As a young adult who not only battles mental health issues but also grew up with a mentally ill parent, I became aware that everything is not always as it seems. My father suffered from OCD and Schitzophrenia as well as having severe anger problems. Before he was diagnosed he was extremely physically abusive to my sisters and I. When he was able to get the proper mental health care he needed I quickly realized how much of a difference it made. The physical abuse stopped almost overnight and things seemed to change for the better or so I thought. It didn't take long before self-medicating for my father became a thing and old habits resurfaced. My father attacked my mother and sister and was subsequently sentenced to 9 years in prison for attempted murder. Our relationship between our family and my father was strained. After his release, he relocated to Florida and we stayed in South Carolina. Unable to cope with life or maintain his schizophrenic episodes caused him a lot of anguish. His sickness consumed him and committed suicide a few years later Seeing what my father went through being dependent on medication to survive to be normal terrified me. I myself suffered from debilitating manic depression, as well as OCD. I knew that schizophrenia was hereditary and I had to stay vigilant against certain behaviors. I didn't want to be that way. For a long time, I was in denial then the denial shifted to sadness and anger. I struggled for a long time before acceptance revealed herself to me and things became clear. There was alot disgrace associated with mental health when I was younger. So much shame that there was something wrong with me or that I should hide this part of me from those around me or the world. It was difficult to do because it was so much of who I was. How could I hide who I truly was? I couldn't and I had to accept who I was and where I came from. It changed the way I interacted with my loved ones and peers. I had to be more open about who I was and how I handle situations because of what i deal with mentally and in doing so I felt more welcome. It changed the way I viewed the world. I realized that everyone wasn't as open as I was and I didn't always know what others were going through. In turn I became more understanding and empathetic of others. Tried to see things from a different perspective. The compassion i developed over time molded how i ultimately envisioned my future. There were so many things i wanted to do but realistically i felt challenged or held back due to the symptoms i endure because of my mental health. Its also another reason I got back into school. I plan on taking my electives in human psychology while i pursue my MBA. I genuinely believe human interaction is the mainframe of existence. If I can understand others better I in turn can do better business while incorporated better business practices. I understand how important mental health and the stigmas around them are. I know there are barriers myself and others still have to overcome. Im personally taking steps to approach situations from a different angle. Human emotion and our mental state have such a big impact on our individual goals, our personal and professional relationships and how we view the world in whole. How we feel about ourselves or others and the health of our psyche ultimately determines how far we progress and what we achieve. Thank you for allowing me to share a small part of my story and for considering me for this scholarship!

I have always been a dreamer. Someone who saw the possibilities not as unattainable but endless. I have envisioned a life for myself where I am financially stable and free to do anything. I got stuck in a rut and felt as though I was only floating through existence and I wanted to change that. I planted seeds for my future as a young lady and it was time to bring them to fruition so I went back to college. I enrolled at SNHU to begin my Associate's degree in Business Management. This is the first step to my goal of obtaining my MBA. If I follow my course plan designed for me I can have my Master's in 5.5 years. I am trying to accelerate my educational learning in any way I can. I have started a free courseload of my business classes and electives on the side through a partner with SNHU called Saylor. Org. I'm currently working and studying in this program to gain more credits to achieve this goal quicker and more affordably. This degree is currently going to help my husband and I run our company Alexachelle Commercial Flooring and will benefit us greatly, but it's not my ultimate goal. Since I was a teenager I've had a love for doing makeup. To be able to amplify my beauty and to feel like my best self everyday. To be able to provide that for other women as well. I aspire to attend Olympus beauty academy to earn a degree as an esthetician. Both these degrees together will allow me to be my own boss and run my own cosmetology business. This world and the people in it remind me that the possibilities are limitless and that's an exhilarating feeling. When I complete my mission to self-betterment I plan on being an example to others. I want to show women they can be sufficient for themselves and their families. I want to mentor young ladies and provide them with the work and tools they need to achieve their own goals.To push our future generations towards achieving their own aspirations. If I am awarded this scholarship it will be life changing. It will accelerate me in completing my objectives and fulfilling my dreams of helping myself and those around me. Thank you for reading my essay and for considering me.

In this day and age education is the key to success and we all have the right to learn. Growing up in a lower-class family funds were limited. I felt like a statistic dropping out of high school at 16. For people like me, academics seemed to be the only hope of becoming someone or being able to do something with my life. I'm certain that a lot of young adults in school have felt the same. The fight against educational inequity paves a way for those that arent blessed with the financial freedom of choice when it comes to schooling later on. We are responsible for providing the tools in academia as to prevent these future generations from experiencing poverty or monetary obstacles as they reach adulthood. Its alot more difficult going back to school at 32 to continue my education versus sticking with it earlier on. I struggled for years with low paying jobs and less opportunity because of this. However, with the right educational opportunities this can be prevented. We have an obligation to provide our future generations with the tools they need to succeed. Every young adult who wants to adhere to learning or advancing their education further should have ample right to do so regardless of financial hardship Thats why the fight against educational inequity is one I feel everyone should be behind and that I fully support.

All I've ever wanted for my family was a better life. I grew up in a seemingly normal middle-class home but that was from the outside. The physical and mental abuse that went on behind closed doors very few knew about. My neighbor Chase became one of my closest friends and confidants. He was an only child but extremely talented and began semi-pro surfing by the time we reached our pre-teen years. Chase didn't realize how much I vicariously lived through him. When things at home became difficult I escaped to his. He was more than a friend he was my big brother and his home became my safe place. By the time I turned 11, my father found himself incarcerated for 9 years for attempted murder on my mother and sister. My father being an aggressive man was transferred 175 miles away to a maximum-security prison. Between the distance, my mother's restraining order against him, and my young age it became difficult to maintain contact. I would send letters and pictures through the mail and my father wrote us constantly. As I reached my teenage years the correspondence stopped and I sunk into depression. My brother Chase and I were still very close but he began hanging with influential people who weren't concerned with his future. In the years following he ended up incarcerated right along with my dad for quite some time. Now the two men I looked up to in my life were gone. This went on for quite some time. My father doing his bid and my brother in and out of jail as he found it hard to acclimate to normal life after losing his mother while incarcerated. My father was eventually released and immediately relocated to Florida with my grandmother. The loss of his immediate family unit and how things wouldn't be the same as before weighed too heavy on my father and in 2011 he committed suicide. Having both lost our parental figure my brother and I became more tight-knit then ever. I knew he struggled with being a productive member of society but I was all the family he had and I worried if I wasn't there for him he would end up as my father did. I felt plagued with this task because deep down I had lost my hope too. The dreams I had to go to college, the vision I had of the future, even the realization that my father, as well as my brother, may not be there to see me graduate or that my father wouldn't ever be there to give me away if I got married; all weighed heavily on me and I gave up. I tried helping my brother along the way as he went back and forth to correctional facilities. Each time there to help him get on his feet while I struggled myself. I worked dead-end jobs but always maintained contact and kept money on his books. He was given a break at a new life by a forgiving judge and Chase came home for the first time in a long time. We discussed the future and plans for a successful life and I had faith things were going to be different. Sadly they weren't and my brother is looking at a 10-15 year bid now. When my brother called to tell me this I hung up and I had an epiphany. I wasn't going to hope for miracles any longer. I wasn't going to be unsure of my future and the role others play in my success. I only had me to count on and I wasn't going to be defined by the choices of my father or my brother. I knew what I wanted was to be successful and financially independent. I envisioned running a company and being my own boss. I enrolled and I am currently working on my Associate's degree in Business Management at SNHU leading up to my MBA. I wanted to break the stigma around family incarceration while remaining supportive to someone I care for behind bars. As I take this journey I hope to be able to explore every aspect of my degree possible. With this scholarship, I will be able to extend my degree to examine the different factors that affect business and how to maintain success within my chosen field of study. Thank you for your consideration and for helping me bring my dreams to fruition!

I have an extraordinary vision of myself being a powerful woman. My biggest ambition is to become financially independent. I've always been extremely artistic as a means of expressing myself. I along the help with my husband have pooled our talents together and created our business Alexachelle Flooring. I've been given the ability to be the artistic design director of our commercial company. I've been blessed to be able to express myself creatively while designing beautiful spaces for others to design and grow. Breaking through the barriers of an extremely dominate male field of work has been difficult but rewarding. With my brains and artistic ability I've seen my husband use his brawn to bring my ideas to fruition. I never imagined this would be my career of choice but I want to keep pushing In this direction. I want to empower woman. I want them to believe regardless of gender bias or career choice you can use what you do have within you to become great. My ambitions are what keep me up at night. Constantly trying to aim higher, do more, become better. I push my mental and physical limits daily because I know there's nothing im incapable of if my mind and heart believe it. Woman are told we can't do this, we can't become that, we physically weaker than our counterparts in certain fields, but I don't believe that. I know that in areas I may lack I soar in others. There is a new day coming and women are clawing their way to the tops of so many platforms. We are the new age and I'm here to out belief in their hearts with my success. I am greatness and I am one of many that is the revolution!