My short term career goals are to obtain a job in a major corporation working in something marketing related. I currently am drawn the most to advertising and social media, so I would like to work in those areas specifically. However, long term I would like to own several real estate properties. Obtaining multiple properties and then renting them out, or flipping them is something I see myself doing long term. This scholarship will help me achieve these goals because by paying off my student debt, I will be able to better utilize my money. I am 20 years old and I just started building my credit score one year ago. My credit score is 730 as of right now, but my loans are making it more difficult for me to improve my credit score. By paying them off I will put me in a much better position, that will allow me to buy property. I do not want to obtain these properties just for my own benefit. I want to make my contribution to generational wealth. I am a second generation college student, and my mother has been able to invest in me financially to get to where I am at today. She was the first in my direct family to go to college, and one of the few in my extended family. Generational wealth began with her, and if I can pay off all my debt and invest into properties I can continue it. Generational wealth in the black community in not very common. My career goals are not just personal goals, but goals that effect everyone around me. It is one of my biggest goals in life to be able to own all different types of properties and be able to put them in my family members' names so they too can enjoy them.

My utopian vision for optimal mental health in the black community is a community that first and foremost takes the time to learn and understand mental and health and its significance. There is a large amount of black people who are not aware of mental health as a whole. It is deeper than sadness sometimes and having self-care days, there are disorders that people live with their whole life that go untreated. In a perfect world, the open conversation on the different types of disorders like anxiety, bipolar, various eating disorders would change people’s lives and bring awareness to everyone. There are people living with eating disorders as a result of parents who were unaware of the fact that the eating habits they instilled in their children, could even cause eating disorders. Because of this now they are physically suffering. This is why I feel in a perfect world the significance would be acknowledged and taught, so people can realize what it does to your physical body. The race with the highest amount of PTSD is black people. Some black communities are like warzones with the consistent shootings and violence. There are fifteen and sixteen year olds with bullet holes, burying their friends. These things cause PTSD, which only leads to more issues. PTSD stands for post traumatic stress disorder. This disorder leads to many other disorders like disturbing thoughts, becoming detached from society, and many other negative effects mentally. The ignorance of how these effects of PTSD only continue a cycle of more violence is what keeps it going. It causes people to do things without realizing what exactly they are doing. The advocacy for mental health will help with social justice because now the energy that is focused on killing each other can be focused on doing better for each other. The advocacy for mental health will educate people on how trauma responses, depression, and undiagnosed mental illnesses are preventing our community from evolving. We can teach each other how to effectively and positively heal without substances. Social justice issues directly affecting the black community can only be addressed in the right state of mind. And we’re the only ones who can help ourselves. The black community has always been a strong community but we are stronger in numbers, and need to focus on mental health. How can we grow and help each other if we can’t even help ourselves?

My educational goals are to push myself as far as I can. Before I started college, my college degree didn’t feel like as important. However, since I’ve started college I’ve realized how important education is and how I can only go as far as I allow myself. I would love to get my masters and gain other certifications and licenses like my real estate license. In all the classes I’ve taken, I’ve got the opportunity to gain some knowledge I did not have before, and no one can take that away from me. My educational goals are goals that I need to achieve so other people that look like me can see it’s possible. I had the luxury of having a mother who received a college degree, which only inspires me more to keep going. There are going to be people I come across who I can motivate to further their education as well and that keeps me going. An obstacle I’ve faced is myself. In the beginning, since I did not take education as serious as I should have, I got in the way of many opportunities to learn more and do better in life. I learned from this experience that being closed minded to life is only going to block my blessings. I am the only person who can get myself to where I need to be. So by continuing to not only learn from my mistakes, but learn to take something away from everything I do it will only help me grow as I person.

Hello my name is Kayla Mackey. I’m currently a Junior at Morgan State University perusing a bachelors degree in Marketing. I am very interested in many different things and online resources have really influenced specific career paths for me to look into. YouTube and tik tok are the biggest influences. They give me the opportunity to see people actually working in different careers, and because YouTube and tik tok allow people have complete control over what they post, it allows them to be completely transparent and honest. I get to see a different side of careers that I would not at career fairs and on LinkedIn. Many YouTubers do more than just talk about the specifics of their job but provide information on how they got to their position. I often find myself discouraged for certain positions because of the lack knowledge I have on how to get their. I just don’t know where to start, or how I could fit there. YouTubers also vlog their days and weeks so they show behind the scenes of what a regular work day or work week looks like. Tik tok provides many tips in a similar way that YouTube does. Another online resource that I appreciate is LinkedIn. The biggest part of finding out information on a specific career or position is talking to people who are currently working in that field. LinkedIn provides the opportunity to contact alumni who have been in where I am at right now, and get help on what to do next. With the help of alumni I’ve gotten recommendation letters and I’ve got the chance to meet one on one with very important people so I can get a better idea of what exactly I want to do.