For five straight years, at approximately 6:00 PM when I came home from school, I watched my grandad slowly destroy his health through cigarettes. Slowly, the aching pain consumed him, and it consumed me as well. His mouth reeked of cigarette ash, and cigarette butts encompassed the front yard and the driveway. My heart felt betrayal, and my family did as well. Days before, the doctor told us his heart had been severely damaged by smoking and that it would tremendously shorten his lifespan and time with me. The echoes around 9:00 PM, of my mom asking my grandad to stop and the subsequent subliminal tell-off, “I’ll stop tomorrow" cut deep. To me, cigarette consumption is one of the most harmful “celebrated” evils in the world today. Sickle cell is commonly frowned upon. Cancer is a known evil that we have been fighting battles against. Yet we seem to accept the consequences of cigarette smoke. About three years ago, my grandad made the decision to stop, and I have never been happier. To me, this issue is more personal than anything. That is why I worked with the Clayton County Youth Commission, specifically on the effects of the smoking ordinance on youth in safe zones like parks and public spaces. I helped revise the §70-103 vape amendment to help strengthen protections for young people. And extend it to “new age” smoking devices and I continue to work with the health and wellness committee to host health workshops and teen nights to promote healthy living. I have seen the arguments between families, the commotion, the withdrawal, and the long-term effects enough to make it personal. Beyond tangible impacts, I would continue building a school-based, community-oriented platform focused on reducing smoking and vaping in my local community. And Ima call it “Tellme” my vision for Tellme is that it would start as a community-based network designed to increase engagement within schools and districts, with partner programs and parenting outreach through the Clayton County Youth Commission and the Clayton County Public Health District to create tangible impact. I have already partnered with the Clayton County Youth Commission as a member of the Health and Wellness Committee, promoting pro-health policies, leading anti-vape seminars, and working to improve inequitable health policy. Receiving this scholarship would help me advance the vision of Bettie Lott and Vera Times, two tremendous women who dedicated their lives to public service and servitude, just as I strive to do, with the common goal of advancing public health technologies to mitigate global health challenges. My experience in Clayton County as an Afro-Latino has been more or less the same: identify the injustices facing minority communities, address them directly, and work toward a better future. Being raised with my Mother who has fought a battle with cancer and won has made me health conscious and beyond that a change-maker in my community. Whether it's with Tellme the Clayton County Youth Commission, or at Emory pitching equitable solutions the fight against inequitable treatment in health policy is one that does not stop; it started with Bettie Lott and Vera Times, and it ends with equitable health policy for all those discriminated against. And, we’re not stopping until that's the case for all.