My name is Jelany Hernandez, and I am a GED graduate. I passed my exams and acquired my GED in 2022, and have begun looking towards further education. I’ve always been somewhat of an artist, which brought me to pursue graphic design! I come from an immigrant family. Both my mother and father immigrated to America in their late 20’s. They were married for a few years before having me. I am an only child on my mothers side, but I have a wonderful brother that is a bit older than me from my fathers side. I was raised with just my mom and dad until I was around 12. My father passed away around that age, leaving me and my mom alone. My grandfather had passed a few years prior, so my grandmother (on my moms side) moved in with us once my father passed. When I was 13, I started working my first job in a small horse stable, just on the weekends, to help my mom out as much as I could. I worked a variety of simple, under the table jobs as a young teen, trying my best to help my mom get through the struggle of finances. When I hit 18, I immediately began to work full time to make sure I could do everything in my power to make my mom’s life easier. Around this time, my grandma fell ill and needed surgery. I was trying to get through my senior year of highschool, and work full time, as well as taking care of my grandma while my mom was at work. It all got a bit overwhelming, and I wasn’t able to delegate enough time for it all. I decided that dropping out and pursuing my GED was the best choice at the time. Luckily, my grandma recovered after intense therapy, and my mom was able to study and put some insurance licenses under her belt. It improved our quality of life drastically, and I was still able to graduate, even though it was the traditional method. Before leaving highschool, I was a well adjusted student. I was in gifted and advanced classes from elementary school, until a bit after my father passed away. Once he passed, I struggled a bit more with AP and Honor classes, but I still held my grades in high esteem, averaging an A in most, if not all of my classes. I’ve won my fair share of awards for essays, art, and writing competitions, as well as a few Honor Rolls. My GPA dropped during my later highschool years, due to the fact that I was not focused enough on my schooling, but I was able to keep it above a 3.0 until I dropped out. A scholarship like this would be an immense help for my family. My mother is more comfortable with her finances now, but without two parents, it is incredibly difficult to afford many of the tuitions for the schools I’ve applied to. She only makes 40,000 dollars a year, and I work part time, mostly just to pay for my housing and living costs. With enough scholarships, I hope to be the first in my family to graduate from college, so that I can help make a better life for myself, and for my family. Thank you so much for your consideration, and for taking the time out of your day to read this. Thank you so much for this opportunity, and I sincerely hope to hear back from your program soon.