I am a Nuyorican woman who takes pride in my culture and my heritage despite not being fluent in the language. Both my parents and a lot of my extended family are fully Puerto Rican. My parents have encouraged me to showcase my heritage and have inspired me to celebrate where I come from. Almost every year, I attend the Loisaida Festival located near my apartment and watch the Puerto Rican Day Festival on TV, dancing to the music that booms throughout my home. I have participated in my school's Hispanic Heritage Month events and marched along with my peers in the Three Kings Festival. I have explored Puerto Rican history and culture in my school research projects whenever possible. While I have not always been the most self-assured, I have always taken pride in the community I belong to, thanks to my mother and father. I believe my sentiment is very similar to many people, regardless of their backgrounds and identities. My parents have also taught me to respect the cultures of others, inspiring me to be curious about the components of other cultures and their impact on their community. How does one show pride in their customs? Is education centered around cultural norms and ideals in different places, or do they occupy little space in schools? Does public policy take into account various upbringings? Should they? These questions cultivated my interest in culture and social institutions. It is why I want to pursue sociology as a lifelong career. International relations also match what I want to do as well. Although I would love to know more about cultures throughout our world, focusing on Latin America helps me understand parts of my own culture, whilst making it easier to help people. Not only do I want to research the impacts of culture, but I will also directly apply my knowledge; I will use my own and other existing data to aid people through social justice and enable people to have an overall cross-cultural understanding, fostering empathy and collaboration on pressing issues. This scholarship will help give me the career that will enable me to at least indirectly help others, especially people who are unfairly underrepresented in our world. This scholarship would help achieve my goals by funding college tuition. Funding my tuition or any other fees is the first step in accomplishing all of my future ambitious goals. College is important to me because it will guide me into my future with internships, projects, study abroad programs, and/or the courses I take. If my tuition is taken care of, this scholarship would help me achieve my goals by funding any capstone projects I may do. Conducting research can be challenging if there is no funding for them, depending on the project at hand. This scholarship can be used to directly fund them when I am in college. Funding capstone projects is important to me because research is a big part of the field of sociology. These are major interests of mine, and I hope that this scholarship gears me towards pursuing them.

I am a Nuyorican woman who takes pride in my culture and my heritage despite not being fluent in the language. Both my parents and a lot of my extended family are fully Puerto Rican. My parents have encouraged me to showcase my heritage and have inspired me to celebrate where I come from. Almost every year, I attend the Loisaida Festival located near my apartment and watch the Puerto Rican Day Festival on TV, dancing to the music that booms throughout my home. I have participated in my school's Hispanic Heritage Month events and marched along with my peers in the Three Kings Festival. I have explored Puerto Rican history and culture in my school research projects whenever possible. While I have not always been the most self-assured, I have always taken pride in the community I belong to, thanks to my mother and father. I believe my sentiment is very similar to many people, regardless of their backgrounds and identities. My parents have also taught me to respect the cultures of others, inspiring me to be curious about the components of other cultures and their impact on their community. How does one show pride in their customs? Is education centered around cultural norms and ideals in different places, or do they occupy little space in schools? Does public policy take into account various upbringings? Should they? These questions cultivated my interest in culture and social institutions. It is why I want to pursue sociology as a lifelong career. International relations also match what I want to do as well. Although I would love to know more about cultures throughout our world, focusing on Latin America helps me understand parts of my own culture, whilst making it easier to help people. Not only do I want to research the impacts of culture, but I will also directly apply my knowledge; I will use my own and other existing data to aid people through social justice and enable people to have an overall cross-cultural understanding, fostering empathy and collaboration on pressing issues. This scholarship aligns will help give me the career that will enable me to at least indirectly help others, especially people who are unfairly underrepresented in our world. This scholarship would help achieve my goals by funding college tuition. Funding my tuition or any other fees is the first step in accomplishing all of my future ambitious goals. College is important to me because it will guide me into my future with internships, projects, study abroad programs, and/or the courses I take. If my tuition is taken care of, this scholarship would help me achieve my goals by funding any capstone projects I may do. Conducting research can be challenging if there is no funding for them, depending on the project at hand. This scholarship can be used to directly fund them when I am in college. Funding capstone projects is important to me because research is a big part of the field of sociology. These are major interests of mine, and I hope that this scholarship gears me towards pursuing them.

Ever since I was young, my parents, especially my father, emphasized the importance of college. My mother was halfway through her degree when she had to leave school to support herself, and my father only completed a single semester before he had to work. My older sister graduated high school but did not continue on to higher education. While my family wanted to help me prepare for this next step, they never knew how. Because they were unfamiliar with the college process, I did not receive the guidance and resources I needed until much later. In addition, my parents have never been long-term savers, so I do not have money set aside for college. I want to pursue a career in anthropology, specifically cultural anthropology. High school has nurtured my interests in culture and history through classes and capstone projects. I am drawn to research that explores how aspects of culture shape human nature and, more importantly, how that knowledge can be applied to support communities. My ultimate goal is to use both my own research and existing scholarship to promote social justice and make a positive impact. I need this scholarship to help me achieve my goals by funding my college tuition and related expenses. Covering tuition is the first step toward realizing my ambitions, as college will provide me with access to internships, research opportunities, and courses that will guide my future. Additionally, this scholarship would allow me to fund capstone projects and research initiatives, which are essential to anthropology but often difficult to pursue without financial support. Research is at the heart of my chosen field, and having the resources to carry it out will greatly help me. This scholarship would not only ease the financial burden of college but also empower me to fully dedicate myself to my studies and contribute meaningfully to the field. With this support, I will be able to transform my passion for culture, history, and justice into a career that uplifts communities and advances the understanding of humanity.

I am a Nuyorican woman who takes pride in my culture and my heritage despite not being fluent in the language. Almost every year, I attend the Loisaida Festival located near my apartment and watch the Puerto Rican Day Festival on TV, dancing to the music that booms throughout my home. I have participated in my school's Hispanic Heritage Month events and marched along with my peers in the Three Kings Festival. I have explored Puerto Rican history and culture in my school research projects whenever possible. While I have not always been the most self-confident, I have always taken pride in the community I belong to. I believe my sentiment is very similar to many people, regardless of their backgrounds and identities. I am curious about the components of other cultures and their impact on their community. How does one show pride in their customs? Do they have festivals or gatherings? Do they perform rituals or religious ceremonies? Or is it just quietly performing their traditions by themselves or family? These questions cultivate my interest in culture and human nature. It is why I want to pursue anthropology, especially with a concentration in culture, as a lifelong career. Although I would love to know more about cultures throughout our world, focusing on Latin America helps me understand parts of my own culture, whilst making it easier to help people. Not only do I want to research the impacts of culture, but I will also directly apply anthropology; I will use my own and other existing data to aid people through social justice. I want to improve public policy, social services, education, and overall cross-cultural understanding. This scholarship aligns with my future career, which involves helping, especially people who are unfairly underrepresented in our world. This scholarship would help achieve my goals by funding college tuition. Funding my tuition or any other fees is the first step in accomplishing all of my future ambitious goals. College is important because it will guide me into my future with internships, projects, study abroad programs, and/or the courses I take. If my tuition is taken care of, this scholarship would help me achieve my goals by funding any capstone projects I may do. Conducting research can be challenging if there is no funding for them, depending on the project at hand. This scholarship can be used to directly fund them when I am in college. Funding capstone projects is important because research is a big part of the field of anthropology. While my school capstone research projects do not count as actual research, I have developed the skills on how to design and enact projects on my own with minimal help. Anthropology and culture are major interests of mine, and I hope that this scholarship gears me toward pursuing them.