Who am I, and why am I applying for this scholarship? My name is Jessica Summers, and I am a junior-level student at Southern New Hampshire University, where I am pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with an emphasis in mental health and counseling. I am the first person in my family to pursue a college degree, and since beginning my course of study in 2021 I have maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA, while also working full time, managing a freelance "side hustle," and taking care of a family. Don't think education is a burden--quite the opposite! I LOVE learning, and plan to continue on to the doctorate level of education...and beyond. Who knows! When we stop learning, we stop growing...and stagnation is not something I am interested in. Like many people, I have a "story." It hasn't always been easy for me. I am a single mother to four amazing adult children who make me so proud every day. I am a survivor of childhood physical and sexual abuse, adult domestic violence, have been in substance abuse recover for 12 years (clean the entire time!), and I deal with chronic health issues including lupus. I also am a formerly incarcerated person. I have been free for over two years, and I was actually released from incarceration early due to recovery program participation and good behavior. Yes, I have been through a lot...but I am absolutely committed to being and becoming the best possible version of myself that I can, every day, for the rest of my life--and part of that is serving others, which is my core motivation. I have done cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, and am a practitioner of secular Zen, from which I integrate mindfulness, compassion, and equanimity practices. I was a mentor in a CBT-based residential recovery program and that experience changed my life. I no longer struggle to survive: I thrive, and I want to share that with others. For the past year I have been working as a case manager and mentor for a nonprofit organization that walks alongside incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women, including operating a reentry/transitional home for our ladies coming home from prison. I work with 25 clients whom I mentor both virtually and in-person, including as a recovery partner. I love my job, and I make a difference in my clients' lives every day...it is beyond gratifying. My major is Psychology with an emphasis in mental health because I have a goal: I am organizing my own nonprofit that will serve returning LGBTQ+ women in western North Carolina. We plan to have a reentry community home in Charlotte, and to offer wraparound services to individuals who have, statistically, experienced incredibly high rates of sexual and physical abuse, trauma, isolation and shunning from both family and society, and incidence of mental issues including SUD, PTSD, anxiety, and depression (Jones, 2021). Mental health and addiction recovery is a crucial issue for all incarcerated people. The majority of incarcerated individuals enter prison with trauma, and a large percentage of those have mental health conditions which may not even be diagnosed, much less treated with respect and skill--and the LGBTQ+ community within prisons and jails experiences these issues at a higher rate. I know that this degree will help me to do my job and serve our participants more effectively and compassionately. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you! Jones, A. (2021, March 2). Visualizing the unequal treatment of LGBTQ people in the criminal justice system. Prison Policy Initiative. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2021/03/02/lgbtq/

Who am I, and why am I applying for this scholarship? My name is Jessica Summers, and I am a junior-level student at Southern New Hampshire University, where I am pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with an emphasis in mental health and counseling. I am the first person in my family to pursue a college degree, and since beginning my course of study in 2021 I have maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA, while also working full time, managing a freelance "side hustle," and taking care of a family and home. Don't think education is a burden--quite the opposite! I LOVE learning, and plan to continue on to the doctorate level of education...and beyond. Who knows! When we stop learning, we stop growing...and stagnation is not something I am interested in. Like many people, I have a "story." It hasn't always been easy for me. I am a single mother to four amazing adult children who make me so proud every day. I am a survivor of childhood physical and sexual abuse, adult domestic violence, have been in substance abuse recover for 12 years (clean the entire time!), and I deal with chronic health issues including lupus. I also am a formerly incarcerated person. I have been free for over two years, and I was actually released from incarceration early due to program participation and good behavior. Yes, I have been through a lot...but I am absolutely committed to being and becoming the best possible version of myself that I can, every day, for the rest of my life--and part of that is serving others, which is my core motivation. I have done cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, and am a practitioner of secular Zen, from which I integrate mindfulness, compassion, and equanimity practices. These modalities have helped me change my life. I no longer struggle to survive: I thrive, and I want to share that with others. For the past year I have been working as a case manager and mentor for a nonprofit organization that walks alongside incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women, including operating a reentry/transitional home for our ladies coming home from prison. I work with 25 clients whom I mentor both virtually and in-person, and for whom I function as a liaison for referrals of all kinds, transportation as needed, and just generally "being there." I love my job, and I make a difference in my clients' lives every day...it is beyond gratifying. My major is Psychology with an emphasis in mental health because I have a goal: I am organizing my own nonprofit that will serve returning LGBTQ+ women in western North Carolina. We plan to have a reentry community home in Charlotte, and to offer wraparound services to individuals who have, statistically, experienced incredibly high rates of sexual and physical abuse, trauma, isolation and shunning from both family and society, and incidence of mental issues including PTSD, anxiety, and depression (Jones, 2021). Mental health is a crucial issue for all incarcerated people. The majority of incarcerated individuals enter prison with trauma, and a large percentage of those have mental health conditions which may not even be diagnosed, much less treated with respect and skill--and the LGBTQ+ community within prisons and jails experiences these issues at a higher rate. I know that this degree will help me to do my job and serve our participants more effectively and compassionately. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you! Jones, A. (2021, March 2). Visualizing the unequal treatment of LGBTQ people in the criminal justice system. Prison Policy Initiative. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2021/03/02/lgbtq/

I am resilient because I have survived so many things that should have killed me--but they didn't. I have often heard the comparison made between strength and resilience, likening strength to an oak tree and resilience to a willow: when a storm strikes and the winds howl, the mighty oak might shatter and fall, because it cannot bend...but the tender willow bends with the wind, and it survives. That is me. What makes someone resilient is to experience pain and suffering and to not let it define them, or to not allow it to make them bitter, or to break them. Resilience is the ability to heed the lessons that life gives you. It is learning from your mistakes and being grateful for the opportunities and good things you have, seeing the things that sometimes are not obvious if you do not take the time to look for them. I am 47, finally finishing up my first college degree, and this is my story. There is so much to tell, more than what I could ever detail in 600 words. I am a survivor of rape, of incest, of abuse of all kinds at the hands of family and of a former spouse. I have been through life-threatening illness and almost died multiple times. I have had to learn how to walk again after losing the use of my legs. I am currently battling a chronic illness that will never go away. I have been through natural disasters, through the loss of everything I own in a house fire, and I have been incarcerated and lost everything I cherished, including the trust and relationships with my children and those whom I loved. I have battled addiction and achieved sobriety. I have rebuilt my life, brick by brick, clawing my way out of the hole I have often dug myself with my poor choices...and here I am today, looking back on it all, and counting myself fortunate, because I have survived, and I am whole. I am so much more than these things. One thing that I realized, as I went through all my pain, is that when I opened my eyes and looked, and reached out, was that people saw me as worthy despite my feelings of unworthiness, and that they were reaching out to help me. All I had to do was accept that grace. I went through all of that and was determined to be one of those people who reached out and gave others grace, too, because resilience also comes from realizing that you can trust. I went from being a broken woman who was incarcerated, in therapy, and in recovery, to being a joyful woman who is working in a nonprofit organization helping other women who are incarcerated, in therapy, and in recovery! Isn't it amazing how the world works sometimes? I am an advocate and an ally. I am pursuing my dreams: I am working on my degree in psychology with an emphasis in mental health, and I intend to follow that with my master's and doctorate in community psychology so that I can work with other nonprofits to help underrepresented communities receive the help they need, especially women who have experienced domestic violence, sexual trauma, and substance abuse. I am working to found my own nonprofit to offer transitional housing to LGBTQ+ individuals returning from incarceration, who often have fewer options for places to go, especially trans sisters and brothers, who may not be welcome at faith-based organization homes. In my trauma, I found strength and resilience, and a desire to serve.