Growing up in Los Angeles, mental illness was a huge issue for homeless people on the streets of Hollywood. Students at my school were dealing with ADHD, and my father dealt with OCD. However, my father never really believed in mental illness. I have learned that mental illness gets overlooked in the Black community. When I have a family of my own, I want to be able to educate my children about mental illness, and I want to be able to provide my children with mental health assessments. A unique contribution I would make to the world is to use my acting career to educate people about mental health. That means being in films and documentaries based on real people and their real ups and downs with mental health. In college, we are learning about what kind of actor we want to be. I want to be a cultural activist. Someone I look up to is Taraji P. Henson. She has a foundation called the "Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation". Her foundation was established in 2018 for her late father, who dealt with mental illness. Not only is Taraji P. Henson an amazing actress, but she is also a cultural activist who stands up for what she believes in. I think it is so beautiful that you can balance your passions, like your career, with where your heart takes you. I want to contribute to her legacy and fight for accessibility and education surrounding mental illness.

I did not know I would go to an HBCU. Howard University was the only HBCU I applied to because I knew that if I were going to go to one, it would be Howard. I am a sophomore at Howard University studying for my B.F.A in Theatre Arts with a concentration in Acting. In the beginning, it was challenging. I am from the Valley in Los Angeles, and moving to D.C was a culture shock. I had a Valley accent that people pointed out all the time, and I was not used to the East Coast vibe and culture. During Freshman year, I would easily get overwhelmed with the amount of work I was given. I remember locking myself in my room and doing all my homework until I could no longer type, and I also struggled to fit in. Though I ended that semester with a 3.8, I was not mentally healthy; I was very sad, and I felt alone most of the time. Things changed for the better during my second semester. I finally started understanding this new college experience I was going through. I decided to start taking time to socialize and find my people. I learned that Howard students are a community of young adults who want to see each other succeed. Everyone wants to be the greatest at what they do, and they also want everyone else around them to be great with them. It is beautiful. I then started hanging out with people within my cohort and found that we had more in common than just acting. I learned how to network by making truthful relationships rather than surface-level ones. Howard is constantly giving me confidence in my Blackness and reaffirming my worth as a Black woman in America. They teach me how to be great, not just good. This year has been amazing so far. I auditioned for the HU Jazz Singers, and I got a spot. Now I get to Act and also craft my Jazz singing voice. I get to perform and be a part of two departments at my school. I want to start my legacy now. Over the summer, my Acting Professor assigned me to a student in the class of 2030. I get to mentor her and give her the tools she needs for a successful year, drawing on my experience. I am even thinking of running for Miss College of Fine Arts at some point. My sisterhood is growing, and I know they will be flower girls at my wedding someday. Every time I go back home to California, everyone is so proud and amazed that I go to the illustrious Howard University. I am excited to thank Howard and the city of D.C. during my acceptance speech at the Tonys for giving me the resilience and knowledge to attract the acting, singing, and directing career that is already mine. I finally feel like I belong somewhere. D.C is no longer a stranger to me; it is home.

A film that means a lot to me is The Little Princess directed by Alfonso Cuaròn. I watched this movie when I was in the third grade and it really has shaped my life since. The Little Princess is about a girl named Sara who is sent away to a boarding home for girls while her father is out at war. We find out that there is a Black girl named Becky who is treated as a servant girl. Sara gets some bad news about her father, which in the end forces her to become a servant with Becky. The girls become friends. Sara shows Becky kindness and teaches Becky how to use her imagination to make her wildest dreams come to life. I felt connected to Becky. It was my first piece of art seeing a girl in a similar situation as me. Our situations were being different from everyone else. I think I loved the movie so much because it taught me what kindness can look like. It taught me to never judge people by what they wear, their home, or their differences. Throughout my personal journey I dealt with judgment. I was judged by living in an apartment which meant I never had any of my friends over. I felt less than and not good enough. I felt judged by how I looked. I remember not understanding why I was not chosen for my friend's short films. I was in drama class all four years. I was always the main character in our school plays and musicals, and I was nominated for an award for “Best Actress”. Still my friends would never choose me which made me feel like they did not think my face or my body type was worth being in their movies. In high school that was everything to me so it made me sad. Later in high school I was judged by other students not believing in a career in the arts. Dealing with being an African American in my predominantly white institution, I know how it feels to have people projecting negativity onto you. Knowing how I felt having to deal with that, I want to fight for others to not go through what I did. Not only do I want to make an impact on the world with my acting. I want to inspire children, adults, and grandparents to be kind. Kindness has no price but it has so much power. When I am shown kindness or perform kind acts, my day gets better and I feel happy. After my first year at Howard University, I now see that kindness and community is still out there and alive. I am so grateful that the culture among Howard students is to help each other out, no bison left behind. Howard is a great example on how people can thrive and reach their goals with a kind community backing them along the way. During my time in college and when I graduated I was to fight for a culture that is based on kindness, and helping each other out. I want to educate others to leave selfishness and projecting negativity behind. As a society if we showed more kindness to each other, I know the world would be a better, cleaner, and happier place. The photo I placed in the uploads is a photo that embodies my "Black Girl Joy". I am proud that am a girl who learned to how to be joyful.

I chose Howard University not only for the longevity of my career in the entertainment industry, but for my younger self who yearned to play with girls with the same struggles as her, and same hair texture as her. I am a rising sophomore studying for my B.F.A in Theatre Arts with a concentration in Acting. Before Howard I was not very confident, unfortunately I surrounded myself with people who did not wanna see me thrive. After my first year at Howard I got my confidence back, I did things I would have never done before like take a train to New York by myself. It seems small but that was a huge accomplishment for me during my journey through young adulthood. At Howard you don’t just learn in the class, outside of the class there was so much to learn about myself. Like how to take care of myself when I was ill, how to make friends, and how to work hard and play hard. I learned all those skills with the support of my Howard Community, where people believe in helping others. When I go back to California I always get so much love about going to Howard, people are always so impressed. This makes me feel empowered. Picking Howard University was one of the best decisions I could make. Being a part of a community is one of the many things I have wanted to feel, and I am very grateful.

I grew up in a 3 person family household. My mom is a preschool teacher at Wagon Wheel and my Dad is an entrepreneur. I attended a K-12 where I was the only Black person until 6th grade. I was never confident in myself, always pretending I was someone else, I was misunderstood, and could never truly show my emotions in fear of being feared. I am grateful enough that my parents never used our low income to burden us. I started to be treated differently because I lived in an apartment, and this led me to never invite my friends over in fear of being bullied. I felt different, and it never felt good. I am happy to say that I now attend the illustrious Howard University where I feel necessary to the community. I am studying to receive a B.F.A in Theatre Arts with a concentration in Acting. I did not know that going to an HBCU was in the cards for me. After attending my first year in 2025 I finally felt like I found my people. Not only do people look like me, but there are people in a similar economic status as me. Or people that aren’t economically similar to me but would never use that against me. This felt good. I found acting at 9 years old. High school productions let me be seen how I wanted to be seen. My dreams are being a successful director, actress, and writer. I want to be in A24 movies, and collaborate with Black people to produce Black art. You should know that I know that I am not a quitter. When I was runner up for the role of "Young Serena Williams" for "King Richard", I turned the loss into a win by creating a one women show. What I want to do with my degree is be a role model for Black children and adults that we can be anything we want to be. I want to show them that we can be CEO’s. I want to keep Black Art alive. I want to remind them that it does not matter if you come from money or no money, you will make it. Receiving this scholarship is knowing that people are investing in my success. It is knowing that people besides my parents want to be a part of my success story.

This scholarship speaks to me so much because education is a right, but traveling can feel like a privilege. With this scholarship, not only is it extremely helpful in paying for college, it reminds me how important it is to explore, and when I go back to D.C for my fall semester, I want to make sure I am exploring the city more and seeing all the beautiful culture and history it holds. Hi, I am Malia and right now I see myself becoming a well-known director who also writes, and acts. Acting is my passion, I have been acting since I was 9 years old. At an early age I learned how to bring my voice into adult spaces and be seen and heard. In 2020 I was picked to do a screentest with Will Smith for the film King Richard directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green. I ended up being runner up for the role of “Young Serena Williams”. This experience showed me that I may not always have drive, but I always will have ambition. Of course I had off days which for me meant that I thought that was my last chance at doing something great. I taught myself how to keep my strength, and how to deal with loss in a healthy way. Later during Highschool I wrote my one-women show from a bunch of essays surrounding that experience, and the lessons I learned at a young age. I called it Runner Up. Of course I kept auditioning and in 2021 I booked the role of “Young Leslie” in Euphoria season 2 directed by Sam Levinson. As a young girl this showed me the importance of hard work, and that it actually does pay off. Watching myself on TV for the first time was an unexplainable feeling of happiness. I achieved something that was a goal of mine. It was and still is empowering. My mom is a teacher at a preschool called Wagon Wheel, and my Dad is an entrepreneur. When I look at these scholarships, I see them as a gift to my parents. I do not come from money, but they never use that as a burden. They invest in me knowing that it will all be worth it because they believe in the hard work that I produce everyday when I am away at school, or what I do in my own community at home. I am getting ready to become a sophomore this coming Fall semester. At Howard University at the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts. I am studying to receive my B.F.A in Theatre Arts with a concentration of Acting. I am truly excited for this incoming year because after experiencing my first year of college I know I can go through anything in life. Last year was one of the hardest years of my life. With struggle there was so much success. Traveling 2,000 miles to D.C was the most educational year of my life. Learning to cook, clean, make friends, and keep myself healthy was the biggest challenge I have had to face. I came out stronger, happier, and more open minded and ready to go after my goals in life. Tia Lukeya Woods is definitely right about travel. The world is our oyster and we learn so much everyday from it. All I want to do is keep exploring, and keep making my parents proud.

Hi, my name is Malia Barnhardt. I am a Freshman B.F.A Acting Major at Howard University. I have been auditioning since I was 9 years old. Someone who inspired me to act is my Dad. What motivates me is being able to thank him when I receive my Oscar. My goal as an actress is to become a Cultural Activist. I want to take on roles that showcase Black woman in a positive light and teach lessons that will live on through generations. What I love about performing is how the outside world seems to stops spinning for a moment when the light hits my face. So far, I am most proud of my role in Euphoria as Young Leslie. I remember having to sing a church song, and while we were filming Zendaya was sitting in the front row of the audience. That was my first time experiencing life on a set, and it will definitely be one of many. This experience taught me to keep my head up and know what is meant for me will find me, while still working hard to reach those goals. A few months earlier I was runner-up for the role of Young Serena in King Richard, starring Will Smith. I got the opportunity to do a screen test beside him. I remember getting a fist bump from him after the first take. It is those small moments that I will carry with me forever. My dream role on stage is to play Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors. I remember watching Joy Woods take on this role, and as a young Black woman, it inspired me that one day I can play Audrey. For film, my goal is to be in A24, and NEON productions. I think the movies they make are always so engaging and cinematic. A lot of them are coming of age which I really like and want to be apart of. During my college years, I am still going to be auditioning for roles, and during my free time I want to intern for an agent or manager. I aim to become their assistant. This will allow me to learn the ins and outs of the industry. It will also give me the knowledge to pursue other career paths in the industry. Howard has also taught me the importance of networking, which is something I will always be doing around campus and off campus. The goal is to have a job ready for me after college.