Knowing my mom never went to college, and she would probably not be able to send me to college with having to take care of my other 4 siblings; I was scared about going to college. I even considered staying with her and keep my 9-5 job and help pay the bills, but she practically pushed me out the door saying, "you will follow your dreams with that big brain of yours." And I am so grateful for her support and now that I am a first-generation college student, I have accomplished not just my dream but my mom's dream. Now being in college for animal and wildlife research I feel strongly about animal conservation whether its land wildlife or ocean wildlife. I have recently joined an environmentalist science-based organization that teaches young black children to love and care for the plants and animals around them; from learning the basics of trees to branching out into the understanding of foreign animals like lions, elephants, and the wonders of the ecosystems around us. Teaching them what I love and increasing their awareness of plants and animals strengthens me to continue to be committed to pursuing my dreams. And from my recent studies, I strongly believe the most urgent problem we face now within wildlife conservation or human-wildlife coexistence is the lack of humane patience to learn and understand the animals to a deeper level of respect. To conserve what matters most to us will most definitely take time and as humans if our hearts are not all into what we truly care about, it will be forgotten and soon destroyed for a new shopping mall or better yet, 4 new apartment buildings with 5 to 10 trees in the parking lot. Like my mom once said; "What you break, fix; what you destroy, remake it; what you can change, change it with grace." I live by this saying, because growing up was not a fairytale nor a sweet bedtime story, but I could always decide what I was going to do with what I had and who I was going to become despite the things that I was forced to experience which was out of my control. For example, the old tale of the tortoise and the hare race; slow is the perfect pace to show love where it is need most. I want to help people see animals more than just things you pay $25 to see at their nearby zoo. I want to impact the conservation and research teams in the animal fields. This scholarship would help build my deeper understanding and knowledge of the animals I love; and to teach that very same love and compassion and better yet wonder for the things that live freely around us to others. To spark that same curiosity, we had as children.

Knowing my mom never went to college, and she would probably not be able to send me to college with having to take care of my other 4 siblings; I was scared about going to college. I even considered staying with her and keeping my 9-5 job to help pay the bills, but she practically pushed me out the door saying, "you will follow your dreams with that big brain of yours." And I am so grateful for her support and now that I am a first-generation college student, I have accomplished not just my dream but my mom's dream. Now being in college for animal and wildlife research I feel strongly about animal conservation whether its land wildlife or ocean wildlife. I have recently joined an environmentalist science-based organization that teaches young black children to love and care for the plants and animals around them; from learning the basics of trees to branching out into the understanding of foreign animals like lions, elephants, and the wonders of the ecosystems around us. Teaching them what I love and increasing their awareness of plants and animals strengthens me to continue to be committed to pursuing my dreams. And from my recent studies, I strongly believe the most urgent problem we face now within wildlife conservation or human-wildlife coexistence is the lack of humane patience to learn and understand the animals to a deeper level of respect. To conserve what matters most to us will most definitely take time and as humans if our hearts are not all into what we truly care about, it will be forgotten and soon destroyed for a new shopping mall or better yet, 4 new apartment buildings with 5 to 10 trees in the parking lot. Like my mom once said; "What you break, fix; what you destroy, remake it; what you can change, change it with grace." I live by this saying, because growing up was not a fairytale nor a sweet bedtime story, but I could always decide what I was going to do with what I had and who I was going to become despite the things that I was forced to experience which was out of my control. For example, the old tale of the tortoise and the hare race; slow is the perfect pace to show love where it is need most. I want to help people see animals more than just things you pay $25 to see at their nearby zoo. I want to impact the conservation and research teams in the animal fields. This scholarship would help build my deeper understanding and knowledge of the animals I love; and to teach that very same love and compassion and better yet wonder for the things that live freely around us to others. To spark that same curiosity, we had as children.

I feel strongly about animal conservation whether its land wildlife or ocean wildlife. I always had my heart set on helping those around me, human or animal. I strongly believe the most urgent problem within wildlife conservation or human-wildlife coexistence is the lack of humane patience to learn and understand the animals to a deeper level of respect. Most people involve themselves with animals for praise; others for more heartfelt reasons. The lack of patience most people have with the oblivious notion of “I’m trying to help”, thinking of quick human fixes, they believe will help the animals; but what they don’t realize is that very notion shows their unwillingness to learn about other things then themselves. Furthermore, it is a huge problem for our coexistence with the animals we all love. To conserve what matters most to us will most definitely take time and as humans if our hearts are not all into what we truly care about, it will be forgotten and soon destroyed for a new shopping mall or better yet, 3 new apartment buildings with 10 to 12 trees in the parking lot. Accepting we will never be able to communicate with them with vocal language. Taking time to study all of their languages can and will help us give them what they have lost back. Like my mom once said; "What you break, fix; what you destroy, remake it; what you can change, change it with grace." I live by this saying, because growing up was not a fairytale nor a sweet bedtime story, but I could always decide what I was going to do with what I had and who I was going to become despite the things that I was forced to experience which was out of my control. Therefore, from all of these things I say help change and rebuild what we have destroyed but with compassion in our hearts to take it slow. For example, the old tale of the tortoise and the hare race; slow is the perfect pace to show love where it is need most. Trying to help the animals is one thing but deciding their entire lives around us to keep them around hurts their very way of life. Therefore, if we continue to care for the endangered and non-endangered species, we must have the patience to learn their naturality of life to make the best and most accurate decision for their lives; as humans, we have either altered or destroyed their lives and, in most cases, we have done both. The eagerness to help is the start but for the conservation of animals and human coexistence with these wonderful creatures must be done playing the long game of patience. I want to help people see animals more than just things you pay $25 to see at a zoo. I want to impact the conservation and research teams in the animal fields. This scholarship would help build my deeper understanding and knowledge of the animals I love; and to teach that very same love and compassion and better yet wonder for the things that live freely around us to others.

The most urgent problem within wildlife conservation or human-wildlife coexistence is the lack of humane patience to learn and understand the animals to a deeper level of respect. Most people involve themselves with animals for praise; others for more heartfelt reasons. The lack of patience most people have with the oblivious notion of “I’m trying to help”, thinking of quick human fixes, they believe will help the animals; but what they don’t realize is that very notion shows their unwillingness to learn about other things then themselves. Furthermore, it is a huge problem for our coexistence with the animals we all love. To conserve what matters most to us will most definitely take time and as humans if our hearts are not all into what we truly care about, it will be forgotten and soon destroyed for a new shopping mall or better yet, 3 new apartment buildings with 10 to 12 trees in the parking lot. Accepting we will never be able to communicate with them with vocal language. Taking time to study all of their languages can and will help us give them what they once had back. Like my mom once said; "What you break, fix; what you destroy, remake it; what you can change, change it with grace." I live by this saying, because growing up was not a fairytale nor a sweet bedtime story, but I could always decide what I was going to do with what I had and who I was going to become despite the things that I was forced to experience which was out of my control. Therefore, from all of these things I say help change and rebuild what we have destroyed but with compassion in our hearts to take it slow. For example, the old tale of the tortoise and the hare race; slow is the perfect pace to show love where it is needed most. Trying to help the animals is one thing but deciding their entire lives around us, to keep them around hurts their very way of life. Therefore, if we continue to care for the endangered and non-endangered species, we must have the patience to learn their naturality of life to make the best and most accurate decision for their lives; as humans, we have either altered or destroyed their lives and, in most cases, we have done both. The eagerness to help is the start but for the conservation of animals and human coexistence with these wonderful creatures must be done playing the long game of patience.