Throughout high school, I have made it a mission to complete as many service hours as possible. I joined clubs that allotted time specifically for service hours, such as the National Honor Society and the Student Council. I have participated in multiple projects and made sure to help to the best of my ability. I have volunteered to help with the Bremen Annual Food Drive since I began attending Bremen High School. The food drive is a huge event for Bremen High School and the surrounding communities. We spend weeks collecting food and taking donations from the community to give back to those with food insecurity in our local neighborhood. It has been around for 40 years, and I am proud to say I have done my part for four years. I was even awarded the chance to speak at a District 228 board meeting about the food drive due to my dedication and hard work for the cause. I am very involved at school, and I always carry myself with a happy and welcoming attitude. Because of that, I was asked to volunteer at freshman orientation, and I did. Not only do I do my part with my school, but I also make an effort to work in my community. I have volunteered with my local park district on multiple occasions, with Santa luncheons, back-to-school fairs, and fall festivals. I have even worked with the local police department and volunteered to help with a community project twice. The project was a scarecrow contest between the local businesses and departments. We were given a theme, and we had to come up with a creative way to display that theme with a scarecrow. In this most recent year, our scarecrow received third place out of all of the groups that participated. I have participated for two years consecutively, and I plan to continue to volunteer with this event. In 2024, I was recognized at District 228’s board meeting as a Keeper Of The Light. Keeper of the light is an achievement awarded to staff and students who have gone above and beyond in their community. Out of all 1,500 students at Bremen High School, I was chosen to receive this award because of my hard work. I have exhibited leadership in all the things I have been a part of. No matter what team or organization I am a part of, they look to me for guidance, decision-making, or even ideas. I am even the section leader for Bremen High School’s Drumline, and I have been for the past 2 years. People rely on me, and I always try to be there; this shows service, leadership, and dedication. The previous moments listed show my unwavering dedication to making my community a better place. For as long as I have been able to help, I have helped in every way I could. This will not stop in adulthood. I will become a defense lawyer and continue to help my community every single day. Being a lawyer will provide me with ample opportunities to put service above myself. As a lawyer, I will make it my mission to help as many people as I can to be in a better situation. That is what I believe service above self means: to be willing to go the extra mile, no matter the inconvenience, to help a person who needs it. With being a lawyer, that is what I will be doing every day. I have been accepted to and plan to attend Howard University. I plan to continue my service endeavors.

Throughout all four years of high school I have made it a mission to complete as many service hours as possible. To be successful with that I joined clubs that allotted time specifically for service hours, such as National Honor Society and Student council. I have participated in multiple projects and made sure to help to the best of my ability. I have volunteered to help with The Bremen Annual Food Drive since I have been at Bremen High School. The food drive is a huge event for Bremen High School and the surrounding communities. We spend weeks collecting food and taking donations from the community to give back to those with food insecurity in our local neighborhood. It has been around for 40 years and I am proud to say I have done my part for four of those. I was even awarded the chance to speak at a district 228 board meeting about the food drive due to my dedication and hardwork to the cause. I am very involved at school, and I always carry myself with a happy and welcoming attitude, because of that I was asked to volunteer at freshman orientation, and I did. I welcomed the freshman in and did my best to make their transition even the slightest bit easier. Not only do I do my part with my school but I also make an effort to work in my community. I have volunteered with my local park district on multiple occasions, with santa luncheons, back to school fairs, and fall festivals. I have even worked with the local police department and volunteered to help with a community project twice. The project was a scarecrow contest between the local businesses and departments. We were given a theme and we had to come up with a creative way to display that theme with a scarecrow. In this most recent year our scarecrow received third place out of all of the group that participated, which is around 15-20. I have participated for two years consecutively and I plan to continue to volunteer with this event. In 2024, I was recognized at District 228’s board meeting as a Keeper Of The Light. Keeper of the light is an achievement awarded to staff and students who have gone above and beyond in their community. Out of all 1,500 students at Bremen High School, I was chosen to receive this award because of my hard work. I have exhibited leadership in all the things I have been a part of. No matter what team or organization I am a part of, they look to me for guidance, decision making, or even ideas. I am even the section leader for Bremen High school’s Drumline, and I have been for the past 2 years. People rely on me and I always try to be there, this shows service, leadership, and dedication. The previous moments listed, show my unwavering dedication to making my community a better place. For as long as I have been able to help, I have helped in every way I could. This will not stop in adulthood. I will become a defense lawyer and continue to help my community every single day.

I do not come from a wealthy family, I knew going to a top school would not only be a challenge mentally but a financial challenge as well. My father died before my first birthday, leaving me and my mother alone to provide for ourselves. This was not easy for my mom since she was only 20 years old, was still living with her parents, and had a terrible relationship with her father. She drives a school bus and we live paycheck to paycheck. My mother has had to work for everything we have. There is nowhere we can pull money from to pay for my education. I need all the help I can get to have any hope of having a successful and educated future. Because we have limited resources, I have worked tirelessly to go above and beyond to ensure my chances of going to my dream school. I researched schools, did all the steps to determine what school was best for me: Howard University. Howard is one of the top HBCUs but also a top school for pre-law. Going to a top school, like Howard, ensures I have all the best resources to accomplish my goals. Howard has even produced notable alumni like Former Vice President Kamala Harris, whose career path I model mine after. Howards pre-law program provides ample internships, and with Howard having a law school as well, allows me to shadow people who have established themselves already in their career. Howard is even in a prime location to learn about politics and what being a lawyer really is. I knew it would be hard to achieve but my goal was to be a Howard Bison. I came into high school with the plan to work as hard as possible to set myself apart from the rest. I joined every club I could fit into my schedule; Student Council, Peer Jury, Peer Mediation, Class Leadership, Girls Basketball, Girls Flag Football, Theater, Marching Band, Bible Club, FCCLA, Deca, I have even balanced a job on top of that for the past two years. I have taken honors and AP classes, so I am in the top 10% of my class With my degree, I will be a voice for my people in the courtroom. Only the devastation and tragedies of the black community are shown in mainstream media. Often we hear about an African American being brutalized by the police, the crimes of poor black people who are struggling to survive, or African American people just being terrorized in their everyday life for being black. I want to be a part of the community that flips the script. We see black people in cuffs and behind bars too often . We never see black lawyers being a voice for those unjust realities. That is because there are not many. Only 5% of all attorneys are African American. Black people need more representation because lawyers who do not understand the trials and tribulations of being black are not fighting hard enough. I want to be another voice for my people.

All my life it has just been my mother and I. My father died when I was an infant. I did not get the chance to know him before his tragic accident. Growing up, I knew we did not have a lot of money but we never faced homelessness. My mother raised me the best she could with the resources at her disposal. Being brought up in an environment like that has built me into a hardworking and appreciative individual. With us living paycheck to paycheck, with no room for any extra expenses, it has made me sympathetic to others who were brought up in a similar situation and anyone who may need it. I work hard to be a good influence to all of my younger family. I want to be someone that they can look up to. I am a first generation college student. I am paving the way for my younger family to see that it is possible for one of us to succeed. I want to make all the right decisions for them. They may hold me to a high standard but it is not as high as the standard I have for myself. Most people think being successful is to have the most money, to buy all the designer clothes and buy all the newest trends, but that is not what success is to me. My idea of success is the ability to live happily, comfortably, and freely. Having financial freedom is success. There are many ways to have financial freedom but going to college is the way for me. College not only advances my career and encourages personal growth. College will help me develop the skills that will make me successful. Networking, teamwork, and critical thinking are all skills I need for my career field. As a lawyer it is imperative that I am sociable and able to communicate with other people in my field. Learning how to network and making connections as I learn is exactly what will make my long-term goal attainable. Without scholarships I would not be able to even think about getting my education. I am grateful for opportunities like these because I was not lucky enough to be blessed without the burden of money. I aspire to create wealth and be a good example for those who come after me. This scholarship will not only help me pay for college today but help me build towards achieving my dreams.