I faced a major challenge: a hip injury during my freshman year track season. During recovery, I connected deeply with my physical therapist, whose empathy and encouragement left a lasting impression. Her compassion inspired me to pursue a career in physical therapy. My goal is to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences from Howard University, followed by a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree. I am honored to have been accepted to Howard University, a distinguished institution located in our nation’s capital that has produced many of the brightest leaders, educators, engineers, and healthcare professionals. I aspire to be part of that legacy as I fulfill my purpose of helping people. Once licensed, I plan to return and serve my community by providing personalized care to people dealing with pain, injury, or disability. I want to deliver compassionate, personalized care to people facing pain, injury, or disability, and to advocate for affordable and inclusive therapy services. This includes supporting free clinics, educating families about holistic wellness options, and promoting natural treatments alongside traditional medical approaches. Healthy eating is a critical factor in managing and preventing obesity, especially among Black women who face higher rates of obesity-related health issues like diabetes, hypertension, and joint pain. These conditions often lead to reduced mobility and an increased need for physical therapy. As a physical therapist or someone invested in physical wellness, it's clear that nutrition and movement go hand-in-hand—poor eating habits can hinder recovery, increase inflammation, and place added stress on the musculoskeletal system. Promoting healthy eating within this population not only supports weight management but also enhances the effectiveness of physical therapy by improving strength, endurance, and overall functional outcomes. Whether I’m helping a young athlete recover or encouraging a working parent to prioritize their well-being, I aim to listen deeply and collaborate on treatment plans that reflect each individual’s needs, values, and circumstances. My passion for service is rooted in the volunteer work I’ve done in my community. While the news and social media often sensationalize the crime and violence occurring in, I choose to focus on the light, the solutions, and the power of giving back. Community service gives my life meaning, and it makes me proud to know I’m making a difference. I often think about how proud my parents are when they see me serving others. I recognize that not everyone has the same opportunities, and I don’t take for granted the resources I’ve been blessed with. One of my most rewarding experiences was volunteering with the Meals of Grace Mobile Soup Kitchen, where I helped prepare and distribute hot meals to elderly individuals and families in need. Providing fresh, hearty food helped me understand the connection between health and nourishment, and it brought me extraordinary joy to see how much people appreciated the service. I also had the opportunity to support Ronald McDonald House Charities, where I helped cook dinner for sick children and their families. Engaging with those families warmed my heart and reinforced my desire to pursue a career that uplifts others. These experiences have inspired me to continue giving back through my profession. As a physical therapist, I hope to bring healing and hope to those who need it the most. I want my work to reflect the values I’ve learned through service: compassion, advocacy, and a deep commitment to making a difference.

When I reflect upon my high school education, my Freshman year stands out as a time filled with a whirlwind of emotions, changes, and self-discovery. Everything felt so unfamiliar as people were changing, friendships were shifting, and I was just trying to figure out where I belonged. Amid all the chaos and confusion, one person became my steady source of support and clarity: my reading teacher, Ms. Monik. Meeting Ms. Monik was more than just stepping into another classroom; it was the beginning of a transformation. She did so much more than just teaching us literature. She taught us how to think critically, speak confidently, and express who we truly were. Her classroom was alive with discussion, curiosity, and compassion. She challenged us to look beyond the surface of stories and ask questions about power, justice, and human nature. She made us feel like our thoughts had value and truly mattered. While I struggled at times being confident in expressing my true feelings and beliefs, she saw potential in me that I hadn’t recognized in myself. I was quiet, unsure, and often hesitant to speak up. But she noticed something in me and encouraged me to join the debate team—even when I doubted, I had anything worth saying. Debate became more than just an extracurricular activity. It became a turning point. At first, I was terrified to speak up or stand in front of a room and defend an idea. But Ms. Monik believed in me. She coached me with patience and challenged me to think more deeply. Ms Monik constantly reminded me that my voice mattered. Through her guidance, I learned how to structure arguments, listen actively, and communicate with clarity and purpose. More importantly, I learned how to believe in myself. Ms. Monik’s influence reached far beyond her lesson plans. She valued our personal growth, celebrated our evolving identities, and reassured us that change wasn’t something to fear, but something to embrace. She taught me that leadership doesn’t always need to be loud, that intelligence manifests in many ways, and that real learning happens when we step outside our comfort zones. Because of her, I found not only my voice in debate, but my confidence as a person. Her encouragement helped shape the way I approach challenges and opportunities today, filled courage and curiosity. I learned how to believe in myself. Ms. Monik’s influence was the greatest gift of my freshman year, and I continue to apply the lessons I learned from her in school, on the job and in social situations.

When Pixar released Inside Out in 2015, it did more than just entertain audiences—it gave people a new way to understand and relate to their emotions. For me, this movie arrived at the perfect time. I was just starting at a new school, and like Riley, the main character, I was struggling with a lot of emotional changes. Watching Inside Out helped me make sense of what I was feeling and taught me an important lesson: it's okay to have different emotions. Riley's journey felt very personal to me. In the movie, she moves to a new city, has to make new friends, and deal with a completely unfamiliar environment. I was going through something similar at the time. I remember the nervousness of walking into a classroom full of strangers, the sadness of leaving behind familiar faces, and the pressure to stay positive even when things felt overwhelming. Just like Riley, I experienced a mix of joy, sadness, fear, anger, and disgust. Before watching the film, I didn’t really know how to handle all those feelings at once. But seeing Riley go through it helped me understand that emotions don’t have to be controlled all the time—they just need to be understood. One of the most powerful messages from Inside Out is that all emotions are important. At first, Riley’s mind is mostly run by Joy, who tries to keep everything cheerful and upbeat. But as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that sadness has an important role too. Without sadness, Riley wouldn’t have been able to process what she lost or connect more deeply with her parents. This idea changed the way I viewed my own feelings. I used to think that being sad or scared meant something was wrong with me. But the movie showed me that it’s okay to feel that way—it’s natural, and even necessary, for growth. I also related to how Riley learned to control her emotions over time, not by shutting them down, but by letting them work together. As I adjusted to my new school, I began to understand my emotions better. Instead of pretending I was always fine, I started to let myself feel and express what I was going through. That made it easier to open up to new friends and build stronger relationships. In a way, the movie gave me the confidence to be more emotionally honest, which helped me adapt more easily. Inside Out wasn’t just a movie for me—it was a guide during a confusing period in my life. It helped me see that growing up means feeling a lot of different things, sometimes all at once, and that’s perfectly okay. The film reminded me that emotions aren’t enemies—they’re part of who we are. And when we learn to listen to them, we learn more about ourselves.

As the captain of my high school volleyball team, I have faced many obstacles. The biggest challenges I faced were keeping the team united and staying positive during tough matches against elite teams. It was also challenging holding both myself and my teammates accountable for our actions. Even when were got nervous or frustrated, we needed to play hard and give our best effort. Negative energy can spread like a plague, affecting the entire team’s spirit, so it was crucial to be mindful of our attitudes. During these difficult moments, I reminded myself why play volleyball: my love for the game and the joy I feel while playing. I encouraged my teammates to take deep breaths and relax, stay present, and focus on enjoying the competition. When I made mistakes, I took responsibility and reassured my team that I would do better and not let them down. I also uplifted my teammates when they made mistakes. This encouragement was crucial in keeping the team morale high, helping us regroup and improving our performance. My coaches, teammates, and even parents noticed how the team feeds off my positive energy and they have commended my leadership. While our record is not yet where we want it to be, I consider it a success that we are having fun, improving our teamwork, and building confidence. This has been a rewarding experience that has taught me that true leadership is about accountability, perseverance, and inspiring others to do their best. During high school, I was also participated in a program called Mapscorps. Through this program, I learned many historical facts about the housing issues in the city of Chicago. To help find solutions, my team researched data on under-resourced communities, developed plans to provide more assets for those areas, and presented our findings to city officials. After my time at Mapscorps I joined another youth program called the Mikva Challenge. Currently I serve on Mikva’s student advisory council, where youth teams from all across Chicago work together to recommend policy improvements to the school board. While collaborating with the other teams, we isolated the key issues that needed attention. Together we proposed policy improvements and presented them to the Chicago Board of Education.  Additionally, we meet with other youth programs to exchange ideas and develop plans for positive change. Being involved in problem solving and policy improvement programs has taught me the importance of advocacy and speaking up. I was given the opportunity to have a student voice, and I took advantage of that opportunity to spread my voice. As I prepare to transition from high school, I want to attend college to study kinesiology to eventually become a physical therapist. As a physical therapist, I plan to advocate for my patients, providing compassionate medical care, and guide them through the recovery process. In addition to volleyball, I am really interested in the arts. I enjoy playing the piano participating in music recitals and just practicing learning how to play new songs. It is very relaxing and therapeutic. I also enjoy being an artist: creating pictures and paintings. I have entered contests and submitted some of my work, but I also enjoy drawing pieces just for fun.

Today is an early night: I actually get to go to sleep at 11:30pm after a long day of school and volleyball. The sound of the alarm is now ringing at 6am, but it feels like only 15 minutes elapsed, and it time to get ready for another stressful day of managing multiple activities and school. As a student athlete I endure that stress every day. Juggling my academic career and commitment to volleyball is hard. My biggest three challenges are time management, fatigue and a lack of a social life. Further into this essay I will discuss these challenges and how they affect me. When it comes to dedicating my time to volleyball that is a no brainer, but when it comes to dedicating my time to other things it’s hard. Sometimes I get too wrapped up in one thing without realizing the time and effort it will take to complete my next thing. After a long day of school and practice there isn’t enough time to do homework, chores, and self-care, especially on game days. On the weekends I try to reset to get a fresh start and get ahead on my work. Sometimes resetting is hard because I’m so tired that I can’t get anything done. I know that time is limited on the weekends especially since I have tournaments almost every weekend. Even though I know I have responsibilities, it never seems like there are enough hours in a day to get everything done. After a long week of school and volleyball I am mentally and physically drained. This feeling of fatigue really makes it hard to focus on anything else such as cleaning my room or even do the dishes. The fatigue also takes a toll on your mindset and the most simple things all of a sudden appear to be difficult, and you start to procrastinate. Once you start procrastinating it becomes more easy to think about just giving up on getting anything accomplished. But miraculously something always happens: I laugh at thought of me being a horder on a TV show in a junky room. Then I just flip a switch to get busy as I will never be a horder. Eventually I get up and do what needs to be done but it just takes a long time. Even through all this trying to have a social life is exhausting. I want to spend time with friends and family. It’s hard to fit other activities in my schedule and I have to make a decision. A choice that allows me to either go and make a memory with friends or skip the activity and wait for another. After skipping so many social events you start to feel lonely. Sometimes I feel like I am missing out on the little things in life because of my dedication to volleyball. Overall, I have learned a lot about myself and life while being a student athlete. I have learned it’s important to spend a lot of your time wisely, so you have room to care for yourself and other responsibilities. I now understand that sometimes you might miss out on an event but that doesn’t mean you are missing out. There will always be another opportunity to go hang out with friends and family. Lastly, I learned that keeping a positive attitude is the key to success. I now try to embrace these tough experiences with a mindset of being more disciplined and resilient. These attributes will allow me to flourish not only in sports, but in all areas of my life.

As a child life was filled with ripe apples and oranges. The older I got the more bitter the fruit became. Things that seemed to be at the palm of my hand were snatched away. During quarantine I was a little seventh grader trying to figure myself out. My family seemed more distant than usual, especially because my mother had gone to see family months at a time. Eventually I figured out the bigger picture and my parents were separating. Naturally at first I didn’t have a real reaction but it all hit me at my 8th grade graduation dinner. Seeing my parents sit separately felt like the world was ending and I had to just watch because that was “For the best”. I felt alone in the empty house without my mother. Unfortunately the empty house came with more responsibility for myself. I became an independent young lady the day my mother left. Further into my high school career my life was filled with activities and hobbies that consumed my whole life. As I entered senior year my stress levels had increased significantly. Unfortunately my mom had lost her job and had trouble paying for child support and other senior expenses. This caused my dad to take over most of my expenses which was hard because he had many other bills that were equally important. As an independent young lady I decided to get a job to take the pressure off my dad and give me some leg room. So onto of all my other activities I added a job to my schedule and to say I wasn’t stressed was an understatement. Throughout all of this I still believed things would work out in my favor. I knew getting into college wasn’t the hard part. Paying for college was the thing I worried about most. My parents always told me “When you work hard, you deserve hard” so I always tried my hardest to get what I deserved. The lessons I learned through life have pushed me to reach all my goals. Winning this scholarship would help me pay for college and further my education. Hopefully when I get into my dream school Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. I will major in physical therapy. I want to help people with injuries and diseases that affect their lives physically. I want to provide comfort to those in need. Unfortunately the cost is $17,725 a year and I am in desperate need for the $2000 to help support me on my higher education journey. The Julius Quentin Jackson Scholarship will help me on my higher education journey and give me an opportunity to prepare for a career that will help many people.

The word therapy is a word that most are afraid of. Asking for help can be very challenging for some and impossible for most. Even at one point in my life I have discredited the work of all types of therapists because I myself was not strong enough to ask for help. Throughout my high school career I am a very active student. I participated in many clubs and sports, to say the least I never got a break. Eventually all the days without stretching caught up to me and I had a bad case of overuse on the hips at the age of 15. When I noticed the pain it was so excruciating I could barely walk. One day as I walked back to the car limping I was in distress trying to figure out how I was going to tell my dad about my hip. I already knew he wasn't going to believe me and sure enough he didn't. Because my father did not believe me about the pain I was experiencing I went on with a limp for two weeks until my dad finally put me into physical therapy. At last I finally felt some sense of security knowing that I won't be limping for the rest of my life. Days before for my first session I became very weary, not knowing what to expect and just feeling like this may be a bad choice. Upon the first session I was still very nervous but when I met my physical therapist all my fears washed away. This lady was so kind and welcoming it made me feel like I was actually going to get the help I needed. She explained all the exercises very well and gave support if I felt unsure about what I was doing. Sure enough a month or two later my hip was brand new. With the help of this amazing physical therapist I recovered and learned about a potential career path. Once I finish my education and become a physical therapist I plan to be an asset in my community. I plan to relieve my patient's pain. I want to make my patients comfortable with their disabilities. I want to be the comfort in someone’s pain. Be the support I had when I was injured. In order to be a productive and efficient therapist I need to be open minded. I need to be willing to learn new things and adjust to any challenges. If I keep this mindset I will be an asset to my community and provide the support needed.