@aleahden_0530

My name is Leah Alden and I am a senior in high school pursuing a college degree. I am looking to graduate in three years, using my AP and CLEP scores, in order to save money. I have not had a good steady summer job throughout my high school career because I have been so focused on academics and SAT/PSAT/CLT studying. I have been able to get very high scores on these tests, but most colleges seem not to care as much about those test scores as they used to. Because of that, I am still looking to get a lot more scholarship money to cover school costs. I am looking to avoid student debt. This scholarship would hopefully help me achieve that goal. I am looking to major in Integrated Marketing Communications, which is a combination of marketing, communications, graphic design, and data analytics. I will pursue this degree at John Brown University, a private university over a thousand miles from my home in Williamsburg, VA, where I have lived for the past 14 years. A way I have contributed to my community is by making others aware of the massive incarcerated population which I found was often ignored. As a child, I was never fully aware of how many people were incarcerated, even in my hometown. However, in 7th grade, a family member of mine became incarcerated and I was quickly made aware of the conditions for convicts and the neglect they faced in their community, even once they were released. This led me to become extremely passionate about helping convicts and ex-convicts. For my 10th-grade biology final, we were allowed to choose any topic we wished and discuss how it related to biology. I took this opportunity to talk about prison reform, discussing in front of my whole class how prisons ruin natural Circadian rhythms and destroy the nutrition of incarcerated people, as well as other injustices convicts face. In 11th grade, I had another opportunity to raise awareness about the current state of incarceration, giving a speech and later having it published on the CLT Journal website. This year, my senior year, I am taking a Senior Thesis class. We spend the entire year researching and writing about a problem that we are passionate about, working on a 15 page thesis. We will give our defenses in the spring, where we will give a 20-minute presentation and then be questioned on it for 40 more minutes. I am doing my senior thesis once again on incarceration, but more specifically ex-convicts and how they must be taken care of in our communities. The audience for these presentations is often very large, as anyone from the school can attend as well as friends and family members. I think this will help to raise even more awareness about incarcerated people and ex-convicts in our communities. I hope to become even more involved when I am a little bit older and become more hands-on in this ministry, but as I am sill a minor, I am doing all I can to inform and raise awareness for a subject that doesn’t really like to be talked about in today’s culture. Thank you for considering me for this scholarship.

Seasons Snow is fading and life is invading. Peonies bloom and tulips grow, Rain falls and meets the flowers waiting. Inchworms above and earthworms below, Newborn ducks and chicks are born, Gentle white lambs are shorn. Sunny days and starry nights. Umbrellas are flung aside, and Many people bask in the bright light; Magical waves crash on the sand. Endless days to surf and swim Rapidly end when school must begin. A wave of orange among the sea of red, Underneath the sugar-spun clouds- The pumpkins on the porch of the shed. Up until they rot, they stand all proud Making their surroundings glow; Now is the time for fall and next, snow. When the trees are desolate and bare, Inside the clouds, the snow does form. Numb fingers and frozen hair, Toasted chestnuts and fires warm. Enchanted woods and glistening white, Reindeers begin to take flight.

Hello! My name is Leah Alden, and I am a high school senior living in Williamsburg, Virginia. I have lived in Virginia for the entirety of my life, first in Carrollton and now in Williamsburg. I am currently pursuing a degree in marketing. I want to make a positive impact on the world more than anything. Being a teenager in this time, I've seen the world go through racism and rioting, a pandemic, and a war. It can be so discouraging seeing all the pain and the darkness in the world right now. However, I think if we all make it our goal to help others and to make the world a little brighter, we can turn things around and make this world a better place. With my marketing degree, I would want to work for small businesses in order to help them gain the recognition and business that they deserve. People who start and run small businesses often have it the hardest, trying to make ends meet and keep their business afloat. Too often small businesses are overrun or taken over by big companies. I think that as a marketing consultant I can help those small businesses gain traction and be able to support themselves. Someone that has made a positive impact on my life is my biology teacher. She taught me Honors biology in 10th grade and AP biology in 11th grade. Those two years I went through a lot of hardships, and she was always there to encourage our whole class. She always offered a bright perspective on everything in life. In addition, she knew that these years of high school were extremely busy and stressful and she gave us so much grace and understanding. She also taught all of the biology concepts in a way that made sense, leading me to get a 5 on the AP Biology exam even though I don't even like science. I will always remember her as a very influential person in my high school years and probably carrying into my college and career. Winning this scholarship would mean so much to me as a female high schooler living in Virginia. I would love to receive this scholarship in order to help me to pay for my college degree so that I can help people and businesses and make the world just a little bit brighter. Thank you for considering me.