I admire Zendaya's acting skills the most out of her multifaceted career. If a person were to watch her for the first time in a movie or TV show, they would resonate with her immediately as her acting capabilities are instantly intriguing. It amazes me the most that she can portray any character that has any kind of personality and it comes across so natural and authentic on the screen. For instance, there are many actors and actresses in the film industry who stick to having the same character personalities and traits because it's what they're known for or it's just how they act in real life off camera. I'm confident in saying that Zendaya really enjoys challenging herself on new role identities that doesn't portray her real human personality off the screen. With that being said, I feel as though that's the beauty of acting and what acting is all about, and that's what makes people crown her as an outstanding actress and the reason she wins many awards. Everyone can act and follow a script, but it's only a matter of how you do it. Zendaya is one of the few people on the list who can interpret character personalities well and go above and beyond.

What motivated me to pursue a higher education is the passion that I fell in love with, which is fashion design. Ever since I was younger, I've been an avid drawer and sketcher and when I drew persons, I often took the most time creating outfits for my figures. Then, I began solely focusing on the sketches and fashion illustrations of figures. As a result, I decided to pursue a higher education in my current major, fashion design. I knew that pursing my education further would not only generate job opportunities for me, but allow opportunity for networking with people who share the same interests as me and those who are willing to navigate me in the right direction of where I want to be in my career. In addition, I knew I wanted to pursue my education with a group of students who looked like me and experience the HBCU (historical black college and university) experiences I've always heard about and dreamt of. Making my parents and family members happy is also another reason that motivated me to pursue a higher education. My parents and other families attended HBCUs as well and they definitely motivated me to want to spend my time there too. I've racked up so many outfit ideas that I wanted to see become a reality, so I wanted to gain knowledge in ways of creating different outfits through different methods of drawing and creation. The field of science falling under fashion design is Family and Consumer Sciences. Family and Consumer Sciences are the study of relationships amongst individuals, groups, and communities and their environments. What excites me about this field of science is that I get to learn about the dynamics and behavior of people in mostly all aspects. It interests me that I get to gain knowledge and engage in the actions of being around different individuals and groups of people. Giving back to the community, donating, and offering a helping hand plays a huge role as this is something I frequently participate in help the overall betterment of society. Making people feel good and putting a smile on peoples' faces also makes me feel good. A student organization that I'm member of at college is a non-profit organization called "Service Spree." In the organization, I've participated in activities such as packing canned goods and other foods into boxes such a food drives, and the businesses distribute them. I've also made meaningful arts and crafts pieces such as letters to give them to nursery homes. In addition, painted the nails of women at nursery homes. Furthermore, I've donated clothes that I no longer wanted to the student organization, donated hygiene, beauty, and oral care products for those in need, and donated purses and bags I no longer wanted. The family and consumer sciences field has allowed me to engage with different people and their behaviors, allowing me to apply this to my career in fashion design with what people's preferences and how they feel about clothing.

I've been giving back since my freshman year of college and I am now a rising undergraduate senior. In the beginning, I did not participate in the act of giving back and volunteering due to social anxiety. With the help of joining student organizations through my college, volunteering with my mom, and volunteering for my one of my family and consumer science class, my social anxiety has went away tremendously. Now, I look forward to meeting new people, developing meaningful relationships, and doing my best to ensure people end off their day with a smile, laughter, and a new memory to hold onto. One of the college student organizations I'm apart of is called "Service Spree." It's a non-profit organization where we participate in activities such as packing canned goods and other foods into boxes such a food drives, and the businesses distribute them. We also make meaningful arts and crafts pieces such as letters to give them to nursery homes. In addition, we've also painted the nails of women at nursery homes. Furthermore, I've donated clothes that I no longer wanted to the student organization, donated hygiene, beauty, and oral care products for those in need, and donated purses and bags I no longer wanted. Another volunteering experience I've had is fixing and serving food plates to homeless people and those in need I plan to positively impact the world in the future by not only continuing to volunteer and help others but encouraging people to chase their dreams and aspirations. Volunteering and being that light in someone's life can heavily impact them and can cause them to become more open minded in how they want to live their life. In a few years from now when I open my very own clothing business, I want to be known for my fashion illustrations and clothing designs. I want to make an impact on the world by giving away clothing to those in need to individuals and families. I know it would be more meaningful and impactful for someone in need to have a options to choose from with some designs and uniqueness to their wardrobe, something they would feel good and confident in. I also want to do contests and giveaways of giving away the clothes I create. I want to be someone who can be remembered for my artistic values and my kind ness towards others and will hopefully be inspired to do the same for their communities.

As current undergraduate fashion design major with a minor in marketing, my goals and aspirations for the future are very solid for the future to help create and build a legacy for myself. I see myself a as a very creative and unique individual who loves nothing less than unique drawings and illustrations for the creation of clothing garments. Throughout my education, I've challenged myself to be as unique and different as I can to stand out from others. Whether that's art pieces, fashion illustrations, and creative projects. I want people to recognize and acknowledge the work that I create and I want to create things that people can take away from and memorize my distinct creation style. In my legacy, I want to be known as an artist who outdoes herself on every new project. I want everything to be better and more unique than a previous project. A legacy where people can grow to respect me as an artist and the unique ideas I come up with that no other can. The type of business I want to create in the future is opening my very own clothing business. I envision my business to start out as an online brand and eventually have public store locations nationwide, then global locations. That's when I know that I've created a legacy for myself. I love sketching fashion illustrations more than actually constructing clothes. As a person on the neurodivergent side, drawing and sketching with the use of coloring to help my fashion illustrations come to light deeply satisfies me and calms me down with my anxiety and overstimulation. I feel best relaxed when I'm contributing to things that I'm good at and love doing, overall making feel at peace and content. It is definitely something I'm passionate about, ambitious about, and really determined about for others to see and acknowledge. Even when people ask me what position I want to be in years from now, what I want to do after college, and asking me what I'm passionate about, I tell the same answer that I want to start my own clothing business and be a professional fashion illustrator. I've shined my light in many ways being a creative person that I am. I've constructed clothing garments, created visual merchandising window displays, art crafted a pumpkin out of bamboo sticks, lock wires, and papier mâché, created a tesla cybertruck out of tape and cardboard boxes, and more. The ways that I shine my light is often very hands-on. I believe that my hands are very gifted and when I set my mind to what I want to create, I always end up surprising myself with the outcomes.

I have given back to the community a numerous amount of times in the past few years. Giving back is one of the many things that helps shapes society. It gives people a sense of purpose and puts positive situations into a perspective of reflection on oneself. People are wise in their own way and when you come across them, it can benefit you greatly—like being introduced to a new interest or passion. I have realized that volunteering benefits everyone in the smallest ways but may be life changing for that person because we all inspire each other. learning from them as interacting with different people of all ages has made me become more open minded. One of the most memorable community service events was when I participated in gift wrapping dolls for the company Zoe’s Dolls. These dolls were gifted to little kids as Christmas gifts and personally, it really moved me. During this period of time of gift wrapping and giving away dolls, I got the opportunity to speak to the founder of this company, 14-year-old Zoe Terry. She shared her story with me and the organization I was a part of along with telling us about the importance of little girls receiving the dolls. This experience has impacted me on my career choice because if a business owner/entrepreneur as young as 14 years old can have their own brand, then so can I. This inspired me to keep working hard and to keep creating new ideas so that I can establish a brand for myself just as young. As I continued participating in community service, I have grown to look forward to meeting new people of all ages. I love meeting new personalities and developing new relationships with those. Volunteering and helping others genuinely makes me feel good that I am contributing to others' happiness and them being content. Packing up foods and clothes to give those in need, including families, makes me feel good that I am doing good deeds and contributing to the greater good of peoples lives. I would say that I am very fortunate to be in the position I am now to help others and witness the smiles and laughs from people. Not only has helping others encouraged me to be more confident when talking to people by having meaningful and lighthearted, fun conversations in moments of sadness or despair, it has helped me be more social and outgoing, especially for networking.

As a current student at North Carolina A&T State University, an HBCU, it is such a privilege and honor to be enrolled here. Leading up to my college decision of where I wanted to be enrolled at, I was sure it was going to be a community college or university within Florida where I reside. But the issues were that majority of the colleges didn't offer my major and there are only 4 HBCUS in Florida. I knew I wanted to be surrounded by people my age and who looked like me and shared the same experiences as me as a black person living in America. They say that you will find your forever-people in college, so I wanted to make sure those forever-people would be black people! Being the number one HBCU in the country holds a lot of weight and it definitely lives up to that position. There is so much creativity within the students that are here including myself. Being enrolled at an HBCU really inspired me to push myself to my utmost potential along with other black students. It is super motivating. Being black means taking on the opportunities that presents itself and feeling comfortable to do so without second guessing yourself.

As a current student at North Carolina A&T State University, it is such a privilege and honor to be enrolled here. Leading up to my college decision of where I wanted to be enrolled at, I was sure it was going to be a community college or university within Florida where I reside. But the issues were that majority of the colleges didn't offer my major and there are only 4 HBCUS in Florida. I knew I wanted to be surrounded by people my age and who looked like me and shared the same experiences as me as a black person living in America. North Carolina A&T State has a marvelous timeline of making black history and continues to do so! With great academic programs and the recognitions and opportunities received, access to resources of companies you never imagined having the opportunity to take advantage of, a plethora of resources to guarantee you success for life after college, so many student organizations you didn't know you would find interest in! Being the number one HBCU in the country holds a lot of weight and it definitely lives up to that position. There is so much creativity within the students that are here including myself. Coming to A&T, I had no idea what these 4 years would offer me. I had no idea I would gain this much information and progress so much in these courses throughout the years within my field of study. I was in love with Fashion Design before, but as the years progress, I am REALLY in love with Fashion Design now. The history, the art, and the future of it. I never thought I'd be able to master the sewing machine and creating garments. Now I have my own sewing machine where I make alterations to my own wardrobe of clothing, and I've already completed 4 full garments! I plan to carry these values and goals by making clothing alterations for others and making clothing to model and showcase in. I see myself as a very creative person ready to be innovative in any aspect. My determination and ambition has always been there and fashion design and art is something I will be pursing for a very long time. Leading into my future goals, I plan to continue making clothing garments, modeling them, and showcasing them to those interested. One student organization that I am a member of is Fashion X-Cetera. They have clothing workshops and events, hold fashion shows, in-person and zoom conversations with big retail companies like Tiffany & Co. and Louis Vuitton, and promotes student's own personal clothing brands. These resources will help leverage my education through the duration of my time here to showcase my clothing-making abilities and help jumpstart my career.

My plans for the future are to, of course, walk the stage with my bachelor’s degree. I also aspire to be admitted into an internship program before graduating, complete accomplishments in university organizations and programs, manufacture clothing from my sketch designs and have a steady job that contributes to paying off my tuition. Therefore, this scholarship will help me tremendously and contribute to having a stress-free college journey. The field of study I want to pursue is fashion merchandising & design. This will contribute to my long-range career plans by allowing me to apply my skills and knowledge in the fashion field to become a business owner. I aspire to become a professional at designing and manufacturing clothes myself before gaining knowledge of other manufacturers. My current time here at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University has already helped me tremendously in achieving goals as I’ve learned how to work a sewing machine, constructed pants, skirts, shirts, how to measure one’s body for filling, and the use of sewing machine and apparel tools. I strongly believe my work will be recognized and the first person acknowledging it will be the start of many others acknowledging my art and developing a huge support system. With fashion being my field of study, I can fully put my creativity out there and showcase the best of my artistic abilities. I strongly believe that I can make a difference. Another reason why my field of study will contribute to my long-range career plans is that I will have the opportunity to showcase that my art will be unique and different. Sharing and introducing new ideas would not only benefit me but the audiences I'd share them to. As a result, those will be inspired and tell others about my art. In a few years when I am older, I want to be in a position where I will be able to create any type of clothes without needing the approval of others or being told what type of clothes is suitable for an audience and break general opinions. There are many different clothing styles that people gravitate towards because fashion is subjective and there is no right or wrong answer about what one should or shouldn't wear. As a black aspiring fashion designers, retailers can create a more welcoming experience for black customers by educating themselves on what black customers are generally interested in. This could correlate to black art or black culture. Black customers can connect with products, services, and marketing by being influenced by what is presented to them and how welcoming or inviting it is for them to consider supporting them. This would be a big step in the right direction and therefore would benefit and shape society in the fashion industry into something beau>ful. Many musical artists, fashion designers, movies and TV shows, and just different people I see whether I'm going to the mall or grocery store all inspire me and motivate me even more to pursue this career path. Fashion is important to me because it is one of the things that shape the world. Dating back to hundreds of years ago, fashion designers shaped what it is today. It allows every individual to get a sense of what they think would best suit them which is something they’re confident and comfortable in. Within the fashion industry, we inspire one another and can share and expand our thoughts, strategies, and ideas.