I grew up as a pastor’s kid, but my journey to following God was not easy. When I was 12, my family went through a season when family members were dying one after the other. We seemed to go out of town every other week to attend funerals. I remember sitting in my bedroom after a day trip from Maryland to New Jersey for an uncle’s funeral and wondering if he knew Jesus. I picked up my bible, and the Lord led me to Romans 9:2- 3, which says, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood.” I thought that if Paul was willing to give up so much for his Jewish brothers and sisters, how much would I be willing to give up so that others could know about Jesus? From then, I decided that I wanted to go into ministry. After I graduated from undergrad with a degree in Marketing, I joined a campus ministry called Cru to help them utilize the internet as a new mission field. It was enriching as we saw people from countries that are hard to send missionaries to engage with the Gospel. However, it did have its downsides. The organization I joined had several staff members who would unknowingly say racist and culturally insensitive things. As I stayed longer, I realized how Christians, including pastors and missionaries, can make the church unwelcoming. This came to a head in 2020 when many Christians said conversations about race, culture, and justice were unbiblical. I wondered what bible they were reading. But as I thought about it, I realized that many pastors and missionaries in the country only learn from white male professors, so their congregations don’t have the benefit of being influenced by people of color. I decided to return to school for Old Testament studies to one day be a seminary or divinity school professor. I know of less than five black woman who are Old Testament scholars in the US, I hope to add to that number. I ultimately want to help train pastors and missionaries to help make the church a more welcoming place that cares about people the way Jesus cares. I finished my master’s at Howard University this past spring and entered a PhD program at the University of Denver this fall. My husband is the only one working right now. He works in campus ministry at a local college, sharing Jesus with students. Our move from Maryland to Denver resulted in losing a lot of support that helped us pay for our living and ministry expenses. This scholarship would be so helpful in allowing me to focus on my studies and my husband to focus on reaching students with the gospel. I would be very grateful to be awarded this scholarship.

Religion has been a source of help or harm for many people. I hope to help the religious space become a healthy space for BIPOC people to seek meaning and community. However, to do this, I believe that religious spaces will need to figure out how their texts speak to trauma. While at Howard University I wrote my Master's Thesis on the book of Daniel through the lens of social trauma theory. It is my hope to continue this work in my PhD program to help religious groups, particularly those that use the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, explore how their texts can help people process trauma and pursue self care.