“A flame that enlightens its surroundings, and thereby itself. It has no properties, no sense of narrative reflection or identity.” As a human entity with a body,mind and soul you are given the chance to create your own reflection and not projections of others and I'm still not done with mine yet. My name is Jayla Lowe and I’m from Washington DC, I’m 18 years old and I’m currently a freshman at Tuskegee University with a major in aerospace engineering. I come from a single parent household with a little sister who has just started high school back home. I’ve been apart of many community driven projects and clubs including one where I tutored children in math and one where I had the opportunity to introduce other kids who look like me into the field of aviation and aeronautical engineering. I was also the president of my high schools STEM club where we took trips to navy bases and explored more than one area of STEM careers from computer science to jobs within the military and apprenticeships. I became interested in aviation around 3rd grade in my social studies class, some days after school my mother wouldn’t be able to leave work early to come pick me up and my teacher would allow me to read the books in his class library until she arrived. He only had a few selection of books but they were always space and aircraft related which peaked my curiosity as a young child. During those late afternoons I became increasingly infatuated with the idea of aircraft, learning about the sr-71 and memorizing military aircraft statistics as well as planet coordinates. I would watch NASA rocket launches and videos from the point of view of pilots in military aircraft and commercial pilots. Up until I graduated I kept this up while learning little stuff on my own and doing research how long it would take to get my pilot license and how much money it would, if i would be able to continually afford it, there was even a young man around my age in my city who was one of the youngest pilots. I reached out to him and his mentor but sadly that option was extremely out of reach for me but I didn’t let that stop me from finding another route. My leadership qualities came in handy around this time. I put myself out there and instead of waiting for the opportunity to come looking for me, I went searching for everything and anything that I could do to get myself out there and noticed by the right people to help me on my journey. I met pilots, I met engineers and even professors who helped create f-16. I didn’t let myself be stopped by my environmental limitations but I let it motivate to remove those obstacles so that in the future when more opportunities come my way I can make what I want happen almost immediately. My father always told me that my attitude is my altitude and I’ve lived with that idea in the back of my head for as long as I can remember. I’ve had jobs since I was around 15 years old to support myself and take some of the weight off my mothers shoulders when it come to bills or the mortgage, before I entered college I worked 4 jobs in one summer to save up for college tuition and college dorm essentials that my mother couldn’t get for me. I was able to make it to my first semester of college in august on a payment plan.I know what hard work is because my mother has put that in since before I was able to speak. Even now while we had no home for months my mother never stopped encouraging us to be nothing but great. My mother isn't just a physical provider but an emotional one as well, I've never thought of myself as less than worthy for anything I've set my mind too because of a woman like my mother. I want to pursue a career in aviation and aerospace engineering because my mother told me that with a mind like mine and face like hers I could reach for the stars and that's what I intend to do. Women make up of 16% of engineers globally and 5% of those women are black, I want to increase that 100 fold because so many young woman don't have the knowledge or the financial support to reach fields of STEM and I hope that I become the first of many young black women to create the spacecraft of opportunity. I want to create engines for pilots to feel comfortable that they can fly through a thousand holla hoops and then do it again backwards. I want to use my intended field to heighten safety for pilots, fighter jets and the military.

I was 8 when my mother was kidnapped by her boyfriend. He dragged her by her long hair, and he would tell me that I would have one day and threw her in a van and beat her. Growing up I seen my mother struggle with the mental and physical torture of her relationships. I’ve seen men who worshiped my mother turn into obsessive hitmen. It starts out as gift giving, dates, and “family time” with me and my sister turning into selfish infatuated episodes of fighting my mother for the right to have her. Essentially as a 10 year old I clung onto the idea of impermanence to cope with this concept in my life. It's what motivated me, what lit the candle of my ego creating my sense of self importance, values, principles and perspective in life. 
  The inconsistency and temporariness of most things in our life hurts us. My perception of relationships was always to not have one, to not become dependent on anyone, even friends, because no one can stay the same forever. When I let a relationship consume me to the point where I didn't know who I was as an individual, this treachery that I felt led me to consciously lock myself out mentally and as an instinct I created another persona, another character to protect myself from having to figure that out. But as this happened, I was consciously locking myself out.I felt empty, my perception of time completely stopped and I didn't understand why everything in my life started to blur together. I felt like an observer in my own body but fully and painfully aware of everything that was occuring. This detachment wasn't just mental but physically, I endured the feeling of no longer having access to myself only being allowed to perceive myself as if i wasn't me. 
  I missed weeks of school and came late almost everyday, letting my grades slip, not understanding why I couldn't force myself to do what needed to be done and ask someone for help or understanding . Months of this during the most important year of my life led to me isolating myself, losing my sense of motivation and individuality.My reality was broken, feeling a sense of powerlessness and egolessness.  
  This transient experience gave me a catalyst for my personal growth when I came to terms with the fact that I can be sad about the temporariness of life. I can grow without having to accept the idea of non essentialism in order to save myself from my mothers circumstances. I am equipped to handle these moments as a human being. Having a body hurts and that's ok, our different perspectives and realities are what makes us relevant to each other and the selves that we create on the ideas of others are still ourselves until we find our own selves.  I hope that one day I can use this experience of feeling like I couldn’t reach out to the open and speak with others to create communities instead, ones that prosper on love of knowledge and helping other young women like myself reach for their own stars in the sky.
   “A flame that enlightens its surroundings, and thereby itself. It has no properties, no sense of narrative reflection or identity.” As a human entity with a body,mind and soul you are given the chance to create your own reflection and not projections of others and I'm still not done with mine yet.

My name is Jayla Lowe, I'm 17 years old and I'm a senior in high school. I have a cumulative GPA just short of a 3.5 at 3.49 and a 1070 SAT score. I'm in 3 different clubs being the president of the STEM club in where I teach students about all STEM related fields from computer science to astronomy. Gardening club and a volunteer for Girls Inc. I've played varsity volleyball up until my junior year of high school to manage my schools junior varsity basketball team. I've tutored a group of middle school and elementary school girls math at my local recreation center in low income area and I've worked 3 jobs for the past two years including an internship at a local college that I was given the chance to present at to support myself and my goals in applying for flight school, tutoring sessions and supplies. With my interest in stem I wanted to create an AP physics class which was developed but unfortunately not enough students were interested to keep the class open. Financial support and or stability is a key factor when it comes to the amount of opportunities that are created outside of the classroom, Growing up in dc we are often given the choice of vocational and trade school as first options before applying to colleges. Especially young black students male or female have trouble applying for resources or even finding careers outside of healthcare or blue collar positions. I myself had this issue and it's apparent in many of my peers who can't afford to focus on their passions for college because of financial difficulties. From Preschool to 3rd grade me and my little sister lived with my mother til she could no longer financially take care me or my sister, and up until I was in 5th grade we were sent with my father. Our life together still wasn't easy but it was better, my mother worked night shifts for 3 jobs and when she would leave us by ourselves, she stayed on the phone till she got home to make sure we were ok. My mother continued to pave this way for me and my sister anyway she could while making sure she helped us with schoolwork, personal lives and so much more. With 10 siblings and a high school diploma my mother created life from pure determination and love for me and my sister, I know what hard work is because my mother has put that in since before I was able to speak. Even now while we had no home for months my mother never stopped encouraging us to be nothing but great. My mother isn't just a physical provider but an emotional one as well, I've never thought of myself as less than worthy for anything I've set my mind too because of a woman like my mother. I want to pursue a career in aviation and aerospace engineering because my mother told me that with a mind like mine and face like hers I could reach for the stars and that's what I intend to do. Women make up of 16% of engineers globally and 5% of those women are black, I want to increase that 100 fold because so many young woman don't have the knowledge or the financial support to reach fields of STEM and I hope that I become the first of many young black women to create the spacecraft of opportunity.

My name is Jayla Lowe, I'm 17 years old and I'm a senior in high school. I have a cumulative GPA just short of a 3.5 at 3.49 and a 1070 SAT score. I'm in 3 different clubs being the president of the STEM club in where I teach students about all STEM related fields from computer science to astronomy. Gardening club and a volunteer for Girls Inc. I've played varsity volleyball up until my junior year of high school to manage my schools junior varsity basketball team. I've tutored a group of middle school and elementary school girls math at my local recreation center in low income area and I've worked 3 jobs for the past two years including an internship at a local college that I was given the chance to present at to support myself and my goals in applying for flight school, tutoring sessions and supplies. With my interest in stem I wanted to create an AP physics class which was developed but unfortunately not enough students were interested to keep the class open. Growing up in dc we are often given the choice of vocational and trade school as first options before applying to colleges. Especially young black students male or female have trouble applying for resources. I myself had this issue and it's apparent in many of my peers who can't afford to focus on their passions for college because of financial difficulties. I've grown up the middle child of 5 children, one who passed in 2018. While I am only full siblings with my little sister I see everyone of them as my full sibling even though we weren't treated the same growing up. From Preschool to 3rd grade me and my little sister lived with my mother til she could no longer financially take care me or my sister, and up until I was in 5th grade we were sent with my father. At my father's house I slept on the couch of his two bedroom apartment while my sister took the spare room he used as a second closet. When living with my father I rarely made it to school on time or at all. It wasn't until truancy letters were sent that the summer before my first year of middle school my mother was given a second chance with us. Our life together still wasn't easy but it was better, my mother worked night shifts for 3 jobs and when she would leave us by ourselves, she stayed on the phone till she got home to make sure we were ok. My mother continued to pave this way for me and my sister anyway she could while making sure she helped us with schoolwork, personal lives and so much more. With 10 siblings and a high school diploma my mother created life from pure determination and love for me and my sister, I know what hard work is because my mother has put that in since before I was able to speak. Even now while we had no home for months my mother never stopped encouraging us to be nothing but great. My mother isn't just a physical provider but an emotional one as well, I've never thought of myself as less than worthy for anything I've set my mind too because of a woman like my mother. I want to pursue a career in aviation and aerospace engineering because my mother told me that with a mind like mine and face like hers I could reach for the stars and that's what I intend to do. Women make up of 16% of engineers globally and 5% of those women are black, I want to increase that 100 fold because so many young woman don't have the knowledge or the financial support to reach fields of STEM and I hope that I become the first of many young black women to create the spacecraft of opportunity. With this scholarship many of us are in need of financial aid as quickly as possible I hope that if someone in greater need comes along that they get this opportunity as well to do great things.

My name is Jayla Lowe and I’m from Washington DC, I’m 18 years old and I’m currently a freshman at Tuskegee University with a major in aerospace engineering. I come from a single parent household with a little sister who has just started high school back home. I’ve been apart of many community driven projects and clubs including one where I tutored children in math and one where I had the opportunity to introduce other kids who look like me into the field of aviation and aeronautical engineering. I was also the president of my high schools STEM club where we took trips to navy bases and explored more than one area of STEM careers from computer science to jobs within the military and apprenticeships. I became interested in aviation around 3rd grade in my social studies class, some days after school my mother wouldn’t be able to leave work early to come pick me up and my teacher would allow me to read the books in his class library until she arrived. He only had a few selection of books but they were always space and aircraft related which peaked my curiosity as a young child. During those late afternoons I became increasingly infatuated with the idea of aircraft, learning about the sr-71 and memorizing military aircraft statistics as well as planet coordinates. I would watch NASA rocket launches and videos from the point of view of pilots in military aircraft and commercial pilots. Up until I graduated I kept this up while learning little stuff on my own and doing research how long it would take to get my pilot license and how much money it would, if i would be able to continually afford it, there was even a young man around my age in my city who was one of the youngest pilots. I reached out to him and his mentor but sadly that option was extremely out of reach for me but I didn’t let that stop me from finding another route. My leadership qualities came in handy around this time. I put myself out there and instead of waiting for the opportunity to come looking for me, I went searching for everything and anything that I could do to get myself out there and noticed by the right people to help me on my journey. I met pilots, I met engineers and even professors who helped create f-16. I didn’t let myself be stopped by my environmental limitations but I let it motivate to remove those obstacles so that in the future when more opportunities come my way I can make what I want happen almost immediately. My father always told me that my attitude is my altitude and I’ve lived with that idea in the back of my head for as long as I can remember. I’ve had jobs since I was around 15 years old to support myself and take some of the weight off my mothers shoulders when it come to bills or the mortgage, before I entered college I worked 4 jobs in one summer to save up for college tuition and college dorm essentials that my mother couldn’t get for me. I was able to make it to my first semester of college in august on a payment plan of 800 dollars a month until my next semester where I have a left over balance of 5,134 dollars left to pay but unfortunately I can’t afford that and with this scholarship I hope i get the opportunity to continue my fascination and love for aviation.

My name is Jayla Lowe and I’m from Washington DC, I’m 18 years old and I’m currently a freshman at Tuskegee University with a major in aerospace engineering. I come from a single parent household with a little sister who has just started high school back home. I’ve been apart of many community driven projects and clubs including one where I tutored children in math and one where I had the opportunity to introduce other kids who look like me into the field of aviation and aeronautical engineering. I was also the president of my high schools STEM club where we took trips to navy bases and explored more than one area of STEM careers from computer science to jobs within the military and apprenticeships. I became interested in aviation around 3rd grade in my social studies class, some days after school my mother wouldn’t be able to leave work early to come pick me up and my teacher would allow me to read the books in his class library until she arrived. He only had a few selection of books but they were always space and aircraft related which peaked my curiosity as a young child. During those late afternoons I became increasingly infatuated with the idea of aircraft, learning about the sr-71 and memorizing military aircraft statistics as well as planet coordinates. I would watch NASA rocket launches and videos from the point of view of pilots in military aircraft and commercial pilots. Up until I graduated I kept this up while learning little stuff on my own and doing research how long it would take to get my pilot license and how much money it would, if i would be able to continually afford it, there was even a young man around my age in my city who was one of the youngest pilots. I reached out to him and his mentor but sadly that option was extremely out of reach for me but I didn’t let that stop me from finding another route. My leadership qualities came in handy around this time. I put myself out there and instead of waiting for the opportunity to come looking for me, I went searching for everything and anything that I could do to get myself out there and noticed by the right people to help me on my journey. I met pilots, I met engineers and even professors who helped create f-16. I didn’t let myself be stopped by my environmental limitations but I let it motivate to remove those obstacles so that in the future when more opportunities come my way I can make what I want happen almost immediately. My father always told me that my attitude is my altitude and I’ve lived with that idea in the back of my head for as long as I can remember. I’ve had jobs since I was around 15 years old to support myself and take some of the weight off my mothers shoulders when it come to bills or the mortgage, before I entered college I worked 4 jobs in one summer to save up for college tuition and college dorm essentials that my mother couldn’t get for me. I was able to make it to my first semester of college in august on a payment plan of 800 dollars a month until my next semester where I have a left over balance of 5,134 dollars left to pay but unfortunately I can’t afford that and with this scholarship I hope i get the opportunity to continue my fascination and love for aviation.

My name is Jayla Lowe, I'm 17 years old and I'm a senior in high school. I have a cumulative GPA just short of a 3.5 at 3.49 and a 1070 SAT score. I'm in 3 different clubs being the president of the STEM club in where I teach students about all STEM related fields from computer science to astronomy. Gardening club and a volunteer for Girls Inc. I've played varsity volleyball up until my junior year of high school to manage my schools junior varsity basketball team. I've tutored a group of middle school and elementary school girls math at my local recreation center in low income area and I've worked 3 jobs for the past two years including an internship at a local college that I was given the chance to present at to support myself and my goals in applying for flight school, tutoring sessions and supplies. With my interest in stem I wanted to create an AP physics class which was developed but unfortunately not enough students were interested to keep the class open. Financial support and or stability is a key factor when it comes to the amount of opportunities that are created outside of the classroom, Growing up in dc we are often given the choice of vocational and trade school as first options before applying to colleges. Especially young black students male or female have trouble applying for resources or even finding careers outside of healthcare or blue collar positions. I myself had this issue and it's apparent in many of my peers who can't afford to focus on their passions for college because of financial difficulties. I've grown up the middle child of 5 children, one who passed in 2018. While I am only full siblings with my little sister I see everyone of them as my full sibling even though we weren't treated the same growing up. From Preschool to 3rd grade me and my little sister lived with my mother til she could no longer financially take care me or my sister, and up until I was in 5th grade we were sent with my father. At my father's house I slept on the couch of his two bedroom apartment while my sister took the spare room he used as a second closet. When living with my father I rarely made it to school on time or at all and when it came to my home life I was wearing clothes and shoes from local thrift stores my grandmother had bought for me, while he would get high in the bathroom and tell me that I am something meant to be seen and not heard. His girlfriend and the opportunity to see my siblings was one of the few things I enjoyed but he was extremely abusive towards her and my older sister. I felt that once I grew out of my hair bows I was next on the list. It wasn't until truancy letters were sent that the summer before my first year of middle school my mother was given a second chance with us. Our life together still wasn't easy but it was better, my mother worked night shifts for 3 jobs and when she would leave us by ourselves, she stayed on the phone till she got home to make sure we were ok. My mother continued to pave this way for me and my sister anyway she could while making sure she helped us with schoolwork, personal lives and so much more. With 10 siblings and a high school diploma my mother created life from pure determination and love for me and my sister, I know what hard work is because my mother has put that in since before I was able to speak. Even now while we had no home for months my mother never stopped encouraging us to be nothing but great. My mother isn't just a physical provider but an emotional one as well, I've never thought of myself as less than worthy for anything I've set my mind too because of a woman like my mother. I want to pursue a career in aviation and aerospace engineering because my mother told me that with a mind like mine and face like hers I could reach for the stars and that's what I intend to do. Women make up of 16% of engineers globally and 5% of those women are black, I want to increase that 100 fold because so many young woman don't have the knowledge or the financial support to reach fields of STEM and I hope that I become the first of many young black women to create the spacecraft of opportunity. With this scholarship many of us are in need of financial aid as quickly as possible I hope that if someone in greater need comes along that they get this opportunity as well to do great things.