As a first generation student who comes from a low-income household, college has always been a distant dream. My parents refuse to help pay for tuition as they simply cannot afford it and their credit is not good enough for me to get loans. Yet I still persevere. I saved for a year and a half at my part time job at subway and saved over the summer as I worked a full-time job at a nursing home. I have always been a hard worker and though I couldn't get a job my first semester of college because of my extra-curriculars such as concert band, marching band, and a pep band, I still put my all into what I do. For my next semester, I plan to work that way I can focus on supporting myself through college but I also know when to ask for help. Paying for all of my own college is seems impossible, and every scholarship I can get would help me tremendously. The F.O.O. Scholarship would help me accomplish my dreams professionally as it would get me 500 dollars closer to becoming a teacher like I have dreamed of since second grade, but it would help me personally as knowing that I have some support helps relieve me of some of the financial stress that weighs my shoulders down. When I faced challenges growing up, I always had a teacher there to support me. School is my home, my safe haven. I want to spread this, giving less fortunate students like myself have a safe place with people they can trust as an educator. Becoming a teacher has been my dream for years and I can't believe that I am actually on the final stretch to becoming one, this scholarship would help me get there.

My plans for the future have been set since I was in the second grade. I always knew I wanted to be an educator. I want to help each student know that they have a home- a safe space. To become a teacher, I have to get my degree first, but as a first generation student, I have no idea what this looks like for me. I have worked a part time job for a year and a half saving up and spent the past summer working a full time job (plus the part-time job for two week). I have ranged from 8-16 hour shifts in the past summer desperately trying to save up for college as I am also in a low-income household. My mom simply cannot help me with tuition, she is taking care of my sister, my grandma, and her aunt. My step-dad is a disable vet and can barely work. Now that I have started college, I am beginning to learn about the trials that is paying for college. I spent all my savings on the first semester of college, even with the loans that I am taking through the school and the financial aid that I have received. I am aware that the Bright Lights scholarship won't be able to cover my full tuition but every cent counts. I was unable to get a job this first semester since I am in the marching band which was too demanding, but I am currently looking for a job. I would be forever grateful for this scholarship as it would be fully put to use and would relieve me of some stress. Money has always been a struggle in my life, my mom was a single mother of two for a very long time and even with my step dad we've had just enough to be slightly comfortable, but this burden is something that my parents made clear was my own. As my mom never got the opportunity to go to college as she had to support two children and my father who refused to get a job while they were still together- she has always stressed to me how "education is the most important thing". I cannot count how many times she has said this exact quote to me over the years, but it has been engraved into my heart. Not only do I want to achieve my dream of becoming a teacher, but I also want to make my mother proud. I want my mother to see that her sacrifices were worth it and that I could do what she couldn't. I understand how important it is to her to see me get to excel in ways she never could, that she gave us a better life than her parents could give to her and with this I want my children to have the same. With a degree I can give my future the life my mom always dreamed for me, and though she wishes I would be anything but a teacher, I can become the educator I have always dreamed. I would be so appreciative of the Bright Lights scholarship and the support it would give to me and my future.

My brother has ADHD. What does that have to do with me wanting to be a teacher? Somehow everything. From a young age my brother was diagnosed with ADHD, my parents divorced, and I desperately wanted my parents attention. Since my brother needed more attention growing up, I found that I wasn't shown the attention that I needed. I acted out and when that didn't work, I chose to start being the best daughter I can, and since the first grade I have been. Though it didn't work, I instead found a home at school quickly. I fit in. Not with my other students but rather with the lessons, the work. School is where I felt safe. Where I could excel. This became my why, by the second grade I knew that I wanted to be an educator. I want to make sure that every single student knows that there is someone on their side, a place where they can be themselves, and a place they are safe and loved. Since the second grade I knew that being a teacher meant college. As a first generation student, I had no idea what that meant for me, so I focused on getting good grades. I took APs, concurrent classes, I found myself in multiple extra-curriculars and clubs. I was even the president of my Educator's Rising Club at my high school. At this point, school wasn't about getting my mother's attention, it wasn't about proving a point, it was about me. Though my mother's words are ones that I will pass onto my children- "education is the most important thing,"- such a simple quote yet one that I continue to follow. I always put my education first, spending countless nights studying and working on assignments to be the best student I can be. In high school, I took my Introduction into Education and Educational Technology classes, where I not only got ahead of the game, but I also got the opportunity to do internships. My sophomore year I interned with a kindergarten class and I just knew that was it for me. Though the teacher I interned with had me do such mundane tasks of cutting papers for hours, grading, and printing, I loved all of it. The way those students would light up when I walked into that classroom filled my heart with joy. They drew me pictures, made me little handmade gifts that I still have to this day. This internship allowed me the opportunity to make sure that my dream wasn't childish, that it was still what I wanted and it is. My senior year I interned with a third grade class and I didn't like it as much the teacher I interned with wouldn't allow me to do anything, but I still connected with the students. Specifically, there was a Spanish speaking student who struggled with understanding English instructions so the teacher I was interning with treated her like she was less than the other students. I spent my time sitting beside her, helping her build her confidence as she would tell me the right answers to her math questions but the teacher would never call on her. With my experiences, both personal and in the classroom I have learned that being a teacher is my calling. Not only will I be able to affectively teach these students and help them create a sense of understanding, but also a sense of belonging, confidence, love, and safety. That is the impact I plan to have on my future students and I cannot wait to begin!