Throughout my high school career, my female friends constantly came to me for advice and opinions regarding relationships, problems in friendships, issues with parents, and so on. Each of them considered me to be a friend that was easy to talk to, understanding of their emotions, and someone who gave candid advice. Even during college and to this very day, my friends still consider me to be the “mom” of the group just because of how responsible and mature they perceive me to be. Maybe it’s because of my old spirit, my calm and relaxed nature, or possibly the fact that I’m the oldest of 5 siblings that have molded me into being so nurturing and wise at a young age. Being a guide to my friends and advising them on ways to better themselves, in general, is an innate characteristic of mine. Therefore, pursuing a degree in counseling will equip me with the skills needed to help others on a professional level in similar ways that I have been able to support my close friends. Due to my additional passion for women's empowerment and gender equality, I have a strong interest in working with women. I want to become a licensed psychologist because I am inquisitive and passionate about the impact of life experiences on one’s mental health. To be more in-depth, I know that mental conflicts are a real effect of both genetics and negative social interactions. Mental conflicts are also extremely vital to one’s perception of reality and overall health. During my academic career, I have enjoyed studying topics related to the experiences of women including their risk for a variety of mental health concerns and day-to-day life stressors. During my time as an undergraduate at UNC Charlotte University (UNCC), I completed a study titled Understanding the Relation between Gender Roles and the Operation of Our Society. My results provided valuable information on the beliefs and attitudes of my participants toward the roles of women. Most of which were based on socialization, their environments, and their upbringing. Additionally, as a result of my keenness for studying the female population, I decided to minor in Women and Gender Studies and became a member of Triota, the National Honor Society for Women’s Studies. Moreover, I recently graduated with a master's in psychology from North Carolina Central University (NCCU) where I conducted a thesis project titled Examining Levels of Acculturation and Racial Identity among African American Women’s Body Images and Body Ideals. My thesis allowed me to examine the interrelation of acculturation and internalization of U.S. beauty standards as well as the interrelation of racial identity and body ideals and how these factors influence overall body image perceptions for women of color. Many societal stressors within the lives of women and young girls, aside from one of the most prominent categories of interpersonal victimization and violence, include unrealistic media images, devaluation of the female body, gender discrimination and oppression, dysfunctional relationships, and workplace inequities. However, for women of color in particular, intersectionality (i.e., double oppression of gender and race) causes their experiences to be more distinct. For my thesis, having a female sample of African descent enabled me to examine their levels of assimilation to mainstream culture versus their value within their own culture and how this can influence their mental health as it relates to their body image perception. I explored variables such as acculturative stress, internalization, and racial identity all of which affect self-worth in black women. While I was able to have participants complete self-report measures, in the future I am very interested in having an additional method of data collection, in which I would like to host focus groups. Focus groups will allow me to facilitate, oversee, and regulate group discussions and to understand my participants on a more personal level. Furthermore, I deserve the Darclei V. McGregor Memorial Scholarship because I am a dedicated, goal-oriented, hardworking student who has a true passion for instilling self-worth into others. I understand what it feels like to go through a very difficult time in one's life and have had my share of mental health disparities during my early twenties. I've had personal experience dealing with body image and as a result, I suffered from eating disorder symptoms. For a while, I began to skip meals and when I did eat, I sometimes felt feelings of shame or guilt. During this period of my life, I was very self-conscious and even went through symptoms of depression. Looking back, I do wish I had sought out a therapist to at least talk through things and gain some insight on positive coping skills. I believe that as a woman of color, we do not recognize eating disorders as a real mental health issue. However, there are a lot of women of color who suffer from similar experiences that I had when going through eating disordered symptomatology. Even within my personal friend groups, there is a heavy emphasis on weight, colorism, and our overall appearances in everyday conversation. In addition, social media in today's generation has added an even higher significance to the approval or acceptance of others based on our physical makeup. For women in general, social media has hypersexualized the female body and put unattainable expectations for what is considered the ideal body type. This has led to an increase in bodily surgeries such as liposuction and the Brazillian butt lift. Unfortunately, eating disorders have historically been recognized as a primarily white-woman problem which just isn't the case. However, most women who seek help from professionals regarding eating disorders are currently white women. As a result, most of the research in the ED world has typically been conducted using Caucasian subjects leaving women of color at a disadvantage when it comes to treatment options. Eating disorders look different for minority women than for white women. If there was a way to educate women of color on the symptoms and internal thoughts related to body dysmorphia or eating disorder symptomatology, there could be an increase in women of color who realize they're suffering and seek the help that they need. As a result, we may also see an increase in bodily acceptance, more community programs related to body confidence promoting topics on fitness and nutrition, and a decrease in the number of women who undergo dangerous bodily procedures. My overall decision to go back to school and work towards licensure is due to my desire to move forward in my career journey and gain real-world clinical experience. I have hopes of one day being able to open a mental health practice and guide clients to reach their full potential. My goal is to primarily work with minority women and to specialize in mental health disparities more probable to be encountered by the female population (i.e., body image, low self-worth, eating disorders, postpartum depression). I have proven to myself during my previous academic career that I am ready to take on this essential step toward my dream career. Even in the face of obstacles during my time at NCCU, such as the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was self-sustained and determined to graduate. I am confident that I will be a great representation of the program's bright and talented student body while upholding the program's values and academic standards. Although I’ve endured my own challenges in life, they have molded me into a self-reliant, compassionate, and humble individual. I feel that these experiences have now become testimonies that have enabled me to truly relate to the clients I'll work with. Without having gone through some of the things I endured and coming out on the other side, I wouldn't be as passionate about the high chance of overcoming a mental illness. I hope that one day I can encourage women of color to love themselves, cherish their bodies, and dig deep into finding who they are outside of their appearance. Women are so much more than their appearance. We are strong, we're resilient, and we have the ability to foster self-compassion in the generation of women to come. There is a huge need for more women of color as mental health professionals, especially in the ED field. Representation does matter and will show adolescent minority females that they can seek help as it relates to body image and the social pressures of society. I aspire to open a mental health practice that treats all things women. My objective would include a "by minority women for minority women" modality where each client can work with therapists of the same race if they so choose. By continuing my education, I will accomplish my lifelong dream of advocating for the spiritual and emotional well-being of clients and bringing purpose to my life in return.

Throughout my high school career, my female friends constantly came to me for advice and opinions regarding relationships, problems in friendships, issues with parents, and so on. Each of them considered me to be a friend that was easy to talk to, understanding of their emotions, and someone who gave candid advice. Even during college and to this very day, my friends still consider me to be the “mom” of the group just because of how responsible and mature they perceive me to be. Maybe it’s because of my old spirit, my calm and relaxed nature, or possibly the fact that I’m the oldest of 5 siblings that has molded me into being so nurturing and wise at a young age. Being a guidance to my friends and advising them on ways to better themselves in general is an innate characteristic of mine. Therefore, pursuing a degree in counseling will equip me with the skills needed to help others on a professional level in similar ways that I have been able to support my close friends. Due to my additional passion for women empowerment and gender equality, I have a strong interest in working with women. I want to become a licensed psychologist because I am inquisitive of and passionate about the impact of life experiences on one’s mental health. To be more in depth, I know that mental conflicts are a real effect of both genetics and negative social interactions. Mental conflicts are also extremely vital to one’s perception of reality and overall health. During my academic careers, I have enjoyed studying topics related to the experiences of women including their risk for a variety of mental health concerns and day-to-day life stressors. During my time as an undergraduate at UNC Charlotte University (UNCC), I completed a study titled Understanding the Relation between Gender Roles and the Operation of our Society. My results provided valuable information on the beliefs and attitudes of my participants towards the roles of women. Most of which were based upon socialization, their environments, and their upbringing. Additionally, as a result of my keenness for studying the female population, I decided to minor in Women and Gender Studies and became a member of Triota, the National Honor Society for Women’s Studies. Moreover, I recently graduated with a masters in psychology from North Carolina Central University (NCCU) where I conducted a thesis project titled Examining Levels of Acculturation and Racial Identity among African American Women’s Body Images and Body Ideals. My thesis allowed me to examine the interrelation of acculturation and internalization of U.S. beauty standards as well as the interrelation of racial identity and body ideals and how these factors influence overall body image perceptions for women of color. Many societal stressors within the lives of women and young girls, aside from one of the most prominent categories of interpersonal victimization and violence, include unrealistic media images, devaluation of the female body, gender discrimination and oppression, dysfunctional relationships, and workplace inequities. However, for women of color in particular, intersectionality (i.e., double oppression of gender and race) causes their experiences to be more distinct. My goal is to primarily work with minority women and to specialize in mental health disparities more probable to be encountered by the female population (i.e., body-image, low self-worth, eating disorders, postpartum depression). By continuing my education, I will accomplish my lifelong dream of advocating for spiritual and emotional wellbeing in clients and bring purpose to my life in return.