When I was in fourth grade, my classmates and I had to make a paper box. On each side of the box we had to put certain facts about ourselves; what kind of foods we liked or disliked, what our favorite animal was, what we wanted to be when we grew up, and other things like that. We had to draw a picture with each answer, and that is where I became interested. Even though I like most foods, didn't really like animals, and had no clue what I wanted to be, I loved the project because I liked drawing; that love for drawing inspired me at the ripe old age of 10 when I decided that I wanted to become an artist. When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I stuck with that answer. Then came middle school where I got embarrassed of my ‘different’ goal and stuck with the answer “I don’t really know yet.” I still loved art and my classes that incorporated creative thinking, but the second anyone mentioned that I was good at art or complimented me, I got ashamed for trying too hard and would deny it. Further into middle school and my freshman year of high school, I started to accept that it was okay to like art, and being better at it than some wasn’t a bad thing. However, as I got older, and better, so did many others. I was exposed to great works of art that made me never want to show my own for fear of getting judged. I went back and forth between being proud of my talent, and being reluctant to show anyone. After a while, more specifically, during the spring break of COVID-19, I decided to buy myself good watercolors and paper, and just paint. As I experimented with my own art, I also began to want to experience others’ art as well. I was constantly admiring art and creating my own. I was experimenting in collages, and even painting with acrylics on t-shirts and sweatshirts for my friends. I now crave trying new kinds of art, experiencing great masterpieces, and eventually making my own, unashamedly. After the summer of COVID, quarantine, and my personal summer of an acrylic mess, our school went back in-person for my current junior year. This year I have had much more time to experiment in different forms of art, broaden my creative mind and artistic eye, and discover confidence in myself; all with goals that are ‘different’. If I combine the many skills I have accumulated through various programs, with the financial help from this scholarship, I believe I can truly make a difference as a youth advocate. I plan to do this through the support of many skillsI have built up; leadership experience I have gained from Student Council, a mind apt for helping from my volunteer work, creativity and inspiration derived from my experiences with art, and communication and social skills I have gained from my food service and babysitting jobs. These opportunities are ones I hope to provide for children through youth advocacy or social work. This career path will help me use my abilities in ‘different’ and creative ways. They will provide the world with generations of new ideas and incredible advancements. Although the outlook I had on my artistic skill was, at first, alienating, it might just be the trick to changing the world; new perspectives are the start to huge changes, whether in a single person’s life or the whole world, and I strive to provide those opportunities and perspectives.

The biggest problems I see in the world right now are the stigmas and poor treatment that seem to follow poverty and racism, especially in school systems. Schools should be a place for education and empowering students to accomplish their goals, but there is a lack of that support in many schools today, especially publicly funded schools. There is a huge wage gap between the upper-middle class majority and the lower class and this is very evident in highly populated urban areas. The schools are segregated, not purposefully by race, but systemically. Although the excuse is that schools cater to the population around them, that population is often separated by economic status, with suburban schools providing better education to richer people due to the funding possible, and inner-city schools being neglected due to a gap in the ability to pay taxes. This huge wage gap that is often characterized by race, goes back to segregated ideals and although racism may not be actively pursued by the country, it is often hiding between the lines of careers and options available. There is a very big stigma around this systemically racist country, but it is often hiding between the simple explanation of location. The school systems are not the ones enforcing this separation but are often evident in the opportunities available to students as well as the state of the schools. Although it may not be the school's fault, it is the state's fault, as they provide the funding for public schools. The racist patterns in funding can further disadvantage minorities or anyone in the lower class. As someone who has lived their whole life in a primarily white college town with only one school system, the opportunities that have been available to me have been abundant and not limited or overshadowed. I hope to use my privilege of money and opportunity to the advantage of those in worse situations. I plan to do this by working with schools and providing a social, academic, and economic platform for students to make their goals happen. I plan to get a Family and Community Health major from either North Dakota State University or Montana State University, and from there, build a career in youth advocacy or social work to best help students in unfortunate living situations. I plan to help break the vicious cycle of poverty, crime, and racism, one student at a time, by being the support system they need to achieve their dreams and reach a better life with opportunities they have been deprived of. Since most of this plan requires me to graduate college and is very far in the future, I have been making some choices now to best prepare myself for this plan, and also using the opportunities I have been provided with to build a skill set and understanding of the legal system and government. I think this is one of the best ways for me to start making a difference now because I will not be able to alter a system without first understanding it. The steps I am currently taking involve volunteer work, educational programs about the government, and a job shadow/internship with an organization with goals similar to mine. I am currently doing a job shadow with the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) branch in my town. From this position, I hope to learn how CASA volunteers choose the best path for abused or neglected children so that I can understand some of the situations students might be in. This knowledge will help me in an advocacy position as well as provide me with the opportunity to grow in empathy for both the children and parents in harmful situations. This upcoming summer, I am participating in the South Dakota American Leader Auxillary Girls State program. This program is a 5-day immersive simulation for High School juniors to expand in an understanding of how the government works at local, state, and national levels. This socially demanding retreat will help me break out of my shell in an uncomfortable situation, while also challenging me to become involved with the government. I hope to learn a lot from the week and I think it will provide me with a better understanding of the benefits and faults of local and state funding. The most beneficial program I am involved in is Teen Court. Teen Court is a student-for-student court system to provides high schoolers with a second chance after receiving a misdemeanor. I volunteer on the Jury panel in peer review cases, and my role is to help the other jury members choose a fair and reasonable sentence for the student. Should the student complete the sentence in the time frame given, the offense will be removed from their record. This provides them with a chance to clean their slate and create new, better habits. Through this experience I have been able to see the effect of peer pressure on teenagers as well as their willingness to change for the better; they are provided with a chance to change their situation. These programs were well as memoirs and studies I have read, have provided me with a better understanding of how to kids and students are affected by a lack of support from their school, family, and friends. The career I am working towards will help rebuild that platform and provide them with the opportunities they need to succeed in life.

My dream in life is to help people. I have always loved volunteering and helping, even at home. I was the kid growing up who was running around at church events decorating with adults; the first one up the stairs when my mom yelled for us kids; the one who stayed after almost everything to help clean up, even to the point that my parents wouldn’t come on time to pick me up because they knew I would be busy for those last ten minutes. I’m like that now, too, but with my age, experience, and ability, I am working on broadening my scope so I can help more people in different ways. In the past year I have started volunteering for Teen Court, ran for, and won, president of the Junior class, was admitted into National Honor Society and Key Club, balanced a job and dual credit courses, and joined as a team leader in a retreat team at my church, all to be involved in my community and school as much as possible. The best way for me to live out my dream in my career, as far as I have been able to figure, is to become a youth advocate or family social worker. I love kids and I want to help them in their stages of development so that they, too, can live out their own dreams. I read a book earlier this year by Arshay Cooper that transformed my life and really brought to perspective what my life dream actually is. The book highlights the story of the author, but also represents the many hardships many people sadly face. As a kid, Arshay lived in a poor neighborhood surrounded by gangs and violence. In his life, he had two options, become like his mom, siblings, friends, aunts, and neighbors and become a drug-addicted zombie, or learn from sitcoms the way his life could be changed with proper schooling and a support system. The stereotypes of hsi situation brought lots of hate to him and his school, along with the issue of blatant racism in the funding of said school. One day, though, Ken Alpert visited this school as a last resort to create America’s first all-black rowing team. No one wanted to do it, but with the promise of free pizza at the information meeting, the hungry teens' entire lives were transformed. Ken trained them in rowing, school, entrepreneurship, and other life skills, forming them into accomplished students who had only been hindered by a lack of care from their community. Arshay’s story, and Ken’s involvement in the team constantly inspires me and pushes me to become involved as early as possible so that I can make the biggest impact on our young future. I want to make the difference in many children that Ken was able to make in the team’s lives. To inspire the youth is to inspire the future; that is the reason I want to be a youth advocate or a social worker. I think it is the most effective way for me to help people and change the world for the better; creating a generation of strong, confident, powerful youth with dreams that they are prepared to accomplish. If kids in bad situations, or poor neighborhoods like Arshay had the resources to change their life, I’m sure almost every single one would want to put the effort in. I want to provide ways for them to do that. Although I have no experience with a hard life as some do, the thought that people do, and that I might be able to help them is my motivation. With any help you are willing to give me, I would be able to start learning the best ways to put this into action, and like I want to do for others, your support and resources would help me be able live out my own dream in the best and most impactful way possible.