I have exhibited a commitment to diversity in my school by volunteering to help at my school’s Multicultural festival. I’ve helped with leading people into the event to set up their tables and get ready. During the event I also participated in it by visiting the different tables and trying the foods while reading the information on the boards. It was a very educational event because I got to learn a lot about different Hispanic countries that I didn’t know before. I also helped out with our assembly during Hispanic heritage month for the Hispanic students at our school. For the assembly we were planning to show a couple of dances from Hispanic culture for the other students to learn as well as some presentations about well-known Hispanic people. For this assembly I was helping out with teaching the dances with me doing the Bachata. I learned this dance from my Hispanic friends when they were teaching their culture to me. So I decided to help them teach it to others by using what I knew about Hispanic culture. This was a fun experience for me because not only did I get to see my friends happy sharing their culture with others I also got to help out with it. My volunteer activities and community service involvement had also allowed me to commit to inclusion, diversity, and equity. During my community service I am most of the time talking with people in-order to help them with different things whether that’s checking them in or just making conversation. When doing this I end up meeting a lot of different people from different races, genders, etc. While meeting these people I often have conversations with them while helping them out. These conversations have allowed me to learn a lot about other people who experience different lives than me. It also helped me with understanding that everyone goes through different situations in their life that affects the decision they make. This doesn’t describe them as a person, instead it’s better to have a conversation with them to better understand their personality. My education will help me with displaying these characteristics because I intend on studying entrepreneurship. This will help me because with this major I will not only learn how to build a business but also how to talk to others in a way to make them comfortable and willing to come to my business. In the future I plan on making my business a place where people are able to bond or get along while eating what I made together. Since I believe that people are most able to get along with each other when sharing something they like. I would also create a free space where everyone can just be themselves as long as they’re not hurting anybody. Therefore, no matter what race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or identity someone is, they would still be able to feel safe in my shop and free from judgment. Which I think is honestly something that everyone needs to feel when being somewhere, where they are trying to enjoy themselves. Since showing genuine hospitality and welcoming could positively affect someone’s day and keep them going throughout the day. Therefore, I plan on making a difference in my career by creating this kind of atmosphere at my shop that welcomes everyone and helps in any way possible.

I plan on majoring in Entrepreneurship while also studying Pastry Arts and later studying Food Science in order to make difference in my career field by having a pastry business. In my business I intend to make pastries that taste good but are also healthier than some of the sweets sold today. I would do this by using ingredients that are healthier alternatives to ingredients like sugar. I will also make my business allergy sensitive therefore people who are allergic to certain things can still get something sweet to eat. This way I can still make my business inclusive for everyone leaving no one out. My business will continue contributing to the agriculture industry's objective because I will teach baking classes while running the business. Since there are many people in the world who don’t know how to bake, I will teach them ways to make desserts for their family that are healthier but still good. I also intend to help families where there might be a struggle for healthier food learn how to make desserts that still taste good but are also healthy. I’m planning to do this as a way to teach people different ways that they could enjoy sweets while also being price conscious when buying ingredients. Which would help people because I will be teaching a valuable skill that would help people whenever they are trying to have get-togethers or events. Or even if they just wanna bake something small together with their family. Also with the bakery I plan on giving out the leftovers I have from the day away to people in the community who need them. Since I intend to make my pastries fresh each day, therefore I would like to use some of the leftovers I’m not using to help others. Although giving them the pastries wouldn’t provide them with the best meal it would still give them something to eat. Plus I think it would possibly brighten their day to receive free pastries. Also not only would giving out the leftover pastries give the people who need it something to eat but it would make me feel better as well since I don’t like wasting food. I am also making my pastry shop somewhere that people can come to just relax and take a break from their problems. By using it as a way to make people’s day better even just a little. Many times whenever I make someone a pastry or baked good I usually end up putting a smile on their face. I think this would make my business successful because I’m making people happy and I’m able to brighten their day even if it's just by a little bit. After having established my pastry business I also imagine myself traveling around the world teaching people about food. I imagine myself teaching people ways on how they can use different ingredients to substitute for less healthier ones when trying to make healthier meals and desserts while also saving more money. As well as spreading awareness about the different allergens and bacterias found in certain foods and how to help prevent them from spreading in the foods or ways to prevent contamination when cooking or baking. I believe that teaching this information would benefit the world because lots of people everywhere often struggle to provide nutritious meals for their family because they don't have the resources or information on how to. But with the information I give them it would help with giving them ways to learn how to provide better foods to their family.

The gender wage difference between men and women is a major social justice issue with women making only 82% of what men do. In America you can see that no matter what career field you're in, men are paid more than women. This is a social issue because it creates a difference in the money made between men and women even with the same jobs.With women being paid less than men this affects their lives in the long term even after retirement not just while they’re working. Not only does the lower wage impact the women themselves but it also impacts their families as well. Which in turn can contribute to other issues of poverty or homelessness because the woman doesn’t make enough money to support herself or her family. The gender wage gap issue is also related to other issues such as the wage gap between races. These two issues are related because while women in general are paid less than men, women of color are paid even less than that of white women. Which unfortunately leads to more problems for these women that can turn into signs of discrimination. The reason I think it's important to get involved in changing this issue is because it’s something that affects a lot of the people around me. I’ve seen many women around me be treated differently than the men in their career field and get paid less for their work. It’s also an important topic to me because this issue is something that will also affect me when I get into the workforce in the future. As a highschool senior the wage difference doesn’t affect me now because I don’t have an actual full-time job. But when I do get into the workforce it will affect me because I will mostly get paid less than the men in my field which is a problem. This is a problem because the career I’m going into is already extremely competitive and can take a while to make good money in. So if I go in already making less than the men then it will kind of feel like I worked hard for nothing just to be treated unfairly. Plus I think that this is an issue that’s not talked about enough. People typically focus on issues like racism or talking about hunger which are also important topics. But I think the wage gap between genders is also important to discuss and get involved with because it negatively affects the lives of millions of women and their families. Also the effects of the lower wages can then contribute to the other major issues happening around the world that affect everyone.

I’ve had to deal with moving schools multiple times since I was younger which used to affect me negatively academically and socially. In 6th grade I would often read so much in class that I would sometimes get in trouble for it. This started to affect my grades a little since I wouldn’t really pay attention in class. Not only did it affect my grades negatively but it also caused me to have no friends because I wouldn’t interact with people. But come high-school I had decided to focus more on my grades and keeping my GPA up and getting more involved at school. But then the summer before my junior year I had to change schools again. This was probably the most difficult transition because the new school I came to was different than what I was used to. It was structured differently and my schedule ended up being a little weird my junior year because of some of the classes I had already taken. But it was also a college preparatory school, it did help me in being motivated in keeping my grades and GPA up. While at the school I accomplished a lot of things like joining some sport teams and clubs and making friends. I also completed a couple AP classes and honors classes while earning awards on the way. I chose a stem major because I’ve always been interested in science, in school I’ve always found my science classes interesting plus I’m good at science. I specifically chose food science as my major because I'm interested in both food and science. Plus majoring in food science would benefit me in the career I want in the future which is to have my own pastry business. By majoring in food science I can learn the biological and chemical make-up of foods which would help with making recipes because I would be able to know what ingredients would work best with each other. I would also be able to learn what different foods can trigger allergies for people and create desserts that accommodate different food restrictions. While also finding ways to make healthier desserts for people that are still good but better healthwise than a lot of the desserts sold now. Another thing that motivates me to pursue a stem major is that today black women make up only 14% of the already small percent of women working in a stem field. I personally don’t know any black woman close to me that has a degree in stem. I find this sad and want to change that by getting my own degree in food science and showing that I can get through a stem program and excel in it. While also majoring in entrepreneurship and pastry arts working towards having my own pastry business. Honestly when I first started thinking about going to college food science wasn;t in my plans. I actually didn’t want to try pursuing a stem major because I thought it would be too difficult. But after seeing the statistics of the amount of women who look like me being in the field I decided to try it out once I start college. Plus despite how hard certain science classes might be I actually enjoy learning science and wouldn't mind continuing it. Sadly I won’t actually be considered in the program until my sophomore year because of how my college I’ll be attending is set up but once I can I’ll be sure to make the best of it.

I have demonstrated my leadership abilities by being involved in my Student Ambassador duties by helping out at Open Houses with giving people tours of the school building and telling them about the school, plus answering any questions they have. Doing this has made me one of the students used as the face of DePaul which is a lot of responsibility because I show what a model student should look like. I have also demonstrated leadership abilities in school by volunteering to help other students out in my class with school work and helping at different school events. I have demonstrated leadership abilities outside of school by volunteering at places where I help with kids. I have volunteered at Cincinnati Breakthrough during the summer where I was a teacher assistant so I helped with leading the kids in activities. I’ve also volunteered to do a baking class where I taught younger kids how to make chocolate chip cookies and helped them when needed. My other volunteer activities and community service involvement farther demonstrates my leadership because they place me in areas where I have opportunities to practice talking and interacting with people. During my community service I am most of the time talking with people in-order to help them with different things whether that’s checking them in or just making conversation. Often times I am helping someone get to another place or teaching them how to do something. This helps with my career goal because in the career I’m pursuing I will have to do a lot of talking with people to gain regular customers and build connections with other businesses. So the practice I’m getting now and will continue getting in the future helps me with improving my communications skills and learning how to better deal with people. This will help me because with this major I will not only learn how to build a business but also how to talk to others in a way to make them comfortable and willing to come to my business. In the future I plan on making my business a place where people are able to bond or get along while eating what I made together. Since I believe that people are most able to get along with each other when sharing something they like. I would also create a free space where everyone can just be themselves as long as they’re not hurting anybody. Therefore, no matter what race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or identity someone is, they would still be able to feel safe in my shop and free from judgment. Which I think is honestly something that everyone needs to feel when being somewhere, where they are trying to enjoy themselves. Since showing genuine hospitality and welcoming could positively affect someone’s day and keep them going throughout the day.

I'll be an incoming college freshman this year and I like baking, reading, learning languages, sports, traveling, and animals. I have been baking for about 2-3 years now and I still enjoy it immensely and would like to make a career out of it having my own pastry business. I am a major bookworm and I like reading books and have liked reading since I was little. My favorite genres of books are fantasy, and mystery, but I will read any genre if the book interests me. I like learning languages because I enjoy learning other cultures which is why I also enjoy traveling because I would like to travel as much as I can during and after college. I like trying different foods contributing to why I would like to travel to different countries and try the different foods and experience their cultures. I enjoy playing sports and am currently playing soccer and running track. I would like to continue playing in college even if it's not on the team and just for fun. I also am a big animal lover. My favorite animal is the red panda with my second being sloths. I find them to be cute but I also like other animals as well. I plan to pursue a career in entrepreneurship by having my own pastry business in the future. I intend for my business to be a place where people can come to just relax and take a break from their problems. Also by doing this I’m hoping to make people’s day better even if it is just a little bit. I envision this because many times whenever I make someone a pastry or baked good I usually end up putting a smile on their face. I think this would create a positive impact in the world because I’m making people happy and I’m able to brighten their day even if it's just by a little bit. Also I’m planning my business a place where people are able to bond and get along together while eating what I made. Since I believe that people are most able to get along with each other when sharing something they like. In my business I also plan on teaching baking classes to anyone who is interested. Since there are many people in the world who don’t know how to bake, I will teach them ways to make desserts for their family that are simple and healthier but still good. Which would help them because I will be teaching a valuable skill that would help people whenever they are trying to have get-togethers or events. Plus it would give both adults and kids something fun to do that would help them relax and enjoy themselves. Also with the bakery I would like to give the leftovers I have from the day away to people in the community who need them. Since I intend to make my pastries fresh each day, therefore I would like to use some of the leftovers I’m not using to help others. Not only would this give people something to eat but it would also make me feel better since I don’t like wasting food.

All my life I’ve had to deal with changing schools and trying to fit in. This was difficult for me because every time we moved somewhere different I would make new friends, only to move again and have to attempt the whole process over. After moving from Colorado to Cleveland the summer before 6th grade I started to become more withdrawn and quieter plus I stopped socializing or talking with people as much as I did when I was younger. I felt that making friends would be a waste of time since I would just end up leaving eventually. Plus moving around and changing schools frequently when I was younger made it difficult to keep friendships with people in the first place. Since I had no way to contact them which caused me to eventually forget about them and move on. This process of changing schools not an only affected my social life but also my grades as well. During my first year in middle school in the 6th grade I got my first and last “D” in one of my classes. This was because I would often read a lot in class and not pay attend to my teacher talking or the work we were doing. Now I wasn’t a bad student but this year was difficult for me because we had moved to a different state and I had to leave my friends from elementary school and try to make new ones at this school. The reading I was doing in class was kind of like my coping mechanism as a way for me to get through the school year fast. But come 8th year is when I really started worrying about my grades and tried staying on track. I was doing pretty good despite having changed schools five weeks into the school year. Starting high school in COVID was rough I wanted to be involved in school activities but there wasn’t really any to do so my first two years were depressing. The come the summer before my junior year I found out I had to move schools again. This was the hardest transition because I was already halfway done with high school but so had to experience being the new kid again. Plus this school was different than what I was used to cause this one was smaller so everyone already new each other and it was private so it was set up slightly different than public schools. I had to do a whole week of orientation and figuring out my classes plus meeting my new teachers and classmates the whole process was draining. But despite all this I was able to push through and gain multiple positive outcomes from it. Before coming to the high-school I'm at now I didn't have much thoughts about going to college or what I wanted to do in the future. I knew I was interested in baking but I wasn't sure what I could do with this interest. But coming to this school I was able to have people who helped me in deciding what career path I want to take in the future. Plus what college I want to attend and what I would like to major in. Helping me figure out that I want to have my own bakery in the future. I was also able to make real friends and meet people that I could connect with. In the end even though changing schools frequently has affected many things in my life I'm happy with where I am now because of all the support I have.

I plan on making my business a place where people can be safe to be themselves and get advice without any judgement. I’ve always been known as someone that people can depend on to help or just be there to listen and offer support when needed. Extending this to my business I would like to open my own pastry shop in the future. I think that my pastry business would contribute to making a difference because it would be used to make people's day better. Many times whenever I make someone a pastry or baked good I end up putting a smile on their face. I think this helps the world because I’m making people happy and I’m able to brighten their day even if it's just by a little bit. Also I think my business would help in building communities because it would create a place where people are able to bond or get along while eating what I made together. Since I believe that people are most able to get along with each other when sharing something they like. Also it would be a place where people can just come to relax and take a break from the problems in their life. I also plan on using my business as a way to teach people new skills that could be useful to learn by teaching baking classes. Since there are many people in the world who don’t know how to bake, I will teach them ways to make desserts for their family that are healthier but still good. Which would help people because I will be teaching a valuable skill that would help people whenever they are trying to have get-togethers or events. I intend to teach both adult and kids classes as a way to give kids something fun to do but also sweet that they could bring back to their families. During the classes I intend to teach them ways to make pastries that are healthier but also good. While also teaching how to make pastries that those with dietary restrictions can also eat so that everyone can be included when coming to my shop. Also with the bakery I would like to give the leftovers I have from the day away to people in the community who need them. Since I intend to make my pastries fresh each day, therefore I would like to use some of the leftovers I’m not using to help others. Not only would this give people something to eat but it would also make me feel better since I don’t like wasting food. I’m not sure how I would create a legacy with my shop. But if I were to have one I would want me and my shop to be known as a place where everyone is welcomed and cared for like family. When people walk in I want them to feel like they belong there and feel wanted instead of just feeling like another customer. When it comes to shining my light I do this by just trying to be kind to people cause you never know what they’re going through even if they’re rude to you. They might just be having a bad day and just one person being kind to them could brighten their day significantly. Plus honestly just trying to be there for people and being someone they can count of to lend a listening ear and a helping hand.

“180 Seconds” is how long Allison Dennis is told to stare into a stranger’s eyes and how long it takes for her to do something completely out-of-character from her usual behavior. Spoiler alert she ends up kissing Esben Baylor, a social media star on the campus who sits opposite of her for the experiment and it ends up going viral. Interested? You should be. This is a book that I think everyone needs to read at least once. It tells the story of a very relatable college girl learning how to break down her walls and be vulnerable with the people around her while experiencing a more exciting life than what she’s been living. She has to learn how to trust herself and others after being in the foster care system for so long, luckily she has her best friend and foster father to help her through this process. Throughout the book there are many parts that talk about serious real life stuff and situations that will pull at your heart strings and make you relate to them. The story of Allison involves some cheesy romantic moments as many young adult books do. But even with the romance side it also shows the difficulty of being in a relationship with someone when you’ve learned not to trust people your whole life. While also learning that maybe life isn’t as terrible as it may seem. Although this book might be fiction it still addresses real life situations that happen to a lot of people. Some of the topics addressed in the book can be considered sensitive and possibly describe personal events that may have happened to a reader. But even with these topics the author still does a good job of making the book a somewhat lighthearted story of a girl just trying to find herself in the world.

This scholarship gives me a chance, a chance to further my education in my dream career of having my own pastry business in the future. Unfortunately as of now I don’t really have any added money support from my family towards college. I come from a pretty supportive family with a mom who has tried to support me in my dream as much as she can. But while she can support me verbally and in her actions she cannot sufficiently support me in my dream financially. With me having three siblings in the same house all younger than me and my brother following close behind me my mom just doesn’t have the funds to pay for my college. Of course I have been applying to multiple scholarships some of which I’m still waiting to hear from. And I’ve gotten some scholarship money from my college of choice to help with paying for the college but it doesn’t cover enough. But, I believe receiving this scholarship would help relieve me and my family from worrying about how I’m going to financially pay for college significantly. I could use this money to help pay for any additional fees the college needs me to pay including any books I need to buy. It would also give me the opportunity to further my education past my first year without accumulating too much debt. Throughout my senior year of high school I’ve had many instances where I’ve broken down crying because of too much pressure and stress. But one time that really sticks out is when I had to complete a study review for my Honors Physic exam. The review was 75% of my exam which meant that completing it would give me most of my grade. The first part of it was pretty easy and I finished it quickly. However the parts after it were not the funniest questions to do. Lots of the equations the problems required us to do we didn’t learn so multiple times I had to search all around the internet to find them. We also had to do a hundred of these problems. This whole process caused so much crying headaches and even some nose bleeds. After experiencing this too many times I decided to take a break for the day and rest my brain. Doing this allowed me to think more clearly when looking at the questions and realized that some of them were actually not as difficult as I thought. After calming down from that experience I was able to actually understand what I was doing and earned a 83% on my exam with a 94 in the class overall. My long-term goal is to graduate college with as little debt as possible if not none at all. I’d also like to improve my Korean and Spanish language skills enough to have full conversations with people. Another goal is to travel to different countries and experience the different cultures and food. But my main long-term goal is to have my own pastry business which is what I aspire to have as a future career. I would like to create a place where everyone feels comfortable to be themselves and enjoy good food. While also learning skills that could be useful to have when trying to hold events since I plan to teach baking classes at my business as well. Also I plan to help the community by giving my leftover goods from the day to people in the community who need it so that way they have something to eat even if it's not the most nutritious.

This scholarship gives me a chance, a chance to further my education in my dream career of having my own pastry business in the future. Now I don’t really have some kind of sob story to try and convince you of why I need this scholarship money. I come from a pretty supportive family with a mom who has tried to support me in my dream as much as she can. But while she can support me verbally and in her actions she cannot sufficiently support me in my dream financially. With me having three siblings all younger than me with my brother following close behind me my mom just doesn't have the funds to pay for my college. Of course I’ve gotten some scholarship money from my college of choice to help with paying for the college but it doesn’t cover enough. But, I believe receiving this scholarship would help relieve me and my family from worrying about how I’m going to financially pay for college significantly. It would also give me the chance of pursuing my career in pastry and providing sweets for people. I plan on majoring in Entrepreneurship while also studying Pastry Arts and later studying Food Science. I plan on using these degrees and making a difference in my career field by having a pastry business that contributes to the objectives of the agriculture industry. In my business I intend to make pastries that taste good but are also healthier than some of the sweets sold today. I would like to do this by using ingredients that are healthier alternatives to ingredients like sugar, by using other things like honey. I will also make my business allergy sensitive therefore people who are allergic to certain things like gluten or those who are lactose intolerant can still get something sweet to eat. This way I can still make my business inclusive for everyone leaving no one out. My business will continue contributing to the agriculture industry's objective because I will teach baking classes while running the business. Since there are many people in the world who don’t know how to bake, I will teach them ways to make desserts for their family that are healthier but still good. I also intend to help families where there might be a struggle for healthier food learn how to make desserts that still taste good but are also healthy. I’m planning to do this as a way to teach people different ways that they could enjoy sweets while also being price conscious when buying ingredients. Which would help people because I will be teaching a valuable skill that would help people whenever they are trying to have get-togethers or events. Or even if they just wanna bake something small together with their family. Also with the bakery I plan on giving out the leftovers I have from the day away to people in the community who need them. Since I intend to make my pastries fresh each day, therefore I would like to use some of the leftovers I’m not using to help others. Although giving them the pastries wouldn’t provide them with the best meal it would still give them something to eat. Plus I think it would possibly brighten their day to receive free pastries. Also not only would giving out the leftover pastries give the people who need it something to eat but it would make me feel better as well since I don’t like wasting food. I am also making my pastry shop somewhere that people can come to just relax and take a break from their problems. By using it as a way to make people’s day better even just a little. Many times whenever I make someone a pastry or baked good I usually end up putting a smile on their face. I think this would make my business successful because I’m making people happy and I’m able to brighten their day even if it's just by a little bit.

Ever since I was a kid I’ve always been a BIG Disney fan and have definitely watched every Disney princess movie multiple times. But the movie I’ve probably watched the most is The Princess and The Frog, I know every single song word for word and can tell you the whole plot and words said everything. I consider this movie to be one of my favorites to watch and a comfort movie. The reason for this is because this movie was the first one I saw where it had a princess in it that was just like me. She had the same skin color as me, the same hair as me, the same dimples on her cheeks as me, even a similar living situation as me. She was and still is a princess that I felt like I could actually relate to on a personal level. Seeing how even the career path I’m doing is similar to hers since I would like to have my own pastry business. But the reason why this movie greatly impacted me is because of seeing the long journey she had to endure in-order to obtain the restaurant she dreamed of. Out of all the Disney princess movies I’ve seen she was the only one who had the hardest time getting her dream she wanted, I mean come on now she was frog for literally the whole movie except for the beginning and the end. Plus had to go through this whole journey of turning back into a human to still almost not get her restaurant. Seeing this kind of showed the reality of what I could possibly deal with in the future while trying to achieve my dream. Being a woman and trying to make a living in America is hard, being a minority while trying to do this is even harder. But seeing Tiana struggle and still move forward towards her dream no matter what has inspired me to do the same. I am inspired to be like her not letting anything stop me from opening my own pastry business and being successful. But watching the movie also showed me that it’s ok to take a break and just enjoy life in the moment sometimes instead of also worrying about the future and chasing my dream. Since in the movie Tiana was so focused on her dream that she missed chances to just have fun and enjoy herself until turning into a frog kind of forced her to take a break. I’ve found that I somewhat resemble her in that way where I sometimes don’t take breaks and generally just focus on finishing assignments. But just like Tiana I have to learn how to take breaks while still moving forward.

I'm a high-school senior and I like baking, reading, learning languages, sports, traveling, and animals. I have been baking for about 2-3 years now and I still enjoy it immensely and would like to make a career out of it having my own pastry business. I am a major bookworm and I like reading books and have liked reading since I was little. My favorite genres of books are fantasy, mystery, and romance but I will read any genre if the book interests me. I like learning languages because I enjoy learning other cultures which is why I also enjoy traveling because I would like to travel as much as I can during and after college. I like trying different foods contributing to why I would like to travel to different countries and try the different foods and experience their cultures. I enjoy playing sports and am currently playing soccer and running track. I would like to continue playing in college even if it's not on the team and just for fun. I also am a big animal lover. My favorite animal is the red panda with my second being sloths. I find them to be cute but I also like other animals as well. I plan to make a positive impact on the world by having my own pastry business. In my business I intend to make pastries that taste good but are also healthier than some of the sweets sold today. I would like to do this by using ingredients that are healthier alternatives to ingredients like sugar, by using other things like honey. I will also make my business allergy sensitive therefore people who are allergic to certain things or gluten or lactose intolerant can still get something sweet to eat. My business will continue contributing to making a positive impact on the world because I will teach baking classes while running the business. Since there are many people in the world who don’t know how to bake, I will teach them ways to make desserts for their family that are healthier but still good. Which would help people because I will be teaching a valuable skill that would help people whenever they are trying to have get-togethers or events. Or even if they just wanna bake something small together with their family. Also with the bakery I would like to give the leftovers I have from the day away to people in the community who need them. Since I intend to make my pastries fresh each day, therefore I would like to use some of the leftovers I’m not using to help others. Not only would this give people something to eat but it would also make me feel better since I don’t like wasting food.

In college I am planning on pursuing a Bachelor's in Entrepreneurship/ Business Management and Pastry Arts. I choose these majors because I would like to have my own pastry business in the future. I like doing activities that involve hands-on work and allow me to move around. Which pastry allows me to do as well as expressing my creativity. With the pastry major I will be able to try doing designs on different pastries depending on what I’m envisioning at the moment. Also with doing the entrepreneurship major it will help with teaching me how to run the business I would like in the future successfully. I chose to pursue an entrepreneurial career because I would like to be my own boss and make my own decisions. I like leading things the way I want to and by having my own business I’m able to make all the decisions regarding what happens in it. Also because I have been exposed to many women who are successful in the business field who have inspired me to pursue my own business. I would like to also be a successful business woman that other girls can look up to when looking for a role model. Plus having my own business would allow me to push myself to my full potential and develop more leadership skills. I will be successful in my business because I’m planning on making my pastry shop somewhere that people can come to just relax and take a break from their problems. Also I’m using it as a way to make people’s day better even just a little. Many times whenever I make someone a pastry or baked good I usually end up putting a smile on their face. I think this would make my business successful because I’m making people happy and I’m able to brighten their day even if it's just by a little bit. Also I think my business would be successful because it would create a place where people are able to bond or get along while eating what I made together. Since I believe that people are most able to get along with each other when sharing something they like. My business will continue to be successful because I will teach baking classes while running the business. Since there are many people in the world who don’t know how to bake, I will teach them ways to make desserts for their family that are healthier but still good. Which would help them because I will be teaching a valuable skill that would help people whenever they are trying to have get-togethers or events. Also with the bakery I would like to give the leftovers I have from the day away to people in the community who need them. Since I intend to make my pastries fresh each day, therefore I would like to use some of the leftovers I’m not using to help others. Not only would this give people something to eat but it would also make me feel better since I don’t like wasting food. Even with me having these plans I am aware that there are many things that could prevent then from happening. But I'm willing to work hard and fight through these problems to make my business successful. This is what I envision a successful life to look like running my business efficiently and productively. I also envision success to be me being able to travel to all the places I would like to travel to in the future.

The way I measure success is by how much work you put into the assignment and whether you're satisfied with the result or not. The reason I measure success this way is because success looks different for everyone. Some people consider something to be successful if they were able to complete most of it while others won’t be satisfied until it's done completely. Also I don’t believe that there is only one way to measure success. I believe it changes from person to person and situation. In some situations success can be considered as completing an assignment on time and efficiently getting full points on it. While in another situation a success can be considered fixing the relationship between two of your friends before it escalates further. Also I measure success by how much it impacts the people around you and yourself. If the decision you made had a good impact on the people around you then the decision was a success. While if it had a bad impact on the people it could not be considered a success or a success, it depends on what you view a success to be. I also think success can be measured by the amount of people you impact. For example, for some people impacting a lot of people positively could be considered a huge success while impacting only a little would be considered only a small success. So essentially I feel that there is not only one correct way to measure success since it can be different in many situations. Success to me means being satisfied with the result or outcome of something that I’ve done. I consider this as success because I feel as long as you're satisfied and feel like you put your all into something then it's a success. I feel this because people have different perspectives of what they consider success. But ultimately it comes down to whether you feel that what you did impacted people the way you wanted it to. I think this way because I feel like if the decisions I make impact people in a positive way then the experience is a success. While if it impacts me negatively then I feel like the decision is less of a success in terms of how I benefit from it. But if others benefit from it without too much damage to me then it’s a success to me. Therefore, I think that as long as I’m satisfied with the outcome of my decision then I consider it a success.

One time I can think of when I helped someone in need is when I helped one of my classmates with her work in our honors algebra ll class. During this time the subject we were working on was one of the harder ones. So some people were having a little trouble understanding the subject but I was able to understand it for the most part. One of my classmates in the class one day asked me if I could help her with understanding the work. She often had trouble in the class because her friend frequently distracted her in the class so she wouldn’t pay attention to the lessons. Which would cause her to miss some instructions and not know what she’s doing when trying to complete the homework. The reason I started helping her is because she contracted me on Instagram and asked for some help. But since I wasn’t on Instagram much last year I told her to just contact me through email since I checked that more frequently. After that she began emailing me about math problems and asking me how to start solving them. Then she would email me the answer she got and I would assist her with figuring out how to get the correct answer if needed or confirming if her answer was correct or not. If I remember correctly this only really lasted for a day or two because eventually she was able to do the work on her own. After my help she started trying to listen more in class and actually was able to make some good progress towards fixing her grade in the class. But unfortunately after some time she ended up reverting back to her old ways in class. This was a little disheartening because I actually did want to help her get her grade up in the class. But in the end it was her choice of whether she wanted to successfully pass the class or not. I could only help her the best way I was able and just be willing to help more if needed. Even though she reverted back to not paying attention in class I’m still happy that I decided to help her in the first place. Since helping her made me feel good and gave me a sense of accomplishment that someone thought that I was a reliable person to ask for help from. This encouraged me to continue offering assistance to the people in my classes whenever they needed it.

"Socially awkward", "Quiet", being the new kid in school multiple times in my life has caused me to be labeled as these things. All my life I have had to deal with changing schools and trying to fit in. These times were difficult for me because every time we moved somewhere different I would make new friends, only to move somewhere else and have to attempt the whole process over again. After moving from Colorado to Cleveland the summer before 6th grade I started to become more withdrawn and quieter plus I stopped socializing or talking with people as much as I did when I was younger. I think this is around the time I started using reading as a way to not have to talk to people and make new friends. I felt that making friends would be a waste of time since I would just end up leaving eventually. Plus moving around and changing schools frequently when I was younger made it difficult to keep friendships with people in the first place. Since I had no way to contact them which caused me to eventually forget about them and move on. Changing schools multiple times has also affected me academically by negatively and positively. In 6th grade I would often read so much in class that I would sometimes get in trouble for it. This started to affect my grades a little since I wouldn’t really pay attention in class. But my 8th grade year I changed this and started caring about my grades more. Come high-school I had decided to focus more on my grades and keeping my GPA up. I also decided to try playing sports but then COVID ended up messing that up for me my freshman year then sophomore year I had to get used to being back in regular classes again. But then the summer before my junior year I had to change schools again. This was probably the most difficult transition because the new school I came to was different then what I was used to. Plus since this school is structured differently my schedule ended up being a little weird my junior year because of some of the classes I had already taken and some of the extra classes I would have to take here. But since this new school I'm at is a college preparatory school, coming here did help me in being motivated in keeping my grades and GPA up. Changing schools has also affected some of the goals I have in life. Before coming to the high-school I'm at now I didn't have much thoughts about going to college. I actually didn't have much of an idea about what I wanted to do in the future, I knew I was interested in baking but I wasn't sure what I could do with this interest in the future. But coming to this school I was able to have people who helped me in deciding what career path I want to take in the future. As well as figuring out what college I want to attend and what I would like to major in. In the end even though changing schools frequently has affected many things in my life I'm still happy with where I am now because of all the support I have. Plus if anything all the moving has honestly just opened my interest in traveling in the future.

Air, breathing air is a normal human need that everyone has in order to survive. Could you imagine not having the ability to breathe, not being able to get air into your lungs. I’ve experienced this before. For the first time when I was about 5 years old I had my first serious asthma attack. I don’t remember everything that led up to it happening or all that occurred during this event. But I do remember sitting there crying with my mom and grandma trying to comfort me while we were waiting for the ambulance to arrive. I remember sitting in that ambulance with an oxygen mask on trying to breathe. It was a scary experience for the younger me but not the only one. I think the next serious experience I had was when I was a little bit older. I remember sitting in my room playing and the next thing I know my room is filled with smoke and I’m coughing. I wasn’t entirely aware of the situation but I do remember having to leave my house through a window because there was a lot of smoke and I couldn’t stop coughing. I believe these are the only major events that have happened in my life from my asthma after those I started using my inhaler more and being more active. Now that I’m in high school my asthma has gotten a lot better I don’t need to use an inhaler anymore. But even now it will still sometimes affect me when I get sick or when I’m running in the cold. Despite this I still choose to participate in the sports I like, being soccer and track. I play soccer and run track and I would say I’ve been doing great in them, I’ve even learned how to control my breathing when playing or running. Instead of dealing with asthma I’ve developed eczema which hasn’t really affected me much health wise but it can be a little frustrating sometimes. I usually have it on my arms which isn’t too big of a problem but sometimes I have it on my face which can be a little disheartening to see. Since I would get big slightly darker spots on my face sometimes that others can see, but for the most part I’ve learned to accept and live with the eczema. In the future in college I would like to continue playing sports even if it’s only for fun and not really on a team. I also plan on majoring in entrepreneurship and pastry arts because I plan on having my own pastry business in the future. I want to have my business as a way for people to bond and connect with others over food which I believe is the easier way to someone's heart. I would also like to give back to the community by offering baking classes and donating baked goods to people who need them. I also plan to travel around or study abroad during and after college so that I can experience the different cultures around the world and meet new people who may have similar interests and problems that I do.

The title of my new chapter would be the battles of the past and the victories of the future. I would name it this because I have had to deal with and experienced many hardships in the past but I believe that I will have many successes in the future. In the past I’ve dealt with feeling isolated and feeling like my best isn’t enough. There was a period of time in middle school where I barely interacted with people and my grades took a small drop because of this. But eventually I was able to change this in high school and meet people I get along with while also being an honors student. During my high school years I've faced many hardships, from the stress of classes to attempting to keep my GPA up but I've been able to overcome them. Currently, I am taking AP and Honors classes in school which I have been continuously taking since freshman year. I am also a student Ambassador and play soccer while also running track. I have won awards for 1st Honors and the award for Honors Chemistry and AP Gov. I am also taking a college level English class to get it out the way before I graduate. Even with these achievements in my life I know that they are small compared to the ones I'll achieve in the future. I have had to overcome many different obstacles to come to this point in my life. I know in the future that I’ll most likely have to face many new hardships. But, I believe that I will be able to overcome those obstacles as well and achieve many big things in the future.

Jack Terry’s story inspires me because it shows someone who has experienced so much hardship being able to still be successful in life. This gives me hope and encouragement to keep following my dreams and goals no matter what. Even if I don’t know something I still have the ability to learn it or work around it to meet my goal. How even if it takes a while for me to reach it I should still continue working hard toward my goals. His story inspires me also because it shows how no matter what hardships you face you still have the chance to get past them as long as you continue trying. One adversity I’ve experienced in my life is moving around a lot. My family and I never really stayed in one place for a significant period of time. We usually moved around a lot. These times were difficult for me because every time we moved somewhere different I would make new friends, only to move somewhere else and have to attempt the whole process over again. After moving from Colorado to Cleveland the summer before 6th grade I started to become more withdrawn and quieter plus I stopped socializing or talking with people as much as I did when I was younger. I think this is around the time I started using reading as a way to not have to talk to people and make new friends. I felt that making friends would be a waste of time since I would just end up leaving eventually. But in my junior year of high school I was able to overcome this. I became more open and participated in more activities like sports and after school clubs. I also started talking to people more and was able to actually make friends with the people in my class. I realized that even if I’m not friends with them forever it's still better to try building a friendship with them than to not. I plan to give back to society with my studies by starting a pastry business. I think that my pastry business would contribute to making society better because it can be used to make people's day better. Many times whenever I make someone a pastry or baked good I end up putting a smile on their face. I think this helps the world because I’m making people happy and I’m able to brighten their day even if it's just by a little bit. Also I think my business would benefit the society because it would create a place where people are able to bond or get along while eating what I made together. Since I believe that people are most able to get along with each other when sharing something they like. My business will continue contributing to giving back to society by making the world a better place because I would be able to teach baking classes while running the business. Since there are many people in the world who don’t know how to bake I could teach classes at my business. Which would help people because I would be teaching a valuable skill that would help people with making food. Also with the bakery I would be able to give out my leftover pastries and other goods to people in the community who need them. Since with my business I would be baking pastries fresh everyday, and would probably have some leftovers. Considering I don't like wasting food I would use it as an opportunity to donate whatever food I have to people who need it.

Throughout my high school years music to me has been kind of like a coping mechanism. Since I was younger I have always been interested in music. When I was little I used to dance a lot. I practiced ballet and at home I would put on little shows with my siblings for my family. Each time I did the shows it would be to a song that I really liked at the time or that I couldn’t get out of my head. Although I don’t do that anymore now I still use music as a way to express myself. Scientifically, it has been proven that music helps with raising the levels of dopamine in your brain, which gives you feelings of pleasure, satisfaction, and motivation. I believe that this is true because whenever I am listening to music it makes me feel good, especially songs that I really like. Listening to music allows my mind to take a break from all the stress of schoolwork and other responsibilities I have. It also allows for me to reset my mind into a space where I can concentrate on a task I was struggling with before. Overall, music has impacted my mental health positively throughout my years in high school. Throughout high school I have not only been affected by listening to music but also playing music as well. In my sophomore year of high school I seriously played a musical instrument for the first time. I had signed up for orchestra thinking it would be a fun class to do. When I got there I had no idea what I was doing. I honestly didn’t really know what instruments you used in the orchestra. I showed up to class without an instrument and when the teacher asked what I played I said I’d only ever played the trumpet. Seeing that I didn’t have an instrument the teacher told me that I could play the bass since there were no bass players in the class, so I did. When I started playing it was difficult since I had to stand while playing because I was too short to sit . I had no idea where to put my fingers to play the different notes, but after a while of practicing I started getting better at it and it was really fun. Since I had orchestra at the end of the day, playing the bass in class honestly felt relaxing to me. It also affected my thinking skills with helping me think faster on the spot since in orchestra I had to switch quickly between notes when playing. This meant I often had to think ahead about what notes I needed to play next. Learning how to play the bass also made me more interested in the different instruments or sounds you would find in music. Sometimes when listening to something I would try to see if I could pick out and name the different instruments I heard playing in the music. This is something that slowly became a habit of mine and I often do it subconsciously, even now.

My name is Jalynn and I’m a high school senior. My hobbies include reading, animals and learning new languages. I'm currently learning Korean and Spanish. I also enjoy baking and traveling to new places. After high school I plan on going to college for Business Management/Entrepreneurship and Pastry Arts. I would say that I am a pretty introverted person but can be more open when around people that I know and get along with. I would say that I am some-what of a competitive person and I like learning and trying new things. I would suppose that my goals at this moment is to graduate high school with A's in all my classes and keep my GPA up, plus getting into my top college with having to pay the least amount of money out of pocket available. Also to successfully decorate a cake without needing help, and continuing to improve my Korean and Spanish speaking skills. I plan to make the world a better place by starting a pastry business. I think that my pastry business would contribute to making the world better because it can be used to make people's day better. Many times whenever I make someone a pastry or baked good I end up putting a smile on their face. I think this helps the world because I’m making people happy and I’m able to brighten their day even if it's just by a little bit. Also I think my business would benefit the world because it would create a place where people are able to bond or get along while eating what I made together. Since I believe that people are most able to get along with each other when sharing something they like. My business will continue contributing to making the world a better place because I would be able to teach baking classes while running the business. Since there are many people in the world who don’t know how to bake I could teach classes at my business. Which would help people because I would be teaching a valuable skill that would help people with making food. Also with the bakery I would be able to give out my leftover pastries and other goods to people in the community who need them. Since with my business I would be baking pastries fresh everyday, and would probably have some leftovers. So since I don't like wasting food I would use it as an opportunity to donate whatever food I have to people who need it.

In the future I would like to open my own pastry business after finishing college. I'm not sure where I want to open it right now but I think I would want it to be in a place where lots of people would come. I want to open a pastry business because I feel that the business would be able to make people's day better. Many times whenever I make someone a pastry I end up putting a smile on their face. This motivates me to make continue developing my business because I’m making people happy and I’m able to brighten their day even if it's just by a little bit. Also with my business I would like to create a place where people are able to bond or get along while eating what I made together. Since I believe that people are most able to get along with each other when sharing something they like. I would also eventually after opening my business start teaching baking classes while running the business. Since there are many people in the world who don’t know how to bake I could teach classes at my business. Which would help because I would be teaching a valuable skill that would help people with making food. Also with the bakery I would be able to give out my leftover pastries to people in the community who need them. Since with my business I would be baking pastries fresh everyday I would have the ability to help others who need food. In the future after establishing my business I would also like to travel around the world. I am very interested in learning new languages and culture and would like to experience some of them when traveling in the future. I feel that this scholarship would benefit me because it would allow me to not have to worry as much about paying for college. Which would put less stress on me with worrying about how to pay for college. Also, by doing this the scholarship would allow me to save and use my own money to invest in my future business and traveling after college. Which would benefit me in the long run since it would give me the ability to have more money available to use to experience other parts of the world and have more finances when trying to officially start my career. Therefore, allowing me a head-start when trying to advance my skills and fund my business.

One of my favorite Netflix shows is a k-drama series called “It’s Okay to Not Be Okay” made by Park Shin-woo and Jo Yong. The show is about a male nurse named Moon Gang-tae and his older brother Moon Sang-tae who move back to their hometown. Before moving back they had been moving around a lot because Gang-tae didn’t feel safe with them living in one place for too long. Of course there is a reason why they don’t feel safe staying in one place for a long period of time but it’s kind of a spoiler so you'll have to watch to see. Continuing Moon Gang-tae and Moon Sang-tae live together because Sang-tae has autism so Gang-tae takes care of him. While at the hospital he works at Gang-tae meets his older brother’s favorite children’s book author Ko Mun-yeong. Many people think that she is crazy because of who her parents were and because of the children's books that she writes. After they meet Mun-yeong becomes interested in Gang-tae and tries to be around him while Gang-tae is not interested. While spending time together they realize that they are connected from something that happened when they were kids. And when the thing comes into light it ends up changing the relationship between the three. I think that people should watch this show because I feel that it has a nice mix of mystery and romance in it. It is also the type of show that makes it where you can connect or relate with the characters in the show. During the show it has many scenes that will make you sympathize with the actors and understand the character they play. Also I think that the actors in the show are really good at playing the characters they are and display the emotions and behaviors of the characters excellently. While doing this the show itself has a lot of twists and turns in it that leaves you on a cliffhanger after each episode. But even with all the mystery in the show it still has a heartfelt aura around it with scenes between the actors that will make you feel kind of giddy. Also the ending of the show is made in a way where you don’t really know how to feel about it because it's kind of sad but also happy. Overall I think that it's a good show that everyone should watch especially if they like shows that puts them in their feels.

I believe that I could start a pastry business in my local community. I think that my pastry business would contribute to my local community because it can be used to make people's day better. Many times whenever I make someone a pastry I end up putting a smile on their face. I think this helps the community because I’m making people happy and I’m able to brighten their day even if it's just by a little bit. Also I think my business would benefit the community because it would create a place where people are able to bond or get along while eating what I made together. Since I believe that people are most able to get along with each other when sharing something they like. My business will continue contributing to the community because I would be able to teach baking classes while running the business. Since there are many people in the world who don’t know how to bake I could teach classes at my business. Which would help the community because I would be teaching a valuable skill that would help people with making food. Also with the bakery I would be able to give out my leftover pastries to people in the community who need them. Since with my business I would be baking pastries fresh everyday I would have the ability to help others who need food. Before developing the business I would first practice and improve my baking and pastry decorating skills. I would do this by either taking classes and getting taught the skills or I would just self-teach myself. This way I would be able to actually create the goods that people ask me to when starting the business. Next, I would choose whether to operate my business at home or rent a place out to operate the business. While doing this I would also calculate the cost of equipment and ingredients needed to make multiple pastries. After I would have people I know spread the word out about my business on the street and in social media. By doing this it would give me the chance to build some clientele when first starting my business. I would also offer samples of baked goods outside my business so people would have a taste of what I make. While doing this I would also run a social media account myself that showcases the pastries that I make. That way I would be able to advertise my business in a way that everyone would be able to see.

My creative passion is baking pastries and decorating them with different designs while also making different variations of them. I think that my creative passion makes the world a better place because it can be used to make people's day better. Many times whenever I make someone a pastry I end up putting a smile on their face. I think this makes the world better because by putting a smile on their face I’m able to brighten their day even if it's just by a little bit. Also I think my passion makes the world a better place because people are able to bond or get along while eating what I make together. Since I believe that people are most able to get along with each other when sharing something they like. If I had an extra 24 hours in a day I would probably spend half of the day baking and the other half split between reading and continuing my foreign language learning. I would spend half of the day baking because I enjoy doing it since it's my passion and what I want to make a career out of. Also by sending half a day baking it would allow me to improve on my skills and practice making a variety of pastries. I would spend part of the other half of the day reading because reading is something that I enjoy doing. Plus it’s also relaxing for me because it keeps me entertained and gives me a break from stressing over schoolwork. I would spend the other part of the half continuing on my foreign language learning because I like learning new languages. I have been trying to learn Korean and Spanish for a while now but I’ve gotten a little behind on my Korean. So with the extra hours I would be able to use them to catch up on my missed studying and get back on track. I feel the most creative after I see the things that other people make online or when I’m challenged to make something new. Whenever I see the different pastries people make online it inspires me to try creating something new as well. Since there are many pastry influencers online with different styles they motivate me to find my own style and make new creations. I also get creative when I’m asked to make something that I haven’t baked before. This influences my creativity because it gives me a challenge and allows me to put my own style into it making it my own creation. Plus it also allows me to improve my skills and creative thoughts for more designs in the future.