My childhood experiences have played a pivotal role in my desire to pursue a career in school psychology. Being from an underrepresented and underserved community has motivated me to pursue a career where I can directly impact the lives of children from similar backgrounds. I understand the challenges and obstacles these children face outside the school environment because I was once there. I sometimes experienced not having food on the table or having to move in with family and friends due to my parents not being able to support our family without financial assistance. I was once a child who was experiencing what was considered the unknown and who didn’t have the courage to speak up about some of the emotions I was feeling because I knew that my mom was worried about putting food on the table and paying our bills, and I didn’t want to add on to her stress. Children that attend schools in high need or that are underfunded are those who would need the most assistance. Due to the numerous challenges high-need schools confront, including limited resources and socioeconomic disparities, mental health issues may not receive the necessary attention they require. At times, their home lives are not safe places for them to express their emotions and I want to be able to not only provide a safe place for students, but also make sure that there is mutual respect between each other so that we are able to work towards helping the students progress emotionally, behaviorally, and academically. Taking this into consideration, my commitment is based on the belief that all students, irrespective of their circumstances, should have access to adequate mental health services. My goal is to revolutionize the mental health landscape of high-need schools by giving access to resources, delivering comprehensive programs, customizing solutions, and advocating for policy reforms. I firmly believe in the power of creating environments that are not only accessible for mental health support but are also inherently inclusive and identity-safe for kids and adolescents. I believe that the best environments for children to thrive in are those that promote inclusivity. Many children want to know that they are part of a community that wants to see them achieve their goals and overcome their challenges. Being a part of the African-American community, I understand the feeling that it seems as if I am the odd one out in an educational context. From personal experience, I believe that if inclusivity were the core value of the many programs I was a part of, I might have been able to be more comfortable with my surroundings. Acknowledging and resolving the systemic obstacles that some people may face, particularly those from marginalized communities, is extremely meaningful to me because I am committed to advancing justice and equality. I am currently in my second semester of graduate school for school psychology. I currently work as a graduate research assistant through my university at a middle school where I interact with students in special education. So far, I have gained an abundance of valuable insight into working with children with a variety of different needs and how different disabilities manifest themselves. I plan to gain more knowledge in the field so that I am able to provide mental health services to children in need. I am extremely grateful for the many opportunities I have gotten in life that have helped me financially and academically. I will continue to earn my education so that I am able to contribute and give back to the community so that the stigma surrounding mental health is extinct.

Without the many challenges that I experienced as a child growing up in a low-income household and being raised by my mother, I do not believe that I would be the strong-willed and determinant African-American woman that I am today. I have experienced many struggles in my life so far, such as with my mental health, which almost made me want to give up on life. Memories of my childhood and how much my mom sacrificed so that my sister and I could have a decent life pushed me to seek help that assisted in me reclaiming a part of myself that I had lost. My mother didn't finish college, and at times struggled to put food on the table or to keep a roof over our heads. Due to the struggles we encountered, education was always instilled in me as being the path that would lead me to multiple opportunities in life. Due to the variety of childhood experiences, I knew at a young age that I wanted better and more for my future as an adult and my future family. I became a first-generation college graduate in May 2024 when I graduated with my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. My education was always a top priority and still is to this day, as I am currently getting a Masters of Arts in School Psychology. I want to be able to not only provide a safe place for students, but also make sure that there is mutual respect between each other so that we are able to work towards helping the students progress emotionally, behaviorally, and academically. My goal is to revolutionize the mental health landscape of high-need schools by giving access to resources, delivering comprehensive programs, customizing solutions, and advocating for policy reforms.

I have had many experiences with mental health that have had a great impact on my beliefs, activism, and career aspirations. My own personal struggles with my mental health opened my eyes to the stigma that surrounds it. While I was dealing with my struggles, I felt as though I had to keep all of my emotions to myself in fear of burdening family and friends. I was at a low point in my life and I had no motivation to continue to go on with life. I sought help from professionals and started therapy and was able to find a part of myself that I felt had been lost during that period of time. I learned that my family and friends wanted to be there for additional support because they loved me and wanted me to succeed. Having experienced those struggles, I can just imagine the fear and confusion that children who struggle with mental health encounter. Children from marginalized communities face disparities at a larger rate than non-marginalized communities. Being an African-American woman who grew up in many different environments in which sometimes I was a part of the majority and sometimes a part of the minority, I have witnessed and experienced these disparities. Because of these experiences, education was always instilled in me as being an important factor and that it opens doors to multiple opportunities in life. I have always had a passion for working with children and have known since I was a child that I wanted to have a future career in a field that worked with children. I originally wanted to be a Pediatrician since it was a career that worked with children and was in the medical field, which was of great interest to me. After going through three and a half years of undergraduate studies with the plan of attending medical school, I decided that the medical field was not my calling anymore and that I wanted to start making a difference in children’s lives sooner rather than later. During my last semester of undergraduate school, I took a course called “Learners with Disabilities” and in this course, my professor was a school psychologist and introduced me to the field of school psychology. After doing research and learning about the field, I believed that it was my calling to become a school psychologist. I was unaware of the many challenges that people with disabilities face in this country and, after learning about the continuing struggle to get the same basic rights that non-disabled people have, has encouraged me to want to become an advocate for those members of the community and, more specifically, children. Children with disabilities and who struggle with mental health are a part of this country’s most vulnerable population and I want to be an advocate for those who can’t always help themselves. I am currently in graduate school to get a Master's of Arts in school psychology. With this degree, I plan to become a licensed specialist in school psychology and work in Title I public schools, which have large percentages of students who come from low-income families. I plan to give back to society by helping children who have adverse challenges improve academically, behaviorally, and emotionally in a school context.