Personal finance: Insignificant, nonessential, unimportant. These are words I used to describe personal finance before I was educated on the subject. I have lived the last sixteen years carefree and unbound in regards to money and my financial future. I thought of finances as an “adult job,” something I wouldn’t need to think about until I was married with four children; never something that would pertain to my life today. Now that I am knowledgeable on the subject of personal finance, I constantly think about how my spending and saving habits will affect my future finances, and apply the many lessons I learned in my Finance class to my everyday life. I could talk endlessly about the things I learned, but will focus on the importance of retirement. I always thought of retirement as something I waited for until I stopped working. My Personal Finance class revealed the importance of saving for retirement starting at a young age. Did you know I will need to save around 2 million dollars for retirement? Without this essential knowledge, I would have been a part of the 35% of Americans that don’t save enough for their retirement. As a result of learning this, I have started actively putting money away for my retirement, and will continue this throughout my years in the workforce. I also learned the importance of investing and opening an IRA when one turns 18, which will greatly benefit me when retirement is in sight. Retirement is a big part of life, so it's crucial to know what steps to take so people can continue to live the life of their dreams after leaving their job. It’s safe to say that Personal Finance has truly saved my life.

There are many historical figures that I can look up to as a young women growing up in today's society. Anywhere from Rosa Parks to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, it is easy to say that I look up to many influential women from history. However, the one person I admire most is Mae Jemison. I recently had the pleasure of studying and conducting a presentation on this amazing woman. After a lot of dedication in and out of her high school classroom, Mae Jemison was able to graduate high school at the age of 16. She attended Stanford University to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts degree in African and African-American studies. A few years after she graduated from Stanford, she attended Cornell Medical School and graduated with her Doctorate in Medicine. While she was in college, Jemison faced mass amounts of discrimination for not only being a woman in a STEM major, but and African American women in a STEM major. In 1987, Jemison persevered through the discrimination she faced and applied to the astronaut program at NASA. She was 1 of 15 that got accepted out of 2,000 applicants, and was the first African American woman in space. As someone that is interested in a male dominated field like Jemison, I look up to her strength and bravery as a woman. She was not only successful in her field, but flourished and thrived due to her inexhaustible dedication to her work. Everyday I use her as an example of how I want to be when I am studying to become an architect and when I graduate from college and continue into the workforce.

I have many artistic ambitions due to growing up in an artistic household. Anywhere from music to painting, you can find me doing something artistic and exploring my creative side. Because I have always been inclined in this field, I want to further my skills in college and become an architect. Becoming an architect will allow me to live through my true passion; art. To me, architecture is about making my community beautiful, as well as bringing it together. I see it as the art that gives back. As I look at some of the buildings in my city today, I think of ways that could improve them. I want to design buildings that are eye catching and alluring, while continuing to be sustainable and eco friendly as years go on. Experience is what makes an artist credible in a sense. While it is hard for me to have experience in such an intricate field, I am lucky enough to say that I do have such experience. In the past, I have had the pleasure of job shadowing at a local architecture firm in my city. In this job shadow, I not only learned the behind the scenes of what goes on in a firm, but I got the opportunity to put my creativity to the test and brainstorm designs for an up coming project in the area. After creating many drafts, I presented my original ideas to those in the office, explaining how my designs will grab the attention of the community and significantly increase the aesthetics of the city. I am excited to say that I will be returning to this firm for an internship in the winter. With the help of this scholarship, I can make my dream of becoming an architect come true. Although I have been saving for college in years past, I still do not have enough to get me through the years of school I am required to attend to become a certified architect; and unlike other majors, I have to attend 5-6 years of college. This means I will pay more than the average student that goes to a university. Not to mention, this scholarship will not only benefit me, but my community. Once I become an architect I will work towards giving back to my community not only through my ergonomic designs, but by creating places people can call home, even if they don't have one. Although it is not typically seen as such, architecture is an art; an art that gives back; and with this scholarship, I will be able to pursue my life as an artist that gives back.