be confused as to why my father had disappeared. It was an ongoing cycle that was detrimental to my psychological well being especially because of my young age. As a result of my father's instability in my life, I was very challenging to deal with in school and at home. I became very defiant and was quickly labeled as a "troubled child". Because of my behavior, I was given a paraprofessional to make sure I abided by school rules and wasn't being disruptive to others. Later on, in my last year of elementary school, my mother was also arrested which devastated me to the point to which I became depressed. Not only was she arrested, but her face was also plastered all over the news and media. At a young age, I learned a very valuable lesson by understanding the correlation between education and poor decision-making throughout my parents' lives. Both of my parents were robbed of their college experiences due to a lack of help and funding throughout their communities at the time. These experiences have impacted me because at that point I feared if I wasn't given the opportunity, I would end up like my parents. From that point on, I attended a college prep middle/high school in hopes of someday attending college. I worked really hard in middle school so that I can someday be accepted into a dual enrollment program at my school. Since not only one, but both of my parents have been incarcerated, it made me more determined to further my education so that I do not make the same mistakes. I even took it to the extreme by managing to obtain 60 college credits throughout my short 4 years of high school. I proved myself to be ambitious and took advantage of the opportunities at stake so that my family wouldn't be burdened when it came to finances. My main goal for the future is to leave my hometown for good and further my education in psychology. More specifically, I will become a Forensic Psychiatrist one day so that I can help those that are incarcerated on a medical and psychological level. I have overcome my worst fear of not attending college because as of today, I can say that I am working on completing a Psychology/MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Although I am very fixed on this career, I still face many obstacles that oftentimes leave me discouraged. Especially when I think about how I will be able to afford to stay in school. But by learning from my parents' rough patches in life I have gained a feeling of being unstoppable. I know that I will find a way to conquer my expenses because I refuse to be a statistic and I don’t give up easily.

Both of my parents were robbed of their college experiences due to a lack of help and funding throughout their communities at the time. These experiences have impacted me because at that point I feared if I wasn't given the opportunity, I would end up like my parents. From that point on, I attended a college prep middle/high school in hopes of someday attending college. I worked really hard in middle school so that I can someday be accepted into a dual enrollment program at my school. Since not only one, but both of my parents have been incarcerated, it made me more determined to further my education so that I do not make the same mistakes. I even took it to the extreme by managing to obtain 60 college credits throughout my short 4 years of high school. I proved myself to be ambitious and took advantage of the opportunities at stake so that my family wouldn't be burdened when it came to finances. My main goal for the future is to leave my hometown for good and further my education in psychology. More specifically, I will become a Forensic Psychiatrist one day so that I can help those that are incarcerated on a medical and psychological level. I have overcome my worst fear of not attending college because as of today, I can say that I am working on completing a Psychology/MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. I am proud that I have not become a statistic in my community and I am on the road to success.

In the mid-1980s, drugs first started spreading throughout the streets of East Brooklyn. Ever since then, my community has experienced a very rough patch from the residents of that time to the residents of today. From my parents' generation to now,I can say that although my community isn’t perfect, we have come a long way from the start of it all. I have watched many of my peers change their life around for the better and seeing this gives me hope for the future of my community. In my opinion, there are still many things that this community can work on. If given the opportunity, I would improve access to affordable housing because homelessness is still a problem today. I also believe that if everyone is given an opportunity to further their education someday, it will inspire them and won't leave any time for obstructive activities or behaviors. As of right now, I am volunteering to make a change in my community by combatting COVID-19. At the NYPD Community Center, I was given the opportunity to become a youth advocate for the Test &Trace (T2) Outreach internship. I help to distribute free masks to locals in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. I also create social media posts for the community center regarding important information on how to stay COVID-free. I believe that giving back to the community is important because when I was in a position where I needed support, there were people around me to help me survive on a day-to-day basis. Growing up, I was always taught that it takes a village to raise a child and despite hardships I was able to earn a seat in college. However, my work here is not done because I would like to help those who weren't as lucky.

I have always been looked down upon growing up not only because of my name or race, or gender, but also being misdiagnosed with ADHD. Even before I was born, doctors told my parents that I would never have a job with a name like "Empress". So, I already started off life with the ball not being in my court. I was put at a disadvantage with both my parents being felons and suffering from mental illness. From an outside view, my future never looked very bright. Growing up, teachers and doctors decided to put a label on me without even taking the time out to understand how hard life was for me. Regardless of how I was viewed, my mother made sure I attended school every day, completed homework assignments, and worked to the best of my ability. School had to be the most important aspect of my life even up until now being that it is my only way out. On that note, the quality that I value most about myself would have to be the fact that I am ingrained in the idea of becoming successful one day. When I first started my middle/high school, I heard about a dual enrollment program where I could potentially receive an Associate's Degree before graduating high school. From the day I heard about it up until I graduated this year, it has been the only thing on my mind every day. I suffered from sleepless nights and stress thinking about how it will pay off in the long run if I were to be admitted into this program. Also, being that I am a first-generation college student, I feared that if I didn't make it, I would never go to college. I feel that having this quality and being ingrained in my education has not only helped me so far but will continue to be my support. Had I not been deeply ingrained into my future, I may have ended up as a statistic and given up on everything. I disregarded every single hardship that has occurred in my 18 years and ended up graduating with my Associate's Degree in Biology before even receiving a high school diploma. This was very beneficial to not only me but also my mother in that I was able to receive undergraduate credits with little to no cost. With that being said, my quality assists me to keep going on a day-to-day basis and I am sure as long as I remain ingrained I will be successful someday.