Integrity. One word, nine letters. Easily said, but harder to epitomize. To me, integrity means saying what you mean, and meaning what you say. It means keeping your word, fulfilling promises, and stepping up even when uncomfortable. It seems appropriate that hidden in plain sight within "integrity" is the word "grit". The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines grit as "unyielding courage". Sometimes having integrity means stepping into your courage. One example of my integrity was when I encountered Antisemitism at my high school. Incidents ranged from students throwing pennies at me, to a student passing me by and shouting "Hitler was right." to Swastikas defacing our campus. I felt alone. It would have been easier to ignore the hatred or hide behind my embarrassment and shame. My grandparents are Holocaust survivors and understood that hatred must be faced. I decided to start the first Jewish Club at my high school. I encountered many obstacles along the way. First I had to gain the support of my classmates, circulating a petition to start the club. Then I needed to secure a faculty advisor. Next, I had to submit the club for acceptance by the Administration. For reasons I will never understand our club was rejected not once, but twice. We fought back arguing that this was a discriminatory practice. The third time was a charm, and the Jewish Culture Club was born in the Spring of 2022. We have spearheaded a school-wide moment of silence in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day and become a haven for myself and other Jewish students. We also stand up against all forms of hatred, partnering with other school clubs to help foster a better culture of peace in our school community. Integrity means taking a stand, even when it is uncomfortable. It means holding your truth, even when unpopular. It means tackling obstacles, even when seemingly insurmountable. The Norman H. Becker Integrity and Honor Scholarship will allow me to bring integrity to my future college campus, which is financially out of reach for me and my family. Thank you for your generosity and consideration.

First and foremost I'm a fighter, and in many ways, the odds have been stacked against me. When I was five years old I was diagnosed with a Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NVLD) and ADHD. This has impacted my ability to learn and function in the world in many ways. An NVLD is defined as a learning disability that causes difficulty with motor, visual-spatial, and social skills. Children with NVLD's are often well-spoken and can write well, but struggle with subtle social cues and comprehension of abstract concepts. This diagnosis has impacted me in many ways.  I had years of Occupational Therapy where we focused on fine motor skills, motor planning, hand-eye coordination, directionality, hand dominance and visual-spatial coordination. In school it impacted my ability to interpret symbolic language, such as interpreting maps, spatial relationships, geometry, math symbols, tracking words across the page while reading, graphing, and lining up numbers. In 4th grade I entered a school for bright students with learning disabilities where I learned study skills, reading decoding, Executive Function skills, writing, math and advocacy skills. I started this essay by saying I am a fighter. My parents have taught me to always believe in myself, and my future is bright. I have learned that hard work and determination are my key to success and the only thing standing between me and my dreams is believing in myself. As for the next steps…I am proud to report that I got accepted to my first choice school, the Berklee College of Music's Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Industry Leadership and Innovation. Studying artist and concert promotion will combine my two passions of music and marketing, preparing me for my future career in the music industry. I hope to be able to make the music industry more accessible to the youth in my career. If a young musician is looking to make their way, I hope that I will be able to give them a platform so that their voice can be heard too. I plan to develop approaches that expand accessibility for young artists of new and diverse music, level the competitive playing field, and create equitable revenue streams. To that end, I would be grateful and appreciative to benefit from the support of the Overcoming Adversity - Jack Terry Memorial Scholarship, which would enable me to pursue the education I need to achieve these goals. I am inspired by Mr. Terry's grit and determination. My grandfather narrowly escaped the Holocaust, in 1941 his family made their way from Germany to Luxembourg leaving on one of the last boats out of Portugal eventually arriving to set up a new life in the US with very little money, education or knowledge of English. He is now 94 and has achieved so much in his lifetime. I am inspired by my grandfather and Mr. Terry's determination to make the best of life through adversity and use their lives as an inspiration to never give up. My family is struggling financially, my father lost his business during COVID and was diagnosed with Bladder and Kidney Cancer. Thankfully, his health has recovered and my family is working hard to get on a sound financial footing, but I depend on the generosity of scholarships like the Strand and Terry family's Overcoming Adversity - Jack Terry Memorial Scholarship in to make the dream of attending college a reality. Thank you very much for your generosity and consideration.

When I was five years old I was diagnosed with a Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NVLD) and ADHD. This has impacted my ability to learn and function in the world in many ways. An NVLD is defined as a learning disability that causes difficulty with motor, visual-spatial, and social skills. Children with NVLD's are often well-spoken and can write well, but struggle with subtle social cues and comprehension of abstract concepts. This diagnosis has impacted me in many ways. I had years of Occupational Therapy where we focused on fine motor skills, motor planning, hand-eye coordination, directionality, hand dominance and visual-spatial coordination. In school it impacted my ability to interpret symbolic language, such as interpreting maps, spatial relationships, geometry, math symbols, tracking words across the page while reading, graphing, and lining up numbers. In 4th grade I entered a school for students with learning disabilities where I learned study skills, reading decoding, Executive Function skills, writing, math and advocacy skills. I am now a Senior, in a mainstream public high school. One of the key coping tools which have helped me has been music. Since I was a child, music has been a consistent force in my life and music has always been a safe haven that has given voice to my emotions and pulled me into the light of optimism and hope. Music has the power to resonate with anyone deeply, and where they are in their life. A talented artist can combine lyrics and melody in a way that creatively expresses emotions and connects with people on a deeply personal level. Music is not just my passion, it's my purpose. It is my goal to pursue my lifelong passion for music in a career as a music industry professional. I am thrilled to have been accepted to Berklee College of Music's Industry Leadership and Innovation program in Boston, MA! This is a program that uses the model of ‘design thinking’ a hands-on approach to creating innovative solutions to solving problems. My degree will prepare me to take a strategic leadership role within the music industry readying me to identify new opportunities, develop innovative solutions to solve problems, and better meet the needs of both musicians and music-goers. In my future role in the Music Industry, I hope to make an impact by providing a voice for new and emerging artists. Although it is easy for new artists to release their music, it has never been more difficult for fans to discover new music, and for newer and diverse artists to break through the noise. I hope to play a role in addressing these challenges, by developing approaches that expand accessibility for listeners of new and diverse music, level the competitive playing field, and create equitable revenue streams. If a young artist is looking to make their way, I hope that I will be able to give them a platform so that their voice can be heard too. My last hurdle is trying to pay for this special opportunity. Receiving the Joieful Connections scholarship could literally mean the difference between my being able to attend college, or not. My parents drained much of their savings when they paid for the Learning Differences school, which was further exacerbated when my father's business closed during COVID. Thank you for this special opportunity and for your consideration.

Since I was a child, music has been a consistent force in my life. Life can sometimes get bumpy, but music has always been a safe haven that has consistently given voice to my emotions and pulled me into the light of optimism and hope. Music is not judgmental, but it does have the power to deeply resonate with anyone, and where they are in their life. A talented artist can combine lyrics and melody in a way that creatively expresses emotions and connects with people on a deeply personal level. This power has fueled my passion for music and motivated me to immerse myself in experiences that will prepare me for my studies at Berklee College of Music’s BA program in Music Industry Leadership and Innovation, and a successful career as a music industry executive. I have attended the Summer Music Business program at Berklee and the Music Business Institute at NYU; In addition, I had the privilege of participating in the highly selective 1520 Vision mentorship program, where I pursued project-based learning focused on fan engagement with an executive at the Mutuals Agency, a leading music marketing agency. I have also worked in concert promotion as a street team member with Fan to Band. More recently, these experiences have culminated in my working with JoDavi, an eclectic Gospel, RnB, Reggae and Funk artist (https://jodavimusic.com) on social media strategies and implementation. I am excited to build upon what I learned from these experiences and pursue my degree at Berklee. My goal is to deepen my knowledge about all aspects of the music industry and learn about the relationship between music creativity and the ways that music is produced, performed, distributed, marketed and published. I want to understand the roles at a record label, as well as the making of successful DIY artists, and the magic behind what makes certain music gain popularity. I have always been inspired by new and emerging artists who I discover and share with my friends and followers on social media. Studying artist and concert promotion will combine my two passions of music and marketing, preparing me for my future career in the music industry. I am also fascinated by Berklee’s unique focus on Design Thinking and Innovation in music. As I think about my role in shaping the future of the music industry, I hope to learn about Design Thinking’s multidisciplinary approach to creativity and innovation, and its methodologies, so I can apply the mindset of a designer to transforming the ways music creates engagement and value for artists and fans. I hope to be able to make the music industry more accessible to the youth in my career. If there is an young artist who is looking to make their way, I hope that I will be able to give them a platform so that their voice can be heard too. My plan is to develop approaches that expand accessibility for young artists of new and diverse music, level the competitive playing field and create equitable revenue streams. To that end, I would be grateful and appreciative to benefit from the support of the Sunni E. Fagan Memorial Music Scholarship, which would enable me to pursue the education I need to achieve these goals. Thank you for your consideration.