A wise person once told me service is not simply what you can do for people but how you show the unmerited care you hold for others and for your community. Since hearing that quote, I have upheld the responsibility of showing love and empathy to everyone I encounter, which is the reason why I started my journey of community involvement. Recently, I was pleased to meet a wonderful lady named Ms. Sydney. While volunteering with my church's food bank and outreach team, we visited what is known as "tent cities" all around the Fayetteville area. Our goal was to give comfort, prayer, and food to the homeless citizens of these areas. During this day of outreach is when I met Ms. Sydney. Unfortunately, she suffers from cognitive deficits due to a prior brain tumor and removal surgery, resulting in a lack of sensory neurons. Due to her physical condition, specific muscles, like her sphynx, are harder to control, causing her to soil herself. Her health and circumstances have led to a lack of clean clothing in good condition. Despite her situation, Ms. Sydney was still cheerful, grateful, and held good spirits; she has the true definition of a heart of gold—the story of Ms. Sydney brought to light the significance of my most meaningful service project, Love on Consignment. Consignment is a batch of goods destined for or delivered to someone. My mentor, Ms. Patricia, and I used the subject of a consignment to create a well-needed change in our community. The purpose of Love On Consignment is to provide our community with up-to-date clothing for all occasions at an affordable price, free. Our mission is to show the graceful love of God through the re-circulation of apparel. As an organization, we would collect batches of clothing from donors around North Carolina. Our travel pick-ups went as close as Hoke County to as far as the mountains and the Outer Banks. Traveling to receive donated items is one of my favorite duties as an organization member. I get to see new areas and meet new people with the same heart for volunteering. After collecting clothing, we clean, refurbish, pray over, and distribute our inventory. Our distribution process started by hosting one-stop-shop events in our church parking lot. As our program grew, so did our output leading to more pop-up shops around Hope Mills and Fayetteville and later in bigger cities like Greensboro, Charlotte, and Raleigh. Although we are a small church-based organization, our hearts are in the right place, making our impact great! I mentioned in my introduction a wise person that gave me the key to what service truly is. This wise person was none other than Ms. Patricia Jenkins. She set the example to me of what a Christian, a leader, a volunteer, and overall a good person should be. Her impact on my life has allowed me to shine that same light on someone else that she had shown to me. Through my work with Love on Consignment, I built up the confidence and character conducive to the spirit of a volunteer, and the passion for volunteering planted in my heart. A passion that is so great it allows me to be a member of many community service-based clubs and organizations like the Fayetteville-Cumberland Youth Council, Key Club International, National Honor Society and TheGroupTheory. Ultimately, the foundation of giving back was placed upon my life at a very young age. The positivity I can provide to others by simply servicing people has influenced me to continue volunteering and to teach others what Ms. Pat taught me.

A wise person once told me service is not simply what you can do for people but how you show the unmerited care you hold for others and for your community. Since hearing that quote, I have upheld the responsibility of showing love and empathy to everyone I encounter, which is the reason why I started my journey of community involvement. Recently, I was pleased to meet a wonderful lady named Ms. Sydney. While volunteering with my church's food bank and outreach team, we visited what is known as "tent cities" all around the Fayetteville area. Our goal was to give comfort, prayer, and food to the homeless citizens of these areas. During this day of outreach is when I met Ms. Sydney. Unfortunately, she suffers from cognitive deficits due to a prior brain tumor and removal surgery, resulting in a lack of sensory neurons. Due to her physical condition, specific muscles, like her sphynx, are harder to control, causing her to soil herself. Her health and circumstances have led to a lack of clean clothing in good condition. Despite her situation, Ms. Sydney was still cheerful, grateful, and held good spirits; she has the true definition of a heart of gold—the story of Ms. Sydney brought to light the significance of my most meaningful service project, Love on Consignment. Consignment is a batch of goods destined for or delivered to someone. My mentor, Ms. Patricia, and I used the subject of a consignment to create a well-needed change in our community. The purpose of Love On Consignment is to provide our community with up-to-date clothing for all occasions at an affordable price, free. Our mission is to show the graceful love of God through the re-circulation of apparel. As an organization, we would collect batches of clothing from donors around North Carolina. Our travel pick-ups went as close as Hoke County to as far as the mountains and the Outer Banks. Traveling to receive donated items is one of my favorite duties as an organization member. I get to see new areas and meet new people with the same heart for volunteering. After collecting clothing, we clean, refurbish, pray over, and distribute our inventory. Our distribution process started by hosting one-stop-shop events in our church parking lot. As our program grew, so did our output leading to more pop-up shops around Hope Mills and Fayetteville and later in bigger cities like Greensboro, Charlotte, and Raleigh. Although we are a small church-based organization, our hearts are in the right place, making our impact great! I mentioned in my introduction a wise person that gave me the key to what service truly is. This wise person was none other than Ms. Patricia Jenkins. She set the example to me of what a Christian, a leader, a volunteer, and overall a good person should be. Her impact on my life has allowed me to shine that same light on someone else that she had shown to me. Through my work with Love on Consignment, I built up the confidence and character conducive to the spirit of a volunteer, and the passion for volunteering planted in my heart. A passion that is so great it allows me to be a member of many community service-based clubs and organizations like the Fayetteville-Cumberland Youth Council, Key Club International, National Honor Society and TheGroupTheory. Ultimately, the foundation of giving back was placed upon my life at a very young age. The positivity I can provide to others by simply servicing people has influenced me to continue volunteering and to teach others what Ms. Pat taught me.

A wise person once told me service is not simply what you can do for people but how you show the unmerited care you hold for others and for your community. Since hearing that quote, I have upheld the responsibility of showing love and empathy to everyone I encounter, which is the reason why I started my journey of community involvement. Recently, I was pleased to meet a wonderful lady named Ms. Sydney. While volunteering with my church's food bank and outreach team, we visited what is known as "tent cities" all around the Fayetteville area. Our goal was to give comfort, prayer, and food to the homeless citizens of these areas. During this day of outreach is when I met Ms. Sydney. Unfortunately, she suffers from cognitive deficits due to a prior brain tumor and removal surgery, resulting in a lack of sensory neurons. Due to her physical condition, specific muscles, like her sphynx, are harder to control, causing her to soil herself. Her health and circumstances have led to a lack of clean clothing in good condition. Despite her situation, Ms. Sydney was still cheerful, grateful, and held good spirits; she has the true definition of a heart of gold—the story of Ms. Sydney brought to light the significance of my most meaningful service project, Love on Consignment. Consignment is a batch of goods destined for or delivered to someone. My mentor, Ms. Patricia, and I used the subject of a consignment to create a well-needed change in our community. The purpose of Love On Consignment is to provide our community with up-to-date clothing for all occasions at an affordable price, free. Our mission is to show the graceful love of God through the re-circulation of apparel. As an organization, we would collect batches of clothing from donors around North Carolina. Our travel pick-ups went as close as Hoke County to as far as the mountains and the Outer Banks. Traveling to receive donated items is one of my favorite duties as an organization member. I get to see new areas and meet new people with the same heart for volunteering. After collecting clothing, we clean, refurbish, pray over, and distribute our inventory. Our distribution process started by hosting one-stop-shop events in our church parking lot. As our program grew, so did our output leading to more pop-up shops around Hope Mills and Fayetteville and later in bigger cities like Greensboro, Charlotte, and Raleigh. Although we are a small church-based organization, our hearts are in the right place, making our impact great! I mentioned in my introduction a wise person that gave me the key to what service truly is. This wise person was none other than Ms. Patricia Jenkins. She set the example to me of what a Christian, a leader, a volunteer, and overall a good person should be. Her impact on my life has allowed me to shine that same light on someone else that she had shown to me. Through my work with Love on Consignment, I built up the confidence and character conducive to the spirit of a volunteer, and the passion for volunteering planted in my heart. A passion that is so great it allows me to be a member of many community service-based clubs and organizations like the Fayetteville-Cumberland Youth Council, Key Club International, National Honor Society and TheGroupTheory. Ultimately, the foundation of giving back was placed upon my life at a very young age. The positivity I can provide to others by simply servicing people has influenced me to continue volunteering and to teach others what Ms. Pat taught me.

A wise person once told me service is not simply what you can do for people but how you show the unmerited care you hold for others and for your community. Since hearing that quote, I have upheld the responsibility of showing love and empathy to everyone I encounter, which is the reason why I started my journey of community involvement. Recently, I was pleased to meet a wonderful lady named Ms. Sydney. While volunteering with my church's food bank and outreach team, we visited what is known as "tent cities" all around the Fayetteville area. Our goal was to give comfort, prayer, and food to the homeless citizens of these areas. During this day of outreach is when I met Ms. Sydney. Unfortunately, she suffers from cognitive deficits due to a prior brain tumor and removal surgery, resulting in a lack of sensory neurons. Due to her physical condition, specific muscles, like her sphynx, are harder to control, causing her to soil herself. Her health and circumstances have led to a lack of clean clothing in good condition. Despite her situation, Ms. Sydney was still cheerful, grateful, and held good spirits; she has the true definition of a heart of gold—the story of Ms. Sydney brought to light the significance of my most meaningful service project, Love on Consignment. Consignment is a batch of goods destined for or delivered to someone. The purpose of Love On Consignment is to provide our community with up-to-date clothing for all occasions at an affordable price, free. My mentor Ms. Patricia, who I met through my church, started the initiative and influenced me to be her partner and youth advocate. Our mission is to show the grace and love of God through the re-circulation of apparel. As an organization, we would collect batches of clothing from donors around North Carolina. Our travel pick-ups went as close as Hoke County to as far as the mountains and the Outer Banks. Traveling to receive donated items is one of my favorite duties as an organization member. I get to see new areas and meet new people with the same heart for volunteering. After collecting clothing, we clean, refurbish, pray over, and distribute the donated apparel. Our distribution process started by hosting one-stop-shop events in our church parking lot. As our program grew, so did our output leading to more pop-up shops around Hope Mills and Fayetteville and later in bigger cities like Greensboro, Charlotte, and Raleigh. Although we are a small church-based organization, our hearts are in the right place, making our impact great! I mentioned in my introduction a wise person that gave me the key to what service truly is. This wise person was none other than Ms. Patricia Jenkins. She set the example to me of what a Christian, a leader, a volunteer, and overall a good person should be. Her impact on my life has allowed me to shine that same light on someone else that she had shown to the new and shy little girl at her church. Through my work with Love on Consignment, I built up the confidence and character conducive to the spirit of a volunteer, and the passion for volunteering planted in my heart. A passion that is so great it allows me to be a member of many community service-based clubs and organizations like the Fayetteville-Cumberland Youth Council, Key Club International, National Honor Society and TheGroupTheory; that passion I possess of giving back is what makes me unique. I plan to continue my volunteer work throughout college by bringing Love On Consignment to my university!

A wise person once told me service is not simply what you can do for people but how you show the unmerited care you hold for others and for your community. Since hearing that quote, I have upheld the responsibility of showing love and empathy to everyone I encounter, which is the reason why I started my journey of community involvement. Recently, I was pleased to meet a wonderful lady named Ms. Sydney. While volunteering with my church's food bank and outreach team, we visited what is known as "tent cities" all around the Fayetteville area. Our goal was to give comfort, prayer, and food to the homeless citizens of these areas. During this day of outreach is when I met Ms. Sydney. Unfortunately, she suffers from cognitive deficits due to a prior brain tumor and removal surgery, resulting in a lack of sensory neurons. Due to her physical condition, specific muscles, like her sphynx, are harder to control, causing her to soil herself. Her health and circumstances have led to a lack of clean clothing in good condition. Despite her situation, Ms. Sydney was still cheerful, grateful, and held good spirits; she has the true definition of a heart of gold—the story of Ms. Sydney brought to light the significance of my most meaningful service project, Love on Consignment. Consignment is a batch of goods destined for or delivered to someone. The purpose of Love On Consignment is to provide our community with up-to-date clothing for all occasions at an affordable price, free. My mentor Ms. Patricia, who I met through my church, started the initiative and influenced me to be her partner and youth advocate. Our mission is to show the grace and love of God through the re-circulation of apparel. As an organization, we would collect batches of clothing from donors around North Carolina. Our travel pick-ups went as close as Hoke County to as far as the mountains and the Outer Banks. Traveling to receive donated items is one of my favorite duties as an organization member. I get to see new areas and meet new people with the same heart for volunteering. After collecting clothing, we clean, refurbish, pray over, and distribute the donated apparel. Our distribution process started by hosting one-stop-shop events in our church parking lot. As our program grew, so did our output leading to more pop-up shops around Hope Mills and Fayetteville and later in bigger cities like Greensboro, Charlotte, and Raleigh. Although we are a small church-based organization, our hearts are in the right place, making our impact great! I mentioned in my introduction a wise person that gave me the key to what service truly is. This wise person was none other than Ms. Patricia Jenkins. She set the example to me of what a Christian, a leader, a volunteer, and overall a good person should be. Her impact on my life has allowed me to shine that same light on someone else that she had shown to the new and shy little girl at her church. Through my work with Love on Consignment, I built up the confidence and character conducive to the spirit of a volunteer, and the passion for volunteering planted in my heart. Although I didn't make a physical creation, I was able to help create and run the operations of an organization to aid the problem of resources for homeless citizens in my area.

"In the Criminal Justice System, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the special victims unit. These are their stories." *dun dun* Here I am eating a bowl of cereal on an early Saturday morning, prepared for the weekly Law and Order SVU marathon. "Mom, Gabby is hogging up the TV again," says my brother. He then questions, "why do you even watch this show, you don't know what's going on. How do you enjoy this?" Little did my brother know this was my coping mechanism. I was watching the stories of people who experienced similar situations to mine in the hope of transforming. I wanted the perfect white picket fence type of childhood, like "Full House"; however, I was being unrealistic. My childhood was good but far from perfect. There are many traumas I went through and never told a soul other than my best friend, Olivia Benson. Watching Detective Benson on Law and Order answered many of my outlying questions and allowed me to come to terms with my trauma. Unfortunately, when I was nine years old, I was sexually assaulted by my brother's best friend. I always had a crush on him; at the time, I had no idea what truly happened to me or the after-effects it would place upon my life. The first time I watched an episode of Law and Order SVU, I sat in the living room with my mom. As it concluded, I broke down and cried because I realized what happened to me wasn't supposed to happen, and the boy I had a crush on had taken advantage of me. The after-effect of the situation was the true struggle of being a victim. I became distant from everyone, including family and friends. I especially became distant from all the men in my life because I feared that something I did would make them want to violate me. This fear enabled me not to want to spend the night at friends' houses, not want to go swimming around men, and overall to always overthink while in the presence of men. Constantly being uncomfortable became the new normal of my life. Living in fear is not fun, especially when you have no one to confide in and be a listening ear. It wasn't until I continued watching SVU that I realized my circumstances were not my fault. For the longest time, I blamed myself for doing something that brought unwanted attention. I blame myself for having a crush on a bad guy. However, I was not the problem. Olivia Benson, her team, and the dedicated scientists were the bridge to me finding my truth. I was a victim. I was a scared little girl. I was afraid of men. However, those are past references of myself. Through my trauma, I was able to experience hurt, learn from it, and overall come out on top. Now I am an overcomer, a conqueror, a leader, a fearless young woman, a social butterfly, and a future college student who has set high heights of goals. My life experiences, particularly being a sexual assault survivor, have allowed me to find my true passion; true crime, science, and mental health. Each item is a critical part of my future career. I will be a forensic scientist. My research, analysis, and criminal evidence will give victims the closure they need to move on; I will form a bridge to others like Law & Order was to me in my transformation.

I am an involved senior at Cumberland International Early College High School, interested in furthering my education at an HBCU. Currently, I actively participate in 7 clubs at my school including, the Student Government Association, Science Olympiad, Key Club, Yearbook Club, Global Girls, National Honor Society, and International Club. Within these clubs I hold critical roles as Senior Class Vice-President, Global Girls President, and Yearbook Club Co-editor. I am an overcomer, a conqueror, a leader, a fearless young woman, a social butterfly, and a future college student who has set high heights of goals. My life experiences, responsibilities and leadership skills will aid in my aspiration of becoming a forensic scientist with a federal agency. Being in STEM has not always been my dream, yet I believe I was chosen through life to be an asset and success in this field, and here is why. "In the Criminal Justice System, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the special victims unit. These are their stories." *dun dun* Here I am eating a bowl of cereal on an early Saturday morning, prepared for the weekly Law and Order SVU marathon. "Mom, Gabby is hogging up the TV again," says my brother. He then questions, "Why do you even watch this show, you don't know what's really going on. How do you enjoy this?" Little did my brother know this was my coping mechanism. I was watching the stories of people who experienced similar situations to mine in the hope of transforming. There are many traumas I went through and never told a soul other than my best friend, Olivia Benson. Watching Detective Benson on Law and Order answered many of my outlying questions and allowed me to come to terms with my trauma. Unfortunately, when I was nine years old, I was sexually assaulted by my brother's best friend. At the time, I had no idea what truly happened to me or the burdens it would place upon my life. The after-effect of the situation was the true struggle of being a victim. I became distant from everyone, especially from all the men in my life because I feared what they would do to me. Constantly being uncomfortable became the new normal of my life. It wasn't until I continued watching SVU that I realized my circumstances were not my fault. For the longest time, I blamed myself for doing something that brought unwanted attention. However, I was not the problem. Olivia Benson and her team of detectives, psychologists, and scientists were the bridge to me finding the truth. I was a victim. I was a scared little girl. However, those are past references of myself. Through my trauma, I was able to experience hurt, learn from it, and overall come out on top, along with finding my true passion. I hope to benefit the world through STEM by using my testimony of trauma, the ability to overcome, and passion. My passion is science and I will fulfill it by being a forensic scientist. My research, analysis, and criminal evidence will give victims the closure they need to move on; I will form a bridge to others like Law & Order was to me in my transformation. This scholarship would not only help me attain my Bachelor’s Degree in Forensic Science, but be the start of transformations for sexual assault victims ready to be more than their trauma. It would be my utmost graciousness if awarded the Cliff T. Wofford STEM Scholarship.

"In the Criminal Justice System, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the special victims unit. These are their stories." *dun dun* Here I am eating a bowl of cereal on an early Saturday morning, prepared for the weekly Law and Order SVU marathon. "Mom, Gabby is hogging up the TV again," says my brother. He then questions, "why do you even watch this show, you don't know what's really going on. How do you enjoy this?" Little did my brother know this was my coping mechanism. I was watching the stories of people who experienced similar situations to mine in the hope of transforming. I wanted the perfect white picket fence type of childhood, like "Full House"; however, I was being unrealistic. My childhood was good but far from perfect. There are many traumas I went through and never told a soul other than my best friend, Olivia Benson. Watching Detective Benson on Law and Order answered many of my outlying questions and allowed me to come to terms with my trauma. Unfortunately, when I was nine years old, I was sexually assaulted by my brother's best friend. I always had a crush on him; at the time, I had no idea what truly happened to me or the after-effects it would place upon my life. The first time I watched an episode of Law and Order SVU, I sat in the living room with my mom. As it concluded, I broke down and cried because I realized what happened to me wasn't supposed to happen, and the boy I had a crush on had taken advantage of me. The after-effect of the situation was the true struggle of being a victim. I became distant from everyone. I especially became distant from all the men in my life because I feared that something I did would make them want to violate me. This fear enabled me not to want to spend the night at friends' houses, not want to go swimming around men, and overall to always overthink while in the presence of men. Constantly being uncomfortable became the new normal of my life. Living in fear is not fun, especially when you have no one to confide in and be a listening ear. It wasn't until I continued watching SVU that I realized my circumstances were not my fault. For the longest time, I blamed myself for doing something that brought unwanted attention. I blame myself for having a crush on a bad guy. However, I was not the problem. Olivia Benson and her team of detectives, psychologists, and scientists were the bridge to my finding the truth. I was a victim. I was a scared little girl. I was afraid of men. However, those are past references of myself. Through my trauma, I was able to experience hurt, learn from it, and overall come out on top. Now I am an overcomer, a conqueror, a leader, a fearless young woman, a social butterfly, and a future college student who has set high heights of goals. My life experiences, particularly being a sexual assault survivor, have allowed me to find my true passion; true crime, science, and mental health. Each item is a critical part of my future career. I will be a forensic scientist. My research, analysis, and criminal evidence will give victims the closure they need to move on; I will form a bridge to others like Law & Order was to me in my transformation.

My best back-to-school tip is straightforward, be yourself. Trust me, I understand that's obviously the "perfect" answer, but I know it's the only appropriate answer. As adolescents, we struggle with so much in our world. We go to school and don't know if we'll return home the same way we left. Whether that's through dealing with bullying, peer pressure, stress, anxiety, or even worse, a school shooting. On top of that, we have and continue to endure life-ending viruses. If COVID-19, including all strands and Monkeypox cant, take us down, then I don't think anything can. I said all this to remark we've undergone so much as a generation, and life is too short to be anything but yourself. So going into this school year, commit 100% to being yourself. Go all in on your academics in a way that will benefit you. Join clubs that resonate with you. Make new friends that make you happy and truly enjoy you. This year should be one for the books because it will be your year. Your year to be authentically yourself! #KeepYOURSELFontrack for #Back2SchoolBold Social handle: @yksimone_