STEM enhances the lives of everyone in the world. It is the base of innovation and invention. It is every generation’s job to build upon the innovation of the one before them to make the world a stronger, safer, better, more efficient place for everyone. The black community faces a plethora of problems due to racism and discrimination, whether it be systemic or interaction based. STEM is about improving lives and the black community is underrepresented in it when we should be the very ones leading it. This is due to the cost and difficulty it takes to pursue engineering. I’m one of 7 kids, so my parents don’t have the kind of money to support us all through college. I’m proud to be a black woman entering the Mechanical Engineering field, but I need all the support I can get. Being the only black girl in all of my advanced classes growing up is something that fueled my desire to be a high achiever. I remember in 6th grade me and a few other Black friends had a conversation about how the education system expects African American students to not be successful in school. We all swore to get high grades and I’ve scored straight A’s with the occasional B ever since. Community is very important to me, I believe it is important to have a diverse pool of friends whether those differences are race, religion, mindset, opinions, lifestyles, hobbies, etc. That’s how the human race and us as individuals see growth and inspire as well as be inspired. I have a diverse set of interests and hobbies. I’m an AP/honor roll 3.8 gpa student first and foremost but also an athlete. I am further pursuing Track and Field in college but also have participated in swimming, XC, and gymnastics. I’m a violinist and was a part of my school’s advanced orchestra. I’m also a traditional and digital artist, and a vlogger/editor. I have experience with graphic design, choir, and theatre as well. I placed at State for my TSA architecture project and got my Revit certification. I believe trying new things not only expands intelligence and knowledge but instills perseverance and grit. You have to humble yourself and learn, and eventually, the work pays off. One thing that shaped me into who I am today is my athletic journey, specifically in Track. I moved states mid high school for my dad’s job and I ended up at a school where the coaching was less than desirable. I was discriminated against and mistreated by several coaches, teammates, teachers, and administrators. Instead of allowing them to beat me down I made the risky decision to quit track in the middle of my Junior season and join a club track team. Here, I found community and companionship. I’m not healthier, stronger, and faster than I’ve ever been and went on to compete and medal at nationals two years in a row. I was working and training simultaneously this summer to pay expenses for my meets and save up for college. Some days I was going straight from work to practice and vice versa. It wasn’t easy to go through but it built my mental strength and instilled a fight inside me that will be necessary for my future and success. I will be training and competing as apart of the D1 track team at UTA as well as studying engineering. In order to support myself I’ll also need to work when I can. I will be fighting to balance training and classes at once. There are morning and afternoon practices everyday. I’ll be putting my all into practice with a short amount of time to recover before heading to remaining labs and classes. Finding the time to work and study during my off time is a lot, so any scholarships and money I can get will be greatly appreciated and needed. I refuse to let the difficulty back me down from my goals and dreams but there’s only so much I can do alone. I want to be an inspiration, an example that with preservance, you can do anything you set your mind to. I refuse to let trials and tribulations scare me away from the success I know I can achieve. My goal with my degree in Mechanical engineering is to explore the vast array of career opportunities it offers and place in the world. I want to bring diversity to the field and inspire other black girls to join in. I also want to potentially further my education by taking classes specifically for structural engineering and architecture and expand the possibilities in both of the fields. It won’t be an easy pathway but it’s one I’m enthusiastic to take, because nothing worth having comes without a fight. I will put in the work necessary to succeed and would greatly appreciate and benefit from financial aid.

STEM enhances the lives of everyone in the world. It is the base of innovation and invention. It is every generation’s job to build upon the innovation of the one before them to make the world a stronger, safer, better, more efficient place for everyone. The black community faces a plethora of problems due to racism and discrimination, whether it be systemic or interaction based. STEM is about improving lives and the black community is underrepresented in it when we should be the very ones leading it. That’s why I’m proud to enter the Mechanical Engineering field as a Black woman. Being the only black girl in all of my advanced classes growing up is something that fueled my desire to be a high achiever. I remember in 6th grade me and a few other Black friends had a conversation about how the education system expects African American students to not be successful in school. We all swore to get high grades and I’ve scored straight A’s with the occasional B ever since. Community is very important to me, I believe it is important to have a diverse pool of friends whether those differences are race, religion, mindset, opinions, lifestyles, hobbies, etc. That’s how the human race and us as individuals see growth and inspire as well as be inspired. I have a diverse set of interests and hobbies. I’m an AP/honor roll 3.8 gpa student first and foremost but also an athlete. I am further pursuing Track and Field in college but also have participated in swimming, XC, and gymnastics. I volunteer in the community. I’m a violinist and was apart of my school’s advanced orchestra. I’m also a traditional and digital artist, and a vlogger/editor. I have experience with graphic design, choir, and theatre as well. I placed at State for my TSA architecture project and got my Revit certification. I believe trying new things not only expands intelligence and knowledge but instills preservance and grit. You have to humble yourself and learn, and eventually, the work pays off. One thing that shaped me into who I am today is my athletic journey, specifically in Track. My moved states mid high school for my dad’s job and I ended up at a school where the coaching was less than desirable. I was discriminated and mistreated by several coaches, teammates, teachers, and administrators. Instead of allowing them to beat me down I made the risky decision to quit track in the middle of my Junior season and join a club track team. Here, I found community and companionship. I’m not healthier, stronger, and faster than I’ve ever been and went on to compete and medal at nationals two years in a row. I was working and training simultaneously this summer to pay expenses for my meets and save up for college. It wasn’t easy to go through but it built my mental strength and instilled a fight inside me that will be necessary for my future and success. My goal with my degree in Mechanical engineering is to explore the vast array of career opportunities it offers and place in the world. I also want to potentially further my education by taking classes specifically for structural engineering and architecture and expand the possibilities in both of the fields. It won’t be an easy pathway but it’s one I’m enthusiastic to take, because nothing worth having comes without a fight. I will put in the work necessary to succeed and would greatly appreciate and benefit from financial aid.

Managing school, school sports, and club sports, and extracurriculars on top of that has been a battle that although it hasn’t been easy, I’ve taken on with determination. Proving that I cannot only be just as successful as my male peers, but far more successful and influential. It is not a matter of gender but a matter of grit and ambition that determines how successful you are. Men are often praised for the bare minimum, women are often overlooked for managing not only there mess but several others. Rather than marinating in bitterness I decided to fight it by working hard to make a name and reputation of myself everywhere I go. Throughout Highschool I have managed to balance All A’s with exception of occasional B’s and taking AP and honors classes.I have been a varsity athlete in track and field, swimming, cross country, I’ve also competed and medaled at state. I was apart of FCA and have spoken to large crowds about the gospel. I partook in TSA and not only did I compete at state but I placed 6th for my architecture project I designed in Revit which I’m proud of considering it was my first year. I’m Revit certified and was so on my first try of the test when people normally fail their first attempt. I have some experience with community service and was in NJHS. I’m apart of a club track team, this requires that I have afterschool practices (3-4 workouts in one day) 3x a week and Sunday workouts as well. It has been far from easy to manage all of this on top of hobbies. I am an traditional and digital artist, I vlog and edit videos of my track meets, I’m currently learning Russian and Spanish, I also took graphic design and theatre arts. I have been a top performer in all of this due to my work ethic. Through all this I managed to endured discrimination and mistreatment. I have attended 3 different high schools across 2 different states and dealt with bad coaching for years, but I never gave up and will continue not to. At my first High school, my experience was dehumanizing. They valued times and not the well being of the athletes.I was viewed and treated like a pawn rather than a person. I’ve always been a hard worker and found success early on, they took advantage of this and overworked me. I had to watch others run the races they wanted and get personalized training while I was forced to just manage, but I never quit no matter how disheartening it was to experience. Then, due to Covid, my dad been unemployed, but he got his job back and we had to move states again. My new school however, was much worse, not only was I homesick but treated terribly and alienated. I was in a small predominately white town as an African American girl. My existence wasn’t taken seriously which added to my disdain at their terrible coaching. They forced us to wear full sweatsuits at practice to try and make us lose weight. We were overtrained, body shamed; lack of proper weight training, recovery days, warm up, etc. When I stood up to their behavior I degraded by them for an hour straight, hence why I decided to quit the next day, join club, and transfer schools. None of the other adults I talked to took my side or stood up for me. I will be majoring in mechanical engineering and continue to break stereotypes and boundaries no matter what is thrown at me.

Managing school, school sports, and club sports, and extracurriculars on top of that has been a battle that although it hasn’t been easy, I’ve taken on with determination. Proving that I cannot only be just as successful as my male peers, but far more successful and influential. It is not a matter of gender but a matter of grit and ambition that determines how successful you are. Men are often praised for the bare minimum, women are often overlooked for managing not only there mess but several others. Rather than marinating in bitterness I decided to fight it by working hard to make a name and reputation of myself everywhere I go. Throughout Highschool I have managed to balance All A’s with exception of occasional B’s and taking AP and honors classes.I have been a varsity athlete in track and field, swimming, cross country, I’ve also competed and medaled at state. I was apart of FCA and have spoken to large crowds about the gospel. I partook in TSA and not only did I compete at state but I placed 6th for my architecture project I designed in Revit which I’m proud of considering it was my first year. I’m Revit certified and was so on my first try of the test when people normally fail their first attempt. I have some experience with community service and was in NJHS. I’m apart of a club track team, this requires that I have afterschool practices (3-4 workouts in one day) 3x a week and Sunday workouts as well. It has been far from easy to manage all of this on top of hobbies. I am an traditional and digital artist, I vlog and edit videos of my track meets, I’m currently learning Russian and Spanish, I also took graphic design and theatre arts. I have been a top performer in all of this due to my work ethic. Through all this I managed to endured discrimination and mistreatment. I have attended 3 different high schools across 2 different states and dealt with bad coaching for years, but I never gave up and will continue not to. At my first High school, my experience was dehumanizing. They valued times and not the well being of the athletes.I was viewed and treated like a pawn rather than a person. I’ve always been a hard worker and found success early on, they took advantage of this and overworked me. I had to watch others run the races they wanted and get personalized training while I was forced to just manage, but I never quit no matter how disheartening it was to experience. Then, due to Covid, my dad been unemployed, but he got his job back and we had to move states again. My new school however, was much worse, not only was I homesick but treated terribly and alienated. I was in a small predominately white town as an African American girl. My existence wasn’t taken seriously which added to my disdain at their terrible coaching. They forced us to wear full sweatsuits at practice to try and make us lose weight. We were overtrained, body shamed; lack of proper weight training, recovery days, warm up, etc. When I stood up to their behavior I degraded by them for an hour straight, hence why I decided to quit the next day, join club, and transfer schools. None of the other adults I talked to took my side or stood up for me. I will be majoring in mechanical engineering and continue to break stereotypes and boundaries no matter what is thrown at me.

I am not only a student but a track athlete. My goal has always been to go D1. However, I’ve ran into several obstacles throughout my journey and am still currently fighting through this struggle. The only thing that has kept me going, is God. My family moved states for my father’s job. We moved to a small predominantly white town, I was one of 4 black students. I stood out in a way I couldn’t control but decided not to let the alienation cripple me. I decided to share the love of Jesus with everyone and not let the color of my skin dim my light even when others treated me lesser than because of it. However the racism became a problem in Track. The training was lacking in several areas, extreme workouts with a lack of recovery days, a sub par lifting program, Etc. Nonetheless I did my best to “trust the process” and trust that God would pull me through. When the season approached I was underperforming, in excruciating pain constantly, and mentally shattered. I was confused as to why things weren’t working out at first but as time has went on I’ve realized God has been here the whole time with an even greater plan. Halfway through the season I started trying to talk to my coach more about my personal needs and goals as well as advice on better training. He ignored and disregarded me. So I decided due to not liking XC, and the fact that it wasn’t helping me, to quit it, as well as tell him I didn’t want to run the 2 mile anymore. He responded by hurling insults at me. He played victim, called me a backstabber, and a waste of his time effort and money. Later on that day he pulled me out of class alongside the head coach of class for nearly an hour. They gave me no warning that the meeting would happen and no representative. I was cornered into an office room and took turns attempting to shame, insult, discourage, and criticize me anyway they could. I decided to quit the next day. Rather than focus on the lies they spewed at me I decided to focus on God and remember that he placed this passion in my heart for a reason. Why should I listen to these angry grown men telling me I’m too slow, will never be good enough, don’t have potential when I know the exact opposite is true. I am beautifully and wonderfully made by God, and he’s given me a gift and a passion. I believe the pain of this situation helped me to truly realize that worked out for the better. Just like how Joseph being betrayed by his brothers and sold to slavery in Egypt turned out to save lives, God got me out of a bad situation into a better one. I now run with a track club and even medaled at nationals in the 4x8 this summer. I’m not giving up on my goals just like how God hasn’t gave up on me. I intend to be a trailblazer on and off the track and become a black woman Civil Engineer and minor in Architecture.