Hello, my name is Naomi Clement, and I'm a sophomore at Bloomsburg University majoring in Accounting. I’m the youngest in my family and a first generation college student. Giving is important to me because I was raised by two amazing Christian parents, one of whom is a pastor, so giving back to society has always been a part of my life. During the summer and winter, we frequently do volunteer work and distribute clothing, food, shoes, blankets, and other necessities to the homeless. "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly," the Bible says. Whoever sows freely will reap abundantly. Each of us should give what we have agreed to grant in your heart, not what we feel obligated to give, because God loves a cheerful giver. I was born in Ghana and my parents could not afford a lot of things because time were hard until we moved to the United States, and I appreciate just how little I have and always allowed to give to that end because I know what it is like to have nothing. I would love to use the platform in the best way possible to assist, and I occasionally travel to Liberia in Africa with my parents during breaks to share the little we have with them. A sense of fulfillment that comes from giving back and making a difference is phenomenal. Generosity is also an excellent way to become acquainted with your society and its residents. When I volunteer, I have the chance to meet a lot of new people. Volunteer work even lead me to the discovery of a genuine enthusiasm or desire to engage as well as the ability to make an impact and strengthen communities. It may not be enough but it’s the thoughts behind it that matters, Not only will my intentions gain those who acquire them, but you will also gain a subjective feeling of joy and satisfaction from my efforts knowing that I just put a smile on someone’s face or even made their day, it’s such a beautiful feeling to experience and even attain significant like mental health benefits.

I'm Naomi and I'm the youngest in my family and a first-generation college student. I'm not a first-born child therefore I want to explain the obstacles I faced as a first-generation college student. The lack of college readiness, familial support, and financial stability. Racial underrepresentation, low academic self-esteem, and difficulty adjusting to college. Because I didn't know who to ask in my house about college preparation made it too difficult for me so I decided to join Trio Upward Bound and GearUp program which is a college-readiness program to help me better understand college, writing a personal statement, letter of recommendations, senior project, etc. First-generation students made me feel uncomfortable in the collegiate atmosphere and I often had limited communication and interactions among my peers and faculty include the absence of similar interests, experiences, and resources. These differences contribute to low my levels of academic self-esteem and difficulty adjusting to the college setting. As a first-generation student, I often require developmental coursework and tend to have lower grade point averages than my peers with college-educated parents. This results in a lack of confidence in my own ability to be academically competitive and successful. With all of these obstacles, I overcome them and graduated from Benjamin Franklin High school with a 3.4 GPA and receive a scholarship to attend Bloomsburg University majoring in criminology the word proud is not enough to describe how I feel, I wanted to use myself to be an example that nothing is impossible and may someday my family can take the leave out of my book because education is extremely important.

I will first of all like to say thank you for giving me this platform to share my story! In 2016, I left my family and the warmth of my home for an unknown and strange land just for a secure future. When the big day arrived, I was scared but felt privileged at the same time. I was going to America for a better life. However, the fear of leaving my family behind at such a young age was so real. I asked myself, what can I bring to the table? How am I going to do this? I had so many questions and doubts in my head. Everyone had many expectations of me when I couldn’t even throw a rock without the help of someone. In America, it is believed that education is something that everyone should be entitled to earn. Well, this was not the case for me, as a young girl growing up in Africa in a single-parent home. Education wasn’t possible for me even though my father’s other children had the opportunity to go to school, I did not. My parents got divorced when I was very young. I never really knew why, all my mother told me was that I was too young to understand. After the divorce, my mom decided we would move to Ghana because of the war in Liberia. A year later, things became so difficult that my older sister had to drop out of school so that my brother and I could continue to go to school. Meanwhile, we all knew that my father was dutifully paying the school fees of my stepbrother and stepsister. I was offended because I believe that every child deserves the right to education and no child should be deprived of it. I was offended because my father of all people should want all of his children to have an education. It was painful to me that he didn’t seem to care as much about us as much as his other children. I was angry at my father for a very long time. I felt numb when I got a call from home, on April 23rd of 2019, telling me that my dad was dead. I burst out in tears saying to myself that this couldn’t be real. I still had so much I wanted him to witness! I wanted him to apologize for his actions and tell me that he was proud of me and all of my accomplishments! I was angry at him but I never wished him death or anything bad. I wish we could've talked or at least hugged before it was too late. Losing my dad so suddenly changed my views in a lot of ways. I learned not to hold grudges for too long no matter the circumstances. Losing my dad before we had a chance to reconcile taught me to always talk about my feelings and let the person know how their actions are affecting me. However, this did not make me give up, nor did it make the passion in me regarding education die down. In fact, I think this made me even more of a fighter because now I want to do more to prove to him and to myself that I can do whatever I want in this world, with or without the help of anyone. I believe in my heart that hard roads lead to beautiful destinations. I want to let him know that even though he refused to be there for me when I needed him the most, I forgive him. He didn’t send me to school but I graduate high school with a 3.4 GPA and receive a scholarship to attend Bloomsburg University majoring in criminology. I want to be there for women and children at all costs I want to be their spokeswoman and let their opinions and voices be heard because they matter. I learn to forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you, it may not change the past but it does enlarge the future. Don’t let forgiveness be an occasional act but a constant attitude, that's why my mother if my favorite person in the world because she had the choice to walk away as my dad did but she didn't she raised 3 children all by herself and still manage to give us all an education she's a phenomenal woman.