While being the first to complete college is a tremendous dream for me, it's also a chance to permanently alter my family expectations for the better. Growing up, I've seen my family go through a lot. My mom especially. She had me right when she turned 19, had to deal with my dad who would go crazy and abuse her extensively, grew up a foster child, and unfortunately had to quit going to college because she had me. My Grandpa was on the other side of the U.S. driving trucks, and my Grandma was a crack addict at the time, so it was just me and her. When you mix abusive fathers, drug addictions, poverty, having family members who never attempted to go to college, and those that did but never finished, you have a bar that is undoubtedly low. Yet, somehow, they always expect the best of you, hoping that you'll be the one to change everything for everyone, to be the shining light that younger family members can look towards, and follow. It's an overwhelming sense of pressure, especially when you don't have any examples to adhere to. However, just like a blade of grass rising out of cracked concrete, I've found a purpose that I aspire to achieve. I've gained a dream, a hope, to become the one to reach the expectations expected of me, and graduate from college with a degree in Pre-Law, eventually leading into becoming a Criminal Justice lawyer. I dream of becoming a lawyer because I want to be a voice for the innocent, and protect those in court who have done nothing wrong, yet are being blamed. As an African American, I've seen plenty of racial injustice done to people of my color, especially in the justice system. Because of this, many African American children have lost their fathers to incarceration, fathers who are supposed to mentor them, and guide them through life. Outside of the racial impact, the justice system is very complicated, and if the innocent don't have proper representation, then they'll end up losing the lives they have worked so hard for. This scholarship will help me tremendously, as college is very expensive, and I have 8 other little siblings that my parents must feed and take care of, meaning that they have little money to support me in my dream. Not only that, but it would remind me that there's people out in the world who believe in my dream as much as I do, which would fuel my hope, and motivation, to achieve it. No matter what, I will achieve my dream. I believe that I can, and as long as I have the motivation and determination to do so, I know that I will succeed. However, I can't do it alone. With your help, I'll have a greater chance of graduating college, and eventually, becoming a voice for the innocent.

Fitness was my light when I lost everything. In the summer of 2024, I ended up breaking my metacarpal bone, in a way where the bone was completely separated and misplaced. I spent that whole summer in a cast. I could see, and feel all the muscle in my upper body on my right side, slowly slipping away. There was nothing I could do, but wait patiently, to use my right hand once again. In August of 2024, 3 months after I had broken my hand, I had gotten my cast off and was ready to start my junior year of high school, the most important year of my life. Next thing I know, 2 weeks after I had gotten my cast off, I had learned that we would be getting evicted from our apartment. At the time, I had lived in a family of 7, so this was a major shock to us all. My parents decided to bring us to a close family friend's house to live in their garage. This is where everything took a turn for the worse. Chaos everyday. Roaches, spiders, and rats everywhere. having to use a sink to wash myself. One day, in the summer of 2025, I took a look in the mirror. I had seen that one side of my body was thicker, and bigger than the other. I was ashamed of myself and hated the way I looked. I didn't want to do weightlifting, because I had tried it before and never seen any results. That's when I discovered Calisthenics. I'd seen videos of people all across the world controlling their body weight and doing tricks that only superheros could do. I had decided that I wanted to become one of them. So, as soon as I finished my junior year, I got to work. Every single day, I spent working. Push-ups, pull-ups, hanging leg raises. I wouldn't stop until I had reached my goal everyday. It wasn't easy. At first, I was so weak that I'd jump and use that momentum to pull myself over the bar. Realizing how weak I was, there were thoughts that entered my head telling me that I'd never change and become who I aimed to be. That my body would be disfigured forever, and there'd be nothing I can do to change it. I was so frustrated with myself that these thoughts started to overtake me, and I almost quit everything. I was still living in the garage at that time, and nothing seemed like it would ever change. It felt like prison and hell everyday. Even though I was struggling, working out was a pleasure. At the time, it was the only stable thing in my life, and provided comfort. It was at this point where I had decided to push even further. I pushed and worked so hard that it felt weird if I didn't work out that day, the type of obsession and determination that I believe only the greats have. Now, I will soon be reaching a year in doing Calisthenics. I have learned several skills, but the ones I hold close is the Dragon Flag, and Muscle-Ups. These skills have taken others years to master, while it has only taken me 11 months. I feel faster, stronger, and more confident in who I am. Calisthenics has done more than positively affect my body. It has helped me develop a mentality that supports me through even the hardest of times. No matter what I go through, I know that Push-ups and Pull-ups will always be there for me.

When it comes to living with a family of 8, attention for each child isn't always the same. 50% of the attention is spent on the youngest child, which is currently a month old during this submission, while another 45% is spent on 4 four other little ones, which only leaves 5% for me, the oldest sibling in the house. Now, pair that with just getting out of being homeless for a year and a half, living in someone else's garage. Dealing with pests like rats, roaches, and spiders, and having a kitchen, bedroom, and living room, all in one. This hasn't been easy, especially in the aspect of college and paying for an higher education. While some families have opened up accounts to save money to send their children to college, my parents have unfortunately needed every dollar they've earned, to help keep us alive week by week. This has caused me to seek out external resources to help fund my dreams, whether it be through other family members, submitting scholarships like these, or finding a way to gain the money myself. During this current economic time in America, it's hard for many adults to find or maintain a job, which leaves very little hope for young adults like me to find any scraps available. Living in the Bay Area makes this minimal chance even smaller, with California being #1 in unemployment rates. Not to mention, Donald Trump has been cutting the amount of money being given to students through FAFSA, which makes it even harder to go to college. However, in situations like these, only the ones who have an undying fire and will to succeed will overcome, and find a way out. I've spent the last 7 months preparing and finding a ways to fund my education, submitting over 15 scholarships so far, while maintaining my grades in high school. I've also went through 3 different cities, asking every store in sight, if they were hiring, and have only been to 3 different interviews, which all have lead to rejection. This overwhelming background of experience and struggles has hardened me, and shaped me into who I am today. I've learned in the hardest way that nothing will ever be handed to you, but rather you have to get up and do the work required to earn it. Even while I'm in that process, life will always send something my way to knock me off my feet, whether that may be rejection, financial struggles, or limited freedom. Regardless of it all though, I've understood that it's up to me to keep pushing and fighting for my dreams, even when no one else will. This is why I'm submitting my essay today. Because these scholarships are my last hope. They are the only viable option that I have to help fund my education, and be able to seek my dream of becoming a lawyer. Without them, I'd be forced to go down the same path my parents have, and eventually end up in the endless cycle of working a 9-5, just to make ends meet. I want to create a path that will help me and my family break out of that poverish cycle. I want to make sure that when I become a lawyer, they won't have to live paycheck by paycheck, and that has built up a sense of obsession and determination. The kind of determination and obsession that only the greatest have acquired. With this scholarship, I will have an increased chance of fulfilling my dream, and help my familiy succeed as well.

Hi, my name is Semaj Brown. I'm 18 and a senior at Newark Memorial High School. The movie that had the greatest impact on my life was Creed 3. I remember the day just like it was yesterday. The movie came out a week before my birthday, and my mom took me to watch it on my birthday. When we had gotten to the movie theaters, I was so excited to watch another Creed film. I always loved the Rocky series, and Creed was like a new generation-Rocky-like series, so I couldn't wait to see how the story continued. I also couldn't wait for the classic training montage that showed up in every single movie, and wondered how it would look in this movie. When the training montage came on, I was in awe for every single second of it. I had so many chills during it, it felt like the movie was inputting that same exact discipline and motivation that I was seeing in the movie. I just remember sitting there, watching, desiring the body Michael B Jordan had, and wondered if I'd ever gain a body like that. At that time, I was 15 and was a skinny kid. I had little to no muscle, and looked like a stick. Everytime I trained, I didn't see any results, and always blamed it on my fast metabolism. It seemed like no matter what I ate, or did, I stayed the same. Weeks after the movie, I watched the training montage over and over. I would watch while training, imagining that I too, was Creed. I would look at myself in delusion, and believe that I was gaining muscle, when I really wasn't. At that time, I chose to give up on that dream. Fast forward to May 2025, I had just fully recovered from breaking my hand, getting surgery, and going through rehab. I had seen that my body was clearly imbalanced in muscle, and decided that this was my chance to go all in and achieve that "Creed" body I always wanted. So, I used that entire summer to build. I would go outside to a park everyday to watch my siblings, and start my calisthenics journey. At first, I was so weak. I had to jump and use that momentum to do a pull-up everytime. The realization of how weak I was frustrated me so much that I began beating my own self up. I started giving myself doubts about what I was doing. But in that moment, when I was on my hands and knees, hating myself, I knew that I had a decision to make. Am I going to just give up on my dream like I always have, or am I going to push through? Am I going to chase my dream relentlessly until I get what I want? I told myself that no matter what, I will continue to show up for myself, and leave room for failure. I told myself to embrace the failure, and push through it. Fast forward to March 2026, I have gained 6 pounds of muscle in 9 months, and I love my body. The pain I chose to put myself through, created a mindset that says no matter what I'm going through, I will push through and succeed, and I love it. I love the fact that I feel weird every-time I don't workout. I love the fact that the mindset goes into my education, and personal life. Creed 3 has changed my life for the better, and I will continue to use it to keep going.

Hi, My name is Semaj Brown. I'm a senior at Newark Memorial High School. Throughout my life, I've had several personal experiences with finances, with the one situation I experienced last year, completely altering my perspective of what being 'broke' in California is. Around August of 2024, My family was evicted out of our apartment, due to my parents not handling their responsibilities. So, while school was starting, we were essentially homeless. We moved to my dads friend's house, and lived in their garage. We were a family of 7, so there wasn't much space at all, and we all slept on air mattresses. The bathroom near us didn't have a shower, so we had to use the sink every time we needed to take a shower. The environment was terrible. It smelt like wet dog mixed with a hint of pneumonia at the same time. At the time when we had moved, it had only seemed like spiders and a nonstop wave of fly's in the house, were the only pests we'd have to deal with. but like levels on a video game that increase in difficulty, we soon began to see roaches, then rats throughout the year. I knew that this garage wasn't in livable conditions at all, but it was either this, or live on the street. So, we had to endure, and fight. It got so bad that I ran away, and had decided to never return. The problem with finances and seeing how my parents were handling them were so bad, that it had made me want to separate from my family, and figure out life on my own. Crazy thing is, I never thought that I'd ever do something like that either. On the aspect of financial education, I have always needed aid. Whether it'd be for test such as the SAT, or an AP Exam, or getting free lunch, There wasn't a time when my parents didn't need to ask for help in my education. Even now, as I'm writing this essay, my parents have told me that they have nothing to offer in helping me get to college. This means that I'm fully dependent on scholarships, the aid the colleges will be willing to give me, and FAFSA. Regardless of it all though, I know and believe that I can make it. I know that I have what it takes and believe that this scholarship will aid me in my path of becoming a lawyer. When I do become a lawyer, I will use that money to give my parents and siblings a better life, a life that they have not yet experienced, so they could see that being poor isn't the only option we have.

What I believe success means is constantly achieving goals that you have set for yourself in life. Whether it may be educational, financial, or personal, always finding a way to accomplish things that cultivates and makes us a better person, is a success in my book. An example I have of this is my calisthenics journey. In May 2025, I had just got out of physical rehab from breaking my finger, and having to get surgery for it. The right side of my upper body had little to no muscle due to not being able to use them from 5-6 months, and my appearance was physically distorted and noticeable. I was ashamed of myself, and insecure. I decided that at the end of that school year, I would start calisthenics and build my body back, better than ever. The first 2 weeks were literal hell. I could barely do 10 push-ups, and I could only do 1 pull-up. I had a goal of doing 100 push-ups and 50 pull-ups everyday for that summer, and it was incredibly difficult to reach that goal. It got to the point where midway I started questioning myself, and if I would ever reach my dreams and goals about the skills I wanted to do. If I'd ever obtain the body that I've always wanted. The doubts started to pile up, the 'what ifs' started to flood my mind. At one point, it started to become bigger than just calisthenics. It widened into my educational, and personal life. I started doubting that I'd go to college, and be the first to graduate. I started doubting if I'd ever find somebody for me, that would finally treat me the way that I dreamed of treating them. I started to give up. Give up on my whole life, and entertain the thought of being a bum, Like many men in my family. But, there was a spark. That spark was forgiveness. The truth is, I was beating myself up about calisthenics so much, that I was giving my doubts power to reach other areas in my life. Once I started forgiving myself and allowing room for error, I understood that it was okay to fail, as long as you keep showing up to achieve that goal. So, instead of laying down and giving up, I continued. I fought. Everyday. I adopted a mindset of relentless pursuit. I did whatever it took to achieve what I wanted. I even sacrificed talking to most of my friends on social media, went complete ghost, and just went for it. Slowly, that habit of showing up became nature. If I didn't workout that day, I felt weird, like something was missing. I loved that feeling, because it brought me back to my goal and what I wanted. Fast forward to today, I haven't fully achieved that body yet, but I have seen tremendous progress, and others have seen it too, so I'm not going to give up for nothing. I've even inspired others to chase their dreams as well. In terms of how this scholarship will help me achieve my goals, it will provide me the aid that I need to pursue the dream of becoming a lawyer. I forgot to mention that throughout 2025 and half of 2026, my family was homeless, and still have little to no money to contribute to my dream of graduating college and becoming a lawyer. This scholarship will help me to become one of the first men in my family to have a degree, and prove to the rest, that we can be successful.