Hello, I'm Rosilind Smith, proud mom of five. I'm pursuing a career in the medical field, more so, a doctorate of psychology. I aspire to help survivors of the addiction diseases due to sexual abuse. I am a victor over incest and physical abuse by my parents, domestic abuse and homelessness. I always keep a bright outlook on life and believe that no matter what your past output was, you can change your future outcome. As of now, I am an undergraduate, completing my prerequisites for medical school, finishing an Registered Behavior Technician course and also, a Certified Addiction and Abuse Recovery Coach program. I began my medical career in 2008, as a Certified Nurse's Assistant on ICU. I fell in love with helping other's, but neglected my own mental affliction, due to ignorance. During this time the abuse from my mother, domestic abuse and a life of homelessness, took its toll, my mental health continued to decline. I decided to take a break from CNA work and focus on my mental. This self growth introduced me to the world of mental health. I have continued my mental health journey and aspire to help young children and adolescents like myself. I am a firm believer in giving back. As a survivor of abuse, I am enrolled as a certified addiction and abuse coach, through our AA teachings we learn that paying it forward is key to our recovery. For this reason, I have been active in the community by holding toy drives for under privilege youth, volunteering as a mentor for foster youth and recently teamed up with my eldest daughter to raise awareness against Autism bullying. To apply for this scholarship is a great honor and privilege. The money saved from receiving this award will go towards a building for a certified addiction and abuse therapy center for youth. Opening this center is my dream. Ministering to children is important to me because, I remember waiting, wishing and hoping someone would save me, love me, or even listen to me. No one came. I cannot prevent abuse from happening but I can help those who have been abused to navigate through the world of hurt and loneliness it causes. Through persistence, dedication and will, I built a life of peace and happiness. Although my life began dark, I continue to learn and teach to better myself and those who I come in contact with. With this award, I will continue to use that same persistence, dedication and will, to get closer to my education goal of becoming a psychiatrist. Thank you for this opportunity.

We know that Black women are more than five times likely to die from Postpartum cardiomyopathy (a form of heart failure) and the blood pressure disorders preeclampsia and eclampsia, although the birth rates are significantly higher that our white counterparts. Although this realization of the continuing decline of fellow human women should be enough to raise voices to alleviate this problem, little to nothing is being done. Born in Baton Rouge Louisiana, and a survivor of domestic abuse, I plan to make a positive impact on the world through my medical career, by further highlighting the disparities of black, brown and indigenous women in the healthcare field. I intend to further study effects of external and internal trauma on the black female body and produce a naturalistic cure to disease and illnesses. Furthermore, I will create diagrams, books and instructional tools to show how ailments and diseases affect and appear on black, brown and indigenous people. Throughout history, black women have been the most abused and disadvantaged, yet the standard of some of the greatest discoveries in history; in some cases involuntarily. For instance, black women were experimented on without sedation or pain medicines, for some of today's biggest medical discoveries. This was due to the belief that black women do not feel pain. This menacing, absurd notion, still thrives in the medical environment of this modern era, causing needless, avoidable deaths of not only black women, but mothers, daughters, friends aunts, grandmothers, of human life. I plan to implement a system that holds medical providers and their facilities accountable for their racist acts. A system of checks and balances, that through, fines, and reinforced bias training, and diagrams of black women's illnesses, we can begin to create a fair system for every women, regardless of creed, color or race, a healthy, safe environment for all life.

Being from Baton Rouge, the place where Alton Sterling was murdered, plunged me into a state of emergency. I could no longer idly sit by; waddling in my empathy was not good enough, for the fight for justice and equality, had broken my door in. My childrens' curious minds deserved answers as to why our city had raised her voice, as to why angry and hurt faces swallowed the streets. The answers were too painful to give, but could not be hidden, for the honor of an innocent father's blood depended on it. To quell the pain of exposure of such a world to my children, to show them how greatness rises from tragedy, to show the how to stand up to evil and injustice. We marched, we protested. Knowing the consequences and possibilities of losing our job, we demanded justice, raised money for those of us who weren't fortunate enough to evade being battered and jailed. Baton Rouge has a slogan BRproud. At that moment I couldn't sort through my feelings enough to conclude if we were living up to that slogan or becoming the hypocritical paradox of it. These events exposed the passive racism we all experience and acclimatized to. All of the rage, hurt pain and shame that was left by the southern racist roots, festered and fed by modern racial discrimination, burned the nation. The memories of being called a nigger loudly in class by white students, while my white teacher nonchalantly ignored my tears.To ashamed to add more stress to a dysfunctional home, push it down. Embarrassed and infuriated as my stepdad walked me from an establishment because they loudly professed they didn't serve us, push it down. Depressed, ugly and hurt by racist peers who unsuccessfully lied to get you fired, push it down. Trayvon, push it down. Sandra's, push it down. Philando, push it down. Alton push....push back! We endured to much racism here, push back. Thirty One years I've lived side by side with racism, push back. However we came to be here, we are here and this is home, there is no place for racism in my home. Push back. The social justice movement created unity from people who experienced racism everywhere and we decided to push back. Racism is targeted in the classroom, workplace and at home, but it's not enough if it isn't targeted by the establishment endowed with the responsibility of protecting us. We push back!

1. I deserve the scholarship because, I'm lazy and only in school to become a doctor because, black female doctors oversaturated the industry, and I need to do my part by contributing to the oversaturation. 2. I want to rule the world and become the first gigazillionaire. I also would like to end world hunger by developing food made from the plastic in the ocean, thereby cleaning the oceans and recycling, killing three birds at once. 3. This is absolutely true and it is my testimony and motivation for girls like me. I overcame hatred and bitterness for my parents. My father sexually abused me as a child and my mother physically, and emotionally abused me because of it, she later abandoned me, and I enlisted into school as homeless. I overcame abusive relationships and decided to return to school to become the doctor I have always wanted to be. I am 31 years old with 4 children and have built a healthy relationship with my father and am at peace with the strained relationship with my mother. I am simultaneously earning my doctorate and becoming a certified abuse and recovery counselor for people like me.

I believe that society can effectively empower women by providing courses and studies on the importance and impact of women figures such as Shirley Chisholm and Rosalind Franklin. By making women's studied an accredited course, we can share the importance of women's history and inventions in all cultures and enlightened others to the past plights of women. For example, it was legal to beat your wife under the "Rule of Thumb" law and even today in my home state of Louisiana, married women still need the permission and signature of their husband to have their tubes tied after birth. These courses should highlight what we've accomplished for womens' rights but also how much we have to do to protect and uplift women. Also, by implementing protecting plans for women's sports. We all believe that transgender people should have equal rights and should never be oppressed, but when it comes to sports natural born women have had to fight just to be able to play sports and then, when finally allowed to participate in sports we were limited to shaming degrading "sports", like ribbons. Women like Billie Jean King and Rhonda Rousey fought to showcase women's skills and to prove to that we can generate as many views and money as men. Serena Williams is still breaking body shaming and racist barriers for women, while the WNBA have yet to be payed equally or given adequate equipment and press as the their counterpart. We are still fighting for equal rights to showcase our talents, while transgender women are now impeding the process by unfairly winning trophies and making a bigger hurdle for us to be seen on a bigger platform. Sports, Olympic games and scientific discoveries generate so much positive exposure for women and by implementing these suggestions, I believe we can make a great leap forward for womankind.

I stay true to myself by being honest to myself, no matter how the truth may hurt. I feel that is I'm honest with myself, only then can I give myself the best opportunity to grow and improve. My motto is to be a better me than yesterday even if it's by 1%. Being true to myself means highlighting my flaws in order to eradicate them. I also stay true to myself by allowing myself to be me regardless of the adversity I face. For instance, in the past I was hurt and broken-hearted by the betrayal of people that were supposed to be friends and panthers partners in my life. That hurt and betrayal made me want to get revenge, charge my personality into someone who never gets hurt again by hurting people first. Doing this only have me a horrible reputation and although I had been good all of my life and horrible for a year, that year's activities overshadowed all of my works and made me feel even worse. It was at this time that I vowed to remain the sweet, loving naive person that I am, no matter what adversity comes my way. I will not allow people, environmental pressures or obstacles turn me into the very thing that the world is trying to eradicate, hatred. Basically, staying true to myself is in essence being loving and gentle to myself and others.

Being homeless had shared who I am today. I wake up, thankful for the sun, food and shelter. I always try to reuse, not waste. Most importantly, I learned to control what I can and be free of worry when I cannot. I've learned to be in the present and smile more. I've gained emotional stability and endurance. While I was homeless I experienced horrible attacks, extend hunger and total loss of self confidence. Once my living situation stabilized I realized I was no longer attached to material things like used to be. Of course I need soap, a car clothes and home but I was no longer in competition with anyone. I had finally begun to run my own race. I worked hard for happiness rather than money. Self care was a necessity. Life is easier, doors are opened and when I can share this with others, my wealth increases. I grateful to each and every experience. I am thankful to be a living example for this who need guidance through dark times.