My name is Michaela Dennie, a current student at Indiana University Northwest, pursuing a master's degree in social work. I am a 24-year-old, African American female from Gary, Indiana, small, poverty-stricken, and seemingly abandoned city. I am a proud alumna of the illustrious Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina, with my bachelor's of arts in Psychology. Throughout my academic career, I have been an active member of the National Council of Negro Women, the public relations chair of Active Minds--a mental health organization on campus--, and an inductee into both the Phi Eta Sigma and Tau Sigma National Honor societies. Additionally, I spent two years under my previous mentor as a research lab assistant and have since moved into a research fellowship position where I've received mentorship through Butterfly Dreamz Inc., and I have also received the opportunity to begin mentoring high school aged students on leadership development and research of their own. In addition to my engagement with Butterfly Dreamz Inc., I also work full-time as a Behavior Health Worker at a residential facility housing youth aged 10-18 who are overcoming self-harming behaviors, coping with trauma and intense emotions, and have had a history of suicide attempts. I am also actively serving with our youth program at my home church as one of our Junior High Plus facilitators. Despite my active involvement in my schools, community, work, and my church, at home I am the oldest of 6 children. Over the past year I have housed my two teenage sisters, as my father and primary sole guardian is currently incarcerated. My mother, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was 8 years old, has not been active in our lives due to her mental disability, but has been the spark of my journey in mental health awareness and care. As an individual who has experienced the woes of mental health instability through witnessing my mother's battles with her own mental health, and experiencing mental health issues of my own--battling anxiety through some of my complex family circumstances--my passion for mental health care and awareness is deep-rooted. As I am obtaining my degree in social work, my intent is to become a licensed school social worker to collaborate with youth to engage in social/emotional learning and development, mental health care, awareness, and de-stigmatization, and overall holistic well-being. In addition to the nurturing characteristics developed through caring for my younger siblings, I have been working in childcare and youth services over the course of the past 9 years. My passion for child welfare, mental health, and overall well-being stems from my experience and is the basis for my desire to continue the work that I do. Through obtaining my degree, I am hoping to become the resource that I feel I once needed as a child, and to break the barriers between the stigmatization of mental health within black and brown communities and within Christian communities. It is my hope to continue to receive the opportunities such as the one given by the Cheesman Family, in partnering to provide the resources that allow students like myself to work toward increasing equity, inclusion, and services for youth worldwide, and for serving people of all ages, backgrounds, and ways of life. If awarded this debt relief scholarship to help pay down my student loans, I will use the money that I have saved to hopefully take a trip after graduating with my master's degree.

The first time I can recall encountering anxiety, I was eight years old, laying in the bed of my childhood bedroom at my grandparents house. I had woken up in the middle of the night and my mind began to race with fearful thoughts. Each thought scarier than the next, the silence began to pierce my ears and I feared things that I did not know. My mind wandered to "what hid in the dark?" "Was the door locked?" "What if someone broke in?" "How long would it take me to leave my room and make it down the hall to my grandparents?" "Should I leave my room?" For a moment, I sat paralyzed, then I rushed to turn on the light and the television. What was hidden in the dark couldn't reach me in the light, and the piercing silence that magnified the thoughts in my head would be drowned out by the familiar voices of Selena Gomez and Jake T Austin in Wizards of Waverly Place. I didn't know it then, but this instance that I remember so vividly, was the beginning of a long battle with my frenemy anxiety. I call her a frenemy because there was times she kept me safe. There were also times she made me an overachiever, turning in assignments ahead of time out of the fear of my own time-management skills or the lack of time I perceive myself to have. However, most of the times, anxiety was the enemy. She sent panic attacks that blurred my vision and made my chest clench tight. She restricted me from engaging with my own friends and family. Anxiety also made me think of things that had no possibility of ever existing, but I feared it anyway. I had never been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, but the way anxiety affected me, it spilled over into each area of my life, and I experienced her the most during my undergraduate experience. States away from home, I had to learn to navigate the world on my own, and with neither of my parents in the picture, the navigation seemed all the more difficult. However, there had come a time where I no longer wanted to give in to the pressures that anxiety set on my life; I was overcome with stress from every angle, and I knew I could not put 100% of my effort into my schooling if I did not learn how to manage my stressors. So, I began to pour into my own mental health. I began to attend therapy again for the first time in years. I began to journal, practice gratitude, and dive deeper into my faith. As I began to pour into the resources the fueled my spirit and provided me with coping skills, I learned how to differentiate the good stressors from the bad, the lies of my mind from the truth of who I am, and how to manage anxiety when she comes to visit. In my graduate program, I have found less and less time for myself, but one thing that I do to ensure my mental health is a priority is staying grounded in my faith. This grounding gives me a sense of peace amidst anxiety, trials, and hard times. I try to practice gratitude and recognize the positive instead of letting my mind spiral into negative self-talk. I set aside intentional time each week to spend at my church, around people who feed my spirit, and pour into myself, to make sure I am not allowing anxiety to overcome me.

My favorite genre to read is young adult romances. There is a whimsical feeling surrounding falling in love for the first time. As a teenager, I craved to be seen, heard, and loved the way I read about in the books that I loved. There was a longing to be swept off my feet, to be so enamored with a man that truly saw each part of my being and loved me the same. However, I grew up. I experienced my first true love during my undergraduate experience and it was whimsical and engulfing, but it ended in devastation and heartbreak, heartbreak that I am still picking up the pieces from. The world of romance that enticed me through tear-crinkled pages shattered as my perception of love began to shift. As an avid fiction enthusiast, I began to recognize the ways in which books shielded me from the world around me. My world was nowhere near as perfect as the lives of the characters I began to emerge my time, thoughts, and feelings into. Sure, they face their own trials, setbacks, and heartaches, but in the end they were always able to persevere, to end off better than they had begun. I spent a great deal of my adolescents transporting my mind into the world of fiction as a way to cope with my adverse life experiences. However, it did more than stimulate my mind or give me false hope of what a relationship might be like. The world of fiction inspired me to believe in something that most adults in the real world did not: the impossible. One thing that I have learned from the books that I have read is that even what we deem as impossible can become possible. Nothing in life is truly ever guaranteed, but there is hope in reaching the light at the end of each tunnel. Just as every fictional character who has had their heart broken a found love again, lost a loved one and learned to breath again, fought a villain and overcame, I, too, have the power to persevere. No chapter of a book and no chapter of my life is the same. Some end in cliffhangers, heartbreak, joy, and many other major shifts, but each chapter is necessary to the conclusion. Each chapter of my life has developed me into the woman that I am today, and inspires the goals that I set to attain. From my time spent engulfed in novels, I learned to embrace each chapter of my own story because just as the stories of others inspired me, I have the ability to allow my own life's story to inspire others. My goal in life is simple. I want to inspire youth, to care for them, to provide them with a safe space to be themselves, to cry, to heal, to laugh. I want to be a part of someone's else chapter and help them reach their own conclusion.

My passion for the world of mental health awareness and care stems from my adverse childhood experiences and the way that these experiences altered my own mental health care and well-being. When I was eight years old, my father's presence in my life became more dispersed, and raising 5 children under the age of eight years old, alone, my mother had undergone an episode of psychosis, later being diagnosed with schizophrenia. After my mother's detainment in the psychiatric ward, my paternal grandparents aided her in raising my four younger siblings and myself. Luckily, my paternal grandmother was a therapist and social worker, so mental illness was not as stigmatized within my household as it was in many other Black and Brown families. However, my mother's diagnosis and instability throughout my childhood was the peak of my interest into the world of mental health care and awareness, while observing my grandmother's expertise and practice watered that interest. Over the course of the last nine years, I have had the privilege to work in childcare and youth services, with a specialization in mental health care and adverse populations within the last five years. In addition to obtaining my bachelor's degree in psychology, I am currently obtaining my master's degree in social work in the hopes of becoming a school social worker. My goal is to become a resource that promotes holistic youth development and mental health awareness & care. I am also passionate about the integration of faith-based services within the mental health care field. As an individual who struggled with severe anxiety and depression throughout my adolescence, my faith was a driving factor toward my holistic healing and care. One of the primary contributions that I am seeking to add in promoting diversity and inclusion within the mental health care field is to address the stigma in Black and Brown communities that surround mental illnesses and promote awareness, knowledge, and self-care. Additionally, my presence as a Black woman in the field of mental health care is important for young Black and Brown girls and boys to see an individual who reflects them in a position where I will be advocating for them just as I am teaching them to advocate for themselves. One of the roles that I am currently in that aligns with my aspirations in this manner, and in which I take pride, is as a mentor in my research fellowship with Butterfly Dreamz. In this role, I am able to mentor youth in Gary, Indiana, an underserved and high poverty-rate area, in their personal development, academic achievement, and mental health care. I have gotten the opportunity to be that resource that I aspire to be for these youth and work with them in achieving their own personal goals, community engagement, and holistic mental health care. It is my hope that I am able to partner with donors such as Joybridge in funding the remainder of my academic endeavours so that upon graduation and licensure, I can practice as a school social worker, implementing holistic approaches to mental health care with students, families, and the surrounding community. I want to create a space that students of all races, genders, and identities feel comfortable to come and not only learn how to care for themselves but be apart of the de-stigmatization of mental health awareness within their respective marginalized communities.

My life is an essay. It would be simple to believe that one experience cannot alter a lifetime, but just as each paragraph of an essay frames the next, each chapter of my life is influenced by my past. Each paragraph holds a piece of the conclusion in its length, just as my life experiences hold influence over my end goal. Within my lifetime I have endured many pivotal moments of adversity that have shaped and molded me into the woman that I am today. The drive and passion that I have for clinical psychology, social work, and fighting for social justice are products of the influence my past experiences have on me. I was born into a family of therapists and social workers, but that was not the full extent of my exposure to the world of mental health care. When I was eight years old, my mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Since I was young, the world of psychology was a mystery to me. At first my interest was rooted in the lack of understanding of why my mother was the way she was, but eventually it grew into a desire to help people like her and myself who had endured mental illnesses so close to home. When my mother got sick, she, my four younger siblings, and I moved in with my grandparents so that they could aid her in raising five young children. Throughout my childhood I was exposed to the world that I now hope to be a part of. I grew up around my aunts, one of whom was a social worker and foster mother. My early adolescence was filled with foster-cousins, which allowed me to experience the foster care system second-hand. I have seen a lot of sweet children who were hurting due to a system built to protect them. A lot of these children have been family to me, and my desire to want to help them was the spark that ignited my passion for foster care reform. While becoming a school social worker and foster mother are two of my most personal goals in life, I am just as adamant about social justice. My childhood trauma, struggle with my own mental health, as well as the loss of my late grandmother, and the most recent loss of my primary care provider and family breadwinner to the hands of incarceration are all experiences that have helped me build thicker skin. These experiences inspire me to fight not only for myself and my family, but for every other person in the world who might not have someone to fight for them. I believe all people deserve the opportunity to have someone care for and fight for them. In order to ensure my desire to help others in this manner, I pursue the further of my education, as I am currently obtaining my Master's degree in social work. My dream career is being able to help and fight for those who cannot help or fight for themselves. Furthering my education will allow me to become the resource that is necessary to help those who need it. It is with scholarships such as the Sloane Stephens Doc & Glo Scholarship, that I will be able to complete my higher education without the financial stress that comes with college expenses and loans. I want to thank the donor, and on behalf of all the applicants, express our gratitude for individuals such as Sloane Stephens that desire to help us reach our goals and aspirations.

One way in which growing my faith has influenced my leadership style is in the growth of leading with humility. One common theme that is demonstrated in the Bible and throughout scripture is the importance of humility as a characteristic and how even Jesus who was fully God and fully human was able to display humility and be a servant of men. Prior to growing my faith, my belief was that confidence and charisma were two of the most important characteristics of a good leader; however, I've grown in understanding that humility allows me to become a servant, and serving others is one of the most influential acts of leadership. When leaders serve, the individuals who follow them are more likely to trust in their character and intention because they see a leader who not only cares, but also sees them as equal. One instance in particular that stands out to me, as a time that I led someone through faith, was in my role as a Behavioral Health Worker at a residential facility. Working with teenagers who have had a history of suicide attempts, struggle daily with self-harming behaviors, and display a myriad of emotional dysregulation can be an emotionally taxing yet very rewarding line of work. As an individual who follows deeply in my faith, I attempt to shine my light in my line of work as the lights of many of the children I work with are dimmed. One way that I lead the youth that I work with in learning the skills to emotional regulation, mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, and distress tolerance is by meeting those youth exactly where they are. I continuously show up to assist them in the activities of daily living, give them a listening ear when they are overwhelmed, helping them with their academics, and making them laugh when they feel sad, even when they push me away, have emotional outburst, or display an emotional stonewall. One resident I had in particular would often ask me about my faith, as her faith in Jesus was something that she held onto throughout her time in treatment. I would often support her endeavours of evangelizing her peers, pray with her when she asked, and give her scriptural. advice when she struggled. I always approached her in a way similar to a mentor to ensure she felt listened to on her own level. When the resident discharged, she wrote me a letter thanking me for all of the help I had given her during her stay, stating that my light was inspiring to her, and that I was truly doing the Lord's work. It wasn't until her letter that I truly realized the difference I had made and could make in the lives of youth all around me. Although I've been working in childcare and youth services for the past nine years, this specific instance has probably been one of my most rewarding and a catalyst for my continuance in my field. This experience has allowed me to recognize my ability in bridging the gap between mental health and faith, and how by being authentically true to myself, my purpose, and God's design for me, I could encourage youth to follow the same light while also working toward holistic healing.

My name is Michaela Dennie, a current student at Indiana University Northwest, pursuing a master's degree in Social Work. I am a 24-year-old, African American female from Gary, Indiana, small, poverty-stricken, and seemingly abandoned city. I am a proud alumna of the illustrious Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina, with my bachelor's of arts in Psychology. Throughout my academic career, I have been an active member of the National Council of Negro Women, the public relations chair of Active Minds--a mental health organization on campus--, and an inductee into both the Phi Eta Sigma and Tau Sigma National Honor societies. Additionally, I spent two years under my previous mentor as a research lab assistant, and have since moved into a research fellowship position where I've received mentorship through Butterfly Dreamz Inc., and I have also received the opportunity to begin mentoring high school aged students on leadership development and research of their own. In addition to my engagement with Butterfly Dreamz Inc., I also work full-time as a Behavior Health Worker at a residential facility housing youth ages 10-18 who are overcoming self-harming behaviors, coping with trauma and intense emotions, and have had a history of suicide attempts. I am also actively serving with our youth program at my home church as one of our Junior High Plus facilitators. Despite my active involvement in my schools, community, work, and my church, at home I am the oldest of 6 children. Over the past year I have housed my two teenage sisters, as my father and primary sole guardian is currently incarcerated. My mother, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was 8 years old, has not been active in our lives due to her mental disability, but has been the spark of my journey in mental health awareness and care. As an individual who has experienced the woes of mental health instability through witnessing my mother's battles with her own mental health, and experience mental health issues of my own, battling anxiety through some of my complex family circumstances, my passion for mental health care and awareness is deep-rooted. As I am obtaining my degree in social work, my intent is to become a licensed school social worker to collaborate with youth to engage in social/emotional learning and development, mental health care, awareness, and de-stigmatization, and overall holistic well-being. In addition to the nurturing characteristics developed through caring for my younger siblings, I have been working in childcare and youth services over the course of the past 9 years. My passion for child welfare, mental health, and overall well-being stems from my experience and is the basis for my desire to continue the work that I do. Through obtaining my degree, I am hoping to become the resource that I once felt I needed as a child, and to break the barriers between the stigmatization of mental health within black and brown communities and within Christian communities. It is my hope to continue to receive the opportunities such as the one given The Beta Mu Omega Chapter of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Inc., in partnering to provide the resources that allow students like myself to work toward increasing equity, inclusion, and services for youth worldwide, and for serving people of all ages, backgrounds, and ways of life.

As I am pursuing my passion to become a licensed school social worker, desiring to work with youth on social/emotional learning and development, mental health awareness and care, and overall holistic well-being, the ultimate dream I desire to achieve is to be the hands and feet of Jesus on Earth. As a strong believer and follower of Jesus, I am nowhere near worthy of the calling that was placed over my life, but because of my faith in the one who gave me my dreams, passions, and desires, I am still able to walk out the action of the work that I love to do. There is no one thing that I've done that has made me worthy of achieving my dreams because dreams are aspirations and ideals, they're not guarantees. However, my passion in serving youth and their families aligns with the beliefs I have rooted in my faith. I am someone who works toward my career every day, and the actions I walk in now also align with my purpose. My resume can attest to my passion, as it showcases the work I've done with youth over the past nine years in capacities far greater than I ever could have imagined. From my beginnings in childcare as a babysitter, to working full-time in mental health residential facilities and as a mentor with non-profit mental health organizations in my community, I have worked in youth services in various aspects. I am an individual who works for the things that I desire, and I use the trials and tribulations that I've undergone as learning experiences to continue walking toward my purpose. The characteristic that inspires my dedication to my journey is the perseverance that I have displayed throughout my academic career. Despite major setbacks, one after another, I continued to push for the future that I felt drawn to. As a product of a poverty-stricken and seemingly abandoned city, raised by my grandparents--one of whom I lost to breast cancer in 2017--, struggling with my own mental health issues throughout my adolescents, in addition to navigating life with one parent with schizophrenia and the other incarcerated, I continued to persevere. After nearly exhausting my loan options to cover out-of-state tuition and fee costs within the third year of my undergraduate experience, it was through organizations such as Bold.org and the United Negro College Fund that I was able to connect with donors such as Dr. Marilyn E Porter and associates of the TWW Inc., that were just as dedicated to helping other college students such as myself persevere and receive the financial support necessary to continue chasing after their dreams. My intention is to continue working toward completing my Master's degree in Social Work to maintain the credentials that match my exposure and show my academic worth to the organizations I hope to work with in the future.

In all honesty, I was nervous to apply for this scholarship. Growing up, I was taught that I did not have a disability because I was still able to move about just as "normal". I could ride a bike, I could run, I can drive. I was told that I was blessed because even though my arm had been paralyzed at birth, years of physical therapy had given me nearly 70% of my range of motion back. When I apply for jobs, I don't have to mark a disability, nor is there a box for Erb's Palsy, but I also know that if lifting heavily is in the description then I just shouldn't apply. I never recognized my ability because I was raised to believe that I didn't have one. My family encouraged me to lead the life of a child: to run, to play, to do sports. But I wasn't completely oblivious, I couldn't be because there was always someone somewhere who would ask, "What's wrong with your arm? Is it broken?" Although tears would form at the thought of others possibly judging me, I would often respond "Nothing." because that is what I was always told to keep my head held high. However, I knew there were limitations to my ability, like the fact that I was 12 years old and still had to ask my aunt or grandmother for help when putting my hair into a ponytail or how although I could play volleyball, I had to hit center or backside even though I wrote with my right hand, I could not use it to spike a volleyball. My school allowed me to cheer but high V didn't look uniform with everyone else's, and I was one of the only girls who couldn't do a cartwheel or a handstand. Nonetheless, I didn't allow what made me slightly different on the outside to affect the dreams and aspirations I had as a child. I worked hard, I cried, I returned to physical therapy years later in an attempt to straighten my arm more, and eventually I just accepted that my arm is a part of who I am. I stopped trying to assimilate and began to embrace what made me different. I educated myself on Erb's Palsy, and now instead of fighting tears when I am asked the question I used to dread, I speak with confidence and knowledge because I realized people are only afraid of or find weird what they do not understand. Similarly, mental health issues and stigma stem from the lack of knowledge and understanding that people possess for others. My goal in life is to become the resource that bridges the gap between knowledge and application in mental health awareness, self-care, family preservation, and social/emotional learning. I am pursuing my degree to become a school social worker in the hopes of working with youth to become a safe space where youth can express their concerns, build on social and emotional well-being, address mental health concerns, navigate life-challenges, and be encouraged in positive self-esteem and self-care habits. I want to become the resource that I feel I needed growing up, battling self-esteem, family troubles, social disconnectedness, and much more. On behalf of me and all applicants, I want to express my gratitude to the donors of the TRAM Resilience Scholarship for this opportunity and for giving a voice to students who continue to persevere despite life's challenge.

The individual who has had the most significant impact on my life is my mother. However, my mother's impact was not always the most positive influence over my emotions, desires, behaviors, or understanding. When I was eight years old, my mother was detained in a psychiatric ward and later diagnosed with psychosis and schizophrenia. Growing up, I had seen a side to my mother that at times scared me. There were often points where I felt as if my mom was no longer herself and it was evident that there were points in time, she did not view me or my siblings as her children. Nonetheless, her face, her scent, and her voice still resembled the mother that I once knew and the mother that I loved. Over the past 17 years, my mother and I struggled to maintain a positive relationship. We butt heads more than the normal mother and daughter due to resentment and anger I held toward her for something I now know she could not control. As I grew into my young adult years, away from my family and off at school, I began to experience mental health struggles of my own. It wasn't until I began to undergo my own battles with depression and anxiety that I could truly understand the battlefield of the mind. I began to regret every petty argument, every questioning word, every "I hate you" that I ever spoke during my childhood. I began to truly understand that my mom was just a young girl herself, 26 years old, raising 5 kids under the age of eight on her own after my dad left, struggling with postpartum, isolation from her family, and heartbreak over the man that she loved. I'm 24 with no children, I've moved back home near my family, and I'm currently struggling with my first heartbreak, so now I understand just how easy the mind is to crumble under pressure. While my journey in the mental healthcare field began as a means to understand my mother, it grew into a desire to help others like her and like myself. My passion lies in becoming the resource and safe space for youth who deal with mental health concerns whether of their own or through their parents and loved ones. My goal is to become the resource that I wish I'd had, and that I wish my mother could've had. It is true that it takes a village to raise a child, and I would love to believe that if maybe there was someone like me in my life and in my mother's life it wouldn't have taken us so long to repair the relationship that I felt had been damaged. Although my mother and I have been working on our relationship over the past few years, and I feel like we are in a good place, my heart still aches for the lost time that could have been spent trying harder to understand the complexities of the woman she was. It is my goal to finish my degree to help other children deal with their own complex emotions regarding their mental health and relationships and maybe help them heal broken relationships with their parents, who are just humans living for the first time too.

Growing up in the church, raised by my grandfather who was the pastor, and attending the same K-12 Christian school from the 3rd grade until my high school graduation, I had the sense that I had known the Lord my whole life. Of course I was able to recite scriptures, sing songs, go to youth conferences, and spend more than 50% of my week in some type of faith-based atmosphere; however, my comfortability in my perception of Christianity was completely shaken when I ventured off to pursue my undergraduate degree. My experience at my HBCU was a nostalgic and seemingly fulfilling period of my life, but it was during this time that I found myself compromising on many of the morals and principles that I was taught growing up. When you're a kid surrounded by adults preaching to you "right and wrong", the faith in Christ's sacrifice begins to mold more into religion than relationship. I felt like much of my childhood and early adolescence was filled more with "what I could not do" rather than what I now know as "walking in freedom". Thus, I found myself claiming to know God throughout my early adolescence, but I walked according to the world and the desires of my flesh. It wasn't until after my graduation from undergrad, that God truly met me in my childhood bedroom in the middle of the night. I was watching a video on TikTok about knowing too much about the Lord, his goodness, and his ways, to continue walking in sin daily. It was that night that conviction ran over me like a truck. I began to cry, and I ran to my then boyfriend to tell him about the encounter and revelation that I had, and of course, due to us living in sin daily, he was completely unreceptive to my encounter. However, since June of 2023, I promised God that I would do better because I knew better. I began to grow a real relationship with God and my appetite for sin began to decrease. I no longer saw the Bible as "rules" and "stifling to fun" but rather I saw it as a way to connect with my Father, to understand the flaws of man, and to see how I would be able to grow from my gaining of knowledge. I was passionate about my faith, reading my Bible whenever I had a free moment, throwing away immodest clothes that I used to love, visiting churches in the area to find a new church home, engaging in online groups, and overall reinventing my life. I had truly felt like a new creation. I was walking in a faith and love that I had never experience before, not because it was what I felt I "had" to do but because it was what I wanted to do. I had experienced the true presence of God, and I was humbled. Although my desire career path hasn't changed since before truly knowing Christ up unto now, I have found new purpose and meaning in the path that I've chosen. I am currently pursuing my master's degree in social work to become a school social worker. I have been working in childcare and youth services over the course of the last nine years, and my love for working with children and teens has only grown. It is my desire to work with youth toward holistic healing in promoting mental health awareness and care, social and emotional learning and development, and becoming the resource that I once needed at their age. My plans after graduation in May 2026, is to complete my licensure exam to become a licensed social worker. I want to work in the school systems as an on-site social worker to work with youth on social and emotional learning and development, fostering safe and inclusive environments, and engaging in programs that benefit their mental health while promoting their academic experience. Where my career desires once stemmed from comfortability in my field of work, it grew into a passion to shepard God's children. Not only did I once and still believe that children are the future of the world, and that we can achieve a utopia of mental health care by starting awareness and development at a young age, but I also believe that God has such as special place in his heart for children and it is demonstrated throughout the Bible. Alongside the work I do in the school systems, I want to remain active in my local church working with our next generation groups. Although I have a passion for the heart of social work, I also want to continue walking in freedom of sharing the good news, which is not as easy to do within the school systems. However, I know that I will be able to engage the youth in my community through the local church and its programs, as well. This scholarship would help support my academic endeavors in alleviating the financial burden that comes with the cost of schooling. I have been an independent student since my sophomore year of undergraduate due to the incarceration of my dad, and previously sole guardian. Throughout the past 6 years, I have come face to face with exhausting my loan options and nearly quit pursuing my degree underneath financial stress; however, with the help of Bold.org and donors such as the family and friends of Pastor Thomas Rorie Jr., who are passionate about students attaining their academic pursuits, I was able to finish my last two years of undergraduate completely funded by scholarships. Although, I do work full-time now and am able to support myself in living, it is still sometimes a strain to keep up with my school bills. However, I am confident that what God once was able to do, He can do again. I am grateful for the opportunity to share the story of my faith, how it has inspired my purpose, and how scholarships such as the Pastor Thomas Rorie Jr. Christian Values Scholarship have the potential to be one of the partnerships God utilizes to take me closer to my purpose.

Throughout my childhood, I have had direct and second-hand experience with mental health issues. My mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was eight years old, and she would often go through periods of high depression and paranoia, which as a child was hard for me to understand why my mother was constantly changing. Although I did not know it at the time, my father's absence couple with my mother's behaviors sparked a deep-seated battle of anxiety within myself, beginning in my childhood and growing throughout my adolescence. Fortunately, I was able to grow up near my paternal family, with my paternal grandparents caring for my mother, my four younger siblings, and myself. My late grandmother was social worker and licensed therapist, and instilled in us the importance of mental health and therapy despite the stereotypes it held within the Black community. Due to my grandmother's passion, I was able to experience mental health care as a positive component of daily life. I was able to explore resources and coping mechanisms, as well as expound on my knowledge of the mental health issues that not only my mother, but also I faced. My childhood experiences was only the beginning of my involvement in the world of mental health care and advocating for mental health awareness. Although my curiosity was peaked by trying to understand why my mom was no longer the mom I once knew, it only grew as I began to explore my own mental health care and the care of those close to me. Thus, I obtained my Bachelor's degree in Psychology and gained even further insight on the complexities of the human brain and emotions. I am currently obtaining my Master's degree in Social Work to become a licensed school social worker, with the intent of working with youth. As I am obtaining my degree, I have been working as a Behavioral Health Worker at a residential facility treating youth ages 10-18 who struggling with self-harming behaviors, intense emotion, and have a history of suicide attempts. Through my work and education I have recognized that youth mental health issues are at an all time high. As a youth who once dealt with intense emotion and struggling to regulate emotion as well as struggling to understand the dysregulation of those around me, my goal is to become the resource that I once needed. My passion lies with our youth because I believe that they are the future. I also believe that in order to be effective in mental health care and to effectively engage in mental health awareness, we have to start at the source. Practicing mental health care at an early age, allows individuals, therapists, parents, etc. to catch the signs and behaviors early enough to manage them in effective ways. As a school social worker, I will be able to work on mental health awareness and intervention on multiple levels, utilizing the Multi-Tiered System of Supports, and engaging youth at the mezzo, macro, and micro levels. My goal as an advocate for social justice is to work toward mental health equity for our youth. I believe that my first-hand and second-hand experience is what makes me passionate about this work. I also believe that the passion of individuals such as Calvin Rosser, the donor of this scholarship, is one of the key resources to ensuring that individuals like myself have the tools necessary to finish their degrees in pursuit of becoming a full-time advocate for mental health awareness and care. On behalf of all applicants, I can express gratitude for the opportunity to apply for a scholarship that aligns with our purpose, passion, and career aspirations.

When I was 8 years old, my mother was detained in a psychiatric ward and later diagnosed with schizophrenia. Although I had been experiencing high levels of anxiety as a child, due to my father leaving the home, it wasn't until my mothers battle with psychosis that I truly experienced the world of mental health. After her diagnosis, my grandparents aided her in raising my four younger siblings and myself. Growing up with my grandparents, I also experienced growing up with my aunt's (their daughters). Through observing my grandmother, a licensed therapist and social worker, and my aunt, a social work and foster mother, I began to learn more about the world of mental health and mental healthcare. Although sparked by the lack of understanding in why my mother had become who she was, the experience of growing up under my grandmother and aunt also watered my interest into the world of mental healthcare. Throughout my high school and undergraduate experience, I had began to experience mental health struggles of my own. I battled depression and severe anxiety, which was present throughout my childhood, but began to grow with my age and load of worries. My father began to build a relationship with siblings and I during my sophomore year of high school and eventually became our sole guardian after my grandmother's passing due to breast cancer in 2017. However, the relationship we began to water with our father was interrupted due to his incarceration in 2021, prior to my junior year of undergrad. Faced with the pressures of independency, taking care of myself, states away from my family and feeling as if I was losing every parental figure that I began to feel secure in, I began to drown in my own anxiety. However, the lessons, the passion, and the desire to help others like myself and my mother still filled my heart, I maintained a presence in therapy and watered my own mental healthcare. In May of 2023, I succeeded in obtaining my Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Winston-Salem State University, with a 3.9 GPA and as a member of 2 Honor Societies. Upon graduation, I knew that the knowledge I had gained was not complete without the power to effect change in the lives of youth struggling with mental illness, parents with mental illness, grief, or any of the other emotional challenges I once faced and felt too weak to overcome. I began to pursue my Master's degree in Social work, with the intent of becoming a School Social Worker. Upon completion of my degree in May 2026, I will be seeking my licensure, which I know will allow me to become the necessary resource that so many of our youth across the country lack, in order to receive adequate mental healthcare. I want to become the resource that I once needed growing up, and provide a safe space for youth to bring their mental health struggles with the intent of overcoming them and hopefully inspiring them to want to create change themselves.

Often when asked who I am as a person, I begin by listing the work that I've done, the organizations I've partnered with, the scholarships I've received, or my academic pursuits. A part of me feels as if all of the accomplishments I have achieved have become who I am. As a Black woman in the United States, I often feel the need to prove who I am through the things that I've done and the goals that I've achieved. However, I am more than what is on my resume or a part of my Bold.org profile. My name is Michaela Dennie. I am a 24-year-old, Ethiopian-American female from Indiana. I am the oldest of 6 children, and I was raised in one of the most non-traditional households possible. I am an individual who is passionate about working with children and their mental health due to my own struggles with mental health throughout my adolescence, as well as growing up watching my mother battle her mental health. I am a loud and proud follower of Jesus Christ, growing everyday in my faith and spirituality. I am a friend who enjoys celebrating others, spending time with those I love, and pouring into the people in my circle. I am a mentor to middle school and teenage girls and I get to be the big sister that I wish I had growing up. I am an absolute fanatic for anything in the color pink, and I listen and relate to Rod Wave, as if I was living his life with him, and as if I was in the studio rapping his songs. I am a workaholic, and I haven't sat down since I graduated high school, obtaining my Bachelor's degree while working 2 jobs and sitting on 2 E-boards in organizations at my HBCU, and moving directly into pursuing my Master's degree, working over time, completing my internship and also partaking in a research fellowship, while caring for my two youngest sisters as head of the home. Some days I feel as if I have experienced more than just my own life within these past 24 years, as I've seen, done, accomplished, undergone, and overcome so much. It is because of the sum of all my parts and experiences that I have begun to step into the work that I do now and hope to continue to do for the rest of my working life. As a mentor, and aspiring school social worker who is passionate about child welfare and mental health, my primary goal in aiding my community lies in this field. My intent upon the completion of my Master's degree program is to become a licensed school social worker. Initially, I sought to work within an elementary school as the majority of my childcare and welfare experiences started with school-aged children, but as I began to gain more experience in recent years with middle and high school aged children, I saw so much of the girl I once was in the girls I've gotten the chance to mentor and work with. I want to become the safe space and voice of reason that I often felt I lacked growing up. As the oldest sister, with a mother battling mental illness, I often was the "mother-figure" in my home, growing up without much guidance and feeling confused and overwhelmed with the pressures of adolescence. It is my hope to be that resource of knowledge, of safety, and of emotional support that many young girls and women may lack within my community.

As in individual who has been working in child care and adolescent well-being and stabilization over the past six years, my career goals align deeply with the mission of Lieba's Legacy. I have been blessed to work with children across the country from all different backgrounds, ages, abilities, sexual orientations, and with various mental health struggles. Through the work that I have been able to accomplish, I can see the gap and the need for not only the promotion of social-emotional well-being but also the need for action to fostering learning and implementation not only at the individual level, but also within schools, families, and communities. I currently am obtaining my Master's degree is Social Work to become a school social worker. One phrase that I often used to describe my passion for the population that I work with, is that "children are the future of our world". I believe that in order to address the mental health concerns of our teenagers and our young adults, is to address the mental health and social-emotional well-being of our children. As a community of social workers, we must address the problem at the source. Implementing the learning of social and emotional well-being will not only address the concerns of those struggle with social or mental health issues, but it will also seek to increase social awareness in all children, with the hope of fostering an environment of culturally and social sensitive young people. There has been a growing desire for school social workers across the nation, and I believe this field is essential to foster this growth in social-emotional well-being which will ultimately meet the needs of all children, but especially gifted children. School social workers have the ability to create and foster environments within the school systems that allow children to not only learn more about social and emotional development, but also provides the ability to enact on the learning such as implementing programs and initiatives across the school. For example, in my current internship at a middle school, we have weekly S.E.L school-wide zooms in which the students are able to visualize, observe, learn, and engage in the social-emotional skillset and tools that are being presented for the week, based on the monthly competencies that are incorporated in their learning environment. Additionally, I was able to create and administer a S.E.L competency survey across the middle school to gain clarity on how the students viewed S.E.L and how they perceived it helping them with understand their own emotions and how to regulate their emotions. I am eager to become a school social worker and begin to implement more programs and initiatives within my own at a local level in order to add to widespread change. School social workers are important to the social-emotional growth and development of students and young people, and often are the building block for how they perceive and continue to develop these social and emotional skills later in life.

As a 24-year-old, many are often surprised when I mention I have been working in childcare for nearly 8 years. I began as a babysitter for my aunt's foster children at 16 years old. I went on to become a nanny for an agency, working in an elementary school as a before and after school care S.E.L based tutor, working with teens on probation in a day reporting center, spending over a year as a Behavioral Health worker in residential facility for teens battling suicidal ideations and self-harming behaviors, becoming a research fellow and mentor for Butterfly Dreamz, and most recently conducting my first social work practicum in a local middle school. Since my introduction into the workforce as a babysitter, I knew that my passion was to care for and advocate for children. Over the various capacities in which I've worked, one common theme that pressed upon my heart was the social/emotional well-being and mental health care of youth across the world. Growing up with a mother who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, as well as battling my own mental health issues with depression and anxiety throughout my middle school, high school, and well into my undergraduate years, I wanted to become the safe space and the voice for children like myself who had either experienced the woes of mental health, personally, or through those of whom they love(d). I believe that the work I currently do is a huge testament to my drive and passion for continuing my education to obtain my Master's degree in Social Work to become this resource that I desired in my own adolescence. Two of the primary ways in which I am addressing the well-being and mental health of adolescents within my community is in my current position as a Behavioral Health Worker and my partnership as a fellow with Butterfly Dreamz, mentoring young girls within the school systems within the area. Working with youth that battle these mental health issues, social issues, and educational barriers, I have been able to become the safe space that many of the children in my life have previously lacked. I am able to support the residents at my job in developing a Dialectical Behavioral Therapy-based skill set to manage intense emotions and also develop healthy coping mechanism to combat pain. In my position as a mentor with Butterfly Dreamz, I am able to be a listening ear, as well as provide my girls with the resources I have as a social worker, former undergraduate student, and as a growing woman. I have provided the girls I mentor with tips on college applications, relational/friendship growth & stability, hygiene concerns and care, and much more. I often tell people that the work that I do is because I believe that children are our future. In order to progress toward the utopian government that most adults dream of, a healed generation can only be born if we start at the root, which is our children. Many of the life experiences and traumas that create the people we come stem from our childhood. I believe that addressing the problem at the root--in childhood and adolescent--will produce a greater change in our world than trying to later come up with the solutions to fix issues that are well beyond repair.

Over the course of the last semester, I have undergone a tremendous amount of stress in relation to obtaining my degree, balancing work, school, and social life, as well as dealing with the newfound load of caring for my two younger sisters. I had no idea that the all of the mental health concerns I had been working toward caring for my entire life would resurface under the pressure of trying to maintain. As an individual obtaining my Master's degree in Social Work, the terms "self-care", "burnout", and "mental health" are recurring definitions that play through my mind and throughout my coursework. However, I had never experienced how crucial these terms would become to my own life until this semester. After my father's incarceration in 2021, my brother and I took on the majority load of raising our two younger sisters who are currently 16 and 17 years old. In November of 2024, the two of them moved into my 2-bedroom apartment with me following a car accident I was in, totaling my car, and leaving me needing physical support as I healed from a concussion and extremely sore neck and back pain. Nonetheless, the semester began in January, and I started my first of two field placements as a School Social Worker. While the initial excitement was short lived, due to the strenuous time constraints that quickly followed, I was also blessed to have received news of my acceptance into the Butterfly Dreamz research fellowship program, beginning the second week in January. Additionally, I was working overtime to continue to pay my home bills, provide for my sisters, pay for school out-of-pocket, and work toward not only getting a new car but paying the remainder of my totaled car off. It is currently April of 2025, and sometimes I feel as if I am still drowning in my own mind, responsibilities, and workload. While mental health had always been important to me, watching my mother struggle with her mental health for the majority of my childhood, it wasn't until this semester that I truly experience the woes of mental health as a full-time adult and as a student. My own experience with my mental health, this semester, attempting to alleviate burnout, fatigue, stress, and anxiety has only solidified my desire to work toward the alleviation of mental health concerns for those around me. Some of the primary ways I advocate for mental health in my community is within the work I do at my full time position as a Behavioral Health Worker at a residential facility for youth having experienced suicidal ideations and self harming behaviors, as well as my continued growth in mentorship with Inner Connections and Butterfly Dreamz. Through the support of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Social, Emotional Learning, I am able to collaborate with youth in building a skillset that will allow them to work toward alleviating their own mental health concerns and working toward holistic healing. Additionally, I have also begun to serve in my home church with the middle school team, to bridge the gap between faith and mental health. I believe that children are the future of our world, and in order to break the stigma and barriers on mental health, we have to incorporate the practices of healing from a young age. As I continue my Master's degree, it is my hope to alleviate some of my own stressors by reaching out to organizations for the financial support to help me continue gaining access to the tools I need to promote mental health care within my community.

When I was eight years old, my mother was detained in a psychiatric ward and diagnosed with schizophrenia. Following her diagnoses, my four younger siblings and I went to live with my grandparents, who aided my mother in raising us. Growing up, I was closer to my grandparents than the typical child, as for a majority of my life they functioned as my parents also. My grandparents drove me to and from school every day. They took me to the dentist and to the doctors. My grandmother would give me money to go to the mall with my friends and my grandpa would drive me there. They showered my siblings and I in love, wisdom, guidance, and support; so much so that at times the ache of us not having completely present parents was overshadowed. However, on July 23, 2017, my grandmother had succumbed to her two-year-long battle with breast cancer. Her passing was detrimental to my family structure, and it took several years for me to learn how to properly grieve her presence. I had lost one of the most consistent and caring people in my life, and I didn't know how to deal with it. Seven years later, I am graced with the memory of the woman that my grandmother was and continuing to learn from all of the lessons she taught me. My grandmother engrained in me and my siblings the importance of education from a very young age. My grandmother paid for my siblings and I to receive private school education and encouraged us to aim for the best. In addition to the promotion of education, my grandmother also encouraged us to achieve mental, physical, and spiritual self-care. She taught us to brush our teeth three times a day and once with baking soda so our teeth would be pearly white and void of cavities. She also encouraged us to monitor the food that we put in our bodies and to stay away from drugs. It is because of the woman that my grandmother was, that I am still keen on educating myself on health, especially breast health. I am aware that due to her being my paternal grandmother, I am at a higher risk of obtaining breast cancer, as the gene is more commonly passed from mother to son to daughter. About one year ago, I had finally mustered up the courage to explore a small lump in my breast that I had noticed two years prior. Due to my family history, I was aware of the possibilities that could be my future, and I was afraid to put my family through the same situation again. However, I also realized that my health can only be maintained if I allow it to be. I realized that putting off my health another day had the potential to make it worse, if left untreated. Currently, I am unaware of what the lump in my breast is, although I was encouraged that it is a high possibility of being a benign mass. However, I am not giving up on finding out my results, and I am consistent in my check-ups. I also encourage my aunts and sisters to get checked out yearly, as I know that what we went through with my grandmother was a sad experience, but ensuring our health is what will keep it from happening again, not ignoring it. Breast health education is important to me because someone I loved experienced difficulties with their breast health, and I know that it is a familiar reality to many African American females. I am passionate about breast health education because although I may be at a higher risk for difficulties in breast health, anyone can endure them. Educating ourselves is the first step to ensuring better health, by not ignoring signs and symptoms, receiving yearly checkups, and being honest with our health care providers, we are more likely to recognize and address any issues before they become uncontrollable.

Throughout my life, my identity as a Black woman was the most fragile part of who I was. While I grew up in a predominantly Black neighborhood, that most would classify as the "ghetto" or the "hood", I also attended a predominantly white, private school for my entire life. I grew up as what is termed as the "token black friend" at school, where I felt my blackness was my entire identity. However, when I was around my cousins or kids in the neighborhood I "acted too white" because of the way I spoke, leaving me to feel as if I wasn't black enough. It wasn't until after my high school graduation that I began to explore what society perceived and painted as being a Black woman. I attended Georgia State University for my first two years of undergrad, in the city of Atlanta, the hub of black beauty, culture, and status. This was the first time that I had Black friends who didn't call me out for "being too white"--also I had been working on being "more Black" all summer. From there, I attended an HBCU, and I began to dive into my history, my culture, and surround myself with people who looked just like me, yet they came in all different forms. It was at my historically black university that I met Black people from all over the world. Here, I learned my history, I learned my culture, and I learned that there were other Black girls who sang to Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift. It wasn't until my experience at my HBCU, that I became comfortable in my identity as a Black woman and realized that my personality does not define my experience. Black women suffer a great deal in this country, based simply off of the color of their skin. I have faced those struggles my entire life. I've been punished in middle school for "being out of dress code" for a genetically curvy body, while others girls wore the exact same thing and received no redirection. I've felt ostracized and isolated from white spaces, no matter how eloquently I spoke or how well I displayed my education. I've also experienced prejudice at the hands of the law, personally and within my immediate family. I have grown to love my blackness despite spending my entire adolescence trying to make it the least important thing about me. However, I am proud of my identity as an Ethiopian-African American woman. I am comfortable in who I am, and I know that the color of my skin and the way that I talk are only small parts of the amazing human being that I am. It has taken me a long time to love my identity as a Black woman, and I am eager to support little Black girls and boys in loving themselves no matter the color of their skin, but rather the content of their character. As a growing social worker, I want to help others see themselves for who they are and to love the skin that they came in.

When I am asked to describe myself, my mind often wanders, searching for the route to take in providing that answer. Sometimes I wonder if I should begin by listing all of the accomplishments I have achieved. I know it is impressive that I graduated with my bachelor's degree in Psychology with a 3.98 GPA while working full time to support myself, balancing organizations, friends, finances, and a social life. However, that girl doesn't feel like me. Therefore, I begin to wonder if I am what happened to me, and I question describing the trials and traumas I've been through that lead me to where I am now, like talking about how growing up with a mother battling schizophrenia was my introduction into the world of mental health and the most apparent catalyst to my desired career path. However, in the midst of healing, I don't believe that my past defines who I am now. So, I wonder if I should talk about what I do now, working in a residential facility for teens struggling with self-harm and suicide while simultaneously balancing graduate school. Yet, I feel so burnt out at times that I feel sick of what I currently do and oppose for my now to define who I am. Lastly, I wonder if I should talk about where I want to be, working with children in a school setting, enlightening them on social and emotional learning, being a safe space for children to be themselves, and advocating for the population that has one of the smallest voices. Nonetheless, I am not her yet. The truth is, I am a sum of all of these parts. I am a daughter who struggled with my only present parent not being present enough. I am a full time student, striving for academic success and trying to balance my personal life. I am a behavioral health worker, working overtime weekly and still trying my best to show up for the youth who feel alone, unseen, and unheard. I am also the woman of my dreams, showing up every day to pursue the life that I desire. At the age of 23, I have undergone a lot of hardships and trials, including some with my own battles with mental health. However, I am constantly trying my hardest to overcome them all. As I pursue my social work degree to become a school social worker, I am becoming the woman who pours into and nurtures others through each stage of their life. I want to aid youth in living in their present moment and understanding that each phase of their life does not define them, but rather they come together to make up their whole being. As I struggled throughout my life, battling the anxiety of not knowing myself, not knowing what's next, or not knowing how to overcome my past, I learned that sometimes the greatest thing that we can do for ourselves is to accept each part of life as it comes and goes. I want to be the support that youth need to learn how to radically accept the challenges of life and know that it is okay to ask for help along the way.

There were many obstacles that had the ability to deter my desire and commitment to obtaining my education as far as it has progressed. When I was eight years old, my mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and detained in a psychiatric ward. At the time, my dad was not a constant figure in our lives, leaving my paternal grandparents to help my mother raise me and my four younger siblings. Despite the emotional and physical lack of our parents in our lives, our grandparents became our support system. My grandmother, a licensed social worker and therapist, was adamant in instilling the importance of education into our lives. Her and my grandpa worked tirelessly to send us to obtain private education, and pushed us to pursue it wholeheartedly. In 2017, my grandmother passed away after a three-year-long battle with breast cancer, and my world began to rock as my stability crumbled once again. Upon her passing, my dad had become more present in the lives of me and my siblings. My dad became our primary caregiver and bread winner. My grandfather continued to encourage us to pursue our education as if our grandmother were still here cheering us on. I was encouraged to begin my bachelor's degree in Psychology, with the intent of pursuing a Master's degree in Social Work. I was out-of-state, in school, when in 2021, my home was raided and my dad was detained. My primary caregiver, family breadwinner, and the father that I was just beginning to relearn and trust again was ripped away from me. At the start of my junior year of undergrad, I had become an independent student. I was troubled by loss, broken trust, financial burden, bills, and feeling as if maybe all these things happening to me and to my family was a sign. I was sitting in my dorm, staring at my $14,000 out-of-state tuition in one tab, Indeed.com on another tab, and Bold.org on the last. I was fearful of the debts that had already surmounted me and the possibility of exhausting my loan options. I didn't have credit, I wasn't financial literate, and I was over 700 miles away from my family. Battling severe anxiety, I had every reason to walk away, to give up, move home, and get a well-enough job to help take care of my younger siblings. However, my grandpa and paternal aunts continued to encourage me. I began to utilize my resources and remain determined. It was through the use of Bold.org, UNCF.org, and the generous donors that I complete my undergraduate degree, working full-time to support myself, and graduating with a 3.9 GPA. I am now back home, working full time and enrolled part-time in a Master's degree program obtaining a Master's in Social Work. I am a first generation college graduate, and I was able to persevere. I overcame these obstacles in order to have the knowledge and resources to help children like me and like my siblings. I want to help Black and Brown adolescents who endure obstacles such as poverty or foster care to encourage them through those obstacles and help them see that there are people who want to see and help them through to the other end.

In July of 2021, my father, and primary source of financial support had become incarcerated. Due to my mother's battle with mental illnesses, my father's incarceration left me to become an independent student just before my junior year of undergraduate. The circumstances were overwhelming, as I had never had to work while in school, especially not in order to support myself. Out-of-state, I was anxious that I might have to put my education on the backburner until I could figure out how to sustain life as a full-time student with out-of-state tuition and fees. It was during the latter half of 2021, that I found Bold.org. Since my discovery of this website, I was able to discover thousands of scholarships. Bold.org and UNCF.org were two resources that aided me in completing my undergraduate education. I was able to sustain the remainder of my tuition, and work solely to cover the other costs of life such as food, transportation, and shelter. I am now in my second semester of my Master's program, pursuing a degree in Social Work. I moved back home and began working full-time, while pursuing my second degree part-time. It has been overwhelming at times to juggle my coursework with the demanding hours spent in the field. However, I have always been determined to obtain my higher education with as little debt as possible. I am working to support myself and support my dreams. I am a first-generation, independent student. I am also graduating with lived experience both in my personal life and in the workfield. I have worked in childcare for over eight years, and my current position as an adolescent Behavioral Health Worker will also impact my ability to serve the population I desire to work with more effectively.

I am a 23-year-old, African American, first-generation graduate student. I am, and have been an independent student for the past three years, as my mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was eight years old, and my father has been incarcerated since July 2021. In May of 2023, I graduated with a 3.9 GPA from Winston-Salem State University with my bachelor's of Psychology. I am currently finishing my second semester of my Master's degree program in Social Work. With my education, I intend to become a License Social Worker. My career aspiration include working in child and adolescent mental health. I am also very passionate about foster care reform. I have been working in childcare since I was fourteen years old, beginning as a babysitter for my aunt's foster children, which is where my passion for foster children first budded. Since then I have also worked in an elementary school during my undergraduate career, volunteered with LEAD Girls of NC, a non-profit for elementary and middle school girls, and I am currently working as a Behavioral Health Worker at a residential facility for adolescents aged 10-18. During my undergraduate career, I also worked in a research lab part-time with my professor and mentor. While working in the lab, I was able conduct my own research study which assessed the perceived benefits of kinship care in relation to the traditional foster care system. I presented this research at my university's scholarship day and received first place. I was also able to present this research at the Southeastern Psychological Association conference in April 2023. While I was able to undergo my last year of undergrad free of financial burden due to the surplus of scholarships I was awarded, prior to my junior year I was not aware of Bold.org, UNCF.org, or the several other resources that could provide me with assistance to my higher education. Thus, I do have several undergraduate loans that I need to repay. Since becoming more financial literate, I am striving to obtain my Master's degree without taking out any loans, and also working toward loan repayment to build my credit. My goal is to continue doing my part in utilizing resources such as Bold.org and generous donors, such as the Cheeseman Family, to avoid resourcing loans to pursue my degree and work toward loan repayment. The money I receive from scholarships will first go toward my current tuition, and the surplus will be put toward loan repayment.

I am a 23-year-old, first-generation, low-income, independent graduate student. When I was eight years old, my mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and detained in a psychiatric ward. Although my mother's circumstances are not the sole inspiration for my passion in mental health care, her illness was my introduction into the world of mental illness and mental health care. My paternal grandparents aided my mother in raising me and my five younger siblings, thus I grew up very close to my paternal aunts, one of whom was a foster mother and therapist. Through my aunt, I received my first "job" at fourteen years old as a babysitter to her foster children. It was then that my depth of experience in childcare began and where my passion for foster care reform budded. My childhood and adolescence with one parent with a mental illness and the other's whose presence was everchanging, was a rollercoaster of emotion. However, the support system I adopted through my paternal grandparents was encouragement to persevere. Growing up near the poverty line, education was a priority in my household. I grew up in Gary, IN, which is a small city on the brink on poverty. My grandparents worked long and hard to ensure my siblings and I received private school education and encouraged us to succeed despite the emotional turmoil we had experienced as young children, growing up with a shell of who our mother once was. In 2017, my grandmother passed away after at three-year-long battle with breast cancer. As the individual who encouraged me to pursue my education wholeheartedly, I knew that she would want me to continue striving for higher. Following in her footsteps as a therapist, I began my undergraduate degree in Psychology with the intent to obtain a Master's in Social Work. I am now in my first semester of my Social Work master's degree program. I am inspired by my grandmother, my mom, my aunt, and my city to help destigmatize mental health in Black and minority communities. I have witnessed first and second-hand the highs and lows of the foster care system and the impact of poverty on mental health. The social systems that I desire to create my own impact on are children, especially those within the foster care system, as I believe children are the future. Mental illness can be hereditary, children can be born into poverty, and mental health care should be a right for all, regardless of age, gender, or race. I want to become a child and adolescent therapist and social worker, as well as working on foster care reform. I want the do my part in changing the systems that impact children so when they become adults, there are more equipped to handle the challenges that I've witness people in my own life encounter.

In order to achieve a utopia for mental health within the Black communities, society would have to recognize and amplify the voices of the unheard. Growing up in Black culture, many individuals experienced a variety of similar circumstances, beliefs, and ways of life. Within Black communities, mental health and mental health care are often taboo topics and swept under the rug. Phrases such as "only white people go to therapy" and beliefs such as "what happens in this family stays in this family" are stigmatizing mindsets that have been passed along through generations of Black communities. However, this mindset is not solely the responsibility of our parents or grandparents, rather it was upheld by the systemic racism and stereotyping that Black communities have endured for centuries. From the suppression of aggression and pain in order to assimilate to societies standard of Eurocentric acceptability and the generational mistrust of health professionals and government organizations because of decades of bias resulting in the mistreatment of Black individuals, there is much work that needs to be done to achieve this utopia. Nonetheless, there has been an insurmountable amount of progress within the past ten years. Society has become more sensitive and various cultures, peoples, and groups are fighting for their health, safety, and beliefs. The use of social media has contributed to the progression of the destigmatization of mental health issues and the promotion of mental health care. However, there is still much more progress to be made at the systemic level. The utopian society for the optimal mental health of Black communities would be the implementation of Black-owned and Black-staffed organizations. These organizations would be dedicated to the promotion of mental health care and the destigmatization of mental health disorders within Black communities. In addition, these organizations would be staffed with Black professionals who care about the mental health of individuals within their community, thus promoting a feeling of relatability and trust with individuals in the community. The promotion of mental health by individuals who resemble the Black community assures the individuals that their health is truly being examined and cared for. Black culture carries the belief of ubuntu--an ancient African belief of collectivism--and places strong loyalty into kin and fictive kin, which is why many Black individuals might feel safety and reassurance when they see another Black person in a room full of individuals that do not look like them, or when an auntie smiles at them in the grocery store. Having individuals who mirror their traits and shared cultural experiences will allow them a feeling of safety and vulnerability. While no individual can have "perfect" mental health, the systems we create will affect the state of our mental health as a whole. Institutions that are Black-owned, Black-staffed, and dedicated to the mental health within Black communities allow room to create the safe space that Black individuals need to overcome generations of trauma, abuse, and mindsets that have hindered them from advancing their mental state of being. While cultural competence may help individuals of other races pursue an understanding of Black mental health, the experience of Black individuals is unique and can best be understood by Black mental health professionals. Social justice can be achieved in this utopia by the reduction of racial bias that may stem from other cultures unknowingly. This utopia also seeks to reduce the gap in mental health professional disparities by inspiring more Black individuals to seek positions in the mental health field. Subsequently, Black individuals will be inspired to break stereotypes within their own community, thus breaking stereotypes of our community in the public eye.

Throughout my life, I have been known as many things, and have recognized myself as many things: a survivor, the oldest child and "second mother", a first-generation college graduate, the "therapist" friend, and the list goes on. I am a 22-year-old, HBCU and first-generation college graduate from the impecunious city of Gary, Indiana. Growing up, I was not only the oldest sibling of six children, but I was also seen as a "mini" mother. My mother fell ill and was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was eight years old, leading to a life of continuous ups and downs. I developed many character traits as a young child that aided me in growing up. Some of those traits were good, like the ability to empathize, be nurturing, and compassionate, and become a figure that others could look up to. However, some of these traits were responses to the stress I endured as a child with the everchanging presence of my parents in my life. The stress from my childhood manifested as anxiety, depression, and the overwhelming need for a sense of control in my life. My home life as a child was far from constant. My mother's mental health affected her ability to be mentally present in my life. My father was physically absent for most of my younger adolescence, and when I was 16, my grandmother passed away due to breast cancer. However, despite my circumstances and the challenges that came along with them, I continued to pursue a life worth living. My grandparents, who raised me for the majority of my life, always instilled the importance of keeping God first in my life and pursuing an education with my best foot forward. Due to their guidance and motivation, I graduated from a small, private high school that was geared toward preparation for higher education. Following high school, I was fortunate and determined enough to obtain my baccalaureate degree in Psychology, while maintaining a 3.98 GPA, and working two jobs to sustain my own cost of living. Currently, I am enrolled in a Master of Social Work program, continuing to pursue the life worth living that I know is possible. My goal in my future career is to obtain my license in mental health counseling for children and adolescents. I believe that my own childhood experiences have equipped me with the ability to empathize and relate to children who might have experienced some of the same traumas, setbacks, and trials as myself. Upon obtaining my Master's degree and licensure, I want to work as a therapist, advocate, and social worker dedicated to the promotion of children's mental health, with a focus on children within the foster care system. Growing up close to one of my aunts who was a social worker and foster mother, I was able to experience second-hand the highs and lows of the foster care system. I saw the need for reformation within that system and began my own research study during my undergraduate education. Due to my past experiences and research, I have felt a passion for helping children because it is easy for their voices to be overlooked and unheard. The Barbara J. DeVaney Memorial Scholarship would aid me in creating a better life in various ways. The primary way in which this scholarship would advance my future is by allowing me to continue my higher education void of the financial burden of paying for college and sustaining life on my own. This scholarship would alleviate my financial anxieties which would allow me to focus solely on higher education as well as my mental health.

The dream version of my future self is happy, healthy, and wealthy, using my knowledge, experience, and time to help others achieve this same sense of completion within their own lives.

If I could have everyone read one book in the world, it would be the Holy Bible. This might sound like some cliche, Christian line used to try and force my religion on others, but in reality, it is just my way of sharing my favorite book. The Holy Bible is my favorite book not because it is the framework for my faith, but because it is intricately and inexplicably written in a way that unfolded the future before the future had even come. Scientists, theologists, Christians, and millions of other individuals around the world have expressed their awe and realization that many places, things, and events in the Bible have once existed and have taken place within history and our present. The Bible is not just the rule book that many people who do not follow the faith may think it is, but it is an intricate story of a Creator who designed a perfect world in love, and like all good books, there is an antagonist who thwarts the intended storyline. The Bible tells the story of how the Creator desired companionship and family, so he created man. However, the deceiver was jealous of the Creator and his power, so he tricked creation into turning against the Creator. Thousands of years pass, and the Creator realizes that his creation cannot be salvaged if there is no redeemer, and so the Creator sends a part of himself, in the flesh to come and die for all of the transgressions of creation, that they might be forgiven for turning their backs on their creator and can access the eternal life that was intended for them from the beginning. As a fanatic of romance novels and romantic comedies, the Bible is by far my favorite love story. The Holy Bible is not just some faith-based rule book but is a story of a Creator's unconditional love for his creation, and the trials and tribulations that are faced before the Creator and his creation can be at true peace for the rest of eternity

The experiences and traumas that I endured during my childhood followed me into my life as a young adult without me even knowing that the root of my personality, triggers, and thought process were due to the defense mechanisms and coping skills I developed through lived experience as a child. Due to the use of therapy, I was able to develop skills such as journaling and self-reflecting that guided me in understanding, processing, and working through my emotions, while being able to realize where these emotions stemmed from. As an individual who dealt with extreme anxiety, I cannot remember a time in my life when I did not have these struggles with undefined fear or moments of extreme panic when facing certain triggers. However, when I was in high school my grandparents, who raised me, placed me in therapy, which provided me with the tools that I didn't know I needed to combat my anxiety. Introduced to journaling and self-reflecting, I was able to pinpoint where I felt my anxiety stemmed from. I learned that my anxiety was due to some of the unstable circumstances that I experienced as a child such as living with a parent with a mental illness and my father being an unconstant presence in my life, as well as having faced sexual trauma at a very young age. My past life experience and introduction to the world of mental health care inspired me to join the field of Social Work. I have been working in childcare since I was 15 years old, but being a babysitter, nanny, and teaching assistant still did not feel like I had as much impact as I wanted to. I had always been excited to help the children who came in and out of my life learn more about themselves and express the feelings that they might have thought did not matter. My goal is to become a child and adolescent therapist to help youth understand, process, and healthily manage their emotions, as well as equip them with the necessary skill set to overcome any traumas and complex circumstances that they have experienced to prevent them from flowing over into their adult life. I believe that children are the future of the world and to truly destigmatize mental health and promote mental health care, it is a concept that should be introduced at a young age. Upon graduation, I want to work in urban and minority communities with young children, educating them on the importance of mental health care and working within programs that seek to provide children with the resources to address and take care of their mental health. As a product of Gary, Indiana, a small, poverty-stricken community, I too often see young children resort to drugs, fighting, and anger as a way to suppress some of the complex circumstances that they have had to live through. I want to be able to make a difference within my communities and communities just like mine by becoming a resource that allows a safe space for children to explore their emotions and healthily process them. I aspire to do my part to promote the importance of mental health care, which I believe starts with our youth.

My five-year plan is a written agreement with myself to ensure that I am doing everything within my own power to produce a successful and fruitful future. The overarching goal of my five-year plan is to create a life that allows me to become the resource necessary to give back to those who need it. I aspire to be a part of the change that promotes the mental health and overall well-being of the children in our society. Within the next five years, I aspire to hold my master's degree in Social Work, have completed my licensure as a mental health counselor, and have begun working as a child and adolescent therapist. Years one through three entail beginning my Master in Social Work program. I will be participating in a part-time program, due to the necessity of having to work to sustain my cost of living. Within the first year, I want to complete all of my courses with as high of a grade as possible, work to build my savings account, begin repaying my student loans, and build my line of credit. Within the second and third year I will continue pursuing my education to the best of my ability and aiming to secure an internship in direct correlation with the field of work I want to pursue. After graduating from my Master's degree program, I intend to pursue my licensure as a mental health counselor. I want to use my degree and licensure to work with children on understanding and processing their emotions, as well as equipping them with healthy mechanisms to deal with stress, trauma, and complex circumstances. Adolescence is the primary stage of development in response to how individuals feel and deal with the stressors of life, and with proper care and education, many mental health issues can be spotted and prevented at a young age. I want to be a part of the promotion of children's mental health care because I know how the traumas a child may face will have the ability to impact them for the rest of their lives if not dealt with and processed healthily. The Bright Lights scholarship will help aid me toward reaching my future goals, by helping to alleviate some of the financial burdens that may come with higher education. As a first-generation, independent student, there were many times during my academic career that I feared not being able to complete my degree due to the lack of financial support. In the middle of my undergraduate career, my father, and primary caregiver succumbed to incarceration, leaving me financially independent and at risk of exhausting my student loan options by the time I was in my last year of undergrad. However, it is because of organizations like Bold.org and donors such as Bria Alexander, that students like me, who are not in the best financial predicaments to be attempting to obtain a degree in higher education, have the opportunity to do so without fear of falling into hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. The Bright Lights scholarship will help me pay my tuition without the fear of exhausting student loans to maintain my spot in the program and maintain my cost of living. On behalf of all applicants, as well as myself, I want to express gratitude to Bria Alexander, the head of the Bright Lights scholarship for allowing us to pursue our passions with the opportunity to alleviate financial burden or fear.

Throughout my life, I have been known as many things, and have recognized myself as many things: a survivor, the oldest child and second mother, a first-generation college graduate, the "therapist" friend, and the list goes on. I am a 22-year-old, HBCU and first-generation college graduate from the impecunious city of Gary, Indiana. Growing up, I was not only the oldest sibling of six children, but I was also seen as a "mini" mother. My mother fell ill and was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was eight years old, leading to a life of continuous ups and downs. I had developed many character traits as a young child that aided me in growing up. Some of those traits were good, like the ability to empathize, be nurturing, compassionate, and a become a figure that others could look up to. However, some of these traits were responses to stress I endured as a child with the everchanging presence of my parents in my life. The stress from my childhood manifested as anxiety, depression, and the overwhelming need of a sense of control in my life. My home-life as a child was far from constant. My mother's mental health affected her ability to be mentally present in my life. My father was physically absent for most of my younger adolescence, and when I was 16, my grandmother passed away due to breast cancer. However, despite my circumstances and the challenges that came along with them, I continued to pursue a life worth living. My grandparents, who raised me for a majority of my life, always instilled the importance of keeping God first in my life, and pursuing an education with my best foot forward. Due to their guidance and motivation, I graduated from a small, private high school that was geared toward preparation for higher education. Following my high school, I was fortunate and determined enough to obtain my baccalaureate degree in Psychology, while maintaining a 3.98 GPA, and working two jobs to sustain my own cost of living. Currently, I am enrolled in a Master of Social Work program, continuing to pursue the life worth living that I know is possible. My goal in my future career is to obtain my licensing in mental health counseling for children and adolescents. I believe that my own childhood experiences have equipped me with the ability to empathize and relate to children who might have experienced some of the same traumas, setbacks, and trials as myself. Upon obtaining my Master's degree and licensure, I want to work as a therapist, advocate, and social worker dedicated to the promotion of children's mental health, with a focus on children within the foster care system. Growing up close to one of my aunts who was a social worker and foster mother, I was able to experience second-hand the highs and lows of the foster care system. I saw the need for reformation within that system, and began my own research study during my undergraduate education. Due to my past experience and research, I have felt a passion for helping children because it is easy for their voices to be overlooked and unheard. I want to help children who endure circumstances that might make seeing a life worth living as impossible, and encourage them to keep pursuing the life that they dream of. I believe that children are the future of our world, and it is up to the previous generations to equip them with the resources, encouragement, and and promotion of education to maintain happy, healthy lives.

I have been in and out of therapy since I was eight years old. For a young Black girl in a predominantly Black community, therapy was easily identified as a taboo topic. It was familiar for me to hear that "therapy is only for white people", "black people don't go to therapy", or "therapy is for crazy people". As a little girl, I was conditioned by the outside world to believe the stigmatization that was placed on therapy as a construct. However, I grew up in a family that recognized the importance of therapy to someone who had endured so much trauma from a young age. My grandmother was a therapist and social worker, herself, and knew that the situations I had experienced as a child would manifest in my mental health, had I not been consistent with therapy. As a young child, I experienced various sexual traumas and trauma from living with a parent with a diagnosed form of psychosis, all before the age of eight years old. However, with the help of my family, I was placed into a setting where I felt comfortable talking through the way these circumstances made me feel. With the use of therapy, I learned how to process and talk through my emotions. I learned how to take the guilt and shame off of myself and displace the feelings of trauma through healthy coping mechanisms. Therapy was not an easy fix and it did not solve all of my problems, but my therapist became my counsel, my confidant, and equipped me with the tools I needed to apply to my life for better outcomes. I am passionate about pursuing a career in therapy because I want to be able to help children realize the power that they can have over their own lives. I want to do my part in destigmatizing mental health within Black and urban communities and teaching our children the healthy way to deal with their emotional turmoil. Therapy is more than its stereotype, and I believe therapy is for everyone regardless of race, gender, or mental and emotional performance. I want to provide a space that is free for all to release whatever is on their minds because sometimes people just need a safe place. Therapy has helped me be more confident in handling my own emotions and recognizing the signs and triggers from certain traumas I endured in my early childhood. Therapy has also aided me in being able to effectively communicate my feelings with others, set boundaries, and properly display my emotions. I believe that therapy can help individuals become more socially and emotionally competent by teaching them about managing their own thoughts, feelings, and desires in a healthy way. In order to achieve my goals, I am currently pursuing my Master's degree in Social Work and will be pursuing my licensure upon graduation. I am adamant about continuing my education to ensure that I can become this resource that is needed within my community.

My mother had been sick for a long time, and as an eight-year-old little girl, I could tell that something was going on, I just didn't know what it was. My mother had always been the constant source of love, counsel, and inspiration in my life until one day she had become a shell of the person she once was. Succumbed to post-partum depression, as well as raising five children under the age of eight years old, my mother began to experience an undiagnosed form of psychosis, but as a child, all I knew is that we were moving in with my grandparents because my dad was always away at work. It had seemed to be a Sunday like any other as we all fellowshipped in the back room of the church. My cousin was instructed to take all of us younger children upstairs as the loud sirens of an ambulance approached our church building. Being the nosy child that I was, I tried to linger behind to view all of the commotion that was happening, but I was not prepared for what I would see. Two men in uniform entered our church and began to aid my resistant mother toward the open doors of the ambulance. With tears rushing down my face, my aunt ushered me up the stairs of the church building and that was the last time I was able to see my mother before she was detained in the psychiatric ward for two months. As an eight-year-old, those two months seemed like an eternity without my mother, and growing up I was not prepared for the volatile lifestyle that would soon come with the ever-changing presence of my mother in my life. Once my mother returned from her hospitalization, she had never been the same mother emotionally or mentally, even until this day. My whole life I have been adjusting to different versions of my mother. Versions of her where she did not acknowledge me as her own child, versions of her that were drastically repentant with the guilt of damaging our emotions as young children, and versions of her that were physically absent as she was out of my home several times throughout my adolescence. Growing up as a child with a parent that has succumbed to mental illness was a form of adversity that no one could prepare you for. The emotional turmoil my siblings and I faced growing up was similar to that of grief, but it was a constant cycle of losing different versions of our mother that we had adapted to. However, with time and wisdom, I had grown to let go of the hurt and anger of losing the mother I once knew to mental illness and began to choose to learn about the woman she was becoming despite the challenges she faced. My mother inspired me to pursue my higher education in psychology to better understand the way the mind works so that I might be able to help others learn the fragility of their own minds. I want to pursue a career working with children in families that undergo oppression, mental illness, and poverty in order to aid them in understanding their own mental health and the mental health of those that surround them. It is my passion to help young children understand, address, and deal with their adversities the way that I wish someone could have helped me. I want to do my part in aiding the destigmatization of mental health in Black communities by starting with our children, who are the future.

Nearly half of all African Americans to graduate from a higher education institute are considered to be first-generation college students. First generation college students are individuals who are pursuing a degree as the first in their immediate family (i.e., their parents or siblings have not graduated from a college or university). Being a first-generation college student is an immense responsibility, honor, and dream. I am the first individual in my nuclear family who has pursued a Bachelor's degree and has come so close to the finish line; however, it was not a process void of ups and downs, trials, or tribulations. The pursuit of my education is extremely important to me for a variety of reasons. As a first generation college student, the oldest of six children, and a product of Gary, Indiana, a small, poverty-stricken community, I can see that education is the key to my success, happiness, and making myself, my family, and my community proud. I am pursuing my education as a means to become the resource necessary to not only my own success, but the success of the village that has raised me. When I was eight years old, my mother was detained in a psychiatric ward and diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, my mother's illness wasn't the full extent of my exposure into the world of mental health and mental health care, but it is what inspired my desire to know and learn more. Due to my mother's illness, my grandmother's position as a therapist and social worker, and my own personal struggle with mild depression and severe anxiety, I sought to obtain a degree in Psychology. Subsequently, I desire to pursue my Master's of Social Work upon graduation because I have a passion for the destigmatization and promotion of mental health care within the Black community. Not only has my past experience with mental illness and mental health care inspired the desire to pursue higher education, but also the love I have for my people and the community that has raised me influence this desire. As a product of what most people would consider the "ghetto", I have seen first-hand the effect that little to no health care, lack of mental health resources, and lack of therapy has on a community that so desperately needs it. I know that my education is important because with the things I learn, the networks I create, and the degrees I obtain, I will be able to become the necessary resource to help my community. Lastly, my education is detrimentally important to me because it is important to my family. When my mother had fallen ill, my grandparents aided her in raising me and my five younger siblings. Education was a concept that was not taken lightly in our household. Due to the community we lived in, my grandparents poured thousands of dollars into our education and sent us to private schools two cities over; however, in 2017, my grandmother passed away from breast cancer and my grandfather, alone, was not able to continue putting the last of my siblings through private education. Nonetheless, the importance of my education was a concept that my grandparents had instilled in me from a very young age. I know that being a Black woman in the United States, education is a right that was once considered a privilege. I pursue the education that my great-grandparents didn't have the privilege to, that my grandparents promoted with pride, and that my parents never got to complete after becoming pregnant with me at just 20 years old. My education is the key to my future.

Nearly half of all African Americans to graduate from a higher education institute are considered to be first-generation college students. First generation college students are individuals who are pursuing a degree as the first in their immediate family (i.e., their parents or siblings have not graduated from a college or university). Being a first-generation college student is an immense responsibility, honor, and dream. I am the first individual in my nuclear family who has pursued a Bachelor's degree and has come so close to the finish line; however, it was not a process void of ups and downs, trials, or tribulations. The pursuit of my education is extremely important to me for a variety of reasons. As a first generation college student, the oldest of six children, and a product of Gary, Indiana, a small, poverty-stricken community, I can see that education is the key to my success, happiness, and making myself, my family, and my community proud. I am pursuing my education as a means to become the resource necessary to not only my own success, but the success of the village that has raised me. When I was eight years old, my mother was detained in a psychiatric ward and diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, my mother's illness wasn't the full extent of my exposure into the world of mental health and mental health care, but it is what inspired my desire to know and learn more. Due to my mother's illness, my grandmother's position as a therapist and social worker, and my own personal struggle with mild depression and severe anxiety, I sought to obtain a degree in Psychology. Subsequently, I desire to pursue my Master's of Social Work upon graduation because I have a passion for the destigmatization and promotion of mental health care within the Black community. Not only has my past experience with mental illness and mental health care inspired the desire to pursue higher education, but also the love I have for my people and the community that has raised me influence this desire. As a product of what most people would consider the "ghetto", I have seen first-hand the effect that little to no health care, lack of mental health resources, and lack of therapy has on a community that so desperately needs it. I know that my education is important because with the things I learn, the networks I create, and the degrees I obtain, I will be able to become the necessary resource to help my community. Lastly, my education is detrimentally important to me because it is important to my family. When my mother had fallen ill, my grandparents aided her in raising me and my five younger siblings. Education was a concept that was not taken lightly in our household. Due to the community we lived in, my grandparents poured thousands of dollars into our education and sent us to private schools two cities over; however, in 2017, my grandmother passed away from breast cancer and my grandfather, alone, was not able to continue putting the last of my siblings through private education. Nonetheless, the importance of my education was a concept that my grandparents had instilled in me from a very young age. I know that being a Black woman in the United States, education is a right that was once considered a privilege. I pursue the education that my great-grandparents didn't have the privilege to, that my grandparents promoted with pride, and that my parents never got to complete after becoming pregnant with me at just 20 years old. My education is the key to my future.

My life is an essay. It would be simple to believe that one experience cannot alter a lifetime, but just as each paragraph of an essay frames the next, each chapter of my life is influenced by my past. Each paragraph holds a piece of the conclusion in its length, just as my life experiences hold influence over my end goal. Within my lifetime I have endured many pivotal moments of adversity that have shaped and molded me into the woman that I am today. The drive and passion that I have for clinical psychology, social work, and fighting for social justice are products of the influence my past experiences have on me. I was born into a family of therapists and social workers, but that was not the full extent of my exposure to the world of mental health care. When I was eight years old, my mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Since I was young, the world of psychology was a mystery to me. At first my interest was rooted in the lack of understanding of why my mother was the way she was, but eventually it grew into a desire to help people like her and myself who had endured mental illnesses so close to home. When my mother got sick, she, my four younger siblings, and I moved in with my grandparents so that they could aid her in raising five young children. Throughout my childhood I was exposed to the world that I now hope to be a part of. I grew up around my aunts, one of whom was a social worker and foster mother. My early adolescence was filled with foster-cousins, which allowed me to experience the foster care system second-hand. I have seen a lot of sweet children who were hurting due to a system built to protect them. A lot of these children have been family to me, and my desire to want to help them was the spark that ignited my passion for foster care reform. While becoming a clinical psychologist and foster mother are two of my most personal goals in life, I am just as adamant about social justice. My childhood trauma, struggle with my own mental health, as well as the loss of my late grandmother, and the most recent loss of my primary care provider and family breadwinner to the hands of incarceration are all experiences that have helped me build thicker skin. These experiences inspire me to fight not only for myself and my family, but for every other person in the world who might not have someone to fight for them. I believe all people deserve the opportunity to have someone care for and fight for them. In order to ensure my desire to help others in this manner, I pursue the further of my education. As I am obtaining my undergraduate degree in psychology, I aspire to obtain a Master's degree in social work. My dream career is being able to help and fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. Furthering my education will allow me to become the resource that is necessary to help those who need it. It is with scholarships such as the Carey Jackson Future Leaders Scholarship, that I will be able to complete my higher education without the financial stress that comes with college expenses and loans. I want to thank the donor, and on behalf of all the applicants, express our gratitude for individuals such as Carey Jackson that desire to help us reach our goals and aspirations.

When I was eight years old, my mother was detained in a psychiatric ward and diagnosed with schizophrenia. While the experience was scary, mental health had been no stranger to me. I, myself, had been in therapy since I was seven due to a traumatic experience with sexual assault I had endured. I am now twenty years old, and I have attended therapy sessions semi-regularly since I was six years old. Presently, I struggle with depression and anxiety, and despite all of that, I am an African American female. I was lucky enough to grow up in a Black family that was filled with therapists and social workers, so I was never ashamed of the fact that I went to therapy or that I had these chemical imbalances in my brain. However, for a majority of the Black community, this luxury of acceptance is not as common. Mental health has a tendency to hold a negative connotation when discussed in the black community. Black adolescents are no stranger to the impression that mental illness such as depression or anxiety is close to nonexistent within their communities. However, mental illness knows no specific race or color, and therapy is not “just for white people”. Within the past few years, adolescents in the black community have strayed from the stereotypical stigmatization of mental health, and are now acknowledging the large amount of depression, anxiety, and trauma that has been suppressed in the past. As a child of a parent with a severe mental illness, I know firsthand the toll that these conditions have on individuals, and that is why I am adamant about making a change concerning mental health in black and other minority communities. My utopian vision for optimal mental health in the Black community would be the implementation of free, non-profit, mental health clinics in urban and underfunded communities. As a product of Gary, Indiana, I am no stranger to the conditions of poverty, and how deeply those in my community struggle to gain the resources necessary for the betterment of their mental health. Fortunately, self-care and mental health has become more of an accepted topic in the Black community, which makes the utopian vision seem possible. A part of this vision would be mental health centers with a plethora of services such as therapy sessions, group sessions, self-care classes, and other means of therapeutic relaxation. It is also desired that these community centers would be run by black therapists and social workers because it is equally as important to see someone who looks like us to care for our mental health just as much as we do. A community of Black mental health professionals will promote acceptance and inspire adolescents in the community. It is imperative to advocate for mental health regardless of race or color because mental illness is a condition that anyone can endure. I believe that it is important that mental health care as well as mental health awareness become a more common topic within the minority communities. Being open and honest about our internal struggles with someone--such as a therapist--will help release the stigma on mental health in the Black community and will allow room for healing as an entire race. The Black community has hundreds of years of generational trauma to overcome so that we might be able to level the playing field, and this healing process will begin when we, as a people, open up to the possibility of therapy, as well as other means of mental health care.