As a young child, mathematics was my weakest subject. I could not comprehend place values, fractions, percentages, or long division. I was a strong student in writing, reading, and history. It was often jarring for my parents to see straight As on my report card and have a D in math. I struggled to explain to my parents that I could not understand the mathematics. One of my other strengths was music. I began playing violin at nine years old and have continued playing. At the age of 19, I started my professional music career. I played with local musicians throughout the city of New Orleans. Alongside performance, I have taught private lessons. As I give lessons, I notice that many students struggle with complex rhythms because they do not know how to count fractional beats. Reading music requires a strong understanding of fractions; as many students are deficient in math, it defeats them. I decided to explore the best method to supplement formal math classes. As such, I became a robotics coach and math tutor. While working with students, I became more confident in my math skills. Tutoring math became a way to support my community, but I also found joy. I came to appreciate algebra in a way I could not as a child. It became a game to explore how many ways I could solve an algebraic problem. Triangles and the Pythagorean theorem no longer defeated me. I could competently manipulate the sides and angles. Calculus proved to no longer be an enemy but a friend. When I took Calculus-based physics, I could see the application of so many of my calculus techniques. In January 2020, I decided to return to school. I enrolled at Delgado Community College with a mathematics concentration. I completed a challenging NASA-approved aerospace program, two NASA internships, and one NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars program alongside those math courses. Tutoring made me well-prepared to excel in my studies. I completed my associate's degree, where I studied through Calculus II. It was amazing to reflect on my academic career, where I struggled to comprehend basic math concepts to complete Calculus II. I have enrolled at the University of New Orleans, where I have completed all beginning prerequisites for a Mathematics degree and studied higher-order mathematics courses.

As a young child, mathematics was my weakest subject. I could not comprehend place values, fractions, percentages, or long division. I was a strong student in writing, reading, and history. It was often jarring for my parents to see straight As on my report card and then to have a C in math. I struggled to explain to my parents that I could not understand the mathematics. One of my other strengths was music. I began playing violin at nine years old and have continued playing. At the age of 19, I started my professional music career. I played with local musicians throughout the city of New Orleans. Alongside performance, I have taught private lessons. As I give lessons, I notice that many students struggle with complex rhythms because they do not know how to count fractional beats. Reading music requires a strong understanding of fractions; as many students are deficient in math, it defeats them. I decided to explore the best method to supplement formal math classes. As such, I became a robotics coach and math tutor. While working with students, I became more confident in my math skills. Finally, in January 2020, I decided to return to school part-time. I enrolled at Delgado Community College with a mathematics concentration. I completed a challenging NASA-approved aerospace program, two NASA internships, and one NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars program alongside those math courses. I completed my associate's degree, where I studied through Calculus II. It was amazing to reflect on my academic career, where I struggled to comprehend basic math concepts to complete Calculus II. I have enrolled at the University of New Orleans, where I have completed all beginning prerequisites for a Mathematics degree and studied higher-order mathematics courses. As a parent to a four-year-old I homeschool, she must see me complete my goals. She attended my graduation, and it encouraged her to focus more on her education. I have learned to encourage her math skills at a young age by providing opportunities to play with blocks, build small projects, count, and addition. I have sacrificed to obtain my associate's degree and am continuing the sacrifice with the path to my bachelor's degree. This scholarship would help me defray the cost of tuition and allow me not to have to accept loans. I have used a combination of scholarships, financial aid, and self-pay to pay for my degree. I want to continue not receiving loans so I can graduate debt free and start the next phase of my career financially strong.