At the age of 12, I already knew what I wanted to do in life, or at least what field I wanted to work in. At first, I wanted to be a forensic scientist, then a detective, and now an FBI agent. I aspire to be a special agent that specializes in crimes against children, and human trafficking victims. To help me achieve my goal I will be majoring in Psychology at D'Youville College in Buffalo New York. I chose Psychology as my major because I want to help people beyond what I can do from a physical standpoint. I want to do more than just save them from their torment or tormentor. I want to help them with their trauma, understand from a psychological standpoint, and learn how to help them. One of my biggest goals is to be able to help children and victims of human trafficking to reenter society and find the happiness they deserve, and for them to overcome their fears. I find that this goal is linked to my top strength, which is Restorative. I want to restore people's lives after they have suffered from physical and psychological trauma. I developed an interest in helping children and victims of human trafficking when I completed a research project in my criminal justice class on child sexual exploitation and its correlation to technology's effect on 8th and 10th graders. I was deeply impacted by my findings and I made up my mind to help children, and to try to prevent crimes against children. Another big inspiration was my criminal justice teacher who was a former police officer, and detective who specialized in crimes against children. With her teachings and the information I learned on my own during my research, I knew I wanted to make a difference for children. I wish to help them overcome the mental barrier created by their traumatic experience. I think there is no better goal than that, to help others, and to know I made a difference in someone's life just like someone did in mine. This is important to me as I have been impacted by many people who have helped me form physical, emotional, and educational standpoints. I want to make a difference in my community one person at a time and my biggest hope is that those who I have helped will be able to help others as I helped them.

One of the most impactful people that I have had the privilege to meet and be taught by is my Criminal Justice teacher at the LoGuidice BOCES Center in Fredonia New York. Mrs. Alessi, a former police officer and detective, has been my criminal justice teacher for two years now, and I am extremely fortunate to have been able to learn from her. She has guided, encouraged and given me confidence throughout our time together. I have truly never met a more passionate teacher, who looks out for her students and genuinely cares about their wellbeing. One of the biggest ways I have been impacted by her is through her character. Some of the most valuable lessons I learned from her were not from a presentation, not from a book, but from her character, her integrity, respect and passion. I believe people change people and I have been changed by a very amazing and extraordinary teacher who taught with her character alone. Because of that, my biggest hope is that I will become a person who changes people, the way she changed me. Some qualities she has instilled in me are good observation, problem solving, analytical thinking, and good habits like focus, compartmentalization skills, and organization. Mrs. Alessi has also helped me expand on other qualities that I had originally, like respect, integrity, ethics, and morals. Because of her, I have a much better attitude when facing challenges because of the skills, confidence and encouragement I got from her and her course. During my first year I found out that some of my top strengths are Restorative (I like to solve problems, and fix thighs back to its former glory), Includer (I want to “stretch the circle wider” and make sure no one is left out), Futuristic (I have a detailed picture of the future that keeps pulling forward), Ideation (I'm fascinated by ideas and concepts and I am delighted to discover complex surfaces) and Responsibility (I take physiological ownership of my mistakes, I am emotionally bond to my responsibilities, and I have impeccable ethics which makes me utterly dependable). The reason I decided to take Criminal Justice is because I want to be an FBI agent. I want to help people who cannot help themselves and provide them with security. I am especially interested in protecting children and victims of all types of abuse. I developed an interest in crimes against children by doing a research project in my class. During my research on child sexual exploitation and its correlation to the impact that technology has on 8th and 10th graders; I developed the interest in protecting children from harm. I am determined to make a difference in not only my community but the whole nation by helping one person at a time with the skills and qualities I have now and those I will develop in the future.

During my first year of wrestling for my high school team, I was partner'd with one of my now best friends. My partner had been wrestling for two years prior to being my partner and was and still is a great wrestler. At first I was a little wary as I had no experience, but I really warmed up to her and learned a lot from her. During that year, I was often put in the same weight class as her due to not a lot of 94 pound wrestlers—my weight class—so I often wrestled her. At first I was really nervous, since she wasn't just my teammate but my wrestling partner, someone who played a crucial role in me learning how to wrestle; but then, after my first loss against her, it really didn't matter to me. I actually look back at that moment with fondness because I fought, and never gave up. Although she had a major advantage over me not only in experience and weight, but in strength as well, but I pride myself in not getting pinned by her or anyone else for that matter. I have only gotten pinned two times, during my first ever match, and against the 2nd place finisher in the First Girls State Westling Championships during one of the last torments of my first season. When I wrestle I don't focus on winning, I focus on not getting pinned, and I take pride in the fact that during my two years of wrestling I have only gotten pinned twice, one because of inexperience, and the other because of lack of strength. My partner and I talk about it all the time,; how she could never pin me in a match, and I always smile because even when other people say that I can't beat her, or they say "good luck with that one" like they know I will lose, me and my partner know she can beat me but she will never pin me. Now I am off to college to further pursue my wrestling career, and get a bachelor's degree in psychology. Wrestling has helped me find the will to continue presuming my goals in both my career and personal life. I have developed a drive to "just go for it" like my coach always taught me, "don't think just go for it". I was and still kind of am an overthinker, but with all that wrestling and my coaches have taught me I overthink less and I have become more confident too. Wrestling has helped me in a way i could not imagine, like giving me a healthy mindset, an outlet, and believe it or not, it helped me gain weight. Like I said before, during my first year of wrestling, I was in the 94 weight class. My actual weight was 96—although I wrestled 100 for most of the year—and my lack of weight was a concern to my family and my doctors. I did not intend to keep myself at a low weight, that is just how I was. I never ate a lot, and I have a fast metabolism, so I didn't really gain that much weight. So when I started wrestling, I developed more of an appetite—most likely because of all the exercise I was doing—and gained more weight. Now I weigh 103 and I have gotten stronger as well. Westling has done wonders for me physically and I am thrilled with the changes I see.

During my 18 years of life, I have experienced many obstacles and challenges, however not of the magnitude of the ones I faced in the last two years. Last year, in September, my mom got back surgery, and I was taking care of her while juggling my school life that included my Criminal Justice class and my regular courses in school, as well as wrestling. I had a hard time keeping up with my homework, and balancing taking care of my mom, and actively taking part in church. It wasn't easy, but I got through it. I would take advantage of my study halls, get help from my teachers, and I would ask for extensions if I knew I could not get the work done on time. In the end, I was able to maintain my grades high and complete my work with excellence. As of right now, my father just got a kidney transplant and me and my mom have been taking care of him. It has not been easy, but I have worked hard to make sure my studies do not suffer. With hard work, determination and perseverance, I am confident I will get through my current challenges like I did the ones before. Wrestling as a sport and the community that comes with it helped me a lot through my obstacles. Wrestling provided an outlet and personal space to relax and get all my pent-up emotions out in a safe and productive way. It has built up my character, taught me not to give up, and taught me many irreplaceable lessons that I will remember for the rest of my life. I'm certain that one of the biggest reasons I have been impacted by wrestling is because of my wrestling coaches. They have helped me not only as a wrestler but as a person as well, supporting me through my difficulties, and showing genuine care and worry for me and my family. Wrestling has helped me express myself and socialize more, and has given me an opportunity to make some great friendships and friendly competition. I have had tremendous success with my wrestling career so far; I was invited two times to the New York State's Girls Championships, although I did not place. However, the wins are not what drives me to wrestle its impact it has had on me. I am extremely happy with the impact it has had on my life, so much so that I will continue to wrestle in college. Wrestling has become one of my biggest passions, and I don't want to stop just yet. I will attend D’Youville College to further my wrestling career, and I will major in psychology. My end goal is to become an FBI Special Agent that specializes in crimes against children. I developed an interest in crimes against children when I was doing a research project in my Criminal Justice class at the LoGuidice BOCES center in Fredonia. My research was based on child sexual exploitation through social media and its correlation to 8th and 10th graders. Ever since then, it has been a recurring thought, and because of the things learned, I make it a priority to look out for the children and youth of my church. I have developed a passion for protecting and making sure children and teens are in a good place mentally and physically. Because of this, I want to get my degree so that I can help people.

I am currently a Criminal Justice student at the BOCES LoGuidice Center in Fredonia, New York, where I will be earning my security guard certification. I have been a student there for two years and I have been certified in CPR and Stop The Bleed. I dream of becoming an FBI agent and I hope that this scholarship will help me obtain a degree in psychology so I can help people who cannot help themselves and provide them security. I want to focus on protecting children and victims of all types of abuse; I plan to get a degree in psychology so that I can help people, especially children with any possible mental struggles. I wish to help them overcome the mental barrier created by their traumatic experience. I am especially interested in protecting children and victims of all types of abuse. I developed an interest in crimes against children by doing a research project in my Criminal Justice class. During my research on child sexual exploitation through social media and its correlation to 8th and 10th graders I developed the interest as it was just too disturbing to ignore. I plan on getting my degree so that I can help people, especially children. I wish to help them not only as an FBI agent but as someone who understands what they may be going through psychologically; I wish to help them overcome the mental barrier created by their traumatic experience. I think there would be no better reward than helping help others and get satisfaction knowing I did something good, most importantly that I made a difference in someone's life just like someone did in mine. This is important to me as I have been impacted by many people, some of whom are my wrestling coaches, my Criminal Justice teacher, and above all else God.The people that have had an impact on me help me strive to be the best version of myself and to succeed in all my goals. I want to help others and limit the amount of crime so that this world can be a better place for everyone. I am passionate about my goals In this area of my life as I think crime is a very pressing issue that needs to be dealt with. If I can help in any way I can, no matter how small or how slow the progress, I think that my role as a human and U.S citizen would be complete. I want to impact the world little by little, saving one person at a time, and before we know it one will become millions. I hope to portray that there are still good people out there who care and want to help others so that victims will know they are not alone.

I am a student at Fredonia Central School District in New York. I was born in the Bronx, New York City and moved to Puerto Rico when I was three. Both my parents were born in the Bronx with parents born in Puerto Rico. I lived in Puerto Rico for seven years where I participated in various sports including soccer, basketball, softball, and tennis. I am an athletic person. I love to exercise and play sports; my favorite sport is wrestling. I wrestled for my school's varsity girls wrestling team that was started last year; during my two seasons I won several first places and was invited two times to the Girls State Championships in Syracuse, New York. I am currently a Criminal Justice student at the BOCES LoGuidice Center in Fredonia, New York, where I will be earning my security guard certification. I have been a student there for two years and I have been certified in CPR and Stop The Bleed. During those two years I have volunteered to help with the special needs students in our building, and I have volunteered at various Open House events both on and off campus. I dream of becoming an FBI agent and I hope that this scholarship will help me obtain a degree in psychology so I can help people who cannot help themselves and provide them security. I want to focus on protecting children and victims of all types of abuse; I plan to get a degree in psychology so that I can help people, especially children with any possible mental struggles. I wish to help them overcome the mental barrier created by their traumatic experience. I want to help others and limit the amount of crime so that this world can be a better place for everyone. I am passionate about my goals In this area of my life as I think crime is a very pressing issue that needs to be dealt with. If I can help in any way I can, no matter how small or how slow the progress, I think that my role as a human and U.S citizen would be complete. I want to impact the world little by little, saving one person at a time, and before we know it one will become millions. I hope to portray that there are still good people out there who care and want to help others so that victims will know they are not alone.

The idea of success to me is having lost a well wrestled match and looking at my coach to see pride and happiness with a big smile on his face. Success is being invited to the 1st and 2nd Girls State Wrestling Championships even when I did not place and being invited to the Champions Dinner for both women’s and men's wrestling in Section 6. It is having an academic comeback from a very poor first year of my Criminal Justice Program to becoming one of the top students in the class and receiving the opportunity to deliver a speech at graduation. Success can be a broad term; if I had to give it a definition I would say success is an accumulation of all the challenges that I have overcome with my own power, and it is the feeling of pride and happiness I feel when the people close to me value and see the effort I put in. To me there is no greater satisfaction than seeing people who have been there for me, guided me and believed in me feel proud of my success. I find succeeding to be more than just the wins and the great accomplishments. My wrestling coach always said that we learn more from the losses than the wins, and that is something I take to heart not only in wrestling but in my daily life. It does not matter if I win or lose, if I get my dream job or not; what matters to me is that I tried and I made the people around me and myself proud of what I have done. This scholarship will help me to continue to succeed by obtaining a degree in psychology, and I hope to become an FBI special agent. I dream of helping people who cannot help themselves and provide them security. I am especially interested in protecting children and victims of all types of abuse. I developed an interest in crimes against children by doing a research project in my Criminal Justice class at the LoGuidice BOCES Center in Fredonia. During my research on child sexual exploitation through social media and its correlation to 8th and 10th graders I developed the interest as it was just too disturbing to ignore. I plan to succeed in getting my degree so that I can help people, especially children. I wish to help them not only as an FBI agent but as someone who understands what they may be going through psychologically; I wish to help them overcome the mental barrier created by their traumatic experience. I think there would be no better success than that, to help others and get satisfaction knowing I did something good, most importantly that I made a difference in someone's life just like someone did in mine. This is important to me as I have been impacted by many people, some of whom are my wrestling coaches, my Criminal Justice teacher, and above all else God. I believe that my success depends on God, and I believe I will succeed in my career and life. Success to me is measured by the good that I have done, the people I impacted and how they have impacted me. The people that have had an impact on me help me strive to be the best version of myself and to succeed in all my goals.