Before coming to Spelman, I knew I wanted to be successful. I just don't think I fully understood what I wanted that success to mean. Being at an HBCU, and especially being at Spelman, has changed that. I am surrounded every day by Black women who are smart, ambitious, creative, outspoken, and completely different from one another. There is something really powerful about walking into a classroom and knowing that being a Black woman is not something I have to explain before I can contribute. I can just learn. I can ask questions. I can figure out who I am. And I have definitely had to figure some things out. My sophomore year was probably the hardest year of my life. At one point, I was taking 18 credit hours while working around 25 hours a week. I was trying to keep my grades up, stay involved on campus, build my career, pay for the things I needed, and somehow still be a person outside of all of that. I struggled with my mental health, started going to therapy, and had to learn that constantly pushing myself wasn't the same thing as actually being okay. But I also learned how much I am capable of. I finished the year with a strong GPA. I became more comfortable asking for help. I became more intentional about my faith, my relationships, and where I put my energy. Most importantly, I stopped thinking of college as four years where I needed to collect as many accomplishments as possible. Spelman has given me room to discover what I actually care about. I came into college thinking my future might be in law or public policy. Now, as an Economics major, I have discovered that I am fascinated by the business behind culture and entertainment. Through my internships, I have gotten to work behind the scenes on major events and see how strategy, operations, production, and creativity come together. Eventually, I want to become an entertainment executive and build a production company of my own. I also know I want to bring other people with me. Whether I am helping build Girls Who Lead at Spelman, organizing students around reproductive rights, volunteering, or simply encouraging friends to seek support when they need it, service has taught me that success feels a lot less meaningful when it only benefits me. A scholarship would allow me to spend fewer hours working while I am in school and put more of that time into learning, creating, serving, and preparing for my future. I still have a lot to figure out, but that might be one of the biggest things Spelman has taught me: I don't need to have every answer yet. I just need to keep becoming the woman I came here to be.

I have always been fascinated by the moments that bring people together. A concert where thousands of strangers sing the same song. An event that makes someone feel like they belong. A piece of media that becomes part of culture. What most people experience as entertainment, I have learned to see as both creativity and business. Behind every unforgettable experience are people making decisions about strategy, operations, budgets, talent, and ultimately, whose stories get the opportunity to be told. I am an Economics major at Spelman College pursuing a career in entertainment strategy and operations, with the long-term goal of becoming an entertainment executive and eventually building my own production company. This past summer helped turn that goal from an idea into something I could actually see for myself. Through my work with ESSENCE, I gained experience in operations, logistics, and production, including supporting activations at ESSENCE Festival. I also had the opportunity to work behind the scenes on a Roc Nation, Refinery29, and Target experience celebrating Jay-Z’s 30th anniversary. Seeing how many moving pieces go into creating experiences people remember confirmed that this is the industry where I want to build my career. But I do not just want to succeed in entertainment. I want to have enough influence to change it. As a Black woman, I am especially interested in creating spaces where women in entertainment have greater ownership, protection, and power. My ultimate goal is to build a company that produces culturally significant experiences and media while creating opportunities for talent and creatives who have historically had less access to decision-making positions. Studying economics gives me the analytical foundation to understand how businesses grow, how resources are distributed, and how financial decisions shape opportunity. My experiences in production and strategy are teaching me how to turn those ideas into something people can actually experience. Service has also shaped the kind of leader I want to become. At Spelman, I co-founded the campus chapter of Girls Who Lead, an organization focused on helping young women understand policy, civic engagement, and their ability to create change. Through Reproductive Freedom for All, I participated in community outreach, canvassing, advocacy, and organizing across Georgia, connecting with more than 1,000 people and helping mobilize students around issues affecting their communities. I have also worked on maternal justice initiatives and volunteered with a community food pantry. These experiences taught me that leadership means very little if it does not create opportunities for other people. Receiving this scholarship would give me more freedom to invest in that future. As a college student, balancing academics, professional development, service, and the financial realities of earning a degree requires constant prioritization. Financial support would allow me to dedicate more time to my education, pursue career-building opportunities, and continue serving my community without finances determining which opportunities I can afford to take. I want my career to exist at the intersection of business, culture, and impact. My goal is not simply to have a seat at the table. I want to learn how the table works, become someone capable of leading it, and eventually build my own.