It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage-laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I plan to enter the oncology field. Cancer affects almost all families that I know. My nana recently passed away from secondary cancer from her 11-year-long battle with multiple myeloma that turned into kidney cancer. During her multiple treatments for tumors at UCSF, Stanford, UC Davis, Kaiser, and the Mayo Clinic in Arkansas, I learned the importance of doctors, nurses and medical staff. My nana had 2 stem-cell transplants and participated in many experimental clinical trials to be able to live. Remission was never fully achieved. I would like to work in the medical field so that I can help someone else's family to honor the spirit of my nana. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations and thereby changing my life and their lives in a positive way. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. My Mom worked hard as a single-parent working 2 jobs so that the rent was paid, the heat stayed on, and I could have a good life. I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. My Mom would have benefitted so much if someone was able to give her a hand-up, not a hand-out. I plan on working hard with the same determination. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. The biggest money lesson I have learned is that it is hard to make money without money. Moreover, the rich achieve wealth by leveraging their debt to increase their income. Therefore, besides money, the most important factor in wealth-building is establishing good credit. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage-laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I plan to enter the oncology field. Cancer affects almost all families that I know. My nana recently passed away from secondary cancer from her 11-year-long battle with multiple myeloma that turned into kidney cancer. During her multiple treatments for tumors at UCSF, Stanford, UC Davis, Kaiser, and the Mayo Clinic in Arkansas, I learned the importance of doctors, nurses and medical staff. My nana had 2 stem-cell transplants and participated in many experimental clinical trials to be able to live. Remission was never fully achieved. I would like to work in the medical field so that I can help someone else's family to honor the spirit of my nana. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. I almost lost my faith. I turned to God and found mentorship through St. Benedict's Catholic Church. I asked, "Why me?" The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I again turned to God for guidance. I prayed for help. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived and am so thankful for all my opportunities. My faith continues to lead me on the right path. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I will walk in faith and live my life to make my Dad proud of me. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo. God bless.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

I It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in nursing to really help people. I know that I want to be a nurse because I saw my grandmother fight cancer for over 10 years. She underwent chemotherapy, radiation, stem-cell transplants, and dialysis to battle her multiple myeloma cancer. When I saw the difference an empathetic nurse who advocated for my grandmother's health made it her life, it was my aha moment. I know I can make a difference. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in the science field and possibly pursue genetic engineering. The idea of understanding our DNA and developing cures for diseases like cancer intrigues me. I would like to help save people from terminal diagnosis like my Grandma received with Multiple Myeloma cancer. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived through resilency, focus and determination. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I am a strong leader and will use my work ethic to help my community. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. I became depressed. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I feel that my experience as a first generation college student will help change my community because I will not take anything for granted. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. Although my Mom was present at all my games and practices, I can feel the support from my Dad's spirit most. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage-laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I plan to enter the oncology field. Cancer affects almost all families that I know. My nana recently passed away from secondary cancer from her 11-year-long battle with multiple myeloma that turned into kidney cancer. During her multiple treatments for tumors at UCSF, Stanford, UC Davis, Kaiser, and the Mayo Clinic in Arkansas, I learned the importance of doctors, nurses and medical staff. My nana had 2 stem-cell transplants and participated in many experimental clinical trials to be able to live. Remission was never fully achieved. I would like to work in the medical field so that I can help someone else's family to honor the spirit of my nana. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance (mathematics) or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I had to be a leader in order to survive. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families lead them towards better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

hawiian.lion.lum

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage-laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than in the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I have read many books and watched many films that have helped shaped my goals. My favorite films are Rudy, Titans, Friday Night Lights and of course Any Given Sunday. These movies are incredible underdog stories that exemplify the tenacity, determination, and teamwork needed to be successful in football and in life. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage-laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than in the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on Zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High School in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up every day 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. His death was devastating and unexpected. We had to move. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I plan to use the memory of my Dad to better my community. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I plan to help stop the gentrification of my community. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I plan to help stop the gentrification of my community. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I plan to help my community stop the gentrification of Oakland. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I plan to help my community and stop the gentrification of Oakland. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I will use football and the inspiration of my Dad to help my community. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I will help stop gentrification in my community. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train from Oakland to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I would not let myself get tired. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage-laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I plan to enter the oncology field. Cancer affects almost all families that I know. My nana recently passed away from secondary cancer from her 11-year-long battle with multiple myeloma that turned into kidney cancer. During her multiple treatments for tumors at UCSF, Stanford, UC Davis, Kaiser, and the Mayo Clinic in Arkansas, I learned the importance of doctors, nurses and medical staff. My nana had 2 stem-cell transplants and participated in many experimental clinical trials to be able to live. Remission was never fully achieved. I would like to work in the medical field so that I can help someone else's family to honor the spirit of my nana. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I transferred to James Logan High school in Union City, for better recruitment opportunities and to escape the violence of the streets. I got up everyday 2 hours before school started and took the BART train to and from school with my football gear. I had to do this to change my life. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I am planning to earn a degree in finance or business. Then I will bring back that knowledge base to my community and set up a financial literacy clinic. I will help the people in my city with establishing credit and credit repair, wealth growth, investing, grants, and home ownership. I will use my skills to help families put themselves in better economic situations. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage-laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I plan to enter the oncology field. Cancer affects almost all families that I know. My nana recently passed away from secondary cancer from her 11-year-long battle with multiple myeloma that turned into kidney cancer. During her multiple treatments for tumors at UCSF, Stanford, UC Davis, Kaiser, and the Mayo Clinic in Arkansas, I learned the importance of doctors, nurses and medical staff. My nana had 2 stem-cell transplants and participated in many experimental clinical trials to be able to live. Remission was never fully achieved. I would like to work in the medical field so that I can help someone else's family to honor the spirit of my nana. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage-laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I plan to enter the oncology field. Cancer affects almost all families that I know. My nana recently passed away from secondary cancer from her 11-year-long battle with multiple myeloma that turned into kidney cancer. During her multiple treatments for tumors at UCSF, Stanford, UC Davis, Kaiser, and the Mayo Clinic in Arkansas, I learned the importance of doctors, nurses and medical staff. My nana had 2 stem-cell transplants and participated in many experimental clinical trials to be able to live. Remission was never fully achieved. I would like to work in the medical field so that I can help someone else's family to honor the spirit of my nana. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. My inspiration to get into sales & marketing has always been the excitement of looking across the Bay and seeing the mecca of San Francisco. Growing up I always wanted to be a part of the busy city full of businesses and business people. Everytime I would visit SF, I couldn't help but catch myself people watching wishing I was part of this community. A main focal point after crossing the Bay Bridge was seeing the enormous billboards that advertised the latest iphone, the trendiest fashion and the newest coca-cola ad. A world that was so bright and cultured seemed unattainable, even though it was just a 25 minute car ride. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. My grandmother is one of my biggest fans. She loves to go to my football games and cheer me on. I take comfort knowing I can look up from the stands and see her wearing my team colors while having a good day. Unfortunately all days are not good days. She has early on-set Alzeimer's disease. Recently she needs more and more help to get through the day. My Mom and Aunt have stepped up to help my Grandma but it is difficult. Sometimes my Grandma only wants my Aunt around because my Mom ran away as a teenager and apparently was not forgiven for her absence. Most days my Grandma doesn't remember who I am either. I play along and just try to remind her that I love her. It doesn't matter if she knows I am her grandson, or if she thinks I am a neighbor that is visiting. I just want her to be safe and happy. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I would use my education to help my community by opening a financial literacy center. I plan on helping my community understand the importance of credit and how to rebuild your credit when you've made a mistake. I would like the opportunity of home ownership to be available for everyone. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. Pursuing a degree in the mental health field is important to me because there were many times in my life that I felt like giving up. I went to counseling through my school and grief counseling through my community. Especially with the buden of social media, the effects of peer pressure, bullying, and suicidal thoughts weighed heavily on my generation. I graduated high school during a modern day pandemic, but it wasn't without support from my family, teachers, friends and coaches. I know that sometimes when the weight of the world is on your shoulders, knowing one single person has your back can make all the difference. I want to be that person for others. I want them to know that they are not alone. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. My experience with mental health has had a definite impact on my development. I went to grief counseling for 4 years immediately following the death of my Dad. I had to overcome the guilt that it was my fault he died. I was there when he began to have his heart attack, but being a nine year old boy, I called my Mom for help when I should have called 911. Those few minutes may have cost my Dad his life. In my search for forgiveness, I found God. I believe that there was nothing more I could have done to help my Dad, since it was his time. It has been a long and difficult journey. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived growing up in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden streets and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of every team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. My volunteer experience includes homeless outreaches, foodbank food distribution, being an assistant baseball coach, and being a junior life guard. I plan to use my degree to help open a financial litereacy center for my community. I will use the knowledge that I gain fro college, to assist in rebuilding credit programs, early homeownership, and wealth building. I believe that educating the people in my community will be the best way to help my community. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. Being Pacific Islander and having my culture supported at the college by having a Polynesian Club was vital in my descision. I wanted to make sure my college had a Polu coach on staff so that I would have instant family in this new state. I love my heritage and always share my traditions with my teammates and friends. All my teammates end up loving musubi by the end of the season also. I have done hakas before rugby matches and give that warrior cry as we take the field in football to let my opponent know that they're going to remember me. It is just part of who I am. Nickolas Kaleimanuokekai Lum, a big name, that I love to hear the announcers stumble through when I make those tackles. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. My mission to join the healthcare industry is to use my degree to help my community. As a nurse, I would be able to participate in healthcare fairs and events to encourage early screening for heart disease that would be able to detect early heart problems to lower the amount of sudden heart attacks. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. Currently, I volunteer as an assistant baseball coach and junior lifeguard. My Mom works for our City government and is a civil servant. Therefore I have always been involved in community projects and outreaches, neighborhood clean ups, and homeless outreaches. I have volunteered at Food Banks during the holidays and saw first hand how the really impoversished people in my city live. With my degree, I plan on opening a financial literacy center in Oakland to support the people of my community. I plan on helping refer them to services and have opportunities to rebuild your credit and get on the path to home ownership and wealth building. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

My goal in life is to seek knowledge to enlighten myself and discover happiness in acts of service for my community, while maintaining a financially independent 2-parent household for my 2 children and 2 black English Labradors keeping my cup full.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. Reading is essential to success. My favorite book is The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. Although it is considered a children's book, many lessons can apply to all stages of life. The book demonstrates the way humans can take from nature without regard to the detriment we can leave behind; such as global warming, a large carbon footprint, plastic pollution, and deforestation. These lessons are simplified so that a young child could understand and see in the simple black-and-white illustrations the devastation of living selfishly. This book has shaped my goals and appreciation for life and preserving my planet for future generations to enjoy. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. As a football student-athlete, I know the importance of eating healthy. Proper nutrition helps me achieve my goals on the field and in the weight room. If I were to eat a bunch of junk food or fast food without much protein, I cannot perform at my best for my team and Coach. I focus on consuming healthy proteins like chicken, eggs and fish. It has helped me to achieve my dominance on the football field. Along with nutrition, the importance of being hydrated goes hand-in-hand. I always have a water jug with me everywhere I go. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. Growing up in Oakland, California, I know the importance of free speech and I choose to support the pro-life choice. I am a practicing Catholic and attend church with my grandmother. The actions I take to promote the value and dignity in all human beings including the unborn, is practicing abstinence and sharing my faith with my friends and teammates. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. Free speech is the most important liberty that is exercised in my home city of Oakland. There are protests and gatherings every day. The community encourages all people to use their voices to express their concerns and educate their neighbors on topics and important issues. Being from Oakland, it is the essence of my character to stand up for what I believe in. It is an important American right that helped me decide on my liberal arts college to attend Lewis & Clark College. I know that a more conservative path would not have made my college experience enjoyable. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. Although I do not have any volunteer experience in a hospital, I have been to many hospitals over the years. My grandmother was diagnosed with multiple myeloma cancer in 2011, and went through many treatments including radiation, chemotherapy, dialysis, biopsies, stem-cell transplants, and countless hospital stays. While in the hospitals I saw first-hand the importance of nurses and how a great nurse could change a patient's day with kindness and empathy and advocate for the correct care. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. After I graduate, I plan on opening a financial literacy center to help the members of my community understand the importance of credit. I would like to be able to assist my neighbors with home-buying information, and how to invest money to build wealth in minority communities. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. My goals will help gifted children because I plan to use the knowledge from college to open a business where I will help families learn about financial literacy. When the parents are struggling financially, it is harder for the children, gifted or otherwise to be successful. If the parents can provide a stable household, with manageable loans and good jobs, it will be to the benefit of the entire household. My business will improve the lives of my community. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

Recovering from all the traumas of your childhood is something to be proud of. People may think that it is easy to say no to drugs or to choose to do your homework instead of ditching school and being cool. It is not. It is a challenge everyday. That is something that I know first hand. My grandfather attends AA meetings 3 times a week. He has a coin in his pocket and has been sober for almost 18 years. He takes pride in knowing that his story can help people. It helps me; the honesty of his words, the pain of his struggle. Recovery is a daily challenge, but it is one day at a time. Keep going forward. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. Helping people is important because everyone needs help. In kindergarten, you are taught the golden rule, treat others the way you want to be treated. And it is one of the most important life lessons. No one can make it without a helping hand. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I love working out. It makes me feel in control of my life and my body always feels better afterwards. As a young hawaiian boy, I was always called chubby. It affected my confidence. I stayed to myself. Through my coaches and football, the gym, weights, CrossFit, conditioning, I have learned to focus my energy and passion for the game through my literal blood, sweat and tears. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. Mahalo.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I believe that I can start a financial awareness business that would benefit my community. I would use the knowledge of my business degree to assist the less fortunate and help everyone understand the importance of credit and how to rebuild their credit. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I will make the most of any opportunity because I know that hard work pays off. I know what it feels like to win, and I know the pain of defeat. Winning is much more enjoyable, however, more lessons are learned through failure. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. Math is everywhere. I used to hate math, but I know that I needed to overcome my fear of math to become successful in life. So I had to learn to love it, reluctantly.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship. My grandmother who recently passed away from Multiple Myeloma cancer, received excellent care at UCSF. The nurses who assisted her through her stem cell transplant helped ease her pain. That is why I would love to pursue the field of nursing. I would like to help my community, my family, and have a job that makes me feel good. Thank you.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I was told that a degree in Mathematics will open doors and opportunities. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family. I need this scholarship financially because I am the first person in my family to go to college. Football opened the door to my college acceptance; however, it did not cover all the costs of my tuition. Unfortunately, I do not have a college-fund. I would be forever grateful to be awarded this scholarship.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family.

It is 2023 and I have survived living in East Oakland. I made it through a pandemic, riots, looting, protests, crime, sideshows, garbage laden and an overwhelming amount of unhoused people. I moved here after 6th grade from Stockton, California. My Dad had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 33, and I was alone with my Mom. Living in an urban city is much harder than the suburbs. You become street-smart. It’s do or die. We hear fireworks or we hear gunshots. It’s a nightly game for the citizens of Oakland. A City that has an uptick of home invasions, and an abundance of gangs and drugs. Being a minority in a city full of minorities, and entering middle school as an outsider was difficult. I didn’t fit in. I had no shoe game. I didn’t listen to the right music. The kids made fun of me or tried to start fights to see what I was made of. The pandemic hit and my room turned into my classroom. All my classmates were stuck inside my Chromebook. I would get to see them on zoom, if only they turned on their cameras. For almost 2 years, I was isolated. Scared to catch covid, so that I wouldn’t get my Grandma sick. Anxiety about the society I lived in increased. Why were people fighting over toilet paper? I turned to football as my way out. I attended every camp, went to every practice and spent all my time in the gym. My coaches put it in my head that playing football in college, went hand-in-hand with good grades. That was my escape plan. I had to put in work in the classroom and keep my grades above a 3.5 GPA. I became Captain of any team I was on. I set the tone on the field and made a name for myself with the opposing schools. Coaches would tell me they tweaked their offenses to avoid my defensive plays. They would run plays on the opposite side of the field. I would hunt for the ball. I play like I am hungry, because I am. I take pride in all that I do. My hard work paid off as I was recruited to play football at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I survived. I plan on making a difference and getting a degree to help better myself and my family.