I have an uncle who is considerably overweight and has recently been told he is pre-diabetic and has high blood pressure, both of which can be reversed if he chooses to have healthier eating habits. This is just one example of why I believe it is important to have healthy eating habits. I know with certainty that eating healthy can make a person feel and look better. Growing up, I have seen many cautionary tales showing the results of poor food and drink choices, my Uncle Joel being only one of them. I think it is important to put the same focus and energy into what our bodies consume as we do when we consider the information we choose to absorb. I believe healthy eating habits can contribute to glowing skin, healthy nails, decrease our stress levels, generally make us feel better, and even add useful years to our lives. I notice I feel better after a few days of making healthy food and drink choices. I always know which food and drink choices to make, and which to avoid, yet I still often indulge in unhealthy choices, including too many sweets and sugary sodas. When I am making great choices, I notice I have more energy for activities. I have also just recently noticed, that I have clear and smooth skin when I have eaten healthy and drank mostly water for a week. When I eat certain fast foods for a few days, I notice I have no interest in meeting my friends at the gym, and I have reduced energy. When in the middle of an unhealthy eating week, my energy can be so low that it seems like a burden to even do small chores around the house. My mother pointed out that I was consuming too much sugar, too many unhealthy fats, and not enough water. She also told me to take note of my urine, and if it was not almost always clear, then that was a huge clue I needed to drink water. At first, I was disgusted at the thought, but I started to take note. I have noticed that when I drink only soda for several days, not only do I remain thirsty, but my stomach sometimes hurts and I feel uncomfortably full. In contrast, when I drink water with meals and eat healthier fats and more protein, I feel comfortably full and energetic. I have also noticed that I feel irritable after eating too much candy or too much junk food- I just feel generally grumpy for no reason. I have begun to clearly see that healthy eating habits lead to a healthy and happier life. When I was younger it seemed like sour gummies and Sprite with cherry soda made me happy. Of course, I was just craving sugar which only leads to more sugar consumption and reduced energy, and after years of that cycle, it leads to “Uncle Joel status”. I have learned to make healthier eating choices. I am not saying that I never consume junk food. If I have a junk or soda craving, I mitigate the consequences of sweets and soda by at least having an equivalent amount of water. I know our kidneys and livers are powerhouses to help keep our bodies free of toxins, and I want to make sure they keep me healthy for many more decades. I simply make better overall choices when deciding what foods to eat. I hope I have fully explained why I firmly believe in having healthy eating habits. These habits lead to a healthy and wonderful life!

I remember my great-grandmother used to say to me, "Reggie, you're no garden-variety kid", and I would say, "thanks Mama Joyce", knowing it was a compliment since it came from her, but also having no idea what it meant. She used to tell me that every time I visited her for as long as my memory goes back, until she started losing her memory- when I was about 11. By the time I was 8, as we started having extended conversations about life and about things I enjoyed, she would ask what I wanted to do when I grew up. I mostly told her I di not know. She always told me to make sure and do something I enjoyed, and not just something that made "a lot of money." I always simply acknowledged and affirmed whatever Mama Joyce told me but did not understand why a person would choose a job unless it was because it made a lot of money. Looking back, I think about so many summers spent with her and so many "mundane" conversations that I took for granted. Now that she is gone (she died when I was 13), I truly appreciate all of our discussions, her kindness, and the wisdom she shared with me- even as a I realize there were probably some missed opportunities to be further enlightened- due to me exiting the conversation to go play basketball or video games. I am grateful to have had her leadership in my life, and know that I will always cherish any sound advice, thus I hope to never have any missed opportunities to learn something valuable. That backstory leads me to my career considerations. I have always enjoyed the opportunity to create something; I initially thought that meant going into Engineering or Architecture, both of which are excellent fields. Upon further reflection, I realize am most interested in a career in Business. My undergraduate degree will be in Business Administration, but I am passionate about starting my own business- a business that has the mission statement of helping create small, profitable family-owned and operated businesses. I plan to work in the business industry for a few years to gain valuable background knowledge and hands-on expertise at the running and sustaining of a business. I have spoken in depth to a few entrepreneurs- two who own Chick-fil-a franchises, and one who operates a micro-lending business. I have also been mentored by my dad's cousin who is a Vice-President of Sales at a large corporation. I spent the day with him and took extensive notes. He said he loves his job (and the money), yet I can tell he would like to spend more time with family. He said I should definitely intern at a company for awhile just to see which area of business I gravitate towards. I have been fortunate enough to know some business owners and successful business leaders, and it seems one thing they have in common is their emotional intelligence, or genuine leadership and their choice to put others first. Whether I am a leader in the Business industry, or if I start my own business as an advocate for other small businesses, I know the field of Business will bring me fulfillment. I will have achieved my goals if I am encouraging others and sharing my knowledge. I believe everyone deserves to learn and to be treated with dignity and respect, and I will be fulfilled if I am making a difference in Business. Thank you for the opportunity to apply for your scholarship and thank you for your consideration.

My name is Reggie Ford, and I am a Senior at Frisco High School and will be studying Chemical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma this Fall. As a kid, I never knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life; I just knew I wanted to be successful. This was mainly because I was surrounded by people who were, to put it simply, not successful. Over the years, I have grown up around countless people, I have more than ten aunts and uncles, and almost all of them have two or more kids, as well as my other family members and the acquaintances I have grown up and went to school with. I love all of these people to death, but almost all of them haven’t been positive influences in my life, and definitely haven’t been people I would strive to be like as an adult. However, one of my older cousins, Kyle, has been different than everyone I grew up around. Most of my other family and friends I grew up with who are adults are either stuck in a job that they hate or don’t have a job. On the other hand, Kyle has stood out positively for me and has been someone I aim to be like in the near future. Kyle works as a Senior Chemical Engineer based in Tulsa but often gets to travel for work. Kyle loves his position and has been a Chemical Engineer since he graduated college. Kyle is relatively young compared to my Uncles and other family members and already has his life more in order than theirs. Kyle is making six figures while positively contributing to the world. This has inspired me to follow in his footsteps, and it has been a breath of fresh air seeing a black man be so successful without being an athlete or entertainer. Because a prevalent stereotype about the black community is that sports or entertainment are the only ways we can make it in life. This is partly because many of our role models and people we see on social media are athletes, rappers, or actors. The harsh reality, though, is only the top .01% will make it in those areas. I was never a star athlete or anything like that, but I have always been a scholar who has excelled in advanced Science and Mathematics courses. As well as being very tech-savvy and a good problem-solver. But I never had a clear vision of how that would help me in the real world or how I would utilize my skills until recently, when I was able to decide on the Chemical Engineering path. I am very excited to begin my path toward a Chemical Engineering degree and I know my positive contributions to the engineering industry to be an immutable fact. I am so looking forward to college where I will gain the knowledge and skills to produce greatness in my field.

I believe that having more diversity in STEM fields is essential for the future. A prevalent stereotype about the black community is that sports or entertainment are the only ways we can make it in life. This is partly because many of our role models and people we see on social media are athletes, rappers, or actors. The harsh reality, though, is only the top .01% will make it in those areas. Whereas there are thousands of careers available in STEM fields, that not enough minorities are pursuing. In a lot of black communities, people stick to only a few different paths in life and don't often look into some of the more "difficult" but rewarding careers. Such as Chemical Engineering, the major I will be pursuing this Fall. If we broke this cycle and began pursuing STEM careers, we could positively change our communities. The problem isn't that it is too hard for us tfollowueManyof the people don't even know about STEM careers or do not want to begin learning about them. This is a big issue because if more minorities got involved, the number of minorities involved would continue to increase. More minorities in STEM would probably lead to the younger generation wanting to follow in their footsteps, the same way kids follow in people they look up to's footsteps today. I can speak from experience with this, because that exact situation happened to me. I have grown up around countless people, and almost all of them haven't been positive influences in my life and definitely haven't been people I would strive to be like as an adult. However, my older cousin, Kyle, has been different from everyone I grew up around. Most of my other family and friends I grew up with who are adults are either stuck in a job that they hate or don't have a job. On the other hand, Kyle has stood out positively to me. Kyle works as a Senior Chemical Engineer based in Tulsa but often gets to travel for work. Kyle loves his position and has been a Chemical Engineer since he graduated college. Kyle is making six figures while positively contributing to the world. He is why I am pursuing a major in Chemical Engineering this Fall, and I know if there were more minorities representing it, we would be inspired like I was. The reason diversity would be beneficial for STEM is that STEM is such a big part of the world today and will continue to be for a long time. So having diverse groups working in such meaningful careers would set a new narrative in the world and stop a lot of negative stereotypes. Also, with STEM being such an innovative field where new ideas can benefit the world and how it operates, having people from different backgrounds can help bring fresh perspectives. Having a lot of different perspectives and ideas will lead to better results. All in all, we need more minorities in STEM careers because even though STEM is inclusive, 65% of the workers are white. More diversity in these careers would benefit communities because people will see a way to be successful and change the world without being an athlete or entertainer.

Growing up with a big family that was all spread out across the States, and being a very social person all my life, I came in contact with various people. However, even though I have met a lot of people, I can't say that there have been many positive influences, and not many role models. Most of the adults that I have grown up with, especially my Uncles, have been people I didn't want to be like. They were always living a lifestyle that I promised myself I would not have. The way they lived is sadly the same way a lot of black men across America live, which is being on child support by multiple women, never seeing their children, and not having a stable job or income. Some of them would also be in and out of jail, and just not someone you should look up to. I understand that there are a lot of things that can lead up to them being in those situations, and a lot of reasons why they can't turn it around. But I still strived to stand out and break that cycle of living like that. Luckily, I had one person who was a bright light in a dark room for me, my Mother. My mom has been my one and only role model for all 18 years of my life. My mom is the strongest and most fearless person I know. She has always shown me that there is a way to do anything that I put my mind to and provided for me in ways beyond financially. She has given me lessons that I will pass on to my kids and use for the rest of my life. One of the main reasons my mom is my biggest role model is because she is exactly how I want to be when I am grown, and exactly how I want my wife to be when I am married. My mom was one of the only black people at her high school and was valedictorian, and got her bachelor's degree from the University of Oklahoma in college. She is one of the only people in my family to get a degree, and she did it at a great University, the same one I will be attending this Fall. After that, my mom started her career in finance and has had a job ever since. She does this while being the best mother I could ask for. My mom has never missed a single event, has always been there for me and my brother, and raised us perfectly. I can't even explain how great of a person my mom is, but without her, I don't know what path I'd be on or where I'd be in life. She makes the dark days sunny, and even with all the money in the world, I could never repay her for the things she's taught me. All in all, my mother is my biggest role model, because the things that are the most important to me, (my family and my education) have always been the most important to her as well. My mom has never gotten caught up with the law and would never leave her family. She has always worked extremely hard and earned everything she has today. I hope that one day people can say the same about me, and because of that, she is my biggest role model.

Education has been a vital part of my household for as long as I can remember. Growing up I was always an active kid, wanting to play sports and be outside all the time. But my Mother always said the same thing before I could leave, "Do you have all A's?" Luckily, I was always a scholar and understood at a young age how my grades were going to affect my life. Because of this I always got great grades in all of my classes, and made sure I had a rigorous schedule. The point I'm trying to make is that I have always taken my education seriously, and now that I'm a few months away from graduating and going to a University, I've been thinking about my plans for my education now that it will be out of my comfort zone. The answer I've come up with is I want to go to the University of Oklahoma and study chemical engineering, while excelling in my courses. I plan to graduate with at least a 3.5 and to gain as much knowledge from my classes as I can, not just getting good grades and not understanding the topics. After that, I want to go into a career where I help save the environment. Chemical engineers can go into a broad range of jobs, but I want to work somewhere where I can do research on the environment and come up with ways to help it. This may seem like a out of reach goal, but I plan to achieve all of this the same way that I have achieved everything else in my life, trusting the process, taking it day by day, and working hard.

"That car's not as good as Jalen's though!" This is an actual sentence one of my friends told me after I had worked and saved money all summer to buy a car. In the black community, there is a huge issue with tearing each other down and comparing everything we do to someone else. A lot of the time it is people projecting their insecurities onto someone else, but it still is an issue that we need to solve. I have grown up in a predominantly white area, but all of my family are African American, and I often visit them in Chicago and other more diverse areas, so I have become accustomed to different ways of life- and how where you grow up can affect how you act towards others. In Frisco, where I have grown up, most people support and celebrate each other whenever someone achieves something. This could even be a little thing like losing five pounds, but the support is especially evident when someone accomplishes something big, like buying a car. I believe this is because most of the people here have achieved something themselves, so they have no problem celebrating someone else. I think the black community and areas across the country that are less fortunate need to start doing the same thing. If we started supporting each other and lifting one another up then we would all be happier and more successful. This would also cause everyone to want to achieve more things because they would look forward to getting praised instead of hated. A lot of the time the black community gives the praise that we should be giving to the people we know personally, to celebrities that don't even know they exist. This is a major issue that needs to be solved, because bringing someone down or comparing a person to someone else may not outwardly seem to affect an individual, but could do irreversible damage. Thus far, I have been addressing the issue and sharing my thoughts, and I would like to address how we can progress and solve it. Personally, I try and fix this issue by being mindful of my actions, and not tearing others down myself; I also tell people around me to stop doing it. When I reflect even further on the issue, I believe this issue can be fixed is with the whole culture shift. What I mean by that is the people that our community looks up to have to adjust or change what they stand for and set a better example. A lot of the younger generation, including myself sometimes, has grown up listening to violent music that preaches doing negative things to our people. Also, the movies we grew up watching have had some of those same ideas. This creates a perpetual derogatory "snowball effect" because kids are very impressionable and they will often think these things are cool and start, or continue, behaving badly themselves. This has been a cycle that has been going on for several decades, and this cycle needs to be broken. With the power of social media, if the people that we look up to started setting a positive example of uplifting one another, and stopped trying to make negativity seem cool, then our community would take a step in the right direction. All in all, the black community has faced many issues throughout history and has been able to overcome them. I believe this will be no different, and I look forward to the day that my community prospers even more than we are now.