Ever since I was a child, I have loved to read. And I truly mean it. I would read anything I could get my hands on. I was a frequent visitor in the library since elementary school, and I’ve always had some form of literature on hand. Reading became my own little superpower, where I continue to discover more about myself and the world around me. Recently, I have gotten back into reading classical works, such as “The Bell Jar,” by Sylvia Path and “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” by Oscar Wilde. What I love about classic works is that the writing is exceptional, and the themes explore what it means to be human. Similarly, my love for murder mysteries and detective novels stem from the darker side of what it means to be human. One author that I've gravitated to is Anthony Horowitz. The main plot of his Hawthrone and Horowitz series is that a detective uses the author to publish books about his investigations and the author is drawn to solving the crimes as they go along. Like most murder mysteries, the major idea of the series is how complex the human mind is and both characters are thrown into loops because of the twisted nature of the murderers. Unfortunately, that twisted nature isn’t anything more than intense human nature, and that complexity will only be proven through forensics. Through my career as a forensic toxicologist, I want to challenge the idea that crimes are simple and straightforward, because people rarely are. I believe that true crime podcasts and documentaries have their place, but they often reduce deeply complex events for entertainment. My career exists in the space between those narratives and reality. I hope to bring that complexity to light to remind people that real people are involved in these crimes while also bringing clarity to those related to the suspect or victim, and ultimately, justice to those that deserve it. I tend to read novels that delve into psychological or philosophical fiction, but I believe we all need a break from darker subjects. Hence, “Wonder,” by R.J Palacio. I remember this book out of the many that I read when I was little, and I recently read it again just for fun. This novel is about a 10-uear-old boy named August or “Auggie” Pullman, who was born with a severe facial difference Because of this difference, he has been homeschooled until his parents decide that he’ll attend an actual school for fifth grade. This novel demonstrates how each character deals with their own struggles and insecurities and how they overcome them with courage through Auggie’s influence. Moving away from my career aspects, if I can’t influence the world through forensic science, I want to leave behind of legacy of kindness. I find that people often have adverse reactions to things and people they don’t understand. However, I’ve seen how much damage judgement can do and it’s no excuse to treat anyone less than because of their differences. Just as forensic science seeks the truth of a crime, I believe kindness seeks the truth of a person. Towards the end of novel, the principal delivers a graduation speech. He says something that I believe all of us can take away from: “What a marvelous line, isn’t it? Kinder than is necessary. Because it’s not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed. Why I love that line, that concept, is that it reminds me that we carry with us, as human beings, not just the capacity to be kind, but the very choice of kindness.”

To be completely honest, I never thought that I would pursue chemistry as a career. When I started my first year at Winthrop University, I had only taken one honors chemistry class prior. Needless to say, I was completely out of my element. However, even though it has become challenging, I found myself to enjoy the challenge. It is a little counterproductive for someone that thrives on order, but being in an environment that has more uncertainty than anything else is something that I found that I want to work through. Chemistry has taught me that things aren’t simple, and being able to persevere through all of the self-doubt, challenges, and failures has been worth it for my character and skills. Additionally, I’ve found comfort in the STEM community. One of the things that surprised me most was how diverse it truly is. The people I've encountered come from vastly different backgrounds, cultures, and life experiences are still all drawn to the same fundamental desire to understand and solve. That variety of perspectives makes the community more welcoming and it makes the work itself better. From my personal experience, my high school offered a large amount of AP and honors classes and I took full advantage of those. However, I rarely noticed anybody else that looked like me in most of my classes, especially as I took higher level classes. Furthermore, I didn’t have a Black teacher in my entire high school career. I didn’t realize how isolating it felt until I had a Black professor my freshman year of university. Now, I want to be an example to other Black girls and underrepresented communities that we really can do anything as long as we persevere. My immediate short-term goal is to do undergraduate research at Winthrop University. I want to work closely with some of my professors to investigate topics and questions that excite me and be able to present those discoveries at conferences. I also want to use my time to understand criminal and civil law, data interpretation, and how to prepare samples in a laboratory environment. However, my ultimate goal is to become a forensic toxicologist. I want to be part of a team that serves communities like mine, so my work can bridge the difference between a wrongful conviction and the truth. Forensic science has come a long way, but the outcome has always been important. We can only improve the efficiency of forensic science from here, and my goal is to be a leader in advancing the analytical techniques that make forensic toxicology more accurate and just. This scholarship will alleviate some of the financial strain university has put on my family and I. I’m continuing to do well in my studies, but the largest stressors has been my tuition, textbook costs, and housing. Along with my younger brother going to community college, I want to make sure that my financial burdens don’t impact his chances of getting a good quality education. He deserves it, and it’s up to me to make sure that he can continue his education. Additionally, this scholarship will give me the opportunity to accomplish more of what Winthrop can offer me, like summer internships and research, and study abroad. These are things that I would love to do for myself and for my career, and this scholarship will help me achieve these goals. I came into chemistry unsure of myself, but I leave every class and every lab more certain of my purpose. I aim to achieve my goals and become the person I want to look up to.

I absolutely loved art as a kid. I would paint, sketch, draw, all of the above. There was something about having an idea and a blank space and being to do anything I wanted with it. That feeling never left me, even as my interests changed. As I got older, I associated myself and my tendencies to be “type A,” someone who thrives on control, routine, and order. Still, art gave me a space to express myself freely but within a world I could manage and shape. I didn’t expect that STEM would give me the same feeling. To be short, I like the challenge of STEM. Furthermore, I’m drawn to the uncertainty of it. It’s counterproductive for someone that thrives on order, but being in an environment that has more uncertainty than anything else is something that I found that I want to work through. STEM has taught me that things aren’t simple, and being able to persevere through all of the 7self-doubt, challenges, and failures has been worth it. Additionally, I’ve found comfort in the STEM community. One of the things that surprised me most was how diverse it truly is. The people I've encountered come from vastly different backgrounds, cultures, and life experiences — and yet they're all drawn to the same fundamental desire to understand and solve. That variety of perspectives makes the community more welcoming and it makes the work itself better. Beyond that, finding mentors and role models who look like me or share my story has been motivating. It's one thing to be told you belong somewhere. It's another to actually see someone who has walked a similar path and made it work. Those people have shown me that there isn't one type of person who succeeds in STEM and that has given me more confidence in my own place here than any grade or achievement ever could. Over time, I’ve have learned to appreciate that struggling in this field isn’t indicative of me failing, but that my skillset and identity is growing. However, my decision to pursue a degree in STEM goes beyond myself. I want to use my degree to alleviate some of the stigma behind STEM. Areas in STEM are hard, but they are never impossible. Somewhere, there's a kid who is curious about science, medicine, or engineering but has already talked themselves out of it, convinced they're not smart enough, not the "right type" of person. I know that feeling. I'm certainly not a genius. But I've begun to learn that curiosity and persistence matter more than raw brilliance, and I'm still pushing myself forward because of it. I want to prove to children curious in STEM that they don’t have to be geniuses to want to be a scientist, a doctor, or an engineer in the future. If I can show even one person that STEM has room for them, for the kid who also loved art, for the person who has to work hard for every concept, for anyone who doesn't fit the narrow image of what a scientist or engineer is "supposed" to look like, then my degree will mean something beyond my own career.

As a chemistry major, I spent the first semester of my freshman year resenting calculus. Even though I was able to test into Calculus I that very semester, I sat in the lecture wondering why I even had to take this class. I wanted to spend time in the lab mixing things, not differentiating them. Unfortunately, the torture didn’t end there. No, I was required to take Calculus II for my major, in addition to Physics I and II with Calculus I and II. It seemed as if the torture would never end, and I would be forced to take these classes in the pursuit of my education. However, it wasn’t until I took Calculus II in the spring when I started to piece together why I needed to take calculus as a chemistry major. Dr. Abernathy was my professor for Calculus II and she is a complete geek for math. I do find her personality endearing, even though I’m definitely not as interested in math as she is. But unlike most people, she is actively and openly passionate about math. Throughout the course, she always had a way to connect what we were learning to different areas of STEM. Growth models are useful in biology, differential equations are needed for reaction kinetics and equilibrium in chemistry, just to name a few connections. In fact, even though Dr. Abernathy has a PhD in math, her current research revolves around disease models. She even assigned a project (who assigns a project in Calc II??) where we had to determine how computers calculate pi using different integration techniques. To be honest, it was intimidating at first, but it turned out to be a fun project. It was interesting to see how things that we typically don’t think about involve a lot of calculations. In her attempts to alleviate the stigma around math being useless, she was able to prove that calculus does have a role in all our careers. Being able to see that now is especially important in my field. Chemistry is not just mixing substances and observing results, it's understanding why and how fast those results happen. Reaction kinetics, thermodynamics, even quantum chemistry are all built on calculus. Now, instead of having to guess why calculus is important in STEM fields, I *know* why calculus is important in STEM fields. Calculus is applicable to so many STEM fields because these fields deal with how things change. Calculus is able to measure these changes quantitatively. Whether it's modeling drug concentrations in biology, optimizing designs in engineering, training algorithms in computer science, or calculating reaction rates in chemistry, calculus shows up because change shows up. I will never escape math, but I'm starting to think that it won’t be so terrible. Knowing why it matters makes it feel less like an obstacle and more like something I want to understand.

I was sitting in my AP Biology class, working on a random assignment. There was nothing special about that day other than the usual joking around with my friends while getting work done. Suddenly, I looked around. That’s when I realized that I was the only Black, female student in my AP Biology class. It didn’t come as a shock to me since my family and I moved around a lot in my childhood. I went to a multitude of schools that were very diverse, not diverse at all, or somewhere in between. But something about that moment clicked for me, From then on, I truly began to notice that I was the only “something” in most of my classes. The only Black student or the only female. At first, I didn’t care. I was in school to get good grades and go to college. But I noticed that I was the only Black female in all of my friend groups and I can’t remember having a Black teacher at my high school. I felt isolated at times, especially when it came to connecting with others because I couldn’t be more different than anyone else. And I didn’t want to stand out. I wanted to stand out for my achievements, not just because I was Black. This realization didn’t encourage me to prove myself. If anything, it made me doubt myself. I was getting good grades, and I won awards, and I volunteered. But I never felt like I was enough, especially as a Black female wanting to go into STEM. I had something to prove, but I felt like I wasn’t proving myself enough. I eventually pushed that feeling down because I knew that this situation wouldn’t change in high school. However, there was yet another shift. Throughout my first year of university, I noticed how many more women of color were also pursuing a degree in chemistry. The thought that I would be the only Black student was immediately disproven every time I walked into a new class. There was and will always be someone like me in organic chemistry and physics, and I couldn’t be happier. My professor for CHEM 211 (an accelerated general chemistry course) Dr. Itanze, was Black. And I regret to say that I didn’t expect that he would be. Not only was he Black, but he was an amazing professor. In a class that combined general chemistry I and II into one semester, he made chemistry fun. He is my favorite professor so far, and I’ve kept in touch with him even after taking his class. My future goals in STEM are to gain more research experience, get my master’s degree, and eventually work as a forensic toxicologist in a lab. A lot will happen during that time, but I would love to become an inspiration for girls that have or are currently going through the same experience I had, for someone to be a Dr. Itanze earlier on in my academic career. I would also like to present my future research at different high schools near my university and at my previous high school, to be a visible representation of what Black women can do and achieve. Representation is undoubtedly important in all aspects of life, but it’s especially important to the middle schoolers and high schoolers who aren’t sure of what they’re going to be yet. And it starts with the underrepresented women like me—so the next girl in university, doesn't have to be surprised when she sees someone who looks like her at the front of the room.

I would believe that when most people hear the word “legacy,” they think of those ultra-rich families like the Kardashians or famous celebrities like Marilyn Monroe or Michael Jackson. These people have undoubtedly left an impact on American and international culture in various different ways. However, I would like to think that legacy includes everyone no matter how big or small. And it should. Legacy is the impact that you leave on others and how they change based on what you leave behind. My parents grew up with very little. Their families weren’t successful, definitely weren’t rich, and they lived on opposite sides of the country. Still, both of them had to build their own path from the ground up. For instance, my father started his career as a chef while he was in high school. He went to culinary school for his post-secondary education but had to cut his formal education short solely because of his financial situation. Even so, that didn’t discourage him in the slightest. He continued to gain experience through his career, and he was even featured on the front page of a Hampton Food magazine shortly before I was born. Currently, he is still a professional pastry chef and baker and hasn’t changed his career path ever since he started. I never have to ask why my father became a chef because he told me, “People will always need to eat, and AI can’t replace me.” This principle reflected much of my father’s upbringing. Work hard and become irreplaceable to provide a solid foundation for yourself and your family. However, in combination with my mother’s wisdom and experience, they worked to define a new set of principles for my upbringing; be happy, work hard, and make money. Most of these principles were tied into my academic life. My parents taught me to enjoy life to its fullest and warned that I wouldn’t be able to do so if I didn’t balance it with hard work, which started in the classroom. They pushed me to do the best in my classes so I can reap all the benefits later in my career and in life. My parents also worked hard to provide the needs and wants of life, and made sure I had a little extra to support how I wanted to build my path. I believe my upbringing has positively impacted my path on life because I was taught the hardships of life without having to fully experience all of them. That isn’t to say that I work hard for my parents’ approval or to receive anything from them. It is to show that I appreciate what they’ve done for me, and I’ll work hard for my future to show that their sacrifices weren’t in vain. I plan to continue the cycle by giving back to them tenfold and continuing their legacy for my children. I want to be successful as a forensic toxicologist for myself, but so I can take care of my parents when they get older. I’ll make sure they’ll have everything they need and more because without them, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be in university pursuing a degree and career I want to pursue if they didn’t support and encourage me. Furthermore, if they didn’t work as hard as they did, I would be pursuing a career for necessity instead of doing something that I love. Without them, I wouldn’t be as happy as I am now. So, I have to thank my parents for allowing me to make a legacy of my own by honoring them.

I always found the human mind to be an interesting thing. It’s one reason why I decided to pursue a career in forensics, albeit in the sciences rather than law. Yet, it’s a lot easier to observe the behavior of others than your own behavior. My name is Sophia Copeland. Whenever people ask me where I’m from, I always tell them that I’m from Maryland. I believe it’s a lot simpler than explaining that I’ve been to eight different schools before I began high school, and because I was technically from Maryland. I attended Bluffton High School, and now I’m a freshman at Winthrop University to study Forensic Chemistry. The change from middle to high school wasn’t that different from anything I’ve done before. It was actually a little more refreshing since everyone would be the new kid instead of it just being me. I made friends, kept high grades and tried to get as much as I could out of my experience. Now that I’m in university, I now know that high school wasn’t all that bad for me, except for a couple of moments, my biggest one being my first semester of senior year. In preparation for university, I had studied for months for my final retake of the SAT, applied to twelve different colleges, joined YIG and went to a conference in Columbia, got into National Science Honor Society, had a heavy course load, worked part-time, and more. Needless to say, that semester was busy for me. In an effort to challenge myself, I only pushed myself to the brink of burnout. I wasn’t just tired from the lack of sleep–I also felt numb. Assignments and chores just turned into tasks, an endless checklist that kept getting longer. School wasn’t fun anymore. I keep reminding myself that the bad days wouldn’t last for long. That what I was doing now would help me in the future. But the numbness didn’t go away. The best way to describe it was feeling centered and detached. I got accepted into every school I applied to. But I wasn’t happy. I felt like it was just another task, another checked off box. I really didn’t realize how miserable I was until the semester ended, and I regret not reaching out to a counselor or my own family about my struggles. So, in college and in the future, my personal goal is to be honest about my struggles and stress. I’ve been extremely fortunate that my own mental health journey has been relatively tame, but I know that cannot be said for others. Even though I don’t have any formal experience in mental health at the moment, I am highly interested in pursuing a minor in psychology. I’ll have a chance to not only understand the human mind better, but also to understand myself and others. Educating myself on mental health will, in my opinion, make me more aware and open to resources that are available to me. However, the most important thing I want to achieve is to be able to help others that faced the same struggles I did. Those who struggle silently and believe that they were alone, those who think that their experiences aren’t serious enough to reach out to someone. I believe that everyone should have the ability and the chance to talk to someone without judgement even in a world where everyone judges, and I want to help make that a possibility in any way I can.

I dropped to the ground, my hands sweaty in those unbearably hot gloves that were still fastened around the hose. “Am I having a panic attack? Did I run out of oxygen already? Why is my vision so blurry?” That’s what I would have liked to have thought at that moment, but it definitely wasn’t that. My lungs and mind were screaming for air, that precious, cool 28% of life that I desperately needed right now. But, before I knew it, Mr. Wallett and Mr. Bowers had dragged me out of the training facility. But let’s go back to the beginning. The very beginning. I had taken firefighting as a class freshman year, about two and a half years before that day. One of the requirements of the class was to attend Monday meetings after school with the fire department, to get extra hands-on training and to be able to get my certifications as a firefighter. I didn’t necessarily want to be a firefighter, but I wanted to try. As I sat on some stairs, the shame and disappointment started to build up quickly. I wasn’t able to drag a hose into the building, which was literally one of the easiest things we had to do in our training. Everyone else was able to do it, so why couldn’t I? “It was that door, wasn’t it?” Mr. Wallett asked, referring to another task we did earlier that day (which, again, I couldn’t do). I started to say, “Yeah,” but I burst into tears. It was the first time I had ever cried that hard in front of anyone. What made this a key moment for me was that nobody yelled at me. Mr. Wallett made sure I was okay, and despite me wanting to stay, to redeem myself, he insisted that I should go home. He didn’t make me feel horrible for giving up, which, admittedly, I did more to myself. However, I had to make a decision. For the Fire I exam, there were two parts. A written exam and a physical one. I passed the written exam, but after that day, I knew that if I did risk taking the physical exam, I could potentially harm myself or others since we would actually be putting out a fire in full gear. Not taking the exam meant that I didn’t get my firefighter certification. Something that was my ultimate goal, the reason why I stayed in the program for two and half years. I decided to not take it. When I went back to the next meeting, Mr. Wallett didn’t give me the cold shoulder. He smiled at me and said, “Glad to have you back!” It was a simple gesture, but it did so much. In that moment, I realized that my worth wasn’t tied to constant productivity or perfection, it was tied to my presence, my effort, and my willingness to return despite thinking I failed. This entire memory will always stay with me because I can now proudly say that while I strive to do my best in everything, I’ve learned it’s okay to take a step back. Resting, pausing, even temporarily giving up doesn’t mean failure. It means I’m human. And being human means learning to forgive myself for the times I couldn’t keep going. What I thought was resilience only made small cracks that continued to break me down. Now, I know that resilience is how you’re able to rebuild yourself after the damage is done. Just like a forest, I can grow to be greener and stronger from the ashes after a fire.

If I had the chance to talk to myself ten years ago, I would say that an eight-year-old me would be absolutely stunned at my career choice. Back then, I was the stereotypical bookworm: I wore glasses, had braces, was introverted, loved to read, and I was somewhat academically gifted. I excelled in reading and English, so I was far more interested in being immersed in the stories I’ve read than talking to people. I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I grew up, but I knew it would have to do with books. That changed my sophomore year of high school. Mrs. McDonagh was my biology teacher and against all odds, she made science fun. We went outside to collect leaves and look at them under microscopes. Her approach was hands on, and she made sure that the material was understood. I found myself looking forward to labs, and even lab reports weren’t horrible anymore. I took more science classes as a result of her influence, and I’ve learned something new every time I’ve entered the classroom. Soon enough, my curiosity prompted a shift in interest: my attention was now focused on the real world through true crime. I listened to podcasts, watched true crime documentaries and police dash cam footage. But, instead of focusing on the “who?” and “what?”, I became more interested in the “why?” and “how?” When I had Mrs. McDonagh again for Biomedical Sciences, I went through a forensics unit, and I was finally able to answer what I wanted to do when I grew up. I found myself wanting to pursue a career behind the scenes, to experiment, and to wear a fancy lab coat. So, I have chosen to pursue a degree in Forensic Chemistry because I felt the most challenged and inspired. However, the biggest challenge that I’ve overcome regarding my academics started in the classroom. In high school, only 12% of the student body was Black. More often than not, I was either the only Black student, female, or both in some of my higher-level math or science classes. At first, I didn’t pay much attention to it because it was something I was used to as I grew up. I previously lived in Maryland, which not only had a higher percentage of Black students, it had an equal mix of every kind of race and ethnicity. I also didn’t mind because I was more focused on my assignments to let it affect me. Still, I recognized that I felt like I didn’t “belong” in some spaces. I was fortunate enough to not face any discrimination from my classmates, but it felt like I stuck out despite not wanting to. The lack of representation and others to relate to sometimes made me question if I had a place in STEM. Nonetheless, I still tried to take as many STEM classes as I could for the experience and for my own sake. Now, I want to use my education to push forensic science forward, to make it so reliable that it becomes irrefutable evidence in court. I want my work to bring closure to families, to actually make a difference in someone’s life because the truth should come to light. And I want someone else, anyone else, to view my research and be inspired like I was. I want to prove to the world that working hard does help achieve your dreams, but passion is the input that really takes you far and that women, especially Black women, don’t need to keep proving we’re capable. We already are.

When I started high school, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do for my future. I knew that I needed to start figuring it out, but I had plenty of time to think about it, right? What I did know was that I leaned more towards creative expression, and STEM was the last thing I thought I would pursue a degree in. If someone had told me I’d be pursuing a degree in Forensic Chemistry just a few years later, I probably would’ve laughed. But not long into high school, I discovered that I actually liked science. The shift from sketchbooks and vibrant colors to lab reports and chemical reactions was definitely a transition, but I embraced it wholeheartedly. My high school is located in an area with a good amount of diversity, but the percentage of Black students in our student body was 12%. More often than not, I was either the only Black student, female, or both in some of the higher-level math or science classes I took. At first, I didn’t pay much attention to it because it was something I was used to as I grew up. I previously lived in Maryland, which not only had a higher percentage of Black students, but it also had an equal mix of every kind of race and ethnicity. I also didn’t mind because I was more focused on my assignments to really care. Still, I recognized that I felt like I didn’t “belong” in some spaces. I was fortunate enough to not face any discrimination from my classmates, but it felt like I stuck out despite not wanting to. The lack of representation and others to relate to sometimes made me question if I had a place in STEM. Nonetheless, I still tried to take as many STEM classes as I could for the experience and for my growing passion for science. This scholarship will not just aid me in being able to take the classes I need to succeed, it will become an investment towards my future. I want to push my limits while getting as much experience as possible while I can. But, taking more credit hours means that each class costs more, and I’m in a position where taking more classes is actually more beneficial for my major. I want to go to take the classes I need without limiting myself based on the costs, because I know I can and will do more for myself. In addition to that, as a chemistry major, my schedule is full of intensive chemistry and math classes that require more costs and materials. With this scholarship, I will be able to pay for more school supplies, like books and lab fees, and I’ll be able to focus on learning, exploring, and challenging myself. In hindsight, I wished I had taken scholarship applications more seriously when I could’ve, but I’m glad that I’m able to understand the importance of it now. Every single cent counts and makes a difference between having to stress about funds mid-semester and being able to put my all towards my learning experience(s). So, this scholarship represents a lot more than just financial relief to me, it represents the support for my education and the freedom to expand my learning experience and pursue any opportunities that come my way.

To put it simply, one of my greatest personal accomplishments was overcoming my social anxiety. I know it doesn’t seem like a lot and there are definitely better things I could have, and have, accomplished, but this is something that I think is my best accomplishment. Some things to note: I was born in Chesapeake, Virginia, but I can’t tell you exactly where I grew up and where I’m from. I usually tell people that I’m from Maryland, specifically Gaithersburg, Maryland because it’s the one place I’ve lived the longest and it’s my favorite. I’ve attended 8 different schools and lived in 4 different states throughout my life up until high school, so I was always the new girl. It also didn’t help that I was naturally introverted, so it became difficult to blend in when I always stood out. When you’re the new girl almost every other year, you start to learn a lot about how people act. Almost every school I went to, there would always be people who were friendly, which was always appreciated. Unfortunately, it never stayed that way since I would move the year after or I just didn't click with them after getting to know them. To be honest, I remember feeling a little lonely and isolated, especially since every time I took the initiative to make friends, there was always that thought in the back of my mind that I might not see them again. When you build up the courage to do something that isn’t easy and it crumbles again and again, then why should you continue to do it? Back then, I’ll admit I was cowardly and naive because that’s exactly what I thought. Thankfully, I continued to make friends, but it slowly evolved into others trying to be friends with me since I was scared to extend an olive branch myself. Moving to South Carolina was also a little difficult not only because we had moved back to Gaithersburg, MD from Suitland, MD in 7th grade after living in California a couple years before, but also because we didn't have any close relatives in South Carolina. I felt like I wouldn’t ever be able to settle down and make stronger connections with people because I felt like I never had the opportunity to do so. Luckily, I’ve stayed at Bluffton High for all 4 years and that time, I’ve noticed a huge change. I became more confident in myself, and joined school activities like Interact, NHS, and eventually YIG. I know so many people and I have created different friend groups through clubs, AP classes, and through work. I have a good relationship with my teachers, (I do remember the first time my English teacher remembered my name 3 years after I took her class) and I’ve done better in school than any other school I’ve been to. It wasn’t until I started applying to college and having to dig through my past that I really began to look back on who I was and who I’ve become. That shy, timid girl, who took 5 minutes to make a phone call has transformed into someone who can have a casual conversation with a stranger in a grocery store. That someone who picked at every detail about herself grew into someone who doesn’t care what others think. I feel like I’ve grown the most in these short 4 years. It's only natural to change as you grow older, but I’m proud to see the person I’ve become, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

To balance being a hardworking student and the inevitable obstacles of being a teenager, kindness is an essential skill to develop and define. Kindness itself aligns with my personal values to not just connect with all sorts of people, but a skill that can take anyone further. But, working hard also can take anyone further. Needless to say, being kind and hardworking are skills that I aim to use to help myself and others, and taking AP classes has given me the chance to refine both skills. Given the chance I would have liked to take IB and Dual Enrollment classes. However, given my personal circumstances, AP was the closest option I had to taking college level courses early. Taking AP has challenged me to balance discipline and personal development . It has made me more empathetic to my classmates, and not just those in AP. Behind the hardworking star students, were just regular teenagers who wanted to push themselves to become the versions of themselves they wanted to be. Of course, there will always be struggles, but I didn’t view my classmates as competition, because looking at them succeed has motivated me to want to push myself as well. So, this turned into me viewing them as role models. Needless to say, AP has transformed how I’m kind to others because I learned the value of being kind. My classmates in AP are not just high achievers. They’re highschoolers, just like me, and they also deal with stress. We’re all going through unspoken battles and problems To me, being kind isn’t difficult, but being kind and hardworking is. Before taking AP classes, I had considered myself a hard worker, but my opinion quickly changed once I started highschool. AP proved to be a challenge to my social skills and my work ethic, because pushing myself and stepping out of my comfort zone were once viewed as tasks that were necessary, but almost a burden. But, I realized that by genuinely trying to work hard, tasks such as presenting in groups and research projects transitioned from being a burden to something that became more enjoyable. Despite both being different, being hardworking and kind develops a well-rounded person, someone who looks at a problem as a challenge and who can not only face the problems in their own life but can extend themselves to help others. Now, looking back on all four years of highschool, I can say that I am more of the version I would like to be than I was at the start. Balancing my coursework, preparing for college, and financial uncertainty crosses my mind just about every single day as I start my journey towards higher education. However, I have decided to not let this weigh me down. I am prepared to do what I need to in order to further my education. Every extra hour of work, every moment of hearing that others don’t have to worry about their education has solidified my commitment to my education because it is simply what I want and need to do. It is true that the financial strain of pursuing higher education might add more to my responsibilities, but it has also motivated me to work harder. My school of choice is Winthrop University, and I was accepted into their Honors Program to major in forensic chemistry. I hope that the perseverance and lessons I have learned over my highschool career will aid in the inevitable challenges in college, and I strive to be a role model to others: someone that can be labeled as kind and hardworking.

I can never tell people where exactly I grew up, so I always say that I’m from Maryland and it's simply because it’s the one place I’ve felt more at home throughout my whole life. But, to keep it short, I’ve lived in 4 different states and went to around 8 different schools throughout my life until high school. I’ve tried so many different sports and clubs from flag football, dance, cross country, track, band, chorus, and more, I was always doing something. However, a couple of things I love stayed with me: drawing, singing, reading, and science. I think I've always been infatuated with research and science ever since I was young. It's taken me a little while to realize it, but I'm glad I did. The very idea of science is so interesting to me because it’s one of the most versatile subjects in the world. It's so easy to forget that little things that make our lives so easy like Band-Aids, Velcro, and seatbelts come from people who came up with a little idea to help others and then spread to become some of the most common products. As I already mentioned, science is one of the most versatile subjects in the world, and I personally plan to apply this to the law because my dream is to become a Forensic DNA Analyst! I'm aiming for my B.S in a biology-related field, but I also want to try to get my masters. Being a lawyer and/or attorney sounded interesting to me because it relates to crime investigation, but it’s the actual science part that really appealed the most to me. It's one thing to connect all the evidence together, but another thing working in a lab with evidence, and that’s where I want to be. Last year, I took PLTW Principles of Biomedical Sciences, and it was honestly the best class I have ever taken. It was this class in particular which solidified my love and interest for pursuing a career in STEM. Some of the things we learned were crime scene investigation, autopsies, medical history, genetics, diseases, emergency response, and biomimicry. Needless to say, I enjoyed everything we learned in that class. I never really knew I loved science until I took that class. I learned new skills and homed in on skills I already knew by just being in the lab. I continued to learn how to work with others in a lab and how to pay attention to the smaller details. Procedures like gel electrophoresis and gram staining were fun and not another task I had to do. I learned how to write an abstract and present my findings and conclusions to my classmates, and most importantly, I learned an important lesson, one that’s incredibly important in any STEM related field: I will never always get the answer right, and there will be times where my results have a bigger margin of error. This is the most important thing in my eyes because this is the reason why science sets it apart from every other subject. However, this might seem a little contradictory because I’m the type of person where having a definite answer is something that’s more comfortable to me. But that’s exactly why I love science. It keeps me on my toes, and I have to learn to improvise or start again. Science gives me a bigger opportunity to learn because it’s expected that I won't get the answer right the first time. And that's why I have to keep trying until I get my desired results.

Every day I have a regular routine. On the weekdays, I wake up at 6:45, make my bed, stretch for 5 minutes, take a shower at 7:10, make food and eat until 7:45, etc. But there’s always one constant: going to the bathroom to look at myself in the mirror. Why is that, you may ask? Well, besides trying to see if I’m presentable enough to walk out of the house, the one thing I see every morning and every time I look into the mirror is not just myself, but my mother. People always mention that we look alike, like I'm a younger version of herself. And it’s true. If I showed you a picture of me when I was a baby, and her as a baby, it would be really difficult to tell which was her and which was me. Even walking through grocery stores now, people always think we’re sisters because we look so alike. While we are very different in a lot of ways, the one thing I can definitely say about her is that she instilled her passion towards her goals and desire to learn into me. Born and raised in Oxnard, California to a single mom, my mother is someone who had to be driven to get where she is. She went to community college for her first 2 years, then transferred to Norfolk State University. Unfortunately, there was an issue with her credits, so she had to retake all of her classes. But she graduated with her bachelor’s in 2 years. She didn't have any financial support from my grandmother to pay for college, so she basically did all of it herself, which I admire immensely. So, predictably, this encouraged her to encourage me to do more, while also giving me more opportunities to learn. As a child, my mother has always encouraged me to try new things. From kindergarten until now, I’ve been in flag football, student council, the robotics club, Girls and Boys Club, band and orchestra, chorus, piano, cross country, track, tried out for volleyball, and many more activities throughout the years. Looking back on it now, I feel like her desire to give me more than she had has inspired me to want more for myself. I look up to her because she had the motivation to push herself, and I want to have that same motivation. Last semester, I finally decided to join my school’s Youth in Government club, and while it’s not directly speech debate or mock trial, I participated as an appeals attorney at the YMCA Youth in Government Conference at the State House in Columbia, South Carolina. I presented 2 cases in front of a judge and argued for my case where the judges rebutted against my arguments, to put it simply. It was a huge step out of my comfort zone because talking in front of an audience of people had never been a strong suit of mine. However, in the 2 months before the conference, I was reading and preparing my cases religiously. I really wanted to make sure that I did my best at the conference, and I believe that I did. The funny thing is that I’m not really interested in a career in anything that heavily involves debate. My dream is to become a Forensic DNA Analyst. But I decided to participate in YIG because I knew that I could, and I really wanted to. I’m happy that I did because I have another experience in my arsenal, and I do have to thank my mother for that.

Diversity is something I value immensely, everywhere I go. I’ve always liked to be in diverse environments from when I was little because it’s all I’ve been around and what I grew up with. As I’ve gotten older, that value hasn’t gone away but I recognize how more important it is. Unlike back then, instead of just enjoying the variety of different cultures around me, I’ve come to realize that being around others with different backgrounds helped shape me as a person and fueled my creativity, and diversity as a whole should bring people together to problem-solve. To answer the question, I believe it’s important to have diverse representation in STEM careers for 3 reasons: to encourage, to learn, and to flourish. Like I said before, diversity is something that I value. But, it’s also important to have people who represent you in multiple fields. Imagine how many children or even young adults can be inspired to pursue a career in STEM when they see someone like them accomplish something great. It’s inspiring to have a role model that is doing something you want to do, and it can motivate more people to look into STEM. In my case, I wasn’t really influenced by anyone else to pursue a career in biology because I just simply love science. And I really wish I saw more recognized Black scientists in the media because that would’ve probably inspired me a lot sooner to love science. As someone who loves science and inspires to become a forensic DNA Analyst, I want to be the beacon that encourages others to build a path to the career I’m pursuing. When you have so many people from experienced and different backgrounds, you learn a lot, but you also have a better time staying in an environment. You can have more access to unique perspectives and your creativity can flourish, especially since innovation and creativity are encouraged in STEM careers. I’ve definitely learned this from my own background in living in many different states across the U.S and going to many different schools because I had the opportunity to learn other cultures through my friends, other parents, and just all the people around me embracing their cultures. While I’m still my own person, all the things I’ve learned from others brought me to this point, and shaped the person I am. Now, I believe everyone can flourish in a diverse environment precisely because we can all learn from each other. All of us come from unique backgrounds and have had unique experiences. We and I will never stop learning, so being in an environment where you’re learning about your trade and learning from the people around you is something that is really valuable! Another thing is that because we all come from different backgrounds, there are always individual problems. Having a group of people from rich backgrounds can provide more insight into specific problems within certain communities, and STEM is all about innovation and problem-solving. I think a lot of people who are a little bit intimidated by getting into STEM because they have the mindset that they have to be intelligent. But that’s precisely why we need more inclusion in STEM. It does take intelligence to have a successful career, but intelligence doesn’t get you anywhere if you’re not driven, and anyone can be driven. I want to be a forensic DNA Analyst because I love forensics and crime investigation, but I want to be part of the group that the next generation looks up to and sees all the great things we can do.

Before I started to volunteer, I really thought that it wasn't worth my time. There were a plethora of other things I wanted to do other than volunteer, and I think a lot of people relate to that now. However, once I started to volunteer, I realized that I was extremely naive. It wasn't just giving up my time, it was giving up time for a good cause. You learn a lot about people by volunteering and interacting with people in general. The organization I've volunteered for the most was BTFD, which is my local fire department. Contrary to popular belief and based on my own experiences, firefighters go to more calls about medical needs and car accidents than actual fires. With this in mind, it's more important that firefighters are well-rounded, quick, and problem solvers. One extremely important lesson I’ve learned from them was that firefighters have to be positive. No exceptions. They (and I) come to people because they're not having a good day. The thing that made volunteering for the fire department different was the amount of trust people put in myself and the firefighters. Seeing them look at us like a ray of hope made me really grateful to even be in the position to help them. One simple way I want to make a positive impact on the world is to give back the positivity that was given to me. After a while, I got my first job, and having past volunteer experience made it easier to interact with people and focus on my job, and less on the paycheck. Another lesson that I learned from working retail was from a shopper I was helping at the register. She told me that you never know what somebody is going through, and being negative can really bring their day down, even when we don't mean to. Sometimes I have bad days. Days where I don't want to talk with anyone and stay in my room and relax. We all have days like that but we can't always hide away. I think a lot of people take kindness for granted because it's the negative interactions that stand out the most. Even so, I still want to be kind to everyone regardless of how they feel or I feel about them. I don't ever want to be the person that's in the back of somebody's mind at the end of the day because I was rude or negative to them because I want to be the opposite. I believe that one duty that every human being has to fulfill is being kind to others. It can seem that being kind is easier said and done, but we all know that one or two negative experiences in a day can sometimes bring you down. Unfortunately, the negative experiences almost always outweigh the positive ones. With all of the lessons I've learned, I want to use this in my future career, forensics. While forensics isn't very close to hospitality, I believe that it does fill part of that role because I want cases to have a resolution. I want to use my mind to bring people to justice and comfort any victims in a case. I was interested in this career because I love science, and it also gives me a chance to actually help people while doing something I generally enjoy. At the end of the day, I want to add to the idea that the simplest act of being positive will always help somebody out.

Last semester, I took AP World History and it became one of the most memorable classes I've ever taken. Not just because it was recent, but because of my teacher, Mr. Ortiz. While his assignments were tedious and we had seminars every other week (which I absolutely dreaded for the first 2 months), the one thing he repeatedly said to us was to read. It was different from anyone else saying it because he encouraged us to learn about what's happening in the world, as well as looking at how and why people have the views they do. Luckily for him, I have always enjoyed reading. In elementary school, we had book competitions and I liked to participate in them because it made sense for me to get rewards for something I did basically everyday. It's a little bit different now, but I still enjoy reading. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. This was one of the first classic books I read freshman year and it's still stuck with me all this time. Despite it being written in 1953, it's honestly really eerie how much it's relevant to this day. A brief summary of the book is that it's set in a dystopian future where books are illegal and burned. The main focus of the book is how people are often disconnected from reality with technology and how important knowledge really is (and how humans naturally pursue knowledge). However, one quote that stood out to me was, “Don't ask for guarantees. And don't look to be saved in any one thing, person, machine, or library. Do your own bit of saving, and if you drown, at least die knowing you were heading for a shore.” This quote resonates with me the most because it reflects my own thoughts. I know that everything I do towards a goal isn't going to work all the time, so that's why I have to take the initiative and work hard towards a goal. One example would be my dream of going into forensics because the hard work starts now, no excuses. Putting in the hard work and “drowning” from time to time is what I'm going to have to do. While classic books are always a good read, I’ve personally been invested in murder mysteries and detective novels. One author that I've gravitated to lately is Anthony Horowitz. Unfortunately, I haven’t read all of his books, but I did read “A Line To Kill” and “The Sentence is Death”. These books are more of a guilty pleasure of mine because they’re mainly fiction, but the hidden lessons behind the story are the most interesting. The aforementioned books and “The Word Is Murder” is a series about the author and a detective working together, with the detective using the author to publish books about his investigations, and the author trying to solve the crimes as they go along. One major idea of the series is how complex the human mind is. The cases in the books have so many twists and turns because that's human nature. It's another reason I want to go into forensics because I want to show more people that things aren't always as black and white as it seems. It’s like a huge puzzle that can never be solved, but partially solving it will greatly benefit those involved because despite the complexity of the mind, it can be understood while also serving justice to those who have done wrong. In all, I believe that we all should keep reading because it gives us the inspiration needed to achieve greatness!

Throughout U.S history, women have truly been the underdog fighting behind the scenes. From working in the fields alongside men, fighting for women's suffrage, civil rights, and the temperance movement, replacing the men who went to the army to work in industries, to running for office and advocating for those in need all around the world. Unfortunately, it was during these times when African American women were one group at the biggest disadvantage. It seemed like they had the worst of both worlds; being a woman, and being African American. Faced with these problems, people like Ida B. Wells and Rosa Parks continued to advocate for equal rights. Despite now having the power to use our minds for the greater good, there are still some people who believe that we are lower than we truly are. My dream is to go into forensic science, either as a medical examiner or forensic investigator.. I've always been interested in crime and how people find evidence to bring the people who committed horrible crimes to justice. The career I want to go into might not be considered a “helping profession”, but I believe it is because the people who are behind the evidence are really the superheroes in criminal justice. I hope I can go into my field and be criticized for my skills and knowledge and not something as insignificant as being African American. In a field where it's crucial to rely on knowledge and accuracy, I shouldn't have to worry about being discriminated against. I also want to give reassurance to any community I'm in that I will truly help bring a person to justice, whether that means proving that they're guilty or innocent of a crime. While it doesn't seem as common as it did before, there's always a chance someone will look down upon me not because of my intelligence or personality, but because of the color of my skin and because I'm a woman, excluding the fact that I can’t really control either of those things. I want to show people that being African American isn't all there is to me. I'm not defined by the color of my skin, I'm defined by what I can give back to the community and my drive to bring closure to every person involved in a case. I want to show that while being a woman is empowering, I shouldn't be compared to another successful person just because of my gender and ethnicity. My end goal is to use my success to further change the way people look at women and to reaffirm the idea that women are as capable as men or anybody else. We can put anything to the test if we put our minds to it and we shouldn't have to prove that we “can” because we've already done so. I want to advocate for not just BIPOC girls, but for all girls to go into a STEM-related career. Our gender doesn't limit us from using our minds and when the world needs us the most, we'll be here. One of my core beliefs is to look and judge people based on their actions, mind, and personality, not on what they look like or what they are. I wish that there were more people who looked past this because I believe it would truly make society and the word progress so much faster.

Success. A word that everybody generally recognizes as one thing but can't be defined easily. For example, Merriam-Webster defines the word “success” as “[a] degree or measure of succeeding”, “[a] favorable or desired outcome”, and “the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence.” I believe all of these definitions accurately describe success itself. But I also think success isn't as surface-level as it’s described. To me, success is a process that I can look back on and say, “I did it. I worked hard to get this, and I did it.” To go a little bit more in detail, my big idea of success is to graduate with my BS and/or MS in a biology-related degree so I can become a Forensic DNA Analyst. The journey to get there is going to be challenging, I know that for a fact. But it's something that I really want to do, and is something that I am going to do. That being said, it's going to take a little while to get there, so, the more accurate description of my idea of success is: “A process of smaller successes that lead me to an ultimate goal.” My version of success includes being prepared. One of my big personal philosophies is to deal with the most difficult things first, and the easier things last. This is easier to do for me because I don't like to do the easy things first and doing the most difficult things first makes success a little bit sweeter. I bring this up to explain that preparing for my success earlier on is one of the more difficult things at the moment. I feel like preparing for college before I even got into college was almost like a bit of a sacrifice. I don’t exactly regret taking harder-level classes or studying for hours afterschool because it's for my benefit. At the end of the day, I believe to gain success you have to sacrifice for your goals. Giving up a little at the beginning to achieve a bigger goal is reasonable, as long as it doesn't hurt anybody and you don't lose a lot from it. This opportunity will help me achieve my success by preparing the funds I need to pay for college. One thing my parents told my brother and I is that they want us to be successful. No matter what we do, they'll support our dreams. But, they're not going to hold our hands the entire way. It's ultimately up to our drive and decisions to get us to where we need and want to go. And that's exactly what I'm going to do. I've already started the process to achieve my success by doing my absolute best in my academics. I'm doing all of this extra work so that I can achieve success by not burdening anybody else and so I have as little student debt as possible. To me, it's enough that my parents support my passion in forensics, so using opportunities like this scholarship will help me truly achieve success. Not just that, but I've recently entered a new phase in the process; my first job. At first, I wanted to get a job so I can start saving for college expenses so that my parents wouldn't have to pay for it themselves. I applied to two places; GAP and American Eagle because I wanted to work in retail. Surprisingly, at my first interview with GAP (and my second interview overall) I was offered the job at the end of it! As I completed my first week, I already noticed a lot of change in myself. I’m naturally introverted but because my job involves talking with people almost all the time, I've gotten used to being able to go up to people and have a conversation or help solve a problem. All of this is to say that this is another version of what success looks like to me because it's building up the soft skills I need to be successful in forensics and in everyday life. In all, this scholarship will become a piece of the puzzle showing what my success will be, and I'm really grateful to have the resources and opportunities to gain my success.

I think I've always been infatuated with research and science ever since I was young. It's taken me a little while to realize it, but I'm glad I did. The very idea of science is so interesting to me because it’s one of the most versatile subjects in the world. It's so easy to forget that little things that make our lives so easy like bandaids, velcro, and seatbelts come from people who came up with a little idea to help others and then spread to become some of the most common products. As I already mentioned, science is one of the most versatile subjects in the world, and I personally plan to apply this to the law because my dream is to become a Forensic DNA Analyst! I'm aiming for my B.S in a biology-related field, but I also want to try to get my masters. Being a lawyer and/or attorney sounds interesting to me, but it’s the actual science part that really appealed to me. It's one thing to connect all the evidence together, but it's another thing to work in a lab with evidence. This last semester, I took PLTW Principles of Biomedical Sciences, and it was honestly the best class I have ever taken. It was this class in particular which solidified my love and interest for pursuing a career in STEM. Some of the things we learned were crime scene investigation, autopsies, medical history, genetics, diseases, emergency response, and biomimicry. Needless to say, I enjoyed everything we learned in that class. I never really knew I loved science until I took that class. I learned new skills and honed in on skills I already knew by just being in the lab. I continued to learn how to work with others in a lab and how to pay attention to the smaller details. Procedures like gel electrophoresis and gram staining were fun and not another task I had to do. I learned how to write an abstract and present my findings and conclusions to my classmates. Most importantly, I learned an important lesson, one that’s incredibly important in any STEM related field: I will never always get the answer right, and there will be times where my results have a bigger margin of error. This is the most important thing in my eyes because this is the reason why science sets it apart from every other subject. Science gives me a bigger opportunity to learn because it’s expected that I won't get the answer right the first time. And that's why I have to keep trying until I get my desired results. That being said, I want to use this scholarship to help fund further education so I can become a DNA Analyst. While I think that going to STEM related careers is the most interesting and fulfilling thing to do, I recognize that it definitely isn't cheap. One thing that I don't want to do is burden my family because of something I want to do. While we aren't poor, we aren't living in luxury, so it's important to me that I can go to school stress free and not worrying about my parents at home. I'm finalizing my list of schools I want to apply to, but this scholarship would be a tremendous help to whatever school I end up applying to. I'm working hard to be able to help others lime Dr. Jeremy Michael Higgins, but through the law, I would be honored to continue his legacy with the help of this scholarship.

There are hundreds of thousands of millions of books in the world right now, many that have already been read, and more being written. Books can be a hindrance to others, but to me, books are something that has comforted me ever since I was a child, and I don't believe I will ever stop reading books as I get older. Opening a book and smelling the pages is very nostalgic, and imagining and creating worlds and characters from words on a page is one of the best feelings ever. Now, there is one book that I have read that I don't think I will ever forget, and everyone should read this book, and that is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. This book is definitely a popular choice for school projects, but in my opinion, it is a good choice. I chose this book for a project for my English class freshman year, and I'm so glad I did read it. This book left me somewhat satisfied with the ending, and in anticipation for a continuation of the story after I was done reading it. Now, what really made me interested in this book was the irony and criticism of modern society that displays itself throughout the story. While similar to other stories, like "The Giver," by Lois Lowry, I think "Fahrenheit 451" is its own classic masterpiece because of the immense amount of irony the story has. One being that the main character, Guy Montag, is a fireman who starts fires instead of putting them out. A real world example is the story's plot, which is the burning of books and censorship of the people, while the book itself has been banned in schools for its plot, which is extremely ironic and only proves the point Bradbury was making while writing this story. Another example is the setting of the story, which is eerily similar to today's advancements and society. I think a lot of people were drawn into the story because of this exact situation; the book's plot almost exactly predicted and critiqued the future, one example being people being dependent on technology and entertainment. If everyone in the world would read this book, I think the majority of people would have no choice but to laugh at the irony of the story's contents being similar to a lot of people's lives nowadays.

The dream version of my future self is a person that is able to overcome difficult changes and situations thrown in my direction, to be more confident in speaking and in myself, to be more open and outgoing with others, and is able to make changes that impact people and the world in a positive way.

Generational wealth is something that is different for everyone. It could mean that wealth is a constant in your family, or it could be something you wish to obtain. However, in my case, I wish to continue and evolve wealth in my family. My family isn't exactly rich, but we're able to live comfortably and have extra things because of my parents' hard work. Both of my parents didn't come from wealth themselves, so they had to work hard to get where they are today. My dad decided to pursue a career in cooking, and went to culinary school. One of my favorite quotes from him is, "You either eat, or you die, and I didn't want to work in a morgue." He started his career while he was in highschool, and today, he's a professional chef and pastry chef, and continues to work hard with passion and with food. (which is the best combination, and he makes the absolute best food ever, in my ever so humble opinion) If you ever met my dad, you can tell that he had been through a lot of things, even if he doesn't tell you he had. But nonetheless, he is an inspiration for my brother and I, and I look up to him everyday. My mom isn't working in the career she had gotten a degree in, (psychology) but I don't think she needed a degree to prove herself. Her mom (my grandmother, who was the one of the most memorable people in my life, for having the greatest personality, and an obsession with the color purple) wasn't in the best financial place through her childhood, and wasn't able to pay for my mom's education. Despite that, my mom went up and beyond, and went to graduate school. After graduating, she went to a university (after joining the Navy) where most of her credits weren't transferred over from her graduate school. She had to take all of her classes again, and I remember her telling me that her counselor told her she wasn't going to be able to graduate in 4 years. Well, her being my mom, and being fueled by the constant reminder that her friends were going to graduate in around 2 years or so, she started to work. And my mom graduated in 2 years. Despite what her counselor told her. She told me that she graduated early because of pure spite and hardwork. Both of my parents are such an inspiration to me, and I hope that I can be just like them in the future. So, to answer this essay question, generational wealth is to continue where your family stopped, and aim to succeed them with your success to make sure that future generations will be able to do the same, and never take it for granted. I will achieve this goal by doing the most with my life, by pursuing a career in the thing I want to do most (forensics) and I will continue to work hard. Right now, I'm doing that by keeping my grades up and using what my parents gave me, an opportunity. Some kids in my school have jobs while going to school, and I don't have to do that, and I recognize it everyday. It is a privilege to have to only worry about my grades, but if that's the only thing that I have to worry about, I won't take advantage of it. I definitely still have work to do and much to learn, but I'll make sure that I'll achieve generational wealth with my education and determination.