In my freshman year of high school, I applied and interviewed to become a section leader in my high school's band. This was a very lengthy process as we had to complete a paper application, an online application, provide 3 references, participate in a private 30-minute interview and a group interview, and attend in-person hour-long clinics and seminars. I became 1 of 3 freshmen to be accepted that year and this was the youngest you could be for the position. This role had a lot of expectations including but not limited to befriending new students into the band, teaching them the music we had to memorize as well as making sure they had it memorized, teaching them how to march for the performance band, taking attendance for the directors, holding students accountable for being prepared for rehearsals in class, renting out instruments to students in need, organizing and holding private sectionals with the members to practice new music and fundamentals, and providing and distributing all materials needed for rehearsals like documents for the marching form we were to practice. We were expected to balance these responsibilities along with all of our academics as we were required to maintain a 3.0 GPA to stay in the band. The non-performance band had rehearsal once a week after school while the performance band held 2 rehearsals a week after school. Any student in the leadership program was required to be in every band and attend every rehearsal scheduled. We had performances once a week at football games (August-November) held on Fridays from the time school let out to about 10 PM. We also had competitions and exhibitions for the performance band twice a year that we traveled for and these were held on Saturdays, taking up the whole day from 7 AM to close to 1 AM. Every day we had band classes that lasted anywhere from 1 hour to 2 hours, depending on how many bands you were in. We were also expected to maintain an hour of practice at home as 'homework' to maintain our skills and music management. Students could also volunteer for small groups within the band that had the task of bringing out and setting up microphone equipment for the directors and loading the moving trucks with all of the equipment for our band when we traveled. To say that band took up a majority of my time was an understatement. The skills I learned on the leadership team in my band in high school I will carry with me for the rest of my life. We learned conflict resolution, social skills, teamwork skills, time management, and how to balance school and extracurricular activities all at once. I really enjoyed the band and it gave me something to do, work towards, and look forward to. All of my friends were in the band too; we were like a big family that did everything together and we never got tired of each other. Most of my friends maintained leadership positions so this made the experience better overall as well. It was always easy for me to manage my time as I set up blocks of time to work on my work. For example, I would set my homework blocks and time to spend with friends around fixed scheduling like school and rehearsal. Always taking my needs into consideration and making sure I was taken care of was the main part of maintaining a good schedule and a good routine to complete all my work.

I wish to see a change in law enforcement as we find more evidence every day of police brutality against people of color and people a part of the marginalized LGBTQ+ group. My goal is to pursue higher education in law enforcement and psychology and be able to demonstrate that change is possible if people are willing and able to put in the work for it. My journey in becoming part of the LGBTQ+ community has consisted of opening up and being vulnerable to people with other views and this has allowed me to open my perspective to learn and accept others more often and sincerely. Opening up about who I am has allowed me to feel more like myself in my skin and I couldn't be happier. I can learn, experience, interpret, and hypothesize any perspective and figure out what works for me, my situation, my lifestyle, and my experiences. These aspects of my identity as a whole are so important to me and how they work so well with my sexual orientation is so freeing. This experience has been so overall amazingly positive as I no longer feel this pressure on my shoulders to conform to or turn away from others for their beliefs or ways of life. This amazing feeling l have about finally being able to figure myself out is cut short by new stories every day of people being hurt and killed because of their sexual orientation or sexuality. This is the change we need in the world and it needs to start now. Activism that I participate in involves protesting for the pro-choice movement, the Me Too movement, the LGBTQ+ community movements, and the BLM movement. I've also donated to Planned Parenthood and their fight against abortion legislation recently. These acts of fighting for people's rights, to me, feel like the bare minimum. These beliefs on fighting for the most basic human rights are really important to me, as I am a part of one of these marginalized minority groups. I plan on continuing to raise awareness and protest for the rest of my life, as long as there is a fight to fight. The best way I feel I can make the biggest change is by setting an example for other law enforcement that violence should never be the first answer and that every human life is worth it and worth fighting for.

Both of my biological parents have been deceased for years; my mother in 2012 from End-Stage Liver Disease and my father in 2013 from Hepatitis C. Neither parent attended college so this makes me a first-generation college student. This is daunting but simultaneously exciting and inspiring to me because I know I would make my parents proud with the hard work I've put in so far. I've become an independent student on my own by securing scholarships and admissions but these hardships haven't stopped the fire within me to accomplish anything I set my mind to. What I've been through has allowed me to become a better person despite them, as I know they do not define me and I am still capable of great things. This scholarship would help me secure a spot at my dream college in my dream program and set me on course to my dream career because federal student aid can only get me so far. The loss of both of my parents has impacted my life severely but I aim to use its impact for good. Because neither of my parents attended higher education, I feel such an intrinsic motivation to acquire my dream degree because I know that it's what they would have pushed me to do and it's what they would have dreamed for me. I only wish they could be here to watch me do it.

I grew up in a religious household surrounded by this immense pressure to go along with what I was taught to be the truth and to just 'have faith.' After a while, I found myself with this innate curiosity for something more, something else, and something different and it didn't satisfy me anymore to blindly follow my friends and family I had growing up. I knew I wanted to figure out what made sense to me, on my own. My journey in becoming part of the LGBTQ+ community has consisted of opening up and being vulnerable with people with other views where previously, this was looked down upon; doubting your religion. This has allowed me to open my perspective to learn and accept others more often and openly. Opening up about who I am has allowed me to feel more like myself in my skin and couldn't be happier. It feels liberating to say I don't know who I want to love because I don't have to know right now. I can learn, experience, interpret, and hypothesize any perspective and figure out what works for me, my situation, my lifestyle, and my experiences. These aspects of my identity as a whole are so important to me and how they work so well with my sexuality is so freeing. This experience has been so overall amazingly positive as I no longer feel this pressure on my shoulders to conform or turn away others for their beliefs or ways of life. My educational goals are to make the honors college at my university and to graduate with the grades, GPA, and awards that I'm proud of, even if they aren’t necessarily a 4.0 or the best of my class . I've always felt that I am capable of whatever I set my mind to and I'm ready to begin my journey. I'm double majoring in Criminal Justice and Psychology with a minor in International Studies. My career goals are to join the FBI and I have so many interests and they would all help me obtain my dream job there. My life goals are to live a fulfilling and prosperous life and to be able to provide the same life to my family someday. I want to achieve everything I set my mind to and just live a happy and comfortable life. Activism that I participate in involves protesting for the pro-choice movement, the me too movement, the LGBTQ+ community movements, and the BLM movement. I've also donated to Planned Parenthood and their fight against the abortion legislations recently. These acts of fighting for people's rights, to me, feels like the bare minimum. These beliefs on fighting for the most basic human rights are really important to me, as I am apart of one of these marginalized minority groups. I plan on continuing raising awareness and protesting for the rest of my life, as long as there is a fight to fight. My plans post-undergraduate are to find a career in law enforcement that takes better care of these marginalized minority people and set an example that change is possible with people who are willing to put in the work.

I value my perseverance in everyday difficult situations related to activism. Recently in America, several millions of people's rights were stripped and I value my ability to step out of my comfort zone to make my voice heard and fight for my rights, no matter the views of others. Activism that I participate in involves protesting for the pro-choice movement, the me too movement, the LGBTQ+ community movements, and the BLM movement. I've also donated to Planned Parenthood and their fight against the abortion legislations recently. These acts of fighting for people's rights, to me, feels like the bare minimum. These qualities can help me in my life journey by showing others that they shouldn't be afraid to step outside of their bubble and comfort zone and by knowing I can help others feel comfortable fighting for their rights.

Becoming involved in self-expression and individuality by practicing secularism and intersectional activism allows me to be brave and live boldly. Activism that I participate in involves protesting for the pro-choice movement, the me too movement, the LGBTQ+ community movements, and the BLM movement. I've also donated to Planned Parenthood and their fight against the abortion legislations recently. These acts of fighting for people's rights, to me, feels like the bare minimum. Being Bold and supporting secularism like this in a place where not many people do and in a place that may be unsafe allows me to learn, experience, interpret, and hypothesize any perspective and figure out what works for me, my situation, my lifestyle, and my concrete beliefs on what I know to be true in my own experiences.

I love dogs because a dog saved my life when I was at the lowest point of my life. My mother had passed in May of 2012 from End-Stage Liver Disease and then in February of 2013, my father passed away from Hepatitis C and I found myself in the lowest depression I had ever been in. My best friend knew of my love for pets and my dream at the time to be a veterinarian so she helped introduce me to and adopt my new furry best friend, Bear. She is a chow chow / newfoundland all black mix and she is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Raising, training, taking care of, and loving her has allowed me to see the beauty in life and showed me I can find love anywhere. She helped me take the next necessary steps to bettering my mental health just by being there for me as my best companion.