The finish line in my house used to be a high school diploma. Neither of my parents reached it. Growing up in a family where no one on either side has attended college, the path to a degree was never a paved road. It was a trail I had to blaze myself. To me, this degree is more than a piece of paper. It is a declaration of independence and an honor to the grueling work that has defined my life. Earning this degree will rewrite my family history. By becoming the first to graduate, I am replacing a cycle of limited options with a legacy of achievement. For future generations, college will no longer be a distant dream. It will be the new standard. I want my younger cousins to look at my degree and realize that our beginnings do not dictate our endings. Personally, graduating will bring a profound sense of relief. It marks the moment I move beyond the boundaries of high school to finally be my own person. But that relief comes with a duty. I am not going to college just to get a job. I am going to gain the tools to protect our planet. My passion sits at the intersection of law and environmental science. I originally wanted to be a lawyer because I loved the thrill of the courtroom. However, I soon realized that a lawyer changes one life at a time. A policy analyst changes thousands of lives by fixing the systems we live in. I do not just want to win an argument. I want to win the fight against climate change. This is why I am committed to majoring in Political Science to become a Climate Change Policy Analyst. I have already started this work. When I saw my school’s Moot Court club was dead, I revived it. As President, I built a space where students learn the power of advocacy. Beyond school, I volunteered at the Dallas Arboretum. Getting my hands dirty reminded me that policy is not just about documents. It is about the soil and the air my community breathes. I am currently planning on attending Illinois Wesleyan University to help me take the next steps to turn this ambition into action. I am ready to step into a role where I can serve the world. This degree is my chance to honor my parents and ensure the next generation inherits a world that is stable and full of possibility.

I once thought I wanted to become a lawyer. I was drawn to the idea of standing in a courtroom, building arguments, and defending justice in a direct and visible way. Over time, however, I realized that while I still value law deeply, I want to use my skills in a different way. I do not only want to work within legal cases. I want to create change for entire communities. That realization is what led me toward becoming a climate change policy analyst. My interest in law began with curiosity about fairness and how decisions are made. I wanted to understand how people are represented and how justice is applied in real situations. That curiosity grew stronger through my involvement in Moot Court, where I learned how arguments are built, how evidence is used, and how perspective can completely change the outcome of a case. It showed me that law is powerful, but also limited in scope. It often focuses on individual cases rather than broader systems. This became even clearer during my AP Seminar project, "Silent Statues, Loud Debates". In that project, I studied how historical monuments affect communities and shape public memory. I learned that decisions made long ago still influence how people experience the present. I also saw how public systems and historical choices can create division or inequality depending on how they are understood and addressed. That experience helped me realize that I do not just want to respond to issues after they happen. I want to help shape the policies and systems that prevent those issues in the first place. Law helped me understand structure and justice, but political science and policy showed me how change can reach more people at once. This is why I am now pursuing a path in climate change policy. Climate change is not only an environmental issue. It is also a legal and political issue that affects communities differently depending on geography, resources, and history. Some communities face greater harm due to decisions made over time about land use, industry, and environmental protection. I want to help create policies that address those inequalities while also protecting the environment. My goal is to make decisions that consider both people and the planet, because they are deeply connected. Effective policy must take into account how laws and systems impact real communities, not just in theory, but in everyday life. My interest in law is still part of who I am, but it has grown into something broader. I want to use what I have learned about justice, systems, and argumentation to create solutions that reach beyond the courtroom. Instead of focusing on individual cases, I want to help shape policies that improve conditions for entire communities. Ultimately, I want my work to create lasting change. Not just by understanding justice, but by helping design systems that make justice more accessible, more fair, and more sustainable for everyone.

History has never stopped being made. It is still unfolding in every decision, every policy, and every consequence we choose to ignore or address. I want to be part of the generation that does not just observe history, but helps change its direction. This idea became clear to me during my AP Seminar project, "Silent Statues, Loud Debates", where I explored how historical monuments shape public memory and divide communities. What I thought would be a simple research project about statues became something deeper. I began to see how power decides what is remembered, what is ignored, and what is seen as truth. Through that project, I learned that history is not only in the past. It is active in the present. The way we understand history shapes how people see themselves and others. It can bring communities together or push them apart depending on how it is told and understood. That experience led me toward political science and geography. Political science helps explain how decisions are made and whose voices are included. Geography shows how location and environment affect people’s lives in very different ways. Together, they help explain why inequality exists and why it continues. This is why I want to become a climate change policy analyst. Climate change is often treated as only a scientific issue, but it is also deeply connected to history and politics. Past choices about industry, land use, and environmental policy have created unequal levels of impact. Some communities face stronger risks from floods, heat, and pollution because of decisions made long before them. Understanding history helps explain how these patterns formed. Political science helps explain how they continue. Geography helps show who is affected and why. I want to use all of this knowledge to help create better policies that are fair and realistic. I care about making a difference in a way that is both practical and meaningful. I do not only want to understand problems. I want to help solve them. Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our time, but it is also one of the most unequal. Any solution should protect the environment while also protecting people who are most at risk. My goal is to use what I learn to connect knowledge to action. I want to help build policies that consider both history and human impact. I want to make sure decisions are not only effective but also fair. Ultimately, I see history as something alive. It is not finished. It is written every day through the choices people make. My goal is to use what I learn to help shape those choices in a way that leads to a more just and sustainable future.