My name is Peace Amhanesi, and I am a rising junior majoring in Computer and Information Science at Edward Waters University. I hail from Nigeria, where my passion for technology and its potential to drive positive change led me to pursue a bachelor's degree in computer and information science. Growing up, I witnessed firsthand the transformative power of technology and its potential to drive change and improve lives. This spurred my interest in computer science and AI. During my ongoing journey in software development, I have been particularly intrigued by the challenges of training basic AI models with limited data. This has sharpened my technical skills and deepened my understanding of AI's capabilities and limitations. I am passionate about using AI to address real-world problems, particularly in underserved communities like those in Nigeria. As an international student, I am facing significant hardships that create barriers to achieving my academic and professional goals. One major challenge is the lack of health insurance, which forces me to pay substantial hospital bills out-of-pocket. This financial strain is compounded by the limitations on my ability to work. I am restricted to on-campus employment, where job opportunities are scarce, leading to job insecurity and financial instability. Additionally, I am currently using a school-provided laptop that is low-grade and has limited functionality. This inadequate equipment hinders my ability to engage fully in my studies, particularly in my area of interest, AI security and management. High-performance computing capabilities are essential for my research and development in AI, and the current laptop does not support the necessary software and applications. The financial burden extends to my educational pursuits beyond the classroom. Enrolling in external courses that offer advanced skills and certifications, which are crucial for securing internships, fellowships, and research opportunities, is prohibitively expensive. These certifications would significantly enhance my employability and practical experience in the field of computer and information science. Food insecurity is another pressing issue. Limited food options at my school, coupled with my inability to afford adequate meals, affect my overall well-being and academic performance. Additionally, during school breaks or semester ends, I face the challenge of finding temporary accommodation as my family remains in Nigeria, leaving me with few options and added stress. Receiving the Schmid Memorial Scholarship would alleviate these financial burdens, enabling me to invest in a suitable laptop, enroll in essential courses, and ensure basic needs like food and accommodation are met. This support would significantly enhance my ability to excel academically and professionally, ultimately allowing me to contribute to technological advancements and community development both in the U.S. and Nigeria. I am deeply committed to using technology to drive positive change, and I believe that with the right resources and support, I can make significant contributions to the field of computer science. The Schmid Memorial Scholarship would be a pivotal step in helping me achieve my aspirations and make a lasting impact on my community and beyond.

My interest in health informatics has inspired me to seek opportunities that intersect research and data analytics. Since last year, I have been working with a non-profit on a capstone project for food and housing insecurity. This experience has exposed me to observations and high-level analyses of different insecurities in underserved schools. I have been examining food insecurities on a public level, and then on a school level. Likewise what food insecurity means for undergrads and potential mediations. We also brainstormed on strategies and executed different initiatives that will assist with handling the issue in academic environments. Also as a current sophomore, one of the current community services I did was planning a community project with classmates after graduating high school, to create a local book donation stream that would ensure that we adequately give back our textbooks and class notes to younger schoolmates who did not have enough resources to get new textbooks and struggled to keep up with class work. As a high school graduate from a low-income background, I understood the difficulties of keeping up with academic concepts in various classes while not being able to fully afford some essential educational resources on time. As such, I would create meetings where we had an “experience board” where my friends used their personal experiences with the problems of economic hardship to create the most inclusive strategies we could deploy to make life a bit easier for our younger colleagues I was in charge of overseeing the team, establishing deadlines, and organizing our efforts as the project manager. Managing the varied skill sets and personalities was one of the most considerable challenges I had as a project manager. I quickly observed the difference in the mental wavelength of everyone and was inspired by the passion that they all displayed. I worked hard to foster trust and promote open communication among my teammates because I understood how crucial it was to forge a cohesive and effective team. I witnessed the team create diverse and inclusive solutions while maintaining the camaraderie of working together. Being available and accessible to my team members was another focus of mine, and I regularly displayed an optimistic outlook and a readiness to listen to their worries and suggestions. This, in my opinion, promoted a feeling of cohesion and togetherness among the team members. I was able to lead the project to a conclusion by utilizing my communication, collaboration, and problem-solving abilities, and I was pleased to witness the beneficial effects that our efforts had on the school and the community at large. Overall, my time spent managing the project was a fruitful learning opportunity that helped me refine my leadership abilities. Even though the job was difficult, I was able to rise to the situation and help my colleagues and the community. I am confident that the abilities and traits I gained from managing projects will be useful to me in all of my future activities, both personal and professional. To me, the American Dream represents the continuing journey toward fulfillment, equality, and limitless possibility for all. It is a living tapestry woven from the diverse dreams and aspirations of every individual in America.

I come from a lower-class Nigerian family nestled deep in the savor of purpose, faith, leadership, and community. I attended high school on a merit scholarship and graduated as valedictorian of my class at the age of 17 with a profound interest in community development. Like any youngster, I was filled with dreams, hope, and enthusiasm. I wanted to go into the world and begin to beat giant strides and achieve great excellence in my career interests, I was extremely motivated! Surprisingly, my dreams and hopes started to fade because things didn’t work out the way I had planned—I have not been able to proceed to college for four years since I graduated from high school because of socioeconomic disadvantages. Some years ago, my parents who are local farmers lost their source of livelihood to harsh regulatory policies in Nigeria. As non-college graduates, their job choices were minimal. They started a few businesses that failed. They barely made the amount of money needed to feed the entire family, therefore, I had to completely forfeit my college dreams to reduce the financial implications in my household. I had a rough encounter with mental health because of my circumstances. My professional plans and ambitions had begun to crumble, however, this was a usual case for kids in my community. Determined to make a change, I started to think of ways to break this cycle. Some research has shown that every day in Nigeria about 20,000 persons slip into their first phase of depression, and tons of millions of others are experiencing various forms of depressive symptoms. The severity of this situation has resulted in the decline of core sectors that contribute massively to national wealth and the proper standard of living in my country in particular and underrepresented communities across the world in general. I started to seek professional exposure and I was opportune to intern with a healthcare organization as a data analyst in the statistical committee. I learned how to acquire, manage, analyze, interpret, and transform health data into accurate, consistent, and timely information. As an intern, I was able to facilitate mental health training sessions in 15 public schools where I also created psychology clubs and registered over 450 high school students. In 2020, I started to volunteer with youth empowerment and rose to become the head of media and publicity after two years in the organization. I did an internship with a tech hub while taking professional courses online on technology management, data science, people operations, and leadership, and I also maintained other part-time volunteering duties. My future aspiration is to create a local organization or non-profit conglomerate that addresses social issues through philanthropy, research, leadership, technology innovations, and pipeline initiatives. I want to work with diverse change-makers to reinforce strategies that will make positive impacts sustainable and widespread. Along the path of learning more ways of being a better human to the world, I have learned to turn my disadvantages and circumstances into a springboard for personal growth and became an active changemaker more than I was when I graduated from high school. My experiences have shaped me into the person I am today, it has made me an inclusive human who is passionate about creating an endless cycle of positive change. I have been exposed to life lessons from disparate people which have strengthened my emotional intelligence, interpersonal character, and leadership skills.

I envision a future career in which I can combine my passion for technology with my commitment to social impact. As a person from a developing country, I want to work towards bridging the digital divide, particularly in underserved communities, by developing innovative and accessible technology solutions. Whether through working with tech company or a nonprofit organization, my goal is to use my skills and knowledge to make a positive impact on society. Being Black to me means resilience, strength, and a rich cultural heritage. It means overcoming obstacles and persevering in the face of adversity. It means being a part of a community that has been historically marginalized and oppressed, yet continues to thrive and create vibrant cultural expressions. As a Black person, I am proud of my heritage and strive to uphold the legacy of those who came before me while paving the way for future generations. I chose to attend an HBCU because I wanted to be a part of a community that prioritizes and celebrates Black excellence. I wanted to be in an environment where I could learn and grow surrounded by people who share my cultural background and experiences. Attending an HBCU has provided me with a sense of belonging and community, as well as opportunities to engage with Black scholars and leaders in various fields. It has also helped me to develop a strong sense of pride and identity as a Black person, which I carry with me in all aspects of my life.

I was ten years old when I started my first business, although I would not have described it with the fancy word “business” as I did right now, however, it was a business if you consider convincing adults with childlike desperation to give you money to buy wholesale fruits then market and sell all and give them back their capital with an extra profit. I was an odd kid, with few words, curious thoughts, a compassionate attitude, and a strict observer of social trends and cultural tendencies. My personality made it fun to carefully notice patterns and intricacies of occurrences, which in turn helped me notice the bias that my immediate environment had on my professional aspirations. I demystified the views I observed; as a kid from a low-income family, there was a mental cap on what one could achieve. Understandably, this results from faulty political and economic systems in my country that exclude people without college degrees, poor socioeconomic conditions, and other underserved classes from accessing opportunities that can create sustainable finance for them. However, it also had to do with the mentality that the environmental conditions had relegated us to—very few had managed to escape that cycle of life "so what makes you special" was an unspoken tradition. As a very inquisitive teenager, I would cherish every opportunity to gain access to the internet to browse about people who had dealt with limitations and were able to make something out of it. I used the stories of women with PhDs in Quantum Physics, Behavioral Economics, and many other fields as a frame of reference for my passion. I wanted to break that cycle therefore I challenged the environmental tradition and restrictions which said there was just so little I could achieve because of my socioeconomic background. I knew that just my bare minimum would not serve me, my family, and my community and I wanted to be the representation another teenager will look up to in the future. I started taking responsibility for my goals, asked questions, and remained resilient in my drive. I began to seek professional exposure and I was opportune to intern with a healthcare organization as a data analyst on the statistical committee. I learned how to acquire, manage, analyze, interpret, and transform health data into accurate, consistent, and timely information. In 2020, I started to volunteer with youth empowerment and rose to become the head of media and publicity after two years in the organization. I did an internship with a tech hub while taking professional online courses on data science, tech operations, and leadership, and also maintained other part-time volunteering duties. My personal experiences and diverse community exposures birthed my passion for social engineering. Along the path of learning more ways of being a better human to the world and challenging beliefs, I have turned my disadvantages and socioeconomic circumstances into a springboard for personal and professional growth. I have finally enrolled in college, and it’s inspiring to be a first-generation college student.