Throughout my school years, I have spent many hours perfecting my study routine for exams. Some of the most important procedures I follow are as follows. I think studying begins with the introduction to the material. So, when I read a textbook chapter or assigned reading for the first time, I follow certain guidelines to absorb the material and ensure I will remember it for the exam. I make sure I am paying close attention by using a highlighter to emphasize important points or a flashcard that I use as a sort of line reader. This helps me read faster and ensures I am not distracted by the other words surrounding the phrase I am currently reading. Next, when studying, I will use notes taken in class or highlighted material from before to review what I have already learned. I find that paying close attention to the information the first time makes it much quicker to review it adequately before test time. If the course is especially complex or there is a lot of material, I will create physical flashcards or make some online. Going through these whenever I have free time reinforces facts and definitions without much time commitment. Following these steps and getting a good night's sleep the day before the exam helps me get the grade I want!

In my sophomore year of high school, I revived an old club centered around activism and societal change called Human Relations. I changed meeting structure, organized campaigns and drives, and co-founded another club to help combat discrimination in our community. My experiences with discrimination and prejudice inspired me to participate in advocacy against these societal ills, to lessen the burden future generations must carry. I sought to produce tangible differences in my community by rallying a group of supporters in organized efforts. Through Human Relations, I began to do everything I could to bring an end to prejudice and hate as I and my club members saw it in our community. I engaged in street beautification with a local nonprofit, Project Anne. I also worked with other organizations, including Grace Mission Church, which supports the homeless in our town. As a club, we collected candy to redistribute to the less fortunate and are now in the works of organizing a book drive. Being president of Human Relations has had a profound impact on my perspective and approach to affecting positive change. Working with other students dedicated to the fight against discrimination has broadened my worldview, and I have learned of various societal issues I am passionate about. One of the most significant to me is the Uyghur genocide. Uyghurs are a small, mostly Muslim, ethnic minority who are imprisoned in concentration camps in Xinjiang. Through my club, I have worked to raise awareness about and push for legislation to help Uyghur people. We have made social media posts to increase awareness, written letters to representatives asking to create or support important legislation, and even met with our mayor’s office. Local action through my club is, I feel, the most effective way for me to bring meaningful change to my community.

Although I do not create art myself, it has become something I feel very passionate about as time has gone on. I was always an art admirer, a fact made most obvious when I made visits to museums, spending hours poring over the minute details of a bust depicting one Roman man or other. Nonetheless, I did not realize my true love for art and especially its history until I took courses in the history of the arts. Beginning in the late stages of middle school, I decided it would be an exciting venture to take supplementary courses online, through my state's virtual school program. I began with language courses, like Latin and Spanish, and was soon introduced to the art history and criticism course offered through this program. I delved a bit deeper into the course structure and syllabus, questioned some of my teachers about it, and decided it would be a good idea to enroll. This decision was one I am forever grateful for. It allowed me to realize the true beauty and complexity behind all forms of art. It fundamentally changed my perspective on the world around me, as I now viewed everything through the lens of art. My love for this course propelled me to enroll in Advanced Placement Art History in my second year of high school and allowed me to score a five out of five on the end-of-year advanced placement exam, a score that earned college credit for the class. Thanks to a wonderful teacher whom I will always appreciate and admire, I was able to learn about the intricacies of art through time and throughout various cultures and came to realize how much I loved the arts. If I were to win this scholarship, I would put the money toward paying for a college education, so that I may take more courses in the arts and fine-tune my passions to decide on a future career. As I am a first-generation American, my parents are unfamiliar with the workings of scholarly activities in the United States. I, therefore, have struggled to find my place in navigating the challenges associated with the university preparation process. Knowing that these funds are available to me would greatly relieve any stress associated with future college application and tuition costs. I would make use of this scholarship to pay for the college courses I aim to take, allowing me to further explore my passion for the history of art and develop my knowledge on the subject. Making use of this scholarship to acquire a degree would allow me not only to apply my knowledge in the real world, continuing to innovate in the field of the arts, but would also allow me to pursue my life's passion as a career, giving me the ability to ponder art for a living, one of the greatest luxuries I can imagine.

As an activist, I seek for my actions to have a global impact in changing our society for the better. However, in a more realistic vein, I hope to achieve a positive impact of any scale whatsoever through my actions. It is important for us activists to be aware of the fact that any positive change is commendable, and that not only those who have the resources to exact global positive change should be lauded. Those who work within their own communities to improve conditions are just as important as those who work to enact change throughout the world. Even the simplest of actions can leave a lasting impact, if even just for one person. Any one person with the intent to change the world for the better in any way is capable of fostering the most monumental change of all. As the president of my high school club, Human Relations, which is focused on activism and the fight against discrimination, an action I have taken over the past year that means the most to me is my activism for Uighur Muslims in Chinese concentration camps. Uighur Muslims are a small ethnic and religious minority who predominantly reside in Mainland China. For more than three years, these innocent people have been imprisoned in concentration camps in Xinjiang, a region in northwest China. The Chinese government continues to claim that their internment of Uighurs is part of an anti-terrorism campaign, but this claim is likely inaccurate, as reports of forced sterilization, rape, murder, and organ-harvesting surface to support the notion that these actions, in reality, constitute a genocide. Through my club, I have, since the beginning of 2020, worked to raise awareness and push for legislation that would help the Uighurs undergoing this genocide. Together, we have made posts on social media to increase awareness about this issue, have written letters to senators and representatives asking them to create or support existing legislation to help Uighurs, and have met with local officials, not only to raise awareness but also to ask for advice on how to continue in our mission to bring an end to this crisis. I am passionate about all forms of activism, but this campaign has meant the most to me personally as I am Muslim myself. I am of mixed cultural heritage, being French on my mother’s side and Moroccan on my father’s. Growing up, interactions with others taught me to push my Muslim religion and Moroccan heritage away, causing me to mostly embrace my French heritage. Those I met gawked over my ability to speak French, glossing over the other half of me. Comments overheard in class in reference to Muslim people discouraged me from being my authentic self. I remember watching an animated movie in sixth-grade class and hearing a student shout “run!” at the apparition of a character with a headscarf, implying that said character was a terrorist. These sorts of comments may seem inconsequential, but constantly hearing that half of me was unacceptable began to have an impact, one that I did not come to realize until much later. The post-9/11 era I grew up in featured widespread hatred of Muslim peoples, especially in the United States. I lived in constant fear that some person or group would harm me or my family. This consistent fear, accompanied by the degrading comments made by others, created in me a dislike for my own culture. As I matured, I realized that those who criticized my religion and culture were gravely mistaken, and that a lack of appreciation for Muslim people everywhere was an issue that had to be remedied. I came to understand that it was unacceptable for people of any kind to be treated as the “others” and I was no longer ashamed of who I was. Now, my newfound appreciation for who I am has fueled a drive in me to defend the rights of all people to be free of discrimination of any kind. Because those held in Xinjiang concentration camps are Muslim, my activism for these people has meant the most to me personally. As I have come to realize the beauty of my culture and religion, I have concluded I will not be satisfied until all Muslim people, and all people of any religion, ethnicity, or race, are treated equally.