My mother Ayana Iddinn-Oglesby is a black woman who has always been known for her courage, outstanding achievements, and noble qualities. Most if not every person has their own hero, whether it be a celebrity, a family member, a teacher or a random person who you admire. My hero is someone who means the world to me and that is my mother. My mother is my hero, my idol, my model figure, my everything. I define my mom as a hero because she has provided me with guidance, motherly love, and has always been there for me. She has also supported me in every way possible. My mom is someone in my life that gives me a reason to live for and never give up. First of all, my mom is my hero because she has given me guidance and advice when I needed it the most. When having to make a hard decision she gives me the best advice and helps with in every aspect of my life. She helped me get my first high school job .She prepared me for my interview by pretending to be my employer and asking me questions until I gained the confidence and courage to answer the questions without her help. She helped me write my resume' also. She has been a secretary for over 20 years and is so good with things like that. She currently works in the school district I attend. Everyone knows and loves her. Staff and students always come up to me and give me compliments and have nice things to say about my mom She is helping me with all aspects of applying for scholarships for college. She took me on all my tours of the colleges I wanted to visit. I am so grateful to her. She works full time and helps me, my sisters and brother with everything. She always makes sure I am good and have everything I need to succeed in life. I would so greatly appreciate to get this scholarship from your beautiful organization. I hope you enjoy reading about my phenomenal mother. She is a strong black woman and deserves to be talked about. I am majoring in computer engineering with a minor in homeland security at Monmouth University and this scholarship would help me so much. Thank you so much for the opportunity. I hope you consider me. I look forward to hearing back from you.

My name is Layla Oglesby and I am 18 years old. I currently attend Egg Harbor Twp High School and am a senior. My graduation date is in June of this year. I live at home with my mother who works for the school district I attend, my father who is an Army Veteran and a behaviorist who works with students with disabilities. I also have 2 sisters, and 1 brother and I'm a brand new Aunt. The career plans that I plan to pursue in the future is becoming a Computer Software Engineer with a degree in either Homeland Security or Cyber Security. The Universities that I plan to go to will assist me in obtaining this goal because they are one of the best universities in the state of New Jersey. Monmouth University is my top choice in universities and they have one of the best computer engineering programs in the state.Stockton University is another college of my choice that has a great computer engineering program. Community Activities that I participated in were Art Club, Multicultural Club, Guidance Aid, Karate. Art club helped me with my future plans because it led me into the direction of what type of field I would like to work in. Computer Engineering can be creative, so I imagine myself enjoying working in that field. Multicultural Club has helped me experience the importance of knowing other cultures and how their history came to be. I love science and history and computer engineering has a little bit of both. Technology has come a long way and I love learning about how it evolved not just in America but in other parts of the world as well. Guidance Aid has helped me with my future career because it has taught me how to be well organized, a team player, pay attention to detail, critical thinking, and most importantly a good work ethic. Karate has helped me because it taught me how to be focused and disciplined. I believe that I should be selected for this scholarship because I will commit completely to my field of study if I earn the scholarship. This will definitely help me achieve my goals and earn a higher education. Not only will this scholarship help me get into a university, but it will give me the opportunity to explore what I want to learn in my field of study. Computer engineering is the career that I wish to follow and by having this scholarship, it will get me to where I wish to be. Thank you so much for the opportunity