One person who I will always admire in history is Sacheen Littlefeather. Even though she's still alive, her actions made history. She is a Native American actress and civil rights activist who I aspire to be like. One of the most notable moments of her life is when she represented Marlon Brando at the 45th Academy Awards in 1973 and declined his Best Actor award. Marlon Brando was a supporter of Native American civil rights and had Sacheen Littlefeather, Apache President of the National Native American Affirmative Image Committee, speak on his behalf. She spoke on his behalf about the misrepresentation and poor treatment of Native Americans. Once I stumbled upon the video of this event, Littlefeather had become such an inspiration. She spoke with such emotion and softness in her voice but so clear and bold at the same time. I'm currently studying Professional Media, slowly trying to weave my way into the film industry and I'm also a young Native American woman so to see such a thing happen at the Academy Awards was thrilling and inspiring. To have a voice and speak out about Native American mistreatment at an Award show is just one thing I have on my bucket list. I just know, in the future, if I win an Oscar or a SAG award, I wouldn't hesitate to dedicate it to Sacheen Littlefeather and all of the people out there fighting for Native American rights. She is my inspiration and my motivation to try my hardest and do my best for what I believe in.

The College Chronicles Playlist: • Remember Summer Days - Anri • 8Teen - Khalid • Art Hoe - Call Me Karizma • Teenage Dirtbag - Wheatus • Young, Dumb, & Broke - Khalid Artist Name - Daughters of Damocles Album Cover Art by Jules Black (me)

As someone who has struggled to truly find themselves and their artistic value, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to visually express my passion and love for human beauty. It wasn’t until my last year of high school that I picked up a camera and started doing portrait imagery for my school’s yearbook. We were a pretty big high school with so many unique people so when I found out that a lot of the students were going unrecognized in the yearbook, it was my goal for the year to include more people of color and tell their stories. I gravitated more toward woman of color because, as a fellow woman of color, it is important to me that I capture the essence and beauty of those around me. For the future, I hope to fully embrace my own culture and its beauty. I also want to capture the beauty of all cultures around the world through a simple camera lens and although I’m not the strongest in talking about my passion, I believe my photography perfectly expresses my awe for human beauty. As they always say: a picture is worth a thousand words.

From a young age, I and many other girls, are taught that some things are just not for us. We are the ones that stay home and tend to children while a man is working. This is what society has believed for such a long time but like many things in this world, times have changed. Women are capable of so much more than what was engraved into societal beliefs. We were taught that we have limits and that we are the lesser of the two sexes. I believe that women have faced too much in this world and it’s the end of such discrimination. It’s time for society, as a whole, to step up and redeem themselves for the hatred and inequity upon women. The solution for this must start small. Men and even women have to encourage other women around them whether it be in their community or in their own home. It could be encouragement or even small compliments, never hatred. We need to be seen as equals in the home to further proceed into society. We must teach children that there is no difference in learning or physical abilities between men and women. As they grow older they will teach their children. Women will be seen as equals in this society and there will be no discussion or debate on whether a women would be fit in a political position because they were taught that they don’t have any lesser qualities than men. Respect must be taught in homes and have to be encouraged through schools. Elementary, middle, and high school must encourage young girls that they can be anything they want. Although we see that in today’s schools, we have not taught young boys that girls are in fact capable of anything they dream. This leads to a discriminatory mindset of boys as the grow. Young girls can get discouraged by their peers. For example, a girl is interested in building and welding but a boy in her class tells her she can’t do that because at home he was taught that hobbies and interests like that were only for boys. He tells her “welding is a man’s job”. That girl now feels that she isn’t fit for such a career. Parents must teach children that young girls are fully capable and they also have to be an example. They must encourage women in their community and homes first. In the words of Tupac, “…since we all came from a women and got our name from a women… why do we take from our women, and why do we hate our women?” Women are just as important as men so why do we hate when we could empower?

As a young girl, I found interest in my Cheyenne and Arapaho culture along with other Indigenous cultures. The stories my aunts and grandmothers would tell around the fire would be brought to life by their drawings in the dirt we sat in. Hearing the tales of our history has inspired me to dream big and bring life and exposure to our culture. I hope to catch the attention people from all around the world and create an immersive video game about Native American culture. It would include animals and creatures from our culture, and visuals of our way of life before colonization. The main goal for this game is for people to interact and learn about our history through something that can be exciting because as much as I had fun listening to my grandmother tell me about our history, others may find storytelling dull and boring. It’s important for the people of the world to get along and have a deeper understanding of one another. Through video games, we can learn but also have fun and they can give us boundless amounts of happiness. This scholarship would be massive stepping stone to my progress. The money would be used to cover the incredible tech classes that are provided at my university. It would bring me closer to my dream of spreading joy and thrill to people’s lives.

The science of the world, more specifically the makeup of humans, has always been astonishing to me. My mom and my grandmother never made it through college so I’ll be a first-generation college graduate. I’ll be majoring in Biology and go on to Pre-Med. I know that it may be a struggle for me because I’ve never had someone close to go to for college advice. My family is so important to me but I know they struggle to help me to strengthen my passion for science because of their lack of knowledge on the subject. I’ve been alone on this journey. I can talk to counselors and professors but they tend to over-generalize the topics and simplify their tips. I need an in-depth conversation with someone I can freely and comfortably talk to and I had yet to have it. Although, this won’t stop me from pursuing my dream for medicine and helping the medical world. I will strive to achieve the best and be the best I can be so I can hopefully help those who need it.