I am planning to use the scholarship to help me afford to participate in a Semester at Sea. I was accepted into the program, but only with scholarship help will I be able to afford to go. I was awarded at academic scholarship for my current college due to my hard work throughout high school to obtain straight A’s all four years, which deemed me to be valedictorian. However, my academic scholarship to Chapman does not apply to the Semester at Sea tuition cost. This makes my family’s ability to afford the Semester at Sea much lower, as well as the probability of me attending at all. As I am severely lacking in all aspects of international knowledge, Semester at Sea would benefit in making me a more well-rounded individual. Gaining the knowledge beyond the United States and California respectively, would improve my ability to understand other cultures and lifestyles. I believe that living in and experiencing other countries has such a great impact on how people see the world. As of right now, I have no idea what life is like or what the environments even look like on the other side of the world. The absence of that knowledge makes people ignorant, and that is the last thing I want to be. My parents have been athletes their whole lives which, in turn, made me an athlete my entire life. I have been a dancer since I was three-years-old and a gymnast on and off throughout my life. I was on my high school's advanced dance team and I also won first place in the gymnastics state championship my sophomore year of high school. Now that I am in college and pursuing academics as opposed to my sports, I mainly partake in dance and gymnastics as a hobby that I do for fun. I am a part of the hip hop club, Floor 13, at my school and I go to VIBE Gymnastics every Wednesday to participate in their open gym program. Semester at Sea accepts students from all across the world. Participating in their program will give me the opportunity to meet many people and most likely many athletes as well. If I find fellow dancers I can use that as an opportunity to dance with them while I am there, get to know what classes/teachers they take from, and we can work with each other on any dance moves we struggle with. If I find other gymnasts, I can learn their possible different training techniques, their strategies in executing certain moves, and just have someone I can do flips with while I am abroad. Also, I do many regular workouts to keep my stamina and strength up. If I travel to a country, I can train at higher altitudes to increase my red blood cells which will increase my ability to utilize oxygen within my working muscles. All of these strategies will increase my capabilities as an athlete.

One of the main goals in my life has always been to be successful in whatever I do. Now that I am in college and have a vague idea of my career path, success is even more of a driving force in my life than ever before. I am a psychology major with a minor in neuroscience and law. I have discovered a research topic that I plan on pursuing throughout my career in psychology. This topic has yet to be researched and I plan to be the first one. I am choosing to keep this topic concealed in order to maintain the probability that I will be the first to research it. However, I can guarantee that the research will benefit society on a very large scale. I have already done a mini research project through surveys and my results were significant in all variables. I wish to pursue higher education to ensure the probability that I will be able to complete this research and help the community. I am participating in many extracurricular activities, as I have many interests and passions. I am a member of the hip-hop club Floor 13 at Chapman University. I have been a dancer my whole life and enjoy that, although I am not majoring or minoring in dance, I can still do something I love as part of a team. I used to be a gymnast, and now I actively tumble at VIBE Gymnastics and in my backyard as an enjoyable form of exercise. I am currently a photographer for the Southern California Tennis Academy. I have enjoyed photography my whole life and working for the SCTA has given me the opportunity to enhance my skills in taking action shots. I have also had a sunset on the beach photograph get featured in my school's Calliope Art and Literary Magazine. I also thoroughly enjoy drawing and painting. I mostly do it for my own enjoyment, however I considered minoring in art until I decided to pursue neuroscience. It might sound silly, but I am passionate about kindness. On a broad level, I truly believe that most of the world's problems would disappear if everyone treated people with kindness. It would eliminate all issues based on race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, social status, etc. It is not fair that different groups are treated differently and not given equal opportunities based on ideals that have nothing to do with who they are as a person. On a smaller level, a little bit of kindness goes a long way because you never know what people are dealing with. I am passionate about kindness because people can always use another reason to smile. Spreading kindness is the easiest way to make the world a little bit better.

I have always wanted to study abroad ever since I was in middle school. My cousin was in college studying abroad and hearing his stories about traveling to a different country inspired me. I have lived in the same place my whole life. I knew that when I got to college, studying abroad was something I had to do, but I had no clue where I wanted to go. All I knew is that I was very uncultured in the sense that I have only really known Southern California. I crave the experience and the knowledge from living in a different culture, but I couldn’t decide which one. Once I learned about the Semester at Sea program, I instantly knew that was the right choice for me and I am so happy that I have been accepted. It will allow me to experience so many different cultures and I will be in an environment with people in the same boat as me, both literally and figuratively. I relish in the fact that I can still take English-speaking classes and get to venture out and experience other parts of the world. I know Semester at Sea will really broaden my horizons in so many ways. I have yet to learn the history and rich culture of the countries and being able to fully immerse myself in it is an incredible opportunity that I will greatly benefit from. As I am severely lacking in all aspects of international knowledge, Semester at Sea will benefit in making me a more well-rounded individual. Gaining the knowledge beyond the United States and California respectively, will improve my ability to understand other cultures and lifestyles. I believe that living in and experiencing other countries has such a great impact on how people see the world. As of right now, I have no idea what life is like or what the environments even look like on the other side of the world. The absence of that knowledge makes people ignorant, and that is the last thing I want to be. In regard to my academic life and career, I plan on going into research in psychology. Having the awareness that life in the United States is not the only way to live will allow me to have a broader understanding of the possible issues that can exist. There already has been a multitudinous amount of research about culture differences in reference to many psychological issues. Gaining actual experience in these different cultures will aid me in potential research topics. It is important have a basic understanding of different cultures, people, and lifestyles to have a more diverse understanding of the mind. Also, Semester at Sea will just give me a wide-ranging amount of interaction with people from other cultures that I would not otherwise receive. This will strengthen my communication skills that will help my career as well as my life skills in general.