"Put yourself out there, market yourself, and flaunt your brand." My brand and motto have always been about helping others and supporting my community economically, spiritually, and culturally. I aspire to embody these values in both my personal and professional endeavors, striving to make a meaningful difference wherever I go. The first non-profit I worked in, Clinton Hill Community Action, focused on the southward of Newark. Its goal was overall advocacy, whether through housing justice and environmental justice (addressing blighted, vacant, and abandoned houses as well as helping people get grants for housing), and food justice. We showed people the importance of green spaces and no longer needing to go to grocery stores to get their food supply. We held multiple food drives for the homeless, showed them how to plant fruits and veggies, and organized park clean-ups. Additionally, we had a citizen journalism and advocacy cohort, where 75% of the time I worked was videography. My job was to film and produce videos and go back to the community to talk and advocate for them to voice their concerns about what's happening within the community, as well as what we, as an organization, can do to help them. To tell the story of our neighborhoods and how we were making it better. Lastly, we also brought arts to the community, holding two arts exchange events every month featuring poetry, painting, singing, dancing, cinematography, videography, and afro-spiritual arts. I also worked with the NAACP with an undergraduate chapter at Rutgers University where we focused on law policies, education in the school board, non-profit, and administration. I actively help out my family. I make sure to keep up with my neighbors - we share food and have giant cookouts, and if they're facing problems, I'll be the first to call when they need anything. I connect them to resources. When Newark had the lead problem, my parents and I gave out water filters and told everyone in the neighborhood to get their water tested for lead. We hosted multiple food drives for the homeless and coat giveaways in the winter, and if people were bored and new to the area, I connected them to my job and let them know of the free events we were hosting. I also work for City Hall in prison reform and education policy to help the kids of Newark get on higher reading levels to stop the school-to-prison pipeline. Distributing money in the right places to make sure they each have the help they need. Post-college, I plan on becoming an urban planner in Newark and becoming a member of the Newark school Board, as well as changing curriculums in school, making them more broad, connecting trade schools and colleges, as well as bringing creativity back within our schools for minority groups. I plan on changing the policies here in the city to stop the gentrification of our black homes and businesses. Then investing back within those same businesses. Thank you

"Put yourself out there, market yourself, and flaunt your brand." My brand and motto have always been about helping others and supporting my community economically, spiritually, and culturally. I aspire to embody these values in both my personal and professional endeavors, striving to make a meaningful difference wherever I go. The first non-profit I worked in, Clinton Hill Community Action, focused on the southward of Newark. Its goal was overall advocacy, whether through housing justice and environmental justice (addressing blighted, vacant, and abandoned houses as well as helping people get grants for housing), and food justice. We showed people the importance of green spaces and no longer needing to go to grocery stores to get their food supply. We held multiple food drives for the homeless, showed them how to plant fruits and veggies, and organized park clean-ups. Additionally, we had a citizen journalism and advocacy cohort, where 75% of the time I worked was videography. My job was to film and produce videos and go back to the community to talk and advocate for them to voice their concerns about what's happening within the community, as well as what we, as an organization, can do to help them. To tell the story of our neighborhoods and how we were making it better. Lastly, we also brought arts to the community, holding two arts exchange events every month featuring poetry, painting, singing, dancing, cinematography, videography, and afro-spiritual arts. I also worked with the NAACP with an undergraduate chapter at Rutgers University where we focused on law policies, education in the school board, non-profit, and administration. I actively help out my family. I make sure to keep up with my neighbors - we share food and have giant cookouts, and if they're facing problems, I'll be the first to call when they need anything. I connect them to resources. When Newark had the lead problem, my parents and I gave out water filters and told everyone in the neighborhood to get their water tested for lead. We hosted multiple food drives for the homeless and coat giveaways in the winter, and if people were bored and new to the area, I connected them to my job and let them know of the free events we were hosting. I also work for City Hall in prison reform and education policy to help the kids of Newark get on higher reading levels to stop the school-to-prison pipeline. Distributing money in the right places to make sure they each have the help they need. Post-college, I plan on becoming an urban planner in Newark and becoming a member of the Newark school Board, as well as changing curriculums in school, making them more broad, connecting trade schools and colleges, as well as bringing creativity back within our schools for minority groups. I plan on changing the policies here in the city to stop the gentrification of our black homes and businesses. Then investing back within those same businesses. Thank you

The environment I grew up in inspired me to pursue a career in law. I strongly believe that this is the path I was meant to take, as it has the potential to benefit others and make a positive impact. As they say, when the tide rises, it lifts all boats. I am excited about the prospect of inspiring others and creating new possibilities for them. When I was a young boy, I used to visit my grandfather who had been imprisoned for conspiracy of arson and fraud. From his perspective, he was wrongfully accused and his constitutional rights and the law had been used against him. Unfortunately, as a Black man, this is a situation that is all too familiar. He was tried multiple times for the same crime, spending a total of 23 years in prison across 3 different facilities. This goes against his life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, and is a clear example of double jeopardy. Later, as a young man, I found myself in a law class at Thurgood Marshall Law Academy, which was a university high school. It took me 4 years, but I earned a certificate in that class with college credits from Essex County College. During my experience in that class, I met many lawyers, and my teacher encouraged me to participate in a program. That summer, I did a youth court impact program where we helped kids who had committed small, petty crimes and tried to assist them in getting back on track. That summer George Floyd got killed a couple of years later I was in a protest for a black man who got severely injured due to the negligence and indifference of an officer in Connecticut who was then paralyzed from the neck down. Learning about Breana Taylor, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, etc... Put me in a state of Anger where I wanted to see certain people who needed to be in jail and those who didn't out. I figured if I could be the one to change policy and let people know how broad discrimination is across all bases and how everything plays into one another ( who else but me can do it) this has been a part of me since I was born Im not doing this on a wem but the policy in education, prison, and every day life needs to be reformed. I know I can be a constitutional lawyer and criminal law serving the innocent. In multiple fields in law, i want to act as their representative of the minority.

The day my father told me he had a tumor in his chest and nether regions, and the way hospitals work, in my experience with people with terrible insurance or health care providers, it takes months for people to get the treatment they need. My father said he no longer cared for the treatment and felt like he was going to die before he got any. Seeing the way my father lived his life, he was nonaggressive, and passive, but honorable in every way. He is a cared-for person. I saw my dad at his highs and lows. My dad was someone who grew into someone who didn't tolerate disrespect from anyone; he ended up alone. Sadly. For me, he shaped who I am, and in my morals, he taught me to learn from his mistakes and to look at things as black or white; he told me to believe in myself and that love for myself and my parents should be unconditional. He taught me to be authentic with myself. Later, when he got cancer, I saw him break down. He taught me to be human. To be better my greatest gift of giving is the most valuable human experience. He taught me to conquer. The one thing I could say about the way cancer affected my dad is it made him realize he lived with a lot of regrets in life. For his sake and not just that but mine it forced me to take more charge of my life, full accountability for everything I do and the way I influence others within my life directly and indirectly. Being 19 I would say I'm ahead of people in my age group because I now look at the bigger picture and I know what type of impact I want to make in the things I do. For the most it turned me into an academic beast, I went from A,B, C,D's students to getting all A's. For me it made me live not just for others but for myself. Life is too short to worry about minor inconveniences or to stress but just knowing I was better than I was yesterday and that now I gave myself to discipline and living life but my morals. In a way, this pushed me down a more holistic aspect of life to genuinely take care of myself. To work out, to stress life, to seek nothing outside of yourself, never focus on external things. Professionally this made me realize the impact I want to have on my people, as an African American, in and out of the game of life I want to improve our conditions hopefully throughout the diaspora. As of now, I minor in African American history and videography. I plan on making museums, schools, and becoming a lawyer, and fighting on behalf of children in minority neighborhoods. One people need to know their history and how it affects them. For African Americans, it's how much of slavery we still have left to unpack, educational wise its teaching them the broader aspect of education, and teaching them financial literacy, trades, poise, passion, and purpose. Law-wise we are targets from the day we are born. In a way my father's cancer and him telling me to live life the way I want to as long as I don't hurt anyone I'll be fine. This made me realize that doing something bigger than just forgetting everything that comes with it, I'm here for the challenges and hardship.

Honestly my dad had a tumor in his chest and another in his lower regions… I’ve grown with my parents, I seen their highest moments and their lowest. I seen them being human and honestly death of someone you truly love you can never be prepared for. That feeling I mean.. Seeing the way my dad confronted life prior he was resilient, compassionate, he had an instinct and whenever something came his way he faced it head on. That instinct to get what you want I now walk with that through life my pops made it for me that I seen his mistakes enough not to make the same ones over but enough to make sure I don't repeat them. The death of my pops has now affected the way I move through life I want to live for the sake of living and do something important and that's what I've been doing. I never let a day go by where I'm not reflecting or being better than I was yesterday. I remember my pops everyday and the way he wanted to live life. I keep him alive in my thoughts and through my actions. My dad taught me patience before anything if I'm honest. Patience and silence its good to be quiet and let things take their natural course and somethings you must do. My dad told me as long as I don't hurt people in the process of my success and I left my mark on the world that's all that mattered. He pushed me to do what I wanted. Through that I've been resilient, remembering him and keeping the thing he say alive through my actions is how I show resilience on a day to day basis. My pops death affected me through the way I live life I live my life in the complete self indulgence and I move out of my purpose to give and find light in others. As of now I'm trying to make my own non profit organization helping the community starting with college students then I want to branch out to make my own schools. On top of that I'm being trained to be a curator and doing videography so I'll make the biggest museums for people of color- people of the diaspora showing all our history. Now even so. All through videoagraphy I'm talking fashion, sports, writing, hip-hop, music, rock, culture, etc… If I'm being honest to go against the essay prompt I can't really call anything hard any more it was more on my perspective and how I look at things that changed me. I fought so many battles with myself but after my dad passed it was no longer at battle I made no more excuses for myself. If anything that shift in mindset changed my relationships I got more respect, more patience and more thorough with people I deal with in my day to day life. Learning to face those things at first was recognizing that there wasn't a problem to begin. Anything that outside of my control is what it is and as long as I have myself im good. I have control in the way I react. That perspective made me value people while I have them not every ones perfect we are human but if someone really value you they'll do right by you and if they don't it'll show. This made some people view me as a leader others as me being too (non chalant). Learning to face things head on made me more structured I would say Im more confident in myself.

Education is of great importance, but it is meaningless if one lacks the opportunity or knowledge to pursue it. With this scholarship, I can fund a trip to Alex Haley's farm for a freedom school that aims to educate African Americans. This opportunity would help me meet like-minded individuals who share my goals and aspirations. My aim is to establish schools for minorities and help them secure careers that have poise, purpose, and passion, while also emphasizing that education is not just limited to college. The school system needs to be more creative, and children need mentors to guide them towards a career path. Once they have identified their interests, they need the opportunity to intern in their chosen field. Teaching entrepreneurship and financial literacy will also be essential. This scholarship will not only provide me with the funds to attend the school, but also the opportunity to bring back what I learn to my hometown and across the eastern coast of the US. It would assist me in paying for law school, where I can fight for the educational and constitutional rights of children as a youth advocate. Every child deserves access to quality education, and it is our responsibility to ensure that they receive it. This scholarship would enable me to create a safe space where troubled children and teens can grow and become successful in life. I strongly believe that access to education and knowledge can prevent people from making poor decisions. Lack of resources and knowledge often leads to mistakes, and we need to change that. We need mentors and life coaches who can fight for us and guide us through the process of accessing education. This scholarship would help me become my best self and empower me to give back to the community that has supported me. I grew up in a household where we struggled to make ends meet, and I am keen to help others who face similar challenges. This scholarship would enable me to partner with organizations to provide more scholarships for African-American children who want to pursue higher education. Growing up with a 16 year old mom as a parent and parents who were in an on and off relationship, and being around my cousins we never seen someone or been around someone who really wanted more out of themselves because all we were taught was to look towards the street. Not everybody reaching for the same goal or finish line. For the most everyone was struggling to get by and the creativity would seep out the things people would do to get buy or say to get air condition in their households or even in their cars was amazing. That what shaped me, my teachers and the conditions of my environment I wanted more. More out of myself and out of my beautiful community. Honeslty Nipsey hustle, he gave back to his community after all he did. I seen how some of my people were getting shot in the street and I know if I can provide them with an law class that help combat against certain cops and citizens who know their rights ill do that. Being black was everything, even down to our history in an excerpt on how to make a slave it broke down the psychological traumas and some of that we still deal with today. Im doing work with children now to combat against that. My socioeconomic adversity became something I wear with pride to show the conditions I come from not everybody got the heart nor the ability to do that

Educations means everything but if one lacks the opportunity or knowledge to seek it, it means nothing. With this scholarship it'll help fund a trip to Alex Haley farm for a freedom school, the the overall goal of teaching us how to educate African Americans. This would overall benefit me in meeting people with the same goals and aspirations. I want to make my own schools for minorities alike and helping them get careers that has poise, purpose, and passion. Letting them know education is broad and college is not the only way out. There needs creativity in school systems. Mentors to help them focus on a path. Then then the opportunity to internship where they need to be at. Teaching the kids entrepuership and financial literacy and going their own path to get what they want out of life. Overall changing the school system. Not only providing me with the money to go but the opportunity to bring something back to my home town and across the east coast of the u.s. This would in some way help me pay for law school fighting as an youth advocate in the educational and constitutional rights field for children. It's their right to get better education we shouldn't have to fight for this because it's god given. The right to education a good education. This would help me take troubled children and teens, put them in a place where they feel safe and nurture them to grow so that they may be successful in life and provide more to their communities and to the world. This scholarship would help me give people like us a chance and be on better footing than we ever did before. This would help me network and truly get my name out and I'm not just talking about in Newark New Jersey I'm talking worldwide. Through your scholarship I can accomplish this and I can be great in advocating for people would want to pursue for higher education by starting off with partnerships such as yourself and giving African American kids more scholarships. To be honest, most people make mistakes out of the lack of resources and knowledge of education and education is not just one thing but it's broad its game. I seen some of the greatest people if they had (game) -education they wouldn't of made certain decisions. I believe that's what holds us back as an community. We need someone who can expose us to this knowledge and walk through this process and someone who is willing to go to schools not only an administrator but a mentor or life coach who's willing to fight for them or fight in general. So when you ask me,what this scholarship would do for me? It'll help me in becoming my highest self and overall returning it back to the very people who help shape me and they culture that help scold me, to the people who fight hard everyday not truly living but surviving. This scholarship would help me give my greatest gift in giving in the words of David deida. P.s thank you for this opportunity

Educations means everything but if one lacks the opportunity or knowledge to seek it, it means nothing. With this scholarship it'll help fund a trip to Alex Haley farm for a freedom school, the the overall goal of teaching us how to educate African Americans. This would overall benefit me in meeting people with the same goals and aspirations. I want to make my own schools for minorities alike and helping them get careers that has poise, purpose, and passion. Letting them know education is broad and college is not the only way out. There needs creativity in school systems. Mentors to help them focus on a path. Then then the opportunity to internship where they need to be at. Teaching the kids entrepuership and financial literacy and going their own path to get what they want out of life. Overall changing the school system. Not only providing me with the money to go but the opportunity to bring something back to my home town and across the east coast of the u.s. This would in some way help me pay for law school fighting as an youth advocate in the educational and constitutional rights field for children. It's their right to get better education we shouldn't have to fight for this because it's god given. The right to education a good education. This would help me take troubled children and teens, put them in a place where they feel safe and nurture them to grow so that they may be successful in life and provide more to their communities and to the world. This scholarship would help me give people like us a chance and be on better footing than we ever did before. This would help me network and truly get my name out and I'm not just talking about in Newark New Jersey I'm talking worldwide. Through your scholarship I can accomplish this and I can be great in advocating for people would want to pursue for higher education by starting off with partnerships such as yourself and giving African American kids more scholarships. To be honest, most people make mistakes out of the lack of resources and knowledge of education and education is not just one thing but it's broad its game. I seen some of the greatest people if they had (game) -education they wouldn't of made certain decisions. I believe that's what holds us back as an community. We need someone who can expose us to this knowledge and walk through this process and someone who is willing to go to schools not only an administrator but a mentor or life coach who's willing to fight for them or fight in general. So when you ask me,what this scholarship would do for me? It'll help me in becoming my highest self and overall returning it back to the very people who help shape me and they culture that help scold me, to the people who fight hard everyday not truly living but surviving. This scholarship would help me give my greatest gift in giving in the words of David deida. P.s thank you for this opportunity

Avatar, the ideals of philosophy that come up within the show, the need for balance, acceptance, stepping into your role and becoming who you truly are. It gives an atmosphere and allows you to experience what the characters are growing to. The losses, joy, anger, sadness, etc. Then culture and how to an extent we all come together at some point which is in complete harmony with one another. My favorite episode is of Iroh and Zuko, Zuko constantly wants to catch this avatar to regain his pride and come back to his nation as the prince. No longer being banished. That acceptance, when he found out that he'd stand up to his father he began his own mission of trying to help Aang. I remember being there as a kid watching it on the tv. I appreciate it showing how deep a character truly is. Avatar was always good at showing confusion. Avatar showed being human, it also showed stoicism and destiny. Which made me grow up differently because of the shows I watched like Avatar. It made me sympathetic towards the villains and sometimes wanted them to win. What makes it endlessly captivating for me is the fact that it brings so much more to offer, the life lessons, it builds character and it builds my character. This show always called to me because it was realistic when it came to being human and the challenges we all might sooner of later go through. Then the fights Aang and toph were top tier like you have to admit toph is a blind genius, the show doesnt frown on people with disabilities but shows how they take advantage of it. The blind swordsman was another interesting one. You can sense when everything is going to tense up. Then also the funny moments between momo and Sokka i love them. Sokka reminds me of myself. These are the reasons I find this anime so nostalgic it can bring me back to the youtube video breakdowns of the show from top to bottom and sitting and watching this with my pops. It brings back so many fond memories.