My parents separated when I was seven years old. That summer day in 2012 changed everything. From then on, my mom became my sole provider, moving us from Georgia to South Carolina. This was also around the time we found out my younger brother has severe nonverbal autism. Being a second grader, I didn’t understand the complexity of the situation and the stress my mother went through. I held resentment towards my brother and mom for a while after the move. I felt that my life was uprooted and would never amount to the happiness I had in Georgia. It wasn’t until my teenage years when I understood that I had to persevere and be an advocate for my brother. Around this time, I had to help my mother with tasks while she worked double shifts. This included giving my brother his medicine, putting him to bed, and even feeding him. I believe these tasks connected me more to my brother and made me a protector. Now, I have the utmost respect and gratitude for my mom who continues to show up for my brother and I every day. I feel that mentorship is powerful to make an impact in someone’s life. For about five years, I have been a mentor for young black girls through the nonprofit organization Black Girls Clubhouse. I understand how it feels to be a sibling and caregiver to someone with a disability. I have empathy for those who are so young but have adult tasks placed on their shoulders. My goal is to continue to be a guide and role model to those who have similar circumstances through being a Public Relations professional.

When I was elected as Student Body President, the first question that I asked myself was what I could do for my school and the people in it. I talked to past Student Body Presidents and teachers about their experience and what they think the school needed. I have learned that serving isn’t just giving tangible things. I can serve others with my time and my talents. I have been blessed to be able to excel academically and in leadership positions in and out of school. I started volunteering with The Black Girls Clubhouse last summer. I enjoyed being a mentor to young girls and wanted to continue to encourage these young girls to set goals, work hard, and accomplish their dreams. I share my experiences as a leader in high school (NJROTC Cadet Lieutenant, Student Body President, and National Honor Society Parliamentarian), community activities (Girls Scouts, Delta GEMS, Youth Choir, President of Bluff Road United Methodist Church Youth), and advice in hopes to inspire them to be their best selves. The summer before I attended college, I interned at the City of Columbia Public Relations, Media, and Marketing Department. For the longest time, I always wanted to be a surgeon. However, I fell in love with Public Relations and later changed my major to Mass Communications. I feel that with public relations, I can help different companies and brands raise awareness on several issues that the general public may not be educated about or may experience. Social justice issues like women’s rights, police brutality, and the Gender Pay Gap are discussions that could promote change if marketed the right way. I feel that when the audience can relate, they are more likely to engage. I hope to advocate and encourage other creative companies or persons to use their platform to help those who can’t speak for themselves. I’ve always been passionate when it comes to advocacy for those who can’t protect or communicate for themselves. Using the skills that I’ve learned in leadership positions like Student Government, I know that I have to be persistent with this goal in order to see progress. I understand that it will not be easy but it will be worth it. Those who have disorders, disabilities, or diseases deserve the same rights as anyone else in society. It’s important to understand that our abilities of talking, walking, and having good health are also reasons why we should be grateful and serve others. I dream of becoming a Public Relations director to use my platform to advocate and commerce with different well-known companies so that women, the disabled, and other marginalized groups can have a voice.

Ever since high school, I knew I wanted to go to an HBCU. I started getting the exposure through field trips and different representatives visiting. I loved the aspect of family and black excellence. When I started my college application process, I knew that I wanted to stay near home but not to close. I also wanted to go to a school that wasn’t huge in size so it could still have a “home” feeling to it. Claflin University was the perfect option, in both academics and geography. I love being at a liberal arts school where I can take my classes for my major as well be exposed to other areas of expertise. I know that at no other place would be able to take classes titled "Civil Rights and Black Nationalism" or "The Introduction to the Black Church". At an HBCU, there is a feeling of familiarity and fellowship. It's a feeling of knowing you're seen and welcomed. Words cannot express the pride I feel knowing that every professor that I have has a Doctoral Degree and looks like me. I have created connections and mentorships this past year with elders and young people just a few years older than me. At Claflin, they have the phrase "Claflin Confidence". It's the confidence to go out into the world after matriculation knowing your history and making a legacy as a Claflin Alum. While I'm only a Sophomore, I feel that my HBCU gives me confidence everyday to be great.

People often believe that the older a book is, the less meaning it has. The worst part about it is that people often stop reading because they believe this to be true. While some books may go out of style, Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird and Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give will outlive us not just in the classroom but in society. The main device that Harper Lee perfectly uses is perspective. In society today, everything is about perspective. Between a political debate at the dinner table or explaining to your grandparent why she can not say some things that were “acceptable” 30 years ago, today, everything is about perspective. In To Kill A Mockingbird, the main perspective comes from Scout, a young girl who lives in Maycomb, Alabama. As the book continues, we see her “innocent but tough” demeanor at first turn into an “insightful yet just” approach to life. Because the setting of the book is in the Southern 1930s, we don’t have to question how their community was. However, we never question Scout and her family’s beliefs, especially her father Atticus, a lawyer whose neighbors grow to hate when he agrees to represent a black man accused of raping a white woman. From the perspective of Scout, we see children at her and her brother’s school call her father words that to this day sting. As the audience, we understand why Scout becomes upset as this but depending on our backgrounds, we can deeply analyze how it pertains to today. I read The Hate U Give my Freshman year of high school. During this time, COVID-19 was on the rise and the killing of George Floyd had just happened. It was a confusing and scary time for people all over the country. The use of flashbacks in The Hate U Give resonated with me as a young black woman. While I haven’t personally lost a loved one to gun violence, I felt the protagonist’s pain from the pages. It made me angry how black people couldn’t seem to live an everyday life without the fear of being stereotyped or brutalized by the police. Comparing this to To Kill A Mockingbird, we see two black men being killed in the hands of authority. One is wrongly accused of a serious crime toward a white woman while the other is simply pulled over by the police. They were both innocent. These novels have shaped the way I view the world. As young adults, we are still growing accustomed to how ruthless the world truly is. People do not try and spare your feelings simply because you’re a woman or your ethnicity. As a black woman, I hope to stop the narrative politics and news put on black people. The belief that we are too ignorant, ugly, and undeserving of the same opportunities as our white counterparts has been around for too long. I believe young people like myself are not too innocent to not see the world for what it really is. To Kill A Mockingbird is a reminder of all these things. The book explains a hard lesson: innocence from our childhood simply doesn’t apply to the real world. The Hate U Give is an ignition for change. Some people hate simply because of race, age, or gender. Then some people will fight tooth and nail for a person despite all these things. What we can do as young people is not continue the cycle and learn about people before considering or having a permanent idea of how something is.

Zendaya is a multifaceted celebrity and icon that I’ve known since Shake It Up on Disney Channel. She’s an amazing actress recently starring in Challengers in a leading role. She’s known worldwide for her music career as well as her acting. As a longtime fan, I admire her fashion sense the most. As of 2023, Hollywood entered an age of “Method Dressing”, movie stars dressing to the theme of their premiering movie. From Margot Robbie dressing for Barbie to Jenna Ortega for Wednesday, method dressing is a genius way to market both films as well as fashion brands. As a Public Relations/Marketing major, I love how clever Zendaya uses her fashions to put emphasis on her projects, making brands and fans even more excited. Dressing for the red carpet isn’t anything new for Zendaya having starred in her own show on Disney Channel at the age of 13. This was also the time that she started a longtime collaboration with stylist Law Roach. Working with A-Listers such as Lizzo and Anne Hathaway, the newly retired stylist is now Zendaya’s full-time personal stylist. Some of his styles include both the 2018 and 2019 Met Gala looks where Zendaya wore a Joan of Arc dress as well as the Cinderella-esque dress. In my opinion, I feel that Zendaya and Law Roach perfectly choose outfits that are visually appealing as well as stick to the theme of her project. Law Roach found it important to elevate black celebrities such as Zendaya when picking talent to represent and work for. According to Law Roach interviewed by The Cut, “We cannot elevate and expand without the Black talent. I was able to do it because one, the way I work, I think, is different.” In one of her first attempts at method dressing, Zendaya wore a Moschino Butterfly Dress in 2017 for the movie The Greatest Showman. One of her most famous is her outfits worn when in both Spider-Man: Homecoming as well as Spider-Man: No Way Home. One that stuck out to me was the Valentino lace beige dress worn to the Spider-Man: No Way Home premiere in Los Angeles. The dress was laced with black spider web embroidery and black Louboutin heels. Her makeup and hair only complements her sleek and themed look. Not only did she dress for spiders, she wore a Green Valentino suit accented with a purple undershirt hinting to the infamous Spiderman villain the Green Goblin on the Graham Norton show. Now as Zendaya has just finished her press tour for Challengers, a tennis themed film, Law Roach styled all of her looks on her worldwide press tour. Using colors like white and the yellow-green tennis colors, Law Roach beautifully curated looks for press. I admired her Marc Jacobs green-white checkered mini-dress, accompanied with white pointed heels and a white headband, seen at Wimbledon in Paris, France. Recently, Zendaya wore a Carolina Herrera black and white striped gown inspired by Serena and Venus Williams’ iconic photo in Vogue’s issue in 1998. Now more than ever, fashion is a space to be both a creative and an artist in your own right. Zendaya does this flawlessly and always models looks never seen before. While I love her acting and singing careers, I feel that her fashions will never go out of style and this is only the beginning.

“I heard what your brother has is a disease”. That’s what someone told me when I was nine years old. A family member in fact. I think about that blatantly ignorant comment almost every single day. Not because it hurt me. More so because it was unprovoked. And more so, this person didn’t even know my brother for more than just a few weeks of meeting him. My brother Bryan has severe autism, meaning that he cannot verbally talk. Autism is a disorder that changes the brain and how it processes socialization and communication in an individual. And for the longest time, I never understood it. While there is plenty of awareness and marketing on other diseases or disorders, autism is still a disability that the general public doesn’t have as much knowledge about. The summer before I attended college, I interned at the City of Columbia Public Relations, Media, and Marketing Department. For the longest time, I always wanted to be a surgeon. However, I fell in love with Public Relations and later changed my major to Mass Communications. I feel that with public relations, I can help different companies and brands raise awareness on several disabilities/disorders that the general public may not be educated about or may experience like me with Bryan. I feel that when the audience can relate, they are more likely to engage. Bryan has inspired and encouraged many of my dreams in life. He is my drive to keep going and be his voice. I hope to advocate and encourage other creative companies or persons to use their platform to help those who can’t speak for themselves. I’ve always been passionate when it comes to advocacy for those who can’t protect or communicate for themselves. I have learned that having the ability to speak one’s mind is powerful. Having a personal connection with this, I hold this value near to my heart. When I hear or see someone who is alone or looks to need assistance, I step up. Using the skills that I’ve learned in leadership positions like Student Government, I know that I have to be persistent with this goal in order to see progress. I understand that it will not be easy, but it will be worth it. Those who have disorders, disabilities, or diseases deserve the same rights as anyone else in society. It’s important to understand that our abilities of talking, walking, and having good health are also reasons why we should be grateful and serve others. I dream of becoming a Public Relations director to use my platform to advocate and commerce with different well-known companies so the disabled and other marginalized groups can have a voice.

The past three years have been hard for most American families. My family is no different. My parents separated in 2021. Leaving my mother to raise my younger brother and me as a single parent. My younger brother is a particular challenge because he is severely Autistic. I watch my mom tussle with him in the morning to get him dressed on days when he’s not very cooperative. She drops him off and then heads to her job as an elementary school teacher. After work, she takes him to his different therapy appointments: speech, occupational therapy, and ABA therapy. She never complains despite being tired and emotionally drained. Despite, she still supports me and encourages me to excel academically, and in all my extracurricular activities. She encourages me to pursue my dreams and not to let obstacles deter me, even the financial burden of paying for college. I have worked hard in high school to stand out as a student so that I would qualify for scholarships and tuition would not be a major concern. There seems to be more need than money available. I hope that my application demonstrates my worthiness of this scholarship.

Despite the many challenges my family has faced, my mother always reminds me that we have been placed here to serve God and others. Since I was in middle school, I have been participating in community service initiatives with my aunt. We gave out school supplies, toiletries, and dinner meals downtown to the homeless. I was exposed to how people struggled in the community and realized how blessed I was. It made me realize how important it was to give back to those who do not have a lot. I have been blessed to excel academically and in leadership positions in and out of school. I started volunteering with The Black Girls Clubhouse, this summer. I enjoy being a mentor to young girls. My goal is to encourage these young girls to set goals, work hard, and accomplish their dreams. I share my experiences as a leader in school (NJROTC Cadet Lieutenant, Student Body President, and National Honor Society Parliamentarian), community activities (Girls Scouts, Delta GEMS, Youth Choir, President of Bluff Road United Methodist Church Youth), and advice in hopes to inspire them to be their best selves. I also want to have a positive impact on younger girls. I feel that I have set a standard for myself that could inspire young girls to work hard and achieve their goals. I have built friendships with girls who are a few years younger than me as well. I make sure to spend time with them and talk to them about anything that they want to talk about. I want to be the person they can come to if they have a problem or just want to talk. It’s important to encourage these young girls so that one day, they can mentor someone as well. I started volunteering with White Oak Baptist Church’s Homeless Outreach when I was about 10 years old with my mother. My mother had been active in community service and wanted me to do more to help make my community a better place. I started by packing toiletry bags for the adults to hand out on their Saturday mission trips to downtown Columbia and Good Samaritan House in Winnsboro. Eventually, I began to go with the adults and hand out lunches or bags, I was terrified at first because I thought all homeless people were crazy or drug users. But, I was so wrong. After my first mission, I was moved by how grateful the people were for such small donations. Many people we met shared their stories with us and asked us to pray for them. I was moved by their graciousness and humility. I realized that I had made a judgment based on images I had seen on TV. So many of these people had just fallen on hard times and had no one to help them get back on their feet. I see that homeless can affect anyone; not just “bad” people. I want to continue to do more to find solutions for the homeless in my local community and eventually the world. I desire to make a positive impact in my community, and I have done that throughout my high school career. I have grown as a student and as a person. I am passionate about helping others and advocating for those who cannot always advocate for themselves. Receiving this scholarship would allow me to focus on my academic success while continuing to contribute to my community.

The past three years have been hard for most American families. My family is no different. My parents separated in 2021. Leaving my mother to raise my younger brother and me as a single parent. My younger brother is a particular challenge because he is severely Autistic. I watch my mom tussle with him in the morning to get him dressed on days when he’s not very cooperative. She drops him off and then heads to her job as an elementary school teacher. After work, she takes him to his different therapy appointments: speech, occupational therapy, and ABA therapy. She never complains despite being tired and emotionally drained. In all that she does to help my brother to overcome his disability, she still supports me and encourages me to excel academically, and in all my extracurricular activities. She encourages me to pursue my dreams and not to let obstacles deter me, even the financial burden of paying for college. I have worked hard in high school to stand out as a student so that I would qualify for merit scholarships and college tuition would not be a major concern. But the COVID pandemic has changed the lives and finances of so many families. There seems to be more need than money available. I hope that my application demonstrates my worthiness of this scholarship. I believe in the Hyacinth Malcolm Memorial Scholarship because I want to receive all the education I can to be successful in life. I have many interests and want to make sure that I can explore all my options before I choose a final career. My mother is an elementary school teacher who has always taught me that education is one of the main things that you need in life to be successful. She taught me how to read and write at a young age. I even started school early at the age of three. Growing up, I always prioritized my school work and extracurricular activities. I enjoy learning new things and asking questions. High school only expanded my love for learning. From AP Language and Composition to US History, I loved making projects and helping my classmates in class. College will be a time for me to pick a career that I will not only learn from but love. My one goal in life is to provide for my family and friends who have sacrificed and provided for me. The scholarship money would have such an impact as it isn’t about money, it’s about having resources outside of high school that can help me succeed and become a functioning person in American society.