I should be awarded this scholarship because students like me deserve to have the opportunity to make an impact on this world without the financial burdens that going to college comes with. I was raised in Baltimore city by a single father who always encouraged me that education is the key to success. While my father did not attend college he made sure to reinforce the importance of staying focused and attentive to school. People like me are doubted from a young age, our futures predetermined for us based solely upon the color of our skin. I want my future to change this narrative. Upon making my decision to attend Howard University, I plan to major in political science to chase my dreams of decision making and giving back to the communities which shaped my growth in life. Understanding that Howard University is considered “The Mecca” for higher education and culture within the African American community, and also the alma mater for many of my inspirations such as Chadwick Boseman, Elijah Cummings, and Kamala Harris, Howard University is the place that I know will allow me to earn some of the best education on a pre-law track. Being in the heart of Washington D. C, and being able to experience first hand how some of our politicians work, I know that this will only further my knowledge and connections. I intend to go to college aware that we all come from different backgrounds but open to meaningful bonds as well as being a voice for students who feel unheard, doing this by not only speaking but taking direct action. Baltimore city receives so much negative adversity, and I’d like to improve my city in ways that I know are possible. Baltimore has much potential but deep rooted systematic issues continue to hold us back, and this is why a major in political science is just right for me. Being a young girl of color, I was taught that I have to work twice as hard to make it where I want to be, and while I am grateful for the life I have been provided with, I know there can be more. I want to provide my family as well as myself with the comfort we have always prayed for. Being a first generation college student I am pursued to push even harder for my education because my father has always expressed how much he wishes he had the opportunity to further his, but life caught up with him. There is nothing else I want to do other than give back to the man who has worked tirelessly to be the best single father he could be to me. If awarded the “Concrete Rose Scholarship”, I will not only lack stress about funding my college experience, but also I will not take for granted the importance of my presence on my school campus, ensuring that I stay focused on my education to accomplish the dreams that my family as well as myself have dreamt for me.

When most people think about "women's empowerment", we think of uplifting women. We think of ensuring that all women have equal rights everywhere, and of ways to change the toxic masculinity that has controlled societies for centuries. I find this extremely important, but what about those things that continue to hold us back? Society may insist that women are treated equally yet things such as "pretty privilege exist". Women empowerment does not only consist of working to make sure women have an equal role in society just as men , yet it should factor in every kind of woman, highlighting the beauty in our differences and the safety of us all. Pretty privilege can be defined as a woman who society considers as "pretty" having the right features to get a pass at certain things that others may be unable to. This not only comes from men but women as well, treating a fellow lady differently because she does not fit their idea of what a woman should look like. An example of this may be a girl not wanting to befriend another because of physical features that may not fit her idea of what beauty is. Oftentimes people take one look at a person and allow that to tell the story of who they are, rather than getting to know the individual as a human being and not just what our eyes reveal to us at first instance. As a young adult in the world of social media I witness many women work tirelessly to be "perfect", they shrink themselves, mentally and physically because the internet convinces them of what beauty is rather than finding it individually within themselves. Being an older sister, and someone who many young girls look up to, I ensure to remind every girl or woman around me just how beautiful they are, remembering that a compliment does not have to be only based on physical appearance. I continue to remind the women and girls around me how smart they are, how important they are, and the positive impact they all have on our world, ultimately because it is what it is inside that shapes our beauty. When we go to a museum we don't take one look at a statue and understand its meaning, we have patience, getting to know the art that stands before us before we make an assumption about what it is. Society has warped the minds of girls all around the world to fit a certain standard. Empowering women does not always consist of protesting, many times it can be a simple compliment, a thank you, an acknowledgment of how proud you are of the hardworking woman that stands next you. In conclusion, with a little kindness and compassion we can all play a part in strengthening women's empowerment.

As a young child I was confused, unaware as to why my mother came and left, unbeknownst to why everyone else had both parents or at least a mother. As a young Black girl, I thought I needed my mother and my father as a unit to guide me through this tough life I had approaching me, but as the years passed I was proven incorrect. The questions began to arise in late elementary school, "Mikayla, where is your mom?", "Why do you only live with your dad?". While harmless, these questions offended me as a child because just like them, I had no answers as to why my mother was not present in my life. What I did know was that my father was doing an amazing job as my only parent, he showered me with the love and support that seemed to have amounted to two parents, so the absence of my mother did not feel as if I was missing much. And then in 2016, my fathers oldest son, my brother passed away. While my brother and I did not share the same mother, we were as close as an older brother and younger sister could be, and he and my father had the most perfect relationship, one that I wanted my future children to have with their parents. My father fought his hardest to hide his pain from me but I knew he was not okay. Thinking back, I aspire how strong my father was during this time, he never allowed me to see him fall, he continued to be the best parent while mourning the loss of his only and oldest son. I will always recognize and honor his stability. As I grew older, my father and I’s relationship only became stronger, subjects that once confused me started to become things to converse over, the news channels I once begged him to switch to Disney channel became a morning routine as we shared breakfast, my father became my best friend. People sometimes ask me how my father and I are so close being that he is a man and I am a young woman but the answer is always the same, gender does not define love between a parent and a child. Everyday my father and I teach each other things, we bond over jokes we have created, we express our silly issues at work and school, and most importantly we care for each other because for so long it has just been him and I, me and my dad. I will always show my appreciation and gratitude for my father.