#2 Laughter is my love language. It’s how I show compassion and how I express my love for life. My deep passion for the language of laughter and joy is evident in everything I do. As president of my school’s Student Congress, I maintain a productive, yet lighthearted relationship with members. As a basketball captain, I ask my teammates fun, silly questions during warmups, and I’m always the first person to dance when my songs come on in the gym. Looking ahead, I’ve always known that I want to leave people and places better than I found them. I understand my ultimate goal on Earth is to make life better for others. For a long time, though, I thought there was a blueprint I had to follow to be like the leaders I saw, one that required me to lack vulnerability and expression. Gradually, I came to realize that the language of laughter is part of who I am. Achieving my goals and being the person I aspire to be doesn’t have to come at the expense of having fun. In fact, I’ve seen how living a life in which I embrace laughter has made me a stronger leader, better communicator and someone who is excited about what is to come. Through embracing laughter and joy, I’ve resisted the narrative which says that leadership must fit in a certain mold. Everyday, I choose to live and lead with energy and passion because ultimately, this is when I feel the most authentically myself. #3. As an ambassador-level Girl Scout, I have spent nearly 10 years giving back to my community. I’ve used my voice, skills, and platform to educate, uplift, and inspire. In 2022, I co-created a documentary about Charlotte’s Black history after recognizing gaps in our school system’s curriculum. My troop mate and I wrote and produced the documentary, and partnered with the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture to premiere it. Our efforts have earned us the Bronze and Silver awards, two of the highest honors in Girl Scouting. We also received the Defending Black History Award from the Color of Change and National Education Association. We use our social media (@cltblackhistorydoc) to educate the public about Black history. We’ve spoken at conferences at North Carolina State and Western Carolina universities, as well as with religious groups and Girl Scouts worldwide. And this year, we learned that our documentary will become part of our school district’s curriculum. Despite the recognition our work has received, the most meaningful impact has been in the lives of the girls I have met and inspired. In July, my troopmate and I traveled to Statesville to work with girls in the Abby Winthrop SMART Girls Program. One girl told us, “I never knew our history mattered this much.” That moment reminded me why this work matters. We helped girls explore their own histories and see the leader within themselves. Later that summer, we teamed up with UNC Chapel Hill student Kamryn Burton, founder of Girls Lead 2, Inc., to talk with middle schoolers about identifying issues in their communities and taking action to create change. I feel like it’s my job to help the next generation by sharing what I’ve learned, the skills I’ve gained, and the values I’ve developed. They don’t mean much unless I use them to give back. Girl Scouts has shaped who I am, and it continues to inspire me to make this world a more inclusive place where everyone feels seen, represented, and supported.

I am Morgan Winston, a senior in the International Baccalaureate Diploma program at East Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, NC. Growing up in Charlotte has shaped my awareness of both the opportunities and inequities in my community, which has influenced my passion for advocacy and service. I have high academic standards for myself, which is reflected in my 4.56 weighted/3.96 unweighted GPAs. I enjoy playing the piano and tennis, creating social media posts, and thrifting, and I also love learning. My favorite subjects are history, English and philosophy. During the summer of 2025, while working part-time at Nothing But Noodles, I successfully completed English and public-speaking courses at Central Piedmont Community College. I approach my extracurricular activities with the same dedication I have in the classroom. Last May, I was elected by my school peers to serve as the 2025-2026 Student Congress president. I campaigned on expanding mental health support for students and amplifying student voices. This experience reinforced my belief that leadership is rooted in listening and advocacy. I was also elected by students in public and private schools across Mecklenburg County to serve as co-president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Youth Council in 2025-2026. I am an active member of the National Honor Society, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ Athletic Honor Society, and Spanish Honor Society, as well as social media manager for my school’s Diversity Club. I also served as a two-time co-captain of the girls’ varsity basketball team, a group I’ve been a part of since freshman year. I earned the Coach’s Award in 2024-2025 for my leadership on and off the court. Basketball has taught me discipline, resilience, and how to lead in high-pressure situations. I carry these skills into every space I enter. Also in 2024-2025, I represented students across North Carolina in advocating for educational equity as part of the Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity’s Student Voices program. That summer (2024), I also interned with TurnUp Activism to promote youth civic engagement. These experiences helped me see how policy decisions impact everyday people, especially young people like myself. One of my most important commitments, however, is to Girl Scouts where I have reached ambassador-level status. A major part of my Scout journey is about leaving my community better than I found it. So, as fifth-graders, my fellow troopmate, Maya, and I organized a bench dedication for Civil Rights pioneer Dorothy Counts-Scoggins in 2019. Three years later, we created a documentary on Charlotte’s Black history, in partnership with the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts and Culture. Learning and preserving Black history has been especially meaningful to me, because it has deepened my understanding of identity, resilience, and the importance of representation. We presented our documentary at the Color of Education Summit at North Carolina State University in October 2023 and Western Carolina University’s Equity Summit in February 2024. The bench and documentary projects earned us the Bronze and Silver awards, respectively. In March 2024, we received the Defending Black History Award from the Color of Change and National Education Association. That same year, I received The Dean’s List Black Woman in Media Award in honor of former Miss USA and journalist Cheslie Kryst. Of all the things I have achieved, I am most proud of my faith. I am a member of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, where I was baptized in 2024. In February 2026, I participated in an interfaith youth panel. In March, I joined my mother, grandmother, and sister in a 100-plus- person Women’s Month choir at Friendship. Next month, I will be honored with the MeckMin Interfaith Youth Leader Award. In the Fall of 2026, I will be attending Howard University, a goal I set in middle school. I am beyond excited for the opportunity to attend an HBCU because of Howard’s legacy of excellence. It’s the same campus that produced leaders like Kamala Harris, Andrew Young and Thurgood Marshall. Attending an HBCU also means being in a space where I feel seen, challenged, and supported as a Black student. Learning in an environment that has shaped these brilliant minds is empowering, and it pushes me to work hard and dream big. I want to continue and build on this legacy of excellence in a way that improves the lives of future generations. At Howard, I plan to study political science because I want to pursue a career in local government and policy. Government is one of the most effective tools we have to achieve a more just and ideal world. I see so many issues in my community and abroad and, although I believe grassroots efforts have been crucial in creating change, I know that people could benefit from leadership that prioritizes their wellbeing. As co-president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Youth Council, I help advise the Charlotte City Council, Mecklenburg County Commissioners and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ superintendent. This position has given me firsthand experience working with local leaders and seeing the role they play in shaping the lives of constituents, like myself. Now more than ever, I understand the significance of local politics. This experience has motivated me to study political science and public policy, attend law school, and pursue a career in local government. Through this path, I hope to make a difference by advocating for policies that expand educational opportunities, improve mental health resources, and improve underserved communities like the one that raised me. I also hope to make my family proud by using my education and experiences to create meaningful change. I am passionate about serving others and using my voice, and I am excited to study how I can use existing government systems to do this. Ultimately, I am pursuing higher education with the goal of giving back and helping my community. It’s work that I’ve already begun through my leadership, service and advocacy. My journey so far has prepared me to continue that work on a larger scale.

Civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once exclaimed that “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy”. Like the quote, I believe that how we respond to adversity matters, especially given our response has the potential to change lives. This is what inspires me about Mr. Jack Terry and his story. At a young age, he lost everything and lived through one of the most adverse periods of history. In spite of this, he would continue to demonstrate a commitment to others, serving in the U.S. Army and working with children to spread knowledge and hope. Although Mr. Terry’s circumstances didn’t prompt a selfless response, through his commitment to giving back and helping others, he demonstrates to people like me what resilience and dedication to service should look like. In 2023, I experienced mental health challenges that I would still classify as one of the hardest things I’ve endured. I struggled with the fact that I was imperfect and growing. I dealt with thoughts of unworthiness, which stifled my self image and caused me to loose my hope and spark for life. Through this though, I developed a more intimate relationship with God, where I learned the importance of not only the grace I receive from Him, but the grace I give myself. Grace has changed my life – how I speak to myself in difficult moments or after shortcomings, and has become something which I give to everyone I encounter. Grace has encouraged me to live a life where I embrace joy, rather than living in critique and anguish. I love to laugh, and I know laughter to be far more than just a manifestation of emotion. It’s a form of therapy, for the giver and the receiver. A relationship builder. Laughter is a universal language that has the potential to improve a person’s life, even if just for a moment. Today, I demonstrate Mr. Terry’s unwavering resilience and commitment to pouring into others by not letting the adversity I’ve endured have the final say. Instead, through learning to embrace a combination of grace and joy, I have been able to navigate my own set of hurdles while encouraging others. This past February, I was invited by The Mecklenburg Metropolitan Interfaith Network (MeckMIN), a diverse coalition of religious individuals in the Charlotte Metro area, to participate in their Youth Interfaith Panel Discussion. Here, in a room full of strangers, I described my own struggles with adversity and imperfection, but followed this with how my story did not end there. I discussed with the audience how grace and joy helped me to navigate affliction. Like Mr. Terry, I believe that it is our responsibility to share the wisdom we have learned with others. In fact, I understand this to be one of the most invaluable forms of service we can give. Stepping into this next chapter of my life, I feel a strong responsibility to lift up the next generation, especially those who look like me, by sharing the lessons I’ve learned through adversity. Afterall, the wisdom I’ve gained doesn’t mean much unless I use it to give back. Of course, I am excited about the opportunity to attend college and experience academic and social growth, but beyond this, I look forward to applying the tools and knowledge I gain in school, as a political science major, to help others and make the world a better place.