As a recent graduate of Arizona State University, I made an effort to excel in school in order to gain the knowledge needed to reach my career goals. Fortunately, my commitment to high achievement allowed me to maintain a 4.0 GPA and be regularly involved in my community. Due to these accomplishments, I have been accepted into ASU's Secondary Education master's program and will attend this upcoming Fall. This degree aligns with my goal of becoming a secondary English teacher at a Title 1 school in Phoenix, Arizona. My motivation to attend graduate school in order to become an educator stems from my negative experiences as an African-American girl attending low-income schools. In particular, I noticed a disturbing lack of resources and support that were available to struggling children like me. For example, there was a regular shortage of teachers and supplementary staff in my grade level. This led to either underqualified substitutes teaching us or already established teachers having to overwork themselves by teaching combined classes. Due to these shortages, we were often faced with an immense lack of support, an unstable learning environment, and insufficient education. This unfortunately led to many students acting out in class and ultimately giving up on their education. In retrospect, I now understand why many of my past classmates gave up on themselves as they most likely felt as if their teachers gave up on them too. Experiencing these struggles firsthand has made me realize how important it is for students to have stable teachers who truly care and support their learning. In graduate school, I plan to obtain the tools necessary to become an educator and advocator who can provide exceptional education to students and make impactful changes to a broken system. I hope that by building meaningful relationships with all my future students, they will be motivated to learn and succeed in the classroom. Unfortunately, my family and I have faced numerous financial obstacles that have made it difficult for us to fund my education. These circumstances forced me to take out loans and work multiple jobs so that I could pay my tuition. Dealing with work on top of being a full-time student was very stressful for me and ultimately led to burnout, anxiety, and a poor work-life balance. My deteriorating mental health and financial situation motivated me to overcome these hurdles by applying for scholarships. The EJS Foundation Minority scholarship would fortunately pay off a significant portion of my tuition for the fall semester. Having fewer dues would allow me to work less and focus more on my education. It would also help me reach my financial goal of obtaining a master's degree without taking out any more loans. Overall, I believe that I am a strong candidate for the scholarship as the award would immensely support me in becoming a strong educator, advocator, and learner.

Due to many anti-gay laws being passed in the United States, it is becoming increasingly difficult for LGBTQ youth to be comfortable expressing their sexuality. Just two years ago, Governor Ron DeSantis signed an infamous bill dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" law which prohibited educators from discussing topics related to gender and sexual orientation with specific grade levels. A considerable amount of republican politicians followed suit and have attempted to pass laws that will harm the LGBTQ community. As of May 2024, there are 513 anti-LGBTQ bills in the US that have a chance of becoming law according to stats from ACLU. Because of these laws, homophobic beliefs and bigotry are much more common and even accepted by the general public. Many queer individuals are now forced to stay in the closet due to fears of being discriminated against. As a pansexual African-American woman, I have unfortunately been treated cruelly by others due to the color of my skin or sexual preferences. For instance, I was frequently bullied in school for liking women and defying gender expectations by occasionally dressing more masculine. These experiences had negatively affected my mental health and left me wondering if I should even be vocal about my identity. However, I realized that there are millions of youth like me in my community who are bullied, denied opportunities, or even subjected to violence simply because they don't fit the norm. Reflecting on this harsh reality made me realize how important it is to have diverse advocates who can support the rights of LGBTQ people. This realization was the determining factor that motivated me to make a meaningful impact on young queer and BIPOC students in high-need areas by becoming a teacher. Recently, I have been accepted into Arizona State University's secondary education master's program and will attend this upcoming fall. Obtaining this degree will allow me to become a teacher and serve students in underserved communities. In graduate school, I plan to learn the tools necessary to become an educator and advocator who can provide exceptional instruction to students and make significant changes to a broken system. One aspect of my education that I will focus on is determining how I can make the most impact on students who feel like outcasts due to their identity. Once I graduate, I plan to teach at a Title 1 school as they often require the most support. As a future educator, I will ensure that all my students are treated the same despite their race, gender, sexual orientation, or background. I hope that by building meaningful relationships with all my students, individuals who require extra support will be comfortable coming to me for advice. When dealing with minority groups, I will be sure to always give them the proper resources and guidance needed to flourish. Outside the classroom, I will aim to combat anti-LGBTQ laws by utilizing knowledge learned from graduate school. Specifically, many cis-straight parents who are not familiar with school politics may be more likely to support harmful laws if they don't truly know what they mean and how they affect LGBTQ students. My education will allow me to accurately inform parents of how these laws hurt queer youth and that discussion of LGBTQ topics is appropriate in school. This can then reduce the amount of support seen for these bills. With enough determination and advocacy, I believe that it can become possible for anti-LGBTQ laws and discrimination toward marginalized groups to be a thing of the past.

For the longest time, I believed that I didn’t have what it takes to go to college. Due to unfortunate circumstances in school, I did not feel motivated to achieve higher education. Since my family did not attend college, I had almost no one to reach out to for guidance. However, with enough hard work and support from an impactful teacher, I was able to overcome these challenges and pursue my career goal of becoming a teacher in a Title 1 school. My initial lack of motivation for college stemmed from my negative experiences and observations as an African-American girl attending low-income schools. In particular, I noticed a disturbing lack of resources and support that were available to struggling children like me. For example, there was always a shortage of teachers and supplementary staff in my grade level. This led to either underqualified substitutes teaching us or already established teachers having to overwork themselves by teaching combined classes. Due to these shortages, we were often faced with an immense lack of support, an unstable learning environment, and insufficient education. This unfortunately led to many students acting out in class and ultimately giving up on their education. In retrospect, I now understand why many of my past classmates gave up on themselves as they most likely felt as if their teachers gave up on them too. Being treated differently due to my skin tone was another huge factor that negatively altered my view of college. In class, I saw that there was a significant discipline disparity between black and white students. For example, I would get a time-out or be sent to the office for talking in class while my White classmates would only get a warning for the same offense. While these discipline disparities may not seem like a big deal to many, I have found that these situations can have a long-lasting negative impact on Black students. A report conducted at a school by the Civil Rights Project at UCLA showed that “...one out of every six enrolled Black students was suspended, compared with one in twenty White students” (Losen and Gillespie 6). The report further emphasized that due to the “...obvious loss of time in the classroom, suspensions matter because they are among the leading indicators of whether a child will drop out of school, and because out-of-school suspension increases a child’s risk for future incarceration” (Losen and Gillespie 6). As a student who dealt with these challenges, I felt unsupported and not valued by all of my educators. This feeling led to me giving up on my education by the time I reached middle school. Fortunately, my feelings started to shift for the better once I met my high school sophomore-year English teacher. Ms. Epp was a kind soul who truly cared about the success of her students. Unlike my previous teachers, she took the time to build strong relationships and ensure that everyone felt safe and welcomed in her classroom. We both shared a passion for reading, so we would regularly have conversations about the books we read. I immensely enjoyed and cherished our discussions as I’ve never had a teacher truly care about my personal interests. When I struggled in her class, she dedicated time to me after school to ensure that I understood the content. I will forever appreciate how she treated all her students the same regardless of a student’s race, background, or education level. A year later when I became a junior, I did not have Ms. Epp as a teacher anymore. Despite that, her dedication towards me and my fellow classmates motivated me to continue to do well in class. I finally started to obtain good grades and even considered college. However, I was not sure of what profession I wanted to go into. After several months of reflecting, my previous experiences made me realize that there are thousands of students like me who decide not to pursue higher education due to social, racial, and financial reasons. It was then that I decided to go to college and make a meaningful impact on young students in high-need areas by becoming a teacher. Years later, I am now in college and will pursue a master's degree in Secondary Education at Arizona State University this upcoming fall. I am tremendously proud of myself for not letting my negative experiences get in the way of my career goals. In graduate school, I plan to learn the tools necessary to become an educator and advocator who can provide an exceptional education to young adults. Once I become a teacher, I will continuously work to ensure that harmful prejudices are put to rest and that all people of color are represented fairly in the classroom. I plan to inspire my future students by promoting a positive classroom environment that encourages learning, creativity, and growth. This will be done by fostering relationships with students and implementing personalized lesson plans that accommodate the needs and preferences of the classroom. I hope that my dedication and efforts will decrease the education gap that is commonly seen in low-income and Title 1 schools. Just like Ms. Epp, I will show my future students that they are capable of anything despite their background or any obstacles they may face. Works Cited Losen, Daniel J, and Jonathan Gillespie. “Opportunities Suspended: The Disparate Impact of Disciplinary Exclusion from School .” The Center for Civil Rights Remedies at The Civil Rights Project at UCLA, Aug. 2012.