At the beginning of the new year I lost my grandmother and a few months later I lost my grandfather, a friend and 2 of my neighbors that live next door to me. My Grandfather was the hardest one because he always wanted me to go to college and become a entrepreneur and make a name for myself. So having to deal with the lost and know that it all happened within 2 weeks. I have just been trying my best to stay focused and work hard when it comes to my academics and it was hard at first because knowing that I won’t see them again and tell them about my progress in college and tell them how my grades are doing and how much I’m going to miss them being around. I just hope they are doing good in heaven and I hope they are at peace. Their passing not only made things a bit harder but it also helped me understand that I need to continue with the path that I’m on as far as college and reaching my achievements and Goals. From now on I will continue to better myself and continue have faith god like my grandfather would want me too.

My personal history is similar to that of other youth from a lower income family. I am the oldest of three children. I have two brothers, one of whom is on the Autism Spectrum. We are being raised by a single mother. I cannot say that I had the best of childhood experiences. Family situations made it so that in many ways, my role and status in the family has been that of a co-parent. While I have seen how similar situations have worked to the detriment of some of my peers, the many trials and tribulations that I have experienced have molded me into the strong and determined person I am today. At the age of 14, I was introduced to a community that would change the lives of my brothers and me forever. Mrs. Carol Burns, the wife of the priest at St. Philip Church, worked as an administrator for the day care that my only brother (at the time) went to. Mrs. Burns invited us to her church. My brother and I went one summer Sunday, and we found the people nice and friendly. They were special. We found ourselves engulfed into the St. Philip family. Since then, my church home has supported me through many life experiences – both good and troubling. At the age of 16 I was diagnosed with depression. My family and church family were there to help me through that diagnosis. Prior to my being diagnosed, I had lived with many emotional struggles, problems with self-image, and had lived with thoughts of harming myself. During my deepest moments of depression, my Godparents (Ericka Hall, Dionne Clifton, and Wanda Clifton) were there to talk to me, pick me up for church and every church event and/or service they could get me to, and to give my brothers and I a look into a life that was different from the one I was raised in. They also encouraged me to talk to the school counselor and ask for other types of help. Even though I was living with depression, my grades never suffered. I graduated from Marion-Franklin High School in Columbus, Ohio with a 3.4 GPA. At first, I worked hard to prove to my absent father that I could succeed in life in spite of the fact that he was an absentee dad. I also wanted to prove to others that people growing up in my circumstances did not always have to do bad in life and they should not “write us off”. As I continued to go to church, I discovered that you should not do good things to spite others. I am determined to do this for myself and to do this so I can be the best possible person that God wants me to be. I knew I wanted to go to college, but I knew that I needed help to get there. My church came through for me again. I am completing my first year at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. I will graduate in 2024 with a double major in Hospitality Management and Agricultural Business Management. At first, I was interested in running a restaurant but when I began to explore Agricultural Business Management, I found that I would be able to work directly with local and regional farmers in getting their products into area restaurants. This way, I will be assisting in boosting revenues for American farmers who are having a hard time trying to survive in these bad economic times and I can support the healthy eating movement that is extremely popular right now. This program is called Farms to Table. Life at Central State University has not been all that I expected because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of the activity that should be normal college life is missing because of social distancing guidelines and the there not being a lot of people living on the campus. I am successfully adjusting to the different world of college life and have been concentrating on my academics. I have come to realize that there are greater expectations for college students than for high school students. At the writing of this essay, my GPA is 3.0. I continue to grow in maturity and confidence, and I am discovering more about who I am and what I can do. Church and my college experiences have convinced me that I have a bright future ahead of me. Your investment in me will help me achieve a life-long goal of mine and you will continue to break the pattern of unfulfilled dreams and unrealized potential that exists in most people born into the same social and economic conditions I was born into. Thank you for considering my application.