I think my greatest achievement to date is making it to a post-secondary institution and doing it and paying for it out of my pocket. Now even though I feel some would be very impressed by this statement alone I want it to know the story behind this is far beyond anything that I would wish on any one person. Growing up I spent the first four years of my life in the foster care system. my mom had severe mental health issues and my dad was never in the picture, but as I grew up I never let this sentiment stop me I always dreamed big and never let anyone stand in my way. Through high school, I did everything imaginable that would look good to schools. I did sports like basketball, track and field, and golf and even did over 100 plus hours of community service every year that I was in high school but little did I know that really wouldn't matter once I got to college. From the time I made it to college, I have worked anywhere between 2 and 3 jobs to get through college so far and I genuinely am tired. I'm tired that I did all the things I did to myself just so I could get through school and I don't think it should ever be that hard for anyone. Not that I am a first-generation student or anything because as far as I am aware my mother did go to college but as a former foster child I don't think those around us understand the difficulty it takes to get through school. We don't get as many loans as our peers and even to go to a third party you need a cosigner which in my case was not an option. And even in light of the situation I never let it stop me this experience has made me grow more than I ever would have imagined and I couldn't be more optimistic knowing that these hardships will come to pass and that this life I currently living is only temporary because my future is so much greater. All the sacrifices I have made will pay off and knowing that is the one thing that keeps me going every single day. My hope and dream for the future are to build an empire so that my future kids won't ever have to struggle a day in their life. My grandma raised me and my win sister and she put her life on hold to help us become the strong women we are today and I could never repay her for all she has done for me, but when I make it through school that will be exactly the day I know I made it. My future is bright that I do know but the one thing I do wish to do is give back to as many people as possible because I wouldn't be the person I am today without everyone who has given so much to me. Whether it be time or money every single thing has helped me along the way and I am a better person for that. I hope that one day I do live to tell a story of so much triumph and optimism because I know I can do it.

My decision to pursue higher education was mostly attributed to my aspirations to become a doctor. I wasn't the first in my family to pursue higher education but even though this wasn't the case the decision mostly came from wanting to show my mom who struggles severely with mental health issues that even though she was never able to see me and my twin sister make it to where we are today that I know if she was still in our life that she would be so very proud. For that very reason is why I hold those who are around me today like my sister and my grandma who raised me and my twin sister so very near because if it were not for the sacrifices my grandma made to help me and my sister I have no idea where I would be today. Despite all of the extracurriculars that I did in high school like basketball, golf, track and field, and volunteer work at my local elementary school somehow I fell short when I got to college because I spent the first 4 years of my life in the foster care system get what I needed to get my way through undergraduate did not come easily. I am working anywhere between 2 and 3 jobs to pay my way through school, and despite this setback, I am still working my butt off to get to my ultimate goal in this world and that is becoming a doctor. I aspire to help people and I always knew format young age that my calling was helping others. From the time I was young, I knew I was different and even now so many of my friends and family come to me for help despite everything I am currently going through, but yet again I still persevere knowing that this setback right now may seem big but its only temporary and I will not let it stop me from making it to the top. This is why my passion lies in giving back and helping others. I love being able to give back to those who have given so much to me so I always knew my way to the top was pursuing higher education and even with all the many headaches I have gained from pursuing it I wouldn't change anything about my experience because it has made me who I am today; only making me a better person, friend, and family member to those who are around me.

Growing up I did not come from the most affluent background however I always knew I would break the cycle and be the first. My ultimate goal in this world is to continue helping people no matter what and as a doctor in most areas where people of color reside. But what drew me to the idea of having my very own business is what comes from it and that's the idea of being able to do what you want on your own time and being able to set boundaries that in most 9 to 5 jobs you wouldn't because those boundaries are set for you. The idea of entrepreneurship fascinates me because the opportunities that come from it are endless especially depending on where you choose to take your business. When I started working on growing my brand what mainly made me start was knowing the perfect time to launch would never come and I just went on a limb and decided to launch what is now a shared podcast that I have with my sister called Tea Time With the Kennedys where we discuss anything from politics to college to the everyday current event to you name its a show about everything and I believe the opportunities we can have from this show are endless. We have many goals we want to accomplish with this show and as we just ended season 1 of our show we couldn't be more excited to start on season 2 with new segments that we hope will eventually elevate our brand and business all in one. Ultimately my hope would be to take this show all the way to the top and end up on an actual network but for now, we will continue to grow our brand via social media and by other outlets. However, this is not the only business venture that I intend to pursue, as I mentioned I didn't grow up with the most affluent background, and at the beginning of my life I spent 4 years in the foster care system and ultimately as I made my way to college realized this world is not easily navigated by the who don't have their parents in their life. This showed me that there is a place out there that says foster children need help especially when it comes to navigating their way to college. So when the opportunity presents itself I hope to create a nonprofit organization that focuses in keeping foster children away from the statistic an guide them and help them through the college world because that is something I wish I had before I went to college.

As much as it is my dream to become a doctor and better the lives of other minority and people of color in the health care system criminal justice reform is also a passion of mine. And from everything that I have learned in the past year and watch for all of my life it is more than easy to say there is a huge problem with the criminal justice system in the United States of America. Now if I had the opportunity to address criminal justice reform in America where I would start is by changing the way the policing in this country is handled. From there with that system abolished and reworked with more requirements than what there was before that would be the start. What I would then look at is the prison system as more African American men are in these system and a lot from being wrongly convicted or from minor offenses such a drug use. And what I would do there is rid this system completely as well and rebuild it by making it a rehabilitation center for criminals as because of the way our system works these people don't have the opportunity a lot of time to become useful members of society because them being a criminal is used against them and I don't have all the answers but I think with changing these two major and problematic issues when it comes to our criminal justice system it could fix a lot of the disparities we see in the black community. Not only this but having set sentences as it seems when black men do the same exact crime as other men who are not men of color they seem to get harsher punishments. So fixing this would also help because it wouldn't be based on the color of ones skin.

I got my first smartphone when I was 13 years old going into high school and even in the short span of 7 years as I am 20 now so much has changed. I started with a droid max and I will never forget that because even though it wasn't an iPhone it was a phone I was just glad to have a phone. It didn't have all the newest features but as my phone started to get older if that's what one would say in the tech world i knew it was a time to get a newer and more improved phone which is where I ended up ultimately getting an iPhone. Now the point from that is that even though my phone. was not old i thought it was with the influence of those around me as well as social media I was so easily swayed to upgrade. And as technology get newer and as people grow older all it seems as if everyone stays in their phones. This is how easily the smart phone impacts our da to day lives. From social media to music to video streaming services, so much is now at the very tips of our fingers and even behind wheel. Now to clarify I don't use my phone behind the wheel but i do know others that do and I genuinely do not understand how. As i have begun to start driving way more in my current life the fact that so many people text and drive is very scary and even though phones have their benefits the device is still so very scary. But to simply have it I think in my personal life when it coms to having smart phones behind the wheel there are great benefits. We now have portable GPS systems at our very hands and before smart phones were invented i cant even imagine what it was like not to even have them. So much good comes from these tiny devices despite the the bad but in my every day life i have always had good experiences when it comes to using these devices behind the wheel. They have allowed me to have a good time while driving as I listen to music and they allow me to get from point A and B even when I don't know where I am going.

Growing up my grandma raised me and my sister had four of her own children and raised us all on her own. Seeing this made me realize this woman just seems to be so invincible. Now I know she wasn't but seeing this just showed me she was so strong she did everything on her own and was willing to do anything for me and my twin sister when we grew up. I always looked to her as my inspiration but as I grew up I realized she was more than that, she was my hero. Strong, bold and beautiful in more than one way. If it wasn't for her I really don't know where I would be today she taught me so much and still teaches me so much to this day. I always think when I have kids I want to be like her, understanding and willing to listen to my kids. She genuinely is the best mom / single mom I have ever seen. Because of her I see myself helping so many people in my future just as she did for m and my sister. I want to be a doctor and as a woman of color I know the medical field needs me in more ways than one. But that is my dream to grow up and help those that need help, however now its been quite the challenge to genuinely make progress as I barely have time to do anything extra curricular to even help my chances of getting into med school, but I do not fear because due to everything happening in the world at the moment after I graduate I plan to do a bunch of volunteer work and shadowing in my future profession so I can get more experience and build my resume for med schools. However now it is becoming a challenge to even try and finish school as I have worked any where from 2 to 3 jobs paying my way through school and if I won this scholarship it would rid so much stress and pain from me. The amount of times I have cried, stayed up at night thinking where am I going to get the money for this from I cant even remember but when I say if I receive this scholarship it would mean everything to me, it literally would mean everything to me and I cant even put that into words because it literally would mean everything to me.

My greatest inspiration simply is my grandma, because without her I don't know where me and my twin sister would be. Growing up we spent about the first four years of our life in the foster care system and from there ended up with our grandma. She dropped everything once she found out about us and raised us as if she was the one who birthed us herself. I appreciate that because her life was not easy and by the time she was 22 she had already had 4 kids and went through a lot just to be where she is today. From being a single mother at the age of 22 to having 4 young kids to fleeing an abusive relationship I think it would be an understatement to say my grandma is one strong one woman. Im just glad she was able to see me and my sister grow up and if there is one thing in this world I want to do more is to just make her proud. She put so much on hold for me and my sister and to just be able to finish school a bit more easily would mean everything to me. She always told me growing up you have to do what you have to do and ever since I entered school I have been working any where from 2- 3 jobs just to finish and its hard yes, but i always remember this is a temporary situation and no matter how big this struggle may be to keep fighting to the the end, because thats what my grandma did. I cant even say anything else but that she is a strong woman and I genuinely own everything to her. She is more that my inspiration she genuinely is my hero.