My first coding experience was with Black Girls Code. Waking up at 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday to attend a meeting was not the typical life of a 13-year-old but it was mine. Every Saturday morning started with me looking at the clock. 7:22 a.m. I sighed, it was too early. I got into the car and I brushed my palm against the window to remove the frost. Thirty minutes later everything went dark. We were in the Lincoln Tunnel, my sign that we were nearly in New York. My mother looked at me in the mirror with a look that said, "You better be ready before I park". I realized it was too late to pretend I'd been sleeping. I hurriedly slid on my uncomfortable socks and bright pink Skechers. We parked our car and walked across the street to the building's warm entrance adorned with “Welcome to Black Girls Code” posters. We were greeted by a volunteer who cheerfully welcomed us inside. The host provided an overview of Black Girls Code, a non-profit organization focused on delivering technological education to African-American girls. Founder Kimberly Bryant wanted to educate young black girls about technology so that they might one day join her and other powerful black women in the industry. Later they described the various types of coding languages, websites, and potential uses for programming. We were divided into groups and I rushed over to one of the computers behind me to try out hourofcode.com, the coding platform for the day. I began exploring the site to see which one I wanted to test. They all seemed to be out of this world and I felt compelled to try them all. I eventually settled on a Minecraft game in which I gathered chests and used moveForward(); and turnRight(); code. I had no idea how much those six hours would affect me to this day. My beginner drag-and-drop code has turned into javaScript, which I learned nearly four years ago. I still code on a daily basis. Exploration comes naturally to me in computer science; the satisfaction of a successful program after hours of coding is something I never grow tired of. As a result, I participated in a mentor program run by Black Girls Code with Zendesk during my junior year. Through that experience, I realized my passion for computer science. My goal is to pursue it as a profession. Through the mentor program, I was able to see firsthand instances of women of color succeeding and leading in the STEAM field. They made me realize what I can achieve. My goal is to receive a degree in Computer Information Systems. Coming from an African American household I was taught the importance of diversity and inclusion at a young age. As time passed, I began to consider how I might utilize my knowledge to educate groups underrepresented in STEAM, children. That curiosity formed into the long-term objective of establishing a STEAM-centered program in disadvantaged communities because I believe that understanding STEAM, particularly at an introductory level, is fundamental to a child's education. Personally, I was taught to code at an early age, and after only a few hours, I was so captivated that I am still passionate about it years later. I will be able to use my degree to empower children who want to pursue STEAM but do not have access to it. To pursue my goal, I must acquire a proper education and the means to afford it. I will do anything and everything to help as many people as I can no matter what.

My first coding experience was with Black Girls Code. After arriving my mother and I were greeted by a volunteer who cheerfully welcomed us inside. As I entered, the volunteer informed us that once we got started, I would be left alone until my mother picked me up at 2:00 p.m. My smile dropped. I didn't want to be left alone. After just five minutes, my eyes remained locked on the presentation, awaiting the next slide. The host provided an overview of Black Girls Code, a non-profit organization focused on delivering technological education to African-American girls. Founder Kimberly Bryant wanted to educate young black girls about technology so that they might one day join her and other powerful black women in the industry. They described the various types of coding languages, websites, and potential uses for programming. Later we were divided into groups and I rushed over to one of the computers behind me to try out hourofcode.com. I began exploring the site to see which one I wanted to test. I had no idea how much those six hours would affect me to this day. My beginner drag-and-drop code has turned into javaScript, which I learned nearly four years ago and I still code on a daily basis. Exploration comes naturally to me in computer science; the satisfaction of a successful program after hours of coding is something I never grow tired of. As a result, I enrolled in every AP computer science class provided at my school and even at the County College of Morris. I participated in a mentor program run by Black Girls Code with Zendesk, a software company, during my junior year. Through that experience, I realized my passion for computer science. My goal is to receive a degree in Computer Information Systems. Coming from an African American household I was taught the importance of diversity and inclusion at a young age. As time passed, I began to consider how I might utilize my knowledge to educate groups underrepresented in STEM, children. That curiosity formed into the long-term objective of establishing a STEM-centered program in disadvantaged communities. Personally, I was taught to code at an early age, and after only a few hours, I was so captivated that I am still passionate about it years later. I will be able to use my degree to empower children who want to pursue STEM but do not have access to it. To pursue my goal, I must acquire a proper education and the means to afford it. I will do anything and everything to help as many people as I can no matter what. I believe that I am a good candidate for this scholarship because I want to get rid of the stigma that STEM is not for everyone when it is in fact for anyone. I want Computer Science to be more accessible for all and with my degree and future scholarship funds I will be able to do that.

My first coding experience was with Black Girls Code. Waking up at 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday to attend a meeting was not the typical life of a 13-year-old but it was mine. Every Saturday morning started with me looking at the clock. 7:22 a.m. I sighed, it was too early. I got into the car and I brushed my palm against the window to remove the frost. Thirty minutes later everything went dark. We were in the Lincoln Tunnel, my sign that we were nearly in New York. My mother looked at me in the mirror with a look that said, "You better be ready before I park". I realized it was too late to pretend I'd been sleeping. I hurriedly slid on my uncomfortable socks and bright pink Skechers. We parked our car and walked across the street to the building's warm entrance adorned with “Welcome to Black Girls Code” posters. We were greeted by a volunteer who cheerfully welcomed us inside. As I entered, the volunteer informed us that once we got started, I would be left alone until my mother picked me up at 2:00 p.m. My smile dropped. I didn't want to be left alone. After just five minutes, I wouldn’t have even noticed if my mother or my favorite boy band, One Direction, was standing next to me. My eyes remained locked on the presentation, awaiting the next slide. The host provided an overview of Black Girls Code, a non-profit organization focused on delivering technological education to African-American girls. Founder Kimberly Bryant wanted to educate young black girls about technology so that they might one day join her and other powerful black women in the industry. Later they described the various types of coding languages, websites, and potential uses for programming, which kept me on the edge of my seat in excitement. We were divided into groups and I rushed over to one of the computers behind me to try out hourofcode.com, the coding platform for the day. I began exploring the site to see which one I wanted to test. They all seemed to be out of this world and I felt compelled to try them all. I eventually settled on a Minecraft game in which I gathered chests and used moveForward(); and turnRight(); code. I had no idea how much those six hours would affect me to this day. My beginner drag-and-drop code has turned into javaScript, which I learned nearly four years ago. I still code on a daily basis. It doesn't matter if it's for my computer science classes at school, a Black Girls Code event, or simply for fun. Exploration comes naturally to me in computer science; the satisfaction of a successful program after hours of coding is something I never grow tired of. As a result, I enrolled in every AP computer science class provided at my school and even at the County College of Morris. I participated in a mentor program run by Black Girls Code with Zendesk, a software company, during my junior year. Through that experience, I realized my passion for computer science. My goal is to pursue it as a profession. Through the mentor program, I was able to see firsthand instances of women of color succeeding and leading in the STEM field. They made me realize what I can achieve. My goal is to receive a degree in Computer Information Systems. Coming from an African American household I was taught the importance of diversity and inclusion at a young age. As time passed, I began to consider how I might utilize my knowledge to educate groups underrepresented in STEM, children. That curiosity formed into the long-term objective of establishing a STEM-centered program in disadvantaged communities because I believe that understanding STEM, particularly at an introductory level, is fundamental to a child's education. Personally, I was taught to code at an early age, and after only a few hours, I was so captivated that I am still passionate about it years later. I will be able to use my degree to empower children who want to pursue STEM but do not have access to it. To pursue my goal, I must acquire a proper education and the means to afford it. I will do anything and everything to help as many people as I can no matter what.

Jack and Jill, one of the organizations in which I have been involved since I was nine years old, is one of my most important extracurricular activities. Jack and Jill has been extremely valuable to me in a variety of ways, including teaching me fundamental leadership skills, participating in bonding activities, and coordinating community service events. My time as a member has been priceless. I have shown up to every meeting and would not trade it for the world. As time passed the members of Jack and Jill have developed into mentors and friends and I have bonded with them in ways I will never forget. I am occasionally entrusted with organizing meetings. On one occasion I was in charge of arranging the annual Thanksgiving food drive with my sister. We had to assign a non-perishable item to each member of our group to donate to our local food pantry before Thanksgiving. That experience taught me two things: keeping track of twenty people is quite the challenge, and the feeling of serving the community is irreplaceable. Once we delivered all of the food to the pantry the volunteers were overjoyed because we had brought so much. Although this is only one of many acts of service I've done through Jack and Jill, each one holds a special place in my heart. Jack and Jill transformed me, and I would not be the same person I am now if I had not had those experiences. The skills I've learned through Jack and Jill have led me to discover my career goals in life. My goal is to receive a degree in Computer Information Systems. Coming from an African American household I was taught the importance of diversity and inclusion at a young age. As time passed, I began to consider how I might utilize my knowledge to educate groups underrepresented in STEM, children. That curiosity formed into the long-term objective of establishing a STEM-centered program in disadvantaged communities because I believe that understanding STEM, particularly at an introductory level, is fundamental to a child's education. Personally, I was taught to code at an early age, and after only a few hours, I was so captivated that I am still passionate about it years later. I will be able to use my degree to empower children who want to pursue STEM but do not have access to it. To pursue my goal, I must acquire a proper education and the means to afford it. I will do anything and everything to help as many people as I can no matter what.

My goal is to receive a degree in Computer Information Systems. Coming from an African American household I was taught the importance of diversity and inclusion at a young age. As time passed, I began to consider how I might utilize my knowledge to educate groups underrepresented in STEM, children. That curiosity formed into the long-term objective of establishing a STEM-centered program in disadvantaged communities because I believe that understanding STEM, particularly at an introductory level, is fundamental to a child's education. Personally, I was taught to code at an early age, and after only a few hours, I was so captivated that I am still passionate about it years later. I will be able to use my degree to empower children who want to pursue STEM but do not have access to it. To pursue my goal, I must acquire a proper education and the means to afford it. I will do anything and everything to help as many people as I can no matter what.