In my last year of studying at the vocational college, Educacion Profesional Intermedio, I got a fantastic job as a performer, which was a dream come true for me. I performed at hotels, restaurants, bars, events, and at weddings at night and attended classes in the morning. Working and performing simultaneously was an eye-opening experience because I was finally doing what my heart had dreamt of for many years and realized that engineering wasn't for me. It was just a path I chose because I felt I needed to choose a secure career pathway. Though I knew engineering offered me a secured future, I decided that I would dive headfirst into the entertainment industry and leave engineering behind. I knew I would never be happy with myself if I had not at least tried. After moving to Florida to pursue my bachelor's degree, I truly realized the pandemic's effect on the United States, and it affected me greatly. My contact with people was minimal because of covid restrictions, and my classes were online. After five months in Florida, I still had no friends, and I became lonely. This feeling of being alone is what drives me to build a community of musicians who perform together. Entertainment has always been a haven for me. With my bachelor's degree in Entertainment Management, I intend to bring people from different backgrounds and cultures. Though people may be from different places of the world and speak different languages, one language we all can understand is the language of music. We do not need anyone to translate the rhythm we feel when we dance or the melody, we sing when we are happy—music is the only language that effortlessly connects people. The entertainment industry has always interested me because I see how people connect deeper just by playing music together. Furthermore, I find it fascinating how a song, something as simple as a melody, can spark emotions from people. One of the most eye-opening books I’ve read is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. I read this book at my lowest of lowest times while working at an engineering firm. From December 2020 to February 2021, my mental health started deteriorating rapidly, because of the stress and depression caused by my job. So, I decided to read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, which I knew was a self-help book. I hoped that it would offer me some type of insight into how I could go through this tough period of my life. One of the key things I learned from this book is that when someone finds themself in an unfavorable situation, they have three options: remove themself from the situation, change it or accept it. This simple statement has guided me through many unfavorable situations because it opened my eyes to see where I would judge and sulk in a given situation and how I would take myself out of the present moment. I truly realized how futile this was and that I was hurting myself more than the situation did. So, I practiced letting go of control over what I could not control and accepting the situation for me to be free of its hold. This lesson of letting go and being present is something I will use throughout my years at college, future work experiences, and any situation I may find myself in. To mindfully let go and stop self-sabotaging when there is no need to, whether my educational or career pathway.

Broke & Groovy by Reign 1. 222 - Kyle Kux 2. Amber Mark - Foreign Things 3. Elton John, Dua Lipa - Cold Heart 4. Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic - Love's Train 5. Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic - After Last Night w/ Thundercat & Bootsy 6. Jazmine Sullivan - Tragic

In 2020, I graduated from Educacion Professional Intermedia, EPI, and got my diploma in engineering. In my last year at EPI, I realized that engineering was not for me. I knew that my heart longed to study something in the entertainment industry, so I decided to change my major to Entertainment Management. After graduating from EPI, I decided to take a gap year to work and save money because I planned to pursue my bachelor’s degree in Florida. In my gap year, from September 2020 to July 2021, I worked as a planner in an engineering firm. While working as a planner in this engineering firm, I experienced the unfairness of life towards women, which has been my primary motivation to create a business that focuses on empowering, training, and helping women on their career, academic, and personal journey. When I started working with the engineering firm, I worked alongside others. After only one month, I was given a different assignment to execute alone, which was to plan and supervise a construction site. I was twenty years old at the time. Supervising and giving orders to ten men above thirty did not scare me the slightest. What did scare me was the fear of failing and making a fool of myself because I had never done such a big project on my own. It felt like someone had dumped a building on me, and I had to figure out how I would get out from underneath, because of the multiple challenges I faced. First challenge, my boss pressured me to finish an entire project within three months. Second Challenge, he forced me to be harsh with the workers so they would work faster. Third Challenge, as the supervisor, I dealt with the workers’ constant complaints about not being paid on time, which was entirely out of my control. I discussed it several times with my boss, but it remained the same till after I left that job. Although I faced many pressures, the biggest one I faced was being severely underpaid. The men's wages were more than mine. These challenges weighed on me, and I felt I had to pretend to be happy because, at the time, jobs were scarce due to the pandemic. Although my job made me an emotional wreck at the time, I pushed through it. Most times, it got to me severely to the point where I would find an isolated corner and cry. Through it all, I stuck to it because I needed to save money for my opportunity to study my passion here in Florida. This experience has made me realize that I am stronger than I thought. Now, in hindsight, I can say that I gave engineering a try and know that it is not for me. Having a career in a field I love is the second lesson I learned. The third lesson I learned is that if I rely on an external factor, that being a company, a boss, or a job, for financial stability, I will never have a full grip on my life. I am attending college to build my career and work on my business to free myself from the constraints of working for someone else. Not only will this award benefit me, but it will also benefit the women I will help throughout my career. My educational goal is to graduate from Valencia College with an A.A degree then transfer to UCF where I will explore their academics. College is my best chance to a career love that is why I strive to be at the top.

Women are the backbone of the creation of life. They create life inside their womb while working their nine to five jobs, though they may be experiencing excruciating pain. However, a woman is seen as fragile, unable, and incompetent by social standards to a certain extent. Yet, women have been proving their abilities and taking up space in male-dominated places and businesses in the past fifty years. In 2020, I graduated from a vocational college called Educacion Professional Intermedio, EPI, and received my diploma in engineering. After I graduated, I decided to take a gap year to save money to move to Florida from Aruba to pursue my bachelor’s degree. Amidst the chaos of the pandemic in Aruba, I worked as a building planner on a commercial construction site. I had over ten men in their thirties to fifties to give orders every day. Though I had the knowledge to build houses and had the degree to prove it, I had no idea what I was doing. This was the first time I worked on a big project by myself. I felt like a piece of clay, and this job was the clay artist who tossed, beat, and molded me as it saw fit. On some days, I stayed after hours moving bags of cement, which weighed fifty-five pounds, cutting wood, and many other tasks that most people would not consider a woman capable of doing. I was also severely underpaid. The men I gave orders to were paid more than I was. I got paid nine florins and fifty cents, and the men’s wages were between ten and eighteen florins per hour. This unfair treatment made me realize how unjust the world can and will be toward a woman, even though she may have the proper credentials. With this firsthand experience of how unfair this world can be, I would like to be a beacon and inspire women and show them that they can do anything they set their mind to, regardless of traditional gender roles. To help them realize their worth and never accept less than that. With this experience, I wish to empower women and teach women that there is a whole world out there for them to conquer. I plan to create a company that focuses on empowering, training, and helping women on their journey. This company will have three subsections: education, opportunity, and empowerment. Why are we empowering women? To let go of society's projections of what a "good woman" is and instead define their values and worth on their terms. What will we teach? We will have a wide range of subjects ranging from leadership, taking the initiative to create opportunities, and negotiating a salary when applying for a job. How will we help? There will be resources for women to utilize, such as conferences, vacancy information, college information, and much more. With this company, I aspire to make a positive impact in the world by making a difference in women's lives. Because I've seen and experienced the prejudice women face in this world, I'd like to be part of reframing it. I aspire to see a world where women and men are treated equally and where women are the bosses of their lives and communities. Though many advocate for women's rights and see women in power, I believe we must take action to see results. Action makes all the difference in a world that needs change.

Growing up, I have constantly been reprimanded for ‘acting like a boy. Being born into a family with unwavering opinions regarding genders, I was constantly lectured on how to behave. I got yelled at for manspreading, always wearing pants, and when I applied to study for engineering in 2016, I was degraded by my own father. Two more obstacles I experienced because of my gender were being prohibited to go to any male friend’s house because my parents feared I would be raped by them or their father, and being sexualized from the age of eleven. These obstacles, amongst many, caused me to feel less than the people around me and that my task as a woman is only to raise a family. What changed my way of thinking forever and adopting a new mindset is seeing other women take charge of their lives unapologetically and accomplish great things. The following are ways society can most effectively empower women. Point one, stop labeling women based on what they wear. I’ve heard many people say things such as, “If she dresses like that, she’s asking to be sexualized or for the attention of men.” Since I was little, I was forced to dress a certain way, and if I wore something a little too short, I would have been shamed by adults. But would it not make more sense to raise awareness of the filthy things certain males think about and do to girls based on their clothing, rather than saying, “that’s just the way some men and boys are.” It’s basically saying that it’s ok for a man to think these things because that’s just the way they are, but I must live a life of restrictions. To ensure this demand is met, society should encourage women to wear whatever they want and eradicate this myth that men can’t help sexualize girls based on their clothing. Teach boys from a young age that girls will wear whatever they want, and boys must control their libido. Point two, support women in their academic and business journey. My mother has always supported me in anything I wanted to do. Though she had not finished high school herself, she always pushed me to be the best I could be. This support plays a significant role regarding my drive to achieve great things, such as graduating with honors and being an advocate of women's empowerment. Society can make sure this demand is met by supporting businesses created by women and supporting women endeavoring to make it big in any male-dominated industry. Point three, educate others on what equality truly means. When they see women fighting for equal rights, the first thing most people think about is that either women and men will never be the same, or they immediately label them as angry women who hate all men. The main reason people think this way, in my experience, is ignorance. People don’t fully understand what women are fighting for, thus creating a negative mindset towards equality, or adopting other people’s ignorant mindsets. Ignorance cannot educate ignorance, but educated people can teach ignorant people. Equality has nothing to do with physical differences or sameness. We can ask ourselves, why should a woman be treated less than a man because of something she could not control, which is being a woman. To make sure this demand is met, society can start educating the ones around us on what equal rights mean to women. It is more challenging to change the entire world, but it is much easier to start with the people closest to us.