If one were to peel back the layers of who "Melissa" is as a mother to two beautiful & gifted children, a daughter, a sister, a wife, a legal professional, a student, at the very core, I am a loving, humble and creative being who is passionate about many things -- particularly, about my family, expression in any creative form and knowledge (educating yourself and being open to knowledge) through a variety of resources. Throughout my 38 years of life, I have developed through guidance & support, experience and even hardships and I've found great value in pursuing higher education. My heart's desire as it relates to my dream profession growing up was always to become an entertainment lawyer. While I still holdfast to this dream, my life and my work experience led me down a different path and that path has given me great perspective about my skillset and widened my "lens" when it comes to the careers I would excel in (and absolutely love). Life interruptions caused my four-year bachelor's degree pursuit to take longer than four years. In fact, it took me almost twenty years to go back to school and complete that degree program but I am grateful for the journey and I am thankful that I was determined to continue staying the course. I have found strong purpose in the pursuit of my higher purpose (that I wish to seek through my Masters of Business Administration) and stand firm in my dedication to get this achieved. I have a strong eye for detail, a high-level of matter management and service excellence, professional leadership skills and a proven track record of high-performance and high-expectations in anything that I put my mind and heart into. I am an everyday student of life and a first generation black female college graduate of American Intercontinental University. I wish to return there to earn my Masters of Business Administration online. When I was an undergraduate student at American Intercontinental University, I majored in Criminal Justice (with a concentration in Homeland Security and Crisis Management). Through this degree program, I was introduced to new knoweldge, skills and roles outside of my comfort zone that I could transition to with my decades of experience in law --- i.e. Legal Director of Programming, Legal Program Manager, Legal Analyst, Legal Development Role Manager, etc. Earning my MBA now will help me catapult to the next level of my professional career and introduce new opportunities and networks that I desire. Becoming the recipient of the Charles Cheesman's Student Debt Reduction Scholarship would be incredibly helpful to me and to my family. We wish to own a home but it has been very difficult to obtain with the ratio of student loan debt I possess. I would prefer to pursue my MBA while I have the flexibility of time at my current place of employment and do not want to forgo this until a later time. Everything takes sacrifice and as a forward thinker with a wide variety of education, professional experience, tenacity, grit, transitional skills and passion for success, I am prepared to continue to invest in my professional development. I have independently owned and operated my own businesses that have been founded around my passions of writing, publishing, editing and professional legal services (my company names are: HerSoulXpressions - a creative arts & publishing company and Stellar M Services - a professional services company) and I have proven that I am a natural born leader, creator, a businesswoman and a mother with very strong values.

Education is a collage of experiences & knowledge learned from the moment we enter this world through our departure of this world. I did not come to this realize this though until my thirties (the chapter in life where I began conceiving & raising my own children). Before that time, I was consumed with what I thought would be living the best parts of my life. Little did I know, being a mother is surely the best part of my life & while I am constantly evolving in knowledge, no matter what level of institutional education I achieve, I will always be a teacher in my children’s eyes and I will always be a student of life. Candidly, I am proud of both roles & embrace every piece of knowledge I’ve learned along the way. We are certainly born students from birth & inhabit this earth curious about the world around us. It is up to our parents to set the best example. That in and of itself is profound when you think about the impact of the little knowledge seeker from birth on a quest to understand the world. We are students of our mothers in the womb through nurture & protection. We are students of our parents collectively in the household as we learn to navigate life from infancy, throughout our adolescent years & into and out of adulthood. When we go off into the world and develop our careers, we continue to be students in the workplace, in different cities, towns, states and countries and we either positively or negatively develop and influence. When I became a mother, with intention I read to both my little ones in my womb setting the expectation that they would be students early too. As a first-generation college graduate with almost 39 years of education & counting, I hope to be the best representation of knowledge for my children. The collective knowledge I’ve gained is invaluable and has taught me that my skillset is transitional & can be applied to many aspects of this world with passion and determination. The tools I’ve learned make me an asset in law, business, administrative affairs & professional affairs and I’m steadily building. My education has become the lifeblood that runs through my veins & the veins of my children. I've learned that the world is never too small & the opportunities for me and my children (and their children) are endless. I’ve learned that being educated helps you become resourceful. Resourcefulness is a huge asset in today’s world. I humbly apply for this REVIVAL Scholarship so that I may enroll and obtain my MBA with a concentration in Management. This degree program is strengthen my leadership skills, ethics & business mind and my management ability. It will increase my marketability & knowledge so I can continue to lead by example & pave a strong & viable legacy for my little ones. I’d be so honored to receive this scholarship toward my post-baccalaureate degree.