Growing up in a single parent, low income household taught me early that stability was never guaranteed. As I got older, I faced challenges of my own, including homelessness, addiction, incarceration, domestic violence, and becoming a single mother. There were periods of my life when surviving took priority over imagining a future. Those experiences could have defined what I believed was possible for me. Instead, they became the reason I refused to give up. After leaving high school, I earned my GED and eventually found my way back to education. In June 2026, I graduated summa cum laude from the University of Washington Tacoma with a degree in Social Welfare and a minor in Criminal Justice. Now, as a single mother of two, I am preparing to begin law school. My experiences have also shaped the work I do today. As a reentry education navigator, I help justice impacted individuals overcome barriers to education, housing, employment, and stability during and after incarceration. I know what it feels like to rebuild your life while navigating systems that were not designed with your circumstances in mind. That understanding allows me to meet people where they are while helping them see where they can go. I am pursuing law because I want to take that work further. My goal is to combine social work, lived experience, and legal advocacy to challenge policies that keep people trapped in cycles of poverty and system involvement. I want to expand access to education and opportunity while ensuring that people directly impacted by these systems have a voice in changing them. I cannot change where my story began, but I can use it to change what is possible for the people who come after me.

My path to social work has been shaped by both lived experience and a desire to create the kind of support that I once needed myself. I recently earned my Bachelor of Arts in Social Welfare from the University of Washington Tacoma and am continuing my education by pursuing a law degree. As someone who has experienced incarceration, addiction, homelessness, domestic violence, and other significant barriers, I understand what it feels like to navigate systems that often focus more on what is wrong with someone than on their strengths, potential, and circumstances. Those experiences ultimately became the foundation for the work I do today. I currently work with justice impacted individuals as a reentry education navigator, helping people during and after incarceration access higher education, resources, and opportunities. What motivates me to work with underserved communities is knowing how powerful it can be when even one person believes in someone during a time when they may struggle to believe in themselves. Education played a major role in changing the direction of my own life, but I did not get here alone. I had people with lived experience who helped me recognize that my past did not disqualify me from having a meaningful future. That support inspired me to provide the same thing for others. My responsibility as a social worker is not to come into a community believing I have all the answers. I believe meaningful social work requires listening to people, recognizing their expertise in their own lives, and working alongside them to determine what support will actually be helpful. Underserved communities often face barriers created by policies, institutions, and systems rather than individual choices alone. Telling someone to work harder does little when they are facing housing instability, poverty, discrimination, a criminal record, lack of transportation, or policies that restrict their access to education and employment. Because of this, I see my responsibility as extending beyond helping individuals navigate existing systems. Social workers should also be willing to question why those systems are so difficult to navigate in the first place. In my work, I want to continue using both my education and lived experience to advocate for changes that make education, housing, employment, and other opportunities more accessible. Ultimately, I intend to contribute positively to society by bridging direct service, advocacy, and law. My experiences have taught me that people should not be permanently defined by the hardest periods of their lives. I want to help create systems that recognize people's strengths and provide meaningful opportunities to move forward. As I continue my education and career, my goal is to ensure that people who have historically been excluded from decision making are not only supported but included in shaping the policies and programs that directly affect their lives.

My interest in advocating for stronger sexual assault and domestic violence laws comes from more than what I have learned in the classroom. As a survivor of domestic violence, a social welfare and criminal justice graduate, and an incoming law student, I have seen how much the language of the law matters. When the law does not recognize the full reality of someone's experience, survivors can be left without accountability, protection, or even acknowledgment that what happened to them was wrong. That is why I believe rape by fraud and rape by deception deserve greater recognition in both public conversations and criminal law. Consent should be informed and freely given. When someone intentionally uses deception about a material fact to obtain sexual access they know another person would otherwise refuse, that deception directly interferes with the person's ability to make a meaningful decision about their own body. My advocacy would focus on education, survivor centered policy, and legislative reform. I would work alongside survivors, advocates, service providers, and legal professionals to raise awareness about how fraud and deception can be used to bypass consent. As I enter the legal field, I also want to advocate for laws that recognize these forms of sexual violence while clearly defining what conduct qualifies. The goal should not be to criminalize every lie told within an intimate relationship. The law should address intentional and material deception used specifically to obtain sexual activity that would not have occurred if the truth were known. If I were presenting before a state legislative committee, my strongest argument would be that consent must apply to what actually occurred, not what someone was intentionally deceived into believing was occurring. A misunderstanding and intentional deception are not the same thing. A misunderstanding can happen without either person intending to violate the other's boundaries. Fraud requires someone to deliberately manipulate another person's understanding in order to influence their decision. When that manipulation is used to gain access to another person's body, we should take the violation of autonomy seriously. My experiences have taught me that laws do more than determine whether someone can be prosecuted. They also communicate whose experiences are recognized and whose harm matters. Survivors already face significant barriers to reporting sexual and domestic violence. When the law itself does not recognize how consent can be intentionally bypassed, it creates another barrier to accountability. As an aspiring attorney, I want to use my education and lived experience to advocate for laws that better reflect the realities survivors face. Expanding sexual assault legislation to address carefully defined forms of fraud and deception would affirm a basic principle: every person has the right to make informed decisions about their own body. If consent is what distinguishes consensual sexual activity from sexual assault, then intentional deception used to bypass that consent cannot simply be dismissed as a misunderstanding.

I deserve this scholarship because I understand the value of educational opportunity in a way that few people ever will. College was never something I assumed would be part of my future. In fact, there was a time when simply surviving each day felt like a greater challenge than pursuing a degree. For more than a decade, my life was defined by addiction, homelessness, domestic violence, and involvement with the criminal justice system. I dropped out of high school, earned my GED, and spent years believing that higher education was something meant for other people. The barriers in front of me felt insurmountable. Financial instability, trauma, and systemic obstacles made college seem impossible. Yet I refused to let my past determine my future. The turning point came when I became a mother. Looking at my children, I realized that if I wanted them to have a different future, I had to create one myself. I made the difficult decision to rebuild my life from the ground up. I sought treatment, committed to my recovery, and returned to school despite every reason to believe I would fail. Since then, I have maintained academic excellence, graduated from the University of Washington Tacoma with honors, and earned recognition including the Washington Governor's Student Civic Leadership Award, Husky 100, and Outstanding Student Volunteer Award. This fall, I will begin law school to pursue a career in public interest law. What gives me an advantage over other applicants is not simply my resilience. It is my proven commitment to turning personal success into community impact. Every achievement I have earned has become an opportunity to help someone else achieve theirs. Throughout college, I served as a peer navigator supporting justice impacted students pursuing higher education. I founded and led a student organization that created community and support for formerly incarcerated and justice impacted students. Today, I work as a Community Based Corrections Education Navigator, helping incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, and justice impacted individuals throughout Pierce County access college, workforce training, financial aid, and career opportunities. Every day, I work with people who are facing the same barriers I once faced. Because I have lived those experiences, I can help them see possibilities they may not yet see for themselves. This scholarship is an investment that will extend far beyond my own education. It will help support a future attorney dedicated to expanding access to justice, educational opportunity, and economic mobility for underserved communities. My goal is to advocate for policies and systems that remove barriers to success and create pathways for individuals and families to thrive. I want to help people secure stable housing, access education, reunify with their children, overcome the collateral consequences of criminal records, and build sustainable futures. Perhaps most importantly, this scholarship will help me continue breaking generational cycles for my family. My children have witnessed the transformation of our lives through education. They have seen me study late into the night, balance work and school, overcome obstacles, and achieve goals that once seemed impossible. By pursuing higher education and a legal career, I am showing them that their circumstances do not define their potential. I am building a foundation that will create opportunities not only for me, but for future generations of my family. Many applicants are capable and deserving. What sets me apart is that I have already demonstrated how I will use this opportunity. My education has never been solely about personal advancement. It has always been about creating opportunities for others, strengthening my community, and ensuring that people who have been overlooked or counted out have access to the same possibilities that transformed my life. This scholarship would help me continue that work and expand the impact I am determined to make for years to come.

My commitment to ending intimate partner violence is deeply personal. As a survivor of domestic violence, I understand the fear, isolation, and instability that often accompany abusive relationships. I also understand how domestic violence rarely exists in isolation. In my own life, it intersected with addiction, homelessness, poverty, involvement with the criminal justice system, and the loss of stability for my family. These experiences showed me that intimate partner violence is not simply a private issue between two individuals. It is a complex social problem that affects housing, employment, education, health, family relationships, and long term economic security. Through my education in Social Welfare and Criminal Justice at the University of Washington Tacoma, I have gained a deeper understanding of the systemic barriers survivors face when attempting to leave abusive situations. Many existing initiatives provide critical services such as emergency shelter, legal advocacy, counseling, and safety planning. Through my work with youth experiencing homelessness, justice impacted individuals, and families navigating complex systems, I have seen firsthand how these resources can save lives. At the same time, I have also witnessed the gaps that remain. Survivors often struggle to access stable housing, educational opportunities, employment pathways, affordable childcare, and long term support after the immediate crisis has passed. My experiences have reinforced my belief that addressing intimate partner violence requires more than crisis intervention. Survivors need opportunities to rebuild their lives and achieve lasting stability. Education has been one of the most transformative tools in my own journey. After overcoming addiction, homelessness, and domestic violence, higher education provided me with a pathway to regain confidence, develop leadership skills, and create a future for myself and my children. It allowed me to move from surviving to thriving. As I begin law school and pursue a career in public interest law, I intend to use my education to strengthen efforts that support survivors beyond immediate safety. I hope to advocate for policies that expand access to legal services, housing, education, and economic opportunities for survivors and their families. I am particularly interested in addressing the barriers faced by individuals who are impacted by both domestic violence and involvement with the criminal justice system, populations that are often overlooked in traditional service models. My goal is to help create systems that recognize survivors as more than victims of violence. They are parents, students, workers, leaders, and community members with tremendous potential. By combining my lived experience, professional work in social services and reentry, and future legal education, I hope to contribute to more holistic approaches that promote safety, healing, empowerment, and long term success. Ultimately, I want to help build communities where survivors have access not only to protection, but also to the resources and opportunities necessary to create stable, fulfilling lives for themselves and future generations. In doing so, I hope to help break cycles of violence, strengthen families, and ensure that others have access to the same opportunities for transformation that changed the course of my own life.

My vision is rooted in the belief that everyone deserves access to opportunity, regardless of their past mistakes or the circumstances they were born into. For much of my life, I experienced the barriers that many people in my community face, including addiction, homelessness, domestic violence, and involvement with the criminal justice system. There were many times when I felt excluded from education, employment, and opportunities that others often take for granted. Those experiences shaped not only who I am today, but also the impact I hope to make through my education and future legal career. I am pursuing a law degree because I want to use the law as a tool to expand access to justice, education, and opportunity for underserved communities. My goal is to become a public interest attorney focused on criminal justice reform, reentry advocacy, and family stability. I hope to help individuals and families navigate complex systems, remove barriers created by criminal records, and access the resources they need to build stable and successful lives. Through both direct legal representation and policy advocacy, I want to create pathways that allow people to move beyond survival and toward long term success. The people who inspire me most are my children. Becoming a mother forced me to confront the reality of the life I was living and the future I wanted for them. I knew I wanted something different, not only for myself but for the next generation. My education is helping me break cycles that have impacted my family for generations. By earning my degree and attending law school, I am showing my children that no matter where you start, your future is not defined by your past. I want them to grow up believing that perseverance, education, and service can create opportunities that once seemed impossible. I am also inspired by the countless justice impacted individuals I have worked alongside through my roles as a peer navigator, community based corrections education navigator, and advocate. Every day I meet people with incredible potential who are held back by systemic barriers rather than a lack of ability or determination. Their resilience motivates me to continue this work and fight for systems that recognize people's strengths rather than defining them by their mistakes. Ultimately, I hope to create lasting change by helping build communities where people have genuine opportunities to belong, succeed, and thrive. Whether through legal advocacy, education, policy reform, or community leadership, I want to ensure that others have access to the support and opportunities that helped transform my own life. My goal is not simply to help individuals overcome barriers, but to help change the systems that create those barriers in the first place. In doing so, I hope to leave a legacy of empowerment, equity, and opportunity for future generations.

Incarceration and involvement with the criminal justice system had a profound impact on my life. It created barriers that extended far beyond my sentence, affecting my housing stability, employment opportunities, education, and sense of self worth. For many years, I struggled with addiction, homelessness, domestic violence, and the stigma associated with having a criminal record. There were times when I believed my mistakes would permanently define my future and limit what I could achieve. However, those experiences also taught me resilience, accountability, and the importance of community support. Recovery required me to take responsibility for my actions while also learning how to navigate systems that were often difficult to access and understand. Along the way, I encountered mentors, educators, and advocates who saw my potential rather than my past. Their support showed me the transformative power of education and second chances. My experiences with incarceration ultimately shaped both my academic and career ambitions. When I returned to school, I was determined to create a different future for myself and my children. What began as a personal goal quickly grew into a passion for helping others facing similar barriers. Through my studies in Social Welfare and Criminal Justice, my work as a Husky Post Prison Pathways Peer Navigator, and now my role as a Community Based Corrections Education Navigator at Pierce College, I have been able to support justice impacted individuals as they pursue education, employment, and personal growth. These experiences have also inspired my decision to attend law school. I have seen firsthand how legal barriers can affect individuals and families long after involvement with the justice system has ended. My goal is to become an attorney focused on expanding access to justice, advocating for policies that promote successful reentry, and helping individuals overcome the collateral consequences of a criminal record. Incarceration changed the course of my life, but it did not define my future. Instead, it gave me a deeper understanding of the challenges many people face and a commitment to ensuring that others have access to the opportunities and support they need to succeed.

The legal profession carries immense responsibility because attorneys are entrusted not only with advocating for clients, but also with protecting the integrity of the justice system itself. The ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct recognize that ethical lawyering requires more than simply winning cases. It requires honesty, accountability, fairness, confidentiality, competence, and respect for the dignity of others. As someone whose life has been directly impacted by poverty, addiction, domestic violence, and the criminal legal system, I understand how deeply legal systems affect real people and families. These experiences have shaped my belief that the law should be practiced with both integrity and humanity. Through my academic and professional experiences, I have worked closely with justice impacted individuals navigating barriers related to housing, education, reentry, and stigma. As a peer navigator and overnight case manager, I have learned that advocacy is most effective when it is grounded in trust, transparency, and ethical responsibility. People often come to systems in moments of vulnerability, and professionals hold significant power in shaping outcomes. Because of this, I plan to approach legal practice with a strong commitment to honesty and ethical decision making, even in situations where doing so may be difficult or unpopular. Zealous advocacy is an important duty of attorneys, but I believe it becomes dangerous when the pursuit of victory outweighs truth, fairness, or respect for the legal process. Advocacy should never involve misleading courts, exploiting vulnerable individuals, intentionally escalating harm, or using unethical tactics simply because they may benefit a client in the short term. Attorneys can advocate fiercely while still maintaining professionalism and integrity. To me, the line is crossed when advocacy prioritizes winning over justice or creates harm that undermines public trust in the legal system. I plan to navigate this boundary by remaining grounded in ethical rules, seeking mentorship and accountability, and continuously reflecting on the broader impact my decisions have on individuals and communities. My commitment to ethics is also deeply connected to my commitment to diversity and inclusion within the legal field. Many marginalized communities experience the legal system as inaccessible, intimidating, or discriminatory. I know firsthand how representation, support, and advocacy can change the trajectory of someone’s life. Throughout my time at the University of Washington Tacoma, I have worked to support underrepresented and justice impacted students through leadership, mentorship, and advocacy. As president of the Formerly Incarcerated Student Association and through my work with Husky Post Prison Pathways, I have helped create spaces where students impacted by incarceration feel seen, supported, and capable of succeeding in higher education. In the future, I hope to continue contributing to underrepresented communities through legal advocacy, mentorship, and policy reform work focused on expanding access to education, legal resources, and equitable opportunities. As I begin my legal education at Vermont Law and Graduate School, I intend to carry forward the belief that ethical lawyering is not separate from diversity and inclusion efforts, but essential to them. Integrity, fairness, and accountability help create legal systems where all people, especially those historically marginalized, are treated with dignity and respect. I hope to become an attorney who not only advocates effectively, but also helps build trust in systems that too often fail the communities most impacted by injustice.

Free expression has played a central role in both my personal journey and my professional and academic work. As someone directly impacted by addiction, homelessness, domestic violence, and the criminal legal system, I understand how often marginalized individuals are silenced, dismissed, or reduced to stereotypes. My commitment to free expression comes from believing that people should have the ability to share their stories, advocate for themselves, and challenge harmful systems without fear of being ignored or dehumanized. At the University of Washington Tacoma, I have used academic writing, leadership, and advocacy to elevate conversations around incarceration, education, and justice reform. As president of the Formerly Incarcerated Student Association and a peer navigator with Husky Post Prison Pathways, I have worked to create spaces where justice impacted students feel safe being visible and heard in higher education. Many students impacted by incarceration carry stigma that discourages them from speaking openly about their experiences. I believe free expression is essential in breaking that silence and challenging assumptions about who belongs in academic and professional spaces. My academic work has also reflected this commitment. In several research and public writing projects, I have explored issues such as educational inequality among formerly incarcerated people, media portrayals of justice impacted communities, and why college after incarceration should not be treated as a “miracle story,” but as a normal and supported pathway. I am passionate about making complex social issues accessible to broader audiences because public understanding often shapes policy, opportunity, and treatment of marginalized groups. Outside the classroom, I have participated in advocacy and civic engagement work through leadership roles, volunteer work, and public speaking opportunities focused on justice reform and educational access. I have learned that free expression is not only about protecting speech, but also about ensuring people have the opportunity, confidence, and platform to speak in the first place. Many communities are excluded from public conversations because of stigma, poverty, trauma, or institutional barriers. Part of my work has been helping individuals reclaim their voices and recognize that their experiences and perspectives matter. As I prepare to attend Vermont Law and Graduate School this fall, I hope to continue using advocacy, writing, and law to protect the rights and dignity of marginalized communities. I believe free expression is fundamental to social change because meaningful reform cannot happen when people are silenced, erased, or afraid to speak. I want to help build a future where people are not punished for speaking their truth, but empowered to use their voices to create change, challenge injustice, and redefine what is possible for themselves and their communities.