Yes, update! I was a high school dropout working at a fast-food restaurant trying to support a toddler. What did I do? What happened to the young, motivated, enthusiastic, aspiring pediatrician?" I discovered at the age of 13 that I was adopted. Unfortunately, I was put into foster care at two years old. Before I found out I was adopted, I was a happy child. I loved people, and I loved school. I wanted to be a pediatrician. I was always different. I loved to read and would read for hours. I made good grades, and I was determined to be somebody! Everything changed when I met my birth sister for the first time. "How could they lie to me?" My sister was aware of everything, but I was in the dark, and because of this, I became angry and rebellious. I dropped out of school and forgot about everything I loved. I felt so defeated. Unfortunately, I continued on a downward spiral in life. So many have this pain and feel this neglect, and I want to help them through it. That is why this scholarship is important to me. I want to allow them to know there is hope after suffering. I had my first son at 16. After that, I started thinking better and wanting to do better for us. How could I help him with no education? This also motivated me to become a better me. Sometimes we are so upset and angry about how life is going that we miss the bigger picture. We fail to see how it can affect us and those around us. I was a high school dropout working at a fast-food restaurant trying to support a toddler. What did I do? What happened to the motivated, young aspiring pediatrician? I realize how much I destroyed my future by rebelling when I had so much to offer. I began working with my Pastor on projects at church and auditing classes. I would shy back from helping because I felt inadequate with no education. I wanted more in life. I had to change how I saw people and how I saw myself. A different mindset has brought me here. I am no longer angry and resentful. I was determined not to continue on that wrong path but to create an even better one for my children. My oldest son was affected the most and is now a graduate from Morehouse College. I want to show my sons that I could do what I encourage them to do every day. My first goal was to get my high school diploma and I did that in May 2022! It was the most amazing feeling in my entire life. After that, I knew I could do anything! My second goal was to get my Associate's Degree in Business Administration and Technology(entrepreneurship), and I recently did that in this past May(2024). Currently, I am working with underage youth and also in school for my bachelor's degree. I want to continue to run for-profit corporations but, the Non- Profit Organization is my passion. It is the way to help the community. Receiving this scholarship to further my education will allow me to start Ephriam Enterprises. Under this organization, we will have a healing house called Ephraim's Healing Center (Circle of Life). This center will be a secure and safe place for healing emotional scars. We will staff members who will help young people through mentoring, taking the time to show them basic living skills and how to account for themselves and their resources. Thank you.

"I was a high school dropout working at a fast-food restaurant trying to support a toddler. What did I do? What happened to the young, motivated, enthusiastic, aspiring pediatrician?" I discovered at the age of 13 that I was adopted. Unfortunately, I was put into foster care at two years old. Before I found out I was adopted, I was a happy child. I loved people, and I loved school. I wanted to be a pediatrician. I was always different. I loved to read and would read for hours. I made good grades, and I was determined to be somebody! Everything changed when I met my birth sister for the first time. "How could they lie to me?" My sister was aware of everything, but I was in the dark, and because of this, I became angry and rebellious. I dropped out of school and forgot about everything I loved. I felt so defeated. Unfortunately, I continued on a downward spiral in life. So many have this pain and feel this neglect, and I want to help them through it. That is why this scholarship is important to me. I want to allow them to know there is hope after suffering. I had my first son at 16. After that, I started thinking better and wanting to do better for us. How could I help him with no education? This also motivated me to become a better me. Sometimes we are so upset and angry about how life is going that we miss the bigger picture. We fail to see how it can affect us and those around us. I was a high school dropout working at a fast-food restaurant trying to support a toddler. What did I do? What happened to the motivated, young aspiring pediatrician? I realize how much I destroyed my future by rebelling when I had so much to offer. I began working with my Pastor on projects at church and auditing classes. I would shy back from helping because I felt inadequate with no education. I wanted more in life. I had to change how I saw people and how I saw myself. A different mindset has brought me here. I am no longer angry and resentful. I was determined not to continue on that wrong path but to create an even better one for my children. My oldest son was affected the most and is now in his senior year at Morehouse College. I want to show them by doing what I encourage them to do every day. My first goal was to get my high school diploma! My second goal is to get my Associate's Degree in Business Administration and Technology(entrepreneurship). I want to run for-profit corporations as well. The Non- Profit Organization is my passion. It is the way to help the community. Receiving this scholarship to further my education will allow me to start Ephriam Enterprises. Under this organization, we will have a healing house called Ephraim's Healing Center (Circle of Life). This center will be a secure and safe place for healing emotional scars. We will staff members who will help young people through mentoring, taking the time to show them basic living skills and how to account for themselves and their resources. We will also offer GED classes! Things started rough for me, but now, things are looking great for my future because I decided to make a change.

"I was a high school dropout working at a fast-food restaurant trying to support a toddler. What did I do? What happened to the young, motivated, enthusiastic, aspiring pediatrician?" I discovered at the age of 13 that I was adopted. Unfortunately, I was taken into foster care at 2 years old. Before I found out I was adopted, I was a happy child. I loved people, and I loved school. I wanted to be a pediatrician. I was always different. I loved to read and would read for hours. I made good grades, and I was determined to be somebody! Everything changed when I met my birth sister for the first time. "How could they lie to me?" My sister was aware of everything, but I was in the dark, and because of this, I became angry and rebellious. I dropped out of school and forgot about everything I loved. I felt so defeated. Unfortunately, I continued on a downward spiral in life. So many have this pain and feel this neglect, and I want to help them through it. That is why this scholarship is important to me. I want to allow them to know there is hope after suffering. I had my first son at 16. After that, I started thinking better and wanting to do better for us. How could I help him with no education? This also motivated me to become a better me. Sometimes we are so upset and angry about how life is going that we miss the bigger picture. We fail to see how it can affect us and those around us. I was a high school dropout working at a fast-food restaurant trying to support a toddler. What did I do? What happened to the motivated, young aspiring pediatrician? I realize how much I destroyed my future by rebelling when I had so much to offer. I began working with my Pastor on projects at church and auditing classes. I would shy back from helping because I felt inadequate with no education. I wanted more in life. I had to change how I saw people and how I saw myself. A different mindset has brought me here. I am no longer angry and resentful. I was determined not to continue on that bad path but to create an even better one for my children. My oldest son, who was affected the most, is now in his senior year at Morehouse College. I want to show them by doing what I encourage them to do every day. My first goal was to get my high school diploma! My second goal is to get my Associate's Degree in Business Administration and Technology(entrepreneurship). I want to run for-profit corporations as well. The Non- Profit Organization is my passion. It is the way to help the community. Receiving this scholarship to further my education will allow me to start Ephriam Enterprises. Under this organization, we will have a healing house called Ephraim's Healing Center (Circle of Life). This will be a secure and safe place for healing emotional scars. We will staff members who will help young people through mentoring, taking the time to show them basic living skills and how to account for themselves and their resources. We will also offer GED classes! Things started rough for me, but now, things are looking great for my future because I decided to make a change.

"I was a high school dropout working at a fast-food restaurant trying to support a toddler. What did I do? What happened to the young, motivated, enthusiastic, aspiring pediatrician?" I discovered at the age of 13 that I was adopted. Unfortunately, I went into foster care at two years old. Before I found out I was adopted, I was a happy child. I loved people, and I loved school. I wanted to be a pediatrician. I was always different. I loved to read and would read for hours. I made good grades, and I was determined to be somebody! Everything changed when I met my birth sister for the first time. "How could they lie to me?" My sister was aware of everything, but I was in the dark. I became angry and rebellious. This affected my confidence to do everything I dreamed I could do. I dropped out of school and forgot about everything I loved. I felt so defeated. Unfortunately, I continued on a downward spiral in life. So many have this pain and feel this neglect. That is why this scholarship is important to me. I want to allow them to know there is hope after suffering. I had my first son at 16. After that, I started thinking better and wanting to do better for us. How could I help him with no education? I was a high school dropout working at a fast-food restaurant trying to support a toddler. What did I do? What happened to the motivated, young aspiring pediatrician? I realized how much I destroyed my future by rebelling when I had so much to offer. This mindset motivated me to become a better me. I began working with my Pastor on projects at church and auditing classes. I began teaching myself how to design websites, flyers, and logos. This was the start of my first business. Once I gripped the understanding, I was a licensed business owner before I knew it. I would still shy back from helping because I felt inadequate with no education. I wanted more in life. I had to change how I saw myself. A different mindset has brought me here. I am no longer angry and resentful. I was determined not to continue on that destructive path but to create an even better one for my children. My oldest son, who was affected the most, is now in his senior year at Morehouse College. I want to show them by doing what I encourage them to do every day. My first goal was to get my high school diploma! Currently, I am enrolled to receive my Associate's Degree in Business Administration and Technology(entrepreneurship). I want to continue to manage for-profit corporations. The Non- Profit Organization for youth transitioning out of foster care that I want to organize is my passion. It is the way to help the community. Receiving this scholarship to further my education will allow me to start the process. Under this organization, we will have a healing house. This healing center will be a secure and safe place for healing emotional scars. We will staff members who will help young people through mentoring, taking the time to show them basic living skills and how to account for themselves and their resources. We will also offer GED classes! Things started rough for me, but now, things are looking great for my future because I decided to make a change.

"I was a high school dropout working at a fast-food restaurant trying to support a toddler. What did I do? What happened to the young, motivated, enthusiastic, aspiring pediatrician?" I discovered at the age of 13 that I was adopted. Unfortunately, I went into foster care at two years old. Before I found out I was adopted, I was a happy child. I loved people, and I loved school. I wanted to be a pediatrician. I was always different. I loved to read and would read for hours. I made good grades, and I was determined to be somebody! Everything changed when I met my birth sister for the first time. "How could they lie to me?" My sister was aware of everything, but I was in the dark. I became angry and rebellious. I dropped out of school and forgot about everything I loved. I felt so defeated. Unfortunately, I continued on a downward spiral in life. So many have this pain and feel this neglect, and I want to help them through it by starting an NPO. That is why this scholarship is important to me. I want to allow them to know there is hope after suffering. I had my first son at 16. After that, I started thinking better and wanting to do better for us. How could I help him with no education? This mindset motivated me to become a better me. Sometimes we are so upset and angry about how life is going that we miss the bigger picture. We fail to see how it can affect us and those around us. I was a high school dropout working at a fast-food restaurant trying to support a toddler. What did I do? What happened to the motivated, young aspiring pediatrician? I realize how much I destroyed my future by rebelling when I had so much to offer. I began working with my Pastor on projects at church and auditing classes. I would shy back from helping because I felt inadequate with no education. I wanted more in life. I had to change how I saw people and how I saw myself. A different mindset has brought me here. I am no longer angry and resentful. I was determined not to continue on that destructive path but to create an even better one for my children. My oldest son, who was affected the most, is now in his senior year at Morehouse College. I want to show them by doing what I encourage them to do every day. My first goal was to get my high school diploma! Currently, I am enrolled to receive my Associate's Degree in Business Administration and Technology(entrepreneurship). I want to manage for-profit corporations as well. The Non- Profit Organization is my passion. It is the way to help the community. Receiving this scholarship to further my education will allow me to start Ephriam Enterprises. Under this organization, we will have a healing house called Ephraim's Healing Center (Circle of Life). This healing center will be a secure and safe place for healing emotional scars. We will staff members who will help young people through mentoring, taking the time to show them basic living skills and how to account for themselves and their resources. We will also offer GED classes! Things started rough for me, but now, things are looking great for my future because I decided to make a change.