Dave Ramsey has been an influential figure in my life in regards to my financial situation and stature. As a current law school student paying fully with loans, Dave Ramsey's approach to attacking debt is one of the smartest yet simplest I've heard. He recommends that before you begin your journey in investing and saving for retirement, one must pay off their debt (after putting away a $1000 emergency fund) by way of attacking it. Live at home for a few years while you pay off your debt, try not to own a car and if you have to, don't buy one you can't afford. Just because you have a credit card, doesn't mean you can buy a tesla!

I have suffered from stage fright since I can remember. In November of 2016, I stood in the middle of the circle of a fishbowl exercise during my high school theater class; all the attention and focus was directed at me. While I was only in front of a handful of people, I never liked undivided attention on myself since I was one of the three Jewish students in my grade. Despite my living in a melting pot of a city like New York, I had few peers who shared my faith. I knew that attention placed on me could put me in an unsafe situation. Even though I knew my lines like the back of my hand, I froze and felt like my heart was throbbing in my throat. I could feel the blazingly bright eyes riveted on me. All I could manage was a stutter of the first few words of my lines. After forty-five seconds elapsed; suddenly, I felt hard pellets of metal hit my forehead. One of my classmates had thrown his spare change at me, yelling “you cheap Jew!” His hateful words and my classmates’ laughter that followed echoes in my head to this very day. And yet, something I love about myself is the ability to turn lemons into lemonade. Back in my high-school days, I lacked to self-confidence and courage to stand up to those trying to put me down. Now, I have gained strength and confidence to stand for what I believe in. Others experiencing this can't necessarily say the same. Professionals alike, those in powerful positions, need to do everything in their power to combat this.

I have suffered from stage fright since I can remember. In November of 2016, I stood in the middle of the circle of a fishbowl exercise during my high school theater class; all the attention and focus was directed at me. While I was only in front of a handful of people, I never liked undivided attention on myself since I was one of the three Jewish students in my grade. Despite my living in a melting pot of a city like New York, I had few peers who shared my faith. I knew that attention placed on me could put me in an unsafe situation. Even though I knew my lines like the back of my hand, I froze and felt like my heart was throbbing in my throat. I could feel the blazingly bright eyes riveted on me. All I could manage was a stutter of the first few words of my lines. After forty-five seconds elapsed; suddenly, I felt hard pellets of metal hit my forehead. One of my classmates had thrown his spare change at me, yelling “you cheap Jew!” His hateful words echo in my head to this very day. And yet, something I love about myself is the ability to turn lemons into lemonade. Back in my high-school days, I lacked to self-confidence and courage to stand up to those trying to put me down. Now, I have gained strength and confidence to stand for what I believe in. I let myself experience small victories like speaking in front of my class without having an anxious thought. Being different from the majority, I have learned, is actually a wonderful, unique thing and I hope to use my law degree and mentorship of others to help them achieve the same mindset.

I have suffered from stage fright since I can remember. In November of 2016, I stood in the middle of the circle of a fishbowl exercise during my high school theater class; all the attention and focus was directed at me. While I was only in front of a handful of people, I never liked undivided attention on myself since I was one of the three Jewish students in my grade. Despite my living in a melting pot of a city like New York, I had few peers who shared my faith. I knew that attention placed on me could put me in an unsafe situation. Even though I knew my lines like the back of my hand, I froze and felt like my heart was throbbing in my throat. I could feel the blazingly bright eyes riveted on me. All I could manage was a stutter of the first few words of my lines. After forty-five seconds elapsed; suddenly, I felt hard pellets of metal hit my forehead. One of my classmates had thrown his spare change at me, yelling “you cheap Jew!” His hateful words and my classmates’ laughter that followed echoes in my head to this very day. And yet, something I love about myself is the ability to turn lemons into lemonade. Back in my high-school days, I lacked to self-confidence and courage to stand up to those trying to put me down. Now, I have gained strength and confidence to stand for what I believe in. I let myself experience small victories like speaking in front of my class without having an anxious thought. Being different from the majority, I have learned, is actually a wonderful, unique thing and I hope to use my law degree to help those around me achieve the same mindset.

I have suffered from stage fright since I can remember. In November of 2016, I stood in the middle of the circle of a fishbowl exercise during my high school theater class; all the attention and focus was directed at me. While I was only in front of a handful of people, I never liked undivided attention on myself since I was one of the three Jewish students in my grade. Despite my living in a melting pot of a city like New York, I had few peers who shared my faith. I knew that attention placed on me could put me in an unsafe situation. Even though I knew my lines like the back of my hand, I froze and felt like my heart was throbbing in my throat. I could feel the blazingly bright eyes riveted on me. All I could manage was a stutter of the first few words of my lines. After forty-five seconds elapsed; suddenly, I felt hard pellets of metal hit my forehead. One of my classmates had thrown his spare change at me, yelling “you cheap Jew!” His hateful words and my classmates’ laughter that followed echoes in my head to this very day. And yet, something I love about myself is the ability to turn lemons into lemonade. Back in my high-school days, I lacked to self-confidence and courage to stand up to those trying to put me down. Now, I have gained strength and confidence to stand for what I believe in. I let myself experience small victories like speaking in front of my class without having an anxious thought. Being different from the majority, I have learned, is actually a wonderful, unique thing. Instead of being ashamed, I have learned to love my differences from those around me.

I have suffered from stage fright since I can remember. In November of 2016, I stood in the middle of the circle of a fishbowl exercise during my high school theater class; all the attention and focus was directed at me. While I was only in front of a handful of people, I never liked undivided attention on myself since I was one of the three Jewish students in my grade. Despite my living in a melting pot of a city like New York, I had few peers who shared my faith. I knew that attention placed on me could put me in an unsafe situation. Even though I knew my lines like the back of my hand, I froze and felt like my heart was throbbing in my throat. I could feel the blazingly bright eyes riveted on me. All I could manage was a stutter of the first few words of my lines. After forty-five seconds elapsed; suddenly, I felt hard pellets of metal hit my forehead. One of my classmates had thrown his spare change at me, yelling “you cheap Jew!” His hateful words and my classmates’ laughter that followed echoes in my head to this very day. And yet, something I love about myself is the ability to turn lemons into lemonade. Back in my high-school days, I lacked to self-confidence and courage to stand up to those trying to put me down. Now, I have gained strength and confidence to stand for what I believe in. I let myself experience small victories like speaking in front of my class without having an anxious thought. Being different from the majority, I have learned, is actually a wonderful, unique thing. Instead of being ashamed, I have learned to love my differences from those around me.

I have suffered from stage fright since I can remember. In November of 2016, I stood in the middle of the circle of a fishbowl exercise during my high school theater class; all the attention and focus was directed at me. While I was only in front of a handful of people, I never liked undivided attention on myself since I was one of the three Jewish students in my grade. Despite my living in a melting pot of a city like New York, I had few peers who shared my faith. I knew that attention placed on me could put me in an unsafe situation. Even though I knew my lines like the back of my hand, I froze and felt like my heart was throbbing in my throat. I could feel the blazingly bright eyes riveted on me. All I could manage was a stutter of the first few words of my lines. After forty-five seconds elapsed; suddenly, I felt hard pellets of metal hit my forehead. One of my classmates had thrown his spare change at me, yelling “you cheap Jew!” His hateful words and my classmates’ laughter that followed echoes in my head to this very day. While this ignorant act of bigotry may seem like an unthinkable occurrence in 21st century New York, it was an absolutely developmental experience for me. Anti-Semitism remains a prevalent yet mostly ignored issue in today’s world and our society’s intolerance of difference is something we must face.

I have suffered from stage fright since I can remember. In November of 2016, I stood in the middle of the circle of a fishbowl exercise during my high school theater class; all the attention and focus was directed at me. While I was only in front of a handful of people, I never liked undivided attention on myself since I was one of the three Jewish students in my grade. Despite my living in a melting pot of a city like New York, I had few peers who shared my faith. I knew that attention placed on me could put me in an unsafe situation. Even though I knew my lines like the back of my hand, I froze and felt like my heart was throbbing in my throat. I could feel the blazingly bright eyes riveted on me. All I could manage was a stutter of the first few words of my lines. After forty-five seconds elapsed; suddenly, I felt hard pellets of metal hit my forehead. One of my classmates had thrown his spare change at me, yelling “you cheap Jew!” His hateful words and my classmates’ laughter that followed echoes in my head to this very day. While this ignorant act of bigotry may seem like an unthinkable occurrence in 21st century New York, it was an absolutely developmental experience for me. I chose a path of law to help stop the spread of anti-semitism and to help fight for victims of it. My experiences and goals help me stay true to myself when the law school environment gets overwhelmingly competitive and toxic. Without those strong personal experiences and clearly set-out goals, my values would be weak and vulnerable to others strong opinions of what I should prioritize.

My favorite book is L'Etranger by Albert Camus is hands down one of my favorite books, if not, my favorite book. It is a book that touches on the angsts and anxieties involved with absurdism and existentialism. The main character, Meursault promptly uncovers himself to be indifferent towards feeling and communication with others. In the opening pages of the book, Meursault learns his Mother has passed. Rather than mourning, he is distant, separated, and uninterested. In the moment he gets the message, his essential concern is calculating the exact day his mom passed on. He says, "Maman passed today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home: 'Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.' That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday" (p.3). While the author is conveying Meursault as a rather cold person, he is neither pleased nor upset by his mother's death, making him hard to categorize. This story confronts the issues of life or death, of meaning and no meaning in regards to human life, through a man's experiences.

While my family’s descent consists of lineage from both Eastern Europe and Italy, a huge part of me roots from French Canada, specifically Quebec. While my Quebecoise Grandmother, Aurora Poirier, died when I was very young, I have been told by my Father that she spoke French. When Aurora had permanently moved to the United States, she did not teach her children the language. While back in the 20th century being bilingual wasn’t appreciated or deemed a skill, today, my Father wishes that my Mémé had taught him French. Her death was very sudden, as she contracted a virus that took over her body in less than 48 hours. While this was traumatic enough for my family, it happened during the 2008 recession. How does anyone ever move through such difficult circumstances and come out okay on the other side? You honor that person. My Mémé never got the chance to go to Paris in her lifetime which was her biggest dream. I found it within myself, because it pains me that she died when I was so young, to include French in my major at University and study abroad in Paris. My time abroad truly shaped me into who I am today. My admiration for the exquisite quality of France’s culture and everyday life stems from my Mémé, but was lived when I landed at Charles de Gaulle airport on the 25 August 2019. I was immediately immersed in French society and was completely overwhelmed and a bit intimidated. Nonetheless, I wish I could relive my time abroad everyday, and am proud to have made the trip. I lit a candle in a Cathedral in Lyon at the end of my trip to honor my Mémé.

I never knew my grandparents. Well, that isn’t entirely accurate. My grandparents were a part of my life until I was 5 years old, but I tend to tell people I never really knew them. This is because, by the time I reached five years old, I only had seen the very last moments of their lives and the pain they endured, along with my parents’ pain. That being said, one of my biggest pet peeves is when I hear my friends complaining about being dragged to a dinner with their grandparents. I would give my right arm to have dinner with my grandparents once. Luckily, my boyfriend still has three out of his four grandparents that he visits often. Before covid-19 hit us like a wrecking ball, I studied abroad in Paris. I would often send postcards to my friends and family while I was there. My boyfriend’s grandfather, had taken a liking to me before I left for Paris and would always ask about me when I was away. I wrote him a postcard and he ended up saving it. While my action was small, it meant a lot to him since he spent his days in a rehabilitation center for the elderly, with not much to do.

“All I learned in drama school was how to be frightened.” – Lucille Ball Ever since I could walk and talk, I was watching the show, “I Love Lucy”. While this definitely wasn’t the typical pastime for toddlers in the 21st century, my parents instilled the value of quality films and television shows that weren’t a cartoon or gameshow. I am one of the few my age, probably globally, who can recite nearly all of the I Love Lucy episodes by heart today. Lucille Ball was a striking, courageous, and advantageous risk-taker who was dealt a bad card when she was born. Ball’s father died when Ball was just three years old. By age fifteen, Ball was on her own at a New York drama school. Being nearly kicked out because of her stage fright, Ball stayed in New York and modeled at various fashion brands. By the 1930s, she made her way to Hollywood and started acting until she worked up to retaining full ownership of Desilu Productions in 1962 making her the first woman to run her own major television production studio. That fear she suffered from in her early years in New York hits close to home with how I felt in my classes at my undergraduate institution. I rarely raised my hand and when I were ever called on, I stuttered and barely mumbled out an answer with the fear of answering incorrectly in front of my classmates. Despite that, I muddled through like Lucy and now, I am pursuing my candidacy for a Juris Doctorate at Quinnipiac University’s School of Law. My classes are conducted through the Socratic method, which is forced-discussion through a “cold-calling” method. I like to think that Lucy had some part in my making it to where I am today.

I have always wanted to be a lawyer. But, no way, did I think I would ever get to law school. The countless hours of studying for the LSAT, writing my personal statement, collecting letters of recommendation, and boosting my GPA as much as possible paid off. This august, I took a professional oath at my law school orientation IN PERSON. I have never experienced a more surreal moment. I can't wait to join the ranks of my fellow peers in becoming a Juris Doctorate Candidate of the class of 2024. The picture I chose to include is of my roommate and I before heading out to our first day of law school!

I have suffered from stage fright since I can remember. In November of 2016, I stood in the middle of the circle of a fishbowl exercise during my high school theater class; all the attention and focus was directed at me. While I was only in front of a handful of people, I never liked undivided attention on myself since I was one of the three Jewish students in my grade. Despite my living in a melting pot of a city like New York, I had few peers who shared my faith. I knew that attention placed on me could put me in an unsafe situation. Even though I knew my lines like the back of my hand, I froze and felt like my heart was throbbing in my throat. I could feel the blazingly bright eyes riveted on me. All I could manage was a stutter of the first few words of my lines. After forty-five seconds elapsed; suddenly, I felt hard pellets of metal hit my forehead. One of my classmates had thrown his spare change at me, yelling “you cheap Jew!” His hateful words and my classmates’ laughter that followed echoes in my head to this very day. While this ignorant act of bigotry may seem like an unthinkable occurrence in 21st century New York, it was an absolutely developmental experience for me. Anti-Semitism remains a prevalent yet mostly ignored issue in today’s world and our society’s intolerance of difference is something we must face. I had never taken a strong interest in politics before the 2016 presidential election, as politics didn’t really make its way into our apartment growing up. Yet, in 2016, having just turned 18 years old, I had a front row seat to the most captivating and divisive election in recent history. Shortly after, while walking my dachshunds near the corner of 59th and Central Park South, I saw several hundred-people gathered for what looked like a protest of some sort. When we skimmed the crowd, we could see it was clearly a protest of then president-elect Donald Trump. A man towards the front of the rally was parading a ghastly life-size dummy of Trump being hung by the neck; red pieces of paper sprouted out of the dummy’s neck, resembling blood. New Yorkers were shouting “not my president!” After witnessing such a passionate response to the election, my desire to understand what incited such a response was ignited. A year later, I declared a major in French and Political Science with a minor in Legal Studies at the University of Delaware. I reflected back to that day in theater class and tried to comprehend the ramifications that politics had on America’s relationship with Israel. My studies made me realize that the personal is always political; that a geopolitical decision like the embassy move has direct implications for whether or not individuals feel safe at home. In late 2017, President Trump fulfilled the 1995 congressional statute that recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel by moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This change in U.S. posture towards Israel was a significant shift from previous administrations that had continually signed exceptions to the 1995 statute. After witnessing the continued discrimination against Jews, seeing a bold and symbolic pro-Israel policy such as moving the embassy was refreshing to many Jews across the nation. This piece of legislation galvanized me to begin the journey to law school to help protect those. who have been agonized by bigotry that still goes ignored today.

While my family’s descent consists of lineage from both Eastern Europe and Italy, a huge part of me roots from French Canada, specifically Quebec. While my Quebecoise Grandmother, Aurora Poirier, died when I was very young, I have been told by my Father that she spoke French. However, when Aurora had permanently moved to the United States, she did not teach her children the language. While back in the 20th century being bilingual wasn’t appreciated or deemed a skill, today, my Father wishes that my Mémé had taught him French. Moreover, my Mémé never got the chance to go to Paris in her lifetime which was her biggest dream. I found it within myself, because it pains me that she died when I was so young, to include French in my major at University and study abroad in Paris. My time abroad truly shaped me into who I am today. My admiration for the exquisite quality of France’s culture and everyday life stems from my Mémé, but was lived when I landed at Charles de Gaulle airport on the 25 August 2019. I was immediately immersed in French society and was completely overwhelmed and a bit intimidated. I arrived at my little studio apartment in the 16th arrondisement with a suitcase in my hand and… four long flights of stairs ahead of me. Welcome to Paris! The four months I spent in Paris taught me how to be on my own in a Foreign country. It pushed me to figure out how to communicate with the locals of the 16th to be able to get my point across. It allowed me to appreciate my time on this earth a lot more, since I had such a short four months to live in Paris. If I were to get this scholarship, I would be able to adapt to a new environment, especially if that environment is somewhere in France. That way, I could spend less time uncomfortable with my surroundings and more time feeling comfortable around the students. That being said, an adjustment period is expected. I believe that I would be an excellent candidate for a Teaching Assistants Job in France because of my resilience, patience and experience both in France and with children. At just my mid-teenage years, I was a camp counselor for three summers in my hometown of NYC. In addition to that, I also babysat for several years. While I don’t have teaching experience, I have been a student for the better part of my life. I have seen teachers succeed and fail at their jobs throughout my life and have learned from them. In order to be an affective teacher, patience, adaptability and dedication to the success of their students. I believe I can bring effective ways to learn to French students.

I have suffered from stage fright since I can remember. In November of 2016, I stood in the middle of the circle of a fishbowl exercise during my high school theater class; all the attention and focus was directed at me. While I was only in front of a handful of people, I never liked undivided attention on myself since I was one of the three Jewish students in my grade. Despite my living in a melting pot of a city like New York, I had few peers who shared my faith. I knew that attention placed on me could put me in an unsafe situation. Even though I knew my lines like the back of my hand, I froze and felt like my heart was throbbing in my throat. I could feel the blazingly bright eyes riveted on me. All I could manage was a stutter of the first few words of my lines. After forty-five seconds elapsed; suddenly, I felt hard pellets of metal hit my forehead. One of my classmates had thrown his spare change at me, yelling “you cheap Jew!” His hateful words and my classmates’ laughter that followed echoes in my head to this very day. While this ignorant act of bigotry may seem like an unthinkable occurrence in 21st century New York, it was an absolutely developmental experience for me. Anti-Semitism remains a prevalent yet mostly ignored issue in today’s world and our society’s intolerance of difference is something we must face. I had never taken a strong interest in politics before the 2016 presidential election, as politics didn’t really make its way into our apartment growing up. Yet, in 2016, having just turned 18 years old, I had a front row seat to the most captivating and divisive election in recent history. Shortly after, while walking my dachshunds near the corner of 59th and Central Park South, I saw several hundred people gathered for what looked like a protest. When we skimmed the crowd, we could see it was clearly a protest of then president-elect Donald Trump. A man towards the front of the rally was parading a ghastly life-size dummy of Trump being hung by the neck; red pieces of paper sprouted out of the dummy’s neck, resembling blood. New Yorkers were shouting “not my president!” After witnessing such a passionate yet vulgar response to the election, my desire to understand what incited such a response was ignited. A year later, I declared a major in French/Political Science at the University of Delaware. During my studies as an undergraduate student, I had begun to form political opinions of my own. I reflected back to that day in theater class—the humiliation I experienced—and tried to comprehend the ramifications that politics had on the Jewish community and America’s relationship with Israel. My studies made me realize that the personal is always political; that a geopolitical decision like the embassy move has direct implications on whether individuals feel safe at home. In late 2017, President Trump fulfilled the 1995 congressional statute that recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel by moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This change in U.S. posture towards Israel was a significant shift from previous administrations that had continually signed exceptions to the 1995 statute. Witnessing this geopolitical change made me reflect on the ways in which foreign policy relates to everyday lived experiences. After witnessing the continued discrimination against Jews, seeing a bold and symbolic pro-Israel policy such as moving the embassy was refreshing to many Jews across the nation. This piece of legislation galvanized me to begin the journey to law school to help protect those. who have been agonized by bigotry that still goes ignored today. At Vermont Law School, I will prepare to join the ranks of the legal profession by studying and collaborating with the country’s likeminded legal scholars and thinkers. I desire to join a law school student body that shares my passion for using the law to achieve real progress for victims of discrimination. Through Vermont Law School’s Restorative Justice specialization, I'll learn the legal principles necessary to achieve my goal of helping to eliminate discrimination against Jews. I recall back to that day in high school when I was humiliated solely on the basis of my religion. The topics I'll pursue in law school will help me understand how I can use my experience of Anti-Semitism to help protect individuals from suffering from any type of discrimination.