Hello, I'm Makaylah Buchanan, a junior at Eastside High School. I am skilled in the biomedical sciences, calculus, playing the violin, and in languages such as sign language and Spanish. I want to pursue nursing because of the lack of black representation and inclusivity in doctoring. So, my goal is to help create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive society where all individuals can access the same medical treatment. As a future first-generation college student, my academic journey has been marked by numerous educational, financial, and social challenges. These obstacles have shaped my journey and personal growth in multiple ways. If I could do anything, I would be an international travel nurse with my private practice. But as of this moment, something I wish I could do is to get accepted into Clark Atlanta University. As an African American woman, I have always been drawn to the endless possibilities of medicine, but I have also been acutely aware of the lack of representation and inclusivity in the doctoring field. If I could be accepted at Clark, I know with the help of God and this scholarship, I'll be able to make the world a better place for people of color. For many years, people of color feared doctors for what they might do to them. So as a nurse, I believe that I could help people of color to be more "open-minded" towards going to see the doctor not in fear. I have learned that the struggles we face can shape us into the person we are meant to be. From spending time in and out of foster care to being raised by my grandparents, I learned the true meaning of life. This scholarship will provide me with the financial support necessary to pursue my Bachelor of Science in Nursing and help me excel academically. I would be the first of many things in this life but I won't be another person in my family to go down the wrong path. As a young woman who has been through a lot in life, I have learned that the struggles we face can shape us into the person we are meant to be. My ultimate goal is to help create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive society where all individuals can access opportunities and achieve their full potential. I am going to do my best so that my college life is meaningful and exciting. I am ready to leave behind my past, deep dive into my present, and fully prepare for my upcoming future. There’s no turning back in this journey to my dream and I want to succeed.

My name is Makaylah Buchanan, I'm a junior at Eastside High School located in Lancaster California. I was born into a family full of drug addicts and abusers. I was inspired by the desperation I felt at night when my siblings and I had to go to bed hungry because my mom used the little money that she got, on drugs. When me and my siblings came to live with our grandparents, they taught me how to not go down that same path. As a future first generation college student, my academic journey has been marked by numerous educational, financial, and social challenges. These obstacles have shaped my journey and personal growth in multiple ways. The greatest challenge I have overcome is improving my mental health. For the past year, I haven't been in the right state of mind because I was diagnosed with depression. The depression made my grades slip drastically making it hard to take tests especially ones that decide my future and it ruined my relationships with others. But I have been seeing a therapist and it has been helping a lot. I wholeheartedly applied myself to therapy to get down to the root of my problems and to face them head-on because I was not going to let depression take the better of me and my life. My grades slowly but surely went back up to a 3.6 GPA and I scored a high score on my PSATs. If I could get scholarships to go to Clark Atlanta University, I would be the first of my family to go to college, to have a career, and to look to the future for more brighter life. I have learned that the struggles we face can shape us into the person we are meant to be. From spending time in and out of foster care to being raised by my grandparents, I learned the true meaning of life. This scholarship will provide me with the financial support necessary to pursue my Bachelor of Science in Nursing and help me excel academically. I would be the first of many things in this life but I won't be another person in my family to go down the wrong path. As a young woman who has been through a lot in life, I have learned that the struggles we face can shape us into the person we are meant to be. My ultimate goal is to help create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive society where all individuals can access opportunities and achieve their full potential. What would my life be if I didn’t have an not resilient to attempt anything? This is the question I always ask myself whenever I start thinking that life is hard. I am going to do my best so that my college life is meaningful and exciting. I am ready to leave behind my past, deep dive into my present, and fully prepare for my upcoming future. There’s no turning back in this journey to my dream and I want to succeed.

My name is Makaylah Buchanan, I'm a junior at Eastside High School located in Lancaster California. I was born into a family full of drug addicts and abusers. The greatest challenge I have overcome is improving my mental health. For the past year, I haven't been in the right state of mind because I was diagnosed with depression. The depression made my grades slip drastically making it hard to take tests especially ones that decide my future and it ruined my relationships with others. But I wholeheartedly applied myself to therapy to get down to the root of my problems and to face them head-on because I was not going to let depression take the better of me and my life. If I could get scholarships to go to Clark Atlanta University, I would be the first of my family to go to college, to have a career, and to look to the future for more brighter life. The amazing thing about STEM is problems can be investigated and solved by science and technology with various methods of mathematics. I think being in STEM major builds resilience and makes people lives better and I believe that I could do that. I have learned that the struggles we face can shape us into the person we are meant to be. From spending time in and out of foster care to being raised by my grandparents, I learned the true meaning of life. This scholarship will provide me with the financial support necessary to pursue my Bachelor of Science in Nursing and help me excel academically. I would be the first of many things in this life but I won't be another person in my family to go down the wrong path. As a young woman who has been through a lot in life, I have learned that the struggles we face can shape us into the person we are meant to be. My ultimate goal is to help create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive society where all individuals can access opportunities and achieve their full potential. What would my life be if I didn’t have an not resilient to attempt anything? This is the question I always ask myself whenever I start thinking that life is hard. I am going to do my best so that my college life is meaningful and exciting. I am ready to leave behind my past, deep dive into my present, and fully prepare for my upcoming future. There’s no turning back in this journey to my dream and I want to succeed.

My name is Makaylah Buchanan, I'm a junior at Eastside High School located in Lancaster California. Before I came to live out here I went to Palomaras Academy in Pomona. There I was in multiple STEM programs/clubs. I was mainly in robotics and art. To be honest, my specialty is in science... biomedical sciences to be exact. I was born into a family full of drug addicts and abusers. I was inspired by the desperation I felt at night when my siblings and I had to go to bed hungry because my mom used the little money that she got, on drugs. When me and my siblings came to live with our grandparents, they taught me what it was to be a woman. At a young age I've always been different; being able to read at a young age and being a genius at calculus and science. As a future first generation college student, my academic journey has been marked by numerous educational, financial, and social challenges. These obstacles have shaped my journey and personal growth in multiple ways. If I could do anything, I would be an international travel nurse with my private practice. But as of this moment, something I wish I could do is to get accepted into Clark Atlanta University. As an African American woman, I have always been drawn to the endless possibilities of medicine, but I have also been acutely aware of the lack of representation and inclusivity in the doctoring field. If I could be accepted at Clark, I know with the help of God and this scholarship, I'll be able to make the world a better place for people of color. For many years, people of color feared doctors for what they might do to them. So as a nurse, I believe that I could help people of color to be more "open-minded" towards going to see the doctor not in fear. The greatest challenge I have overcome is improving my mental health. For the past year, I haven't been in the right state of mind because I was diagnosed with depression. The depression made my grades slip drastically making it hard to take tests especially ones that decide my future and it ruined my relationships with others. But I have been seeing a therapist and it has been helping a lot. I wholeheartedly applied myself to therapy to get down to the root of my problems and to face them head-on because I was not going to let depression take the better of me and my life. My grades slowly but surely went back up to a 3.6 GPA and I scored a high score on my PSATs. If I could get scholarships to go to Clark Atlanta University, I would be the first of my family to go to college, to have a career, and to look to the future for more brighter life. The amazing thing about STEM is problems can be investigated and solved by science and technology with various methods of mathematics. I think being in STEM major builds resilience and makes people lives better and I believe that I could do that. I have learned that the struggles we face can shape us into the person we are meant to be. From spending time in and out of foster care to being raised by my grandparents, I learned the true meaning of life. This scholarship will provide me with the financial support necessary to pursue my Bachelor of Science in Nursing and help me excel academically. I would be the first of many things in this life but I won't be another person in my family to go down the wrong path. As a young woman who has been through a lot in life, I have learned that the struggles we face can shape us into the person we are meant to be. My ultimate goal is to help create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive society where all individuals can access opportunities and achieve their full potential. What would my life be if I didn’t have an not resilient to attempt anything? This is the question I always ask myself whenever I start thinking that life is hard. I am going to do my best so that my college life is meaningful and exciting. I am ready to leave behind my past, deep dive into my present, and fully prepare for my upcoming future. There’s no turning back in this journey to my dream and I want to succeed.

My name is Makaylah Buchanan, I'm a Junior at Eastside High School with a 3.6 GPA. Unfortunately, I am a foster kid and have been in the system for 8 years. I come from a family of high school dropouts and a 1st generation of college and high school graduates. From being abused mentally and physically to achieving greatness, I genuinely believe that I could do great things for the world. To start, my experience as a foster kid wasn't healthy. While in these homes I have been starved, drugged, abused, and neglected as a whole. I have been abused mentally and physically by being yelled at, slapped on multiple occasions, racism inside homes, and being raped. All of this leads me to multiple suicide attempts. While attempting to hang myself from the ceiling fan, my best friend Janell Davis ran into the room and helped me back to society. I hope to create a safe space for all people who are struggling with these thoughts of suicide. I will do this by starting a nonprofit organization to help limit suicide for everyone. I'm currently in BSU (Black Student Union) alongside in track and softball. I am in all of these activities at my school. I have a little sister who I take to school every day on top of job searching. At my school, I'm in the Biomedical Program which allows me to take all AP and Honor classes. The Biomedical Program allows students to take advanced classes to prepare for a career in any kind of medical field. When I'm older I want to be an International Travel Nurse with a company. After graduating high school in 2025, I will take a gap year to work and save up, then I'll go to Clark Atlanta Georgia. At Clark, I'm going to pursue a major in Nursing and a minor in foreign languages. So far I know American Sign Language, English, and Spanish. After 4 years of college, I'm going to go become the CEO of my own company. My company is going to help the homeless and expecting teen mothers. My company is going to help the homeless by providing housing for them alongside helping them find stable jobs and staying sober. Following that, I would charge the homeless $150 every 2 months to pay bills, but I would only start charging them after successfully getting a stable job and after 3 months of working. My company would help expecting teen moms by educating them in maternal care. Just like how my company is helping the homeless with housing and job searches, there would be housing provided for teen mothers who have been kicked out of their homes. Alongside that, the mothers will be enrolled in parenting classes, and if no high school education, then they will be put back into school while still in our program. How I am going to use this scholarship, is to use it for college, med school, and a apartment. Since college and med school are going to cost a lot, I'm going to work part-time at In-N-Out and become a receptionist at a local hospital during my gap year. As for using part of the money for an apartment, I will get an apartment for living from the toxicity of my family and going to share the apartment with a roommate. I honestly believe that this scholarship with not only help me beneficially but mentally as well. With the help of the Clevenger Women in Foster Care Award, I have full confidence that this would help me start my successful career.

My name is Makaylah Buchanan, I'm a Junior at Eastside High School with a 3.6 GPA. Unfortunately, I am a foster kid and have been in the system for 8 years. I come from a family of high school dropouts and a 1st generation of college and high school graduates. From being abused mentally and physically to achieving greatness, I genuinely believe that I could do great things for the world. To start, my experience as a foster kid wasn't healthy. While in these homes I have been starved, drugged, abused, and neglected as a whole. I have been abused mentally and physically by being yelled at, slapped on multiple occasions, racism inside homes, and being raped. All of this leads me to multiple suicide attempts. While attempting to hang myself from the ceiling fan, my best friend Janell Davis ran into the room and helped me back to society. I hope to create a safe space for all people who are struggling with these thoughts of suicide. I will do this by starting a nonprofit organization to help limit suicide for everyone. I'm currently in BSU (Black Student Union) alongside in track and softball. I am in all of these activities at my school. I have a little sister who I take to school every day on top of job searching. At my school, I'm in the Biomedical Program which allows me to take all AP and Honor classes. The Biomedical Program allows students to take advanced classes to prepare for a career in any kind of medical field. When I'm older I want to be an International Travel Nurse with a company. After graduating high school in 2025, I will take a gap year to work and save up, then I'll go to Clark Atlanta Georgia. At Clark, I'm going to pursue a major in Nursing and a minor in foreign languages. So far I know American Sign Language, English, and Spanish. After 4 years of college, I'm going to go become the CEO of my own company. My company is going to help the homeless and expecting teen mothers. My company is going to help the homeless by providing housing for them alongside helping them find stable jobs and staying sober. Following that, I would charge the homeless $150 every 2 months to pay bills, but I would only start charging them after successfully getting a stable job and after 3 months of working. My company would help expecting teen moms by educating them in maternal care. Just like how my company is helping the homeless with housing and job searches, there would be housing provided for teen mothers who have been kicked out of their homes. Alongside that, the mothers will be enrolled in parenting classes, and if no high school education, then they will be put back into school while still in our program. How I am going to use this scholarship, is to use it for college, med school, and a apartment. Since college and med school are going to cost a lot, I'm going to work part-time at In-N-Out and become a receptionist at a local hospital during my gap year. As for using part of the money for an apartment, I will get an apartment for living from the toxicity of my family and going to share the apartment with a roommate. I honestly believe that this scholarship with not only help me beneficially but mentally as well. With the help of the Barbara J. DeVaney Memorial Scholarship Fund, I have full confidence that this would help me start my successful career.