One of my favorite things about my eccentric mother is her long list of recycled, timeless cliches. I know what you’re probably thinking - typical mom quirk, right? But, what makes them so notable is that she never seems to remember them quite right. However, the only phrase my mother never seems to fumble is a Maya Angelou quote, which she often uses when offering encouragement to me and my siblings: “Nothing will work unless you do.” This is the attitude I’ve watched my mother embody as she tackled a full-time nursing job at the Federal Medical Center of Rochester for 17 years, and picked up weekly shifts through pool nursing agencies just to pay the bills. She made sure that she set an example of hard work for us, because she wanted to make sure that she, in her words, “Talked the talk, before she walked the walk.” 2016 was the year my mom decided to go back to school to earn her RN degree. I remember hearing the loud grinds of our worn garage door open every morning just before sunrise, signaling that she was home from work and that it was time to help her with her bags. In addition to her many bags, my mom also had stacks of textbooks and paperwork that plagued our house and her rusted, silver minivan that she has owned since I was five. Everyday she had to lug around these bags and books from school to work, and back again, never catching a break. Yet, the bags weren’t the only thing she carried on her shoulders. My mother is a single parent who has worked her tail off to make sure I was able to attend each summer enrichment program I was invited to, to give me and my siblings rides to our innumerable practices and games, and to emotionally support us all. Even with all of this on her plate, my mother never complained. She was strong and determined. Most days, she’d finish her 12-hour work shift then travel an hour away for class, never stopping to change clothes or to even collect her thoughts. Witnessing my mother struggle during that time showed me a level of resilience that has catapulted me into the hardworking student I’ve become. Her example shows me the power of faith, conviction, and tenacity. I want to become successful to show my mother just how much her hard work and support has inspired me, and one day I hope to be able to take great care of her the way she has taken care of me and my siblings. I am presently working to achieve this goal by attending Howard University, where I am studying biology with a chemistry and sociology double minor to earn my Bachelor of Science degree. With this degree I will pursue a career in educational advocacy with the intention of establishing a national mandate that states that all public school systems have to provide adequate mental health education, resources, and services for their students and staff members. The mandate will include a national health curriculum that will emphasize the importance of recognizing, understanding, and improving one’s mental health and well-being. The curriculum will also include how to handle the everyday stressors that arise with being a young student in today’s pressure-ridden society. Being accepted for this scholarship award will allow me to take a further step into grasping my future as an African-American woman educator, potentially changing the face of education and what it means to overcome adversities. And most importantly, further steps to make my mom proud!

I have faced many hardships during my higher academic career. Firstly, my freshman year of college was spent online at home due to Covid-19 restrictions. Then finally I made it to campus my sophomore year to only have to return back home less than a month later due to my dad having a freak accident that led to him being paralyzed from shoulder down. After the chaos died down back at home, I reluctantly returned back to campus just to be welcomed back by black mold in my dorm room vents. Even with all of those issues, the top of my list of worries are being able to afford tuition and housing. I will be entering into my junior year as a fulltime student at Howard University. Unfortunately, they’ve increased the cost of attendance this year from an already whopping $53k+ to $60k. Along with this, they also did not guarantee upperclassmen housing. During my scrambling attempt to secure a place to live, the most affordable housing that I found was 25 minutes away from campus, with the rent still being a hefty $1,200/month--excluding other fees. If I earned this scholarship, I would put all of it towards my first month of rent. It would alleviate an immeasurable amount of stress that I've been experiencing because it would give me more time to establish a way to afford living expenses long term, transportation to get to and from campus, as well as the expenses required to earn my bachelor’s degree.

My name is Kashanti Taylor and I will make a difference in the education field. Being a young African-American female has taught me to think about adversities as opportunities to completely obliterate the expectations of inferiority. I plan to attend the reputable HBCU, Howard University in Washington, D.C., where I will have the opportunity to intern with representatives in the Federal Department of Education. My desired major is Psychology with a Political Science minor. This decision stems from my lifelong work of social justice advocacy—ranging from racial representation to inclusive sexual health education. One underlying theme of my involvement and advocacy has been reaching equity for everyone, especially for marginalized populations. It is the responsibility of those in power to take action in reaching that said equity. I believe as an educated, able-bodied, U.S. born citizen, it is my responsibility to contribute to this fight for equity. For so long there have been practices that have made it difficult for some students to succeed; before or after school make-up times, extra credit that involves access to transportation, homework that requires access to Wi-Fi or external support like tutors, college advisors, and just simply present parents… you get my point, right? There may be a small population of students that this applies to, but I guarantee 9 times out of 10 that they are also facing other hardships. So why not make it easier on them? I was one of those students—in addition to being raised in a broken family, I didn’t receive the same resources as my peers from an early age. I was rejected over and over from receiving an opportunity to advance my knowledge and education, year after year. But because one of my teachers advocated for equity in all of his students’ lives, I am here today, writing this essay with the same passion and goal. I strongly believe that I was put on this earth to create positive change and that’s what I will pursue in my higher education and future. Being a young African-American female has taught me to think about adversities as opportunities to completely obliterate the expectations of inferiority. I’ve committed my life to change the image and perception of my fellow black community and other marginalized students by grabbing as many opportunities as I can handle and accomplishing as many goals as I can. One of these opportunities was collaborating with the Secondary Principal of Curriculum and Instruction in my district. We worked on how the district could adopt more equitable practices by transforming the district’s grading philosophy to not penalize those students that don’t have access to outside resources like the aforementioned ones. This is an example of an equitable practice that I think districts across the nation should adopt. In my future, I am determined to conduct a critical examination of policies, practices, and beliefs to identify the root causes of inequitable access, opportunities, and outcomes of marginalized student groups. I also dream of designing strategies that address these conditions, as well as improve and strengthen current initiatives to eradicate the barriers that marginalized student groups face. In my future, I want to provide marginalized students with essential opportunities. I will create a non-profit business that establishes funding and programs for disadvantaged students to excel academically and emotionally, despite the circumstances they live in. There will also be training programs for teachers that would address cultural incompetency, insensitivity, implicit bias, and racism. A big part of working towards this equity is improving the oppressive system that has been set in place for centuries, but I believe it is also essential to empower those that are affected by this system. I am a member of my town’s Teen Council. It is an honor to be a part of this organization that empowers and advocates for youth voices to be acknowledged. Our society is riddled with countless misinformation and our group believes it is our job to combat those myths, stigmas, and misconceptions. Consequently, we have made it our mission to create just and inclusive sexual attitudes and policies. We work towards this by teaching and discussing with our peers about several topics to relay accurate information, share resources, answer questions, and break the stigma surrounding human sexuality and relationships. These are important foundations to develop to learn how to accept and love yourself in a world that tells you not to! These two factors allow me to bring a crucial frame of reference to the Howard campus. My upbringing also had a huge impact on my future plans. My mother is a single parent who has worked her tail off to make sure I was able to attend each summer enrichment program I was invited to, to give my siblings and I rides to our innumerable practices and games, and to emotionally support us all. In 2016 she decided to go back to earn her RN degree. She had to carry the weight of full-time work and school and a family of 4. Even with all of this on her plate, my mother never complained. She was strong and determined. Most days, she’d finish her 12-hour work shift then travel an hour away for class, never stopping to change clothes or to even collect her thoughts. Witnessing my mother struggle during that time showed me a level of resilience that has catapulted me into the hardworking student I’ve become. Her example showed me the power of faith, conviction, and tenacity. I want to become successful to show my mother just how much her hard work and support have inspired me. This scholarship will provide me the means to narrow the gap between the money I need and the cost of full attendance at Howard University. The annual cost is upwards of $50,000, which is almost the same amount of my mother’s sole income. I believe that this will help propel my success as well as the opportunity and privilege to positively impact the lives of every person involved in education.