“There’s complexities in complexion...” -- Beyonce Knowles, Brown Skin Girl, The Lion King Queen Bey was right. As a child born with Albinism, I live at the intersection of multilayered cultural identity. I am a woman, who is Black and has special needs, and that can be -- well, complex. My parents taught me to walk confidently and to do my best to live and lead just by being me. They encouraged me to ignore the gazes and whispers and when people are so bold as to ask, “What are you?”, I am to remind myself -- and them -- that “Black people come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors.” While Albinism gives my skin a distinctive dimension of melanin and impairs my vision, it does not define me. I am not relentless, nor any less capable. I am learning to be bothered, but not burdened, by other people’s perceptions. I could go on about the challenges I’ve faced with Albinism, but I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the positive implications as well. From a young age, I have received state and school district support services for my vision. I was trained on how to advocate for myself. That is, how to effectively communicate and to ask for what I need in the classroom in order to ensure that I maximize my educational and extracurricular experiences. I worked with talented vision specialists who taught me practicality and provided me with tools such as closed-circuit TVs, large print books, extended time for tests, etc. Moreover, they trained me on problem-solving, finding visual patterns, and attention to detail. These skills have been invaluable in my development as a visual artist and violinist. They transformed me into a great scholar and a more patient, thoughtful and attentive, and strategic leader. My dream is to attend a well-respected college or university, earn a PhD, and become a successful educator. Ultimately, I plan to own a STEAM charter school. I want to pay forward a validating and affirming educational experience to the next generation of scientists, engineers, artists, and mathematicians. My school will allow them to explore the characteristics that determine personal and social identity. It will plant the seed for them to grow into teen creatives whose art will construct a sense of who we are as individuals, as a society, or as a nation. They would eventually become adults whose work will question stereotypes and conventions while exploring race, gender, sexuality, nationality, and heritage. I believe that it is important to recognize and honor complexity in ourselves, our communities, and our systems. As an educator, I will commit to creating equitable and deeper learning experiences in schools by fostering cultural belonging, welcoming multiple narratives, and establishing a culture of caring, communication, and creative collaboration.

With $1,000, I’d be able to accomplish my dream. I love school and value education. Therefore, going to college is something I look forward to experiencing. I was fortunate enough to be accepted in Clark Atlanta University - my dream institution. However, they are a private University and the cost is high. I do not want to allow financial barriers to stop me from receiving a higher education. I will use this money to earn a Doctorate’s Degree, and become a successful and impactful teacher. My most important career goal is building STEAM high school. I want to pay forward a validating and affirming educational experience to the next generation of artists and scientists. My school will allow them to explore the characteristics that determine personal and social identity. It will plant the seed for them to grow into creatives whose art will construct a sense of who we are as individuals, as a society, or as a nation. They would eventually become adults who will question stereotypes and conventions while exploring race, gender, sexuality, nationality, and heritage. In other words, share my love for rigorous and inclusive education. This $1,000 will allow me pass on my love school and desire for higher education to the next generation of thinkers.

“There’s complexities in complexion...” - Beyonce Knowles, Brown Skin Girl, The Lion King. Queen Bey was right. As a child with Albinism, I live at the intersection of multilayered cultural identity. I am a Black woman, who has special needs, and that can be, well, complex. My parents taught me to walk confidently. They encouraged me to ignore the whispers when people ask, "What are you?" I remind myself that Black people come in different shapes, sizes, and colors. While Albinism gives my skin a distinctive dimension of melanin and impairs my vision, I am not any less capable. I am learning to be bothered, but not burdened, by oher peoples' perceptions. Instead of going on about the challenges I have faced, I will acknowledge the positives. As a child, I received support from vision specialists who trained me to communicate effectively and advocate for myself in the classroom. Because of them, I maximized my educational experiences. I worked with vision specialists who taught me problem-solving, finding visual patterns, and attention to detail. These skills transformed me into a great scholar and a more patient, attentive, and strategic leader. My dream is to earn an EdD and build my own STEAM high school. I want to create a validating educational experience for the next generation of artists and scientists. I will allow students to explore characteristics that determine personal and social identity. This experience will plant seeds for students to grow into creatives whose art constructs a sense of who we are as individuals and society. I believe in recognizing and honoring complexity in ourselves, communities, and systems. As an educator, I will commit to creating equitable and inclusive learning experiences in schools by fostering cultural belonging, welcoming multiple narratives, and establishing a culture of caring, communication, and creative collaboration.

1. I believe I deserve this scholarship because I want to buy a pet chicken one day. 2. My career goal is to become a chicken farmer. I want to go to college to learn how to do chickens’ hair and what the best books are to read to chicks. It’s my dream to have the biggest chicken farm in Georgia. 3. A time I’ve overcome an obstacle is when a chicken crossed the road and I almost hit it. The person behind me hit my car. But don’t worry, I got out and took the chicken to the nearest vet.

“There’s complexities in complexion...” -- Beyonce Knowles, Brown Skin Girl, The Lion King Queen Bey was right. As a child born with Albinism, I live at the intersection of multilayered cultural identity. I am a woman, who is Black and has special needs, and that can be -- well, complex. My parents taught me to walk confidently and to do my best to live and lead just by being me. They encouraged me to ignore the gazes and whispers and when people are so bold as to ask, “What are you?”, I am to remind myself -- and them -- that “Black people come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors.” While Albinism gives my skin a distinctive dimension of melanin and impairs my vision, it does not define me. I am not relentless, nor any less capable. I am learning to be bothered, but not burdened, by other people’s perceptions. I could go on about the challenges I’ve faced with Albinism, but I would be remised if I did not acknowledge the positive implications as well. From a young age, I have received state and school district support services for my vision. I was trained on how to advocate for myself. That is, how to effectively communicate and to ask for what I need in the classroom in order to ensure that I maximize my educational and extracurricular experiences. I worked with talented vision specialists who taught me practicality and provided me with tools such as closed-circuit TVs, large print books, extended time for tests, etc. Moreover, they trained me on problem-solving, finding visual patterns, and attention to detail. These skills have been invaluable in my development as a visual artist and violinist. They transformed me into a great scholar and a more patient, thoughtful and attentive, and strategic leader. My dream is to attend a well-respected college or university, earn an EdD, and become a successful teacher. Ultimately, I plan to own a fine arts charter elementary school. I want to pay forward a validating and affirming educational experience to the next generation of artists. My school will allow them to explore the characteristics that determine personal and social identity. It will plant the seed for them to grow into teen creatives whose art will construct a sense of who we are as individuals, as a society, or as a nation. They would eventually become adults whose art will question stereotypes and conventions while exploring race, gender, sexuality, nationality, and heritage. I believe that it is important to recognize and honor complexity in ourselves, our communities, and our systems. As an educator, I will commit to creating equitable and deeper learning experiences in schools by fostering cultural belonging, welcoming multiple narratives, and establishing a culture of caring, communication, and creative collaboration.