Scrolling through news articles, a glaring headline from the New York Times, “Why America’s Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis,” caught my attention. I remember being perplexed; according to the New York Times, this was a crisis, but I had never heard about the issue. The article detailed the heart-wrenching experiences of black mothers losing their lives during childbirth. It was then I realized that To explore more aspects of public health, I decided to volunteer with Planned Parenthood during my freshman year of college. I spent the year as a peer educator, where I learned about reproductive health and the lack of knowledge and access to available resources within my community. Currently, I am an intern at the Central Valley Health Policy Institute. I help with the EMBRACE study, a collaborative project between California State University, Fresno, the CVHPI, and UCSF. The goal of the study is to examine how group prenatal care impacts preterm births and compare their outcomes with individualized prenatal care. The study is incredibly important and could transform how women receive prenatal care in areas of the country where preterm births are high. Through my work with CVHPI and the EMBRACE study, obtaining my master's and working on initiatives and programs to reduce maternal mortality and preterm births is what I want to do. Like many, the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced my financial support. From leaving my job due to rising COVID-19 cases to protect my parents and trying to pay for educational costs, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense worry and anxiety among my family and me. The Future Black Leaders Scholarship would be an important step towards my goal of receiving my master's degree after graduation. With the grant, I would be able to attend graduate school. It would solidify the support I need to be successful in graduate school to pursue a career in public health.