I remembered the various abuses that I went through in the public school system and how it shaped me and how far I have come shows incredible accomplishments. The public school system wasn't designed for neurodivergent students, instead they wanted everyone to be neurotypical which wasn't me. Thus, throughout my years, I had to deal with teachers who were aggressive and I was given lots of harsh punishment methods. These ranged from in-school detention to aggressive encounters with a resource officer. I remembered the difficulty in navigating this rigid system as well as the communication gaps that followed. The reason is that I was diagnosed with autism and it changes the way how I interact with the rest of the world. To me, I don't feel there's nothing wrong with me, but the problem is that my teachers felt that I was nothing but causing troubles, which is why it led to constant meetings with my parents. The only people who understood me were my parents and they were the ones who advocated countless hours for me to be understood, but the school didn't listen. However, the fact that I had supportive parents showed that I had someone who cared about me. Because one of my strengths that I didn't know was that was being able to hyperfocus. Hyper focusing is what allowed me to make it through the school system because that's what allowed me to do well academically. Even though I was struggling with mental and emotional health, but the fact that I wanted to keep studying and learning due to being able to hyperfocus is what allowed me to make it through. Even though I had teachers who were abusive, but I didn't let that get me. Instead, me and my parents decided that if one school didn't work, then we switch to another school. However, the problem was that the result was the same no matter where we went. But even when I struggled in the system, I didn't let that get me. Because I loved earning high honors and that's what kept me pushing forward. The other thing that I had to deal with is that I was surrounded by teachers who told me that I wouldn't get far in life and that I should give up on college and find a job. But since I loved academics and was hyper focused on it, I ignored what my teachers said and went to college. Now I have chosen my career field to be in business administration, and I am using my gift to make the world a better place. I was upset by the various social injustices that I encountered in the school system, and I want to make sure that that never happens to anyone again. Since I was hyper focused on academics, now I'm hyper focused on politics and fighting colonialism and other forms of systemic racism. I know that even though I can't be involved in politics immediately, but I have chosen business administration to make a difference in my community. I know that as a business manager I can influence the business world for the better. One of the ways that I aim to do that is by improving the rights of neurodivergent people in the workplace. I hope to make sure that these people get the accommodations that they deserve. Another thing that I aim to do is create a non-profit that will aim to fight for legislation that will fight for the rights of neurodivergent people. We aim to pass legislation that will fight against the various forms of workplace discrimination. The other plan is that we will work with other advocacy organizations to make sure that neurodivergent people are treated equally.

Mental health has been a serious rollercoaster ride that has affected me in many ways. Let me be honest I grew up in a school system where they treated mental health as a joke or something that you only speak to clinicians about. This is unacceptable and I remembered the lasting damages it has done onto me. Because when I first started middle school, the teachers didn't know how to handle me and often did things that terrorized and tormented me. However, they told my parents that I didn't have mental health and that their method was meant to get me to learn. However, this wasn't productive and it often made things worse. I remembered how in middle school, how I got lots of in-school detentions and aggressive encounters with a resource officer. These experiences were very damaging to me, and it made my life unbearable. I had aggressive outbursts with various teachers and often had moments where I didn't want to go to school. My anxiety was all the way up and I remembered how I had thoughts of paranoia when I was in middle school. Then I had moments of depression in which I felt sad for no apparent reason. I kept feeling down and then it destroyed me in many ways. This was all my experiences in middle school. However, 7th grade the teachers there were mean and often abusive. The in-school detention there was mean. She loved to yell at everyone who went into the room, and she even yelled after you've been in the room. Sometimes, the associate principal would send me in the room when I was acting like a child. It wasn't just the associate principal; the teachers would often threaten to put me in that room whenever there wasn't a need to. These experiences from my middle school years caused me to lose trust in the system as a whole. I often had moments of doubt and thought maybe it's hopeless. I even felt that school was an awful idea and that I should quit. I felt unhappy about being near people and felt that people were often there to get me. I remembered the paranoia I felt that people weren't there to care for me rather they were there to take advantage of me. My parents decided that Kentucky schools were awful and they moved me to Massachusetts. However, I suffered the exact same problems there, but it was all social pragmatics and ABA therapy. These forms of treatment forced me to be a neurotypical person, but it didn't work because my mental health caused me to regress. I remembered how I kept having problems with various teachers and speech pathologist. In 9th grade, I told a speech pathologist that she and everyone was working with the clerk magistrate giving out notes about me. I told her that he told the snowplow company not to plow my roads and that he will monitor me after the magistrate probation. The speech pathologist felt I was angry at a boogeyman, but I didn't care because I couldn't trust anyone. The problem was I was surrounded by people who said I wouldn't get far in life because of my autism. I remembered how teachers kept telling me that if I don't get my act together, I would never make it far in life. I was told that I should just get a job. They even said that autistic people can't work in any fields that has to deal with people. I remembered how this echoed a lot of what Kentucky was like. This furthered aggravated my anger that I had with the public school system. Eventually, my parents decided that public schools weren't good anymore for me and that I should go to college. Let me tell you that my life has improved dramatically ever since going to college. Although, I struggle with anxiety, emotional outbursts, and other similar problems, I have people who care about me. I have a mental health counselor who challenges all the negative thoughts that I have. She told me to think about all the positive things that has happened. She even went as far as to think more good things in the world. No matter what I feel better that I have someone who cares about me. Though right now I want to focus on what I aspire to be. Even though my life has been harsh, but I aspire to be involved in the world of politics. What I want to do is fight against the various forms of systemic racism that plagues our society. Though before I get involved in that I want to major in business administration. I want to be a management consultant in the world of health insurance. My goal is to make healthcare more affordable and get insurance to cover more people. The problem isn't that there's a lack of funds or resources rather insurance makes it difficult to access them. My main plan is to rework the system where people can call their insurance and simply get covered for whatever mental health treatment they're seeking. I want to work with healthcare providers to lower the cost of treatment so that it can be affordable for everyone. I knew the difficulties I experienced in getting mental health, I want to make sure that no one has to go through what I went through at all.

The main thing that I am doing to pay for my student loan debt is applying for scholarships and making sure that I don't take any at all. So far, I have around $3500 in student loans, but I have made sure to not take anymore. However, one of the ways that I have avoided student loans is by going to a community college. Community colleges are cheap and they don't require you to take out any loans. I have an educational plan with MASSReconnect and MASSEducate where the state pays for all my money since I don't have a degree. Though the main thing is that the courses that I take at a community are the exact same as they would be in the first or second year of a four-year school. It's not just MASSReconnect and MASSEducate that has helped me with student loan debt. I have been awarded Pell Grants which I use to pay for my college. Another thing that I'm doing is I'm saving up for a four-year school. Currently, I've put over $40,000 in Fidelity accounts. My plan is to watch my money grow and then use the funds from that account to pay for my four-year school. Another place that I have invested is Robinhood, I put some money in them to make sure that I have a little more money to invest. No matter what putting some of my money in investment accounts has helped me with student loans. It's not just investments in the stock markets that matter rather I have been working as well. Currently, I have a job as a merchandise retail specialist, and I take some of the money that I earned and put it into my Fidelity or Robinhood account. The extra money that I have has helped me in many way and I feel that I can use it to boast my assets to pay for college. College may be expensive but that doesn't mean I can't afford it rather it's about saving and finding the right job. Though I do have another means of income that allows me to save up. The other means of income that allows me to save up is SSDI. I get over $1000 in government disability benefit, and I use some of that money to help pay for my college bills. I know that education is expensive, but I will go far to make sure that I don't have to take out loans. Though another way I have been working to reduce loans is training as a college athlete. I have been working hard to reduce my running times so that I can run a five-minute mile. If I can qualify as a college athlete, then I can make earn scholarship money as well.

Education has been instrumental in many ways because it can teach me the necessary skills that I need in order to be successful in life. Growing up I was subjected to various abuses in the public school system, and I want to make sure that never happens again. I was subjected to abusive ABA and social pragmatics that didn't do anything to help me rather it damaged my mental and emotional health. I was told by my teachers that I never get far in life and that I should be looking for work. But I didn't let that get the best of me rather I decided to go to college and get an education. Getting an education is more than just learning new things, it's about getting a degree where you can enact change that will ripple throughout the world. What I plan to do is get involved in the world of politics and enact policies that will fight against the various forms of systemic racism that are at hand. Right now, I am majoring in business administration, and I am still figuring out what I want to be. I can be an accountant, financer, financial analyst, financial planner etc. I know that politics is a major facet of my business career. Though I do plan on finding a business internship that can help me figure out what I want to do in the world of business. I feel that no matter where your upbringings is, you should never let that hold you back. Ever since the trauma and abuse of my public-school years, I have made my mission to put an end to the various forms of systemic racism that are at play. No matter who you are and where you come from, you should always keep pushing forward. However, a lot of this dream isn't possible without earning a scholarship. To get this dream, I have to make a lot of sacrifices, and this would involve paying a lot of tuition. Another thing that I would need to do is save up my money and invest it. This is why I feel that I should get this scholarship. It not only pays for my tuition, but it can be future money that I invest in which I can save up and pay for college. I can use that money to travel and figure out what I want to do in the world of business. No matter who you are and where you come from, you can always rise above your struggles, but you shouldn't let money hold you back. I thank the scholarship committee for taking the time to read my essay.

College is about more than just getting a degree. It's about overcoming the challenges that defined you and moving beyond all of that. Let me be honest that my grade school years were awful and that I'm doing everything I can to achieve more than that. As a person who was diagnosed with autism, I was a victim of the public school system, and I want to make sure that no one has to go through what I went through. The thing is that most of the teachers who I encountered didn't know how to handle me. Instead, I was subjected to lots of ABA and social pragmatics treatment plan that was unacceptable. However, now that I am in college, I am doing everything I can to overcome what I went through. One of the dumbest things that I was taught by my teachers is that autistic people can't work with people and that they shouldn't go to college. However, I looked back on this and laughed at how foolish this statement was. I have gone to college and so far, I have gotten only A's in all my courses. I have even decided to be involved in many extracurriculars as well. I am a member of the business club, honors club, phi theta kappa, student government association, and sustainability club. These clubs have taught me the necessary skills that I need to work with different people and how to be flexible with others. However, my biggest accomplishment is that I have been elected as secretary to both student government association and the honors club. These two clubs show that I have risen above my disability. Instead of letting it hold me back, I have chosen to keep push forwarding. My teachers would've laughed if they figured out where I was but now, I have proven them wrong. Another way that I proved them wrong is that I am majoring in business administration. My main goal is to get involved in the world of politics and enact legislation that will fight against the various forms of systemic racism. Although I don't know what I want to be, but I am still figuring it out. I know that I can be a financial analyst, financial planner, banker, accountant etc. The thing about all of this is that politics is a big thing that you need to consider. I know that by taking courses in business management, I will better figure out how to get involved in the political landscape. It's not always about doing the math and numbers rather having a creative mindset with a different approach to a problem is great for the world of business.

I have decided to take a business administration approach to help combat chronic autoimmune conditions. I can be a Managing Director for a health insurance company. The ultimate goal for me is to get involved in the world of politics to fight the various injustices in our healthcare system. The problem isn't that we don't have the technology to treat diabetes rather it's about accessibility. What's the point of a cure to diabetes or even cancer if there are people who will still be deprived. The problem is that the health insurance filed is very corrupt because as you can see with the Luigi Mangione case, many people are being denied coverage. This is a systemic problem that has been ongoing and it needs to stop. I feel that getting a degree in business administration can provide you the necessary skills when it comes to working in the field of health insurance. Because what I want to do is find ways to change the rulebooks where health insurance does cover almost everything. This is a steppingstone towards fixing the problem that Americans face with healthcare. The other problem that I want to fix is the way how the hospital system is designed. Many hospitals charge crazy prices via the chargemaster. This is a system where each hospitals have their own set of prices for specific treatments and they get to determine how much certain things cost. This is a serious problem because some treatments get charge $100 grand which is more than most people's life savings. This is where I get involved at the political level. I feel that government interference and mandate will force many hospitals to compete which will result in lower prices. On top of that government regulations will make sure that hospital don't charge people ridiculous prices. I feel that politics is always the best way to fight the various forms of systemic injustices that happen to people in the medical field. Instead of having to live a system where it's okay to rip people off, I want to make sure that people get the respect that they deserve. I know that we have a long way before we have fixed the problem with hospitals but that doesn't mean that we should give up. Instead, I have made it my mission to fight and advocate for equality among the healthcare field. I know that if I work as a managing director, I can fix the system where health insurance will cover people who are in need of coverage. I will even fix and adjust the various penalties that many poor people suffer due to the system and finally, I will fix the way how premiums are charge. The problem is that many poor, minorities are victims of the system and that our health insurance is designed to put them in poverty. I plan on fixing these issues based on my aspirations.

I am special compared to other immigrants in that I am on the autism spectrum disorder. Most people feel that all Asians are smart and can be successful on their own. However, I disprove that myth and show that Asian people can be just as vulnerable to mental health and that we don't have it all together. The problem is that I took everything that I went through for grand and by that, I mean look at my elementary school years. During elementary school, I didn't have many problems, and I was an okay kid, but middle school was when things went downhill. It was there that the teachers didn't know how to handle me and felt that I was nothing but trouble. They often decided that I should be given the harshest punishments. This was very counterproductive and didn't do anything to address the problems that was on hand. It was more victimizing than it was helpful in trying to understand me. I remembered how my parents had to vouch for me and get my school to understand me, but they often never listened. As a matter of fact, I still carry emotional scars from these traumatic events. These events all occurred in Kentucky and so, my parents decided that I should move all the way up to Massachusetts because I was told I get better services there, but it was all a lie. I suffered ABA and social pragmatics treatment plans that were more harmful than what I got in Kentucky. I was told by various teachers that I would never get far in life rather I should go find a job. At first, I thought that was true but then I decided to go to college. My experiences in the public-school has encouraged me to pursue a career in politics. I feel that it's my mission to fight for the rights of neurodivergent people and make sure that they don't have to suffer what I went through. Now I am working harder than ever to fight for what I feel is right. Though now I am majoring in business administration, and I am using my degree to get involved in politics. I realize that in business you have to get involved in politics and that's something that you have to accept in life. I totally agree with this, and I have been making it my mission to figure out what I want to do in the business field. My experience as an immigrant taught me that not everyone has the privileges that I have and that I should be appreciative of what I have at the moment. The thing is that not everyone has parents who are loving and supportive. At the same time, I seek to fight the various injustices that have occurred in my life. I want to make sure that no one has to go through what I went through and whatever they do to people on the spectrum. Because in life, what matters is that people can treated equally. If this means making a non-profit, then I'm on board with that.

Selected Text: The Apology by Plato "And now, Athenians, I am not going to argue for my own sake, as you may think, but for yours, that you may not sin against the God by condemning me, who am his gift to you. For if you kill me you will not easily find a successor to me, who, if I may use such a ludicrous figure of speech, am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by God; and the state is a great and noble steed who is tardy in his motions owing to his very size, and requires to be stirred into life. I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you. You will not easily find another like me, and therefore I would advise you to spare me. I dare say that you may feel out of temper (like a person who is suddenly awakened from sleep), and you think that you might easily strike me dead as Anytus advises, and then you would sleep on for the remainder of your lives, unless God in his care of you sent you another gadfly. When I say that I am given to you by God, the proof of my mission is this:—if I had been like other men, I should not have neglected all my own concerns or patiently seen the neglect of them during all these years, and have been doing yours, coming to you individually like a father or elder brother, exhorting you to regard virtue; such conduct, I say, would be unlike human nature. If I had gained anything, or if my exhortations had been paid, there would have been some sense in my doing so; but now, as you will perceive, not even the impudence of my accusers dares to say that I have ever exacted or sought pay of any one; of that they have no witness. And I have a sufficient witness to the truth of what I say—my poverty. Some one may wonder why I go about in private giving advice and busying myself with the concerns of others, but do not venture to come forward in public and advise the state. I will tell you why. You have heard me speak at sundry times and in divers places of an oracle or sign which comes to me, and is the divinity which Meletus ridicules in the indictment. This sign, which is a kind of voice, first began to come to me when I was a child; it always forbids but never commands me to do anything which I am going to do. This is what deters me from being a politician. And rightly, as I think. For I am certain, O men of Athens, that if I had engaged in politics, I should have perished long ago, and done no good either to you or to myself. And do not be offended at my telling you the truth: for the truth is, that no man who goes to war with you or any other multitude, honestly striving against the many lawless and unrighteous deeds which are done in a state, will save his life; he who will fight for the right, if he would live even for a brief space, must have a private station and not a public one." This is Plato's writing of Socrates defense against the charges that he faces in court. Although Socrates never wrote anything down and we need to consider this might be Plato's interpretation but nonetheless, it still did come from Socrates. In this argument, Socrates is defending for his life, and he is upset that people are accusing him of corrupting the youth and showing huge disbelief in the Gods. Here, Socrates argues why he shouldn't be executed and how he isn't doing any such thing. Socrates uses the first example of comparing himself to a Gadfly. He states that Athens is a great city and that has an intellectual landscape and he compares it to a powerful strong racehorse. Here, Socrates states that if nothing challenges Athens, then it will deteriorate as a society just like how a horse's muscle will atrophy if it's not worked out. Socrates then elaborates on the Gadfly comparison by saying just like how a Gadfly once it stings and makes the horse run up and down, which in turn strengthens the muscles, Athens' intellect and societal values will further strengthen by Socrates' philosophy. He doesn't challenge people because he hates them rather, he's challenging them intellectually. You shouldn't always believe that your beliefs are right rather you should always question them. If the beliefs are wrong, then it makes you be a critical thinker and encourages you to think outside the box. Disproving that something is wrong isn't a bad something rather it's about getting you to find new discoveries. Socrates philosophical activities are based off of this method. He wants people to see how he is making them more intellectually brighter by the way he challenges their beliefs. However, he does acknowledge that people will be annoyed but that's part of the process. Just like how a Gadfly stinging a horse makes the horse uncomfortable and upset, people won't be happy that someone is challenging their beliefs. But just like how the horse gets stronger and stronger, every time it moves a lot and have to face the pain of the Gadfly, people will develop a sharper mindset when someone challenges their beliefs. However, even if Socrates is wrong and the person's belief's is right, he still wins because he gets you to see why your beliefs are right. Just because a belief isn't disproven, doesn't mean you know the whole thing. Instead, when Socrates challenges your beliefs and you prove your beliefs right, you grow as a result. Because you use your intellectual muscles to think why your beliefs are right and by doing so you learn more about your beliefs. This is why Socrates makes the Gadfly comparison because he wants people to know that he's there to help them, not harm them. He argues that he's sent by God and that if he doesn't do his job, then he violates their will. He analyzes his accusations and argues that it doesn't make sense for him to be impetuous to the God because he wouldn't be living in poverty. He elaborates that his speech is there to help people and he doesn't demand rewards. He always depends on a sign up from the oracle. Socrates has argued that if he was impetuous to the gods, then he would've been wealthy and corrupt. He would've tried to get money from the people who he listens to. However, so far, he hasn't gained any money from what he has said to other people. The other argument Socrates states is why he hasn't been involved in political office. He uses the political office argument as another reason why he isn't impetuous to the God's. He stated that by getting involved politically, he would've been corrupting and caused lots of problems. He wanted to join the philosophical world out of an intent to help others. Socrates states that politics is corrupt and he's worried that he will die before he finishes his job. On top of that politics can cause more chaos than harm. This is why he has a private life and often does his philosophical duties from home rather than out in the public. This is how Socrates argues why he isn't corrupting the youth and why he isn't impetuous to the gods.

I am happy that I have found online platforms that have helped me with learning. The pandemic was such an awful time, and I missed the face-to-face interactions that we had in the classroom. However, what we did to compensate for this is by using zoom. Zoom is a great way for me to learn because it's easy to set up and all you need is a link. The other part of Zoom that I enjoy is how they have a share screen option where you can share your screen. My professors have made it easier for me to learn because I see the content and I make sure that I pay attention and take notes. This is one tool that has helped me with online learning. Another tool that I find helpful is Quizlet, because I have tests and quizzes, Quizlet allows me to practice the materials at hand. Quizlet has flashcards and you have to guess what they mean before they show you the answer. Other times Quizlet create quizzes that mimic what you will learn in the classroom. I find what they put on the site to be engaging and great. This form of online learning is more advanced than what I was used to. In the past, when it came to learning, you had to search through your local library and re-read the textbook to memorize things. However, Quizlet teaches you to not do any of that at all. It's not just Quizlet that I find great, there is another online platform that's called bookshelf. What I find great about this is that all you have to do is download an app and it's free. The thing is that in the past, you had to carry textbook and either pay a rental fee or buy the whole book. Often, I remembered how I had to carry lots of books, but now everything is all online. This makes things convenient for me, and it reduces the baggage load that I have to face when carrying lots of textbooks. I am happy that bookshelf has chapters and you can always go back and forth. The app allows you to highlight important points. These are the wonderful benefits of online platforms. It offers convenience and you don't need to carry a lot of hard materials. I feel happy that I have access to all these platforms, but when I am not in school, I often use a different platform. One of the other platforms is Coursera and let me tell you that I have taken these courses, and I have learned a lot from taking them. These classes have taught me necessary that knowledge that I can use when I'm not busy. I have taken many courses on marketing, and it has helped me improved my marketing skills in many ways. These are all the way that online platforms have helped me learn. I feel that I am better at marketing because I have taken this route and would like to learn more in the future.

My life has always been a mental health rollercoaster because I spent years being gaslighted into thinking that I didn't have it or being deprived of mental health supports. Let me tell you that mental health started in 6th grade, because that was when I got a taste of the real world. Here's something that I need to say, before 6th grade, I used to be surrounded by teachers who understood me and would take the time to get to know me. A lot of the reason why I got this treatment was because I had autism. But my 6th grade teachers didn't see that in me rather they saw a troublemaker. In 6th grade, they ran the school like a prison, and it was often abusive. The teachers often used administrative staff or resource officer to intimidate me, and they gave me lots of in-school detention. These experiences were enough to produce mental health, but my teachers didn't see that and saw only hormones, teenage angst, and autism. However, this was far from the truth because I often had issues with anxiety. I remembered how I felt scared and terrified of wanting to go to school. There were instances that I was paranoid that I was going to die. I remembered how in public-schools, I kept having altercations with my teachers and this kept getting worse. Eventually, after constant problems, the school thought a small room setting would work, but instead it caused more problems. One day, a teacher grabbed me and knocked me down to the ground. I suffered serious head injuries and then eventually it was determined I was unfit for that 6th grade school. During that time, I was dismissed and told that I didn't need to go to school, but this produced depression because my brain wasn't being stimulated. Eventually, my parents decided that that school was awful and switched me. However, the problems kept happening and the other schools were worse. They refused to acknowledge mental health and often they would terrorize me. My 7th grade in-school detention teachers were vicious to the point that, I would check the house to make sure my parents were there. That way I was assured that I be protected from being kidnapped and killed by my in-school detention teachers. However, this was a form of mental health. These challenges that I had with mental health kept appearing back and forth. I suffered a long time where I didn't have any mental health support until a few years ago, I got a mental health counselor. This woman has encouraged me to challenge my negative thinking and to realize that anger is a secondary emotion. The reality is that you are either hungry, lonely, tired etc. Now when it comes to dealing with your trauma and the horrible events that happened with me, she encourages me to talk it out or write it in a journal. Sometimes, it's best to acknowledge your feelings. I feel that I am feeling calmer and more stabler than I was when I was in the public-school system. Though I do want to work in the mental health field by working as an advisor when it comes to increasing funding in mental health. Because I want to make sure that no one has to go through what I want through.

Let me be honest that I have come a long way from where I used to be. When I was in the public school system, I used to have serious altercations with various teachers, and it was a hectic ride. Part of the reason why I had these struggles was that I was an autistic student. Having autism can present challenges when it comes to understanding people. However, with the right interventions, it becomes manageable, but my teachers didn't see it that way. Instead, they often felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose and often implemented harsh measures on me. This would either be in-school detention or aggressive encounters with a resource officer. These experiences were traumatizing, but I didn't let that hold me back. Instead, I decided to go to college and let me say that I have come a long way. My ultimate goal is to get involved in the world of politics and enact legislation that will fight against the various forms of systemic racism that is enacted against neurodivergent people. On top of that I am planning to create a non-profit that will direct neurodivergent people to the right resources, while pushing for legislation that will fight for the rights of neurodivergent people. However, I am focusing on what I want to do in the world of business. I have plans of either be a financial analyst, financial planner, banker, accountant etc. These are the plans that I have for the future. Though what I want to do is give back to the community and make sure that no one ever has to go through what I went through. I found it wrong that people can judge others for being different. Instead, what I want to do is create a more accepting society where neurodivergent people are seen as a different brain development than neurological disease. I want to be an advocate for neurodivergent people. I want to make sure that they are treated with respect and not be abused by the system. Because no matter if they're in school or adults, neurodivergent people struggle to fit in or find a place to work. Now I am adamant about getting involved in politics and fixing that. As great as this is, I still have financial bills to pay. Winning this scholarship will alleviate some of the bills that I must face. College is extremely expensive and I know that this will require some sacrifices to make this happen. However, what I won't do is quite college because I can't afford the expenses. Instead, I feel that this scholarship can help me in many ways. It will validate the sacrifice that I made to get here. I'm not using the scholarship money to pay off student debt; I'm even using it to invest in funds that will grow my money. I feel that various investment accounts can help me when I'm going on business trips or anything of the like. This is why I feel that I should be awarded this scholarship.

My parents rarely bought anything nice for me because of how much I was a challenge in the public school system. As a person who's on the autism spectrum, I can tell you that how much of a challenge I was. The problem is that my teachers didn't know how to handle me and often implemented harsh punishment methods. This didn't do anything to help me rather it aggravated a lot of the problems that I was dealing with. The other problem is that the teachers were tormenting me and often used aggressive people to get me to behave. This didn't do anything rather it put strain on my mental and emotional health. My parents had to keep vouching for me and had to get involved in many school meetings. They had to protest and get the school to realize what they did was wrong. Eventually, the only option that we had was to transfer schools. However, this didn't do anything to help rather I suffered the exact same problems no matter where I went. I remembered how my teachers kept telling me that I shouldn't go to college nor work in any field that has to deal with people. However, I didn't let this hold me back rather I kept moving forward. I decided to attend college even though I was struggling with mental and emotional health and let me say I have come a long way. I realize the problem that many public-school children face and I have made it my mission to fight these injustices. I am passionate about getting involved in the world of politics and enact legislation that will fight various forms of systemic racism. I want to make sure that no student in public schools has to ever suffer the exact same ABA and social pragmatics therapy abuse that I went through. I have been involved in various non-profit movements, and these have shaped my future. One such movement is Boston Socialist Alternative and let me tell you that I have been involved in heavy protest. We have been protesting the corruption of billionaires and a specific trillionaire. Also, we have been protesting police brutality and ICE in the U.S. Now I feel that these experiences have taught me the necessary political skills that I can use to give back. I plan on enacting legislation that will reduce police and ICE funding and using it to help disabled people in the school system.

I feel that the best way to express the meaning of a mad scientist is thinking about the ways in which you can be creative without having to be fully involved in the arts. I have decided that a mad scientist near food is a great way to express all of that. I want to talk about how this art embodies a lot of this and how it works great. To me, having this mad scientist be near a GMO crops is a great way to fit the current trend of Mad Genius. It's about figuring out how we can be okay with different combinations and still try out different food. I am happy that I can be a great artist even though I'm not that skilled. However, a mad scientist is a great fit for this project because it can get us to think outside the box. The point is that no matter who we are, we should always appreciate each other's difference and that being proud of yourself is a great part of it what it means to be a human. I am glad that I have created a mutant monster poster. The thing about life is that we should appreciate each other's difference. This is why I want to create this poster because it teaches us that we can tolerate different food ideas even if they are different. No matter where you are in life, food is what brings people together. I feel that science is an important part of what makes food taste delicious. People feel that food is subjective and is based on opinions but that's not the case. Instead, we should always focus on what food can do for us. We can use food to create different concoctions that can bring people of different background together. This is a great idea and it describes the artwork that I created.

As a person who has autism, I feel that this scholarship can support me in many ways. Let me tell you that the experiences that I had in the public school system was awful, but I didn't let that hold me back. Growing up, I had a good beginning in the elementary school system, because the teachers there were willing to be patient and understand me. However, middle school was when things turned for the worst. The teachers there didn't care to understand me and feel that I was causing nothing but trouble. This caused many of them to used harsh measures whether it be lots of in-school detention or aggressive encounters with a resource officer, this was a horrific experience. At first, I thought I was the problem, but eventually I realized how broken the school system is and how it fails me students. My problems with the school system kept going back and forth until I left it for good. I was told that I never make it far and that I shouldn't work in any field that has to deal with people nor should I attend college. However, I decided to ignore all of that and still pursue a four-year degree. Now I have come a long way because I have always made it my mission to focus on my academics. So far, I have earned nothing but A's in all the courses that I have taken. The other thing that I like to say is that I have been invited to two honors society. However, what I would like to discuss is the major that I'm taking which is business administration. I have a passion of wanting to get involved in the world of politics and enacting legislation that will fight for the rights of neurodivergent people. Though one of my other long-term goals is creating a non-profit that will fight for the labor rights of neurodivergent people. If that's not possible, I do intend on being involved in business management in other ways. I can be a financial analyst, banker, financial planner, brokerage, accountant etc. These job professions sound appealing to me. Another area that I like to dive into is business law and how it can teach me political skills. Even though I have taken only the basics when it comes to business classes, but I have been involved in other ways as well. For example, I am a presidential ambassador, and I am actively being involved on campus in regard to increasing student enrollment numbers. I will be at different orientations and open houses with new students. My goal is to get to know the students and find ways on how to better understand them. I want to guide them to resources and figure out how we can better support them. This is the plan that I have in the upcoming fall semester. Now this is where this scholarship comes in because I feel that I can't do any of this without being awarded a scholarship. Having a scholarship will allow me to pay off some of the tuition that I had to deal with. On top of that, this scholarship will validate and prove that everything that I have done was for the great of the community. The funds from this scholarship I can invest in and use it to help funds trips that can improve my people skills. I am adamant that I can be a great contributor to society by being awarded this scholarship.

My essay is submitted in video.

Ever since attending Middlesex Community College, I have been involved in many community service projects that benefit the community. One of the projects that I did was when I was a member of the business club. Every semester, we would host a LinkedIn workshop, where I would guide people on how to create a LinkedIn profile and how to dress nicely for a LinkedIn profile photo. Another community service project was with the honors club at a food pantry. What we did was we prepared various boxes of food to give to people who are struggling with food insecurities. Every time a car comes up, I would grab a certain number of boxes depending on the car and put it inside the trunk. Other things that I would do is create a toiletries bag to help impoverished people. It wasn't just that I did for MCC, but I have been involved in the parade float for both the fall and winter semesters. MCC is struggling to pay off its debt, and I feel that that's something needs to be done. What I have done is that in the fall parade, I help up a sign, and I carried it across the town streets advertising MCC. The parade during the winter, I handed out candy and spread the word about MCC. Both these forms of volunteering show that I care about MCC and that I do everything I can to improve student engagement. Another volunteering opportunity I did was that I was a judge for Trunk-or-Treat contest. I determined which car trunk decorated best for Halloween. I handed out the awards and made good judgements. It wasn't just Trunk-or-Treat or other MCC volunteering opportunities that I did, I even did MASSPIRG. I remembered how I collected signatures from various peoples to convince our government officials that hunger is a real problem. I stood up and I waited and asked people for their signatures. The goal is to create a petition in which Massachusetts' government would see that there is a need for a food bill. It tells them that there should be an increase in the budget and more resources should be given. Not only do I do that, but I volunteer with my church as well. On Sundays, I am involved with the slides, and I make sure that worship is run smoothly. When people sing, I make sure that the slides match with what they're saying. When the pastor is singing, I make sure that the announcement matches up with what he's announcing. Though during the sermon, I make sure that certain slides are displayed when key points are being made. These are the various community engagement projects that I volunteer in.

Reading has taught me to be well-rounded and think beyond what you have been taught. One of the books that I remembered reading was "Sing Unburied Sing". This was a book that I read for my criminal justice honors class, and I felt that I learned a lot from this book. What I have learned is how corrupt our criminal justice system is and how prison is a big identity of the black culture. One of the places that is critical is Parchman prison and how it has been an identity marker for the main characters in this book. What is messed is how each generation of the family has served time behind bars in that Parchman. As a result, everyone knows Parchman, what's it like on the inside, and how prison runs in the family. The lessons and themes that I learn from the book is quite messed it. It shows that prison isn't always about capturing people who are dangerous rather it can be used to contain people that society look down upon. From reading this book, I feel that I have learned many good lessons about our criminal justice and the racism that plays at hand. Though another lesson in the book comes at the end, when a spirit of someone wants to rest, but realizes it can't. Turns out the person was killed because the person they ran with did something horrible. Eventually, when they learn the whole truth, their spirit can't move on even if they wanted to. Thus, what I can conclude is how prison blurs the line between seeking justice and victimizing innocent people. I am glad that I read this book because it gives me a different angle on life. I remember how my parents pushed me to read and this is something that I'm glad that they did. No matter who you are, you can always benefit from reading books no matter what. Books can help you learn new lessons that you didn't think about beforehand. Now compared to textbooks, which often teaches a biased perspective that is bland, books offer an exciting viewpoint that's dynamic. I am glad that I have finally found a book that I have read and I believe that I can use the lessons from this book to better improve my life. This book that I read about the prison system has encouraged me to continue my passion for working in the field of politics. I feel that we can make the world a better place by treating the worst of society with respect. Instead of blaming people and seeing them as monsters, love is the way to go. I am happy that I have read "Sing, Unburied, Sing" and I will use the lessons from this book to fight for equal rights.

I am proud that I will earn my degree in business management because I want to show to everyone how I overcame so many challenges. Growing up I was surrounded by teachers who told me that I would never get far in my life because of my autism. They told me that I should forget about going to college and just find a job. However, a college admission counselor told me to ignore what they say and just go to college. The counselor told me that he worked with a student similar to me and that he was told by his providers, school officials, and other professionals that he wouldn't make it that far. Instead, the student went to college, and he proved them all wrong. This is why I want to get a degree in business administration. I have the passion of wanting to improve our education and support system. My ultimate goal is to get involved in the world of politics and enact legislation that will fight against systemic racism. Though this isn't what I am currently focused on now rather I care about what I can do in business management. One of the things that I plan to do in business is create a non-profit that will fight for the rights of neurodivergent people. I aim to direct many neurodivergent people to resources that will help them find and maintain a job. At the same time, I will work with various labor unions and other groups on pushing for legislation that will fight against workplace discrimination. Though right now I am still trying to figure out what I want to do in business. I can be a financial analyst, accountant, insurance management, banker etc. and improve my people skills that way. I can even by involved in business law because I care about making the world a better place. Though now I have to think about my goals and what I want to do in the meantime. One of the things that I'm involved with is DECA and the business club. I am competing with various schools, and I am being involved in mock simulations that will teach me how the business world works. One of the simulations involved creating reward points for a company. I looked at it and came up with one and presented it to the judge. Overall, I felt that I got a good grade by being involved in DECA. Though now I am passionate about ways on how we can fight for the rights of neurodivergent people. What I want to do is make sure that no one ever has to face the experiences that I had to face when I was in the public-school system. My experiences has taught me that we are a long way off before we have achieved a sense of equality. I feel that I can be that catalyst when it comes to changing our system that we have on hand.

Boston Socialist Alternative- Member April 2019- present Contact: Phone (732) 710-8345 boston@socialistalternative.org I was involved in various protest movement that had to do with creating a new third party while promoting socialism. We have always gone around and protested various injustices whether it be employers abusing their workers at Starbucks or police brutality. I have gathered at the state house, and we have protested and chanted us grievances against society. Now we are hosting meetings on how we can fight against corrupt billionaires and a newly, corrupt trillionaire named Elon Musk. Student Government Association April 2021- present Contact: Maria McDuffie Clark (781) 280-3638 MCDUFFIEM@middlesex.edu This helped me gain the necessary exposure that I needed in order to be successful in politics. SGA is a great way for me to implement policies but on the local level at my college campus. What I have done is worked with various students and I directed them to the right resources to address their grievances. During each SGA meeting, I would listen and we would figure out ways on how we can boast student engagement at the institution. Now I am elected as secretary and I'm responsible for writing down the meeting notes. I make sure that we plan ahead for the future and make sure that we help with student involvement. Mass Indigenous Legislative Agenda June 2023- present Contact: Raquel Halsey (617) 232-0343 rhalsey@naicob.org This organization has been a very major passion for me because this shows how much I want to get involved at the local and state level. Turns out, before you can go up to federal, you need to start local and this is the best place to start. Fighting for the rights of Indigenous people's is something that I hold firm and true. Mass Indigenous Legislative Agenda is about creating five bills that will fight for the rights of Indigenous peoples. The five bills that MILA has been vouching for is the removal of racist mascots, removing Christopher Colombus day with Indigenous People's Day, an act to celebrate and teach Indigenous history, an act to make Indigenous history mandatory in public schools, and to protect Indigenous heritage. I have been at the state house, and I have gone to various government official office vouching for Indigenous peoples. I have listed their grievances and explained why these laws are important. This shows why civil discourse matters because you are pushing your various representatives and senators to pass laws that protect human rights. MASSPIRG January 2025- present MASSPIRG is where I volunteer my time in the fight against hunger on campus. What we do is we prepare before the night we meet with our fellow representatives. Then when we're at the state house, we talk about how we address and deliver our main points to our respective representatives and senators. During each session, I would talk with each government official about the importance of the food bill. I give out statistics on why hunger is a serious problem and how the state can address it. The other thing that we do is we give out real world personal stories that gives a humanistic side of how hunger can be lethal.

Lincoln was a boy who was like others, he was a 7-year-old who was on the spectrum. However, to others he looked like just any other boys. Thus, many people didn't see that he was a person who was on the spectrum. Instead, they thought he was just a person who often was rude and obnoxious. They thought that the reason why he spoke or talked in ways that were strange was because he was weird. In reality, his autism was what made him stand apart from other people. Though most people didn't realize that he was a genius and that he was close to mapping out a proper model of the atom. However, many people didn't even believe him because they focused on his social ineptitude rather than his geniuses. However, Lincoln did have a plan of getting people to notice him for who he is. Lincoln realizes that what he needs to do is fight the taboo that you should only talk about your autism to your provider or teachers. Instead, Lincoln decides he wants to host a gathering where he will reveal in an unexpected manner that he's autistic. Lincoln knows that people are always expecting him to be his usual self, but for a couple of months, he will act like a neurotypical individual. Lincoln doesn't do this on his own, instead he speaks to both his counselor and therapists on how to be normal. Even though this goes against his own nature, but he knows that this is how he will fit in with the community. After countless tries, Lincoln has finally mastered the ability to be "normal". When Lincoln starts to act like a "normal" person, many people are surprised. They asked him why he's acting the way he is and what changed, but Lincoln said that he just listened to the feedback that he was given to people and kept it up. Now Lincoln starts talking about how he managed to find the most accurate model of the atom. Suddenly, many scientists, physicists, and other academies are paying him to host a conference. For two months, Lincoln talks and figure out how to make this all work out even with his busy schedule. Although, many people found his behavioral change to be different, but they accepted him because he seemed normal and finally got what they were saying to him. For two months, things were normal but then suddenly people were ready for his conference about the accurate model of the atom. People were dressed nice and everyone was ready for what was about to happen. Many people expected that he will go on a long speech about how he found the atom. However, Lincoln had plans that were different, instead he was going to reveal that he's autistic. After many announcements and speeches, Lincoln knew that he was up. The crowd expected him to speak about the accurate model of the atom, but instead Lincoln revealed that he has autism. He told people that he decided this was the best thing for him. He put a lot of heart and emotion into his speech and suddenly, people started to empathize with him. They revealed they judged him wrong and from that day forwarded, they start to accept him for who he was. They even were okay with talking about autism as a casual topic.

The one relationship that has helped me in many ways was my relationship with God. Even though I struggle to pray to him, but I need to realize how important he is. Because in reality, whenever things went downhill, God was the only hope that I ever had. Growing up I was an autistic individual, and I had teachers who didn't understand me. They often felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose and would institute punishments that we aggressive. They often gave me lots of in-school detention, use an aggressive resource officer or both. These moments were terrifying and cause mental health problems. Not only that I struggled in getting along with teachers to the point that I got kicked out of classes very often. Another problem is that I developed depression where it was difficult to do anything. For most people, this would be a hopeless position, but the one relationship that helped was God. Compared to everyone else, God often taught me that he's always merciful and gracious. Later on, he taught me that he doesn't care if I'm autistic or normal. The thing that I need to realize is that even when other people give up on you, he's always there. Sometimes, the way he speaks to me is through the actions of my mother. Because compared to other parents, my mom is the only one who hasn't given up on me. She has always been there no matter what and that you should always be proud of what you have accomplished. Because this mindset has taught me to love other people no matter how terrible they can be. Even though I grew up with teachers who felt that I was useless and wouldn't get further in life, but I realize that that's a reflection of them and not me. Instead, what matters is that everyone is unique in their own ways. Whenever I go and speak to various people, I learn to be open about how I am as a person. Because building connections isn't about creating a perfect image rather exposing your flaws is what makes you human. I know that even though I can suffer subtle discrimination, but I don't let that bother me. Instead, I have learned to find my own group and just be happy with them. It's easy to blame but learning to fix yourself is more important than anything else. I have been happy with myself ever since I have been close to God. God has taught me that you should learn to be gracious even when others are putting you down. No matter how bad your situation is, you should always learn to be friendly no matter what. It's not just doing that that matters, it's even about not letting distractions bother you. Because what I realize is that we all have our own flaws and things that bother us but learning to ignore the noise is what allows connections to form. I am happy that I have learned what it means to be more gracious to others.

Going to higher education has taught me to not doubt myself and be more than what I was told I can be. I can't believe that I'm here even though I struggle with autism and mental health. The thing is that growing up, I was subjected to abuses from various teachers and providers. Starting in middle school, I had was given lots of in-school detention and had to deal with vicious encounters with resource officers, all because the teachers thought I was causing trouble. These teachers often didn't get the time to get to know me and understand that I had a behavioral issue that needed interventions. Instead, I was treated like a criminal and was told disparaging comments about my future. Initially, I thought that I shouldn't go to college and should just focus on finding a job, but a college admission counselor told me to ignore all of that. He told me that he worked with a student who was in a similar situation as I was. The man told me that all the doctors and even his educators told him and his parents that college wasn't for him. At best he would only last a few days to a week, but the student ignored them and went to Harvard and proved them wrong. Not only did his self-esteem improved, but he also even improved behaviorally as well. From this story, I have decided to pursue a career in politics and going to school. What I want to do with my education is create more equal access opportunities for people who are neurodivergent. The problem is that when people think of discrimination, they only focus on race. However, that's only the tip of the iceberg and the truth is far more complicated. I know that people can be discriminated through intersectionality. This is the concept that you can suffer discrimination from more than one cultural trait. In my case, I was a victim of being both Chinese and Autistic. I am committed to my passion of making sure that people who are neurodivergent are more accepted in the workplace. Even though I want to make changes at the politically level, but I realize that politics isn't something I can do immediately. Instead, I am focused on working in business management and turns out I can learn political skills this way as well. What I am intent on doing is creating an equitable workplace that is willing to accommodate people who are neurodivergent. The problem is that neurodivergent people are vulnerable to workplace discrimination because many jobs have bias against people who aren't neurotypical. Another thing that is major is how many workplaces act very condescendingly towards them. My main educational path is to create a work environment that treats neurodivergent people respectfully. One of the plans that I have is to create a non-profit that will help people who are neurodivergent. One problem is that many neurodivergent people struggle to find jobs because many interviews are structed in a manner that requires the interviewee to be neurotypical. Thus, those who struggle to speak or act professionally are automatically denied, despite having superior qualifications. What I aim to do is to work with lawmakers to pass legislation that will encourage many companies to create interviews that accommodate people who struggle to be professional. Instead, the interview will focus more on if they can perform mundane tasks depending on the profession. Not only am I working to make sure that this will happen, but I will also even work to make sure that neurodivergent people can maintain their jobs. The problem is that even if they get hired, many people who are neurodivergent struggle to maintain their jobs due to discrimination. The workplace is very harsh to people like them to the point that they either get fired or quit. What I aim to do is make sure that workplaces are more accommodating towards these people. These are the goals that I have in mind ever since I'm majoring in business management. Even though I am passionate about helping people who are neurodivergent; I have a bigger vision of fighting ABA and social pragmatics treatment in the public-school systems. I am upset that I was treated quite poorly in the public school system and I want to make sure that it never happens again. The thing is that I want to distribute the budget that is used to force neurodivergent people in being neurotypical and use that money to create more inclusive environments. The other thing I want to fight against is the use of school resource officers and creating more social workers and counselors. These are all the goals that I have in mind when it comes to using my education to help others.

When I founded out that my grandfather had died, I was in shock. Because normally I didn't think it would happen this early. However, what I have learned from the recent death of my grandfather is to imagine how short life can be. Even though it hasn't been a year since he died but I can imagine the grief that I went through. I felt saddened but I managed to move on from this, but even then, I felt that there were more I could've done. What I am angrier at is just how unfair the current political climate is because I wanted to see him again and say goodbye but the criminal charges and strict authoritarian custom policies in Asian countries was too dangerous for me to travel abroad. Not to mention that I'm on the spectrum and being detained would've harmed me emotionally. I am going say that these experiences broke my heart because I was working on a graphic novel and I wanted to show to my grandfather that I accomplished something, but I am saddened that he will never see it. But the biggest thing that his death did was to encourage me to fight against the vicious policies that our administration is enacting on its own citizens. Because at the end of the day, you can't take your life for granted. Many people thought that history ended in 1991 and that the age of the internet would mean there's no eras anymore. However, that was proven to be wrong, and I can't believe that we are living through history again. For example, I thought that the War in Afghanistan or Iraq would just be a war but instead it ended up becoming the American ethos. Specifically, the Afghanistan War became another era almost exactly as long as the era of the cowboys. To me this represents the injustices and human rights violations that our country continues to perpetuate from the conservatives. I can't believe that us getting involved in Afghanistan was just as wrong as getting involved in Vietnam. The fact that we destroyed lives and encouraged our citizens to dismiss it is awful. Now I am seeing that our own citizens are victims of this as well. Because let me be honest, my grandfather's death isn't just the loss of opportunity and a chapter I never got to close but a wakeup call to fight for American freedom. If it's horrible that I can't go out the country due to a criminal record, then imagine the fear that my people have to live under when Trump is using ICE to pick people off the streets. It's horrific that this man is not only taking immigrants' rights but the rights of people who emigrate from America. It's not a crime to visit another country but I can't believe that all these agents are working to terrorize our lives. I know that it's time to be involved politically and fight this tyrant.

I am seeking a degree in business management because I am passionate about being a supervisor in food management. Though the main reason is because I want to get involved in the field of politics and implementing policies that will fight against systemic racism. Though before I can do that, I would like to see what it's like to work as an entrepreneur. I am passionate about starting a business that will help people who are neurodivergent. I feel that neurodivergent people aren't being represented in society. What I aim to do is figure out how we can create more resources that will allow them to be successful in society. Many of them struggle to find jobs, maintain them, and getting along with various peoples. My mantra is that no matter who you are, your disability shouldn't stop you from achieving things. I feel that I can help people who are autistic better because I can better understand them. The problem with most teachers, doctors, and other support professionals is that they look at autistic people from a scientific perspective. Instead of seeing them as humans, they treat them as test subjects. This mentality has caused many people to feel that autism is something to treated rather than accepting as a different type of development. I feel that I can be successful because many autistic people want to interact with someone who sees them eye to eye. This is a great way to help those who are struggling. I know that I will be successful not because I am a smart man but because I will make the world a better place. Most people want to achieve awards and other things, but I want to focus on helping others. I want to make everyone know that they will always have a voice for them. Because I don't believe in success being about who end at the top rather it's about improving society. I would be happy that there are people who will speak positively about me. I want others to know that I care about others. Even if I struggle to be an entrepreneur, I can be involved in innovation in other ways. You don't need to start your own business; you can come up with new ideas while at a restaurant or other places. One of the competitions I have been involved in is DECA and this has taught me immense skills on how to innovate and present to your future employer. It can be nerve whacking but this opportunity has allowed me to understand what business really is. Instead of trying to start your own, you can see that you can be responsible for projects in the business. What I aim to do is create a more equitable workplace when I graduate.

I could've given up on my dreams of attending college and either just enter the work force or go to trade school. However, that would've been counterproductive to a person like me. I was told that I am very intelligent and should pursue a bachelor's degree. Because when I look back at my childhood, I was told by various teachers that I would never get far in life. I was told that people on the spectrum can't work with people. Instead, I have decided to ignore that and focused more on how I can fight for the rights of people who are autistic. Currently, I am a participant in MASSPIRG and Boston Socialist Alternative. What I have done for my career is that I have invested time in attending courses at Middlesex Community College and majoring in Business Management. I've realized that you can't go into the world of politics immediately. Instead, you have to start somewhere. This is why I am majoring in business management while competing in DECA. I am learning about how to be a good supervisor. I am being given simulated case studies that are similar to what I encounter in business. The skills that I learn in DECA, I feel that I can apply to other areas of my life. By learning how to manage or being charge of a certain operation of a business, I can connect to my stakeholders and figure out the best way to move forward. These are the skills that I can use when I get involved in the world of politics. Even though I love learning new skills, but this isn't possible for me because of high tuition cost. The problem is that I have to work more hours to pay off the bill, but that's not possible because of government disability benefits. Even though I want to work many hours, if I do, then my SSDI benefits go away. Thus, I am only left with a limited amount of money to pay off any loans or tuition. This is why this scholarship is good because I can focus on my business studies and figure out how to make the world a better place. I can even engage more of my time in volunteering and being an activist for political campaigns. In the future, what I want to do is make sure that no one has to go through what I went through. I want to not only get rid of social pragmatics and ABA in the public schools; I am passionate about getting rid of resource officers. For people in the future, this is who I will pay it forward, I want to remove the barriers that prevent them from succeeding. I know that our society loves to incarcerate people and torment people who aren't neurotypical. To me, if anyone who's neurodivergent gets the support that they need and students don't have to face resource officers, then this can help a lot. This isn't an easy path but it's one that I'm passionate about.

When I found out my grandfather had died, I was shocked. I haven't seen this man in over 10 years and finding out I was never going to say goodbye to him was horrible. I couldn't believe that he was gone from this world. Though the sad part about this was the systemic racism that I had to endure when I was in America. The current Trump administration is making things difficult for me to go back to China. Not only has ICE been looking for people and deporting them, but they are also trying to find "criminals" and throwing them out the country. Now imagine, someone who's in the criminal proceedings and wanting to go home, that's what I was like. I wanted to go to China, but the problem is that customs in China would've locked me in a cell and kept me there for a while. To make things worse, they don't understand my autism and would've done things that would've amounted to torture. This was the unfortunate reality that I had to deal with. It was sad that I could never say goodbye to my grandfather, but there are many good moments that I remembered with him. I remembered how he took care of me when my parents were in America. Though the biggest lesson that I learned from all of this is the importance of cherishing life and not take it for granted. The other thing about my grandfather I have enjoyed the most with this man is learning about the history of modern-day China. Life isn't always going to be easy, but being able to speak to a man who was born during the Second World War is a good place to gain knowledge. Even though I wished I spent more time with my grandfather, but I have to consider how awful it is that the current administration can cut off time with your relatives. I am thinking about how I can be a change even if you lost your relative. Sometimes, I am worried that I will grow old and have to be by myself. I worried about dying and not being able to do the stuff that I will never be able to do. However, the death of my grandfather has prepared me to handle death and realize that it's a part of life. Though, I've realized that depression is a main factor in why I feel sad. Though, he's gone but I've realized that you are never too late to do anything.

What I feel was so big on my life was the various abuses that I went through in the public school system. I had to live my life through abuses for being neurodivergent. Many teachers and some people to this day, still blame it all on me. Instead, these people don't want to admit that I'm struggling and that they were a part of the problem. Often, I was given a lot of disparaging comments that told me that I wasn't good enough. They told me that I shouldn't work in a field that has to deal with people. Instead, I should work with computers and limit my interactions. Not only did they say that, but they also used harsh forms of punishments to get me to behave. I was given lots of in-school detentions and constant yelling. Other types of punishments they did was they often used a resource officer to get me to behave. These punishments were damaging and often prevented me from doing well in the classroom. Thus, throughout my time in the public school system, I often got into constant trouble with my teachers. This led to me creating a lot of chaos that they just gave up on me. This often caused my parents to have to transfer me to different schools. Eventually, when the time came, we decided to leave for good. We have made that decision because we found out that the supports, they offered wasn't doing any good for me. Most people from those experiences would give up. However, I have made it my mission to fight against the various injustices that have come onto me. I am majoring in business management with the goal of going into the world of politics. I am fighting to make sure that people who are neurodivergent don't even get any social pragmatics or ABA therapy. Instead, I want people to treat them as if they were another type of race. I have always felt that no matter what has happened in your past, you don't let that define you. Just because your teachers felt that you didn't deserve to work with people, doesn't mean that should be your trajectory in college. Instead, I am deciding to focus on how I can go above and beyond my capabilities. I know that I can be a great entrepreneur no matter where I go in life. The biggest thing that I learn is that life is always full of businesses and navigating them is how you make it through the toughest of all of life's challenges.

Being faithful has been a big part of my life and it gives me joy in times of suffering. I have always been in a life of turmoil. Being a person who has autism isn't easy and it brings with its own challenges. Most of my life I have never had faith, but when I started to accept Jesus in fifth grade, that's when things change. My public-school years was a big rollercoaster ride, because many of my teachers didn't know how to handle me. They often kept using harsh punishment methods to get me to behave. I thought that this was because of me, but I always believed in God during these troubling times. But the biggest test of faith was when I got sent to an alternative school and was no longer mainstream. During my time at an alternative school, I thought about what it means to follow Jesus. I spent many days praying to the Lord. Even though my school situation was horrible, but I always thought about how Jesus loved me and what I can do to show his love. Most other people would be hopeless, but I never gave up in believing in Jesus. Instead, I found joy in God. Even though I finished my years at an alternative school, but I didn't let that define me. Instead, I focused on following Jesus. I prayed and read the Bible every day to the point that I was finding joy in God. This mindset allows me to be nice to my mom. I always think about how God views me and my actions. Instead of doing things that are selfish and self-serving, I think about how we can go on a hike together. We always go to beaches or any fun places. But at the end of the day, we always realize that God is the one who made this possible. We can't always feel that man has done it by himself or nature created it, we should be thankful for the Lord. To me this scholarship allows me to invest in spreading the word of God even when things are bad. Spiritually, I want to spend time more with God and whenever I'm working that's always difficult. It's not just work that disrupts my spiritual life, it prevents me from focusing on my education, family, and my personal life. I feel that I can major in Business Management and use my faith to spread the word of Jesus. No matter what goes on in life, you should put Jesus first. I know that God called upon me to fight against systemic racism and care about how we can make the world a better place. No matter what happens, faith in God will allow you to go further in life. This faithfulness in God has encouraged me to be nice to others. Every day I praise Jesue and talk about how God has helped me in many ways. I mentioned how the Lord is encouraging me to be kind to others. The reality is that we can always spread God's love no matter what. In my home, I talk to my mom about how God has cared about me. In my church community, I help out with tech team and figure out how we can spread the message of God. This is how faith has created a very kind person inside of me and how I can spread my kindness everywhere. To the friends, family, and everyone who knew Ed and Aline Patane, I am an autistic individual who care about being faithful no matter who you are. I want you to know that I will spread the word of God. Jesus is always going to be my top priority no matter where I go. I will be faithful like your parents and make sure that I carry their legacy. No matter how awful my situation can be, I will always be kind and merciful to others. Even if society is broken and full of people who are manipulative, it's important that I carry the love of God. I know that I never had a wonderful school experience, but I have not let that hold me back. Submitted Via Video as Well.

Walking into my first college class gave me a sense of belonging. Because in my public school years, I was taught to follow the curriculum and answer questions based on what was in the reading passage. Whenever, I had an opinion, many of my teachers would yell at me for being creative. It wasn’t just school that was horrible, my home life was filled with parents who were too busy paying the bills. Unlike my classmates who were doing sports or other extracurriculars, I was stuck helping around the house. As an only child, I was very lonely and the only thing I had as a friend was t.v. However, my high school counselor told me that I’m not going to get far in life if I didn’t get a degree. They told me that in college, I can be free to explore what I want to be. No one will shun me and that they will encourage people to think creatively. From that conversation, I’ve decided to go with that decision and my life has changed. Once I attended my first class, I learned lessons that were more interesting than what my school taught me. I learned that we live in a society that is designed to fail minorities. One of my professors spoke to me and we had a conversation about what my life was like in the school system. He told me that I should be a political activist. His suggestion has been the epicenter of my dreams, because he found it unfair that my school system forced me to act “normal”. He told me that you shouldn’t be ashamed of sharing that you’re autistic and that your diagnosis shouldn’t deter you from following your dreams. This has encouraged me to seek a degree in Business Management. However, going to college isn’t easy. One of the biggest hurdles is the cost of tuition and the fact that my parents can’t afford to pay for my college expenses. But I haven’t given up and I’ve been working hard at my job, picking up extra shifts. Earning this scholarship will allow me to invest that money in my education. Instead of focusing on my expenses, I can be involved in extracurriculars. College isn’t just about learning and getting your degree. It’s important that you find your interests and form the community that best fits who you are.

Credit is what allows you to spend more money to pay for college loans. The truth of the matter is that college tuition is very high. It cost over $40000 to attend college now these days. But if you want to get ahead in life, it's important that you build good credit. It's not just paying for college tuition that I find a problem, there's the added fees of housing, books, and meal plans. These will cost you extra money and unless, if you want to eat the same food in a dorm, it's important that you build up credit. Also, if you want to get good books or rent a book that cost lots of money, then you will need to build up good credit. Having no credit means you're not going to get far in going to college. Thus, I am prepared to get ready for getting a credit card. What I do is that I will get the card and find out what my credit limit is. Depending on the limit, I will tell myself that you can't spend more than that limit per month. For example, if my limit is $600, I will avoid spending more than $600 per month. Another thing I will do is to always pay my bills on time; I know that there is a thing called making the minimum payment, but I've realized that you shouldn't do that. Instead, you should pay the full amount that is due no matter what. To me, it makes logical sense, and you should always pay your bills on time. When I first got a card from bank of America, I made sure to not overspend my limit and pay my bills on time. Turns out, this has helped me in many ways, and it allowed me to have a higher credit limit. In order to show to credit card companies that you can be trusted with credit, you need to prove it to them. Thus, I am happy that I will pay my credit card bills on time no matter what. I have learned from my business club members that whenever you only pay the minimum payment, this allows the credit card company to not only make money, but limit how much you can spend per month. This will negatively impact your credit score and that score will tell banks and other people whether you should be trusted with more money.

Many of the things that I enjoyed the most about Taylor Swift is how her song is about love. I praise all the hard work that she does in her music videos when it comes to love. The song "Blank Space" has one of the best music video lore that I have ever seen. Taylor is expressing how she's heartbroken from love, but she still keeps pushing through. One thing that I enjoyed the most about this song is how she describes love as a game. What she implies is how she wants her boyfriends to love the pain of messing with her heart and the price that they will pay while encouraging other women to do the same to their lovers. This performance of how she describes her love relationship with various people is something that I will always praise no matter what. Another thing that I loved about Taylor is how she's using her music to show that she has died and been reborn. The song "Look What You Made Me Do" is Taylor's expressive message of that she has enough with what everyone has done to her. She can either wallow in pity or punch through all the lies that have defined her. Many celebrities and other people have dissed Taylor Swift, but the truth is that she doesn't care about the opinions of others. Taylor is trying to send a message that she wants to stand up for what she feels is her own values. This is why I'm a big Taylor Swift fan and I love to listen to her music. She goes from a young country girl mindset to a full-grown pop music sensation that will define the world in a different shape. I will continue to support Taylor Swift, and I feel that I can be a great member of her fan club.

What I want is to create a business that is all inclusive for people who are neurodivergent. I am majoring in Business Management, and I want to become a CEO, but I've realized the importance of baby steps. To get the title of a business manager, it's important that you learn to get along with other people and improve your people skills. It's easy to create your own business, but becoming a good manager and helping others is another different ball game. What I've realized is just how difficult it is to find work when you're on the spectrum and what I want to do is create a business that fights for people who are neurodivergent. My goal is to form a labor union advocacy center that will fight for the rights of neurodivergent people. Part of the reason why I want to do this is because I'm a person who's on the spectrum. Being on the spectrum was very challenging for me when I was a child, but it's even more so as an adult. There are people who will complain about you for just being you; many companies don't hire neurodivergent people because they feel that they are a liability. Another problem is that neurodivergent people are often discouraged from sharing about who they are. Thus, my labor union advocacy center will focus on how we can better support neurodivergent people. It's not just about supports, but I want to make sure that everyone gets a fair contract. The contract shouldn't just be about an extra increase in pay; it should include protection clauses for people who are neurodivergent. It's very easy for people who are neurodivergent to get fired and not get vacation times due to this problem. Another thing that I want to fix is how many neurodivergent people can't get the help they need because they are often called into work. What I want to have happen in the contract is that neurodivergent people have the right to call out at the last minute due to an emergency. Everyone has problems that are unfortunate, and they can't control, but I want to make sure that no one has to lose a job due to their health. To me, we can't take of those in society who are able to take care of themselves. I feel that as a society, we are better as a whole when we're able to look after the various peoples that are often grouped as "liabilities". Being neurodivergent shouldn't make someone want to think less of themselves but it should encourage them to be honest about who they are as a person. This is why I am proud to major in Business Management because I want equality among the neurodivergent community. The "Let's Aim Higher" scholarship will allow me to focus my pursuits on building equality among neurodivergent people, and I aim to make everyone feel that they are accepted no matter what.

I have never been able to get life down and finish in a straight line. When I was a child, I didn't know what I wanted to be, and I wanted to wait. However, I have always struggled with suicide and have suffered suicide attempts. My brain was always in disarray and many of these problems were often aggravated by my teachers, the exact same people who were meant to protect me. Turns out, mental health among teens isn't taken seriously because they often treat it as a social problem or blame it on hormones. Instead, many teachers don't ask, is any of my discipline methods causing my students to act up and how am I impacting their mental health? Because the fact my teachers didn't do this has caused me to suffer suicide idealizations, aggressive outbursts, and episodes of depressions. One of the reasons why my teachers refused to help me is my autism diagnosis. I have the high functioning form called Asperger's which causes many myths to arise. My teachers felt that I was capable of doing everything on my own and they feel that every time I feel bad, it was a result of learning my lesson from doing something bad. But this was an awful mindset that aggravated my mental health. Their forms of interventions didn't do anything to deter me, but instead I ended up committing more offenses. Eventually, my parents removed me from that school and hoped that I get better at my new school, but the same problems kept occurring. Looking back at what I went through in public-schools, I have been encouraged to pursue a degree in social work. I want to become a victim rights activist, because the problem is that our school system isn't doing enough to improve mental health. I feel that it's in my mission to fight for students who struggle mentally. I have witnessed how our teachers refuse to help students who don't get the help they need. When is it that people realize that enough is enough, having too many teens killing themselves or the increase in fights, when will people realize that mental health is a key facet of the human condition. I feel that the various forms of mental health abuse don't just occur in schools, many adults face it as well. Most people and courts only focus on protecting the victims of domestic violence, but they often forget to take care of mental health. I feel that I am called to vouch for the mental health of people who don't get it.

I would be great friends with Kalia D. Davis since we're both passionate runners. Running is a sport that has always held my heart ever since I was a child. I have always felt that it was easy to get off my legs and start moving. Even though, I wasn't a star athlete when I was in high school, but that didn't stop me from working harder in college. Many people have told me that I'm too old to be involved in college athletics, but I disagree with that statement. To me, running doesn't end at high school, rather there are various 5k races and marathons that you can do if you are a big fan of being a runner. This is why I feel that Kalia and I would be good friends because she would encourage me to continue in my running endeavors. One other thing about this scholarship that has touched me so dearly is the idea of losing a friend to suicide. When I was in 10th grade, one of my friends who was a star track athlete committed suicide and that shocked me. This student was doing well, and he had many good things happening to him, but what I find appalling is why he would take his own life? But that moment has always encouraged me to keep running and pursue my passions. With hard work and effort, I have been shaving my time for my miles, and I've been losing weight. To me, Kalia D. Davis isn't just about maintaining discipline by running, it's important that you lift weights as well. Almost every week, I have worked hard to lift weight three times a day. Thus, my legs have grown stronger, and I have been able to push and sprint faster. But this wouldn't be possible without this scholarship. I want to use my education to get a career in business management. The reason is that I want to use my degree to fight social injustices and make sure that no one has to deal with what I went through. My public-school years were awful, but I have been inspired to work harder than ever. Being able to have this scholarship will allow me to focus on my academic career and not worry about my bills. The money from this scholarship will allow me to focus on advocating for social rights at my college campus. No matter what happens, I will live out the principles of this scholarship of having a hard work ethic and being dependable for others.

Being a Chinese person who's on the spectrum has presented many financial challenges for my family. Throughout my years in the school system, I had to deal with teachers who had zero tolerance for people on the spectrum. My parents had to spend money working with various attorneys to fight for my rights as a student. This prevented them from being able to invest in my education and find a good school system for me. Unlike the other students, who could play in little leagues and sports teams, I had to spend my time at home. It was difficult to find anything that was engaging and help build my academic record. But even though I didn't have the financial means to participate in athletics, but that didn't stop me from doing my best. Being able to focus on schoolwork and wanting to make my life better has always encouraged me to look to the better. But that didn't mean I had to face challenges that limited my options. Even though I wanted to get involved in extracurriculars and take AP courses, but public schools worked hard to make sure that I got none of that. My teachers often barred me from these options because they often felt that autism is the problem. I got many discouraging remarks that I can't work with people due to my autism and that I should just work with computers. These experiences put me through challenging moments that made me want to give up. Thus, my parents had to work even harder and spend more money on me in order to get the supports that I needed. Eventually, I ended up getting sent to an alternative school and during that time I suffered a lot. I was often tormented by the same teachers who were meant to support me while being forced to make friends with the exact same people who were bullying me. But I decided to ignore what was going and chart my own path that made me successful. Even though I left the school system with a poor resume, but that didn't stop me from working hard. While I was in college, I made sure to get good grades and I studied hard every day. Although, my parents didn't have the money to send me to college, but I worked hard to earn the scholarships I needed in order to attend college. My ultimate dream is to work in the field of politics and fight for people who are victims of systemic racism. My experiences in the public school system have taught me that it's not the students who are failing rather the system is designed to fail certain students. I want people to realize that even though I have autism but that isn't going to stop me from wanting to work with people. I believe in the idea that autism isn't a disability but a new ability; I believe that working to educate people about autism should teach them that autism is a different type of brain development. It's not okay for anyone to feel that they need to treat autism and find a cure. Being able to go to college and wanting to work in politics is a good reason why I have succeeded due to my autism. I want everyone to know that you shouldn't let your teachers affect your career path. Instead of punishing the disability, I feel that it's important to work with it. Thus, the fact that I'm in college and work to get my degree in business management shows how passionate I am for neurodivergence.

Going to college is a huge privilege for me, but it's a challenge to stay and finish your degree. As a student who's on the spectrum, college isn't just expensive in terms of bills to pay for tuition, books, and other fees but in trying to get the help that I needed. Financial constraints aren't the only reason why I can't go to college. One of the biggest challenges in my life is being able to handle being on the spectrum. My autism has allowed me to be intellectually engaging and wanting to help others, but there are challenges in being autistic. Unlike, most intelligent students who can get scholarships, I was never given that option because my teachers told me that only well-behaved students can get scholarships. This has put me at a disadvantage when it comes to going to any universities. On top of that, they gave me a diploma, when I barely learned anything that was useful. The fact of the matter is that I managed to do well in class, because I'm good at learning new information and getting it instantly. Even though my foundation is a bit shaky, but I have always push myself to do well. What I have done to learn is by taking course at Khan academy and let me tell you that I learned a lot of good knowledge from that site. I was able to learn pre-calculus materials better than what my school taught me. But it wasn't just that that allowed me to do well in college, but my ability to preserve and keep going forward helped a lot. High school was a failure for me but going to college I felt the need to push forward. Unlike, most students who take breaks, I decided to keep studying the material and quizzing myself. I even got help from tutors and I have been working hard to improve my writing skills. As a result, the only grades I got in college was just A's. I worked hard to make sure that I don't get passing, but I go to get excellent. It's not just about getting good grades in college that is helpful but being able to be involved on campus that has helped me. I've realized that in order to open more doors on campus, you need to be involved with your fellow classmates. Thus, what I have done is get involved in extracurricular activities which has helped me develop my people skills. Not only, am I involved in student government where I decide the fate of the student body, but I'm involved in environmental club where we find ways on how to make the world more sustainable. One of the biggest things I have done for myself is join the business club and I'm learning business skills that can help me in the future. Since I'm a person who wants to make the world a better place, I need to work hard on myself and learn how to listen to others. In the fall semester, I plan to get fully involved in DECA and figure out how to problem issues that occur in the business world. But not only am I passionate about joining clubs, I'm training hard to be an athlete. I have been practicing with a soccer coach and improving my stamina and speed. During, my spare time, I find soccer games to play and figure out how to better improve in that skill. Also, I take care of my health by going on runs and making sure that I can be muscular. At the YMCA, I lift weights and want to make sure that I'm strong no matter what. Even though I had a rough start, but I'm working hard to make sure that I succeed in college.

I believe that education is necessary in helping students go forward in life, but the type of education is more important than anything else. My goal with my education major is to work with the school board in writing the curriculum. It doesn't matter if the teachers are good or not, but if they aren't able to be creative or teach information that is different, then education doesn't matter at all. What I have done to make sure that students get an education that promotes critical thinking is being a part of protest movements that fight against injustices. One of the biggest subjects that doesn't get much funding is history and I feel it's in my duty to fix that. When I was in Brookline schools, they taught me a curriculum that didn't improve your intelligence, instead it was very simplistic and more of a fairytale rather than real life. The history curriculum was awful, and it promoted capitalism while ignoring the abuse of the modern day. But even though I haven't been teaching, but I always had the spirit to inspire children. I have tutored with various children, and I do everything to make them creative thinkers. Instead of just lecturing them and having them regurgitate the material, I do everything I can to make the subject engaging. Instead of tutoring out of the book, I use fun and real-life examples to make sure that the lessons they learned sticks inside of them. However, the biggest step that I took was when I looked at a book called "The Big Box", and that I have always carried in my heart. In the past, I used to feel that children were gullible and don't learn anything at all. But the reality is that children's brains are like a sponge, and they can feel emotions. When I was worked with children in Brookline, I thought that children don't understand nor feel things but turns out it was the school system not them that's the problem. Looking back, if any schools teach children a sanitized story about racism, colonialism, or any injustices, it makes the child nullified to abuse. Whenever, they hear bad things, they feel that it's none of their business or that it's just an anomaly, but the truth is that evil can happen even in democracies. What I want children to understand is that there will always be injustices in life and that it's important that we fight and resist it. Currently, we're living in history, and I want children to know that they're a part of a new chapter in the American ego. Now I feel that it's the right to disclose the atrocities of this country and admit that we're a settler colonial nation that only cares about rich, white people. No matter what goes on, I feel that I can be a great help to children.

Utilitarianism By John Stuart Mills Chapter 2: What is Utilitarianism "The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure. To give a clear view of the moral standard set up by the theory, much more requires to be said; in particular, what things it includes in the ideas of pain and pleasure; and to what extent this is left an open question. But these supplementary explanations do not affect the theory of life on which this theory of morality is grounded- namely, that pleasure, and freedom from pain, are the only things desirable as ends; and that all desirable things (which are as numerous in the utilitarian as in any other scheme) are desirable either for the pleasure inherent in themselves, or as means to the promotion of pleasure and the prevention of pain." Mills is here describing what he sees is the what the foundation of Utilitarianism should be. He argues that the ultimate goal for human beings is being able to achieve happiness as the ultimate goal. The reason why we want to get good grades or get a raise all comes to down to happiness. No matter how many ways you tackle this question, Mills will argue that there will always be questions to why you want to do things that help you. You can't say the reason why I study is to get a good grade, or I work hard at my job in order to get more money and a promotion. The problem is that the person will ask a question, well why do you want to get a good job, promotion, or any good rewards. The point is that answering why you want to get something by saying that you want to get a bigger reward doesn't even answer the question itself of why you want it in the first. Thus, Mills will argue that the ultimate goal of getting these good rewards is to get happiness. However, Mills isn't being selfish and saying to maximizing happiness. Instead, he mentions the caveat of trying to reduce as much pain as possible. He automatically disqualifies people who are mass murders, rapist, con artists, fraudsters and any other forms of criminal vices that people commit in order to make themselves happy. Yes, these people will argue that when they commit horrible actions, they get a reward and feel satisfied, but Mills is highly against this. Because in the paragraph, he mentions that all desirable things are to increase pleasure while reducing pain in society. The main tenet of Utilitarianism is other regrading instead of egoism which argues that people should do things that make themselves feel good. Other regrading is vouching for how we can increase the amount of pleasure by not harming others and reducing pain. Mills is trying to get at the root cause of why people want to do good things in order to reap a good reward. When doing research on this, he argues in the text that everyone does things for the Greatest Happiness Principle is doing things that allow us to enjoy our rewards without going through pain or any other dangerous consequences. This aligns with the idea of Utilitarianism in which true happiness comes when we can benefit each other as a whole. It's not just about doing harmful things that brings the recipient unhappiness, but it's about the person who only cares about creating pleasure for themselves. Mills is trying to argue that actions that produce reverse happiness isn't just about getting consequences that will harm you, but the act of feeling pleasure for yourself instead of spreading it to others is just as bad. Privation of pleasure is only doing pleasure when you feel it's necessary. Because even though people will argue that evil people feel pleasure are committing horrible acts, but Mills argue that it's not even real at all. It's not just that people who commit genocide, fraud schemes, or any crime that harms a person isn't following the Great Happiness Principle because they are maximizing pain and not reducing it rather, they can't even enjoy it to the full extent. People who commit crimes can't do it constantly, because there are people who will step up and resist whatever harmful behavior comes out. Whether it's government agents being used to investigate frauds and tax evasions to police officers being used to investigate and look for criminals who are committing dangerous crimes, people who seek happiness while maximizing pain have to live in fear. They can't enjoy doing what they want to do because they are always under watch. This is why Utilitarianism doesn't promote happiness that harms people. Instead, when people do the right things to prevent more pain and suffering from happening, that is true happiness. To understand it is when someone volunteers to help children who are in need or rake a garden in order to care for Mother Nature, they are at the maximum potential of the Great Happiness Principal. It's not just that they are spreading happiness without pain rather they don't need to privation their own deeds. The reason is that people won't have a problem with them, and they can get to do their actions in clear daylight because there's no serious consequences that will stop them. This is what Mills is trying to advocate when he's pushing for his idea of Utilitarianism. He isn't just telling people to help others for the sake of it but it's about getting to the end goal of happiness while making sure that everyone is happy. Mills is trying to get us to consider how we can use our own actions to reduce pain while making everyone happy. This philosophical mindset is great because we can use to help make the world a better place.

I'm 27 and I still haven't gotten my degree by 22 and I still attend classes. I have never been able to take a full-time course load and finish me degree in time due to mental health challenges. But many of the reasons why I struggle in college is overcoming the abuse I faced in the public school system. Throughout my times in the public schools, I have had to endure abuse at the hands of various teachers that didn't know how to help me. The problem is that I am a person with Asperger's and the way I think is different than the way most people understand the world. Thus, whenever I "act" up or do things that people find disruptive, it has less to do with me but rather that I process the world differently. When I was in elementary school, this wasn't a problem because my teachers were willing to be patient and not use harsh disciplinary measures against me. it was when I went to middle school that I saw how our system was designed to fail people who are neurodivergent. Looking back at my middle school years, I saw how our system uses punitive punishments in order to get students to behave. Ever since the War on Drugs, Tough on Crime, and Zero Tolerance, schools have been a very unsafe place for neurodivergent students or anyone who's vulnerable. What I've experienced is that whenever I acted up, many of my teachers would bring a resource officer in and often that officer would physically assault me. They would breathe down my neck and make me uncomfortable. There were many instances that they would go overboard and often punish me when there was nothing going on. In fact, my school felt more like a detention center than it did a place to learn. This has caused my parents to keep switching me schools, but the reality is that we keep running into the same problems. It was then that I've realized that this isn't just a problem with a few bad apples, but it's a systemic issue that was designed to hurt those who are different. You don't need to be abused by a police officer to face abuse, many of our teachers focus on ABA or social pragmatics in order to make everyone normal. To me, this was ineffective and what happened is that I ended up deteriorating, which leads me to the present day. Turns out, the reason why I struggle to do well in school isn't because I can't, but I've witnessed and dealt with so much abuse that's it's difficult to manage your emotions. The abuse that I faced in the public school system has created various mental health challenges that prevent me from succeeding in the school system. Another problem that I had to deal with is that my public schools refused to diagnosis me with mental health. This has led to even more difficult challenges that prevent me from doing my schoolwork, let alone managing my relationships. However, even though I've faced so many challenges, but I never let that get the best of me. Ever since attending Middlesex Community College, I have made lots of progress. Although, I was a victim of abuse, but I decided to not let those moments define who I am as a person. What I have done to help society is doing the things that my teachers would've been against. I was taught that my disability prevents me from working with people. They told me that I should just work among computers and that interacting with others is bad for me. But that didn't stop me from giving a helping hand to those who are in need. Last semester, I was with Student Government Association, and I went to the state house to fight for hunger free campus. I vouched for the rights of students to get free food on their campus. I kept persevering and not giving up on increasing the food budget for students who are suffering from hunger. But what I find the biggest form of perseverance is when I decided to keep attending college classes. Instead of giving up and deciding to complain, I've worked hard and focused on getting good grades. Life can be hard, but that shouldn't stop anyone from achieving things in school. It's not just about that, but the willingness to volunteer with other students. What I have done is I give up a good chunk of my time to help work on the gardens in my school. Instead of just attending classes, I care about helping the environment and making the world a better place. The fact that I'm spending time on improving nature is good enough on its own. Instead of blaming other people for my failures, I've always worked hard on making others feel better. No matter what goes on, I'm willing to volunteer my time and effort in helping students on campus. It doesn't matter how dire the situation is, but what matter is that you're willing to invest time in being able to help students on your campus.

I have always been in a world of chaos whenever it comes to going to college. I often had very aggressive outburst of anger that would prevent me from doing well in life. This has caused me to withdraw from classes constantly. Another damaging effect of my outburst is I struggle to do any forms of daily adult living that every grown adult does, but worst of all, I have difficulties in getting along with my mom. This has caused me to doubt myself and make me feel that I'm worthless or a monster. However, I've decided that blame shifting is not the solution and that it's important to look for a way to manage mental health. Even though mental health is a taboo subject in America, I don't buy into that, and I feel it's important to be open about it. In order to make mental health accessible, I feel the need to create advocacy groups that fight for people with mental illness. Too often, we're taught that we should suck it up, but I believe it's time that we push back and do the talking ourselves. In my advocacy groups, I will work with various peoples on how we can make the voices of people with mental health heard. Because nothing is going to change if no one in power is hearing the voices of those who have mental health.

Ever since I was a young child, I was always a big fan of the sciences. The truth is that I care about how we can fight global warming. To me, I didn't understand the facets of engineering in the world of STEM, but now I'm starting to realize just importance of creativity. Even though I was never a good artist and couldn't draw any pictures that would often come to my mind but looking back there are more ways to be creative than just using a paintbrush. You can be a creative genius by just thinking of an idea and writing it down and then telling everyone about it. Because to me engineering requires the ability to think outside the box and figure out a solution to the problems at hand. But the problem is that the world of STEM is often filled with white, males who often try to stunt creativity. What I want to do is be involved in biomedical engineering and showcasing the importance of how Chinese people can contribute a lot to biomedicine. People always that all Asians are smart and that we are good at math from day one. But I want to dispel that myth and encourage others that being good at math isn't enough to be involved in STEM. I want everyone to see that being a Chinese person in STEM isn't just about regurgitating ideas and numbers but about innovations and figuring out how we can help others. Making STEM inclusive isn't just about allowing people of different color to come in but it's about learning to accept them for who they are and letting them speak. I want STEM to allow different races to talk and share how the system doesn't provide enough support for them. I want people in STEM to work together to fight the racial blurs that prevent people from finding a cure for cancer. Because it's not like we can't find it rather we live in a racially biased society that doesn't care about certain people as a whole. STEM isn't a bad idea; it's about how the political system can make it difficult for anyone to succeed in STEM. Because to me, in order to encourage other Asians to join STEM, it's important that I take the time and effort to go through the motions and never give up. STEM may be filled with bigoted people, but walking away is the worst thing I can do.

Ever since high school, I have always wanted to get involved in the field of politics and advocate for people who are victims of the system. Growing up, I have always deal with teachers who didn't see the potential in me rather they blamed my autism and told me that I can never work in any people related fields. But when I started college, I worked hard to prove them wrong and what I did was I studied hard. I would often focus on the academic material and make sure that I always turn my assignments on time. Thus, I was able to get all A's without any academic problems at my institution. Even though I wanted to get a degree in political science, but I've realized that that's not going to get me far along. Instead, I'm deciding to major in Business Management which I feel can benefit me. Turns out the world of business is the best way to improve your people skills. Even though I haven't taken my first business class yet, but I feel that business is the key to improving your life as a student. Turns out, I've realized that business is everywhere, and you can't run away from it. But you don't need to take a business course in order to know business, what I'm doing is joining the business club which allows me to gain hands on experience. One of the things that I have learned in the club is focus on developing your people skills when it comes to selling stocks. The way how you present and demonstrate why someone should buy your stocks can be very important when you're trying to convince others to invest in your business. It's not just that I want to invest in stocks, but I want to be innovative. One of the benefits of joining business club is that I can be involved in DECA. DECA is about learning how to take real world solutions and applying it your own life. Because the truth of the matter is that anything can happen in the world of business and you need to be prepared for it. This is how I'm going to use my business degree to help me get far in life. Business isn't just about how to run a business; it's about dealing with your various stakeholders and watching the news. Because the way how the government determines interest rates and policies that they can enact can make a huge difference on the world that we live in. But it's not just business that I'm involved in rather I want to help others as well. On top of being involved in business, I'm even fully dedicated to work with SGA. Turns out being involved in student government can teach you people skills that you can use everywhere no matter what. One of the things that I'm doing is fighting hunger among college students and I have been involved in legislative agendas throughout my time at my institution. The journey that I have took while being a student has helped me go far in life. The things that I learn in college will be enough to help me fight for people who are victims of the system.

Throughout my life, I have always been there for people who struggled a lot. One of my friends who is schizophrenic often had emotional outburst that prevented him from being able to see the good in the world. There were times that he be afraid and argued that everyone hates him or that the world was going to be over, but I would console him and tell him that he can't let his feelings get the best of him. I would ask him crazy questions in order to get him to calm down. Eventually, he starts to speak normally and laugh at how ridiculous his behaviors can be. I am proud that I helped my schizophrenic friend and made him feel better about himself. But now I've realized just how profound it is that many students in the public school system don't get access to mental health supports. During the pandemic, I learned that students had an alarming increase in suicide idealizations, and some were known to run away during the pandemic. But the worst thing is that many schools were negligent in wanting to treat students with mental health. They often will blame it on their hormones and say that you're just having a bad day. What I am doing is that I'm majoring in business management and I am trying to fight for mental health treatment in the workplace. I want to make sure that the policies of any businesses to reflect the growing needs for people who struggled with mental health. Instead of forcing people to overwork themselves without support, it's important that we listen to what these people are going through and acknowledge their concerns. My ultimate goal is to get involved in the field of politics and enact legislation that will fight mental health negligence. Instead of treating mental health like it's a social problem, I want people to see it for what it truly is. I want to use this scholarship to create a non-profit that will fight for accessibility in mental health supports for students and adults.

What got me interested in marketing was over the graphic novel that I was creating. Originally, I tried to hire freelancers to market my book, but it kept getting too expensive for me. At first, I thought it was going to lead to nowhere or that I needed to create a Kickstarter campaign, but one day, my mom introduced me to a marketer. This person has helped me in many ways, and I feel that learning about marketing is great. One of the classes that I took was the Google Coursera Digital Marketing class and I learned a lot. What I've realized is just how many steps are involved in marketing and the research behind it. One thing that I enjoyed about marketing was learning about customer feedback and creating a customer survey to creating a target customer based on demographic information. Another part of the course I enjoyed was social media marketing and creating an email list to blast out. One of the tools that I enjoyed the most was Canva. This site got me to experiment with different types of advertising formats that allowed me to create engaging social media posts. But the main lesson I learned is just how important marketing is to our society. I am proud that I took this course, and I can't wait to learn more in the future. But marketing isn't just about how to attract customers and retain them, it's a step in the world of business. Currently, I'm majoring in Business Administration and one of the things I did for myself is join the business club at my school. Turns out in order to get far in business, you need to start somewhere, and marketing is a great way to make an impression on your business colleagues. This makes me feel happy that I have a door opened for me in order to get far in life. Thus, I feel that I can contribute a lot to the business field, and I can even make it better than what it is. Marketing is a great way to get people engaged in the business club no matter what is going on. In the fall, I hope that I can use my marketing skills to advertise various workshops that can help people on our campus get jobs. Another thing that I hope to advertise is about joining the business club and how it can help different students get further in life. To me, I feel that the lessons I learned from digital marketing can help me grow customer base. Because marketing isn't just about how you get your own product across, it's even about how you can develop a fanbase and engage with them. This is why I feel that I can make a good career out of marketing. To me marketing is one of the first steps that you can take if you want to become a CEO or any powerful leadership role in the business field.

Having a voice is being able to let others speak and being able to listen to that speech and do something about it. Many people argue that if you increase representation and let people speak, then that means having a voice. No, that's not the full story rather it's about listening to the voices of people and figuring out how to make huge systemic changes. What I've realized is that it's not the person's fault that they can't hear their voices rather the system is designed to be broken from the start. Instead of getting rid of the politicians or officials who harm the system, we should focus on reforming the system as a whole. I have used this value when I was campaigning for a hunger free campus at the state house. The problem is that no matter how many times, people call their local offices, no politicians ever hear the voices of students who are struggling to find food on campus. The problem is that it's impossible for change to happen, if we politicians don't hear the voices of people who are suffering from food insecurity. Our society has created so many systemic barriers, that it's impossible for any voices to be heard. However, the worst part is that there are politicians who refuse to listen to the voices of people who are suffering. Thus, I feel that it's important that we pressure our politicians with real life stories. Thus, when I was at the campaign for a hunger free campus at the state house, I worked hard to make sure that the voices of the students are heard. To me, I've realized that I can't force the politicians to make changes, but I can use my persuasion skills to get them to listen. When I was at the state house, I spoke to various people about the importance of seeing real impact of the hunger crisis among college students. I didn't focus on the numbers rather I used people who were really starving and couldn't get good food. Not only did I speak about other students who were starving, I even spoke about myself and mentioned what I had to go through. I told them that my family has too many bills to pay and that prevents me from getting healthy options. On top of that, the college I go to, don't always have the healthiest options there. After the event, I've felt proud that I made a difference in fighting hunger. I've realized that being involved in leadership requires listening to others. Whenever people have concerns, it's important that you listen and do something about it. It's not easy getting rid of the problems in our society. But what matters is that you use your own willpower to fight against the systemic issues that are at hand. Sometimes, it's important that you speak to your politicians and tell them about the dire situation at hand.

I've grown up in a Christian household that always believed in the importance of life. I was taught that when a child is developing that it always has feelings no matter what. I get that people feel that giving birth to a child is difficult, but aborting it is the worst option. Jeremiah 1:5 states, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." This is why I have always been pro-life because there is always a purpose to everyone who is born. No matter how defective a child can be, I feel that you need to treat it with respect. People have always wished they had a neurotypical child who's just obedient and perfect, but I believe it's too utopian in nature. In reality, every child is a part of the human race no matter how defective they are. One of the problems that I don't get is just how people feel that having autism is a crime. I believe that Jesus and his followers promoted the idea of neurodivergent people. Jesus never condemned being neurodivergent and instead argued that neurodivergence is a condition of being Christian. Christ has argued that we should love one another and that includes unborn children. I feel that Jesus wants us to live through the trials of a child with birth defects. This is why I have always held very vocal opinions about getting rid of abortion. One of the things that I have done as a Christian is that I have attended seminars and retreats on this subject. When I was in youth group, I went to places far away from the city and I would pray with my brethren on how we can combat abortions. Because I have argued that no matter who you are, it's important that we protect the lives of fetus. We have gone to different people and preached the importance of protecting children from harm. It's not just that I have done, I have even done research on the realities of abortion. It's quite shocking that many people go to abortion clinics to get rid of "unwanted" pregnancies. This alarms me because despite being propagated as protecting a woman from a dangerous pregnancy, many of these women are doing it to get rid of a child they hate. Thus, I have always made it my mission to vouch and care for unborn children. I have always been involved with my church and volunteered numerous times. Another thing I did was that I would go to shelters that had moms who were thinking about abortions. I would comfort them and tell them that despite everything, things will be okay. I have provided them resources that allowed to manage their new child. This is why I want to help people who want an abortion.

Faith has encouraged me to be active in engaging with other people in my life. Originally, I used to be scared of doing leadership roles due to my disability. Having autism always encouraged me to by shy and reserved, but after going through so much abuse in the public-school systems, I've had enough and realized that there was a lot that needed to be done. Instead of being timid and feeling that you need to be neurotypical in order to be a leader, I've realized that having autism can be a great way to vouch for people who are autistic. I have always used faith to be hopeful and to realize that it's not wrong to speak out. This past semester, I've used faith to inspire others when I was at the state house. Most people there were afraid of speaking up and discussing how to address food insecurity on the college campus. However, I used my faith to speak up and encourage others to not be shy and advocate to our representatives. I've argued to my peers that in order to help the students who can't have access to fresh quality food, it's important that we take deep breaths and encourage ourselves to have faith in our speaking ability. When I was there, I let my teammates know that no matter what you feel, try to rehearse the script and have faith in your confidence. This paid off because we were able to go to our elected officials and discuss about how we can better fight food insecurity for college students. All my teammates discussed how food insecurity can be impactful, but the best part about this was when they used their faith to share how food insecurity affects them directly. They were able to list the expenses they have to pay and how they still don't have enough money for food. They even discussed how transportation prevents them from gaining access to good food. Overall, I was able to encourage my teammates to be proactive, and it helped. Many of the senators and representatives understood where we were coming from and they sounded like they were convinced. Overall, my experience at the state house taught me the importance of learning to have faith even when things are stressful. This has taught me skills on how I can fight for the rights of people who are autistic. Instead of just being left in the dark and waiting for change, what I can do is be faithful and think about what I can do to help my fellow citizens. I feel that faith can be used to encourage other autistic individuals to not give up. This is how my faith has really been impactful in helping other people.

Going into business management is my biggest dream that I ever have. The reason is that I feel I can help people on the spectrum if I can attend business school. Ever since public schooling, I have witnessed how much injustice our school system can bring against people who are autistic. In fact, I was told by my teachers that I couldn't work with people because of my autism. At first, I used to believe in that but later on I've realized that I shouldn't let the opinions of others determine what I want to be. Even though I was sent to an alternative school and struggled to get better from attending that school, but that didn't stop me from doing well in life. As soon as I got into college, I've focused on figuring out how I can make things better for myself. With all my hard work, I was able to get all A's and afterwards, I was able to get inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa society at my institution. One of the biggest things that I plan to do in the fall is joining the business club. I am passionate about how I am going to get far in life with my business management degree. Thus, this club can give me the hands-on skills that I need in order to do well in business. One of ambitions is to join DECA in which I get a case study and figure out how to solve problems from that study. To me, this is the great steppingstone that I need in order to understand the world of business. Ultimately, learning these business skills is what I feel is necessary to getting a career in the world of politics. Because my biggest goal in life is to enact legislation against social pragmatics and ABA therapy. I feel that our system is focused on trying to cure autism and trying to make everyone seem normal. However, I believe that Autism is a different type of brain development rather than disability. The truth of the matter is that we need to respect people no matter who they are. What society needs to realize is that racism will always try to adapt and it's up to us to fight that. Thus, I have great ambitions to joining the government sector and fighting for people who are autistic. One of the biggest things that I have done for myself is joining the Student Government Association at my institution. I have learned how government operate and what we can do to improve the lives of students on campus. SGA is a great way for me to express my feelings and figuring out how we can fight problems at our institution. I feel that I can do a lot at my institution before I get into government or business management.

Being a student who's majoring in Business Management, I feel that I can do many things with that degree. My ultimate goal is to get involved in the field of politics and enact legislation that will fight against the various forms of systemic abuse. As a person on the spectrum, I have dealt with various forms of abuse at the hands of public-school officials. I used to blame myself, but I've realized how broken the system is. Thus, I feel that I should major in business management and figure out how we can vouch for people who are autistic. In the past, my teachers told me that I can't work with people because my autism will hinder me from being successful. But I dismissed what they told me and I'm doing a lot in college. One of my main dreams is to enact better treatment for workers who are disabled. What I can say is that similar to how colonialism never ended rather the players are different. My experiences with how people treat students with disability in public schools has taught me that this can happen in the workplace. I always get told that my people skills are terrible similar to how my teachers told me that my autism will prevent me from understanding people. But I've ignored all of this, and I've realized that having an autistic person be involved in business administration can help Autistic people in the workplace. What I want to do is figure out how we can better incorporate more autistic people in our business. The thing that I want to do is send a message to everyone that autism isn't a disability but rather a different ability. I feel that I can make a business flourish by making sure that we are an equal diverse employment center. Instead of looking and scanning for people who are normal, what I want is to create a workplace that will accommodate people who are on the spectrum. It's not just about business management that I love to get passionate in. Another type of job that I can do is work as an accountant. I feel that our society needs to learn the skills on how to manage our finances. The problem is that our society focuses on advance mathematics rather than teaching us finances. Many people who are on the spectrum don't know how to manage their finances. Thus, these people are in need of more support than ever. Business management can teach me skills on how to be a skilled comptroller when managing a variety of accountants. One thing that I want to do is fight the various financial struggles that people on the spectrum have to deal with. These people don't know how to maximize their tax refunds and are afraid that they owe money to the IRS. Another thing that I feel being on the spectrum can do for me as an accountant is seeing the difference in perspectives. Even though machines have made it easier for us to calculate the numbers, but humans can help interpret those numbers. This is why autistic accountants are very important because they can relate to people with autism who struggles to understand finances. I feel that being autistic has great advantages in help people understand their finances. It's quite tragic that many people are struggling with managing their finances, but being a major in Business Management can teach me the skills that I need to help those who are victims of financial fraud. It's sad that many people have to keep paying bills but never enjoy a life where they can go out and have fun. One of the things that I enjoy the most about business management is being able to be creative. People feel that business management is about just managing people and just listening, but there are tons of creativity in doing it. To me, even though I want to manage a business and make sure that everything is ran smoothly, but the best place to start is by working as accountant. I've realized that you aren't going to get your dream job despite the degree that you majored in. Instead of just jumping into direct management, I feel that it's important to start off as an accountant. To me, I feel that it's important to get the numbers right, but the most important thing is about being creative and flexible. I know it may sound weird, but these skills are important in being an accountant. Anyone can add the numbers up and close the books, but the reality is that some situations aren't black and white, rather it's about adjusting and figuring out what's the best way to make the company work. This is why I feel that I should be an accountant before I go into true business management. What I've realized is just how difficult life can be for people who are autistic. Before I can go into a political house and enact legislation that will fight for equal rights, I feel it's important to start locally. One of the best ways to start locally is majoring in business management and gradually building my business skills from there. It's not easy going into a business field, but there are things that you can learn and apply to your daily life. To me, I want to do what I feel will help the most people after leaving college. In order for me to make this possible, this scholarship will allow me to focus on my studies rather than finding menial jobs. I want to be able to focus on being a part of the business club at my school and planning out events that will help our students. What I want to do is focus on being a part of DECA and figuring out how we can solve business problems around the world. I feel that focusing on DECA can help me learn the skills to work with others. Thus, in the future I can take any big business plan and figure out how to solve it.

Wellness is a serious problem that is occurring throughout the world. What I want to do is figure out how we can make autistic people become more accepted. No matter what part of the world that you go to, there is always a stigma against people who are neurodivergent. Ever since, America has elected Donald Trump as a president, we have seen things do downhill when it comes to quality healthcare. The problem is that I find this unacceptable and I feel that I need to do more to fight this stigma. One of the things that I'm doing is majoring in Business Management which will teach me the skills to manage a business. My teachers told me that having autism will mean that I can't work with people. However, I disagree with that, and I can achieve more with my autism. The problem is that we live in a world where everyone should be neurotypical which is problematic. It's not just about being involved in business management that has encouraged me to help those who are unfortunate but being autistic and Chinese is another ball to unpack. I was always taught that being Chinese or an Asian group means that you're smart and successful. However, even though I was smart, I didn't agree with this notion because I feel that there are social and emotional parts of a person that matters even more. The truth is that I never got the help that I needed in order to be successful. All of my teachers told me to suck it up, but I disagreed with that. Now I'm a part of Boston Socialist Alternative and Mass Indigenous Legislative Agenda. From attending both events, I've realized that it's not about being indigenous or a socialist in order to attend rather it's about being able to love one another and fight for equal rights. From my experiences in the public-school systems, I've learned how unjust people can act towards those who are autistic. What matter is that we fight for those who are unfortunate and figuring out how we can help them. This all ties into my career in Business Management, I've realized how interconnected the world can be. Turns out any problems that happen in business will impact so many people and that no matter where you all, you will always run into a business. I've realized the importance of how people on the spectrum don't get treated equally in the workplace. Business management will teach me the skills I need to fight for those who aren't the fortunate. In fact, I want to promote the safety and well-being of those who are autistic and not having them suffer discrimination. Instead of being a lawyer, I can be a business manager who will fight for equal opportunities and treatment for people who are autistic. This isn't just about autism at home rather this will be a shinning beacon of hope to people who are autistic abroad.

Ever since being diagnosed with autism, I have always faced challenges in understanding people. In the past, my teachers thought I had ADHD, but later on I was diagnosed with Autism. Even though my teachers in elementary school didn't know my diagnosis, but I had supportive interventions that really focused on my needs. My teachers in elementary school were nice and patient with me. Unlike the other schools in the district, my elementary refused to do in-school detention and would just give me a simple talk about my behavior. They realized that using harsh punishment was a bad idea in helping someone with autism. However, when I went to middle school that's when I learned things the hard way. Many of these teachers used harsh punishments that included in-school detention but on top of that, they used a resource officer in order to get students to behave. Whenever I interacted with the resource officer, the person often breathed down on my throat and would physically grab me. At the same time, they woman would use the same punishment methods that the school was using. This resulted in suffering mental and emotional health. At first, I used to be angry at myself and felt that I should've done better. However, looking back I've realized that the system was broken and not me. From my experience in the public school system, I've realized that not everyone understands autism. What I have decided to do as a college student is major in business management and the reason is that I want to get into the field of politics. My teachers told me that I can't be a leader or work in any field that has to deal with people due to my autism. However, I've realized that you can be many things despite being autistic. Autism isn't a disease rather it's a different ability. One way that I have showcased this is the honors showcase at my community college. My presentation was on how neurodivergent people were treated better in the ancient world compared to the modern day. I've gathered various sources that included the Bible and Quaran along with texts from ancient Egypt and the Odyssey. What I've learned from this is just how the ancient world accepted people who were autistic. Thus, what I want to do is be a great leader in business and tell everyone that being autistic doesn't hamper you from leading others. Instead, I feel that we should accept autistic people as a different type of ability. Being accepted for this scholarship will allow me to focus my time and energy on my course work and how to get people to accept autistic people. What I want to do is fight against the dominating theory that autism can be cured and that there is a cause for it. I feel that I can be a great manager by showcasing how autism can help improve relationships. Overall, my goal is to put an end to social pragmatics training that has occurred in the public-school systems. As a student at MCC, I want to be influential and create business plans to benefit society as a whole.

I've never been able to live the life of a high achieving student. The reason is that I was born with autism spectrum disorder which presents challenges that prevent me from succeeding. However, when given the right interventions, I can become a successful student. But all of that got thrown away when I was in middle school. The problem is that most of the teachers didn't know how to handle me and felt that I was causing problems on purpose. Many of them would give out aggressive punishments that didn't do anything to address the issue but aggravate it. These punishments would include in-school detentions or aggressive teaching at the hands of a resource officer. This wasn't just unique to one specific school, rather it was a systemic issue that was ongoing. What I went through was psychologically and emotionally damaging to my development. There were moments in which I didn't want to do any schoolwork and felt lazy. Another problem is that I would get into arguments with my teachers that prevented me from doing well in school. Despite all of this, I was passed through so many grades without being given the time to learn and develop. Thus, when I went to college with develop social relations since my teachers often used aggressive methods to get me to behave. The only people in my life who really cared about me were my parents and they were the ones who vouched for me even though I was struggling a lot. This created so much stress on them that they couldn't afford to save enough money for me to go to college. But I didn't even feel like going to college because my teachers told me that my autism would prevent that from happening. They often ridiculed my diagnosis and told me that I can never work with people. But even though my teachers made fun of me, but I was told by a college admission counselor to never give up rather I'm too smart to not go to college. This is why I've decided to go to Middlesex Community College and pursue a degree in business management. I never had a good resume when I was in high school, but I didn't let that stop me from doing more in college. As a result of my good grades, I was able to be inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa honors society. Another thing that I did was I able to achieve high honors and earn a certificate for achieving a good GPA. Now what I want to do is focus on finishing my last honor course in order for me to graduate with high honors. But the biggest thing that I did for myself is to be a part of the Student Government Association at my institution. Even though my teachers felt that I can't work around people, but I didn't let that negativity affect my outlook on life. I've realized that having autism doesn't hinder your ability to work with people rather it's a different ability. Thus, I've realized that being in a role of leadership isn't about being normal but learning to adapt to various situations. One of the things I didn't realize is that as a person on the spectrum, it's easier to understand those who are similar to you. Instead of listening to your teachers and just act normal, what matters is that you be yourself and use what advantages you have to make your life better. Being a part of SGA has taught me skills that I need in order to improve the lives of people who are on the spectrum. My experiences in the public school system have taught me that it's not me who fail rather it's the system who failed as a whole. What I want to do is I want to pass legislation that will improve the lives of people who are on the spectrum. It isn't going to be easy to convince teachers that being neurodivergent is a different ability, but I do hope that people stop using social pragmatics to cure autistic people. This is the vision I have from being in a terrible system and being able to go to college.

Sonnet 94 "They that have power to hurt and will do none, That do not do the thing they most do show, Who, moving others, are themselves as stone, Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow, They rightly do inherit heaven’s graces And husband nature’s riches from expense; They are the lords and owners of their faces, Others but stewards of their excellence. The summer’s flower is to the summer sweet, Though to itself it only live and die, But if that flower with base infection meet, The basest weed outbraves his dignity: For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds; Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds." This Shakespearean sonnet is very different in structure compared to the others. Compared to other sonnets in the series, this sonnet starts off with the lessons of the human world rather than using the metaphor of the natural world. It's basically a reverse of what's normally expected in the other sonnets. But this sonnet has an important lesson that I feel can be applied to our society and the rottenness of power. The first eight lines speak about how great it is that those in power are able to restrain themselves from being abusive to others. They are able to not let their impulsive wicked nature control how they rule society. But the compliment starts to change when Shakespeare describe them as able to influence others without being influenced themselves. Lines 3 and 4 contrast with lines 1 and 2 in that the first two compliments the person in power for being able to control their impulsive lust for power, but the next two rebukes that and states that these people are hiding a nasty trait. In other words, it's great that there are people in power who can restrain themselves from unleashing hate and other forms of abuse against the general populace, but the problem is that these people are hiding an evil heart of mind. These people are able to manipulate and control others without using sheer force and brutality. Basically, even those these people don't enact acts of terror or use abusive language can be just as malicious as those who are outwardly abusive. The point is that you don't need to commit murder, genocide, violence, or any other violent acts in order to be seen as evil. Shakespeare states that these people have a dirty secret that's inside of them that is even more evil than someone who wants to outwardly abuse others. After, the first four stanza of talking about people who can control themselves and not enact abuse while acting very immoral, the next four lines talk about how these people deserve to inherit the kingdom of God. These people despite their traits can still be given God's graces even though their moral character is corrupt. These people deserve rewards for being able to control themselves despite having a nasty trait. Many people praise them for being to control their hateful heart. Shakespeare even praise them for realizing that they are responsible for the way they act. However, we can't take these four lines and feel that Shakespeare is saying that these people are good. Shakespeare is indirectly critiquing society in that everyone has to follow the bare minimum. The problem with that is everyone has the potential to harm someone no matter how good they are. You can't just praise someone for being able to not murder or commit others acts of harm that can be visible. The problem is that society expects everyone to not act brutal towards one another or they will be imprisoned. But the problem is that what's in our hearts matter more than what the act is. Shakespeare feel that we can't judge someone and feel that if they aren't committing acts of crime, then they are a good person. Everyone has the potential to harm someone and that the only reason why no wants to do that is because we have consequences. However, if those consequences didn't exist, then people would give in to their violent desires. Shakespeare criticizes our society for praising people who are able to restrain themselves but ignore their corrupt nature and moral values. What should matter isn't the action but where it comes from. As mentioned in Stanza 3 and 4, these people in power who are able to control themselves and not harm others have a dirty underlying nature that is very destructive. Shakespeare argue that what's in a person's heart is more problematic than their actions themselves. We need to realize that these people can do serious damage to society if we don't keep check on these people. After speaking about the social world and what the lesson of the sonnet is about, we then see a metaphor of the natural world. The last six lines of the sonnet use our lessons and apply it to the nature. The first two lines speak about how the sweetest flowers are great, but these flowers don't last that long because they will live and die. No matter how good-looking flowers can be it doesn't matter if it doesn't spread among the fields. The same thing can be applied to the human world because there are people with wonderful, good traits, but that doesn't matter if these people keep it to themselves. It doesn't matter if you are nice, friendly, and willing to do good deals but that doesn't matter if you don't spread that around. As mentioned earlier, there are people in power who are vicious internally despite controlling themselves, but we don't see the people who genuinely are good and want to help others. The problem is that we love to see people act nice because of consequences and not because it's right. Another lesson that can take is that beauty, love, and compassion are a waste if we don't spread that out to others. If you're a person who is compassionate but keeps it to themselves, then it's meaningless because there are bad people who are in charge. The problem is that these people can spread their ideas and use to it to control others even though people don't see their wicked nature and even if it's obvious, these people have been conditioned to feel that it's normal. It's important that people who are good in heart are able to stand up and spread their wonderful character traits to other people. After this, the next two lines highlights this and states that even good people can be corrupted. Shakespeare uses the good flower to represent good people and how easy it is for them to be infected. The next line mentions how even the most destructive can pop up and be very powerful. No matter how bad weeds can be, if no one does anything to it, then it can easily sprout and infect the wonderful flower garden. No matter how bad of a reputation a person can be, if you don't stop them, then it's easier for these people to rise up and want to gain a full control on society. These bad people can corrupt the lives of the populace, and the problem is that it's too late to stop them. It doesn't matter how good people are from the heart, but once a bad person shows up, then it's easy for corruption to occur. Bad people aren't just going to sit around and do nothing rather they will find a way to gain power. But this can be highlighted in the last two lines of the sonnet. The first part suggests that no matter how good someone is, it's important to note that the deed of that person is more important. Although, Shakespeare has attacked the various people for praising people who are able to restrain themselves but let their hearts be corrupted, he elaborates how bad this can go. He states that everyone is capable of committing vicious acts and that being virtuous doesn't stop it. You don't need to be corrupted by a vicious tyrant, but you can do it without knowing it. The thing is that our actions define more than our internal virtuous minds. Once a virtuous person does something that is criminal, everyone else looks down upon them. They are no longer seen as a virtuous person but instead they are now despicable individuals that society must teach a lesson to. The last line of the sonnet highlights this in detail about how good people can turn into a dishonest individual. Shakespeare uses the lily metaphor to show that a good flower can turn into a degrading monster and that even the most despicable weeds can't come close to it. In other words, it's preferable to deal with a person who's outwardly evil than a good person who will become evil. Even though evil people can commit horrible acts that harm them, but you know that there are bad. Society often looks down upon them and feels that they should be locked up and that they are easy to deal with, but that ignores a more serious problem. The truth is that even the best persons or democracies can decay into a totalitarian monster. It's horrible that you have to deal with a monster who hates you but it's worse when you let a monster flourish underneath you. Shakespeare wants us to see that people who are corrupt on the inside is a bigger threat to our well-being than a person who is morally corrupt in an obvious manner.

Being a person who's on the spectrum can be challenging in many ways. The problem is that not everyone who's Autistic like me, can have access to interventions that can help them manage their behaviors, because the truth of the matter is that most students live closer to law enforcement officer than they do to a social worker or counselors. Thus, people who are Autistic are more likely to be victims of police brutality and vulnerable to the effects of police abuse. This can have serious effects that can lead to mental health problems when they're in adulthood. When I was in public schools, I went through the exact same thing, but I was lucky to have a supportive mother who cared about me. I'm proud that my mother has worked hard to persuade me to stop going the road of crime and instead, use that energy to do better in college. Even though I had a horrible experience in the school system and I faced systemic barriers that prevented me from attending after school clubs, but that didn't stop me from working hard. One of my goals is to get involved into the world of politics and enact legislation that will combat systemic racism against people who are neurodivergent. What I'm doing to fight ABA and social pragmatics is by joining various activism movements that fight for the rights of Autistic people. However, in order to be a leader and fight systemic racism, it's not just about writing papers or presenting at conferences that exposes these issues but being an active activist. During the summer, I will be training in the MassPirg 2025 Organizer Leadership Training Program. As a trainee, what I will be doing is attending an activist class and learning how to be an effective organizer. In that class, I will learn the basic of creating a grassroot movement and then working on a social injustice to fight in our society. What I have chosen to do is fighting hunger and homelessness in the state, which is a serious problem. To me in order to get started in the field of politics, it is important to get training in leadership experience. I've realized that it's not just about helping neurodivergent people rather it's about helping various people who are victims of systemic racism. I feel that there are lots of people who are on the spectrum that are homeless and suffering hunger. Starting a grassroot movement over hunger and homeless in my state can lead me to fighting systemic policies that hurt people who are neurodivergent. I feel that by being a part of this group, I feel I can learn leadership skills that can help me in my future career path.

I am starting my career in business management at Middlesex Community College. I want to join the world of business because I want to learn people skills that can help me in the world of politics. The reason is that I am a person on the spectrum, and I want to prove that you can be an advocate for human rights despite your "disability". The truth is that I'm a person who's on the spectrum and I see myself as neurodivergent. My teachers felt that I can't work with people because my "disability" prevents me from learning people skills and relating to them. To me, I find this foolish, and I feel that having Autism can help people who are neurodivergent. Before I chose Business Management, I was a Liberal Arts major since I didn't know what I wanted to be. I know I wanted to get into the field of politics, but it isn't that easy when you graduated from college. However, Business Management has the skills that I need that can be used for politics. Going into business teaches me skills on not just how to run a business but how to please your shareholders and people who are indirect stakeholders. The problem is that there aren't enough neurodivergent people in this field. The fact is that only 10% to 20% of business administrative graduates identify as neurodivergent. But the numbers can even be lower since neurodivergent people are told to act neurotypical. What I want to do is that I want every neurodivergent individual to know is that you shouldn't be ashamed of expressing yourself. I want to create workplaces that allow more people to act neurodivergent instead of being forced to act neurotypical. I can benefit my community by acting as HR and creating an environment that is more understanding of neurodivergent individuals. To me, the idea of becoming a CEO and revealing that you're Autistic should be a beacon of light for people on the spectrum. Many people feel that if you're neurodivergent, then you can't work with people because you can't learn people skills. But I have disproved this already by what I'm doing at my college. For one thing, I'm a member of the Business club and I'm learn people skills on how to sell stocks. Another thing is that I'm helping out with workshops that have to deal with creating a LinkedIn account. What I plan to do next semester is registering for DECA in the fall, because DECA creates competitions in which you use a case study and present a solution. This competition is great way for me to become an entrepreneur, and this can improve my people skills while setting an example for the neurodivergent community.

Throughout my life I have always been heavily involved in the special education system. As a person who's diagnosed with Autism, I can tell you that it hasn't always been an easy experience. What happened with me in the public school system was quite unacceptable and created many challenges for me. For one thing, many of the teachers felt that I was trying to cause problems on purposes which led them to giving me in-school detention, using a resource officer to get me to behave, or a combination of both. However, my parents would vouch for me and argue that I should be treated differently since I am in special education. But this didn't do anything at all rather many of these SPED teachers felt that I was more capable than my disability. What many of these teachers don't realize is just how their forms of putative punishments have done emotional and mental toll on my health, but they felt that my Autism was to blame which caused them to approach it from a social angle. This created an endless cycle of anxiety and trauma which further exacerbated my health. I often kept getting into arguments with my teachers and this prevented me from doing my schoolwork. Then there were days in which I was depressed and couldn't get any work done. As a result, my parents tried to get me supports but the truth was that school system hid away knowledge regrading therapists and alternative school. As a result, the only option I had was going to public schools and I kept switching constantly. My school years were awful in many ways and having your teachers pass you than caring about your mental health shows how cruel they can be. Not only was I struggling academically, but I also wasn't able to enjoy extracurriculars nor any social events that my school had. This further destroyed my development and prevented me from seeking the help that I needed. Even after leaving the school system, I still struggle with emotions that kept attacking me when I didn't want it at all. But what I did to overcome this challenge was by meeting with a mental health counselor. My counselor has encouraged me to challenge me thinking and question the validity of it. The counselor even says that anger is a secondary emotion and that there are other emotions that might explain why you're angry. This has allowed me to move on and now I'm passionate about going to college. But even after leaving the school system, I have the persistence to take courses there no matter my emotions. Even though I have days that I feel emotional, I still make time to study and get over it. It isn't easy, but with my efforts I have gotten nothing but A's. Another great thing about this is that I've been able to take honors courses where I met people who helped me with my career goals. To me getting a scholarship isn't just about the money but being able to focus on my studies. I have to work a job while attending school, but that doesn't allow me time to do extracurriculars. Paying a big bill is the first priority before I start taking classes and this scholarship can alleviate this pain. Another asset is that it shows my parents that I can make it in higher education.

Being Chinese has taught me how people see me differently compared to other races. They always feel that I'm the smartest person in the room who can handle anything. The truth is that I'm diagnosed with Asperger's and people tend to miss out on that. They often feel that I like to cause trouble, but the reality is that my brain is wired differently compared to neurotypicals. But having this stereotype that all Asians are smart can aggravate this problem since people feel that I'm more than capable of overcoming my condition. This has placed so much stress onto me that I feel like I can't do any schoolwork. However, even though I was told by my peers and teachers that I can't work with people, I didn't let that get in the way of my passions. As a student at Middlesex Community College, I'm involved with Student Government Association. I feel that I should get involved into the world of politics to create more representation among the neurodivergent community. I feel that I can enact policies that will help people who are neurodivergent and enable better understanding. Instead of the normal path in which we want everyone to be neurotypical. I feel that as a Chinese student, I can showcase that despite being first generation, I can still exceed despite being Autistic.

I always wanted to be an astronaut and felt the need to make advancements in science, but the abuse from my public schools has taught me that we live in a society that only cares about a perfect individual who is obedient. But in elementary school, I never was taught this dark reality but instead given supports that made sure that I succeeded. My elementary worked with me in a way that made it look like they didn't see my Autism as a liability but a different ability. Middle school was when this nice dream got shattered and it took years for me to question the atrocities that were committed against me. Most of these teachers didn't want to help me but felt that I should just be normal, and they often used in-school detention or resource officers in order to get me to behave. My parents did everything they can to understand that I should work hard at managing myself, but the truth is that I couldn't handle things that were a part of who I was. The only reason why I was taught this was because they wanted what was best for me. The truth was that they were gaslighted into believing that school system was helping me. Even though the school system said they cared about me, but it was all a lie. The reality was that they only did their job and once I left their school system, they moved on with me. It wasn't just Kentucky schools that were horrible, but Massachusetts was similar. What they did was horrible ABA therapy that tried to get rid of my Autism, which created emotional problems inside of me. The only reason why I didn't give up my college dreams was because an admission counselor encouraged me to keep going. He told me that there was one student who had severe Autism, and his family was told by his whole school system that he didn't have the capacity to be accepted and even if he was accepted, he would be kicked out within a few days. However, he went to Harvard and proved his whole school system wrong. This is what's going to motivate me to get a degree. In a similar vein, my school system told me that I've improved in Social Pragmatics, but the reality is that it's not true and yet I'm in college despite struggling. What I want to be is to get involved in politics and enact new legislation that will combat discrimination against neurodivergent people. I feel that it's important that I get involved in SGA or other political avenues in order to learn people skills. My goal is to get rid of ABA therapy and social pragmatics in order to put an end to abuse against Autistic people. I feel that being involved in politics gives a voice to people who are neurodivergent.

I embody many of the values Chidubè because I'm a dedicated Christian who's willing to pursue an education in business management. Throughout my life, I was a person who's been diagnosed with Autism. I never had the wonderful opportunity of being able to do extracurriculars nor attend AP or IB courses due to how my teachers understood my disability. Most of my teachers felt that I was nothing but trouble and felt that the only way to get me to behave was to give me detentions or use a resource officer on me. The problem is that I ended up suffering mental health problems and had delays in my social development due to these abusive practices. I found it difficult to enjoy going to school or doing extracurricular activities, but the school system felt that it was a social problem. These issues weren't just prevalent in schools like Kentucky, but in Massachusetts I suffered a similar problem. Massachusetts schools use ABA therapy to "mitigate" Autism in order to create a functioning adult. My last public-school meetings, they told me that I've improved in the social pragmatics when the reality tells a different story. The idea of using social pragmatics to "cure" Autism is very dehumanizing. The reality is that Autism is a different type of brain development and social pragmatics is a form of shaming that brain development and making everyone become neurotypical. Even though my school set me up for failure when it comes to going to a four-year school, but I found ways to make up for that. As a dedicated Christian, I've always prayed to God and asked him for spiritual guidance. It wasn't just about doing my assignments but learning to navigate the life of the college experience. It's not easy trying to be a good college student when you weren't taught certain foundations that could've made it easier for you to understand the courses. However, praying to God encouraged me to have the spirituality to do the hard work no matter how challenging it was. Throughout out my times in college, I was able to learn life lessons that allowed me to grow. I've learned that I'm more skilled in politics that I've given myself credit for. Currently, the degree that I'm seeking is in Business Management and by taking courses in that field, I'm learning important people skills that I can take with me to politics. It's not just the academic work that has helped me but I'm a member of SGA at Middlesex and I have been heavily involved with the group. I went with my SGA members to the state house, and I've spoken with various representatives about food insecurity for college students and what they can do to help. This experience has taught me how to lobby and what it means to be an advocate. Being able to go to college and having the experience of meeting representatives and learning how to lobby is a great way for me to get into politics. I've realized that people who are neurodivergent are being abused by people who are neurotypical. I feel that it's important to enact legislation that will protect the lives of neurodivergent people from being forced into the mindset of neurotypicals. I have a calling from God to fight for the rights of neurodivergent people and making sure that they're accepted. Instead of being something that you know isn't a part of who you are, it's time that I fight against the tyranny of social pragmatics and medications being used to cure Autism.

Being diagnosed with Autism isn't an easy thing to live by. Finding the right resources was a big hurdle throughout my life in the public-school systems. I was lucky to find an elementary school that was nice and willing to help me, but once I left elementary school, I started to learn about the harsh realities of how people treat Autistic people. The truth of the matter is that we see Autism as a condition that can impede a person's ability to thrive in society. Many of our teachers implemented various forms of treatments that discriminate against people who are on the spectrum and forces them to be neurotypical. My personal story around this is that my teachers felt that in-school detention or a resource officer was the only way to get me to behave. They often used aggressive reprimands that made me uncomfortable and deprived me of relationship skills. I developed mental health challenges that prevented me from succeeding in my middle school. This continued throughout my school years, and I left school with a poor resume. However, I didn't let that stop me from doing what I feel is right. While in college, I worked hard to get good grades despite my mental health damaging my outlook on life. Currently, I'm majoring in Business Management with a goal of getting into the field of politics. Throughout my studies, I have only gotten A's and no grades lower than an A. As a result, I'm a member of the Phi Theta Kappa society and I have become a very active member. I go to Middlesex Community College, and I have done many things for my campus. The greatest thing that I was being a part of SGA and advocate at the state house. What I have done is speak to various representative about college students struggling to get food on their plate. I told them that the best way to help out is to create more funding for food programs in Massachusetts. This was something that I did in spite of Autism because my teachers told me that Autistic people can't be working in people fields because they have poor people skills. Even though I was given harsh criticism from my teachers, but I didn't let this hold me from succeeding. Instead, I am proud that I have Autism and I'm not afraid of sharing that. I'm passionate about working in the field of politics and making sure that Autistic people can their voices heard. To me, if you can learn the basics of Business Management, then you can use that skill to enact policies that will fight for Autistic people. It's wrong that we're using social pragmatics to cure people of Autism rather it should be seen as a new ability.

Throughout my life, I have always felt the effects of being Autistic and there has always been ups and downs throughout my life. But what I've realized is just how abused the Autistic community is and that we still have ways to go before we have considered ourselves the leading country in disability accommodations. The thing about Autism is that it's the most misunderstood brain development in the medical field. Many organizations like Autism Speaks may feel like they can advocate for Autism, but the problem is that they don't understand it. The main goal behind Autism Speaks and other advocates is that Autism is a condition that needs to be treated with the eventual goal of a cure. Another myth is that once you become an adult, you start becoming less Autistic and more normal. However, this is very detrimental and abusive to people who are on the spectrum. The reality is that you can't do anything to Autism. Autism is a different type of brain development, and you will always live with it no matter what. It's a different type of identity and using treatment plan that revolves around social pragmatics is very dangerous. I feel that when you have Autism, you shouldn't be ashamed of speaking about it. Instead, you argue that if you act in a way that makes neurotypical people feel that you're off putting, explain to them that you have Autism. However, the idea that you can exclude people based on their disability is very awful. I believe that disabled people shouldn't be forced to live in a bubble where they only associate with people like them. Neurodiversity is no different than biodiversity in our ecosystem. What I have done to help Autistic people is by sharing that I have Autism. However, the biggest change doesn't come from people who make a conscious effort rather it's about the systemic changes. The problem is that our society has created barriers that prevent Autistic people from succeeding. Instead, they want everyone to either be neurotypical or be sent to a group home. I wish I can enact legislation that will help Autistic people, but it's going to be complex. Right now, I'm majoring in business management which will teach me the skills on how to manage a business. It's not just about people skills that we need but it's important that I learn the ins and outs of how a business functions. At the same time, I'm doing a big honors research project on neurodiversity in the ancient world. I am a member of the honors college, and I feel that presenting at any conferences can connect with great college admissions officers while showcasing how being Autistic isn't a problem. I want to get rid of the various barriers that are hindering Autistic people and give people a different perspective on Autism.

Going through so many instances of abuse at the hands of your school system and not being understood is what drives me to go into the field of politics. As a person who's on the spectrum, I can tell you that life is challenging, and people don't understand the way you think. Growing up, my teachers felt that I was nothing but trouble and often implemented harsh punishments in order to get me in line, but that didn't do anything. Another thing that they tried to do was ABA therapy which involved tons of social pragmatics that didn't do anything to help me but made me angry and discriminated. During these times, I suffered mental health challenges that prevented me from being able to do my schoolwork nor enjoy regular activities in my life. Mental health made it difficult to figure out who to trust and who to listen to. But the worst part about this was when I left the school system, they said that I've improved in the social pragmatics. However, this was very damaging, and it aggravated my mental health. To me, I feel it cruel that you can use social pragmatics to improve or treat Autism because there's Autism isn't a disease rather it's a rewiring of the brain. Although, it's difficult to find my teachers and hold the whole school system accountable, but I'm working harder than ever to find a career in politics. Currently, I'm taking courses in business management, and I want to become a CEO in the future. After taking classes at Middlesex Community College, I will plan to transfer to a four-year college. But while I'm at Middlesex, I am taking honors courses that will teach me skills on how to become a better presenter. The biggest project that I'm doing this semester is on neurodiversity and the ancient world in which I argue that people who were neurodivergent were treated better in the ancient times than in the modern day. I am looking at how various tribes and civilizations have managed to work with people who are either on the spectrum or any forms of being neurodivergent. One of the biggest steppingstones in my career path is being able to go to the state house and advocate for people. As a member of SGA, I went to hunger free campus initiative and what I did was highlight the various problems with food insecurity among college students. I even shared them my personal story about how I still struggle with hunger. I told various representatives that we should enact legislation that will increase the budget for food services in Massachusetts. Being at the state house has taught me various skills on how we can advocate for a better future for college students. In my opinion, I feel that the best way to help neurodivergent people is sharing about who you are and not joining an organization that tries to cure Autism. I feel that Autistic people should be treated as any regular humans, instead of trying to cure them. We need to end social pragmatics in our school systems because social pragmatics is very dehumanizing and blames Autism as the cause of all our problems. The truth of the matter is that there's not treatment, cure, or medication that can help with Autism. It's a matter of learning to understand things from their perspective and embracing it as a type of diversity. If it's wrong to shame some for being a certain religion or race, then it's just as bad to treat a type of brain development as a crippling liability.

Being an immigrant in America has brought with many great experiences that is different than being born in America. When it comes to living in America, there are different cultural standards that I'm not used to compared China. But the most important thing that I can learn from this is what it must feel like for my parents. I always take life for granted and thought that my parents know everything, but from my experiences as an immigrant I've realized that there are customs and laws that my parent new to. If I was a person who was born in America, there would've been resources that I would've already have known that could've helped me. One of the most challenging parts of being an immigrant was in the public school system. I thought that I had the same experience as many of the other students, but I've realized that that's not the case. Most people have this stereotype that all Asian immigrants are smart and successful, but the truth was that I was diagnosed with Autism. I didn't even realize how part Autism played a big role in my life as an immigrant. Now when I'm looking back, I can understand why my teachers were very abusive to me. Most of them feel that I was more capable than my condition and they felt that I wanted to stir up trouble. The truth of the reality was that I needed interventions for simple redirections. But the school system felt that I was too smart to get help and that I can do it on my own. Thus, I didn't hear about alternative schools, social services, or hiring an attorney in order to get the help that I needed. At the same time, my school system thought that I can't get mental health disorders and felt it was all a social problem. But from these experiences, I've decided to pursue a career in politics. I believe that we need to throw away the stigma that comes with immigrants and depriving them of the resources that they need. What I'm doing right now is that I'm a member of SGA and I'm learning people skills. One thing that I did was I spoke to various representatives about food insecurity for college students. I said that the amount of college students who are food insecure has increased and that we need an increase in the budget for food programs. I told them my personal story about how much of struggles it is to get nutritious food and how the cost of living has made it difficult for me to purchase healthy options. Overall, I had a good experience at the state house, and I got to meet with different people. Now I'm taking that knowledge and I'm using it to further improve my career as a politician. Another thing that I'm doing for my career is taking courses in business. I didn't realize this, but I feel that business management can teach me skills on how to run a business. No matter what places you go, there's always going to be politics involved no matter what and business administration is the key to understanding how to being an administrator. It's not just about people but it's about how to keep the company afloat and the various shareholders. Next semester, I'm going to be a part of DECA in the business club and what I'm going to learn is how to take a case study and create a solution around it. Being an immigrant has been challenging but I can still succeed in life.

Being on the spectrum isn't easy and in life I had to face various forms of barriers that affect me to this day. Throughout my school years, I had teachers who belittled me and told me that it was my autism that caused me to act out. Another thing they did was use in-school detention or a resource officer to get me to act in line. It was a horrible nightmare, and many people felt that my Autism was nothing but a disease that needed to be managed. At first, I thought this was true, but the reality was that I didn't even realize I was a victim of abusive bullying until now. It used to be that I had to changed, but now I've realized that the system is the problem. Turns out many organizations like Autism Speaks are spreading misinformation about Autism just being a disease that can be cured. As an adult, I've realized that Autism is a special ability because it's a rewiring of my brain. As a college student, I've decided to put aside all the negative comments that my teachers threw at me and decided to expose myself to activities that they felt were fit for me. One of my dreams is to get into the world of politics and enact new legislation that will fight against the various forms of abuse being leveled against Autistic people. One thing that I have done is become a member of Student Government Association. I attend meetings and we discuss ways on how we can make the lives of students better at our college campus. One activity that I have done recently is I was at the state house, and I lobbied our representatives to pass new legislation that will fight food insecurity for college students. Currently, we're trying to increase the budget for food insecurity initiatives. I spoke elegantly about the problems that many college students face in securing food. I even told them my personal story about how I struggle to get healthy food and that the cost of inflation has made it difficult for me to eat healthy. I mentioned that an unhealthy diet can make it difficult for someone to concentrate in class. Although, I have been a great advocate by being a part of SGA, but my biggest thing that I'm doing is creating a research project on neurodivergent individuals in the ancient world. What I want to do is highlight the various ways in which neurodivergent people were treated better compared to today. I am trying to find accounts in our past that proves that there's a better way of helping people who are neurodivergent. I'm planning to present my project to future professors and admissions officers who I feel will be impressed by my hard work. I believe that highlighting how neurodivergent thinking was accepted in the ancient world can help improve the lives of people who are neurodivergent in our modern-day society. Being Autistic has opened my eyes to a new world that people who are neurotypical don't experience. I feel that going to the state house and speaking to various representatives has shown me that being Autistic doesn't mean you can't work with people. I have been an example to many Autistic people that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. I'm not just going into business administration or politics for myself rather I want to improve the lives of people who are neurodivergent. It's time that we stop trying to find a cure for Autism but rather accepting it as a part of humanity.

Of all the people who I've met in my life, I will say that Daeshawn Beasley, my basketball coach has changed me in many different ways. This person has encouraged me to not only to get better in basketball, but to pursue higher education. Even though they're mainly good in basketball, but they have encouraged me to engage in mock trial as well. The thing that this man has taught me is that when started playing basketball, the coaches only gave him a few minutes to play, but instead of getting angry he used that energy to get better. Although, he didn't have the privilege to train like I do, but he used that time and energy to get better and thus he's able to travel and coach big leagues. However, as much as I enjoy his story with basketball, I would like to discuss the other things he has done as well. During my trainings with coach Beasley, he taught me about getting his master's degree in education where he can teach students. At the same time, he was a math teacher teaching students and he took lessons from math class and applied them to basketball. To him, basketball has lessons similar to math and it's important to apply them as well. However, I was very proud that he told courses in higher education because that shows he wants to make his life better. In a similar vein, I feel that getting a degree in business management is necessary if you want to go into the world of politics. Turns out politics has a lot of speech and debate in it and thus it's important that you participate in speech and debate. However, what I want to focus on is getting into mock trial. Turns out politics plays a huge role in our criminal justice system and mock trial teaches you these skills. My basketball coach taught me how black people get unfairly convicted and sent to prison for minor crimes. He teaches me that society is structured in a way where black people are designed to fail and be locked up. He taught me that the district attorney isn't just a person who prosecutes and try to prove to a jury that a person is guilty. When doing research, I've realized that the DA is the most powerful person in the courtroom. I used to think that the judge was the most powerful person, but the truth of that matter is that the judge is a mediator. The judge does get involved in sentencing someone, but the DA is the one who makes laws on how long a person should be sentenced. This is why I feel that mock trial is very important to me. I've been in courtrooms, and I've seen how powerful the DA can be, and I've realized that mock trial can teach me skills on how to enact new legislation. I believe that getting involved in mock trial can help me fight injustices in our society. Ever since I had that wonderful basketball coach, I've learned a lot about how unfair life can be. Instead of getting angry, you should use that energy to try to make your life better. Also, in order to do that it's necessary that you pursue higher education because that can open so many doors. But in order to help people who are victims of systemic discrimination, it's important that I join mock trial. I feel that I can learn how the courtroom operates, and I can use that skills to enact legislation to help fight discrimination in America.

I am going to go into the field of biotechnology because I find it important to fight climate change. One of the biggest challenges that humanity has to face is the increase in 2 degrees that can trigger a series of catastrophic events. One of the problems that nature has to deal with is absorbing CO2 and keeping it locked into the ground. Humans are taking more carbon from the ground and burning it which puts more CO2 into the atmosphere. The problem is that the number of trees and plants aren't suffice on their own to absorb CO2. Most plants can only take a certain amount before they start to release CO2 equal to how much is being taken in. As a person who's interested in biotechnology, I want to solve this problem. One of my goals is to find an internship that will give me the experience in the biotechnology field. But what I'm doing right now is focusing on joining extracurricular clubs that involves biotechnology. One of the clubs that I'm doing is the sustainability club. I work with a group of students, and we find ways on how we can make choices that can improve the environment. Currently, we're harvesting sap from maple trees in order to produce maple syrup for the campus. Another form of community service that I'm going to is to the state house and advocating for hunger free campus. One of the major issues that are affecting many students is being able to get food for their families and themselves. The problem is that our schools feel that every student is fine, but there are tons of students who are suffering food insecurity. Going to the state house shows how much I want to help others. It's not just about collecting sap, but I want to improve the lives of students at Middlesex, and I want things to get better. But to get involved in biotechnology, I've realized that it's important to be a part of the biotech club. In the club I'm learning about the various opportunities of biotechnology. This club is giving me hands on experience of what's it like working in the biotech field. My future goals are to find a job that will give me experience in the biotech industry. Instead of working in restaurants, I want to do things that will be a big part of my career. Now I'm trying to set my goals to STEM oriented career fields and by doing so I can fight climate change.

My name is Yuanzhe Wang and I'm a student at Roxbury Community College. I am proud to be a member of the Student Government Association at my institution. Not only that I am a member of Dis-Abilities Alliance club, Carver Galileo Science club, and Gardening and Cooking club. I am happy that I'm a highly engaged member of my campus. What I've learned from being a part of these organizations is people skills and the importance of teamwork. You can't always depend on yourself rather it's important that you show up and be a part of the team. Another thing that I'm doing is that I'm training to be a college athlete; this requires me to find the time to exercise and lift weights while working on technique. I train with a basketball coach, and he teaches me various moves that I can practice at home and the goal is to use it in a game. But back to my campus engagements, what I did in SGA is that I work as a student representative and listen to various grievances and redirect these people to the right resources. At the same time, I discuss with my SGA members on how we can make RCC a better place. Then there are times in which we help set up events. It's not just SGA that I do these things, but I do them in Dis-abilities alliance where I help plan events and work with people who are neurodivergent. When it comes to Science and Gardening and Cooking Club, I help table for the club. Also, I figure out how we can help students who are science majors become more aware of science internships. Another thing that we do is we have events where we either listen to a speaker or we work on a robotic arm. The other thing that we do is when plant and toil the soil for our garden on Earth Day. As much as I love being involved in extracurriculars, but what I want to focus on is how I can make the world a better place. What I plan to do is get involved in the world of politics and plan to enact policies that will fight the various forms of systemic discrimination. One of classes that I am proud to have taken is about the history of Indigenous Peoples in America. I have studied the various injustices that our government has committed against Indigenous peoples, and I believe that it's important that we fight for tribal sovereignty and equal rights. It's not just that I'm writing essay's that is helping me get involved in Indigenous rights but I'm a part of carious movements that go to the state house. Another thing that I did in order to help the world that we live is the honors showcase at RCC. I have written a research project on the Massachusetts school systems and practiced the presentation. What I've done is list the various injustices that Massachusetts public school system has committed against various students and staff in Massachusetts. At the same time, I've listed the various ways that we can take actions against these injustices; I've told my audience that we need to call our senators or representatives, hold our school officials accountable, pressure our government to redirect funding to poorer school systems etc. Now I have plans to take courses that I hope to publish in a newsletter that I can use in order to showcase our injustices; I've felt that I can make a good additional when it comes to working in the field of politics.

As they say, "Life is like a box of chocolates" and what I can tell you that life can be full of funny stories. You can't predict life rather you have to deal with the unexpected events that come along your way. One of the funniest things that I find hilarious is the time when I was in Europe with my friends. We were in Europe going to both Denmark and the Netherlands. What I find very interesting is being able to visit a culture that is different than what I was used to. However, the funny part was when I went to a vacation home in the Dannish countryside. When we got there, I was hoping to enjoy some time in the new home. So, I went exploring around and I saw the pool that was there. I thought that there was a solid covering that was on the pool that you can walk on when people aren't using. But little did I know I fell into the water, and I got myself and my phone very wet. My friends came up to me and started laughing at what happened. They told me that the covering wasn't solid and meant for you to walk on rather it was meant to convey that the pool isn't being used. Even though I was extremely wet, but I still had a fun time in Denmark exploring the various sites and going to Legoland.

I have always lived a life full of challenges in my life; I never had a good resume during my K-12 school years, and I was denied various opportunities that my peers had. It wasn't that I wasn't trying but my school system put up systemic barriers that prevented me from succeeding. As a person who's on the spectrum I can tell you that teachers can be discriminatory towards disabled people. Many of my teachers felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose and they often implemented various forms of putative punishments that didn't do anything to address my problems rather it aggravated them. At the same time, I suffered mental health problems, but teachers dismissed as learning a lesson from my consequences and it's all hormones. This continued throughout my school years, and I struggled with doing my schoolwork and being able to have the willpower to engage in extracurricular activities. To further add onto this, my teachers made disparaging remarks against me which include telling me that due to my Autism, I can't work in any field that has to deal with people. Eventually, I got sent to an alternative school, but that didn't do anything at all. After leaving the school system, I struggled with mental health, but I told myself to never give up. What I have done through my college years is that I have gotten nothing but A's in my courses and I've looked to being a part of various engagements at any institution that I attend. One of my ambitions that I feel will make this world a better place is by implementing various policies that will fight the various forms of discrimination that happens in our school systems. In spite of that mean comment, I have taken my time and effort to work in politics. To me, we're a long way from living in a society that is post-discriminatory, and we need someone who will stand up to the various injustices in our school system as well as our society. I've realized that what happens in school will often determine the future that we live in. When I first learned this fact, I thought it was crazy but there's truth in this and it's that if you don't learn to read by 3rd grade, then you're end in prison. This very important since we live in a country that claims to have high literacy rates, but since there are studies showing how illiterate prisoners are, we can claim otherwise. This is why I feel that I should enter the world of politics. It's not just about the various forms of abuse that I went through in the public school system, but I have seen how there are many other students who aren't as fortunate as I am. Turns out we live in a society that loves to keep punishing people even after serving their punishment and a lot of those people tend to be underrepresented people. It's very awful that we're secretly discriminating against people who we argue have equal rights like everyone else. Even though my teachers feel that my Autism is enough of a reason for being disqualified from politics, but I just keep going. This is the reason why I should be selected for this scholarship and it's not just about passion but the cost of going to college. In order for me to go, I have to work a job which will prevent me from being a part of fellowships. This scholarship will help pay for the cost of tuition while allowing me more free time.

My life has always been a huge failure in many ways; I've had teachers who were abusive and didn't care much about me. As a person who's on the spectrum, I can tell you that it was a challenge for teachers to understand me. Many of them felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose, and they felt that my condition wasn't even real at all. Instead, they often used putative punishment methods on me that often aggravated my problems and left emotional scars. What made this worse was that many teachers didn't want to acknowledge that I struggled with mental health and that it was all a part of development and that my hormones were to blame. Thus, my school years was plagued constantly with issues of anxiety, depression and defiance with teachers. This prevented me from being able to participate in sports nor did I had the encouragement to do schoolwork due to my emotional damage. Another side effects of my emotional troubles were that I had difficulty in being flexible and being a part of organizations that could've bolstered my resume. Thus, when I went to college, I was at the bottom of the ladder even though I was incredibly intelligent. However, even though I didn't have much extracurriculars and sports, but I disciplined myself to work hard in spite of my mental health. What I have done throughout my time in college is that I have always achieved A's no matter what happened. Even though my mental health stopped from attending college consecutively and graduating on time, but every semester I came back, I always got A's. It wasn't just about getting good grades, but I took the time to exercise more and take private sports lessons that have allowed me to improve my athletic ability. At the same time, I've looked for clubs that have interested me and I have built a wonderful resume from my time in college. At my current institution, I'm a member of Student Government Association and I have done many things as student representative. However, the reason why I have done this is the many lessons I've learned from my experience in the public school system. I've realized how unfair our school is and the various forms of discrimination that our teachers put our students through. My teachers told me that I couldn't work in any fields that have to deal with people due to my Autism, but I didn't let that opinion get the best of me. What I want to do is go into the field of politics and enact new legislation that with fight against the various forms of discrimination in our school systems while funding mental health. To me, I believe that you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it and it's important that you don't let any form of discouragement from achieving your dreams. What I find important is that you take what you have now and try to make your life better. To me, I feel proud if I can be part of a mentorship program with Inspire11 since it can teach me people skills. At the same time, I have been through so many abuses in the school system that it's easier for me to relate to the students who I'm working with, and mentorship is necessary for me to go past the various baggage's that life has thrown at me. I want to grow with the various students in this mentorship. This is my way of achieving my goals and turning everything up to a powerful 11.

I am proud that I'm majoring in Business Management and what I want to do is find ways to make a difference in people who are neurodivergent. Even though I'm new to business, but I feel that I can make good contributions to business. What I'm doing right now is to take courses on how to run a business and then I will learn how to manage it. But the biggest goal that I have is to get into the world of politics and enacting legislation that will help people who are disadvantaged. I've realized that there are many forms of unethical business practice, and I've believed that it's important that we address these problems. To me, being an entrepreneur isn't just about making profits but there's always a personal side of that as well. One of my legacies that I want to share in the future is being able to open more doors for people who are neurodivergent and finding the various ways we can fight for worker rights. What I want to do is create more alternative schools that will help students who are neurodivergent. The reason why I feel that this is important is that as a person who's been discriminated by the public school system, I've felt it's important that we highlight this issue. As a person who's on the spectrum, many people feel that I can't be an entrepreneur due to my Autism, but I disagree with that. Anyone who's disabled in any shape or form should use their disability to create a new business. To me, I've felt that there aren't many opportunities for students who are neurodivergent, and I would really want to change that. Before we can implement policies at the national level that will help people who are neurodivergent, what I believe is important that we make their school years successful. What I feel is necessary is that we create more alternative schools for students who need help. I feel that our school system is capable enough to help people who are neurodivergent, mentally ill, or have challenges that are too complex in nature. I believe that it's necessary that we find ways to help those who are neurodivergent. Before I can create that business, I need to start from the bottom. As a student, I've come a long way from what I used to be. My teachers used to tell me that I would never work in a field that has to deal with people, but I've proven them wrong. Currently, I'm a student representative at my college and I have helped my institution in many ways. It's not just about taking courses in business that has helped me rather I've learned skills on how to do accounting. One of my biggest aspirations and how I can shine my light is to work in the field of accounting before I open a business. I am a person who loves to be creative, and I was told that accounting has creativity in it. I feel that it's important to interactive with a wide array of people before you start opening a business. I am proud that I'm learning about how the world of business works and I can't wait to accomplish more in the spring semester. What I've learned is that there are clubs that can help you run a business, and I feel that being an entrepreneur requires being able to connect with a wide array of people. Before I can open alternative schools, I need to learn the concepts of a business and the various people skills for success.

Having mental health has been a huge part of my life and I've always felt the effects of it even to this day. Before my challenges with mental health, I used to be just any normal child, but once middle school started that's when mental health became a problem. You see, in my previous elementary school I was near teachers who were patient and took the time to get to know me, but in middle school that's when things went sour. Many of those teachers didn't know how to handle me and they often used putative punishment methods against me. What they didn't realize was that I had behavioral issues that needed simple interventions. However, they treated me like I was a juvenile delinquent who was wild due to their hormones. As a result of the emotional trauma that they inflicted on me as a result of their punishments, I developed mental health issues. This created so much stress and anxiety that it prevented me from doing well in the school system. I had difficulty in maintaining friendships and thus I felt lonely at times. The problem was that I was conditioned to think that my mental health was nothing but hormones and that I'm too young to get it. However, this prevented me from getting the help that I needed, and it showed how neglectful my teachers were to me. It wasn't just anxiety that I struggled with, but I had serious episodes of depression as well. My struggles with depression put me through another rollercoaster in my life. I couldn't understand why I was feeling sad and unfilled; there were moments in my life in which I didn't feel like wanting to do anything or that everything I did was so miserable. The problem was that the way my teachers treated me affected how I was able to navigate in life. It wasn't just the abuse that put me through depression but the fact that my school suspended me for 3 months of my 6th grade year was determinantal as well. But that was towards the very end of my 6th grade year and this problem continued throughout my middle school years. Eventually, my parents decided that living in Kentucky wasn't great for my needs and they decided to move me to Massachusetts school system. What I told myself when I moved up here was that all the negative experiences from your public schools should die and you will be happy instantly because you're among new people. However, this was the biggest mistake that I made, and I've paid for it dearly. Looking back, I know that when you go through a terrible experience, it doesn't go away rather you need to get help for it. Your brain is wired in a way that allows you to retain all the emotional trauma that you suffered when you were a child. Thus, I went through the exact same cycle but in a different state. Even though I struggled a lot in my school years, but I didn't give up. What allowed me to survive throughout my school years was the belief in God and praying to him. I've realized that God put me in this world to help others and I didn't even realize how special I was. My teachers told me that I couldn't work in any field that has to deal with people, but I've realized how foolish my teachers were. Instead, I've decided to pursue my passion and politics. What I've done is that I've majored in business management and I'm learning skills that I can use to help others. I've realized that our society needs a lot of funding in the mental health sector, and I believe I can do a lot. One of my dreams is to enact new legislation that will fund mental health services in our nation. The problem with our society is that people live closer to a cop than they do to a social worker or counselor. It's necessary that we defund the police and use those funds to improve the lives of people who struggle with mental health. It's necessary that we make mental accessible to people who struggle with addiction, anxiety, suicide, depression, etc. This isn't just for adults, but I feel that we need to fix this at the school level. I believe that we need to pass new laws that makes it mandatory that teachers get trained on mental health. The problem is that our school system punishes students by using resource officers to deal with children who struggle with mental health. If you look throughout the news, many cops are known to be violent against people who struggle with mental health and it's necessary that we outlaw cops in the school system. It's not just about cops that I feel we should ban rather the way the teachers treat mental health is just as deplorable. Just like with me, many teachers blame hormones and puberty for mental health in teens when that's not the reality. Although, I didn't have a great school experience, but I'm working hard to make sure that I've reach my goal of entering the political field. One of the things that I've done that is great for me is that I'm a student representative at my institution and I've learned many lessons about how the world of politics work; I've redirected students to resources that can help them when they have any grievances against their professors or any person on campus. Now I want to focus on my major in Business Management and I feel that it's important that you open up about mental health. Many people are afraid to share mental health because they feel it's personal, but mental health is no different than taking care of your physical health. When I start the new semester, I will join an organization on campus that will address mental health. I am ready for this new chapter in my college academic career.

Ever since middle school, it has always been a passion of mine to help those who are disadvantaged by implementing new legislation. As a person who's on the spectrum, I can tell you that life hasn't always been easy for me. I've always had teachers who were harsh and didn't care to understand my disability. Often, they felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose, and they implemented various forms of harsh discipline that didn't do anything to address my behaviors rather it aggravated them. During this time, I've developed mental health issues that prevented me from doing well academically and socially in life. The problem with my teachers was that they attributed my mental health to hormones and social problems. This was such a huge barrier that it prevented me from getting the help that I needed. As a result, I struggled a lot through the public-school systems. However, what prevented me from giving was my parents who kept advocating for me. At the same time, the fact that I was religious and prayed to God was enough reason for me to not give up. Eventually, even though I didn't have a good resume in my school years but that didn't stop me from achieving more as an adult. One of the things that I'm proud to have done is be involved in the Student Government Association at Roxbury Community College. I am proud that I'm a student representative and that I am able to listen to the grievances of various students and directing them to resources that can help them. Even though my teachers told me that I should work in any field that has to deal with people, but I've never gave up my dream of helping others. It's not just about being involved in Student Government that has helped me rather I'm a part of various organizations. The organizations that I'm proud to be a part of is Boston Socialist Alternative and Mass Indigenous Legislative Agenda. What I've done by volunteering at these events has a tremendous impact on the world that we live in. During Mass Indigenous Legislative Agenda, I have gone to various offices of different representatives and have advocated for the Indigenous bill to be passed. I have even gone to representatives who were against the bill and have stated why they should still consider the bill. Overall, during my time at the event I have been vocal and have advocated for increased indigenous rights. It's not just being at Indigenous events that has helped me rather I have been involved in Boston Socialist Alternative events. What I do like to say is that I protest and chant with my fellow comrades about how we can fight against Trump and the right-wing abuse. I have been at other demonstrations where they have fought against the various worker rights abuse that's been going on. Although, I'm proud to be involved in movements but I want to focus on my studies. What I want to do when I start the Spring semester is that I want to volunteer in various shelters and places that help people who are disadvantaged; I feel that I can be a great asset to the team. It's not just about volunteering outside that matters but I'm planning to work with the Phi Theta Chapter at my school and I will help out with the various people. Overall, I'm proud to be a student and I feel that I can implement new policies in the future to help disadvantaged people; I am happy for what life has to offer.

Being a person who's on the spectrum has taught me that people aren't going to understand your way of thinking. I've never had the ability to understand others nor were others able to understand me. Instead, I often struggled in developing relationships and there were times in which I was alone. It wasn't just about relationships that I had problems with, but I often thought a certain way and believed it without questioning it. Looking back, I've realized just how wrong I was and now I'm learning that the truth is more engaging than the myths that I was taught growing up. When I was growing up, I used to have teachers that were understanding of me, and I was grateful for the various supports that I had. Eventually, I had the greatest year when it came to 5th grade, and I was such a high achiever. However, what I failed to recognize was that I was only successful due to my supports, and I've learned things the hard way when I went to middle school. For one thing, the teachers didn't care about my disability and the only thing they cared about was maintaining order. This proved detrimental to my development, and I struggled throughout my middle school years. I had difficulty in maintaining friendships and my parents kept switching me schools. However, I've realized that I should've looked to an alternative school instead of sticking to public schools. This realization has taught me how discriminatory our public-school systems are when it comes to students who are neurodivergent. One of the lessons that I've learned is that our schools want to use ABA to stop people from being Autistic. It's not just that that's wrong, but my teachers told me that I shouldn't work in any fields that has to deal with people. This to me hurt me, but looking back I've decided to push past this barrier. What I want to be is get involved in the world of politics and enact legislation that help people who are neurodivergent. Instead of relying on outdated methods that forces people to be neurotypical, what I want to do is create a curriculum that's focused on accepting people for who they are. To me, improving in social pragmatics is subtle form of ableist discrimination and I believe that we need to address this. To me, being a person on the spectrum is a great way to help people who are on the spectrum. The reason is that I can empathize with people who are disabled, and I feel that I can make it easier for lawmakers to understand what disabled people are going through. Before I get onto my career aspiration, what I do like to say is that I have a great resume in college. One of the things that I'm proud to be a part of is the Student Government Association at Roxbury Community College; I was a student representative, and I was a part of important meetings in which we were to discuss the well-being and future of our students. However, what I felt was the biggest part of my leadership experience was being the team manager of the RCC basketball team; I showed up to practice and I made sure that all the equipment were in the right place, and I made sure to record all the games that were played. During the games, I would make sure that our team would have all the jerseys. To me, I have demonstrated good leadership and next semester I feel I can demonstrate more leadership at my new institution.

As a person who's on the spectrum and struggles with mental health, I can tell you that my life has been a wild rollercoaster. I never had a wonderful educational experience in the public school system. I've always had teachers who felt that I was nothing but trouble and should be punished severely. My parents often kept advocating me and there were times in which things were very hopeless. The only solution that we had to our problem was by switching schools and yet things never got better. I've always had to deal with teachers who didn't understand my disability or dismissed my mental health as just a sign of puberty or hormones. Even though I was told that I should never work in a field that had to deal with people, but my goal is to get involved in the world of politics. I've felt that getting involved in politics is very important to helping both people on the spectrum, those who struggle with mental health, or both. I feel that our education system is structured in a way that criminalizes people on the spectrum and even though we're taught about discrimination in the form of racism, but we need to address how it affects us in an intersectional way. One of the reasons why I'm passionate about getting involved in politics is the various injustices that occurred to me when I attended the school system. To me, they used ABA to "cure" my Autism, but that didn't do anything rather I regressed to being Autistic again. From this experience, I feel that we need to reform our public school system. One of the laws that I hope to enact is getting rid of ABA programs that encourage people to stop being Autistic. At the same time, I believe we need to put more resources into accepting students who are neurodivergent instead of changing them to be neurotypical. The reason why I feel passionate about having this legislation passed is that I can't tired of people who feel that students are improving in the social pragmatics. To me, social pragmatics is a form of diagnosis that is meant to discriminate and label students who are on the spectrum. I feel that we need to accept that it's impossible to change people who think differently from others. It's not just about my disability that has encouraged me to get involved in politics. I feel that our society focuses on criminalizing people rather than helping them. To me, I know that we can be victims of discrimination in various way. People don't suffer discrimination based on one trait rather it's a combination of many. As a person who's on the spectrum, I believe that we need to accept one another instead of looking down. I feel that joining the world of politics is the key to helping people who are neurodivergent. Many people who make legislation in our government don't understand what's it like to be neurodivergent and in order to help people who are neurodivergent, I feel that joining the world of politics is the solution to that problem. To me I want to reform our public school system and put an end to the various injustices that has been plaguing us. I feel that I can be a wonderful asset to the world of politics; I have demonstrated this by joining Student Government Association at my institution and I have contributed to my institution in positive ways. I feel that life has propelled me through many trials and that politics is my future to help others who are disadvantaged.

My life hasn't always been easy, and I haven't had the privilege to earn scholarships or have the opportunity to participate in any extracurricular activities compared to my peers. At the same time, I need to acknowledge the privileges that I do have. As a person who's on the spectrum, growing up wasn't very easy for me. Many of the teachers that I dealt with was very disciplinarian with me, they had zero tolerance for any of my behaviors. Instead, they often implemented authoritarian punishments that didn't do anything to change my behavior rather it aggravated them. To add onto this, my teachers told me that I shouldn't work in any field that has to deal with people. Although, my school years were terrible, but that didn't stop me from pursuing my passion in the field of business management. I've realized that no matter what you went through in life, you shouldn't let anyone's opinions determine your life's trajectory. Ever since going to college, I have explored my full talent, and I've realized that I can do many things in the world of Business management. Originally, I wanted to pursue a degree in politics, but I've realized that it's not always an immediate option. Instead, you need to start somewhere that is more realistic and easier to get. One of the reasons that I want to go into business management is being able to work with people. Many people have told me that I don't have the people skills to succeed in business management, but I disagree with them. It's not just about the idea of business management rather my experiences as a child have taught me how unfair life is. I've realized that there are other people like me aren't able to access the opportunities that I have taken for granted. I've felt that I can learn people skills from being in business management and thus it should translate into important skills as a politician. What I want to do in order to make the world a better place is improve the lives of my workers as a business executive. I've felt that it's not always about making extra money, but the well-being of your workers is more important than anything else. People who do manual or any form of back breaking labor is necessary for our society without them, we wouldn't have the world that we live. Instead, a business would crumble without the people whose necessary to sustain them. Thus, I've felt that I can do well in business management by helping the average American worker. As a person who's on the spectrum, there will always be discrimination. Being involved in business management can teach me skills on how to improve the lives of American workers. I am proud that I'm majoring in business management, and I feel I can do a lot. My life's journey is the reason why I enjoy business. I am proud of my determination to achieve in the field of business management.

Being a first-generation college student, I've been through many trials and tribulations in my life. The fact that I don't have the privilege to be on a good financial support system when it comes to going to college is a challenge in itself. At the same time, as a student who's on the spectrum, having parents who didn't go to college makes it a challenge for them to understand a child who's autistic. However, this has encouraged me to pursue a field in politics. I've realized that not everyone is privileged to attend a community college despite the low costs. The other thing that has made me want to get into politics is the various forms of systemic racism that has occurred in America. I've always been taught that minorities suffer the most from systemic racism, but I've realized that it's not the whole story. Looking at things with the knowledge I have now, I've realized that first-generation students suffer the most from it as well. Our system is designed in a way that looks down upon minorities getting financial aid, but in reality, most are whites and often these whites tend to be first generation students. Thus, I feel that pursuing politics is the best way to not only make my life better but the lives of others as well. It's not just my parents who made dream of going to college possible, but the fact that I'm persistent is good as well. One of my talents is being able to achieve good grades in the face of tumultuous circumstances that can heavily impact my mental and social health; there are times that I struggle to get a paper or test done due to my challenges, but I've never gave up and even if I have to withdraw from a semester, the next one I come back stronger and I only get A's. So far, the only grades I have got were A's, but not everyone is privileged to have this talent; I believe it's important that we enact legislation to help first-generation college students get more financial aid. The problem is that our society feels that financial aid students are free loaders, but that's far from the truth and I want to increase the aid for students who are first generation, neurodivergent, or disadvantaged in any shape. Being a first-generation student is the reason why I pursue politics.

I am very passionate about pursing a degree in Business management due to my life story. As a person on the spectrum, I can tell you that growing up was very difficult for me. Other than elementary school, I have always had difficulty in the school system. Many of the teachers didn't know how to handle me and felt that I was a juvenile delinquent. As a result, they often implemented various forms of harsh punishment against me which aggravated my behaviors and caused mental health issues. At the same time, many of my teachers felt that this is all the result of hormones. Even though my school years was terrible, but I've come a long way from it. I am passionate about being involved in the field of Business all due to my interest in politics. Originally, I wasn't sure on how to get into politics even though I've took a lot of social science research courses. One of the reasons why I got into politics was because my teachers told me that I can't work with people due to my disability. However, I disagreed with this, and I believe that having more Autistic people in fields with people can make things better. To me, I believe that our society still looks down on disabled people and I feel that a higher amount of disabled people in any people related field can improve relations with disabled people. Thus, I've realized that Business Management is the best way to go. Turns out I've realized that business isn't just about making a profit rather it involves a lot of people skills. These skills are what I feel is necessary at getting into the field of politics. One of the reasons why I love going into business is my interest with accounting. One of the funny stories I heard about accounting was when I watched a movie, and the accountant was told that he needs to be flexible and creative. This trait surprised me because I though accountants need to only know math, but that is totally wrong. Even though I've took an Intro to Accounting Course 1, but I've been interested in learning about accounting in order to run a business. I've realized the importance in communicating with people and being involved in business requires the ability to communicate. Even though I'm a person who loves to study science, but I'm always a big fan of being involved with people. Thus, going into the field of business is the best way for me to learn people skills. Many people feel that business is just about calculation and then doing math, but that's not what the reality is. What I want to do in the future is learn more about accounting and how it can be a wonderful place to work. Even though this is my first time taking a business course, but I'm passionate about getting a degree in Business Management and going further with it. It's not just that I want to do business, but I've built a good resume by starting my passion in Student Government Association. Here I've learned basic skills about communication and problem solving. I've realized that accounting and business management will require a lot of these skills. Overall, I feel that I can make positive contribution to the world. I feel that business is a great path for anyone who's on the spectrum. Even though I wanted to pursue a degree in political science, but I've realized the importance of appreciating yourself. I am proud that I'm taking a course in business management to grow.

Being a dedicated follower of Christ is the reason why I'm still here and this scholarship represents many of the challenges I went through growing up. As a person who's on the spectrum, life hasn't always been easy for me. During my middle school years, I used to get into so much trouble with my teachers since they didn't take the time to understand me. Instead, they felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose and wanted to act like a troublemaker, but in reality, I needed behavioral interventions. Another challenge that happened was that I started to develop mental health issues, but the teachers felt that it was a part of social development or blamed it solely on hormones. This problem persisted throughout my school years and the only hope I had was my two parents who kept advocating for me. However, my biggest support in my life was the idea of being faithful and praying to God. Even though my school situations worsened but I felt that having faith was the key to success. The biggest test to my faith in God was when I got sent to an alternative school and that was when I decided to get fully dedicated to the Lord. During my time with the Lord, I've learned the importance of being faithful to him and how his spiritual rewards will trump any wonderful awards or things on this planet. I've realized that having eternal life with the Lord can teach me the importance of perseverance when your situation is deteriorating. Even though I've improved a lot during my faithful journey with God, but my behaviors started to deteriorate. I often had emotional problems with my teachers and then I kept getting into so much trouble. Eventually, I ended up leaving the school with numerous mental health challenges that are still impacting me. But that didn't stop me from believing in the Lord and I still have faith in God even though my actions don't show it. I've realized that God isn't there to make you a better person in one day and it lasts until you die rather it's a struggle. Even though I had difficulty staying in school and maintaining a job, but I always kept believing in God. Now I've realized that even though I had numerous setbacks with colleges, but I still keep believing in the Lord. I've realized that I can use my faith to control my mental health and pray to God in order to be closer to him. There are times in which I struggle, but I've realized that no matter how difficult your life can be, believing in God has led me to greater things. For example, even though I didn't do well in high school, but I've ended up getting nothing but A's in all my classes. Not only am I going to pray to God to help me get through my life in the various academic journeys that come along my way, but I will depend on him to get me through my emotions. My faith has encouraged me to always be humble and don't exalt yourself. One of the things I've decided to do with my faith is major in Business Management and use it to help those who aren't fortunate. One of the stories of the Bible that has allowed me to be faithful is how King David committed an atrocity, but God was still merciful to him. This is why I am faithful to God despite the numerous struggles that have plagued me, and I want to help others.

Let me say this, I have always been through so many hardships in my life. However, the most difficult challenges for me have been being on the spectrum, abuse in the public school system, and being denied scholarships. I never had a great childhood, many of my teachers often felt that I was nothing by problem and they implemented harsh punishment methods against me. On top of that, they told me that people on the spectrum can't work in people field due to having poor people skills. Thus, I always suffered self-esteem issues, and I was barred from scholarship opportunities that could've made thing easier for me. Instead, I have to depend on Pell Grants which don't cover tuition for four-year schools since they cost $40000 and even with both Federal and the educational scholarship from the school itself, I still have to pay $20000. However, despite these hardships I've never given up and I've managed to finish high school despite challenges. Also, I'm aspiring to get involved in the field of politics and implement policies that combat the various forms of systemic racism that's done against disadvantaged people. Even though my teachers have been disparaging to me, but I've been heavily involved at my institution. I'm involved in Student Government Association, Dis-abilities alliance club, etc. Even though I didn't get the necessary resume that could've helped me get into a four-year school, but I've been persistent in getting good grades. So far, I've only gotten A's and nothing lower than that. A lot of the reason why I've come a long way is that I get services from the state. One of the best things that has happened to me is getting a mental health counselor. I'm able to be successful because I have someone who cares about me.

The best book-to-film adaptation that I have enjoyed is Harry Potter. I've always been a big fan of magic and the wizard world, but then when it came to the theaters that's when I saw it in a different light. I am a big fan of reading the book and imagining what the characters look like and how they interact with one another. I do laugh at the various shenanigans that happen in the book, but I am big fan of how Harry Potter defeat Lord Voldemort and the various ways that he does it. There are so many things in the movie that I don't understand until I have read the book. However, when it comes to the first book of Harry Potter, it doesn't matter if you read the book or seen the movie, but it's easy to understand either way. The way that J.K. Rowling writes about the book is great way to give us an introduction to the world of wizardry and the family dynamics that have created the story of Harry Potter. But the film allows me to see it in a different light and even though both the film will change certain elements in the story, but I am proud to see it because I get to see it in a visual form. The best part about all of the Harry Potter films is just how they managed to get actors that look exactly like the characters that you see on the front cover or described in the book. One of the things that I've loved the most is how they got great actors to play the muggle family of Harry Potter and the way these actors look highlight the repulsive features on muggles and their nasty attitude towards wizards. In the first film, I can see how Harry's parents are just his stepparents and that the reason they treat him so nasty is due to his original parents being wizards which made them resentful. I am wowed at how they managed to get actors to act in a way that shows muggle being very nasty to wizards. It's not just about the actors who played the muggles, but I am proud of how they found actors to play wizards. One of my favorite wizards in the film was Dumbledore and the way his actor portrays him is wonderful. I am happy at how he's seen as a wise man and the wonderful advice that he gives to his fellow students. Watching the whole entire Harry Potter film series has allowed me to compare both book and the film, but I've been able to piece them together. To me movie or film isn't going to be better rather it's a matter of your preferences. I feel that we can use the film medium to bring any books to life. One day I plan to work in the industry and bring whatever books I've love and adapt it to the big screen. Books are great when it comes to being intellectual and learning about how the characters interact, but movies bring them to life. Without the film, I couldn't appreciate how amazing Harry Potter is. The graphics and the portrayal of magic is great. The best part of the film is how they portray a quidditch match in the wizard world and this is why I've loved the book series so much is the wonderful competition and sports in the wizard world. However, you don't understand how magnificent it really is until you see it in the theaters and then it amazes and dazzles you.

I have always been a person who wants to be a leader no matter where I go. As a person who's on the spectrum, I can tell you that it requires great leadership skill in order to come a long way from the terrible childhood you had growing up. One of the events in my academic career that required me to be a good leader was when I had to take an Honors Colloquium course while being involved in Student Government and training to be a college athlete. The challenges that I had to face was balancing the time being involved in a research project while being involved in Student Government. On top of that, I had to make time to physically train and lose weight in order to be athletic. Even though it was very challenging to find a research topic and get good resources, but I've always found a way to push through the various obstacles. What I did to make it through this tough challenge was that I spent most of my time finding various articles in order to create a research paper that proves that Massachusetts schools is full of discrimination. One of the challenges I had to face when dealing with this problem is the fact that our school library lacked a lot of articles that I could've used. Thus, I had to work extra hard in finding the sources I need to complete my research paper. At the same time, we were required to do articles or other forms of minor research. During this time, I would give up extra free time that I could've spent on relaxing and focusing it on my studies. In fact, there were times that I gave up exercising in order to get a good grade in my honors course. However, during this time I would attend extracurricular work and then focus on writing a good paper for my honors course. When it came to other assignments, I would write the article, but I had to deal with the heavy criticism from my professor. There were times in which I got a grade lower than A, but I've managed to take a deep breath. Although, doing the coursework was very hard but I've learned to preserve throughout my time at RCC and things did turn out for the good. However, another challenge I had to do was create a slideshow while practicing my presentation. This was a lot of hard work to practice a 15-minute presentation many times. However, even though it was difficult and emotionally exhausting, but I've managed to create a good slideshow while being able to present at the honors showcase. As a result of my hard work, I've informed various people about the issues of the Massachusetts school system and what we can do to address it. I've felt that the showcase was a great way to present my ideas and how we can fight systemic racism. This showcase has taught me skills that I can use when I get involved in the field of politics. To me, I need to learn how to create a good slideshow presentation before I can suggest a policy change because I need evidence to prove to people that there are injustices in our nation. It's not just about creating slides but learning the necessary people skills that you need when it comes to working in politics. Ultimately, my goal is to enact new legislation that will fight the various forms of discrimination that's happening in America and improving equality for everyone who's been negatively impacted by our system.

As a student with Asperger's, I can tell you that I've been through a lot in my life. I've never had a wonderful school experience compared to my peers. Middle school showed me how cruel and mean the world can be and how our society can systemically discriminate against people. For one thing, many of the teachers weren't willing to take the time and be patient with me rather they often used putative punishment methods in order to get me to behave. This created more mental health problems for me, and I struggled to do well in the school system. Throughout my times in the school system, I had difficulty in getting along with teachers and peers to the point I was so isolated. The only hope that I had was praying to God and my Christian faith as well as the hard advocacy that my parents put into me. It was difficult in trying to handle my emotions and learning to do the work, but that didn't stop me from being where I am now. Even though the only thing I did was pray and live through the trials, but that didn't stop me from becoming the person who I am today. Many teachers would taunt me and say that I'm not capable in working in a field with people, but I've proved them wrong. Even though my depression can impact me from doing well in my studies, but I've always learned to discipline myself and push through that negativity. Although, I ended high school on a bad note, and I didn't get the resume that I wanted, but I've decided to see college as a fresh new start. What I've done now is that I'm working harder than ever and so far, I have all A's in my college course with no B's. Another thing that I've done is being a part of the Student Government Association at my institution and I've become a big voice there. It's not just SGA that I've helped out with rather I'm part of the scholarship committee and I'm doing my best to improve financial aid at RCC. Ultimately, my goal is to get into the field of politics and enact policies that will combat systemic racism. Even though I'm out of high school, but I still struggle with emotional issues, and this is where I have found a mental health counselor. The mental health counselor that works with me has taught me skills on how to handle your emotions. She encourages me to look at my feelings and think twice about them before making a decision. Sometimes, there's always a simple solution to why I'm feeling upset or sad. These strategies have improved my behavior, and I've made a lot of progress. However, what I want to do is focus on getting a degree in Business Management. I've realized that I might have strengths in business, and I believe I can do a lot to help the world of business. Another possible career path that I can have with being involved in Business is the being able to be an accountant since I'm good with numbers I feel that I can help many companies with their finances. Even though I still struggle with my mental health, but I'm working hard to make sure that my feelings don't get in the way of my educational career; you can't ignore your feelings and hope that they can just go away on their own rather it's about managing them. I can proud that I've come a long way and want to major in Business.

Growing up I was diagnosed with Asperger's, it has always been a challenge, but things would take a dark turn once I reached middles school. During middle school, many of my teachers didn't know how to handle me and felt that I was trying to misbehave on purpose. They often implemented various forms of putative punishments that didn't do anything to address my behaviors rather it further aggravated them. During this time, I developed mental health issues that prevented me from doing well in the public-school systems. The problem is that many of my teachers felt that this was all hormones, and that puberty was the cause of these issues. It wasn't just them who believed this, but I felt that mental health was something that only develops once you reach the age of 18. Thus, throughout my life my emotions were out of control, and I couldn't understand why I was still struggling with people. My years in the school system often were chaotic and there were times I had outrageous anger with my teachers and peers, but there were times in which I was sad for no apparent reasons. This caused me to make so many poor choices in the public-school systems which got me into trouble. It wasn't just me who was struggling to get help, but my parents were trying to figure out how to manage my condition. My parents grew up in the traditional Chinese culture where mental illness wasn't even a main focal point and it's only when they come into America that they hear of mental health. However, what was more damaging was how I refused to admit that I was suffering from mental health. But I was still lucky to leave the school system and go to college. The bright side is that I'm working with a mental health counselor and we're coming up with ways on how to manage my mental health. They're teaching me ways on how to manage the emotions and challenge the thoughts that leads to these emotions. Thus, this is why I want to get a degree in mental health because I feel that I can make an impact on people who need the help. One of the things that interest me the most about getting a degree in mental health is being able to work in HR. I thought mental health was about being a counselor but there was a job in which you can work to change the policies in any workplace. Thus, I feel that I can make small changes in the workplace before I go into government and make bigger changes to the mental health field as a whole. My ultimate goal is to get involved in the field of politics and implementing legislation that fight against policies that promote systemic racism. One of the reasons why I feel that mental health hasn't been getting much attention is how our government is hesitant to spend the money on mental health rather it's about creating a police state. Our society is told that we're to bury all our feelings in and that we should just keep working, but I've realized that this is wrong. I am proud to get a degree in mental health because I want to create friendly workplaces that encourages people to take care of their mental health and not be overworked. It's important that we start small with workplace and figure out how we can make our employees last a long time. Mental health isn't just a school problem rather it's a necessary function of the society we live in.

Experiencing mental health has been a key part of my identity as a student. I realize how important it is to take care of your mental health. People have always focused on physical health, but they don't realize how intertwined it is with mental health. It's difficult to be able to do schoolwork or anything if you have anxiety or depression. When I was in public schools, I learned this lesson the hard way and turns out the reason why I was so lazy was I was either upset or sad about something. These feelings prevented me from getting track of time or finishing projects on time. The other reason why I struggled with mental health is that my teachers felt that children can't get it because they're brains are developing or it's hormones. However, I realize that these factors make you more vulnerable to mental health. Having untreated mental health issues isn't just bad at being able to finish schoolwork rather it can lead to suicides or other issues that are damaging. For example, there a student at Harvard who had good grades and great social relationships, but he had mental health issues, and he ended up committing suicide. Thus, it's important that we take mental health seriously and make sure that it's discussed. What I feel is necessary to helping people with mental health is by being open with it. The problem is that many parents feel that mental health is either a taboo or silly subject that we can laugh off. Many people have this misconception that depression is about having a bad day that you can laugh off or that anxiety is just stress for an important event. Even though this is true, but there are many instances where it's serious and we need to open up about it. One of the things that I hope to enact is policies that will help students with mental health in the public-school systems. Instead of treating mental health with young children as a result of puberty and hormones, it's better that we see that children are just as capable as adults in feeling and retaining emotions and traumas. It's not just about being open with your own mental health challenges rather we all need the support and funding our government in order to make a huge impact on mental health. One of the biggest tests for mental health came during the time of Covid-19 when everyone was on lockdown. Mental health went down as a result of the pandemic and we're just starting to reel from the effects of the lockdown. Many students who would have an outlet with their peers have faced damages in their mental health as a result of being cut off from their peers due to the lockdown. Mental health is very important for everyone and that taking care of it is more important than physical health. I feel that spreading awareness and speaking about the various challenges that can come with mental health isn't enough on its own. I feel that as a society we should put more funding into the mental health system; this isn't just a hypothetical, for example in Massachusetts the amount of DMH facilities that would help patients with mental health have decreased. This is a very serious problem because it doesn't give patients the necessary help that they need, instead many people with mental health often get sent to prisons or jails which is a very bad idea. To me, if we can help tackle mental health, then we can better combat suicides or other mental health problems.

My journey towards getting an education has always wrought with so many challenges but that didn't prevent me from succeeding. Even though my high school and middle school years, I was deprived of extracurricular activities but that didn't stop me from succeeding in life. One of the best extracurriculars I've ever took was playing the game of chess and I've learned many wonderful lessons from the game. The game taught me about being patient and that sacrifice is a necessity in achieving big goals in life. Another lesson I've learned from playing with players is respecting your opponent's even if they're mean to you. Even though I mainly played chess in grade school, but I've come a long way from that. In my years at Roxbury Community College, I've been involved in Student Government Association, Carver Galileo Science Club, Dis-abilities alliance, and Gardening and Cooking Club. These clubs have taught me various skills about teamwork and being able to work together. The best part about all of this is being able to have access to these opportunities even though I'm a first-generation college student. I'm the first generation in my family to ever go to college and it isn't always easy. My family is always paying bills and figuring out how to get food onto the table, but I still managed to figure out about going to college from my teachers. I thought the only thing you do in college is get good grades and a degree, but I was totally wrong. College has offered me more opportunities for extracurriculars than high school ever did. Most of my teachers told me that as a person on the spectrum, I shouldn't be working in any fields that have to deal with people. However, I've realized the importance of neurodivergent people working in the field of politics. The fact that I'm a member of SGA is teaching me the necessary skills to work in government since you'll be dealing with a wide array of people. What I've done in SGA is listening to the various grievances from different students and helping them find resources that can ameliorate their anger. Another thing that I do is be a part of meetings and we discuss issues on campus, and we brainstorm a lot of ingenious ideas that can make life better for students. Being a first-generation college student allows me to see how privileged I am and that other smart students don't have this opportunity. This is why I'm so inspired to want to work in the field of politics because I want to fight the various barriers that affect future first generation students. It's not just SGA that has shaped me into who I have become but the other clubs have made me a well-rounded person and I'm able to see the various strengths that I have never seen before. I'm always a big fan of fighting global warming, but Gardening and Cooking Club has taught me how we can make every day an Earth Day and how we can make more people aware of the various ways on how we can save the planet. One of the clubs that has a personal feel to it is the Dis-abilities alliance club and as a person who's on the spectrum, I can relate to it heavily and I want to figure out how we can better help people who are neurodivergent. One of my main goals as first generation college student is helping those who aren't neurotypical. This scholarship not only represent being a first-generation student but fight for equal rights among neurodivergent people.

Being an immigrant has brought so many challenges for me. For starters, it's difficult to find connections that can further your college career. I'm lucky that I have been able to be fluent in English and understand most of everything, but the problem is that filling out forms and finding scholarships have been difficult for me. On top of that, my parents are new to the culture and language of America since we're new to the various customs and standards that we've never interacted with. It's not just being an immigrant that has an impact on me but I'm a person who's on the spectrum. This can bring a various set of challenges on top of being an immigrant. Throughout my years in the public school system, I never had a good experience compared to my peers. One of the reasons why I never got the help that I needed was the bias of the model minority myth. The problem is that many American teachers feel that all Asians are smart and that they can do everything on their own. This didn't do anything to help me rather it aggravated the existing problems that I already had. One of the things that my teachers would do was use putative punishment methods that didn't do anything to address the problem rather it encouraged it. At the same time, another thing that happened was that I developed mental health issues, but many of my teachers dismissed that as hormones. Throughout my school years, I was stuck in an endless cycle of abuse, but I still managed to get into college. Even though my teachers told me that people on the spectrum can't work with people because they lack people skills, but I've disagreed with them. One of my biggest goals in life is to get involved into the field of politics and enact polices that fight against systemic racism. What I want to do is figure out how we can get rid of the various treatment plans that are designed to cure Autism when it isn't possible. One of the things that I have done is get involved in Student Government Association at my community college. The fact that I'm a part of SGA is very crucial to learning the ins and outs of the American political system. Another thing that I've done is apply to a fellowship that talked about increasing financial aid for students who are minorities or any underrepresented groups. By being a part of these fellowships, I'm learning how policies are made at the state house and what I can do to contribute to that change. This is part of my steps in making America a better place for people who are disabled. It's not just about being involved in SGA that has taught me skills on government and what we can do to make America a better place, but I have taken social science courses that has improved my knowledge on the various injustices in our school systems. Last semester, I took an Honors Colloquium course on researching a topic and my topic was about the various injustices in Massachusetts schools despite being ranked high nationwide. Even though my institution didn't have a good database, but I was able to pull in various sources that gave me a good research paper. I listed the historical, modern, sexist, and other forms of discrimination that have plagued the Massachusetts schools and what we can do to fight these issues. Overall, as an immigrant I want neurodivergent people to be treated fairly with equal access to educational opportunities in America.

As a young child, I had a passion of being an astronaut and studying the world of space. I was heavily interested in learning about space and the various star systems out there. The best part is that I wanted to learn more about living in outer space. I've always wanted to explore what's it like to live on Mars and possible finding the various forms of life that's on the planet. It's not just about living on Mars that I'm passionate about but I've always wanted to find alien life. To me I want to see what's it like learning about the various life forms that could exist in the universe. However, a lot of these dreams came crashing down due to the various forms of abuse that I went through in the public-school systems. As a person on the spectrum, many of my teachers didn't know how to handle me and often used various forms of punishments that didn't do anything to help me. At the same time, they used a resource officer in order to get me to behave, but this made things a lot worse. The resource officer that I had to deal with often ridiculed me and taunt me and that astronauts obey their commanders like police officers do with their chiefs. This put a lot of stress on me, and I suffered so many mental health problems due to this taunting. I didn't understand a lot what was going on until much later in life. One of the things about this scholarship rings to me is how the Charles lost his life to gun violence. Thus, one of the things that I want to do is be involved in the field of politics in order to not only stop gun violence but stop the other racist policies with gun violence. As a person who went through abuse at the hands of a resource officer, I can see how gun violence is a part of this problem. Most people refuse to admit that gun control is the best way to stop gun violence. Instead, many Republicans and right-wingers argue that it's mental health and that police are the solution. This rings deep with me because I never had a good experience with cops and now, I know the importance of being involved in politics. This isn't about just gun control rather there are many racist policies that come out of this problem. For starters, many people want cops and metal detectors in order to stop people with a gun, but that hasn't been proven to be true. In reality, cops act too slow when it comes to mass shooters and metal detectors don't stop gunmen, once they come in. Again, policies around protecting people from guns don't make us safe rather they're used to control people that society despise. As I mentioned earlier, it's not just me who's been a victim of resource officers rather school cops are known to harshly discipline students of colors and often torment them. Ironically, these exact same cops who are designed to stop shooters are often bad at stopping them. Thus, this is why I'm motivated to get into politics and fight against racist policies. It's not just about stopping gun violence but it's about the bigger picture of how more black children are victims of police or school brutality and often funneled into the criminal justice system. This is why I'm passionate about politics because I want to fight against these injustices. I feel that I can make a healing impact on students who are minorities in America.

I am passionate about being involved in the trades and one of the trades that I want to pursue is working as an auto mechanic. One of the reasons why I want to become a mechanic is the classes that took as an auto student at my old school. Throughout my times in the auto class, I've learned about the different car parts and how they work. One of the other things that I've learned is about finding ways on how to save money when it comes to fixing your car. Turns out I've realized that there are simple solutions to certain sensors on your car and that you don't need to take it to a car mechanic. It will always cost more money to go to a car mechanic and fix the car yourself, but when you do simple research on your car and how to fix it, then you save a lot of money. However, what I enjoy the most about being in the auto mechanic field is doing the oil change. I've realized that there is more than one type of oil when it comes to working with cars. Oil changes have to do with the lubrication of the engines so that the engine can run smoothy without any serious wear and tear. I am happy that I got to learn about how cars work and what we can do to make them better. One of the other things that made me interested in working with cars is going to various car shows when I was young. I always looked at the various cars and wanted to figure out what it was like driving behind the wheel for each of them. Eventually, I learned about how the car was designed and what made it a wonderful vehicle for its time. From all these experiences that I had with car is the reason why I want to work as an auto mechanic. Going into the trades of auto mechanic allows me to work with various cars and finding ways to make it better. From these experiences that I had in working with cars it has taught me what it means to be a hard worker and how being involved in the automotive industry is about discipline. I feel that I can learn many lessons from being involved as a car mechanic. It's not just that I can open my own auto mechanic store and repair the cars of various individuals rather I can work for dealer or at a racecar center. I believe that I can contribute to the car industry in many ways. It's not just about the ins and outs of car mechanics that has made me want to join the industry but the idea of working hands on is another thing that I love to do. It's not just having a passion for car mechanics that has made me interested in working with this degree but the various crunch labs tools from Mark Rober. I am happy that I get to get different kits from him and learn various ways on how to engineer. Another thing that has made me a big fan of car mechanic is when I used to play with LEGOs growing up. I didn't realize that a big thing about LEGO is being able to use your mind and create various structures and designs that can build your engineering skills; I feel that I can put my skills to the test once I start working as a car mechanic. I am proud that I'm going into the trade of car shop.

I have relied on my faith many times throughout my life. I've never had a good experience in the public-school systems and the fact that I pray and believe in God has helped through my various trials. As a person who's on the spectrum, life hasn't always been easy for me since many of my teachers didn't know how to handle me. They felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose, and they used harsh punishment methods that didn't do anything to address the behaviors but aggravated them. At the same time, I developed mental health issues, but most people shrugged them off as hormones. This put me in a cycle of hurt that prevented me from doing well in the public-school systems. The only people who I had that vouched for me was my parents. However, one of the things that I'm proud to be a part of is being a Christian man who prayed to God. Throughout my various tribulations I've always prayed to God in order to make it through. Having faith taught me that the world isn't there for you and that only God has a loving heart to care for you. This is why I'm still here even though my school system has impacted me in a negative way. The biggest challenge of my faith is when I got sent to an alternative school far from my home. Going to this school was very challenging and I got to see firsthand what it must feel like going to a school where the students are underprivileged or living on the streets. Throughout my times at the school, I often dealt with various forms of bullying and abuse at this school system. However, many of these teachers would tell me that I can improve in the social pragmatics region by being a part of this school. In reality, I didn't even improve at all in that region, but the only reason I made it through this is by praying to God. Every day, I prayed before I went to bed and eventually, I ended up leaving the school and getting concessions from my public school system. Even though many of my teachers told me that I couldn't work in a field with people, but I've proven them wrong. The fact that I prayed to the Lord and thanked him for the various blessings he has given me has shown how much I can be faithful to him. Even though I didn't get many good things during my school years, but I've come a long way from those years. Currently, in college I have only gotten grades of A's and nothing below that. It's not just grades that have improved rather I'm a part of an honor society called Phi Theta Kappa and I'm a member of the Student Government Association at Roxbury Community College. Right now, I'm being faithful to God and praying to him about trying to make it through college and dealing with the various challenges that I'm facing now. I'm struggling with mental health, and it always interferes with being able to succeed in the college setting. Even though I'm struggling to maintain my standings in college currently, but I'm praying to the Lord to make sure that I can make it through these tumultuous times that I'm facing right now. God has shown his blessings in many ways whenever I struggled in my daily life with various people. Overall, I'm proud that I've been faithful with God and now I've realized that God is directing me to a better future ahead.

I have goals of being involved in the field of politics and making the world a better place. What I've done to achieve this goal is by starting school at a community college and then working my way up to a four-year school. One of the groups that I'm proud to be a part of is the Student Government Association at Roxbury Community. As a student representative, I listen to the grievances of various students and help direct them to resources that can help address these issues. Also, I'm part of a group of students who host meetings, and we figure out how to make RCC a better place for students. Thus, what I'm doing to get myself into politics is by learning people skills by being a part of SGA. It's not just SGA that I'm doing that's helping me get involved in politics, but I'm taking classes in Business Management that will teach me business skills. To me taking courses in business management can teach me the necessary skills that I need in order to get into the government. During my time at RCC, I've been heavily involved on campus. Being a part of extracurricular is one way to help boast your resume when you want to get into the world of politics. What I've done is be involved in Cooking and Gardening Club, Dis-abilities Alliance, and Carver Galileo Science club. All these clubs have taught me important people skills that I can use when it comes to working politics. It's not just focusing on my coursework and being involved academically that has helped me rather I'm training to be a college athlete. What I'm doing is that I lift weights three times a week, train with a coach twice a week while practicing the drills that he has taught me. Being physical fit is helping me manage my coursework and improving my health at the same time. However, in order for me to get into a good university, I need to put in the effort to save money for my college tuition. I've realized that I might need to pay an additional $10000 per semester, so I've decided to save $100 per month while applying for scholarships. What I did with that $100 is put it into my Fidelity account and I watch it grow every day. It's not just about saving money for my Fidelity account, I have created a CD account that has over $10000, and I put any extra money into that account, hoping it can grow per year. However, the most important thing that I'm doing is applying for scholarships since it's important to have an award demonstrating to future institutions that you deserve more financial aid based on your smarts. This what I'm doing in order to budget for college when I start to apply to good schools. It's not just about budgeting that I find important, I've spoken to various academic and admissions officers in figuring out what the best path is when it comes to transferring to a four-year institution. I've realized that I need to calculate the various costs of attending the university when trying to figure out which one is good for me. However, what I care more about is studying the necessary courses in order to learn more about Business. At the same time, I always listen to the professor because they can point me to important events or internships that I can be a part of that can further my future in college. Even though I haven't graduated at 22, but I'm planning to study hard.

Insurance is very important to life because it pays for people's live when a disaster occurs. For example, everyone has to buy car insurance in order to drive, but they don't understand the reason. The problem is that there are events that we can't control and sometimes we need money to pay for the cost associated with any disasters. When it comes to driving a car, you may feel that you're a good driver and that nothing will happen, but whether you're behind the wheel or in a passenger seat, there could be a bad driver who will come out of nowhere and cause a devasting accident. This is the importance of insurance because they pay for the bills of a big disaster. When it comes to any accidents, the cost is very high and paying out of pocket isn't always affordable. It's not just the damages done to the car that the insurance pays, sometimes they can help pay for the damages that you or your loved has endured from the accident itself. Thus, one of the benefits of insurances is that it can cover a lot of the costs that can come from any disaster. It's not just for the big accidents that insurances help pay for rather any accident is always going to be covered by your insurance. Thus, one of the things that makes insurance very good is that if you're prone to more accidents, then you need to pay more but if you're less likely to get into accidents, then you need to pay less. This is just an example for car insurance, but insurances come in many shapes and different forms when it comes to life. However, the downslide of insurance is the cost that many people have to deal with and the accessibility of it. One insurance that I know is infamous for its downslides is the health insurance industry. The problem is that many people have to pay extra money no matter how hard they're trying to take care of their health. As I mentioned earlier, insurance is meant to help you in the event of a disaster. However, health insurance is known to cover a wide range of things that are simple and don't relate to any serious disasters. This creates problems because if you don't have insurance, then you're charged the ridiculous prices but with insurances anything can be out of network, and you still get charged these prices which can result in higher premiums. The worst part is that you can't compare prices when you're in a serious medical emergency. Thus, insurance is very costly and difficult to navigate in certain circumstances. One solution that I suggest for states that don't have much insurance is by getting the government to create their own form of insurance. In Britian, for example, they have a national health insurance called NHS which covers all parts of Britian no matter where you go. In a similar vein, we need to create a government insurance that can cover homeowners who are the victims of the constant environmental disasters in states where these disasters are common. I feel that government insurance can not only help the insured rather many insurance companies may need the extra money in order to pay for these expensive bills. In regard to many insurance companies, I believe that they shouldn't just move away. It's better that they stay and work with one another to help families who are victims of these disasters. It's important that they find ways to pay the cost instead of running away from the impacted families.

As a student who's on the spectrum, I can tell you that I've had my fair share of challenges. Throughout my years in the public school system, I had to deal with various forms of abuse at the hands of teachers. Many of them often implemented various forms of punishments that didn't do anything to address my behaviors but instead aggravated them. At the same time, I've developed mental health issues which prevented me from succeeding. However, many of the teachers felt that mental health is something only adults have, and that children's mental health is just hormones and that it's feelings that they choose to have. This was very detrimental to my development since I struggled with my emotions and the help that I needed was being taken away from me. Also, many of my teachers told me that I should work in a field with people. Despite these challenges, I've decided to ignore them and pursue my career in politics. Currently, I'm taking courses in business management and my goal is to learn about the world of business in order to gain more people skills. One thing that I'm doing that's helping with my career in politics is being a part of Student Government Association at Roxbury Community College. What I've done is be a part of a team of students who figure out how we can make RCC a better place. One of the things that I've done as Student representative is listen to grievances from various students and redirect them to resources that can help them. At the same time, I've been involved with student affairs when it came to incidents at the college. It's not just being a student representative that has taught me community service rather I've had to withdraw from college semesters due to mental health. When I first went to college, I wanted to take a full-time course load a Massbay community college and then transfer out of state to a four-year. I ended up withdrawing from the course, but that event has taught me the importance of pacing yourself. I've realized that you shouldn't force yourself to finish college early and then go to a good school rather you should understand what your own strength and weakness are. I felt sad that I couldn't go out of state, but I've learned the importance of starting small and then working your way up. Even though taking a full-time load can be a challenge, but my greatest strength is being able to write good essays. One of the gifts that I have is being able to take numbers, words, or any information and being able to follow a formula. For example, last semester I took an Honors Colloquium course and even though my school didn't have many resources, but I was able to create a wonderful research paper detailing the injustices of the Massachusetts school system. Although, I'm proud that I'm a part of many organizations at my campus, but tuition is such a big burden on me. It's not just being involved in SGA that's hard on me rather I'm planning to be an athlete as well. Having this scholarship can make it easy for me to focus more of my time on studying and being involved on campus. Without this scholarship, I have to get a job and work a lot of hours in order to pay for my tuition at any four-year school that I plan to go to. Thus, I feel that I needed this scholarship since I'm working hard academically while volunteering and doing extracurriculars for my self-growth.

Being a part of a low-income household has created many challenges for me. For one thing, it's difficult to go to a good college despite being smart because I can't afford the tuition. However, the challenges of not being able to get things due to a lack of money has encouraged me to persevere. I understand that going to college is going to cost a lot of money, but I've been working a job and getting good grades in college in order to help pay for my tuition. I've realized that if you can't go to a four-year, you can save a lot of money by going to a community college. At first, I thought that there wasn't going to be resources at community college, but I was proven wrong. From being a member of the Student Government Association at Roxbury Community College, I have learned skills on making policy changes that can impact our society. One of the fellowships that I was offered to do was about helping students get financial aid. The problem is that many of the FAFSA is designed to help students who are white and thus many minorities are left out. However, this fellowship has taught me ways on how to expand the money and making it accessible to everyone. One thing I've done is by joining the scholarship committee at my institution. Every month I discuss with people on how we can create more scholarship opportunities. The problem is that many people who are international students don't know how to fill out the FAFSA and a scholarship is way to help them pay for college. Also, a scholarship awards increases the odds of the student getting into a good school. Thus, we're thinking of ways on how to make college affordable while boasting resume.

Growing up was very difficult for me as a person who's on the spectrum. Throughout my years in the school system, I experienced abuse at the hands of various teachers. Many of them felt that I was trying to misbehave on purpose and trying to cause problems, but that wasn't the cause. I was just an impulsive student who needed some interventions that can redirect my behavior. However, most of the teachers who gave their "interventions" was often a form of juvenile delinquency punishments that was intended to be harsh and as form of scary tactic. As a result, I developed mental health issues that prevented me from doing well in the school system. It wasn't just the harsh punishment methods that were impacting me, but I was dealing with teachers who blamed my Asperger's and felt that mental health is something only adults can get. They feel that my feelings are just a symptom of my hormones. Although, my experiences in the school system set me up for failure but this didn't hold me back. From the lessons that I learned in the school system, I've realized the importance of getting more neurodivergent people involved in the education system. The fact that many of my teachers were used to neurotypical thinking caused a lot of the misunderstandings to occur. I've realized the importance of being an advocate and vouching for the rights of disabled people. It wasn't just the abuse of my teachers that affected me rather being a disabled person made me feel left out. There were times that I felt that I was no good due to my disability and many of my teachers would reinforce that stereotype. One of the things that they said to me is that I can never work in any career fields that have to deal with people because my Asperger's prevent me from relating to others. However, the fact that I'm very intelligent and can write good papers shows how much I can have an impact on the world. I have taken many social science research courses and I've used my brain to find information that can help build my arguments about the various injustices in the American education system. One of the projects that I have done is on the Massachusetts school system and the various injustices. Even though my college didn't have many resources, but I was able to create a good thesis by finding articles that highlight the various discrimination that occurs in the school system. I was able to piece together a good paper and showcase not only the various injustices but the different solutions that we can take to fight them. The fact that I care about people who are disabled and that I relate to people in a different way shows that I want to make our global community more understanding. A lot of the reason why I dealt with these injustices along with other people is that we live in a very bigoted society. There are lots of systemic policies that are racist in nature and the goal of them is to hurt many people who are minorities or any class that are disadvantaged. These policies look down on these people and are designed to make sure that they're in poverty. However, one of the things that I'm doing to fight these injustices is by being a member of the Student Government Association at Roxbury Community College. I'm learning people skills and various government skills that I can use to fight the systemic racist policies; I feel that can be a great disability advocate.

My experiences in various public-school systems have taught me lessons about the society that we live in. What I've realized is just how the deck is stacked against everyone and that only a minority of society will ever get to fulfill their dreams to the fullest of potential. This lesson has really hit me emotionally since I went through so much pain and trauma during my school years since I'm a person who's on the Autism spectrum. Turns out many of my teachers refused to give me supports during my middle and high school years because they felt that I was capable on my own. Thus, I always kept struggling and I felt that I had no hope. One of the things that my teachers did that they felt would help me is use in-school detention or the resource officer in order to get me to behave. However, this aggravated my problems and didn't do anything to help me. It was during this time that I started to develop mental health issues, and this impacted my ability to function academically. The problem is that many teachers feel that you can cure Autism or any neurodivergent "illness", but that isn't helpful at all. The reality is that many people who go through these treatments end up going back to where they were. Thus, I realize that it's in my life's mission to help people who are being abused by the public school system. As an adult, I realize the importance of making systemic changes to the system that's broken. For starters, one thing that I want to envision is getting rid of ABA therapies and trying to get people to accept Neurodivergent people for who they are. What I feel is that we need more seminars and trainings that will get people to better understand the mindset of neurodivergent people and accept them for who they are. However, I'm doing a lot of things now that's helping me create an impact on society. My goal is to get into politics and hope that these policies come to light. What I've done now is very important for my success into politics and one thing that I have done is be a part of the Student Government Association at Roxbury Community College. I have done a lot as a student in SGA, and I feel that I'm learning the necessary skills to thrive. I'm learning about government policies and how our system is run. Also, I'm able to hear injustices and figure out how we can better address them. The best part of my goal is the fact that last semester I've done a research project. I have gathered different stories from different about their experience with MA school systems. I have created a project that highlights the injustices in the best school system in the state. Thus, social science research has taught me the necessary steps to enact policy changes. Overall, I have done a lot in order to go into politics.

I'm a huge fan of Wicked ever since I've watched the Wizard of Oz when I was a young child. Unlike, the original film, Wicked tells us a different aspect of the original film without the rosy stories that we're still used to. The original film portrayed the Wicked Witch of the West as someone who's evil and a person who you want to never associate with. We're condition to believe that evil is something that only the worst people in society can ever do and that evil people have always been born evil. The reality is way more complicated than that and we have to realize that we need to humanize with evil people. Instead of seeing Elphaba as a despicable being who's irredeemable and deserves to burn away, I realize just how she is just as human as we are. Most of the time when we see villains in the media, they never have a backstory and that we're taught they have always grown up as evil. However, creating a backstory encourages us to see the villains in a different light since it teaches us to humanize with them. We need to realize that the Wicked Witch of the West shouldn't just be given a non-humanistic name rather we need to see them through their own lens. This lesson is important because it relates a lot to humans as a whole. Most people see evil people as monsters who were born evil, but that's not always the case and one thing that I learn is just how any normal person can grow up to be evil. Thus, this story called Wicked gives us a glimpse on how the Wicked Witch of the West goes from being just an evil villain to suddenly we see her as just any other human being. It's not just about Elphaba and being able to humanize with her, but we get to see the other aspect of the Wizard. When I watched the Wizard of Oz, I always felt that the Wizard was good guy, but Wicked shows us a corrupt side of him. This highlights the theme of standing against corruption. Instead of seeing Elphaba as a wicked witch rather she's a girl who's trying to fit in and that sometimes her personality causes others to dislike her. One song that is very good is "Popular" and that's about how Glinda does everything she can to make her sister loveable. A lot of the characters in the story finds Elphaba revolting and vice versa many of the audiences when they watched the Wizard of Oz see her in the same light. However, we are taught to not judge someone by their looks and that there's more to them than meets the eye. Elphaba may look ugly with that green look, but that doesn't mean she's a terrible person and we can't let our tastes judge who she is. Overall, I loved Wicked, and I feel that that the upcoming film is a great way to see the Wicked Witch of the West in a more humane light. Instead of calling her by a nasty name rather it's important to realize that she is just like any other human being. We shouldn't let the Wizard of Oz tell us what it means to be courageous rather anyone can be that trait. The fact that they're doing a film on a villain can teaches us that no matter how villainous someone is portrayed, we should know that they're still human. Bravery isn't something limited to heroes rather villains can do the exact same thing.

My experiences in the Christian faith have encouraged me to always take a pro-life viewpoint when it comes to fetuses. The bible verse Jeremiah 1:5 states, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” This verse heavily emphasizes why it's wrong to have an abortion because God gave us a purpose before we were even formed, not matter who you are it's important to know that God knew who we were going to be and no matter how we start we're all supposed to be prophets in his name. However, our beliefs as Christians are being attacked by people who try to argue that abortion are healthy and that it saves the lives of many mothers. The problem is that they don't understand the reality of what's happening when babies are being aborted. Many women who often go for abortions do so because they feel that the child they have isn't suited to their liking and they want to have a child that's perfect in their own images. As a person who was diagnosed with Asperger's, I can tell you that this is very hurtful to me. Many mothers who are healthy feel that having a disability is more of a curse or punishment rather than seeing it as a challenge that God gave upon them. As stated earlier, God already knew what type of person the baby will grow up to be and he knew that the child will either have physically or mentally debilitating conditions but wants to assure us all that we can achieve a lot despite it. Thus, many people are depreciative of what God has planned for them and forget the miracles that he can provide to everyone. Although, I haven't attended any marches that fight against abortions, but I'm a man who's dedicated to my faith. I realize that in order to fight against abortions it's not just about overturning Roe v. Wade rather this will require a lot of prayers. Currently, I'm planning to attend more prayer groups where we can pray that we can have a government that can better understand us as Christians. Even though this many sounds weird, but I want to lead a women's group that involve women who are about to be young mothers. Most women want to only feel comfortable talking with other women about having a baby, but I believe that being a man and talking about having children is very crucial to better understanding how we can combat abortions in America. It's not just about helping the developing fetus rather I believe that we need to do more than that. The living child is even more important than fetus because that child might become a powerful prophet of God, and we need to consider this. Most people ditch the child after it's done developing in the womb and we don't give people the right resources to help teenage mothers and fathers, and I believe that we need to do something about this. This is why I'm going to work with government officials to assure that future teenage parents don't have to feel overburden by the system. This is my way to showcase my passion with pro-life.

When it comes to adversity, there is so much I can name, but the main one I have fought the most was discrimination in the public schools for being neurodivergent and mental health challenges. The reason is that when I went to middle school, many of the teachers didn't know how to deal with me. Instead, they felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose and they often implemented putative punishment methods on me. As a result, I developed mental health problems, and my social behaviors deteriorated. Also, many of my teachers felt that students can't get mental health issues, and they felt that I was choosing to feel bad, or it was a result of my hormones. This wasn't just a one-time issue rather this kept occurring when I was in the public school system and my behaviors just kept getting worse. The only reason why I was able to overcome this adversity was that I believe in God and kept praying to him. At the same time, I had parents who cared about me and advocated for me to get the best services. What I regretted doing is that I didn't advocate for myself and think outside of the box. I realized that I should've admitted that I had mental health challenges that were affecting me. Also, I should've realized that the therapies used to help me did more to suppress my neurodivergent mindset. Also, I shouldn't have trusted my teachers and should've thought outside the box because I realize how unjust society is. My adversity taught me how most teachers are ignorant of mental health and that being neurotypical is the norm. I realize that we need to implement policies that will help people who have mental health issues as well as finding ways to protect people who are neurodivergent. I believe that we have a long way to go before we can say that we have achieved equality in the public-school systems. For anyone who's going through what I'm going through, what I suggest is pray to God or if you don't believe in any God, I suggest that you find something spiritual that will help you move through life. It's important that you find a way to be at peace with yourself and you don't let your circumstances control your emotions. I believe that the best way to fight off these injustices is by learning to tolerate it, but don't let it define your future; it's very easy to play the victim but that's not how we should live life. People can do horrible things against us, but it's about channeling that feeling and learning to use it to make the world a better place. Once you have done that, you will be able to achieve things that you wouldn't have on your own. Even when you leave your horrible circumstances, the problems don't go away rather it's important to realize that the players are different. Right now, I'm working with a mental health counselor, and I have made so much progress with that person. Currently, I have done a lot with my school and what I can tell you is that I have made high honors in honors program, and I have been a huge member in the Student Government Association at my institution. Let's say that I have come a long way from what I was like in the past and I'm making progress. My adversity may have shaped me in many ways, but one lesson that I've learned is you don't let that adversity define who you are in now.

During my school years, I wasn't a big athletic person rather I was someone who wanted to run and be a part of the team. I was a big fan of cross country and track & field since it was the easiest sport to pick up. However, it was difficult for me to be a part of any sports team during my school years since I struggled with mental health. As a person with Asperger's, I had difficult in enjoying sports due to the way how I perceive things but in middle school that's when I wanted to be involved. However, my middle school teachers were less supportive and very harsh compared to elementary school. As a result, I struggled with mental health, and I had episodes of outbursts that prevented me from doing well in the school system. I felt hopeless throughout my school years, and I didn't feel like being an athlete. Eventually, I tried to discipline myself to become an athlete, but the amount of emotional stress and trauma prevented me from achieving my full potential. I wanted to be on the varsity team, but no matter how hard I tried at practice, I was always slower compared to the other runners. On top of that, my grades were starting to decline and thus I was ineligible to participate at meets. The other option that could've helped me was being a part of a running club near me, but my mental health prevented me from being interested in the activity. Thus, I was still slow compared to the other athletes who trained a lot when they were young. Eventually, I went to an alternative school and that's when things started to get better for me. I started to have staff that was supportive of me, and I felt like their form of discipline was good enough to get me to work out every other day. Thus, I ended up getting stronger and I was faster. Even though, my alternative school ended in failure, and I deteriorated as a result, but I still refused to give up. Right now, I'm doing a lot to train myself to become a stronger athlete so that I can participate in college-level sports. One of my mentors have encouraged me to have fun and keep practicing in order to be eligible. For example, I want to be a great basketball player, but he said that I need to figure out what positions I feel comfortable playing with and if that's what I'm good at, then keep improving at that skill. The same thing applies to track & field, I realize that I need to figure out what events I can be better at and just improve in that field. I've noticed that I'm better at running long distances, and I believe that that's my specialty. Being a great track star isn't just about winning the medals rather it's about having good discipline and being able to have fun while you're training. It should be noted that you need to always recruit a coach in order to be good; I'm doing just that by looking online and finding a coach who's willing to help me improve my skills. Life isn't always going to be fair, but I've realized that you got to make do with what you have and improve on it. I never had the fun experience of doing track & field with my peers, but I'm training harder than ever and I'm faster than a lot of them. However, I still need to monitor my progress and make it above athletic.

My name is Yuanzhe Wang and I'm training hard to be a student athlete. My journey as a student athlete is very complex. As a child I grew up in a nuclear family with both mom and dad who wanted what was best for me, but they were dealing with a child who has Asperger's. Raising a child who has a disability was a challenge to them, but they did everything they can to make sure that I had a successful schooling. Throughout my elementary school years, I had teachers who were understanding, but middle school was when things went downhill. The teachers didn't know how to deal with me and often they implemented putative which caused so much mental health problems as well as delaying my social development. Thus, I struggled to be able to find my places as an athlete and had the willpower to practice. It wasn't that I was lazy rather my emotions were heavily impacted that I had difficulty in recovering my stance. My parents struggled with me, and they often had to battle the public school system constantly. This prevented me from gaining the athletic experiences that I needed to succeed. It wasn't just that I was struggling to be a part of an athletic team rather I was having issues at home which was a result of the problems in the school system. There were times in which I didn't want to go to school nor was I interested in being a part of any running clubs that could've helped me get better. Even when I left the school systems, I still struggled to do well in college. My mental health prevented me from wanting to do schoolwork, but that didn't stop me from wanting to participate in college athletics. Although, I was deprived of the experiences of high school sports, but I've been training a lot. The key thing about being in competitive sports isn't about how high you are rather it's about how high you can bounce from rock bottom. What I've done now is that I've taken courses in college related to Business Management and I have gotten nothing but A's. At the same time, I've been a huge part of my school involvement being a part of Student Government Association, Science Club, Green Club etc. I have even been a part of the honors showcase where I talk about my research project and what we can do to fight the injustices in the public school system. I'm even a part of the scholarship committee where I work with different staff on how we can help students who are in need of financial aid. I've realized just how difficult it is to transfer to a four-year school if you don't have any awards. It's not just about me getting more scholarships opportunities for my school rather it's about having money and awards for a four-year university. My family hasn't saved enough money for me to go to a four-year university and my bills will amount to around $20000 even with financial aid; it's not about paying the bills that I believe this scholarship can help me with rather it's about showing to different universities that you can still win awards. Awards are a necessity in proving your prestige when it comes being accepted. I realize how competitive college can be and thus I feel the need to earn this scholarship. Personally, I'm proud that I've come a long way from what I went through in the school system, and I feel I can contribute a fair amount to our society.

As a person who was diagnosed with Autism, I can tell you that I have witnessed the various forms of socioeconomic adversity in life. Even though I was incredibly intelligent, but I needed supports in social relationships and in elementary school I was given the supports that I needed. However, in middle school that was when things went downhill. Many of my teachers felt that I was a troublemaker and often used in school detention or a resource officer in order to get me to behave. This did nothing to address my behavior rather it aggravated my issues, and it worsened my relationships. Many of my teachers felt that I shouldn't work in any fields that have to deal with people, but I never let their comments get the best of me. I took what my teachers said about me and use that as a challenge in order to make my life better. What I learned was how unjust society can be and that teachers have biases that affect how they treat their students, and I realize how every student is treated unequally. Thus, I believe that it's important that we implement policies that will help people who are underrepresented in our society. One of my future plans is to get involved in the field of politics and fight against the different forms of socioeconomic justice in America. One of the reasons why I feel that I struggled so much in the public school system is the belief that all Asians are smart and that they're successful on their own. This mentality is a problem because there are Asians who need tutoring support or are disabled, but many teachers will deprive them of these supports. I want to expose the poverty rate among Asians and showcase to everyone that not all Asians are smart to be successful on their own. At the same time, I want people to dismiss the notion that Asians can do everything on their own. The problem is that we need to treat neurodivergent Asians as different but people who need support just like everyone else. One of the steps that I have taken to in order for this to occur is becoming a member of the Student Government Association at Roxbury Community College. As a student representative I listen to grievances that each student has and direct them to the right resources. I attend meetings and we figure out how we can solve problems at the college. Thus, I'm learning skills on the political system and the processes that allow our policies to occur. It's not just being a part of the SGA that has helped me rather I'm taking social science courses as well. Last semester, I did a research project on the injustices in the Massachusetts school system and offered various solutions. These skills that I have learned from being a part of RCC has taught ways on how I can make an impact in the public school system. What I want to do is make sure that anyone who's neurodivergent don't have face the various discrimination that I went through in the public school system. What I want is for them to be accepted and get rid of any treatment plan that focuses on curing Autism or any form of neurodivergent mindset. My hope is that anyone who has been victim of the abuses in the public schools can be assured that they're free from the various forms of abuse that has occurred. Overall, I'm proud to be neurodivergent and I want to fight the socioeconomic injustices for people who are different.

"It takes strength to forgive, but I'm not quite sure I'm there yet." This is a great lyric from the Olivia Rodrigo's 'GUTS' that I feel resonates with my own teenage experiences. Throughout the whole song, Olivia talks about a grudge with her boyfriend. However, I believe that you can apply this lesson in many other facets as well. Even though I never went on a date, but as a person who has been abused by the public school system, I can tell you that this rings so much to me. Many of my teachers didn't know how to handle me and felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose. Often, they used harsh discipline against me and that didn't do anything but aggravate the problems I had. At the same time, I developed mental health issues, but the teachers felt that it was socially related or that it was my hormones that caused me to act out. My years as a teenage was very depressing and I never got the help that I needed which impacted my ability to develop social relationships. Another thing that happened was that I developed a grudge against my teachers. This is why these lyrics are so important because I realize that forgiveness is an important concept, but I don't have the power to do it. Olivia's use of these lyrics is about being able to move past and love the boyfriend that has hurt her, but when she does it, she realizes that she feels weak. That's what I feel when hearing this because there are times in which I feel that justice should've been done against my teachers, but this creates so much stress that I don't need. However, if I were to forgive these teachers, I would feel better, but I would be conflicting with myself because I feel that I have lost and deserve justice. This is why forgiveness is such a hard thing to do, but it's the right thing. Even though I have never had relationships in my school years, but I feel that I had my fair share of abuse and brokenness being thrown against me but it's being done by my teachers. At the same time, my teachers are the reason why I had a hard time growing up as an adolescent and why I never was able to have a girlfriend in my life. I feel so much resentment against my teachers, but I need to forgive them instead of trying to get back at them. Olivia's lyrics teaches us how it's difficult to forgive and why you might not be in the right mindset to forgive others. Adolescence doesn't have to follow that perfect model in order to understand Olivia's lyrics rather it's about the traumas that come with growing up. Although, I never had the wonderful adolescence that my peers had, but I realize that you can suffer the exact same consequences of a broken relationships but via different means. I need to understand that we may feel like getting back, but forgiveness is what we all need. Even if you don't forgive, it's okay because you need to be in the right mindset and have the strength to be able to do it. Forgiveness isn't an easy process rather it's journey that you need to take, and it will be a mountain climb, but it's the best path to take when dealing with relationships that are traumatizing. I feel great that Olivia has a wonderful album that teaches us about not being able to forgive but building up to it.

As a child who has been diagnosed with Asperger's I can tell you that my school experiences have been rough. As a child in the public school system, I had my fair share of harsh discipline in the school system. But it wasn't always like rather I used to have teachers that were supportive of me in elementary school. It was when I reached middle school that when things began to go downhill. Many of the teachers there didn't know how to deal with me, and they felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose. As a result, they used harsh punishment methods on me, and this didn't do anything to address my behaviors rather it aggravated them. Throughout my experiences in the public-school systems, I've always went through the exact same cycles, and I never got better. It wasn't just my disability that was affecting me rather I was struggling with mental health issues. Many of the teachers didn't believe me nor my parents because they felt that mental health only occurred in adults; they often believed that I was still developing and that my brain couldn't hold onto these emotions or that my hormones was causing me to act up. Thus, I was being deprived of the help that I needed in order to succeed. Even though I left the school system, but I always struggle with the same issues even as an adult. Although my teachers have criticized me and have told me that I can never work in a field that has to deal with people, but I've went beyond that. One of my main goals is to get into the field of politics and implement policies that will fight against systemic discrimination and pour more funding into the mental health field. Going to college was the necessary first steps that I took in order to make my career path possible. From what I've been told, college can open many doors, and I realize that doing the right major can help you land a position in the field of politics. One of the groups that I'm a part of is the Student Government Association at Roxbury Community College and I've learned skills on how the political system functions. As a student representative, I listen to grievances and redirect many of these students to the right resources. Also, I work with my fellow president, vice president, secretary etc. and we determine how to combat issues at the college. One other committee that I'm a part of is the Acuerdo Scholarship committee and what we're doing as a group is figuring out how to create more merit scholarship to help different students. What we want to do is figure out how to give students scholarships in order to make it easier to transfer to a four-year institution. Many colleges will ask for honors and awards, but many students lack this on their resume. It's not just about being a part of committees that have taught me these skills rather I have taken many social science courses that trains me for the political field. Last semester, I did a research paper on Massachusetts public schools, and I've exposed the injustices while suggesting solutions that can fight against systemic racism. Social science courses have taught me skills on how to conduct research and prove that there's social injustices going on, while exposing the different forms of misinformation and intentional disinformation. What I want to do is make sure that no student has to go through the same set of discipline I've went through, and I want equality everywhere.

Although, I'm still new to field of piloting and I have had any certificates or hours yet, but I'm willing to learn the skills of flying an aircraft. I'm still new to the field of aviation, but I'm willing to learn how to fly and the ins and out of being in an aircraft. What I've seen in aviation is the ability to expand your horizons and see what's it like flying. I'm passionate about being able to get into a plane and doing something that is different than your comfort zone. Flying has important lessons that you can't learn elsewhere, and I want to imagine myself in a cockpit. It should be noted that I had friends who were passionate about flying and I want to see what's it like to fly in the sky. You don't have to join the military in order to be a pilot, what matters is that you pursue your path to going to flight school. Another reason that I want to attend flight school is the different options that you can have when you completed aviation training. Most people feel that the only careers that you have is either pilot for a commercial jet or flying a military aircraft, but that's the case rather there are more than one way that you can join the aviation industry without having to be in the military or part of an airline. One opportunity that I can do is be a part of air traffic control and doing this work will teach me the different mathematical concepts and the interactions between your fellow pilots and other different aircrafts that are flying in the sky. I realize that air traffic control is the reason why we get our goods across the continent and these people are the reason why I can be in an aircraft without risks. Another path that I can achieve is doing topography and research. Most people take the map for granted, but I've realized that there's more to things than meets the eye. Topography mapping is a great part of being in the aviation industry and the problem is that there's more to the planet that we still haven't understood yet. People who fly small private planes are taking pictures of the environment of the Earth and thus, they're giving us a bird's eye view of everything. People need these aviators to map out the landscape and many of these people would go on to measure environmental disasters that are occurring. This is what makes me want to join the world of aviation. I believe that aviation can save millions of lives, and I feel that I can make a difference if I join this field. Considering that climate change is getting worse and we need to do something about this, I feel that aviators can map out the wind currents and the atmospheric temperatures that are happening in the world. In order for weather forecasters to get the right weather, it's important that aviators fly and measure the temperatures and wind pressure that are going on. This is how we can prepare people for a storm and make sure that the number of casualties can be reduced. Aviation is what I feel is crucial to saving many people on this planet and I believe that I can make a difference in that field.

I've decided to pursue higher education because I believe in being more rounded and opening up new doors. Right now, it's difficult for me to find work since most places require some sort of college degree. At the same time, the cost of living has risen to a point where it's difficult to work and pay your bills; there was a study on the minimum and how much it would take to pay these bills and what they found was that you need to work around 105 hours at the minimum jus to pay off your basic needs. In order to find a job that allows you to work more, you need a college degree. If you don't get a college degree, then only work that you have available are restaurants, grocery stories, or any other manual labor job but that would require many hours to pay the bills. Even though I enjoy working in catering but it's not fun and it's difficult to make friends or do anything that has an impact on humanity. Thus, I feel that it's necessary to get a college degree in order to have more doors open up. Going to college isn't just something that just happened rather my parents pushed me to go at a young age. My parents have never gone to school and thus I always live a life where it was nothing but paying bills. Most of my peers got what they wanted but I couldn't because I never had the money to finance the things that I want. Another reason why I want to pursue a college degree is that I can buy a house or invest in the stock market where I can earn money to go on a luxurious vacation. It's not just about the benefits of a degree rather going to college will give you more opportunities that you wouldn't find on your own. I've learned from my peers how they were a part of honor societies or sports teams that allowed them to go further in their careers. Another part of college that I learned was about the various clubs that are offered on campus. Thus, I want to go to school and enjoy the different engagements that college has to offer. Having a desire to go is one thing, but I'm doing everything I can to prepare myself to succeed in higher education as a first-generation student. One of the things that I have done to prepare myself for college is getting the support of my parents. My parents told me that they have saved enough money for me to attend a good school. It's not just the money from them rather I have worked many hours at a catering company called At Your Service and I have saved enough money to attend community college. It's not just working and my parents, but I have applied to many merit scholarships in order to make sure that I can pay the bill. As noted, what I did to make sure that I get the financial aid is that I filled out the FAFSA and now I have some money from the government to pay off the tuition. Currently, I'm attending Roxbury Community College and I'm using every resource I can to not only pay my bills but to be successful as well. At the same time, I'm engaged with my community and I'm being a part of clubs. In the future, I will plan to transfer to a four-year university. I can't wait for the journey that lays ahead of me in my college years.

I'm working hard to help improve mental health treatment by being open with it. The problem is that there are many people who feel that mental health is a taboo issue, and I realize that's a major problem. What I've realized is that there are many people who feel that mental health is more about perceptions and that you can change it on your own. However, what I went through in life has taught me that mental health is more complex than what it is. This isn't about laughing it off or you're anxious rather I believe that this is a more serious problem that we need to take action on. Another thing I have done to help others with mental health is being a part of groups that support mental health treatment. I realize that it's necessary that we make mental health a priority because it will reduce the number of suicides. Having someone who's like a friend can help fight the stigma of mental health and the idea that only professionals can treat your mental health problems. The reality is that we all need someone to lean on and we can't depend on our own free will to get us out of our issues. Currently, I'm taking course at Roxbury Community College and what I want to do is enact policies that will help with mental health issues; the problem is that the amount of mental health support that is in America is being cut and thus there aren't many facilities to help treat it. Another thing that I'm doing to help with mental health is taking social science classes and exposing the various injustices that are going on in society with mental health; the last showcase that I was a part of I told the audience what we as a society can do to help with mental health. I feel that we need a lot of funding from our state government on how to handle mental health. Thus, we as a society need to hold our elected officials accountable and bombard them with our calls telling them about the uptick in mental health problems, it should be noted that children and adults live closer to a cop than they do to a social worker or counselor. Our society has basically criminalized people with mental health, and I want to use my education to fight this serious injustice.

Education is my key to opening up so many doors in which I can make my life better. Right now, with a high school diploma, the only jobs that I have available are restaurant, catering, or any food service-related fields but you're barely scrapping by. One of my professors has taught me the importance of getting a degree by sharing what happened when he got his associates. He mentioned that he met more intelligent friends and was able to have a higher salary. At the same time, he was able to network with people who ended up helping him get the job that he got as a professor. The point is that when you get a degree, you will have so many opportunities available and you can make a bigger difference in the world than if you couldn't. As a person who never had many opportunities when I was in the public-school systems, I found it difficult to be able to get far as an adult. The point is that I was upset by how my teachers were abusive towards me and the various forms of injustices that they threw at me. However, I realize that in order to make a big change in the political landscape you need a college degree in order to do that. I realize that there are many people who are disadvantaged and none of them are able to afford a better standard of living. Looking at these people, I realize how lucky I was that I'm able to get to go to college and I realize that I need to use my education to fight the various forms of prejudice in our society. It's not just about getting degree that will help you open new doors rather it's what you do when you're getting your degree. As a student who's heavily involved in student engagement, I can tell you that I'm learning important skills that I can use in the field of politics. One of the things that I've done as student representative is hearing the grievances of different students and redirecting them to the right resources. At the same time, I'm working with SGA on how we can better improve the desk situation of most of the classrooms. However, the most important aspect of my job is being able to have a meeting with the SGA president. Me and the other members are learning how we can better make life easier for student who go to RCC. One thing that we are trying to improve is the Reggie Lewis Center and what we're doing is creating more exercise rooms while giving out more options to exercise at the Reggie. Also, we're working on fixing the bathroom problems. These skills that I'm learning is crucial to getting into the field of politics. Overall, I want to make a difference in the lives of students who are underrepresented people, and I want to make sure that everyone is treated equally. What I hope to do to give back to society is improving the education standards that we have in America and one policy I want to enact is getting rid of school cops and using the extra money to create more seminars to help people who are neurodivergent. At the same time, I want to create more social services that will help people who are neurodivergent. The most important thing that I want to do is get rid of social pragmatics and teaching people ways on how we can accept neurodivergent people as a brand. This is how I want to give back to society.

As a child I always wanted to be an astronaut because I love astronomy and exploring outer space. However, my experiences in the public-school systems have taught me how unfair life is and the different forms of systemic discrimination that prevents people from succeeding. Even though my teachers told me that I will never work in any fields related to people, but I've decided to become passionate about being a politician and implementing policies that will fight against systemic discrimination. Throughout my life, I went to many different schools because my teachers didn't know how to handle me, and I always struggled a lot. However, this wasn't the case in elementary schools because I had teachers who were nice and understanding of me. Middle school was when things went downhill and that's where I got my first taste of social injustice. Many of the teachers didn't know how to handle me and often used putative punishment methods whether it's isolating me by putting me in school detention or using the resource officer to get me to behave. In the end, it did a lot of damage to my self-esteem, and I lost interest in doing a lot of the activities that I enjoyed whether it's playing violin and piano or engaging in academic work, I was emotionally stressed. Throughout my school years, I lost opportunities of being able to earn scholarships or awards that could've helped me go to a better institution, but I still pushed through. When I was a child, I thought it was my fault that I was doing poorly, but I realized how I was a victim of systemic racism. Looking back, I can see how many of my teachers had biases that affected the way they interacted with students. For me, they felt that all Asians are smart and that having Asperger's means you can do everything on their own. Thus, I realize that this explains why these teachers kept passing me the grade, but I was still struggling socially. At the same time, they were giving me false compliments saying that I've improved in the social pragmatics, but the reality suggested otherwise. From these experiences I feel it's important to fight for the rights of people who have a disability. Even though I didn't have a good resume in high school, but I have come a long way while in college. Currently, I'm a member of the student government association at my institutions while earning all A's for every class I took. At the same time, I have been a member of the Phi Theta Kappa society, and I have been a huge member of the organization. The important thing that I did to get me closer to my goals is taking many social science courses. One thing I did last semester was do a showcase on the injustices of the Massachusetts public school systems and I listed the solutions that we should do. This was possible because I was taught lessons on how to gather data and figure out how to use them to build a compelling essay. Another thing that I'm doing is majoring in Business management since I love to learn about politics, and I realize that business management is necessary. Even though I struggle to graduate from college due to tuitions and the coursework load, but I still manage it. I still plan on taking courses at Roxbury Community College while being able to pay off my tuition by applying to scholarships. I am proud that I will go into business and learn skills that will help me in politics.

As a person diagnosed with Asperger's I can tell you that I have been through so many things in life. When I was in elementary school, I used to have teachers that were supportive but middle school was when things took a turn for the worse. Many of my teachers used putative punishment methods against me and this did a lot of damage to my psyche. At the same time, I lost a lot of social development that I needed in order for me to succeed. However, what I learned through this was how unjust society was and how our punishment method doesn't help anyone at all. What I've learned is that most people who are imprisoned or punished often tend to be minorities. I've realized that crime is a social construct, and that crime isn't about protecting people rather it's about controlling minorities or the working poor who wants justice. Thus, I feel that I want to help people who are disadvantaged and hurt by the system that we have. I realize that what I went through in the school system is a lot similar to what African Americans and other minorities have to deal with, but they don't get any support at all. In schools, many of these people are suspended or expelled at rates higher than white students. Another thing I notice is that teachers pay more attention to minorities because they have a bias that they're more of a danger to the classroom. Thus, I want to make sure that no one has to go through these forms of discrimination. Although I didn't do much in the school system, but I have been a huge part of my school campus. I'm a student representative with the Student Government Association at Roxbury Community College. At the same time, I'm planning to intern as a policy change manger and learning how to improve the lives of people who have criminal records. Last semester, I did a research project about the Massachusetts public schools, and I have exposed the injustices that are being done against students. I presented this at the showcase, and I've listed ways on how we can hold people accountable for their actions. Now I'm talking another social science course and I'm learning how to fight the different types of discrimination in America. Thus, I'm learning skills on how to work in the government and influence policies. This would be great, but tuition prevents me from focusing on my studies. I have a huge bill to pay while training to be a college level athlete and thus, I have to work a job in order to pay off the debt. However, that doesn't give me enough time to do my extracurriculars or find an internship that will get me experiences in government work. Having this scholarship allows me to work less. Also, it adds prestige to my resume since other places may want to award me more money in the future since I'm hardworking. After college, what I plan to do is enact policies that will help people who have CORI records. The problem is that there are many people who have served their sentence but have difficulty in finding work. What I realize is that everyone deserves to be rehabilitated, and prison should be a place for rehab and not a place of punishment. Thus, I want to reform prisons to the point that they're a place of rehabilitation. Also, I want to make sure that having a CORI doesn't fully disqualify you. These policies will make it easier for people who have been convicted.

Having depression has been a major part of my life since childhood. Before all of this, I was in an elementary school that was very supportive, but middle school was when things went downhill. The teachers at my new school didn't know how to deal with me rather they felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose. Thus, they used harsh punishment methods that didn't do anything to address my issues. This is when I started to develop depression since they were isolating me and depriving me of the normal social development that I needed. At the same time, the school felt I was unfit and thus allowed me to stay home for a month without learning anything. This has created a catalyst of depression that still affects me even to this day. Depression throughout my life has caused me to feel sad when I'm not sad. It has caused me to feel suicidal and there are times in which I don't feel like doing anything. These sad feelings attack me and make me feel that my life is hopeless, and I can't enjoy life. Thus, my routine feels disrupted and it's difficult for me to motivate myself and get through it. It has made living and doing simple daily task very difficult for me. Even though I never took drugs as a child, but there were times that I did marijuana as an adult. The only reason why I didn't fully take it was because I didn't have the time, and I was too busy. However, what matters most is being able to overcome the obstacles that I faced. What I did throughout my life was being Christian and praying to God. Although, I had teachers that didn't believe in my mental health challenges, but I knew that God was always there for me. The other thing that allowed me to improve is having parents who cared about me. Many of my teachers felt that it was hormones or that I was feeling bad as a result of consequences that was causing my mental health challenges. However, my parents felt that I was depressed and that they had to advocate for me in order to get me the help that I needed. They had to schedule so many meetings for me in order for me to succeed. Eventually, I ended up going to an alternative school because public schools couldn't support me. However, the alternative school I went to didn't do anything to help me and it worsened my depression. Eventually, my parents withdrew me, but I still struggled as an adult and what I've done to improve is by working with a mental health counselor; the methods that she has used with me has improved my behavior a lot. I realize that my feelings could be that I'm hungry, lonely, tired, or any normal feelings. At the same time, I journal thoughts and figure out why I'm feeling this way. These methods have allowed me to feel calmer. I have sessions with the woman, and I tell her about the thoughts about who I am as a person. At the same time, we go on walks and try to use nature to get us to decompress. There are many things I do with the woman that has allowed me to improve overall. Other things we do is we talk about how our feelings could be warning us of smaller things that we don't need to make a big deal out of. I've improved to the point that I can take college classes without anxiety and pressure.

What I'm doing to overcome mental health is working with a mental health counselor. The things that I've done with her have helped me succeed in life. One of the things that I did was write down my thoughts and figure out why I'm having these thoughts. What we decided is that when we're angry, it's only the tip of the iceberg rather it may be that we're hungry, sad, lonely, or any other feelings that are just plain and simple. Sometimes, I realize that there's no reason why I'm feeling sad and that I need to admit that I'm just feeling that way. This has helped me a lot in handling the mental health challenges that I have. I realize that you can't tell your feelings or any trauma to go away or feel that with time they will die. The reason is that our brains are wired in a way to hold onto these feelings and that you can't use willpower to get rid of them. At the same time, it's important to understand your feelings and past traumas because they have lessons that you can use in your future. It's not just being able to write down my thoughts and journal them down rather I have come up with useful activities to do when I'm having an episode. One of the ideas that my mental health counselor has done with me is that we go out on walks during some of our sessions and we tune into our surroundings. Thus, when I have negative feelings, I do the same thing, and I would take long walks in order to help decompress my thoughts. It's not just walking and journaling that has helped rather we have sessions, and we talk about why we're feeling the way we do and understanding expectations. For example, if I'm having emotional outburst or any thoughts of self-harm I should either sit in an ice bath or use a rubber band on my arm because it gets me to put things into perspective. As a result, I have improved a lot from my sessions and advice with my mental health counselor. Even though I have improved so much in mental health, but I feel that there needs to be activism for mental health challenges. What I'm hoping to do is get into politics and enact legislation that will put more funding into mental health. No matter if you're an adult or child, most people don't take mental health that seriously rather they feel you can laugh it off or you need to calm down. For many children it's worse since most teachers feel that students can't get mental health because their brains are still developing, it's hormones, or both. Thus, I believe it's important that we encourage others to open up about mental health. I feel that if I can speak about mental health challenges, then it would be easier for others to open as well. The fact that people feel that mental health is a taboo subject is a serious issue that has led to a rise in suicide rates. One policy that I believe is necessary to enact is creating more funding on spreading mental health awareness in the public school system. At the same time, I feel that our teachers need more trainings on how to handle people with mental health. The most important policy I feel to helping others with mental health is taking funding that is being put into law enforcement and expanding the amount of mental health treatment centers in the state; mental health is very important.

I have used many online platforms to study whether it's RCC LMS, Cengage, Canvas, or any other online platform. I have used online platforms before the pandemic, but the pandemic has caused so many people to resort to using online resources. Although, I prefer using a real book to read and take notes, but I have adapted to online platforms. When I first took my classes at Roxbury Community College, one of the courses I took was RCC LMS while the other met through Microsoft Teams. What I like to say is that I learned a lot from being a part of online learning. One of the advantages of these platforms is being able to have access to the course without having to exert extra effort in attending in-person. What I mean is that I can focus on learning my course materials at my own rate while being able to focus on personal matters. Online learning allows me to relax and take in the information at my own pace. In a traditional classroom, you need to take notes, or you will miss important information that's not found in the book, but RCC LMS allows me access to all the materials at my fingertips. Another way that online platforms have helped me is being able to have easy access to a professor. In a traditional classroom, I can only speak to my professor during office hours, but RCC LMS allows me to schedule Zoom meetings with my professor. A good example of how this helped me was in my Engineering Computations and this was crucial. Trying to do the MATLAB assignments on my own was difficult and thus I couldn't be able to code since I didn't have the training, but my professor helped me. He guided me and taught me how to type the right commands for the software and this helped a lot. Thus, it was easier for me to code and figure out how to use MATLAB in future job applications. Another platform I used was online tutoring at RCC and it helped me better understand my knowledge of race in America. In this class we had weekly assignments about the Images of African Americans and its impact on modern day. Tutoring helped me to better understand the images that I see in the media. The problem was that I would select random images and create captions based on my interpretations. However, online tutoring hooked me with a tutor who better understood the media and the material that was being presented to us. The person taught me to write a better caption for the image that I chose, and they helped me think critically about the images that I was using. Thus, I learned about the history of negative stereotypes, and I was better able to see how they're still prominent in the American culture. I realize that we need to push our government to fight against these social injustices; I feel that online platforms have given me new information that I wouldn't have found on my own. One other aspect of online platforms is how I'm able to communicate with people who I never knew and thus I'm able to exchange ideas and we can use it to better society. Overall, I feel that many online platforms have given me new avenues on how to communicate with my classmates. It's not just learning from students rather I have used the library database at my university, and I have been able to unearth new knowledge that I can use in my papers on how we can fight injustices.

I have always been a fan of trying to make Earth greener since elementary school, when our teachers would give us a piece of tree to plant in our backyards. I felt great when I got a chance to plant a tree in the soil because I knew that I was making an impact on the environment. To me, I believe that trees are beautiful looking, and they often make a place feel cooler than what it is. Whenever, the temperatures outside my home were hot, I would often go under the shade to feel cooler, but even when I wasn't under the shade, I felt that the surrounding temperature felt more comfortable. It wasn't just planting trees that made me a big fan of landscaping rather my school had arbor day to celebrate the growth of forests. My teachers used to take us to an arbor near our elementary school and we would go on walks around the forest. The thing that made it so enjoyable was how great the trees look and how wonderful it really was. However, my passion for landscaping didn't come to full fruition until my parents moved me to a house and that's when I felt a deep appreciation for nature. You see my parents were horticulturist who wanted to make our home look good. My parents grew different shrubs and flowers to make our homes look great, while encouraging me to help out. It was fun, when I would come water the plants and help put fertilizers in the soil, while wedding out the weeds that could destroy our gardens. It wasn't just for decorations that made me love nature rather I enjoyed the times when I planted seeds to grow for food. The best part about this was when I got my own tree plant and put it in a flowerpot. The fact that I tended to it showed me the importance of nature and how trees can be great. Although I loved gardening and want to landscape for fun, but I realize that there's an important purpose of it. The main issue that's occurring right now is climate change and I believe that landscaping is one solution to fighting excess carbon. What I want to do with landscaping is figuring out how we can plant plants in places that are difficult to landscape. What I've learned is that many cities in deserts are combating the excessive heat wave by planting trees and that's great, but I believe we need to use the right foliage depending on the environment. Turns out many areas that look like deserts actually contain plants that are good carbon sinks. At the same time, we need to practice reforestation not afforestation because every environment needs the right plants to fight climate change. It's not just about fighting climate change rather I want to use landscaping to help people who are underrepresented people in society. Many of these people live in heat sinks where temperatures can go up to 120 degrees and often, they live in crowded places where there's no vegetation in site. Turns out the most dangerous part of climate change isn't the dangerous storms rather it's the heat wave that has killed the most people. Also, many of the victims of heat waves are underrepresented people in society and this has been a result of systemic racism. Currently, I'm focusing my studies on how to push our government to invest in landscaping in order to fight climate change; crucially, we need to expose how minorities are going to be the most impacted by climate change.

What I believe is necessary to the future and what I want to build is going into the field of politics and enacting legislation that will combat systemic racism against underrepresented people. The reason why I want to pursue this goal is that as a person who has Autism, I have experienced different forms of systemic racism. Many of my teachers didn't know how to handle me and kept blaming my disability instead of realizing that their treatment plan caused mental health problems. At the same time, many of them doubted my capability and felt that I can't work in a field with people. Thus, what I'm hoping to enact is better policies for people who are neurodivergent. What I've been doing to build that future is being a part of Student Government Association at Roxbury Community College and I have learned many skills along the way. At the same time, I'm applying to fellowships or internships that can help me better understand how our government works. Thus, I'm learning political skills that I can use to build my future. At the same time, I'm taking social science courses that teaches me how to study systemic issues and build a case against them. Last semester, I did a project on the injustices of Massachusetts school system, and I've come up with solutions on how to fight these injustices. The reason why this is crucial to helping the community is that I want to make sure that no one has to suffer the same thing I went through. Many people don't know how to fight systemic problems in Massachusetts, but I feel that there's a solution. Many people live closer to a cop than they do to a social worker or counselor. At the same time, many teachers feel that it's necessary to cure autism or any neurodivergent "illness" and what I hope to do is make sure that neurodivergent people are supported. I feel that trying to cure neurodivergent thinking is a bad idea that worsen relations with neurodivergent people. Most of the treatment with neurodivergent people are centered around curing it rather than understanding that it's a different type of identity or mindset; I want to make sure that all neurodivergent people are treated with equality and respect instead of being criminalized for who they are. It's not just that I will help people who are neurodivergent rather there are many minorities who will benefit from this since a lot of them classified with disorders that they don't have in order to hamper them. This is another form of systemic racism that we need to address, and I feel that our society don't have many opportunities for people who are neurodivergent. There's a huge stigma against being neurodivergent and we need to change our perceptions of how we view neurodivergent people. Overall, I really want to build a world where there's equality and there's not stigma against people who are neurodivergent; it's time we accept neurodivergence for its distinction.

STEM is what I feel is necessary to making life better than what it is since it allows us to grasp the sciences in a better viewpoint. What I hope to do in the field of STEM is become a biomedical engineer since I want to improve the health of many people. It's important that we combine science with math since these two go hand in hand and if you look throughout history, many people who were scientists were a lot of mathematical equations when trying to improve the human race through sciences. I feel that there are many diseases that are preventing many people from reaching their full potential and I am passionate about figuring out how to fix these problems. At the same time, many people in America suffer from diabetes and I believe that biomedical engineering is the solution. STEM isn't just about innovation rather it's about trying to find racial equality. The problem is that a good amount of the people in STEM tend to be whites and that's a huge problem. Many people of color feel alone or uncomfortable in the STEM field due to this disparity and I believe that as an Asian I can help breakdown this barrier. Many people don't feel that Asians are a people of color, but that isn't true rather they have a huge connection to colored people. I feel that when I'm working in the STEM field, I can take the initiative and make sure that my colleagues feel comfortable working in the STEM environment. At the same time, it's worth noting that many chronic diseases disproportionately affect people of color and it's important that we address this issue. As a person of color in my field, I will do everything I can to push our government to support people who are disproportionally affected by our system. I feel that funding isn't being given to help people of color who are passionate about joining STEM. The issue is that our society looks down upon people of color and I feel that being a part of STEM can help people change their perspective on people of color. Thus, I feel that STEM is a great path for me to go. Another possibly route that can be great for STEM is being working in the field of computers. One thing that I want to revolutionize about our computer system is being able to create an advanced code for our machines. Most computers focus on binary code which has its own problems since it doesn't allow computers to learn much. The instructions that they have are limited and can be a major issue when it comes to taking in huge amount of data. I feel that software developer is a great place to go if I don't want to become a biomedical engineer. Overall, I believe that STEM can be beneficial for me when it comes to the talents that I have. But the most important part about STEM is changing the racial landscape and improving race relations in the STEM field. Many minorities in the STEM field feels alone when it comes to working with their colleagues, but I want to challenge that and having a person of color can make the workplace easier to work in. I feel passionate about the path that I have when it comes to STEM and whether it's being a biomedical engineer or software developer, I can make a huge impact in STEM. I want to improve the world of STEM, while combating the racial injustices in the STEM field that we encounter daily.

As a person who's Asian and Autistic, I can tell you that life has brought me so many challenges along the way. Before I entered middle school, I used to have teachers that were kind and supportive of me and they made sure that I was successful despite my disability. However, in middle school that's when things went sour for me since many of the teachers didn't know how to deal with me rather, they felt that I was trying to deliberately cause problems. Many of them implemented harsh punishment system against me and that didn't do anything to address my behaviors. Instead, I developed mental health problems that prevented me from doing well in public school systems. At the same time, many of my teachers kept saying that I shouldn't work in any jobs that have to deal with people rather I should invest my education in computer jobs. Another thing that hurt me was how they kept passing me even though I wasn't learning anything. They kept saying that I was doing well on the state test even though I wasn't being given any scholarship opportunities. Now I'm stuck with so much financial burden when it comes to college, but that hasn't deterred me at all. Instead, I'm a hardworking student at Roxbury Community College and I have come a long way. One of the organizations that I'm a part of is Student Government Association and what we're doing is planning an SGA Meet and Greet. Another event that we have in mind is the CCSLA Conference where we will meet with other student leaders at different community colleges. What we plan to do is learn how to become better leaders and figure out how we can help the student body at our respective colleges. Another event we will be a huge part of is the town hall meeting with the student body, we plan to make sure that the student voice is heard. What we want is to make sure that we can improve the lives of students at RCC. It's not just being a part of SGA that is important, I'm currently training to be a student athlete and I've been working hard at the gym. I life weights three times a week and I go on runs that last over 1 hour which is great for me. Also, I'm working with different coaches on how to improve my basketball and soccer skills. However, at the end of the day I'm still a student and I should focus on getting my academics all set. I'm majoring in business management and what I plan to do is work in different businesses and making sure that everything is being run smoothly. However, this isn't possible without this scholarship since I have so much tuition to pay off. The only way I can pay for my education is by working a job which can cost me a lot of time from being able to focus on my education and thus I have to give up my extracurriculars in order to stay in school. Having this scholarship can alleviate some of the stress that I have with going to work and it will allow me to pay off any future loans that I might have to pay down the line. I really want to focus on my education and this scholarship allows me to reduce the amount of time I have to work at a job so that I can be a full-time student. Otherwise, I have to be part time and lose out on benefits in my college career.

Throughout my life I have always learned to be nice to others and make sure that you always be the first to help. One of the ways that I have been kind is by volunteering at the Italian Home for Children and what I did there has helped many children who come from disadvantaged families. I realize just how unfortunate the lives of some children are, and I realize by volunteering I can make a difference in their lives. One event that I volunteered at when I was there was the Thanksgiving dinner and what I did demonstrated kindness to those students. For example, I helped served plates of food to many of the children who go there, and I told them funny stories to help lighten the mood up. Eventually, when the event was over, I helped clean up and put excessive food away while sweeping and wiping away all the tables. Thanksgiving wasn't the only event that I volunteered at rather I was there for the Christmas party, and I was a huge help. During the event, I would help decorate the facility with lights and inflatable Christmas decorations that help liven the place up. Eventually, I would go and make sure that everyone was served their pizza and I helped them mixed different drinks of soda at the facility. I had fun with the children and made sure that their days were lighten up. It's not just being at the Italian Home that has taught me what it means to be kind. Another way that I demonstrate kindness is when I'm at Roxbury Community College and I have done a lot for my community. One of the clubs that I'm proud to be a part of is Dis-abilities alliance club and I have been a huge member in their meetings. One of the things that I have done for the club is to be a part of fundraisers that help people who are neurodivergent. What I did was stay behind and make sure that everything was run smoothly throughout the fundraiser. Not only did I process change, but I told everyone that there was movie going on and encouraged them to watch it. It's not just being a part of the Dis-abilities alliance that has allowed me to demonstrate my kindness rather I'm a member of both the Science Club and the Gardening and Cooking Club. Although they didn't offer any time during the summer, but I was willing to help with the robotic arm that was a part of the science club. Before all of this, I used to help out with science club by tabling and sharing information on how to better improve society. One of the main things that we did was share science internships for STEM or any science majors' students at the college. The club advisor has stated how helpful I am in the science club and that I can contribute a lot this upcoming semester. However, the club that I did the most help in was the gardening and cooking club; let me tell you that we worked hard to plan a semester to make a wonderful garden that can demonstrate to people how you can still be sustainable. Before I helped plant the garden, me and my teammates spoke to our advisor on what seeds to use and how we can better make people aware of sustainability at Roxbury Community College. We decided on the seeds that we feel would make a great fit for the garden and we got all the tools we needed for Earth Day. During that day, what I did was help pull out weeds that were being a danger to the garden and putting them in bags for safe disposal. At the same time, I helped plowed the soil and made sure that the seeds were planted in ways that helped one another. The best part about all of this is that even after the event was over; I still helped out and made sure that everything was all set. These things that I have done at my college have been examples of how my kindness has helped others. Unlike others, I'm willing to go to places that most people wouldn't have the time to do while being able to love one another. However, the biggest form of kindness I ever did was when I was at an alternative school and how I still forgave others even though the school was terrible. Many of the students picked on me and often felt that I was nothing but trouble. Most people wouldn't stand it and just give up, but I was still nice to these students and learned to live with them. As a result, I felt better and realized that life isn't always going to be perfect. Even though most of these students attacked me, but some of them opened up and they explained why they acted up. Eventually, I learned that they had issues that they had to deal with that made them feel insecure. It made me feel better and along the way I made friends who cared about me, and we developed a friendship. Even though there are people who will never grow and be outright mean, but I've learned to forgive them no matter what. I realize that someday they will come back and repay me for how kind I was to them. In conclusion, it's not just about being kind to students who were mean to you rather it's also about helping out others who are less fortunate. When you come and lighten the mood up for students who are disadvantaged and allow them to relate to you, you make them feel like they belong. It's not just about what you do when you volunteer rather when you help out at your school you make others feel better. It allows you to form a community with your peers and you learn. Kindness is who I am, and I help others.

Mental health has changed my life in many ways, and I can say that it has been a long journey. My journey has taught me how unjust society can be and I have been pursuing a field in politics in order to fight these injustices. The reason why I am like this is due to what I've went through in the public school system, and I realize just how prejudicial teachers can be to students with mental health. A lot of my mental health challenges started when I was in middle school since many of the teachers didn't know how to deal with me. Before all of this, I used to go to an elementary school that had teachers that were patient and supportive of me. However, many of the teachers in middle school felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose and they often implemented harsh putative punishment measures that didn't do anything to address my behaviors. Instead, they aggravated them, and this caused so much mental health problems, but many of the teachers felt that I was choosing to act up. They felt that my issues were social in nature, and they believed that I was acting out due to my hormones. However, this prevented me from getting the help that I needed, and it hurt my relationship with my teachers. Mental health has impacted the ways that I have interacted with many people. There were times in which I felt hopeless and didn't want to trust anyone or when I was in school, I had issues with teachers that caused me to have emotional outbursts. Other times I was so depressed to the point that I didn't want to do any schoolwork. It didn't just affect how I interacted with teachers rather I had problems at home with my parents since I felt that they weren't doing enough to take care of me or I felt that they shouldn't be my parents at all which really destroyed me. My mental health affected my understanding of the world, and I had difficulty in wanting to work hard or maintain good grades since my emotions kept attacking me. I realize the fact that I'm still developing can actually make me more vulnerable to mental health issues. The way how I approached and interacted with the world was so terrible for me when I first moved up to Massachusetts. Beforehand, I used to go to a school system that was abusive and often didn't care to take care of me. I suffered anxiety problems and felt that the school system wasn't doing anything to help me. The reason why I moved was to be around different people and hopefully hope that my behaviors would improve, but the reality told a different story. There were times in which I felt sad when there was no need to feel sad and I had emotional anxiety when I didn't need to feel anxious. The problem didn't stop there rather I had issues with the teachers at my first school in Massachusetts and I kept getting worse from being there. The worst part about the school I went to was that they tried to pressure me into going to a school in which they can maintain contact with me. Eventually, I moved to another part of Massachusetts to get away from them, but I still kept having issues of outbursts and my behaviors kept getting worse. I couldn't understand why I was still struggling and why I had issues with my teachers, but I realize how they were unaware of mental health challenges that I was struggling with. Eventually, I realize that the reason why I kept having these issues was that I was failing to take treatment measures. After going to public school systems, I realize how unjust the schools can be and how they can do more harm than good. Thus, one of the lessons that I learn about going through the school system with mental health is figuring out how we can better educate and inform students about mental health. One of the goals that I have in mind is that I will enact new policies that will change the school system understanding of mental health. The problem is that many school systems have students who commit suicide, and they often feel it's a social issue of fitting in. In reality, many of these students are struggling with mental health challenges. It's not just being able to go into politics that matter rather I feel the need to put more funding into the department of mental health since there has been a huge reduction in DMH facilities. The problem is that many people in Massachusetts need mental health services, but DMH keeps denying people these services despite obvious evidence. Another issue that is at hand is how much money is being invested into the police funding and yet there has been no fruitful outcome from it. In reality, many police officers are known to lock up people who are mentally ill and this shows how society looks down upon people who struggle with mental health. What we need to do is invest more money into mental health in order to help others. Overall, I believe that we're a long way off from saying that Massachusetts has the best services and is a socialist utopia rather my experiences with mental health has taught me that even though there are many challenges but that doesn't mean you shouldn't pursue what you're passionate about. What I realize is that even though my teachers didn't have hopes for me, but that doesn't mean anything to me. I realize that even with mental health that doesn't mean I can't work in a field with people rather it's a challenge. I realize how important it is to get a college degree and getting further in life with that. Mental health has caused me so much trouble, but I realize that there's always hope in life.

Calculus is necessary to STEM since it's a form of math that is more hands on than other types of math. Unlike other math in which you have an equation and try to figure out the answers based on mathematical principles; Calculus gives you real life examples of problems that can be used in your daily lives. These problems in Calculus aren't just abstract rather they have concrete usage and by learning Calculus it can teach you problem solving skills that you can use in the real world. Most people when they think of STEM, they imagine a person working by himself and then suddenly coming up with a game changing invention, but that's not true. Calculus teaches you the importance of teamwork and how math isn't something that you do on your own rather it's about working together as a team. It's not just about the benefits of Calculus that matters rather I took Calculus when I was in community college, and I learned many things from there. One of the things that you learn in Calculus is finding the derivative and thus you learn a different angle on how you approach a problem. Learning the derivative isn't just about applying it to abstract concepts rather I was given problems that required me to use real life examples. One problem that I was fascinated by was finding the area of a shape, but you were using derivatives and thus I learned a new approach to finding area and volume. This form of math isn't just useful to math itself rather you engineer, and scientist use it in their daily works. Another thing about Calculus that I'm learning is about being creative and this is why we need to teach it to many people who are majoring in the STEM fields. STEM isn't a bad idea rather one thing that it lacks is the ability of being creative. Most lessons that are taught in STEM are black and white and doesn't allow any room for creativity rather it focuses on getting to a solution in the quickest possible manner. However, the solution may not be the best for making the world a better place and although some people are trying to add art in STEM and making it STEAM, but that's not enough on its own rather we need to use one part of STEM to fix this problem. This is where Calculus comes in and what I realize is that Calculus encourages us to be curious and approach problems from angles that are different than what we're taught in the school system. Another way to understand Calculus is how it's rooted in a lot of the STEM fields and many people don't realize that how our doctors figure out the toxic levels of dangerous chemicals to how engineers figure out the right way to build a building is all related to Calculus. Calculus teaches us that math is a language and it's important that we see it that way. Many people feel that math is boring and is only used for budgeting, but Calculus shows us how complex math can be and how you can still be creative. I'm proud that I will be majoring in STEM, and I feel that there are many ways to learn Calculus before you master it; Calculus is the fundamental of how our world works and we need to appreciate how it builds our society. However, Calculus is a tough subject and it's not going to be an easy math to master, but I'm willing to take the challenge for a better future.

I have always been a big fan of math ever since I was a child; I always liked adding and subtracting numbers and figuring out the basics. However, what I realize about math is that it's not just about learning to budget rather it's a necessity to making the world a better place. Math is wonderful in many ways and the main lesson that I learn about math that I never realize is that math is a language. Many people don't realize this, but math communicates to use how things are organized. Turns out many philosophers became scientist and mathematicians because the same logic used in philosophy is the exact same logic used to calculate equations. Math is a universal language throughout the world, and I believe is the only language that is universally understood. What I've learned is that many different species of animals can always count to three and it's a mystery why that's case and how it's possible. However, when you look at how numbers are written throughout the globe, what you find is a common pattern in which one, two, and three look almost exactly alike even though different cultures write numerals in different forms. Thus, what I realize is just how math is a crucial tool to being able to communicate with aliens from a different planet or galaxy. At the same time, I realize that astronomers and many people working with NASA use math in order to study the stars and send people into space. Math is an important tool when it comes to dealing with finances and accounting; I'm majoring in business management, and I realize just how important it is that understanding math can help you learn how to grow and manage your own business. Math can teach you about percentages and how different stocks create different yields and it's very important when it comes to creating a savings account. Even though I'm investing in Fidelity savings, but the main lesson I should take away from all of this is that math is the fundamental necessary to winning it big on the stock market. It's not that math is good for investing rather I believe it's the language that God created in order for us to communicate with each other effectively. I am a huge fan of math, and I want to improve our society through the means of math for all.

I've come far from so many of the struggles that I went through in my life, but the biggest adversity I had to deal with was being Autistic, struggling with mental health, and dealing with discrimination in the public school system. A lot of these challenges started when I was in middle school since many of the teachers didn't know how to deal with me. They often implemented harsh disciplinary measures but that didn't do anything to address my behaviors. It often aggravated them and as a result I developed mental health problems. Many of my teachers felt that my problems were social in nature, but that was far from the truth. My teachers felt that I was still developing and that hormones are the reason why I was acting up, but the reality was that these factors make more vulnerable to mental health challenges. Public schools were a dark chapter for me since I didn't get the help I needed and there were times I got aggressive with my teachers, or I felt so depressed that I didn't want to do any work. Many of my teachers doubted that I could get far in life, but I felt the need to go further no matter what. They often felt that I should work in a field that doesn't require much people interactions. However, I didn't let their opinions determine where I go in life, and I decided to work harder. So far, I have realized that I can be more than what my teachers have said about me. I'm passionate about working in STEM fields that have a lot of people interactions. I realize that STEM isn't just about science and numbers rather there's a lot of politics that go on around it. I realize that in order to make the world of STEM better, we shouldn't just complain about how much it is rather it's important to modify the whole system and figure out how we can engineer creativity into it. Although, some people have changed STEM and tried to turn it into STEAM, but that isn't enough on its own. I don't want to pursue STEM just because I'm interested in it rather, I want to make it better as well. I feel that I can find ingenious methods to fight illness like cancer or figure out how we can better fight climate change. I realize the importance of my education and I believe I can contribute a lot to the field of STEM. STEM isn't just about getting into high rankings rather it's about how we can make the world a better place. Although I feel great about being a huge fan of STEM and the possibilities that it has to offer, but I feel that my financial circumstances prevent me from achieving my full potential. Having to pay bills and figure out how to work is enough of a challenge for me. Getting this scholarship can alleviate some of the burdens that I have to deal with when it comes to pursing my studies in STEM. Tuition is very high and if I want to pay it off, I need to work a job which prevents me from focusing on STEM education, but the main challenge is that it prevents me from engaging in my community. STEM isn't just a single individual working by himself and then coming up with a game changing invention. It's about the work of different people coming together and figuring out the best path while approaching it from different angles. I need this scholarship in order to get an internship.

I'm passionate about being in Business Management since I believe it's an important steppingstone for getting into the world of politics. As a person who has went through a lot in the public school system, I believe that you need to start in a people related field in order to enter politics. Most people feel that majoring political science would get them to that goal, but the reality is that most politicians come from places that we don't expect. Often many of these majors appear in science, business, education, or any field that requires working with different sets of people. Thus, I believe that Business Management is the skill I need to get into politics. It's not that I want to do politics rather I want to see what's it like to manage a business or do anything that has to do with business related matters. Business isn't just about creating a small restaurant or a grocery store rather there's more to it than that. Another facet of business that I enjoy the most is accounting and I'm very passionate about being an accountant. Many people feel that accountants do nothing but stare at a computer and focus on the numbers, but there's a lot of people skills that's important to being an accountant. Thus, I realize that accounting is one direction I can do in order to learn more about business management. After I finish college, I plan to use my skills to be a general manager or any business administrative fields. I will use it to help people manage their finances to making sure that they're able to get their profits on time. Another thing I will do is make sure that no one falls victim to any form of financial scams. The problem is that there are lots of people who create Ponzi or Pyramid schemes that defraud people lots of money and being involved in business management will make sure that no one falls victim to it. Another benefit to society is being able to make sure that all business is being ran smoothly. It's not just about being able to learn the numbers of a business rather it's important to hold people accountable and make sure that the workplace is a safe environment. Ultimately, having these business management skills can teach me how the political system works. I realize that you need to have experience with people in order to show others you're ready for systemic change. I realize that in order to convince others that there are social injustices done towards underrepresented people, you need to show others the social injustices. In the future, I hope to enact policies that are known to discriminate against neurodivergent people and make it illegal to administer treatment to "cure" neurodivergent people. As great as all this seems, what matters now is being able to study while trying to work. This scholarship is important for my studies since working impact my ability to focus on my studies. I have a huge financial bill to pay and it's either I take out loans or I work more hours, but that would prevent me from not only focusing on my business management education, but I don't have time to find an internship, nor I can do extracurriculars that can help improve my business management skills. College isn't just about studying and getting a degree rather it's important that you engage with your community and working prevents me from doing that. It's stressful to work, but I realize the necessity of managing your time while being able to study in school.

As a student at Roxbury Community College, I have done many things to further my future. Currently, I'm a member of the Student Government Association at RCC and I have learned skills in regard to how governments are organized, how to influence policies, and how to improve the lives of students at the institution. It's not just being part of SGA that has taught me people skills rather I'm proud to be a part of Dis-abilities alliance club, Science Club, and Gardening and Cooking Club. In these clubs, I have learned how to organize and make sure that everything is being ran smoothly. At the same time, I have been involved in events relating to these clubs. It's not just about being involved in student life that has improved my skills rather I have learned many great things from the classes that I've taken. One class that I took last semester that helped me the lost was the Honors Colloquium course. This course was getting me ready for the Spring Showcase where I would demonstrate my social science research course that I did over the semester. This course has taught me many great lessons on the importance of social science research. Although I'm interested in getting an internship with regards to politics, but I need to realize that it starts somewhere, and you can't just get your feet dirty immediately. One of the passions that I have to help others is to implement policies that will help people who are underrepresented. But what I need to realize is that you can't just be involved in the proceedings of any government buildings and expect immediate results rather it takes time for things to occur. At the same time, you need evidence to show that there's social injustices going on. Thus, I realize the importance of doing social science research and this past semester I have focused on the flaws with the Massachusetts school system. I have created a wonderful essay showcasing the different forms of discrimination in Massachusetts schools as well as the lack of accessibility in some areas. Overall, I created a wonderful essay that expose the injustices that are occurring in the Massachusetts school system. I've given people solutions and told them what they need to do to fight these injustices. What I've done to make it my purpose to help others is by applying for fellowships that will teach me skills on how the political system is run. It's not just about being involved in school life that has helped me rather I have volunteer experience with people who are in disadvantaged situations. I was a big volunteer at the Italian Home for Children, and I have done many things to help many of these special needs students. What I've done is decorate the place on Christmas holidays and served food to the children on Thanksgiving Day festival. I've always been a big help and I'm doing everything I can to make the lives of people who are underrepresented feel that someone is willing to help support them. Another places I have volunteered is at a group home filled with adults who have mental health problems and what I've done for them is make sure that they're having a good day while trying to make their time at the facility feel meaningful. Although college is busy, but I feel that this scholarship can allow me to focus my time on volunteering in places that need it. I believe that I can do a lot to better improve the lives of people who are underrepresented and for the better.

As a student at Roxbury Community College, I'm heavily involved with my college community. I'm a huge part of Student Government Association as well as a student athlete at RCC. In the fall, I will be on the soccer team, and I will be competing against other schools. Other things that I'm proud to be a part of is the Science Club, Dis-Abilities Alliance, and Gardening and Cooking Club. What I do for these clubs is that we meet and figure out ways on how to make life at RCC better. For Dis-abilities alliance, we figure out ways on how we can better help support students who are neurodivergent and how to have the student body better understand these types of people. One of the values that I have is equal and fair treatment for everyone and a fight against systemic discrimination. As a person who was diagnosed with Asperger's I can tell you that I went through a lot as a child. I realize just how unfair the school systems can be for people who are neurodivergent; one lesson I learned is how people are using ABA or other forms of therapy to cure Autism. At the same time, there's a neurological disease called Social Pragmatics Communication Disorder that has been known to label and hurt autistic people. What I'm saying is that many educators are trying to criminalize autism spectrum disorder and forcing them to be neurotypical. I find this problematic and I'm working hard to fight against this form of discrimination that's happening in our school system. Thus, what I plan to do is to major in the education field and then I will get into the field of politics. What I plan to do is enact policies that will fight injustices against people who are neurodivergent. Before I go into politics, what I plan to do is fix the educational flaws that are in our public school system. What I want to do while I'm in college is to get an internship that involves working with children and the education that they're being taught. My main education goals aren't just about helping children learn, but I believe in the importance of creating alternative schools. I realize that the current approach to educating children isn't doing anything to help them prepare for the adult world. At the same time, we need to understand that a different type of schooling may help improve the mindset of many students since STEM education isn't fit for everyone. One thing that I'm a big fan of is getting rid of STEM and focusing more on improving the creative mindset of many children in the education field. Thus, this is why I feel that alternative education may be the solution to helping students who are struggling in the public school system. The reason why I bring this up is that I see a connection between our education system and how it prepares students for the workforce. The honoree of this scholarship was a big fan of labor unions, and I realize the importance of them; the problem is that many of our school systems teach us that unions are outdated and that we have achieved worker rights for all. Personally, I was a part of a union, but it was too corrupt to fix anything in my workplace and I realize the importance of creating better unions as well as creating more unionized workforce. I can understand how unions can protect workers' rights and increasing their benefits. Thus, by being involved in politics I can improve the lives of the American worker.

I enjoy many things about being able to write and my favorite thing about writing is being able to brainstorm and come up with creative ideas that create fun good stories. Originally, I wanted to be involved in the art world, but I had difficulty in drawing illustrations without being guided by an art teacher. However, I realize that my strengths lie not in being able to draw but coming up with good imaginary ideas. I couldn't understand why I had a good imagination and came up with good stories in my head, but I realize that I'm a good writer. One proof that I'm good writer is how well I can be with coming up with good essay papers for college. I have taken many college courses on social science research, and I was able to craft many essays that talked about how we can fight against injustices. I often was good at coming up with a great body paragraph and being able to argue my thesis. It's not just being able to write analytical that has helped me rather I'm deciding to get involved in the world of creative writing. I have seen so many of my tv show creators who were good writers and ended up having a wonderful writing career. I feel inspired to want to create a good television show that I feel can become a great hit. Currently, I'm trying to create a graphic novel series about a young girl who had wonderful adventures with an animal companion, but a malevolent tyrant comes and kills off all her friends. Then she teams up with an anti-hero called the Mean Witch and they must work together to save Earth or Eirene from total genocide. The world that I have created is vastly different since it's humans, magical creatures, and demons intermixing with one another. This young girl needs to come to fruition of how different the world is from all the adventures she went on. My goal with this story is to eventually get this pitched to the networks. I believe that this story can make this other story even better than what it was originally. At the same time, I really want to see what's it like working in the field of writing good scripts, tv episodes, movies etc. This is why I really want to further my education because I believe it's important to go from working a job that is mundane to a career that you like. Higher education is about being able to find what you want to do and have a lot of fun with it. I realize that I can learn more about how to get far in the industry as a writer for any type of entertainment. Turns out when I first went to comic con, I thought you could ask writers on how to get far in the industry, but the reality was lot more complicated than what I expected. Turns out many professional writers can't afford to peer review due to copyright lawsuit. However, when I was in college, I was able to meet a professor who was able to help me create a pitch bible for the graphic novel show that I had created. I learned how to create good visual images as well as being able to figure out how to attract the executives while learning good communication skills; I realize just how difficult it is to get an agent, and the hard work needed to make a good show. I'm proud to want to be involved in the world of writing tv shows.

I'm a current student at Roxbury Community College and I'm passionate about the technology field. I have plans to upgrade our computer system. I believe that we need to upgrade from binary to a more complex code in order to protect our systems. I've always been a big fan of computers ever since I was young since my mom is a computer engineer. Compared to most other parents, my mom knows how to repair a computer whenever a system was broken, and it saved us so much money. At the same time, she taught me important lessons about how to fix the software and the proper way to debug without having to hire a computer repairman. It's not that I'm a computer person rather I've went through so much when I was young. Although my school had access to computers, but we didn't feel that it was necessary to invest in teaching student's computer skills. Most of the time when I was in school system, I was too busy handling mental and emotional health issues. The problem is that many of the teachers felt that I was trying to cause issues on purpose, and they implemented harsh disciplinary measures that deterred me from wanting to learn. As a result, I didn't have much of a good resume when it came to understanding the technology field. However, there was one silver lining that exposed me to the technology field. At RCC, I found a club that was called Information Technology club and as a result I was able to get my hands on the field of computers. It's not just being able to join the club that has helped me rather I took courses with Google on how to fix computer tech issues that many people have encountered. I'm very familiar with how the CPU works along with the motherboard. But the best way I have learned about computers was taking an engineering course at RCC. In the course, I was exposed to a software called MATLAB and I've learned how to calculate and figure out how to solve problems in the computer industry. What I've realized is just how important computers are to our day-to-day lives and I realize that many of the machines that we use are more computer based rather than mechanical. Even if you have already bought the hardware rather the software is the most important part of the IT industry. I realize that fixing the software is crucial to getting into the field of politics. Turns out our government use technology to keep data points and figure out how to run society smoothly. I realize that if I want to get involved in technology, I need to have a good background in the computer industry. Being able to work on the Information technology is a great way to understand how our society works; I believe I can learn many things about how we can improve our government database as well as being able to archive and record important historical debates that happen in the House of Representative. Information technology is about storing information rather I want to learn more about how to use that information and make sure that our systems are safe from malware that can damage cause our whole system to crash. In the future I plan to find an internship that will teach on how to improve our Information systems. I want to get hands on experiences with technology and I feel that I can make a huge contribution to technology; I believe what I do can fight systemic barriers in Information Technology.

My experiences with social anxiety have taught me many lessons about how unjust society is but has hurt me in many ways. As a person who has Asperger's I can tell you that social anxiety can be very overwhelming for me. I enjoy interacting with people and making friends, but it was very difficult for me to want to engage and socialize because of the harsh discipline that I went through in the public school system. Many of the teachers felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose rather than seeing it as behavioral issues that needed interventions. They often antagonized me and attack me for the way that I socialize with people. This really put so much stress on me to the point that I felt uncomfortable wanting to talk with other people. It wasn't just having anxiety that affected me rather I had other emotional problems that prevented me from engaging in good social behaviors. The way that I think caused me to act in ways that were irrational, but the school felt it was a social problem. The way that they tried to help me was through BCBA, but that did more harm than good. It felt like they were trying to stop me from expressing my autistic self. I felt so miserable to the point that I wanted to switch schools. This really put more stress on my social anxiety, because I was moving to new environments and I couldn't blame myself rather I was looking for help, but I couldn't find it in the public school system. During this time, I felt sad and lonely because I didn't have any long-term relationships. Eventually I got hospitalized and I couldn't understand why I didn't enjoy the public school system, but I realize how much social pragmatics therapy was causing me so many problems. I realize just how I was sensitive to that word and how I didn't want to improve in that region. It upset me that I was being forced to work on social interactions and that really was the problem. Even though I left the public school system, my experience with social anxiety still plagues me. Last time I was in a public-school meeting, they said I improved in the social pragmatics, but the reality was far from it. This improvement on social pragmatics didn't address the mental health as well as the anger that was boiling inside of me. However, going to college was such a different experience and I realize that getting a degree is necessary to fighting the prejudice against people with autism. I realize that we live in a system where it's easy to judge others and feel that we should cure all diseases that plagues us. One of the parts of college that made me happy is by joining the Dis-abilities alliance club and I realize how much my life has gotten better by joining this club. In this club we find ways to help people with social anxiety issues and I believe I can do a lot to help fight the prejudices. My ultimate goal is to get into the field of politics and going to college has taught me how to do social science research and using that type of research can help people see the data on social injustices in society. Thus, I realize that in order to stop social pragmatics therapy, it's important that people are exposed to how people with autism are being abused. College has restarted so much of what I lost, and I have improved by going to higher education.

Mental health is such a tremendous journey that I have gone through and there's just a lot that I can name. Before I had mental health challenges, I used to be a student who had only Asperger's, but once I reached middle school that's when mental health started to kick in. Many of the teachers didn't know how to deal with me rather they felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose. They often used different forms of putative punishments that didn't help me rather it aggravates the issues that I already have. It was quite aggravating that many of these teachers felt that all my issues were social in nature. I had difficulty in finding resources that can dealt with mental health because many of my teachers felt that students can't get mental health based on the myth that we're just developing, and it could just be hormones. As a result, I had issues with so many teachers that it made difficult for me to do well in school. This caused my parents to keep switching me schools and I lost the ability to form relationship skills that could've fostered proper development. But the main lesson that I learned from all of this is how much injustices are being levied against students who have mental health issues. I realize just how understaffed and underfunded many schools are when it comes to dealing with mental health. At first, I was really angry with my teachers and felt that they betrayed me, but I realized just how ignorant they really are when it comes to mental health. I used to think it was my fault, but I realized just how my teachers failed me. Even though they told me that I couldn't work in fields with people, but I proved them wrong. Currently I'm heavily involved with Roxbury Community College, and I have done a lot. One of the groups that I'm proud to be a part of is Student Government Association and being a student, representative has taught me skills that I can use for my future career. Based on the experiences that I went through I'm deciding to go into the field of politics. I realize that the state needs a lot of mental health funding, and the problem is that the department of mental health is starting to close facilities designed for people who have mental health problems. I believe it's crucial that we enact policies that help people who have mental health issues. There are many barriers that prevent people from getting the help that they need. As a person who has experienced such barriers, I believe it's important that we break them down. One policy that I believe is necessary is getting rid of the funding that is being given to the police. Turns out there are lots of money that can help with the mental health field, but the problem is that the money isn't used correctly. Similar to many children, adults who struggled with mental health live closer to a cop than they do to a counselor. I believe it's important that we divert funding that is being used unnecessarily into the mental health field. I have seen many instances of the police doing a well-being check where it escalates to a full-blown fight; I feel that there needs to be facilities that can help prevent issues with mental health. Another plan I have is to create a branch that helps people fight the stigma of mental health, I believe that there are many ways to improve the field of mental health.

I'm a student at Roxbury Community College who has an impressive resume. I've been a part of Student Government Association, Science Club, and Science and Cooking Club. At the same time, I'm a person who's heavily interested in getting into the field of politics and enacting policies that will combat systemic racism in the nation. I really that many of the reasons why we have problems in the urban planning field has to do with different forms of discrimination. As a student who goes to RCC, I see many African American men and women who are homeless, and I find it despicable that society looks down upon them. They're portrayed as lazy, freeloaders, and people who want to take advantage of the system. As a person who has Asperger's I can understand what it must feel like being a part of the system that has failed you. I've always been interested in trying to make city life better and there are so many issues that plague us. One way that I have been heavily involved in the urban sector is by being a part of a movement called Boston Socialist Alternative and we have protested the injustices that our society has created. We have demonstrated outside of the statehouse and chanted how rent is too high and that we don't have a livable wage while protesting the unsustainable measures that makes it difficult for people to live in the city. Personally, I have benefited from being a part of this movement and we really need to fix the problems that are occurring in our cities. Although there are many ways in which we can make a difference in urban planning and economics, but I believe that by going into the field of politics I can make a huge change. One of the things that I plan to do is enact policies that will help with the rising cost of living. The problem is that many homeless people don't have the financial capability to pay for rent. Many of the jobs that we have isn't enough to pay for the bills that's needed to cover Boston's housing crisis. Another issue that's at hand is the Landlord's abusive power to raise rent and universities trying to build luxurious dorms that make housing unaffordable. I believe that it's important that we tax the private sector because there are lots of tax revenue from the wealthy that can help fight housing and homelessness. What I find crucial in the beginning stages is to do social science research on the housing and homeless crisis in order to expose the problems that are at hand. It's not just homelessness that we have to deal with rather gentrification is another aspect of this problem. Although there are many old buildings that do need to be torn down, but the problem is that there are places that have a deep historical value to it. In my opinion, there are many minorities who had history with Boston, and we need to consider them. It's also important to consider how we can be sustainable with the cities, and I feel we need to create polices on building a better city. I feel motivated to be a part of urban planning because I go to a college that's heavily impacted by urban disparities. I've experienced the injustices that have many people in the urban environment has gone through. I feel that no one should have to live in a city that's poorly managed and I can imagine the difficulty of living in Boston. I'm passionate about fixing urban problems in Boston.

Being a first-generation college student, I realize the privilege of being able to attend higher education and being able to obtain a better job. Unlike, many other students who have parents who can help them get a discount on their education, my parents work menial jobs that don't require a degree, and it has always been challenging. I'm lucky that I can have scholarships and be able to obtain a very high GPA in college. The fact of the matter is that I have a perfect GPA of 4.0 and I realize how incredibly intelligent I am at being able to obtain good grades. Thus, I realize that I'm lucky to be able to make my life better than other people in the same boat. Before I was in college, I had a rough childhood growing up, many of my teachers felt that I was doing nothing but cause problems, but in reality, I had behavioral issues, and I needed simple interventions. The reason is that I have Asperger's and having this condition affects that way that I interact with the world that I live in. There are times where I will struggle with social interactions, but I do everything I can to manage it. However, the fact that I'm a first-generation college is teaching me skills that I can use to help me succeed despite having a disability. My parents are new to having a child with a disability and to me getting a college education can help me better understand people who are neurodivergent. It's not just being able to gain the experience of having a degree and being able to find a career path in which I can have an impact rather it's being able to do something different than what your previous generation was used to. I'm grateful for being able to attend college and learn new skills along the way. My parents barely understand how the system works and it's difficult for them to find work since they haven't attended higher education. For me, higher education has taught me skills on how to craft a resume and learn new interview skills that I can use to launch my career. It's not just learning new skills that have my higher education really great, but the friendships that I have made along the way. I always thought college was about getting a degree and then getting a job, but my experiences has taught me how different that is. Many institutions that I have attended have exposed me to clubs that I have never heard of. In fact, many of the clubs that I have attended has fostered me a sense of a competitive spirit that I have taken to heart. Turns out many clubs have safe space that allow you to mingle with people who are just like you. I'm proud that I'm able to attend higher ed and be engaged with the community. One other lesson that I learned while I was in college is being able to engage with the community; there's this myth that college is about getting all your credits to a degree, but the truth of the matter is that you need to engage with the student body in order to better get further in life. Many college professors will encourage you to attend events that can help you make the college experience easier. These the events allow you to learn more about what higher education is like and how we can make society better as a whole. Although there's a good amount of people who will never attend higher education, but it's important that we use higher ed to fix the problems that we have in society. I realize that there are different forms of injustices that occur in the world and college education allows us to fight the misinformation and disinformation that many of us are exposed to. One of the classes that I have liked the most is social science courses and what I've learned from being in those courses have taught me the importance of gathering research and using it to make a compelling argument that vouches for policies that fight the different forms of injustices. I am happy for how colleges have made it easier for me to navigate life; I was told by my teachers that I should be in this field and stick to it, but college has encouraged me to go beyond my comfort zone. I am proud that I'm a first-generation college student and I believe can contribute a lot to society. Even though I faced so many barriers when I was young, but I've overcome them to be able to attend higher ed. As a first-generation student I want to make sure that no one has to go through what I experienced.

The top three songs are Bad Guy, Therefore I Am, and Ocean Eyes and each of them has important themes that are match up to who I am. One of the songs that got me introduced to Billie Eilish was Bad Guy and that song had a wonderful beat. Even though one part of the song was about misandry, but I still enjoyed the other parts, and I agree with it. Although I am a man, but I realize the importance of not conforming to that bad boy stereotype. Eilish throughout the whole song states that she can be a better Bad Boy than anyone else and that she can tell if a boy is faking it. However, the part of the song that is highlighted in the music video was the intro when it talks about white shirt that's now red with bloody nose. Turns out these lyrics talks about Eilish struggling mentally even though she looks good on the outside. What I find so great about what Eilish is singing is how she's realizing the truth of her love and that she's trying to come to grips with the reality. This song makes me reflect on myself and my relationships with other people. I realize that not everyone is who they say they are and that you need to get to know them before believing that they care about you. However, what I connected with the most is the idea that being a bad boy is a waste of time and it makes you look bad. Throughout life, they always encourage men to be scary and strong with no emotion along with no crying, but the lyrics of how Eilish says she can be a better bad boy shows how meaningless it is to keep up this image. Although she's a woman, but she demonstrates that she can be tough as well. Another song that I loved was Therefore I am, and I enjoyed the lyrics, because she's using a quote that I learned in philosophy which was I think therefore I am. The original author states that thinking allows us to know reality from dreams because you can't doubt if you're dreaming and Eilish use these words to send a message that she doesn't care what the media says about her. It's not how she puts a twist on a famous philosophical phrase rather it's about not letting your own culture control you. Similar to bad boy, I realize that people can think whatever they want and will tell you to be normal, but as a person with Asperger's I realize that it's futile to be normal. Normalcy is relative and it's important to be yourself rather than have others criticize you. What someone feels is normal is their own interpretation and I realize that life is about living to who you feel you should be. This song has encouraged me to pursue my own passions and just be neurodivergent. Finally, Ocean Eyes has a simple meaning about the dangers of being in a possessive relationship. Eilish mentions how she loves that person, but at the same time admits that they're mesmerizing looks feel like a trap. I do agree that in life there are people who we feel are good for us, but really want to hurt us and that we need to learn to manage that conflict. Eilish has taught me that even with these sinking feelings, it's better to play it safe rather than risk it all. Overall, I enjoy the music that Eilish has given and I'm proud that I'm an Eilish fan.

LeBron is a wonderful role model for the next generation of basketball players. Although I don't follow the NBA that much, but I'm a big fan of playing basketball and I have dreams of making a college team. Lebron represents the next generation after Michael Jordan and I believe that he can bring so much to the game. Although Michael Jordan has won so much NBA champions in a consecutive manner, but Lebron has managed to win games based on his hard work. It's not just the Lebron is involved in basketball rather he has been a huge part of the media. Although Michael Jordan was the first NBA player to star in a movie with the Looney Tunes, however the new second film with Lebron brings on a different take that is different from the first one. One thing that I enjoyed the most about the movie is the character that Lebron has with his kids, whereas in Space Jam it's about Michael Jordan and the internal struggle of going back to the NBA, the new film explores Lebron James and respecting the decision of the career that his kids want to pursue. Another part of the film that teaches an important lesson that has real world impact is the use of AI. What I learned from watching the film is how Lebron wants both his sons to be basketball stars, but one of them wants to pursue a career in video game design. Eventually this leads to a turmoil where the AI sees this torn relationship and exploits it. Throughout the film, Lebron is focused on beating the AI and gaining his freedom, but then he learns the lesson of respecting the wishes of his son. However, one main lesson that Lebron demonstrates is the ability to defeat AI. Lebron has shown us that no matter what the AI can do, he realizes that there are ways in which humans can still trump the AI. Even though the machine rigs the game and tries everything it can to cheat its way to win, but LeBron decides to use the powers that he has and scores the winning shot. Although the AI tries everything it can to use it powers, but Lebron physically overcomes the artificial intelligence. Thus, LeBron sends a message that with hard work, you can overcome anything even if technology tries to convince you that humans are no longer needed and that machines can do almost everything. Personally, Lebron is the greatest basketball player because of how influential he is, and it isn't about him being able to dunk rather you need to look at the other things he has achieved. One thing that stands out to me is how he won four MVPs, and he didn't win them because he was the favorite rather, he has demonstrated that he earned it. Lebron has been able to average 14.2 points from a 66% chance of scoring while being able to be 11000 points ahead of any active players in the NBA. I believe Lebron still has more to do in his career that demonstrate greatness. Lebron is great at motivating his teammates to keep pushing for the win. At the same time, he's very punctual and always make sure to attend all the playoffs. The best part about Lebron is that he can play any position on the court. Most players in the NBA will often specialize what type of position they will be, but not Lebron. This man has done so much to earn the legendary spot of the best basketball player of all time.

I'm a proud to go into the field of politics because I'm passionate about helping people who are underrepresented members of society. The experiences that I went through when I was young encouraged me to realize the social injustices that we have. As a person who has Asperger's I can tell you that life hasn't always been easy for me. The problem is that many teachers in our public school system don't know how to handle students who are neurodivergent. Another nuance that we need to take into is the racial discrimination that intersects with how our schools handle people who are neurodivergent. What I realize is that we have a long way to go before we can claim that we have enter a society where discrimination has been conquered. What I have planned in mind is that I will hope to enact policies that target students who are neurodivergent. At the same time, I plan to reduce the budget that we have invested in the police and redistribute it to social services in the school system. The most important part of my plan is that I will hope to create more seminars and workshops that will help teachers better understand people who are neurodivergent. At the same time, I will create workshops that will help teachers better understand how their biases impact how they interact with their students. However, before I can do this, I have goals that I feel is necessary to achieve this kind of dream. One goal I have in mind is to get an associate's degree and use it to find internships that can help me better understand how our political system works. Another goal that I plan to use is that I will focus on applying to fellowships that help people understand how our government work. Internships is one thing, but fellowships allow me to work more closely and at an advanced level of our government. It's not just focusing on my academic that will help me achieve my dreams of politics rather I have personal reasons. My experiences as a person with Asperger's can highlight the issues that we have in the public school system; many teachers will tell us that everything is fine or that my experiences are relative, but I realize that my concerns are just as legitimate. I don't want anyone to have to experience what I went through in the public-school systems because many of my teachers feel that they did a good job with me but failed to understand the overall picture. The truth of the matter is that even though they said I improved socially, but they failed to recognize the issues that have impacted my life. The reality is that these treatment methods are used to get rid of a person's disability and hopefully cure it, but the sad truth is that it's impossible. Personally, I believe that the way we look at a disability is more pseudoscience, and this is why I'm passionate about politics.

There are many obstacles and challenges that have prevented me from being successful, but the ones I can list is mental and emotional health, harsh disciplinary measures from my teacher, the system withholding knowledge of scholarships, and being discriminated for having Asperger's. Although I was academically gifted when I was young, but the only reason why I succeeded was that I had teachers who were supportive and willing to understand me. However, middle school was when things took a turn for the worse. Many of the teachers didn't know how to handle me and they often implemented harsh disciplinary measures against me. This didn't do anything to address my behaviors rather it aggravated them. At the same time, I developed mental and emotional health problems, but the teachers felt that this all part of my behaviors. They felt that this all had to do with hormones and that I don't have the mental capacity to hold onto my emotions. However, the truth was that I was more vulnerable to mental health problems, and this was a serious aggravating factor throughout my school years. It wasn't just mental health problems that affected me rather I had teachers who looked down on me. Many of my teachers felt that I shouldn't work in fields that have to do with interacting with people. They felt that I should work in the field of sciences and that I should minimize all interactions with people. It wasn't just the ways that my teachers treated rather I struggled with managing my mental health throughout my times in the public-school systems. There were moments that I felt sad and didn't want to do any schoolwork while there were times in which I had emotional anger that prevented me from getting along with teachers. The school system often implemented special educational plans that made me stand out. It didn't do anything to make me feel better rather it create an unsafe environment for me. It wasn't just that they didn't care about me rather they focused on treating a disability and trying to get rid of it instead of accepting it. It should be noted that even though I scored well on MCAS, but the state refused to educate me about scholarship opportunities for college. As a result, I have to depend on Pell Grants, but that isn't enough for me to pay for my tuition. Thus, I feel that having this scholarship is necessary for me to succeed. Tuition is very high and on top of that I have to pay rent, electricity, food, and transportation etc. Being able to have this scholarship can help fix the financial issues that I have with attending community college. Instead of having to focus on paying my bills by working a job, I can focus my time and energy on being a student athlete as well as my academics. I am a heavily involved student at my institution, and I really want to focus on trying to make things better for students at RCC; the fact that I have to focus on paying my bills will prevent me from being able to commit to student engagement at RCC. In the fall, I'm planning to be a full-time student, and I can't afford to work at all since that will prevent me from achieving the high grades that I need to transfer; the other engagement that is very important is that I will be playing a sport at my institution and practices will further limit the amount of hours I can commit to working. I'm really in need of a scholarship.

The way that I live out my faith in pro-life is when I ever become a part of protest movements that support Pro-life. Currently, I'm a student at Roxbury Community College who's majoring in Political Science, and I've been taking courses that involve social science research. I have done a lot of hard research on abortion and the effect it has on the world. Although there are many people who have data the proves that abortion can be very safe and effective, but I have seen the dangerous effects of it. What I have done personally to live out my faith is by praying in public and encouraging people to be a huge part of the Christian faith. Although I have people who antagonize me for my stance on pro-life, but I believe it's necessary that we look at the reality of what abortion is. Many people have argued that abortion is good, and it protects the woman, but as a Christian I believe that a developing fetus already has life no matter what. Even though childbearing has become so painful ever since man became sinful after the fall, but the reality is that the trial of childbearing demonstrates faithfulness to God. I have been a part of groups that have encouraged mothers to carry their children to term. The only time I have ever supported abortion is when carrying the baby is more dangerous to the mother. Thus, I have realized the importance of being faithful to God and how God has encouraged me to center my life around a Christian worldview. It's not just living my faith, but the fact that I have faith in the Lord has changed me in many ways. As a person who never had a good experience in the public schools, I have realized that the terrible injustices that are done. Many of teachers told me that I can never work in a field with people, but I always had faith in God, and I realize the importance of ignoring them and being faithful. The fact that I was faithful to God allowed me to achieve much more in college that I ever did in grade school. As a result, I feel compelled to enter the field of politics and implement new policies that will help people who are underrepresented. One thing that I find just as important is that Pro-Life isn't just about protecting fetus rather it's about all stages of life. I'm proud of mothers who don't abort the child and are willing to carry their children to the full-term, but the problem is that after a child is born, then it's left to fend for themselves. My Christian faith has taught me to care about every single stage of life and I realize how horrible it is that there are many parents who are unable to care for their children or can't provide enough food for them. I believe it's important that we implement policies to help women who are either teenage moms or young adult moms who are unprepared. I believe that we need to create more funding for orphanages since there are many women who can't afford to take care of their children. At the same time, I believe that we need to create policies that will help underrepresented children get the proper nutrition. It's hypocritical to care only about a fetus, but not the living child who barely can eat or have an education. It's important that we use social science research to expose the amount of street children. Pro-life is about all stages not fetus only.

Every day when I wake up, I'm always prepared to be ready no matter what. Although I haven't had a great public-school experience, and my teachers felt that I should work in a field with people, but I've proven them wrong with what I'm doing. One thing that I'm proud to be is when I take extra hours at my work even when I'm tired; I realize that you should always keep working no matter if there's extra pay or not. Another thing that I do is I'm willing to lend a helping hand no matter where I am because I always believe it's important to finish what you started with. It's not just the I display a strong work ethic, or I'm being focused but I'm willing to be resilient since I believe it's important to put in the extra hours. It's not that I just get up early, but I practice basketball moves for one hour a day, and I always make sure to practice so that I can make my college team. The other thing that makes me unselfish is when I was a part of Student Government, how I'm willing to put time aside to make sure everything is running smoothly. Even though I love to do things that I enjoy, but I've learned to prioritize bigger projects and sometimes I realize that it involves sacrifices, but I realize the importance of getting ahead. What makes me a great leader is how I'm willing to map my day out and think of what I should say before I speak it out. I realize that having leadership skills isn't just about leading others, but I believe that I should always take the initiative and make sure that everything works out. At the same time, I always think about what I should say before I say it and I realize that it's important to map out your communications before you say it. Although I'm proud to demonstrate these five different traits in my everyday life, but I realize that there are bigger ambitions I have. Currently, my plans are to get involved in the field of politics and implement policies that help people who are disadvantaged in society. I plan to transfer to a four-year university and plan to help out with military veterans or anyone who's a part of the police force. This all relates to why I'm pursuing a degree because I realize that a huge majority of our society will need a college degree in order to get hired and I realize the importance of that. Thus, I feel that being a part of social science research is great when it comes to having good leadership skills. I realize that being a leader is always knowing about what's going on and preparing for the unexpected, even though I'm a student representative but I have always displayed leadership experience when I led students at Roxbury Community College when it comes to orientation. I tell everyone about what the college has to offer and the different services that we have to help support students on campus. Going to RCC has taught me how to encompass the five traits in this essay and I realize the privileges that I have that many of these students don't get. I realize that there needs to be policy change in order for things to get better. Not many students can focus on their studies rather so many of them don't get financial aid and have to work. I believe in policies that will make college affordable and easier to access forever.

The Apology of Socrates By Plato Strange, indeed, would be my conduct, O men of Athens, if I who, when I was ordered by the generals whom you chose to command me at Potidaea and Amphipolis and Delium, remained where they placed me, like any other man, facing death—if now, when, as I conceive and imagine, God orders me to fulfil the philosopher’s mission of searching into myself and other men, I were to desert my post through fear of death, or any other fear; that would indeed be strange, and I might justly be arraigned in court for denying the existence of the gods, if I disobeyed the oracle because I was afraid of death, fancying that I was wise when I was not wise. For the fear of death is indeed the pretence of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being a pretence of knowing the unknown; and no one knows whether death, which men in their fear apprehend to be the greatest evil, may not be the greatest good. Is not this ignorance of a disgraceful sort, the ignorance which is the conceit that a man knows what he does not know? And in this respect only I believe myself to differ from men in general, and may perhaps claim to be wiser than they are:—that whereas I know but little of the world below, I do not suppose that I know: but I do know that injustice and disobedience to a better, whether God or man, is evil and dishonourable, and I will never fear or avoid a possible good rather than a certain evil. And therefore if you let me go now, and are not convinced by Anytus, who said that since I had been prosecuted I must be put to death; (or if not that I ought never to have been prosecuted at all); and that if I escape now, your sons will all be utterly ruined by listening to my words—if you say to me, Socrates, this time we will not mind Anytus, and you shall be let off, but upon one condition, that you are not to enquire and speculate in this way any more, and that if you are caught doing so again you shall die;—if this was the condition on which you let me go, I should reply: Men of Athens, I honour and love you; but I shall obey God rather than you, and while I have life and strength I shall never cease from the practice and teaching of philosophy, exhorting any one whom I meet and saying to him after my manner: You, my friend,—a citizen of the great and mighty and wise city of Athens,—are you not ashamed of heaping up the greatest amount of money and honour and reputation, and caring so little about wisdom and truth and the greatest improvement of the soul, which you never regard or heed at all? And if the person with whom I am arguing, says: Yes, but I do care; then I do not leave him or let him go at once; but I proceed to interrogate and examine and cross-examine him, and if I think that he has no virtue in him, but only says that he has, I reproach him with undervaluing the greater, and overvaluing the less. And I shall repeat the same words to every one whom I meet, young and old, citizen and alien, but especially to the citizens, inasmuch as they are my brethren. For know that this is the command of God; and I believe that no greater good has ever happened in the state than my service to the God. For I do nothing but go about persuading you all, old and young alike, not to take thought for your persons or your properties, but first and chiefly to care about the greatest improvement of the soul. I tell you that virtue is not given by money, but that from virtue comes money and every other good of man, public as well as private. This is my teaching, and if this is the doctrine which corrupts the youth, I am a mischievous person. But if any one says that this is not my teaching, he is speaking an untruth. Wherefore, O men of Athens, I say to you, do as Anytus bids or not as Anytus bids, and either acquit me or not; but whichever you do, understand that I shall never alter my ways, not even if I have to die many times. This text is a central aspect of Socrates fighting for his innocence while defending why he is proud to be a philosopher. Although I'm proud that I can easily understand the idea that Socrates is trying to outline here, but it's important that you understand the whole of the Apology in order to better understand this paragraph. The thing what he's trying to say is that he can see how he can refute the accusations that are levied against him even though the jury may not believe him, but he argues how he's doing the right thing. He states how he understands what wisdom is even though he hasn't fully understood it yet. Because the reason is that he's willing to learn to new things and the truth is that a philosopher according to the ancient Greeks isn't someone who knows a lot but rather a person who's willing to learn new things. Socrates states that he embodies this concept with the way how he perceives death. Most other people have mocked him and those who are trying to convict have argued that he's a danger to society. They have even went as far as being gracious by telling Socrates that all this trial would be over if he just stops being a philosopher. Socrates refutes this argument by not explaining why it's wrong rather he looks at how contradictory it is. His accusers have argued that he is committing a crime that is destructive to society and is displeasing to the Gods, but his refutation is that his accusers have admitted the existence of the Gods, but they have admitted that the Oracle is an extension of the Gods. This is where Socrates have pointed out the refutation and that is that his idea of being a philosopher wasn't his to begin with rather it was a mission given to him by the Oracle. Thus, if they feel that his mission was corrupt and disgraceful to the Gods, but the problem is that they would be arguing that Oracle is disgraceful even though they firmly believe that the Oracle is an extension of the Gods. Although this is one part of the central thesis, but the main thing he wants everyone to see is why he's not only innocent but doing ancient Athens a good service by being a philosopher. Socrates elaborates on why what he's doing is good. Instead of saying it's good, he tells the jurors the benefits of when he challenges different people on their beliefs. Socrates has noticed how everyone in Athens is proud of their knowledge and of everything that they learned, but he feels that this isn't correct. He goes up to people and asks them why they believe what they are and what makes them think that they have virtue or any wonderful values like beauty, love, or friendship. Many people would state that it's correct because they feel it's correct and that if they weren't correct, then they wouldn't be prospering. However, he challenges their beliefs and ideas because refuting it allows their beliefs to become stronger. Socrates isn't about making fun of other people and stating he's right rather when he challenges other people in their beliefs, he's making them grow. Even if Socrates doesn't find anything flawed or false about what they believe, but the person he spoke to has become wiser. The reason is that these people don't just believe for the sake of it rather they better understand why their idea of values or beliefs are correct. Instead of assuming that their ideas are right from the get-go, they see the knowledge and come to appreciate it evermore. He doesn't state that you automatically know everything after he challenges your beliefs rather it's a process that allows you to get closer to the real truth of it. He argues that everything in this world is everchanging and that you can't assume that all your beliefs are correct based on what you see rather he feels that there's an absolute version of it somewhere far away, but by trying to challenge it you can come closer to understanding that belief. Another part of the argument that makes him want to be philosopher is the fact that he's obeying the will of the Gods. As mentioned earlier, his accusers have told him that he's being a fool for what he's doing and that he should quit being a philosopher if he wants to keep his life. They have argued that a wise person would follow through and quit. However, he uses his idea of refutation and states that his accusers are saying that he is a threat to the ancient Greek's belief in the Gods, but he states that if quits being a philosopher then he's disobeying the Gods which is a greater sin than if he tried to preserve his life. He argues that he rather obeys an absolute command instead of being afraid of an the unknown when it could be good. Socrates feels that the reason why his accusers should arrange him is the exact same logic he uses on himself when argues what would happen if he gave up being a philosopher. He states that court should prosecute him in the exact same manner because he's disobeying the Gods. However, the main reason why he wants to continue being a philosopher is that he's displaying what it means to be wise. He argues that if he stops being a philosopher because he fears death, then he's pretending to be wise instead of really being wise. He realizes that death isn't something to be afraid of rather it's an unknown thing that hasn't been explored yet. Most people around him feels that death is a terrible thing and that when you die there's something horrible that will happen in your life. However, Socrates has stated that he isn't afraid because death is an unknown dimension that hasn't been explored. He doesn't know if it's an absolute evil or a wonderful good that is great but what he does know is that disobeying the Gods is wrong. As anyone who lived in Ancient Greece, they all know that you need to please the Gods, or you shall suffer a devasting consequence against you. Socrates states that he was already given a mission to be a philosopher and by quitting his mission, he knows that he will commit an absolutely horrendous crime. Thus, the other slice of why Socrates is going to be a philosopher isn't that he is scared of death rather he's afraid of disobeying a group of higher beings who would punish him in the worst possible way. He wants everyone to know that he cares about being a philosopher and that what he has done isn't just about doing the right thing rather there are benefits that can come about from what he's doing. He's not going around and challenging people because he wants to exalt himself rather, he's trying get everyone to understand their beliefs and why it works like that. Socrates feels that he's allowing Athens to grow when they look at their beliefs and examine why they all believe, while showcasing how he's close to understanding the values and beliefs of his world even though he's never going to know the whole thing when he's on Earth. The main takeaway is that Socrates is doing the right thing by being a philosopher and this paragraph states his reason.

Although I'm new to Chappell Roan, but her music sounds very wonderful. I am big fan of the songs that often gets played in many restaurants and fast and casual dining places. The thing that I enjoyed the most about her music was the importance of embracing change and questioning everything that you grew up with. One song that I am a big fan of is that Pink Pony Club song and it's a shocker that she uses her song to criticizes the world that she grew up in. The thing about the song is that inspires me is the idea that when you dance in a nightclub, you will shock everyone who knew you. Thus, one of things that Chappell Roan's music is teaching me is that you don't always need to conform to the values that you always grew up with. Rather it's about embracing the change that is coming into your life. As a person who grew up in Kentucky, I can tell you that I live in a culture that was a big part of the Bible belt and that you would believe things that would please God. However, Roan's music encourages us to go beyond that and do things that are different from the world that we're so comfortable living in. The first part of Pink Pony Club has touched on Roan's background, and I can relate a lot to that. Roan has stated how LA has changed who she is as a person and that growing up, she was considered a God Girl, but her experiences in LA teaches her to give up that. In a similar vein, I'm going through a journey and considering whether the beliefs that I had growing up was correct. At the same time, Roan's singing reminds me of the huge censorship that our public schools place on us. Many teachers tell us that students can't learn certain things until they reach a certain age and that if they teach them to it then it can hurt them. From her musical career, it teaches me how this form of censorship persecutes people who are LGBT and that it harms them. There are many young students who aren't straight and want to fall in love with someone who's the same gender as them or want to become a gender that is different that their original one defined at birth. Roan is encouraging me and many others to question what has been taught to us from when we were growing up and embrace something different. Thus, one of the ways that I'm going to support her is by buying her music and attending the concerts she performs. Another way that I'm going to help is by attending drag performances. One of Roan's lyrics talks about the persecution that many LGBT people have to face. I'm proud to be a Chappell Roan fan and I believe that I can do a lot to show how much I support her and how I can make the world a better place. Another thing that I'm going to do is consider being a part of movements that fight for LGBT justice. But the best part about all of this is that I believe it's important that I join big events that celebrate pride month. Chappell Roan's music is about embracing people who are LGBT, and I believe that attending any events that celebrate pride is necessary to fulfilling her career goals. It's not just that I support Roan rather I feel changed by the music that she plays and how it's good to be different.

The song that is my favorite on the brat album is 360 which has encouraged me to go beyond what I can do. From the lyrics of the song, Charli XCX is telling us that she can bring back life via her musical singing. Many people often criticize her and feel that she is stealing someone's own style, but in reality, she always makes a 360 and says that she's everywhere. The fact that she doesn't care about how other views her is another reason why I'm a big fan of the 360 song on her brat album. One theme that is great about the song is Charli's heavy usage of being 360. The point that she's trying to come across is that going 360 is not just about making a literally turn rather that she's always going to be everywhere and that her influence is very powerful. One other lyric in the song is the mention of tectonic plates and she compares herself to them because she states that she will always be influential no matter what time period it is. As anyone knows, tectonic plates change the Earth and make our continents, and the landscape of our world look different which create a huge shift in life. Charli XCX is stating that she's doing the same thing with music and that her music will forever be known for all of human history. The next part of the song explains more about what she means by her tectonic plate influence. Charli compares herself to a defibrillator and I'm proud of all the music that she has created throughout her singing career. Just like how defibrillator revive back the heart rhythms of people who are dying, Charli is doing the exact same thing with pop music. She has noticed that pop is dying and when she uses her own style of pop, she's bringing back the life that was in pop music and I enjoy this part. The problem is that pop music tends to sound very bland and recycled, but Charli's beat and rhythms shows to us how unique you can be with pop music. The fact that she's going to be original and not try to use similar song styles like other bands or singers shows how she can revive back the popularity in pop music. Another theme that she doesn't care about what others will think of her. One thing that Charli is doing is that she's starting to wear baby tees and that her way of saying that she's moving on to more mature outfits and she's growing up. However, the best part about this song was using the number 666 and what she has done is reclaim the connotations that are associated with that number. Instead, she sees it as a different side of her rather than see it as something that is inherently bad in nature. She tells her audience that she is both a demonic and angelic figure that care about music. This is a great way to show off who Charli is with her song 360. My idea is that Charli is doing a wonderful job and stating her unique she is with her type of songs. I'm grateful that Charli is bringing a different set of originality when it comes to pop music. I would love to go to any concerts that Charli is performing at, and I would be proud of how internationally recognized she is. The singer has a mixed background and she's bringing that to life in her music. I love the album brat and a big fan.

Sabrina Carpenter has always been a big household name for me, and I can list numerous reasons why I enjoy her. I first remembered her when she was on Girl Meets World as Maya Hart and I loved the life lessons that I learned from the show itself. One of the things that has stood out to me while watching the show was about learning to channel your own rebellious nature. I remember how when I was young that I used to be a rebellious teenager, and I would do so many weird things, but now I have learned how to channel that energy into more productive means. It's good to want to do things that are different from the norm, but you need to do it in a way that is good. It's not just about Sabrina being rebellious on the show that inspired me rather I remember how she handled bullying in one episode. The part that I realize is that people who bully are cowards since they're insecure and are afraid of challenging people who are stronger than them. Another thing that I enjoyed about Sabrina's role on Girl Meets World was the cafeteria episode. One lesson that I took dear to my heart is the importance of paying respect to underrepresented workers. Basically, in that episode Maya and her friends often look down on school workers who are at the bottom of the ladder. However, her dad takes her friend and have them do the roles of the school workers who they look down. Both Maya and Riley become cafeteria ladies and even though they feel that the role is terrible, but they learn to appreciate it. At the same time, they realize the amount of stress and pain that these bottom level workers have to deal with every day. It should be worth noting that their friends have to take jobs as janitors which is just as repulsive. However, all of them realize just how important these low-level jobs are to keeping the school efficient and running. One facet of the episode that was interesting was the mundane aspect of working a low-level job and even though both Maya and Riley were told to peel the potatoes and put them in the pot, but Maya had the idea of spicing everything up. This is a good lesson that teaches us the dangerous being too rebellious. Although it didn't seem bad, but in reality, when the students tried the meal, they all ended up getting sick and started to all vomit. The cafeteria lady had to redirect them and it's then that Maya realizes the importance of self-control and appreciation of low-level employees. Thus, I feel that Sabrina taught me many important life lessons about being able to control yourself. Although I'm not a big fan of the public school system and how it hurt me in many ways, but I do need to understand the importance of controlling your rebellious nature. Even though Sabrina no longer is on Girl Meets World, but I am a big fan of her other works. I do enjoy a lot of the songs that Sabrina has created and one of them that I like is Feather. The song teaches me good lessons about love and the fact that people who feel like they want to hang out with you aren't what they seem to be and rather they're trying to take advantage of you. Ultimately, the main message that I took from this song with is that you can't depend on others and sometimes it's better to ignore altogether.

I'm proud that I'm a Massachusetts resident who has done a great amount of volunteering work. One of the places that I have volunteered at was the Italian Home for Children. What I have done there was serve food and clean up on big events like their Thanksgiving holiday lunch. During that time, I would get the food ready and made sure that all the tables were aligned in a way that appeared very neat and orderly. When it came times to serve the food, I would have a tray full of different plates of food and I would hand them to children who wanted more. After the event was over, I would help clean the facility and throw away any excessive trash that was still lingering around. Another event that I was a big help with was the Christmas decorating event at the Italian Home and what I did there was help decorate the facility with lights and different Christmas decorations. After decorating I would help serve food to the residential students there and make sure that everyone was feeling great. One thing I learned from there was how underprivileged some students are when it comes to going to school. I can imagine the pain that many of these students go through whether it's problems at home or issues with the public school system; I can empathize with them because I went through what they went through. I realize the importance of alternative schools and how there are many students who have challenges that are beyond what public schools can handle and I realize the importance of creating laws that help students in the education system. It's not just being a part of the Italian Home that I had volunteered at, but I used to be the Roxbury Community College Basketball Team Manager. I helped out with getting the jersey ready and I would record the games whenever we played against other schools. During practice, I would use a timer that would count the time needed for all the players to complete their drills. The best part about being team manager was being able to be a part of an institution in which African Americans were the predominant race at the facility. I learned about what's it like being in a culture that was quite different from the ones that I was used to. I can imagine what's it like to learn about African American culture and being able to understand the world of college athletics through the lens of people who are disadvantaged. The fact that I'm an institution where the goal was to give access to minorities who were denied higher education at good schools teaches me about the fight for civil rights. What I plan to do to give back to my community is to be involved in the world of politics. I'm currently taking classes that trains me on how to do social science research that will help our community. I'm even a part of clubs that help people who are disadvantaged. One club that I'm a part of is the Dis-abilities alliance club and what we're doing is raising awareness on people who are neurodivergent. At the same time, I'm even a part of movements that fight against injustices in our society. One plan I have in the future is to work with students who are neurodivergent in alternative schools. I believe in the importance of being able to work at the micro-level before I get into the huge world of politics. I do believe that I can help students who are underrepresented people.

My favorite athlete that I like to cheer on is Michael Phelps and he's the reason why I'm into being athlete. As a young child, I wasn't a big fan of sports and I rarely watched sports, but when I first started to hear about the Olympic games that's when I started to be interested in Team USA. However, when the 2008 Olympics came around that's when I started to become a huge fan of the games while supporting Team USA. I'm surprised that the 2008 Olympic games were very special, but I didn't realize the importance of China hosting the Olympic games. Compared to the other Olympic games I didn't realize that Phelps was going to participate in a country that had a very different set of cultural norms. Despite this, Phelps managed to win eight gold medals in a single Olympic game, and he beat Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals. Although Phelps won a total of nine gold medals at the time, but the fact that he trained hard is what matters in the end. It's not just Phelps that's the reason why I cheer for Team USA rather I'm a big fan of swimming and it's easier for me to follow that. Most other sports are complex or take too long to watch but swimming is quick and very easy to understand. I'm proud that Michael Phelps managed to achieve a lot even though he was competing against a country that wanted to show everyone how powerful it was. The other thing about why I enjoy cheering on Michael Phelps is the advice that he gives to many people when it comes to eating. The other part of the Olympic games that I enjoy is the crazy diets that many of the athletes eat. What shocked me the most was that Michael Phelps ate so much food that he ate more calories than any other athletes. However, Phelps has stated that he no longer eats like that and has focused on eating healthy food. He told everyone that he treats his body like a car engine, and he states that if you want your car to run longer, you need to give it good fuel. Even though he still eats a lot of calories, but the calories he eats is healthier and allows his body to last longer. Although Michael Phelps retired early, but I realize that there is more to the Olympic games than just winning the medals. I like to cheer on Michael Phelps because he demonstrates to me the importance of training hard in order to get a healthy body. I realize that in order to be a good athlete, you need to invest the time in doing the hard physical labor. At the same time, it's important that you eat the right foods so that your body can work harder. Although I treat all the Olympic athletes as equal, but I'm a big fan of Michael Phelps over any of the other athletes. Even though he retired, but he came out of retirement and has shown to us that age is only a number and even though he was 31, but he won a lot of gold medals while competing. I'm proud that Phelps is great inspiration to many people across the globe; I want to work hard just like him and I find it great that you can beat a world record that hasn't been broken for a while. Team USA is a wonderful country to cheer on and I'm proud of it. I do cheer for Michael Phelps's athleticism.

My life has always been full of obstacles and there's too much to name. Being a first-generation immigrant has always been a big facet of these obstacles. The reason is that as a person who was diagnosed with Asperger's, many people didn't expect that from a Chinese immigrant. Instead, many people believe that all Asians are smart and that they are capable of doing everything by themselves, but this is where my adversity all began. Before I went to middle school, I used to have teachers that were supportive and patient, but middle school was when things went downhill. Many of the teachers didn't know how to deal with me and they often used putative punishments against me which ended up aggravating my behavior. At the same time, I developed mental health issues, but many of my teachers dismissed believing in the myth that children can't have mental health disorders since their brains are still developing and that their emotions will come and go. However, this prevented me from getting the help that I needed and there were times in which I had outbursts with teachers and there were moments of depression in which I didn't feel like doing any schoolwork. I went through the exact same problems throughout my years in the public school system. Even though I struggled so much, but I did manage to make it through. One of the things that I did when I was in the school system was go to church and pray to Jesus. Being a devout Christian encouraged me to not give up on life and my relationship with God allowed me to survive this ordeal. At the same time, I had parents who worked hard to pressure the school system to give me the help that I needed. Being an immigrant allowed me to see these challenges in a different light and the reason is that most people who were born on American soil can understand the education system and how to fight for your child's right, but as immigrants we were totally new. One of the lessons that I learned from this experience is how unjust society can be to people who are immigrants and those who have a disability are affected even more so. I realize the importance of intersectionality and that people can be discriminated for multiple reasons. For example, being non-white is bad, but being a woman can add onto that racist baggage we all have to face. These lessons have encouraged me to pursue a career in politics; I realize that the problems we have in grade school can still happen when you're an adult. Another way that I have learned from this experience is the importance of going beyond what you were told in grade school; my teachers told me that I couldn't work in a people-related field because of my disability, but I decided to ignore that, and I'm heavily involved in Student Government Association at Roxbury Community College which is great overall.

One of the three things that I plan to do that I feel can help me have a better life is being able to find an internship in the STEM field. Another goal that I have is to be president of the Carver Galileo Science club at Roxbury Community College. The third thing that I feel can help me improve my life is transferring to a four-year college and finding a fellowship that can teach me political skills necessary for the STEM field. Currently, it's very difficult trying to find work or do anything that can make my life better since I haven't done anything in my college career that can land me a good career path where I can get paid enough and improve the world. The thing that I'm doing the most right now is working restaurant or any mundane job that will help pay my tuition and bills. However, I realize that if I want to live a better life where I can spend less time working or working in a field in which I can help a meaningful impact in society; I need to get an internship in a STEM related field. One of the things that I am passionate about is figuring out ways on how to combat climate change and so far, I have only been about talk. I realize that in order to stop climate change and reverse the effects, I have to gain the hands-on experience of working in a science lab. It's not just figuring out innovative ways to fight climate change rather it's important that you gain political experience while working in the STEM field. I believe that in order to have my older self attain a better life, it's important to understand the responsibilities of being a head scientist. Being a president of the Science club teaches me responsibilities on how to set up science events for science majors on campus. Another thing that I learn is the importance of politics and how it can be used to fight climate change. Lastly, the third thing that I find important is look for a fellowship that will teach me the skills on how we can implement policies for science. Even though STEM is a great field, but in order to solve the problems that we have at hand, we need to understand the ins and outs of how our political system works. The problem is that many government officials have given up on the idea of saving our planets or they disinform us that climate change is a hoax. In order for me to fulfill my vision to fight climate change and live a life free from climate disasters, I believe that I need to understand the political system. This wouldn't be possible without this scholarship because I want to use this money to help pay off my tuition. Currently, I receive only $1257 from the government but tuition will cost me $15000, housing $2200, and meal plan $2150. Having this scholarship will allow me to focus on my studies as a science student. Instead of working jobs to pay off my tuition, I can focus on being involved in STEM internships. This scholarship matches many of the vision I have for making my life better. I believe that it's important that I be involved in science internships. At the same time, I want to create new forms of innovation that will combat climate change. This scholarship is a visionary step that I believe is important to making older self have a better life. I'm proud to be STEM euthenist.

I'm a proud to be a first-generation college student at Roxbury Community College and I've been heavily involved on campus. One club that I'm heavily involved in is the Student Government Association at Roxbury Community College. I'm a student representative and what I do is I hear the grievances of students at RCC and redirect them to resources that can help address their concerns. At the same time, we hold meetings, and we figure out how to solve issues at the college. For example, we have desks that are meant for high school and the problem is that it only allows a binder to be put on the desk and we're working with the school budget to replace this type of desk with big flat desks that can allow students to put their drinks, computer, or any other stuff on it. It's not just SGA that I'm a part of but I'm involved in Galileo Carver Science Club, Dis-abilities Alliance, Gardening and Environment club. What I have done in the Science Club is attend meetings and figure out how we can make science majors be more aware about possible internships around Boston. Another thing that I do is that we're working on a robotic arm and during the summer, we're figuring out times in which we can work on the arm. In the gardening and environmental club, we have created a garden and what we plan to do during the summer is work on the garden. In the Dis-abilities Alliance club I help with fundraisers and figure out ways on how we can help people better understand and accept people who are neurodivergent. Although I'm proud to be involved with many different clubs on campus, I do have a career goal in mind. What I plan to do is get involved in the world of politics and hopefully implement new policies that will help people who are underrepresented in society. Another goal that I have been working on is looking for an internship that will teach me political skills that I can use later down the line. One such thing that I did was apply for the UAspire Policy Fellowship which would've taught me skills on how policies are created at the state government house. Although I didn't get accepted for the fellowship, but I've decided to focus my time on doing social science research. Even though getting an internship at a two-year college is difficult, but I realize that there are other ways to learn government skills. As mentioned earlier, I'm a member of the Student Government Association and I'm proud that in the future I can run for President or Vice President. It's not just being a part of SGA that can help me learn political skills rather I was once a club officer for Science Club during the Covid Pandemic. Now I'm focused on being involved in SGA and planning to attend conferences in which I can learn new information that we can use to help students at RCC. One of the conferences that I attended was about mental health and finding the right therapist. I realize that it's important that we take information from our conferences and figure out ways on how we can use it to help students at RCC. However, the classes that I'm taking is enough to get me ready for the world of politics. Although I haven't declared a major, but I'm planning to go into education and the reason is that you learn a lot about how the school system works and how to make it a better place. Turns out I realize that Education majors aren't just going to be teachers rather many of these people go to write the school curriculum and plan the best path for students. One of the things that I have learned from the field of study that I have participated in is Social Science research. For example, this past semester I did an Honors showcase presentation on the problems of the Massachusetts school system and I've learned many skills that are necessary for the field of politics. What I learned in Social Science research is that you take data from different people and figure out what the problem is and then building a thesis from those data points. Although most of my research was based off of news articles that was published, but I did managed to put together a lovely paper that demonstrated the problems with the Massachusetts school system. One of the most important sources that I did was use a book that detailed the historical injustices of Boston Public schools and I found very interesting events that I used in my paper. From taking this class, I learned a lot about the necessity of social science research, and I realize that I can use this research to improve society. Thus, one of the impacts that I hope to make is through the injustices on how we treat students who are underrepresented in the school system. The problem is that most students live closer to a cop than they do to a guidance counselor or social worker. This problem isn't just a rare instance rather this has been reported constantly through many new sources and many parents and students have complained about this problem. Thus, this is why Social Science Research is better because we can look at data points about how students fare with resource officers and the qualitative results that come with it. The point what I'm trying to make is that we're a long way off from saying that we live in society where racism is a fringe belief. Thus, my main impact that I hope to enact is that we get people to realize the effects of how systemic racism is hurting people. What I hope would happen is that we pass new laws that will help lift people who out of poverty who suffer from racist policies. I believe that it's important that we implement more government programs to fight systemic racism. Another impact that I hope to see is the way how we handle people who are neurodivergent. The problem is that many school system focus on ABA therapy to get rid of autism and make them neurotypical. The problem is that this does more harm than good and what my impact is that many people who are neurodivergent are given support that they deserve. Many neurodivergent people are often given treatment plan in which they suffer a communication disorder, but I believe that creates more problems. What I hope is reduce funding on special education with regards to treating neurodivergent communication as a disease and rather see their form of communication as a different side of humanity. I want these people to be accepted for who they are and not be abused and told that their neurodivergent mindset is the problem. Overall, I have plans to improve the lives of people who are neurodivergent or are victims of systemic racism; I will use social science research to highlight the problems that we have with our school system, and I hope we can make the lives of underrepresented people easier and more successful for our society.

As a student who has been diagnosed with Asperger's I can tell you that I have faced numerous challenges that shaped me into who I am. Starting in middles school, I struggled a lot since many of my teachers didn't know how to deal with me and often used putative punishment against me. Consequently, I struggled with my mental and emotional health. Thus, my parents had to spend so much time and money on getting me the help that I needed. It was very difficult having to deal with outbursts that got you into trouble with school administrators or dealing with depression in which you didn't feel like doing any work. As a result of this, my parents weren't able to save any money for my college fund. Thus, I had to go to college without any scholarships or any money that could've paid my tuition off. Despite being intelligent, I couldn't demonstrate my academic ability and thus missed out on so many scholarships that my peers got. However, despite the tough times, I worked hard, and I took all the negativity that I experienced and turned them into challenges. My teachers felt that I couldn't work with people, because I had Asperger's, but now I'm heavily involved on campus and I'm a part of Student Government Association. Even though I didn't do well academically in K-12 school years, but I have achieved a lot ever since. Currently, all the grades that I have in college is all A's, I have never got any single B's, C's, D's, or F's rather my GPA is a solid 4.0 and I have made Dean's list as a result. At the same time, I have worked hard on my SAT's even though I didn't get the training when I was in school systems. My SAT score is 1380 and I worked hard to achieve since I practiced on Khan Academy, and I've took many classes on how to improve your reading comprehension. At the same time, I've read many essays and figured out how to write one with a high score. In spite of my struggles, I have a set career path and it's to get involved in the world of politics and implement policies that will help underrepresented people. In the meantime, I'm taking a lot of social science courses that is teaching me skills on how to collect data. What I'm doing is I do research on the lives of disadvantaged people and try to figure out what's going on. Then, I interpret the main data and build a strong thesis explaining the injustices that's going on and how we can fix this. At the same time, I'm a student representative for my school's SGA and I'm learning skills on how to resolve grievances from the student body. I'm really in need of this scholarship since I only get $1257 in SSDI, but college tuition is $15000 with books around $400, dorms around $2000, and a meal plan around $2500. Having this scholarship allows me to focus on getting involved in political internship instead of working a job which can prevent me from studying or being active in SGA. Thus, I want to be able to get ahead in politics and I want to make sure that no one has to go through what I went through. The impact I have is that many people who are neurodivergent, a minority, or any disadvantaged community will not have to experience the harsh punishments or exclusionary practices that I had to go through. Overall, I want everyone to be treated with fair equality.

I'm proud that I'm a Chinese Immigrant who will be the first to earn a college degree in my family. Being an immigrant has taught me so many lessons that I feel is essential to my life. When I first came to this country, I had no idea of what life in America would be like, but when I came, I saw that there were so many things about America culture that I'm not used to. It's not just being an immigrant that has affected since I'm a person who has Asperger's, my experiences are very different from people who are normal. One of the things that I find so concerning about being a Chinese immigrant is this myth that all Asians are smart and that they are successful on their own. To me, I feel that this myth has hurt me in many ways and prevented me from displaying my diverse colors as a neurodivergent Chinese Immigrant. When I was in elementary school, I had teachers who encouraged me to be diverse and they were very patient with me. Middle school was when things went for the worse and that's when I struggled. Many of the teachers were new to me and they felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose which made them feel that putative punishment was the answer. This aggravated my problems, and I suffered mental health issues as a result of these punishments. Throughout my public-school years, I have experienced different forms of discrimination due to being an immigrant from another country. At the same time, many of the schools that I went to put me at a higher standard that I couldn't attain. Another thing that I found problematic was the negative perception of immigrants in the news. Even though I knew that Chinese people weren't being targeted, but I found abhorrent that many people in America demonize immigrants even though the Transcontinental Railroad was built by Chinese immigrants. When I look through the history books, I find it despicable that America is full of xenophobic people even though everyone is an immigrant. The experiences that I had as an immigrant have encouraged me to pursue a career in politics. I realize that there are many immigrants who struggled to get the services that they need. I want to implement new policies that will make it easier for many immigrants to get translators in order for them to better understand the cultural customs and paperwork that they need to fill. Another policy that I hope to enact is curtailing the xenophobic polices that try to dehumanize immigrants. I find it abhorrent that even with hard work, many immigrants still live at or below the poverty line. I believe that it's important that we invest more in welfare for immigrants. Welfare isn't about being lazy rather I believe that government money is the solution to poverty in immigrant communities. Being an immigrant has encouraged me to even get involved heavily on campus and one of the clubs that have taught me political skills is Student Government Association. I realize that in order to get into the world of politics, you need to get started somewhere and I realize that SGA taught me skills on how to resolve issues at the college while figuring out solutions to common problems that all students have to deal with. Overall, I feel that being an immigrant is a great way to learn about America but from a different angle; I learn that there are so many injustices with immigrants, and we need to speak out against them.

I have always been a non-traditional student because I didn't finish college at 22 while often taking breaks from studying. Another factor that affected me from becoming a traditional student was the experiences I had in the public school system. Throughout my times in public schools, I struggled with mental and emotional health and that prevented me from doing well academically. As a result, I was sent to an alternative school full of students who were aggressive and had family issues. Thus, I always experienced bullying and I struggled with a lot of mental and emotional challenges. Many of the teachers would make fun of me and say that I'm not capable of working in a field with people, but I didn't let that hold me back. Even though I didn't leave the public school system until I was 19, I still felt compelled to get a college degree. However, even though I was in college, but I still struggled with mental health and that prevented me from doing well in my classes. I had emotional instance of outbursts that prevented me from finishing my coursework. As a result, I had to keep withdrawing and finding a new college to attend. Right now, I'm 26 and I still haven't finished a bachelor's degree yet, but I'm still working hard to make sure that I get one. I'm proud that I've earned over 40 credits and have many inducted into many honors societies. One of the recent one that I was proud to be inducted was Phi Theta Kappa and I felt great that I got a certificate from my institution. Even though I didn't earn many awards in high school, but I have worked hard to do better in college. Being non-traditional isn't something that you should be ashamed of rather it should be as another challenge that needs better strategy. As a person who struggles with mental health, I realize that life is going to throw you lemons, but you need to make lemonade. Even though I find it sad that I get most of my financial aid from the state, but I realize that I need to keep maintain good grades in order to earn bigger scholarships. I realize that being non-traditional can teach you new beliefs about how our society works. At the same time, I've met many people who are non-traditional students and I realize the predicament that they're in. This has got me to rethink my situation and I realize that you shouldn't be ashamed of finishing college after 25 rather it's a new chapter in your life. One of the things I realize in life is that you can't always be driven to do more because of a reward rather you should always work hard. Even though I struggled with mental health, and I had many issues with being lazy and not wanting to do any schoolwork or refusing to go to school, I realize the importance of education and how I love going to school. To me going to school isn't about making friends or getting a good grade rather it opens your mind to new knowledge that you didn't learn while exposing the lies that we were taught in the school system. I realize that I enjoy learning a lot and getting an education has always been my favorite thing, but I realize that not everyone gets to enjoy the privilege that I have had. Thus, one of the things I feel I should do is get involved in the world of politics and remove the barriers that prevent people from suceeding.

My experience with mental health has taught me lessons about how unfair and inadequate treatment is with people who struggle with mental health disorders. Although, I haven't experienced mental health in the way that most military veterans have experienced it, but I can tell you that I have experienced the injustices that we have with mental health treatment. As a person with Asperger's, I can tell you that have struggled with mental challenges. Before I went to middle school, I was surrounded my teachers who were caring and patient with me. Middle school was when things went downhill and that's when I deal with mental health challenges. The reason is that many of the teachers were new to me and felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose and they often implemented putative punishment against me. This didn't do anything to address my behaviors rather it aggravated them. Another issue that worsened my mental health was the myth that only adults have mental health issues, but that's not the reality. Many of my teachers felt that I was just being immature, the hormones from puberty were causing my behaviors, or a combination of both. But in reality, I believe that puberty can make you more susceptible to mental health treatments. Throughout my times in the public-school systems, I had times in which I was emotionally aggressive when I had problems with my teachers, or I was very depressed to the point that I couldn't do well academically. My parents kept switching me school because I couldn't do well and that they wanted to keep me safe from teachers who could abuse me. As a result, I didn't have any long-term relationships and I didn't develop the relationship skills that I needed. This was very problematic for me, and I struggled to do well even when I left the public school system. However, what I learned from this was how unjust our public-school systems are. I realize that we need to do a lot in order to reform the school system that we have. One of my career goals is to get involved into the world of politics and implement policies that help people who are underrepresented in society. One of the policies that I hope to enact is the removal of resource officers as well as a huge budget cut against the ABA polices that we have against neurodivergent people. The problem is that we treat neurodivergence as a form of social pragmatics communication disorder which is very problematic. To me I believe that we need to create more seminars and trainings in order to have teachers better understand people who are neurodivergent. The problem is that many students who receive ABA often revert to their old ways. It's not just about getting rid of ABA and resource officers that I believe is important, I believe we need to invest more money in mental health support. Many teachers still feel that teen suicide is a social problem, but I believe that we need to tackle it as a mental health crisis. Thus, we need to focus our funding on how we can help students deal with mental health while in the public school system and we need our teachers to better tackle the challenges that teenagers have to deal with when it comes to mental health. At the same time, we need to invest in more social workers and counselors, because many students live closer to a cop than to someone who can help them. My experiences with mental health taught me to fight for mental health equality.

Legacy is about helping others and lifting them up from the negative cycle that has been preventing them from succeeding in life. I believe that this is the best way to be remember because society often focuses on how hard someone worked to reach to the top and I feel that it's so overrated. The problem is that these people are very selfish and will often create legal barriers that prevent others from doing well in life. The problem is that a disabled rich person can get further in life than a very intelligent poor person who might have the cure for cancer. Another issue that plays into this is the various forms of discrimination that we've encountered. When it comes to legacy, they want a person who's white and was a part of a white family that were wealthy from generations ago. As a person who has Asperger's I find this incredibly insulting, and it deprives people of the support that they need to succeed in life. I can tell you that when I was in the public school system I had to deal with a lot of this discrimination. When I was in elementary school, I had teachers who were supportive and were patient with me, but in middle school that's when things turned for the worse. Many of the teachers didn't know how to deal with me and they implemented putative punishments that aggravated my issues. Many of my teachers felt that I should work in the any field that has to deal with people due to my disability, but that made me feel less about myself. In reality, what I have learned from these experiences is how unjust society is and that they want a perfect person who's well-behaved and white. As a result of this, I feel passionate about being involved in the field of politics and implementing new policies that will help people who are neurodivergent. One steppingstone that I took in order to break this cycle is by joining the Student Government Association club at Roxbury Community College. This club has taught me people skills that will help me better understand our government. At the same time, I've learned how the legal system works and how each person in SGA has their own role and purposes. It's not just being a part of SGA that has helped me rather I'm taking many social science courses. One of the courses that I took was the Honors Colloquium course and it was different than the others because instead of listening to a lecture and finishing assignments that were given to you, we were taught to have an intellectual conversation while doing a research paper on a topic that was interesting to us. The topic that I have chosen was on the Massachusetts public school system and why it hurts many students. During my research, I took different data points and did qualitative analysis on them. Eventually, we had a big showcase, and I presented my main findings on the Massachusetts school system and the solutions that we have at hand. It's not just being involved in SGA and social science courses that have helped me fulfill my vision with legacy. What I've done is be a part of Socialist groups that protest the injustices that are going on in our society. I have argued and vouched for many people to create policies that will make everyone be on an equal footing and that success is about helping others. I believe that I can do a lot to make everyone live in an equally fair society.

Education is crucial for me in order to get into the field of politics. As a person who has taken many social science courses, I can tell you that I have learned the skills necessary to improve the society that we live in. As a person who has Asperger's I feel that having an education is crucial to making changes in helping people who are neurodivergent or anyone who has been a victim of the public school system. I feel that we need to enact policies in order to make it easier for teachers and others to better understand people who are neurodivergent. From doing work in the social science field, I have uncovered data points that has shown how the American school system has hurt people with disabilities. What I've done with these data points is by writing journal articles that explain what's going on and how it's affecting disabled or any unrepresented community as a whole. One thing that has interested me is the efficiency of resource officers on the public school system. I have uncovered data points that has shown how school cops have done more to hurt students rather than protect them. What I've uncovered is the dangers of school cops and how many students are more likely to be arrested when cops are present at their school. I have been able to put this together in a research article asking for a huge reduction in police at public schools. It's not just doing social science research that is going to help me get into the field of politics. I'm heavily involved with student engagement at Roxbury Community College. One club that I'm proud to be a part of is the Student Government Association at RCC. What I have done as student representative is by listening to the different grievances that each student has with professors and redirecting them to resources that can help them address this issue. Thus, I have learned what it's like to work in the field of politics even though I haven't had experience with it before. This scholarship is very important in order for me to focus on my coursework. Currently, my tuition cost around $15000 and this is very difficult for me to deal with. I only get $1254 in SSDI and that isn't enough to pay for my tuition. As a result, I have to spend more time working which is going to prevent me from gaining the necessary skills that I need in order to improve my political skills. I believe that I need to gain an internship that will teach me how the government works and how to shift the policies to better help people who are underrepresented. At the same time, there are many fellowships that are being offered in the fall for students who are interested in government affairs. Thus, having this scholarship can make it easier for me to focus on my academic coursework rather than having to waste time working to pay off my bills. Another thing that I want to do is still be involved with SGA at RCC since I want to become either Treasurer or Secretary and working too much may prevent from working towards that goal. Also, there might be other government opportunities that I might miss out on if I'm too busy working. Thus, I feel it's important that I get this scholarship so that I can focus on getting my degree and learning skills in the political field. Overall, I feel I can do a lot in order to improve the lives of people who are underrepresented.

As a person who has Asperger's I can tell you that my journey is crazy, but there are life lessons that I've learned along the way. When I was in elementary school, I used to have teachers that were supportive and patient with me. However, when I went to middle school that's when things took a turn for the worse. Many teachers often implemented putative punishments that didn't do anything to make me behave better rather it aggravated my issues. At the same time, I've developed mental health issues that further made it difficult for me to be successful. The reason why so many teachers felt that I was a troublemaker was because of their misunderstanding of Asperger's. As a person who's neurodivergent I can tell you that the way I think and understand people often makes me stand out. Many people would scold me and often feel that I'm nothing but a safety hazard. At the same time, there has been many groups that have kicked me out and felt that I was a terrible person. This didn't do anything to make me feel better rather it made me feel lonely. It wasn't just my experience with Asperger's as an adult rather many of my teachers tried similar methods in order to get me to behave. One of the methods that they have tried if ABA therapy and the problem is that they used it to get rid of my Asperger's and felt that I should fit in with everyone. They often felt that I should learn social pragmatics and they kept forcing me to learn a skill that I know I can't be good at. At the same time, they refused to acknowledge how triggering the subject was and what they failed to understand was how mental health played into it. What they failed to realize is that their intervention methods don't work on people who have been a teenager for a few years. Instead, they keep trying to force students to learn Social Pragmatics and treat our form of communication as a disease rather than something different. Instead of accepting disabled people for who they are rather they treat Asperger's as a condition that needs to be cured. As a result, I didn't get better socially and what was worse was that my mental health deteriorated as well. Many of the teachers felt that I can't get mental health because I'm still developing and it's hormones but in reality, this shows how more susceptible I can be to mental health issues. Even after leaving the public school system, I still struggled with emotional challenges and learning how to get along with others. From my experiences as a neurodivergent person, I'm doing everything I can to use my education to help people who are neurodivergent and one way that I'm doing that is by getting involved in the world of politics. Many of my teachers felt that I couldn't get involved in politics and felt that I was being crazy, but in reality, I have come a long way since I'm heavily involved with student life at Roxbury Community College and one club that has helped me with my skills in politics is by being involved with Student Government Association. It's not just SGA that's helping me become a better politician rather I'm taking social science courses to expose the injustices that are going on in the education system. I want everyone to see how Special Education is doing more harm to people with Asperger's. I believe in enacting policies to help neurodivergent people in the school system.

Before I was in elementary school, I had a wonderful childhood even though I was diagnosed with Asperger's and the reason was that the teachers were nice and patient with me. However, with middle school and onwards that's when things went downhill. I was around teachers who didn't know who I was and felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose. As a result, many of them would implement punishments that were aggressive and often aggravate the problems that I had. At the same time, that's when I started to develop mental health issues. The problem is that many teachers felt that I was just being a child and that my emotions were caused by puberty. However, the question that they should've asked is are you struggling with mental health? The reason why this question is important is that children are just as susceptible to mental health just like adults. In reality, the fact that they're still developing makes many students more vulnerable to mental health challenges. The fact that many of my teachers felt that my issues were more social in nature, coming from the effects of puberty, or a combination of both was very determinantal to me. As a result, I struggled to do well academically and socially in the school system. I was being deprived of the mental health supports that I needed. As a result, I always struggled with emotional problems that kept getting worse as the years went by. There were moments in which I was very anxious to the point that I had aggressive arguments with teachers or say inflammatory and vile things that hurt my relationship with my peers. At the same time, there were times in which I felt very depressed to the point that I didn't want to do any work or just kept being lazy. It really wasn't my fault that I didn't want to do anything rather this emotional baggage and the inability to regulate my emotions kept me from reaching my full potential. Even though I'm no longer in the public school system, but I realize that I'm still dealing with the same problems. One of the aspirations that I have from my experiences in the public school system is to be involved in the field of politics. Many of my teachers felt that I couldn't work in the field of politics because of my Asperger's, but I didn't believe them, and I have come a long way. What I've done to overcome this mindset is by joining the Student Government Association at Roxbury Community College. I have learned a lot by being a student representative at RCC and it has taught me skills that I feel I can use when I'm involved in the field of politics. One of the goals that I have for myself is to enact new policies that will help teachers better understand mental health and I hope to reduce the amount of funding that is being put into special education. The problem is that Special Ed is taking in students that don't have any disability and it's taking in students who are at-risk or have mental health issues. The problem is that Special Education often looks at issues through a social lens and that it's not making progress in mental that's very necessary. I believe that teen suicide or any issues that have been on the rise in the public schools shouldn't be attributed to social factors rather mental health is a crucial component that is still in its infancy; I believe that we can do more for mental health.

Even though I never grew up on farm, but I'm heavily invested in the world of agriculture and farming. Throughout my years in the school system, I was always interested in the field of sciences and the fact that climate change is a big issue that needs to be addressed. Thus, I feel passionate about going into farming and I believe that it's one of the solutions that we can use to fight global warming. The problem is that people are emitting too much carbon dioxide and it's causing so many problems. Last year, there was news reports about forest fires, aggressive hurricanes, and other climatic events that were threatening the well-being of humanity. I realize that we need to do many things in order to stop the catastrophic disasters that has been going. Personally, I have always been a big fan of going outdoors throughout my life. When I was a young child, my elementary school used to take me on arbor walks and they would have us walk a long path that was full of many trees. By having experience with nature, I was able to better understand how our biosphere works, and I got a chance to experience fresh air. At the same time, another thing that made me a big fan of being a part of agriculture was when my school encouraged me to plant trees. They told us that the planting more trees can make a difference in fighting air pollution. Even though tree planting wasn't a success when I used to live in an apartment, but now I get to appreciate the importance of it once I started to live in a house. I got a chance to see how these trees would grow and eventually would become the big trees that I have always seen on the streets. It's not just what my school did that impacted me on getting involved in agriculture rather my parents loved planting things around our house. A lot of the plants that we planted wasn't for feeding ourselves rather we grew so many plants because it made our homes look good. As a result of this, I've come to appreciate the importance of human's role in protecting Mother Earth. Now I feel compelled that we need to do a lot in order to not just fight CO2 emissions, but we need to increase the yield of our crops in order to feed a growing population. I believe that we need government funding in order to help the farmers produce more food for us. What I plan to do in order to help the world of agriculture is by getting involved in the field of politics. I believe that we need government support in order to help fight CO2 emissions and increase agricultural yield. One thing that I have done to help me get involved in the field of politics is by being involved in Student Government Association. At the same time, I'm taking a lot of social science courses that have taught me skills on how to do qualitative analysis on issues in our society. The most important I have done to help me improve agriculture is by taking science courses because I believe we need to improve the Rubisco enzyme. The problem is that plants are inefficient at harvesting sunlight and trying CO2 into sugars; the long-term effects are that it's difficult for plants to harvest CO2 from atmosphere as well as increasing food yield in places that will be adversely affected by global warming. I'm passionate about trying to fight climate change and improve productivity.

I have been impacted in many ways with both mental health and suicide; the reason why is that I was abused a lot by my teachers in the public school system. When I was growing up, I used to have teachers that were supportive and understanding of me. However, when I went to middle school that's when things went downhill. The problem was that many of the teachers felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose and they felt it was necessary for me to be putatively punished. However, this didn't do anything to address my issues rather it aggravated them which produced struggles with mental health and suicide. Throughout my times in the public school system, I always felt sad, angry, and suicidal which prevented me from function well academically. On top of that, many of my teachers felt that students can't get mental health issues and they felt that we were either having a bad day or puberty was causing us to act up. This was so problematic because it prevented me from getting the help that I needed, and it ended up spiraling into something worse later on. As a result, my emotions were out of Wack, and I often kept getting into trouble with my teachers. I struggled to make friends and develop good peer relationships and many times I would often move to a different school. After leaving the public school system, my health problems didn't improve at all rather it kept getting worse. I had moments in which I would feel angry even when there was nothing wrong with me; there were days in which everything was nice, but I struggled to enjoy it. At the same time, I had difficulty in keeping a job which prevented me from earning an income. The worst part about my mental health was that I would spend more than what I was making at times which was very problematic. Eventually, I had times in which I was desperate in trying to find a job rather than trying to get an education. This created so much stress in my life that I had difficulty in trying to feel happy at times. However, in spite of all the challenges that I went through with regards to my mental health, I have come a long way from the abuse I went through. Currently, I'm working with a mental health counselor who's teaching me skills on how to manage my emotions and intrusive thoughts that bothers me. At the same time, my experiences with mental health have encouraged me to pursue a path in the field of politics. I realize that we need to do a lot for the world of mental health since there's a lot of inadequate services provided for people who have mental health issues. What I'm doing to make sure that I achieve my goal of entering the field of politics is by being heavily involved on campus. I'm a huge influential member in the student government association at Roxbury Community College and I'm taking lots of social science courses that's helping me learn skills that I can use to further enact policies that make mental healthcare more accessible. Personally, I believe that both mental health and suicide are hugely interconnected that if we can help people with their mental health, then it would be easier to treat people who struggle with suicide. I believe it's important that we collect data on mental health in Massachusetts and the lack of accessibility. Thus, I feel it's important that I pursue politics to make mental health improve.

I've went through many obstacles in my life, but the ones that have been the most difficult is with mental health, Asperger's, bullying, and discrimination. Throughout my time in the public school system, I went through all these obstacles in different shape of forms. To start, I was diagnosed with Asperger's, but in elementary school I had teachers who were understanding and patient with me, but middle school was when things went downhill. Many of the teachers implemented putative punishment against me and this caused a lot of delay in social development as well as increase in mental health issues. At the same time, many of my teachers deprived me of the help that I needed since they felt that students can't have mental health issues and that all Asians are smart. Thus, they felt that I was choosing to act up and that I was the problem when in reality it was more complicated than meets the eye. The reason why I was able to overcome these obstacles was that I always prayed to God, but I had parents who were wonderful advocates for me. They did everything they can to make sure that I was successful in the school system. However, when times were so rough I often went to church and prayed that things always get better. God gave me a path in life that allowed me to make it through the tough challenges that my public school put me through. Even though I didn't have a good résumé when I went to college, but I worked extra hard to make sure that I was successful. Although college cost a lot of money, but to make things more affordable I started at a community college. Throughout my times in community college, I was able to be heavily involved on campus due to my financial aid package. However, I'm focused on using my education to help underrepresented minorities in my community. My teachers felt that I couldn't work in the field of human services due to my disability, but I'm planning to be involved in a fellowship that works on policy change. What my ultimate goal is to get involved in the field of politics and make sure that people who are underrepresented gets access to services that they need. What I plan to do with my education is that I will do social science research and expose the injustices that are going on in society and I will use these data points to convince policy makers that systemic racism is a serious issue. I want to make sure that everyone gets access to financial in order to attend higher education. The fellowship that I'm a part of is teaching me skills on how to influence policy makers and it teaches me how policies are made at the state house which is a part of my education. Overall, I plan to make sure that has easy access to higher education with the degree that I'm pursuing in college.

One of the adversities that I faced throughout my life is my times in the public school system. As a person with Asperger's, I can tell you that I have went through various forms of discrimination. When I was in elementary school, I had teachers that were kind and patient with me, but middle school was when things went for the worse. The teachers felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose, and they often gave out putative punishments, but this didn't do anything rather it aggravated my behaviors. On top of that I developed mental health issues which many adults ignored because they felt that students can't get it due to the idea that student emotions come and go. My times in the public-school systems were very terrible and the only reason that I made it through it was that I had parents who cared about me. They had to keep advocating for me to keep the resources that I needed, but the main reason why I never felt hopeless was that I believed in God. As a person who was raised with Christian values, I felt that suicide was a horrible option, and that God has a purpose for you. Even when things went downhill, I always prayed to God and hoped that things got better. However, there were times in which my circumstances didn't get better and eventually my parents decided that I should enroll in Massachusetts schools since they felt that I could get more supports. However, we dealt with the same problems and eventually I got sent to an alternative school. The problem is that the school kept blaming my Asperger's and as an adult I still struggled with emotional issues. Throughout my times with adversity, it taught me that the world is unjust and not on an even playing field rather someone needs to do something. My teachers told me that I can't work with people because of my disability, but I proved them wrong. I have been heavily involved on school campus and been a huge part of the Student Government Association. The only reason why I was able to do this is that I always pray to God, and I have a mental health counselor who's challenging all my negative thoughts. This person encourages me to put things into perspective and get me to see that things aren't as bad as they are. At the same time, there are things that adults have to deal with and that's part of life. I realize that therapy isn't about having some agree with you rather it's important that you change who you are and have a different mindset that's helpful. However, there are things that I need to do in order to make the world a better place for people who don't have access to the resources that they need. My advice for people facing adversity is that you shouldn't give up rather it's important to challenge the mindset that you have and ask yourself if it's rational. At the same time, if people are saying that you will be stuck this way, don't listen to them rather everyone has potential that's more than what think of you and work hard. I understand that not everyone believes in God, but it's important to be spiritual and understand that everyone has a purpose in life, and we're all necessary to combat the evils of society. The point is that we can work together to put an end to adversities caused by others. We shouldn't do it because it wrong rather it's very divisive.

As a member of the Chinese American community, I can tell you that many things in my life have happened that encouraged me to take the path that I chose. My ultimate goal is to get involved in the world of politics and implement policies that will improve the lives of underrepresented minorities in America. Although I haven't suffered the full effects of racism compared to a Latinx or Black student, but I had my fair share of discrimination. It's not that I'm Asian but I'm also diagnosed with a disability called Asperger's and these two together make create an intersectional form of racism that isn't fully understood. To understand who I am, let's go back to when I was in elementary school to get a better picture of the situation. When I was in elementary school, I had teachers that were understanding and were patient with me, but things went for the worst in middle school. Many of the teachers there felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose and that I needed to be dealt with accordingly. They often gave out putative punishments that didn't do anything to address the behavior rather it aggravated them. As a result, I developed mental health issues which worsened my problems. To add onto this, many teachers felt that students can't have mental health issues and that deprived me of help that I needed. Personally, the reason why I went through this discrimination is this myth that Asian people are smart and successful which is a problem. There are many Asians who are neurodivergent and many people who believe in this stereotype often treat them negative since they feel that Asians are capable on their own. At the same time, many teachers will use this stereotype as justification for unfairly disciplining students who are asking for help. Thus, the effects of this stereotype have shaped the path that I plan to take in the future. I believe that there should be policies that address the abuse that many Asians have to deal with in the public school system. Even though my teachers told me that I can't work with people, but I've proven them wrong. Currently, I'm heavily involved on campus and one of the clubs that I'm a part of is Student Government Association at Roxbury Community College. By being a part of SGA, I learned people skills that I can take when it comes to working in the field of politics. At the same time, I learned problem solving skills when it came to issues that are occurring at the college. I have come a long way from the troubling times that I went through in the public school system. Right now, I'm working hard to make sure that we enact policies to improve the lives of underrepresented people, one way that I'm doing this is by being part of a fellowship that teaches you skills on how to influence policy makers as well as understanding the process of policy making. What we're doing in this fellowship is trying to make financial aid equitable since many minorities struggle to afford college. Thus, I feel that I can do a lot in the world of politics, and I feel that we need to enact policies in which teachers can better understand students who are neurodivergent. Instead of trying to force them to be neurotypical, I feel that we need to create new workshops and trainings that will help teachers better accept people who are neurodivergent. My experiences in the public schools have shaped me for the path I'm on.

As a student at Roxbury Community College, I'm proud to be a student who wants to make the world a better place. Even though I'm healthy and don't have any physical ailments, but I can understand how painful it is living with one. There are so many children in America who are suffering from chronic diseases that would only affect old or middle-aged adults, but the way that we're heading is showing us how poor our nutrition is. The fact that our government recommends foods that are poisonous to us and are ultra processed shows that something needs to be done. It's not that we need better medicines to treat our ailments rather we need to encourage people to make better choices. Currently, I'm a student who's majoring in health science and I have maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout my time in college. What I'm studying is very important the field of healthcare and I feel that we need to do something about how our government is treating us. I'm proud that the school has options that are healthy us for, but many people live in food deserts which prevents them from living a healthy life. What I plan to do for the world of healthcare is by being involved in the administrative decision making. I realize that many people don't have access to healthcare that many people take for granted. I'm a student who goes to a school where blacks are the majority of the population, and I can imagine what it must be like trying to have adequate healthcare. What I realize is important is that many white families who are unhealthy get to live longer than people of color who are very healthy. The problem is that the medical field isn't always clean rather doctors and many other people are just as racist as people on the outside. The problem is that doctors often delay treatment or refuse to address issues that many black families have to face. As a result, many minorities tend to die early from simple diseases that are easy to treat. In order for me to better fight this injustice, I feel that it's important that I become an administrator in the healthcare field. Even though I'm a minority, but I still get better treatment compared to black people due to the bias that all Asians are smart. To me, I don't realize the privileges that I take for granted and now I realize that I need to do something about this. However, at the same time I realize that when it comes to the field of mental health, I realize that I'm a victim of discrimination. The problem is that many of my teachers felt that students can't get mental health and often blamed it on my Asperger's. I realize how wrong it is that they did this and how it aggravated my problems instead of giving me the help that I deserved. Although my teachers felt that I shouldn't be involved with people, but I realize that working in the field of administrative healthcare is necessary to making healthcare accessible to everyone. One of the things that I have to help me better understand the administrative field is by being involved with Student Government Association at my institution and being involved with a fellowship that teaches me how to influence the politicians and how policies are made. I believe that I can do good for the world of medicine and to me it's necessary that someone speaks out. Being involved in healthcare is a wonderful step to getting into political life.

I've always been a huge fan of the sciences ever since I was in elementary school. A good example is when I was in elementary school, and I scored in the 99th percentile for sciences on the Kentucky State test. I'm proud of this achievement and I feel that I can do a lot to improve the field of science. For one thing, I was passionate about going into the world of astronomy, but now I'm interested in studying biochemistry, biology, and chemistry. The reason is that global warming has escalated to the point where it's going to be difficult for each individual to curb their carbon emissions. One of the things that I'm passionate about is creating plants that are better at harvesting CO2 and creating a more efficient Rubisco enzyme, because the problem is that the enzyme is terrible at grabbing CO2 and often confuses it with an oxygen atom which can cause the enzyme to malfunction. At the same time, I believe that we need to create artificial plants because many natural plants aren't good at harvesting sunlight, and this is a problem because during winter that's when CO2 isn't being harvested and people still emit CO2 into the atmosphere. Another thing to note is that many organisms eat plants that have already stored CO2 whether it's living or dead. Thus, we're back to square one when it comes to reducing atmospheric CO2. This is why need artificial plants in order to solve our problems with CO2. Not only do I plan to be involved as a biologist in the future, but I will come up with ways how we can better protect the environment. Not only am I doing research on the mechanism of how the cells function, but I will study different species and figure out how we can still coexist among them. At the same time, I feel that it's important that we study how different organisms interact with one another in their environment. The reason why this is so important is that we can learn new things from other creatures that can help us. In fact, some medical achievements were made possible due to the fact that we studied different animals and found chemicals that can help us. As much as I aspire to work in all the fields of science, but I still need help with my finances. This scholarship can make it easier for me to focus on my studies. The problem is that college is very expensive and in order for me to pay my bills I need to work more. This is a very huge problem for me because not only I can't focus on classes, but I can't be heavily involved with my school extracurriculars. There are two clubs that I'm a part of that is related to my science major which is Gardening and Cooking along with Carver Galileo Science club. I'm doing a lot to help them during the summer. If I'm able to get this scholarship, I can focus on volunteering with both clubs during the summer. Even though school is now over, but I believe that doing extracurriculars can teach you necessary skills that you may use when the semester starts again. In one of the clubs, I will help my teammates on the robotic arm while in the other I will be tending a garden. If I'm too busy paying bills, then it be difficult for me to be involved with both clubs. I believe that I can do a great amount in the field of sciences as well as saving the planet.

As a person diagnosed with Asperger's I have went through many things through have shaped me in many ways. When I was in elementary school, I used to have teachers that were supportive and patient with me, but things went downhill when I was in middle school. Many of the teachers there felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose and often instituted putative punishments. This did nothing but aggravated my issues in the public school system. At the same time, I developed mental health issues which worsened my problems. Many of the teachers felt that I was more than capable of controlling my feelings, but the reality was that I needed supports. Throughout my times in the public school system, I struggled to be successful which created so many problems. To make things worse, I never developed relationships due to the abuse of the public school system. I had difficulty in trying to keep friendships and once I left the school system, I did everything I can to cut off contact with them. This had long-term effects that impacted my ability to make friends and prevent me from developing social bonds that I need in life. Another thing that happened was that I felt that I was incapable of doing good things and I felt that I had to live a simple life doing mundane work. However, when I attended college that's when I decided to rise above that. Many of my teachers felt that a person with Autism can't work with people, because they are bad at people skills. But I put that mindset behind me, and I'm heavily involved with student engagement at my community college. One club that has taught me great leadership skills is the Student Government Association club at RCC. As student representative I took in different opinions and I was able to problem solve on how we can fix them. One of the things that I was proud to do was attend a conference on mental health and I learned a lot about how we can better help students with mental health issues. Another thing that I've done is by volunteering at events when it came to fundraising. But the best part of my leadership experience is during the summertime when I will be working on the garden and robotic arm with two clubs that I'm involved with. Later in the fall, I will be working with a fellowship that will teach me skills on how to implement new policies at the state house level. In this fellowship, I will be attending meetings and be a part of workshops that will teach me how to influence the legislation in order to create more financial aid for students. From my experiences, I plan to get into the field of politics and find ways to improve the lives of people who are neurodivergent. Even though my teachers felt that I wasn't capable of being around people, but I proved them wrong. Now I'm getting heavily involved with student engagement and I realize that no matter who you are you should go beyond why your disability says about you. I'm proud that I developed a lot of good relationships with people at my college and how I'm able to be involved with student organizations. I'm hoping for a day in which people can better understand those who are neurodivergent, instead of seeing them as problem I believe we should see them as different type of identity. I want to implement policies in which teachers are better trained to handle students who are naturally neurodivergent.

The reason why I want to pursue a degree in mental health is because of what I went through in the public school system. Although I was diagnosed with Asperger's, but I had mental health issues ever since the 6th grade and I believe we need to do something about this. The problem is that when I went to middle school, many of the teachers felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose and that there was zero tolerance for me. As a result, I went through emotional and troubling episodes of anxiety or depression which prevented me from doing well academically. What further aggravated this issue was the belief that students can't get mental health issues since they feel students' brains are still developing and they can't hold onto emotions. This mindset prevented me from getting the help that I needed which further worsened my problems. Throughout my experiences with the public-school systems, I believe that there's a lot that we need to do for students with mental health problems. I want to disprove the belief that only adults can get mental health and that young students are just as capable. I want to go into the field of mental health in order to find better treatment options for people who are struggling with suicide or self-harm. I want to educate people and make sure that everyone is well aware of how mental health affects people. Mental health shouldn't be a stigma rather we need to encourage others to be open about it. The more that we share and figure out the psychological reason why people aren't open, the easier it is to prevent mental health issues from escalating. I feel that we need to come up with better treatment plans on how to help people with mental health. The problem is that when they treat people with mental health, they're not looking at a patient instead they're looking at a caricature of what they feel are mentally ill people. I believe it's important that we don't look at mental health issues as something with the patient rather the environment is just as important. Thus, one of the things that I plan to help people with mental health is by implementing policies that will make mental health treatment more accessible. I feel that we're spending too much money on unnecessary things in society. One thing that I want to advocate for is for a huge reduction in the police budget across the nation. What's problematic is that many people live closer to a cop than they do to a social service worker who can better treat them. As a result, many people with mental health are funneled into the criminal justice system. This is totally unacceptable, and we need to focus more on treatment instead of criminalization of people with mental health issues. Another way that I can make a difference is by encouraging others to be open about mental health issues they have; the fact that I'm a college student should tell me that I should be open about mental health because many students struggle with mental health and are lonely. If I can be open about my issues with mental health, then it would reduce the number of suicides that are a result of mental health issues. At the same time, we need to create policies that will make mental health a priority in our society instead of treating it as an annoyance. Overall, I believe that I can do a lot to the field of mental health and find ways to improve our society.

Hello, my name is Yuanzhe Wang and I'm a student at Roxbury Community College, who planning to transfer to a four-year college. I'm a student who has been heavily involved on campus with clubs like Student Government Association, Gardening and Cooking Club, Dis-abilities Alliance, and Carver Galileo Science Club. The biggest part of my student involvement was being a part of SGA in which I learn people skills that I found important in my career. I attended each meeting and there were problems that we discussed, and we came up with different solutions. I learned skills like tolerating other people's opinion and being able to integrate information that you often disagree with. The financial support is wonderful because I can focus more on my classes instead of having to work a job to pay off my bills. I want to be able to be a student athlete while developing a social life on campus, which I find is important. I want to be able to take courses that will teach me skills on how to manage a business and I realize that if you're too busy working, then it's next to impossible to learn such skills. I believe that this scholarship can alleviate some of the stresses that I have to face with regards to tuition. I want to focus on my classes and engaging with the college campus instead of paying off my bills. One of my personal goals is to be a student athlete and I realize that you need to do a lot of workouts and exercise in order to achieve that. This scholarship can make it quite easy for me to focus on being a student athlete at my college. Instead of having to waste money and time focusing on paying my bills, I can use that time to be more involved with my athletics and extracurricular involvement. Being a student athlete isn't easy and it's not just about doing regular workouts rather you need to do drills and other types of training in order to be good. I realize this scholarship can help make it possible for me to focus on athletics. However, being a student athlete isn't the main reason why I go to college rather I'm passionate about working in the beauty industry. I believe that it's important to study why people find things beautiful and change our perceptions of it. The problem is that the media and many magazines create unrealistic images that most women can't live up to. This has caused an increase in eating disorders and mental health issues over body image. I believe that we need to do something about this in order to make the world a better place. What I plan to do to make an impact in this industry is that I will work in the field of administration and figure out why people are so interested in certain types of beauty, I hope to convince others why there's a more humane approach to beauty. The thing that I find important is that we try to make the lives of people who are in the beauty industry have easier lives when working. I hope to alleviate some of the pressures that many of these people have to go through and I feel that we can't force people to follow with standards that are unrealistic. I believe that there are better ways to appreciate the beauty of other people rather than creating a fetishized image of them. Overall, I believe I can contribute a lot to the beauty filed and make it easier for everyone who's there.

One of the problems that I have overcome in my life is with my mental health issues. The story behind overcoming this challenge is tremendous in many ways. As a person diagnosed with Asperger's, I can tell you what it means to have mental health issues, but a lot of that stems from the abuse that I went through in the public-school systems. When I was in elementary school, I used to have teachers who used to support me and were patient with me, but when middle school came around that's when things went for the worse. The teachers felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose and often they implemented various forms of putative punishments that didn't do anything to address the problem but aggravated my behaviors. As a result, I developed mental health issues and this problem kept plaguing me for a long time. On top of that, many teachers felt that students can't develop mental health issues. Thus, I was being deprived of the help that I needed and often I had difficulty concentrating on schoolwork. Throughout my times in the school system, I always encountered the same problem over and over again. Even when I left the school system, I still struggled with mental health, and it prevented from functioning well in life. However, even though I have gone through so many struggles, but now things are starting to get better for me. Right now, I'm working with a mental health counselor who's challenging the negative mindset that I have and finding ways to manage them. At the same time, we look at our negative thoughts and instead of telling it to go away rather look at it and figure out why I'm having these thoughts. If it matches of none of them, then it's important to look at it and address why these thoughts are coming to me, because there are times when the circumstances are good, but I'm still feeling sad. I realize that you can't outgrow, nor can you tell your past to die or go away rather you need to look at it and address it. So far, I have come a long way from those days when my emotions kept attacking me and I tried to suppress them. Now I'm much calmer and less depressed, while being able to feel less hostile towards people. Right now, I'm focused on getting into the world of politics and using my experience to implement policies to help neurodivergent people. However, I will need this scholarship, since if I want to work a job and do class, it will prevent me from being heavily involved on campus. I want to use the money to pay parts of my tuition off in order for me to focus on being a full-time student. What I plan to do in order to encourage to pursue philately is to encourage others to write letters. I believe that the reason why people aren't interested in stamps is that they don't write letters, instead I will encourage people to not look at stamps as something you use for mail rather look at its symbolic value. What I will do is tell people about the historical and political aspect of each stamp that you buy at the post office. At the same time, I will encourage people to keep a collection of stamps because each of them has a monetary value that will be important down the line. Overall, I believe that in order to get more people involved in philately is by highlighting the historical value of the stamps.

Sucess is being able to make the world a better place and turning it into something better that what it was originally. Most people focus on trying to make their own lives better, but I totally disagree with that rather we need to make the world a better place. There are people who are wealthy and say that they're successful, but I don't believe that they are rather they're self-centered. At the same time, these are the people who are fighting for policies that will put them on top and make the lives of the majority oppressive. What I believe what determines a person's success is how much they have made the world a better place. I understand that there are people who aren't that intelligent and don't have the ability to make huge advancements, but if you look at how they treat others, these people shine like gold. Anyone who has engaged with someone with Down syndrome or any other similar diseases will tell you how happy they really are. These people are willing to follow directions and are pleased with the environment that they're a part of. At the same time, these people don't worry about events that aren't related to their lives rather they've learned to mind their own business. The best part about this is that they don't feel that anyone is better than them rather it's about giving back to the world. However, even though not everyone who's alive is going to make a breakthrough, we still need to give everyone an equal footing in life. It's true that some people are born in a way that will prevent them from excelling athletically or intelligently. But for people who aren't born with bad genes, it's important that these people have access to equal opportunities. Sucess should be about hard work and being able to make everyone's life better. One thing that I believe is determinantal to being successful is the perfect attendance award. The problem is that this award punishes people who work, because they couldn't show up due to illness, while rewarding students who are lazy but show up every day. This doesn't make people more successful rather it reinforces laziness because the only thing that they need to do is show up every day, which isn't difficult to do. Thus, I believe that we need to do something about the way how we reward others and how to make it an even playing field. They say that everyone has access to success, but the problem is that some people are born in a better circumstance than others. This is unacceptable and I believe we need to do something in order to put an end to this. Thus, I feel that I can use this opportunity to combat systemic racism that's plaguing the nation. The problem is that many students who are poor aren't given the quality education that they deserve. At the same time, many students who are in good school system are often disciplined unfairly in the school system. This is a serious problem and I believe we need to do something about this in order to make the world a better place. As a person who was diagnosed with Asperger's I can relate to these students who were discriminated by the school system Ultimately, what I plan to do to make sure that no one has to go through what I went through is pass laws that make it illegal to use aggressive disciplinary methods. One of the things that we need to abolish in order to make success easy to achieve is by getting rid of the resource officer. The problem is that many of these cops aren't there to protect students rather they're used to harass and torment people of color, which is unacceptable. The other policy that I hope to enact is with helping people who are neurodivergent. Most school systems feel that everyone should act and think in the exact same way. This is totally unacceptable, and I believe that we need to accept people who are different from us; I want to create new legislation that will get teachers to better trained with people who are neurodivergent. I want to make sure that they go through not just training, but seminars and workshops in which they can easily understand students who are neurodivergent. Instead of trying to criminalize their behaviors rather it's time that we learn to accept them for who they are. These are great ideas that I believe is very necessary to make people more successful in their lives. Not everyone can achieve high standards with hard work rather I believe it's important that people get social support services that can make it easier for them to be successful in this world with others.

As a student who's from a low-income household, I can tell you that it hasn't always been easy. However, the fact that I want to make my life better and overcome the challenges that has made my life difficult is why I'm trying to get a college degree. Another reason why I decided to persevere is the injustices that I went through in my schooling years. As a person diagnosed with Asperger's I can tell you that life hasn't always been easy. When I was in elementary school, I had teachers who were supportive and were patient with me, but when I went to middle school that's when things went downhill. From middle school onwards, I dealt with teachers who looked down on me and felt that I was nothing but trouble. This didn't do anything to make my problems better rather it aggravated them which prevented me from doing well academically. As a result of this, my family had to spend money on trying to take care of me. No matter how much they made, they had to use a lot of that money to focus on finding me the right doctors for my problems. At the same time, I was dealing with teachers who felt that my disability prevented me from working with people. These problems kept appearing no matter what school I went to, and my parents didn't have much money for me so that I can have fun. As a result, I was depressed and miserable throughout my school years which impacted my academic performance. However, despite the issues that I went through I'm working harder than ever. I'm currently involved with the Student Government Association at my community college where I can be exposed to the world of politics. Also, I'm involved with a fellowship that will teach me skills on how we can enact policy change for students who are in huge need of financial aid. Even though, my teachers told me that I could work with people, but I proved them wrong even though my parents don't have enough money to pay for my tuition. The fact that I want to study hard and make sure that no one has to suffer discrimination like I did shows how determined I am. From these experiences, I plan to go into the field of politics and try to enact policies that will fight systemic racism. One of the classes that I took was on social science research and I was able to get articles together to showcase to people how the Massachusetts school system hurts people. Towards the end of the semester, I was able to give a lecture on why need to rethink how we see Massachusetts schools. My ultimate goal in the future is to be able to get into the field of politics and enact new policies that will help people who are underrepresented. What I plan to enact is that we will take most of the funding that is put in school cops and use to create more trainings and workshops on how we can better understand and accept neurodivergent people. The problem is that most training teaches teacher to encourage students to be normal instead of embracing them for who they are. At the same time, many of these students are often abused at the hands of resource officers and that's not fair, what we need to do is figure out how we can better support neurodivergent students. Overall, I believe it's essential that we use money for social services that can help people whether they're neurodivergent or underrepresented people.

Hello, my name is Yuanzhe Wang and I'm a student at Roxbury Community College. I'm heavily involved on campus regrading student involvement. I'm a member of Student Government Association, Carver Galileo Science Club, Gardening and Cooking Club, and Dis-Abilities Alliance club. As a member of SGA. I represented issues regarding student affairs. I was able to take grievances from different students and spoke out about these issues during SGA meetings. However, the most important thing I'm doing is with the Science Club and Gardening Club; these clubs are heavily a huge part of my interests in the scientific community. Unlike, other students who are going to be taking a vacation during the summer, I will be helping out with both clubs with important projects. With the Gardening Club, I will be working and tending the garden during the summer, so that we can have a good harvest. The goal of this club is to teach people about sustainability. At the same time, I will be working with the science club over a robotic arm, even though we have purchased the parts, but we still need to put it together. Ultimately, we will test the arm and find ways on how we can use it to advance the scientific community. I'm proud that I'm working in the field of sciences, and I believe I can do a lot for it. The reason why I picked the field of science is that I want to help people better understand the mechanism of DNA, while exploring more about chemical reactions. I believe that biology, chemistry, and biochemistry have great facets that we can't fully separate. I feel that we need to understand how our world works in order to come up with innovate solutions to our problems. It's not just health sciences that get affected by this rather the field of environmental science matters as well. Most people will specialize and will find a part of science that they feel is good for them. However, I believe that we need to intermix and learn different facets of sciences in order to create the best solutions. I realize that there's a serious problem with global warming and that we need to do something about it before it escalates beyond our control. I believe that global warming isn't something that is starting to show rather it's already happening. One thing that we need to fix is how we can capture more CO2 and then store in places in places that are far away from the atmosphere. At the same time, it's important that we understand how chemical bonding and reactions occur in order to fix problems with human health and the health of the biosphere. The problem is that we have created so much pollution that it will require more than individual efforts in order to curb the problem. At the same time, we need to create devices so that we can explore more areas that are unexplored. There are more organisms in places that we haven't explored yet and I feel we need to invest in that. I believe that understanding more our Earth can create more innovative solutions that we can use on land and in space exploration. Even though I'm passionate about science, but I need this scholarship. I will use this scholarship to help pay off some of my tuition while focusing more on my courses. Otherwise, I'm too busy paying bills and not using that time to do critical research. I want to be able to focus not on science, but on a social life as well. Science can help.

The reason why I want to focus on dementia is due to the amount of pain that people have to go through when they're loved ones are suffering from it. Even though I don't have relatives who suffer from dementia, but I can empathize with them, because I'm a very sociable person and I can imagine what's it like when you can't talk to your loved ones. The problem with society is that we treat the elderly population as a group that will be gone soon. We feel that there's no use for them and that there's no need to care for them. However, I realize that many elderly people have knowledge that can be useful for the younger generation. We can't just ignore them and feel that they're going to die out soon. I believe that these people are the repositories of data that we can still access for future use. The problem is that dementia is preventing people from being able to use old people. I learned about Alzheimer's when I was a young child and the reason why I was interested was because Ronald Regan had it. At first, I thought that it was bad because it prevented him from being about to be friends with everyone. However, I realize that this type of dementia is dangerous when you're the president. The thing that you should know is that being a president carries a lot of responsibilities, but if you have dementia, then it's going to be dangerous. It's going to impact you from being able to make judgement in situations that require your immediate attention. Thus, we need to do something about an important figure who has Alzheimer's disease. Another reason why we need to deal with Alzheimer is just how difficult it is to treat it. The problem is that we have managed to reduce or mitigate diseases like heart disease or cancer, but the amount of people who have Alzheimer's is increasing every year. I really want to make sure that we do something about Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. The reason is that many people who have these diseases are unable to relate to their loved ones. Many people who are so close to them feel that they have lost their family members. These people have issues being able to fit in and be a part of society. The worst part about Alzheimer is just how violent these people get, because they don't have a sense of self-control anymore. Dementia can have serious emotional and psychological damage on people who are close to their loved ones when dealing with their loved ones. Even if you don't have Alzheimer's, other forms of dementia can be deadly. The problem is that when you lose your memories, it's difficult to be able to understand your loved loves. I believe that we need to do something about this, and we need to work hard on this issue. Others forms of dementia like Parkinsons can literally led to breathing problems. Overall, I feel passionate about wanting to help people who dementia in the elderly population. I believe that I can do a lot to help people who are in need of supports. Another reason why I feel passionate about helping people with dementia is the pain that these people go through. Elderly people who are struggling with dementia are finding it hard to fit in. Another possible reason for dementia is the lack of social structures in these people's lives. I believe that treating dementia isn't just about fixing the problems in their brains rather we need to psychologically evaluate them. I feel that the human mental health is more important than the physical health since it can help you in many ways. Even though I have expressed how much I'm passionate about working with elderly people who have dementia; I will tell you how this has affected my goals. One of the things that I want to do is work in a nursing home or senior center since I want to get hands on experiences with these people. Working with these people isn't just about their physical health rather it's important that we try to focus on their emotional, spiritual, mental, and other types of non-physical health. These people are in need of social supports, and I feel that by being friendly with them, I can better understand them. The problem is that many people feel that old people are a waste of time and that they will go be going out soon. But I feel that if we try to work with them and be friendly with them, I believe we can do a lot to help with issues like dementia. Dementia isn't just a physical disease; I feel that there's a psychological aspect that we haven't discussed. Thus, what I plan to do is work in the field of neuroscience and figure out how our brains work. What I plan to do is major in biology but then switch to neuroscience for grad school and I want to figure out about how the human brain works. I believe that there are certain things that allow our brain to function normally. At the same time, there's psychological components that we need to understand. Thus, I'm proud that I will be going into the field of neuroscience; I want to figure out how our brain works and what we can do to better understand the problems of dementia. Thus, I feel that I want to do psychological test on how the elderly is impacted by ageism and the way how our society treats them. I believe that we need to do a better job in how we take care of our elders, because they have important information that in necessary for the younger generation. The fact that I'm going into the field of neuroscience shows how much I care about making the world a better place. Overall, I'm proud to treat dementia in the elderly population and I hope to make things easier for them.

Understanding the universe is wonderful and that there's a lot about that we need don't understand. At the same time, it's important that we use philosophy when understanding the universe because of the direction that we're heading. Currently, many people are thinking about going into other parts of outer space and colonizing Mars, but there are issues with this idea. Most people are worried that the human race will be extinct if we don't find another planet to live; they feel that there's isn't enough space on Earth to support the growing population in the future. Instead, we should be focused on trying to find another planet to call home and help spread the population out. I totally agree with this idea, but there's a serious flaw that one has dealt with. The problem is that there might be other forms of life on Mars that we haven't discovered yet. Even though our current instruments and rovers haven't detected any signs of Alien life, but the reality is that there may be alien life but not in the way we imagine them to be. As a matter of fact, I believe it's possible that alien life on Mars might act in a way that isn't detectable by our instruments and it may be the reason why we haven't found life. Thus, this is why philosophy should be important when we go space traveling to other planets. We often feel that we're alone and that there aren't other forms of life out there in the universe. However, we encountered the same problem when we were colonizing America, Africa, Oceania, and etc. parts of Earth. There was a myth that Africa was empty land, but the reality was that Africa had society full of people and that they still used the land, it's just not how Europeans imagined inhabiting the land. The same problem was even applied when Spain, Portugal, England, and other European countries felt when they encountered America or what they called the New World. Thus, philosophy is important when we take the next step in space travel. We need to think out our place in the universe and how we humanize ourselves with other creatures that are vastly different from us. One of the things that often puzzles us when we're trying to understand space travel is this one question: What's the meaning of Life? Thus, it's important that we think about this and apply it when we start to settle on Mars. We're still trying to figure out about our human society and why we act in certain ways; I believe it's time we try to understand how we're going to interact with creatures way different than ours. Are we going to exploit Mars the same way we have exploited Earth? This is why we need to understand the nature of our universe, since there are many unexplored phenomena that we haven't investigated. I realize that science isn't meant to prove that something is right rather the goal is to keep disproving. Even though we may never have the exact answer, but disproving it allows us to get closer to what the real thing is. I agree that we have come a long way when it comes to understanding how our universe works, but there are still things that we haven't understood yet. It's not just science that have allowed us to understand our universe; the fact that we use literature, math, philosophy etc. shows us how all subjects can be intertwined. Even though we have created so many discoveries that can help the human race, but philosophy and literature can reign us in. The reason is that these fields of studies encourage us to think ethically about how we use our scientific advancements. We always feel that science can make our lives better, but if we focus on advancement only, we might end up hurting people that we wanted to protect. As mentioned earlier, there are ethical issues when it comes to huge plans like space travel and how we're going to proceed. It's not just that that matter, but we need to understand that things in science are always unified. Many people feel that scientific theories can become laws after they go through constant testing and refinement, but that's not the case. Laws are just small events that are constant no matter how hard you try to test them. Theories are way different from laws even though they may step on each other foot at times. like there's a law of gravity but there's a theory of it which is completely different. Scientific laws only tell you how things occur, but theories are meant to explain why things occur and the more detailed mechanism. It's the same thing with biology; it's wonderful that we have harvested both DNA and RNA, but the way that they replicate is still being studied and the pictures that we have of them isn't even accurate at all. The point is that science is everchanging and it's always a new learning experience. However, the biggest question to the universe isn't about how it works rather is there a God that made this all possible? This is when science, philosophy, literature, math, and all the other fields come together, many people feel that the universe is just a random chance, but other people feel that it was ordered by a supreme higher being. This has sparked a major debate and one famous one occurred between Bill Nye and Ken Ham over Evolution vs Creation. Both sides argue why one was correct over the other, but I feel it's missing an important facet. What we need to look at is more about how we're going to get along as a society. Many people feel that if there isn't a God, then life is meaningless, and we can do whatever we want. However, I disagree with that, and we can even use science to prove that there is some sort of a God. Although, science can't test it in the way it's supposed to be tested, but I feel that this is something we need to do as a society. We need to understand that we should be ethical to one another even if God doesn't exist. The thing is that there is an abstract part of our universe that no humans have ever explored and in Plato's book The Republic, it teaches us these things. The philosophy of Plato and Socrates can even be applied to the modern-day and I feel that we can learn from these two Greek philosophers. One part of the book is about the divided line and the allegory of the cave, which is part of the story that argues why a just life is better than unjust life. The point is that even have values that are perfect, but what we see in the real world are just imperfect examples of those perfect values since it's everchanging. Thus, it's important to know that ethics, right and wrong, etc. are ideas that were created in that perfect abstract world, and we already are born with them. The reality is that the world we live in are imperfect examples of those abstract values. One of things that I will do to embody this idea is to get into the world of politics. The problem is that people are focused on themselves and increasing their gains. I believe it's important we confront these issues and try to be ethical with ourselves. I believe that we should use our money to fund more schools of philosophy as well as improving the lives of people who are underrepresented. The problem with our world is that we feel we should create more scientific advancements to solve our problems at home. The problem is that most of those problems are caused by humans who wanted to exploit other for their own good. For example, we feel that people in Africa are born with a circumstance in which they can't feed themselves, but in reality, we're forgetting the effects of colonialism and the barbarity of Europeans starving them. Thus, we need people to implement policies to address this issue and get us to realize how racism can still impact our lives. Although, I do agree with the advances of sciences, but racism and the selfishness of some people are preventing others from succeeding. As a person who's involved in politics, I want people to see how racism and colonialism is affecting us even today. The reason is that ethics is something we aren't think about when it comes to understanding advancements in the universe. There are many people who have made advances in how our universe works, but many whites take away their achievements since they feel only white people deserve to create those works. What I plan to do is create policies that will confront that and do everything I can to reverse some racist policies. I believe that ethics is important to our universe.

My experiences with mental health have changed me in so many ways that it's more than what I can list. My experiences with mental health began when I attended middle schools. Before middle school, I went to an elementary school that care about me and the teacher were patient with me. I was on an IEP plan that helped me improve despite having Asperger's. However, in middle school that's when things turned for the worse. Many of the teachers there didn't know who to handle me and felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose. Due to this mindset, they often implemented putative punishment methods on me that didn't do anything to address the behavior rather it aggravated me. Due to these punishment methods, I felt depressed and had emotional issues with my teachers. Another problem that aggravated my mental health issue was this myth that students can't have mental health issues. Many of my teachers felt that the emotions of children come and go, and that puberty is the reason why we act up. However, I can argue that puberty and fluctuating emotions can make you more vulnerable to mental health issues. Thus, we need to work twice as hard when we're dealing with mental health issues with teenagers and children. The problem is that this wasn't the case for me and that the school system often gave up on me. When I was in 6th grade, the middle school that I went to felt that it was okay for me to not attend school for some time. However, I lost academic knowledge, and I ended up developing depression even though I could watch tv all day. After the school years was over, I felt sad and unfulfilled, and I didn't even realize that the way my middle school treated me caused these mental health issues. It wasn't just 6th grade; 7th grade teachers tried to skip me a grade after they accused me of a crime that I didn't do, and they tried to keep passing me, but that eventually failed. After an incident in which I was falsely accused of a serious offence, the district moved me to another school, but I still suffered mental health problems. There were times in which I felt agitated, and I had fears of people wanting to hurt me as well as struggling with suicide. This was such a major problem, but the school district felt that I was fit to stay in the public school system. Eventually, my parents moved me to Massachusetts since we felt that the school system there has more supports. In reality, I ran into the same problem, but the teachers refused to do anything to help me. They assigned me a paraeducator who often kept sanitizing the world and kept blaming my issues as social in nature rather than its mental health. The worst thing about this school was that they tried to force a relationship on me. The teachers told me that they all be sad if I didn't go to a certain high school, and they felt that they need to maintain contact with me. As a result, my parents and I decided to move to a different town of Massachusetts. Although I moved to a different part of town, but I struggled with paranoia and trust. I felt that people were ought to get me, and I often acted up as a result of this mindset. Eventually, I got send to an alternative school, but that school didn't do anything to make my problems better. Instead, they kept blaming my issues as social in nature and eventually they realized that it was worthless. Even after leaving the school system, I still struggled in maintaining relationships. However, I've come a long way and I'm hoping for my health to get better. The experiences that I went through in the public school system has taught me many valuable lessons and I can use that in my future career aspirations. Many of my teaches told me that a person with Aspergers can't work with people in the human field since they have poor people skills. However, I disagree with them, and I feel that I can do a lot in the world of politics, and I believe we need to implement new policies on mental health issues. One of the things that I plan to implement is revamping the whole entire curriculum on mental health issues. The problem with most school systems is that they feel that students are going through social issues. Although they have done assemblies and talks with students on teen suicide, but I feel that this isn't enough, and I realize that we need to do more. It's not just me who struggled with mental health issues, but one of my friends committed suicide due to mental health. The irony is that he was club officer, on speech and debate team, and student athlete, but the fact that no one took his problem seriously, he ended up taking his own life. What I hope to implement is new policies that will get teachers to rethink the whole idea of teen suicide and realize that mental health training is necessary for the school system. Another policy that I hope to enact is a huge revamp of special education and possible abolishment, because special education often puts students who have problems in the same place and the problem with that this further aggravates mental health issues. Special education was designed to help students who are disabled and need supports, but the problem is that they're putting at-risk and mental health students in this group. This does nothing to address the issue and often it makes the student more hostile. Overall, I believe we need to work hard on the mental health issues that we have in Massachusetts. I believe I can be involved in politics and hope to enact policies that will help address the mental health issues around the nation.

Being a part of the disabled community has taught me so much about how different I am and how unfair society can be. As a person who was diagnosed with Asperger's I can tell you that I went through a hard journey and that there's still more that we need to work on. When I was in elementary school, I had teachers who were understanding and patient with me, but when middle school came around that's when things went downhill. Most of the teachers at the middle schools felt that I was causing trouble on purpose and that there was no tolerance for this. As a result, they often issued putative punishments that did more to aggravate my behavior instead of helping it. At the same time, I developed mental health issues which prevented me from doing well academically. To make the problem worse, many of the teachers felt that students can't have mental health issues and thus I was deprived of the supports that I needed. This had devasting impacts on my life and it made me realize that we need to do a lot in order to help people who are disabled. I realize that even though we have achieved Civil Rights in the 1960s, but there is still a lot of discrimination against people who are disabled. Many people have an ableist attitude towards disabled people and feel that we're more capable than we are. Another factor that helped me understand the world of disability is the Model Minority myth. When I was young, I couldn't understand why my teachers were so harsh on me, but I realized that the idea that all Asians are smart may have contributed it to this. Even though all disabled people have the right to access services that can help them with their disability, but I realize that many Asian people are often deprived of these services. The problem is that with this stereotype many people are condition to feel that Asian people are lazy and that they don't need services. Thus, I realize how unfair it is for someone who's a member of the disabled community. From these experiences, I realize that in order to make a change is to by getting into the field of politics. I realize that many people feel that being neurodivergent is wrong and that people should think in a normal manner, but I heavily disagree with that. Many of my teachers told me that people with Autism can't work in people related fields because their disability impacts their people skills. However, I want to disprove that and implement policies that will combat this type of prejudice. One such policy that I feel will help people who are disabled is by creating more trainings and seminars in order to get teachers to better understand people who are neurodivergent. Another policy I hope to enact is to reduce the budget of the police and use that money to help people who are neurodivergent, the problem is that most students live closer to a cop than they do to a counselor or social worker. As shown in the news, many school cops are known to use violent force against people who are disadvantaged and disabled people aren't exempt from this treatment. What I hope to do is pass policies that will make it illegal to criminalize students who are neurodivergent and have teachers better understand them. From the experiences that I went through in the public-school systems, I hope to make sure that we have equal rights for disabled people. I'm proud to be to be autistic.

Hello, my name is Yuanzhe Wang and I'm currently a student at Roxbury Community College. I have done a lot since the time I have been at RCC. I'm proud to be a part of the Student Government Association, Dis-abilities Alliance Club, Carver Galileo Science Club, and the Gardening and Cooking Club. During my time at RCC, I have done a lot to make the college a better place and one way that I did that was by attending SGA meetings. At these meetings, we would look at problems and figure out how we can fix them. One such issue was with the desks that are in most of the classrooms and what we realize is that many of them are high school desks which is too small for most students and we're deciding to fix the budget to get better chairs. It's not just that I'm a student representative with SGA and figuring out how we can make life easier for students at RCC that is important, I'm even involved with beautifying the campus. In the Gardening and Cooking Club, I plan to work on the garden during the summer in order to teach people more about sustainability. The goal of the club is to make people realize that every day is an Earth Day and that we should work hard to steward the land and make it better. Another club that I'm helping out with during the summer is the Carver Galileo Science Club and what we're doing is that we're trying to build a robotic arm. During the summer, we will plan to inform students about internships for students who are majoring in any science related fields. It's not just the clubs that I'm a part of that is great; I'm also a student athlete and I'm training hard during the summer. During this time between now and the fall semester I will be running, lifting weights, and doing other forms of aerobic training in order to improve my skills. Another type of training that I'm doing is related to Basketball and I'm proud of it. The point is that I'm working very hard, and I hope for things to get better in the future. However, my ultimate goal that I plan to do is get involved in the field of politics. Politics is my way of making the world a better place and I feel that I can contribute a lot to that. As a person who was diagnosed with Asperger's I can tell you that I didn't have a good experience in the public-school systems. Many of the teachers in my middle and high school years felt that I was causing problems on purpose and felt that I need to be punished severely. In reality, I needed the social supports in order to better manage my behaviors. Now, what I plan to do is pass new legislation that will help teachers better understand people who are neurodivergent. The problem is that most students live closer to a cop than they do to a social worker or a counselor. What I plan to do is reduce the budget of the police and use it to focus on creating more seminars and trainings in order to better understand people who are neurodivergent. Another thing that I plan to do is invest the money in creating more counselors and social workers for students. At the same time, we need to invest more money in training that will help teachers better understand how racism impacts students in public schools. I feel I can have a positive impact with students.

My faith and relationship with God have helped me tremendously throughout my life and what I went through growing up can tell you a lot about it. As a person with Aspergers, I had parents who didn't know how to help me and never believed in me and thus, the only place that I had supports was in elementary school. During my time there, I had teachers who were understanding and cared about me. However, once I accepted God into my life in the summer of 2009, that's when things went downhill. When I went to middle school, things were chaotic, and I felt that everything was over. The problem was that the teachers didn't know how to deal with me and felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose. They gave me putative punishments that didn't do anything to improve my behaviors but instead aggravate them. During this time, there were moments that I felt sad or got very combative with my teachers which prevented me from doing well in school. At the same time, I felt hopeless and that everything was over. The only reason why I didn't give up was because I was faithful and believed in God. What I was taught growing up was that God loved everyone no matter who they are, and he doesn't show any form of favoritism to any Christians rather he loves them equally. The point is that God has a purpose for you and that no matter what goes on, you need to have faith in the man. During my times in the public school system, I struggled with something people and I kept getting worse, but my faith in God was still there. Even though I moved to Massachusetts hoping to seek a school system that would help me since I was taught it was heavily progressive. However, I still struggled with the exact same problems and things got worse. Soon, I got sent to an alternative school and that's when I started to believe in God even more. During this time, I got to see people who went through similar struggles like me and being in the school was like a mission trip of its own. Although, it was difficult to get people to believe in the Lord, but I realize that you can't force people to believe rather it's the power of the Holy Spirit who changes people. Eventually, I got baptized and was fully apart of the Christian faith, but people though that the school system changed me. In reality, it was God who helped me the most and this proven when I started to get worse at the school system, but I still kept believing in the Lord and praying to him. Even though I was no longer in the school system, but I have learned a lot of lessons that I feel is great for me. My faith has encouraged me to get involved in the world of politics and this relates a lot to how God has changed me, since I was taught at a young age that people with Autism don't deserve to work with people because their disability prevents them. However, I realize that's not the case and God can create powerful people out of the weakest in society and many of the prophets had huge flaws, but God still used them. Thus, I realize that God wants me to help people who are underrepresented and improve their lives. As long as there's a fallen world, there's going to be a need for Christians who will work to improve.

One of the plans that I have for the future is to get involved in the field of politics. However, what I'm currently doing is getting heavily involved at Roxbury Community College. This past semester I have done a lot in order to improve my own self-growth. One of the clubs that have helped me with my political skills is being a part of the Student Government Association. As student representative I was able to take in any grievances that came from any students and redirect them to resources that could help them. It wasn't just being a part of SGA that improved my skills in the community rather I was heavily involved with the Carver Galileo Science Club and Gardening and Cooking Club. Although the semester is over, but I will be volunteering during the summer with both groups. With the Gardening club I plan to help tend the garden and make sure that it grows successfully, while in the Science Club I will help work on the robotic arm and make it function properly. It's not just being involved in student affairs that have helped me this semester, but I'm planning to be a student athlete. Between now and the next semester I plan to lift weights and run a lot in order to make a sports team at my institution. Another plan that is very important for me this upcoming fall semester is the Student Policy Fellowship which will help me a lot when getting into the field of politics. It's not just that I will learn advocacy skills and find ways to influence policy makers rather I'm getting hands on experience with how the political system works. Not only am I attending meetings, but I will be speaking with different officials, writing and submitting press materials, and doing research on policies with the government systems. The goal of this fellowship is to make college more affordable for people who are underrepresented in society. This is a great way to get the hands-on experience needed to succeed in the system of politics. Even though the semester is over and I'm not taking summer classes, but I'm deciding to be involved in Student Government. The reason is that it's important to get know who your new teammates are since a lot of the previous ones have graduated. The advisor of SGA has encouraged has to connect with one another and understand who we are. This is a great plan that I will do this summer and I realize that there's more to SGA than just meeting during the semester. I'm proud that I will work and volunteer during the summer, because there are important events still going on. Even though this would be a great idea, but the tuition and other college expenses make it difficult for me to focus on my extracurricular as well as athletic goals; the problem is that if I'm focused on paying my tuition, I'd be too busy working and exhausted to the point that I don't have any time to study for my coursework. Thus, I have to give up all my extracurriculars in order to get a good grade at my institution. What I hope this scholarship can do is pay a good chunk of the bill so that I can focus on being involved in my extracurricular and only my class work, instead of being forced to waste too much time on trying to pay my bills. I want to study and have a social life in college. More importantly, I want to focus on improving my skills in politics.

Hi, my name is Yuanzhe Wang and I'm currently a student at Roxbury Community College. I'm a person who's heavily involved in many organizations on campus. What I'm proud to be a part of is the Dis-abilities alliance club, Student Government Association, Gardening and Cooking Club, and Carver Galileo Science club. The biggest accomplishment that I have done is being a part of SGA and figuring out how we can solve problems that are on campus. I have attended conventions and have been able to pass crucial information that is needed for our students. The other thing that I have done while being Student Representative is picking out who will be the next President for RCC. It's not just being Student Representative that is good rather I'm working hard to become a student athlete. Currently, I'm lifting weights and running a lot in order to improve my speed and stamina which will heavily impress the coaches. Even though I'm proud of my achievements, but mental illness has affected me in many ways. I could've done more when I was in grade school, but mental illness prevented me from doing well. To understand this, it's important to note that I was diagnosed with Aspergers and when I was in elementary school, I had a lot of supports that were great and the teachers were patient. However, the issues started to arise when I attended middle school and that's when things turned for the worse. The teachers felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose, and they felt that I was a juvenile delinquent. To them, they felt that putative punishments were the best solution, but that didn't do anything to improve my behaviors rather it aggravated them. As a result, I developed mental illness, but no one was doing anything to treat it. The problem was that many teachers felt that students can't get mental illness because their brains are still developing and that feelings will come and go. However, this wasn't the case for me and in reality, I had so much anxiety and depression problems. The problem with me is that I would often have aggressive, verbal fights with my teachers, and this prevented me from doing well. At the same time, I would get depressed, and I would feel quite sad to the point that I didn't want to do anything. This problem kept cycling back and forth while I was in the public-school systems. Eventually, my parents moved me out of Kentucky and into the Massachusetts school system since we felt that they had better support. In reality, it was the exact same problems and many of the teachers blamed my Asperger's and felt that my problems were social in nature. The mental health issues that I had was preventing me from doing my work or be efficient. At the same time, I had traumatic flashbacks of the abuse I went through when I was in Kentucky. The problem is that one of my schools in Kentucky accused me of a crime I didn't commit and the memories kept haunting me. Although, I'm no longer in the school system, but the effects from it haven't worn off. There are times where I'm very scared of people and have difficulty feeling happy. At the same time, there are moments that I feel sad when there's no reason to feel sad. However, I'm working with a mental health counselor who's giving me strategies that allow me to cope with my problems. Overall, I'm working hard to address the mental health issues that I have been dealing with.

The fact that I want to help others and that I volunteer are ways that I embody selfness. For example, I volunteer at a place called the Italian Home for Children which is a special school. As a person who went through abuse in the public schools, I can easily relate to these children. One thing that I did at the place was help out at the Thanksgiving Day party and what I did was help serve food while getting the place set up. During my time at the facility, I would pass out food to children there while listening to any problems that they shared with me. I was able to emphasize with them and able to offer them advice on how to deal with struggles at their home. The fact that I care about others and want to make them feel better shows how selfless I am. Another thing that I did that was selfless was when I was involved with the Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda when we were at the State House. I was one of the few people who volunteer to speak up about the laws that we want passed. I was very vocal, and I expressed to many different government officials on why the laws should be passed and why they should consider them. It's not just protest movements that I have been a part of that have demonstrated my selflessness, but I have been heavily involved with campus life at Roxbury Community College. Originally, I felt scared to go there, but I faced my fears and decided to take two honors courses at Roxbury Community College. At the same time, I was involved with the Student Government Association at my institution, and I have done a lot there. One of the events that I was proud to be a part of was the mental health convention that occurred at Mount Wachusett College and the fact that I went showed how selfless I was. Most other people didn't want to attend, but the fact that I attended and took down notes showed how selfless I am. Also, another thing that I'm doing that is helpful to people is getting involved during the summer. One of the clubs that I'm a part of is the Gardening and Cooking Club which is in need of volunteers for the community garden. On Earth Day, we planted a garden and made sure that everything was tilled, cleaned, watered, and planted in order to make this a success. However, we realize that we need people involved during the summer. The problem is that most community college club members come and go, but I'm deciding to stay and help out with the garden. It's not just being a part of the gardening club that is very great, another movement that I'm a part of is Boston Socialist Alternative and the fact that I attend and be a part of the protest movement shows how much I have contributed to making the world a better place. One of the movements that we're doing is freeing Palestine and I have been an active member heavily advocating for people to stop our government from funding a genocide that's been going on ever since the founding of Israel. I have been a powerful voice and been chanting with many people that we need a new third party and that the system that we have is broke. Right now, we're advocating for people to consider a different alternative and just stop sticking to a system that's broken. I believe I have done many wonderful, selfless deeds.

My name is Yuanzhe Wang and I'm a student at Roxbury Community College. I'm a person who's heavily involved on campus and I have done a lot for my institution. This past semester I joined organizations like Student Government Association, Dis-abilities Alliance, Gardening and Cooking Club, and Carver Galileo Science Club. In each club, I would help out with tabling by informing people of events that are going on. Another thing I would do is be a part of fundraisers where I would encourage people to buy goods and watch a movie. The most important thing that I was attending meetings and thinking of ways on how to solve problems in our school systems. One of the clubs that I'm a part of which is Gardening and Cooking club can explain why I'm so passionate about being involved in horticulture. Currently, I'm planning to major in environmental science, and this is one of the reasons why I deserve this scholarship. I realize that in order for nature-based fields to succeed, we need to tackle the major issue of climate change. I'm all in for people who are trying to plant gardens and fields that will make any place look beautiful, but we need to do it in the right way. What I plan to do is work as a climatologist and eventually get into the field of politics, because I believe it's necessary that we take steps in order to save Earth. The thing about me is that I realize that we can't do anything on our own in order to prevent global warming from escalating, thus we need to pressure our government officials in order to stop global warming. Compared to other candidates, I believe that we need to be careful with how we do any form of horticulture. What I believe is necessary is that we plant plants that are native to the environment because if you plant something wrong then that plant can't take in CO2 because it's unable to grow there. The point is that we need to practice reforestation not afforestation which is planting trees that grow quickly instead of what is normal. It's not just being a climatologist that makes me a great fit rather during the summer I will be working with the Gardening and Cooking club on a garden that we planted on Earth Day. The fact that I want to volunteer more and spend more of my time wanting to improve the environment shows how I embody the values of this scholarship. It's not just the fact that I'm passionate in the nature-based fields, but I have huge experiences with mental health. As a person diagnosed with Aspergers I was a victim of discrimination. When I was in elementary school, I used to have teachers that were understanding and were patient with me. However, in middle school that's when things turned for the worst. The teachers often gave out putative punishments that didn't do anything to address but aggravate my behaviors which produced mental health issues, coupled with the myth that students can't have mental health issues. Throughout my times in the public-school systems, I struggled with depression and anxiety, but now I'm doing better. Currently, I'm working with a mental health counselor who's teaching me skills on how to manage my mental health as well as taking deep breathing exercises. At the same time, I'm planning on applying to Department of Mental Health in getting more mental health supports. Although, I was traumatized by the school system, but I have come a long way and working hard to improve myself.

Truth is being able to see things for what they are and knowing that it's correct instead of listening to a false version. However, the problem with society is that everyone has their own version of what truth is and that can be very complicated. This is even more so when it comes to the biblical understanding of what it means to be truthful. The truth that comes from God and the Bible should be seen as pure and the most absolute and we should reverse that. There are Bible verses that can tell you that the secular world is different from the Biblical world. One verse that is good regrading truth is 1 John 1:8 and it says, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not within us." The writer wrote this verse to believers, and it applies to Christians even today when it comes to truth. In order to understand this verse, it's important to read the whole chapter. When you look at the verse and the whole chapter, it speaks about what real truth is and how we're different from other people. The point is that if we're Christian and have attained the gift of salvation, we can't tell ourselves that we are sinless. Also, we're going to be surrounded by people who will attack our beliefs and feel that we're different. As a Christian who's been to many Bible studies and retreats, I can tell you that Christians are supposed to live different from non-believers. Even though non-believers and Christians agree that certain things are absolutely wrong, but there are things that we Christian's feel is wrong, but that non-believers will attack us for. Thus, this is what separates the truth of God from the regular truth of society. To understand this, many non-believers feel that it's okay to have sex before marriage or that it's okay to party a lot. However, biblical truth tells us that we should spend a day of our lives praying to God and seeking more of us truth. As Christians, we're supposed to follow Godly standards that pleases God and makes him happy. It's not just sex before marriage that is bad rather Christians are supposed to refrain from watching rated R movies. Although it's not stated in the Bible that we can't watch rated R movies, but many there are verses that tell us to refrain from things that are displeasing and damaging to having a relationship with God. Thus, the point is that when you watch rated R movies, what happens is that you get influenced and turn to things that are ungodly and displeasing to the Lord, but even if you don't get influenced, why should you waste your time on something that doesn't glorify God? Even though biblical truth can guide us in many ways, but it's still different from God's truth. Although, it's absolutely certain that what's put in the Bible is the word of God and is 100% correct, but we can't base our relationship with God on the Bible only. The reason is that the Bible is an incomplete truth of God, and the reason why is that it's meant to humble us and make God the powerful one, because if we knew everything about God, then he wouldn't be God. Thus, when you read the Bible, there are certain truths that God will reveal to us and that we can't fully depend on scripture, rather we need to spend in prayer and seek God. Only when we do this that we can see God's truth.

The time when I demonstrated leadership is as a student representative at Roxbury Community College. There were so many challenges that I went through when I was a student representative; one challenge in particular was that I hadn't been to the school in a while and that is difficult to adjust to. At the same time, I was feeling a little uncomfortable going to an institution that I had a bad experience with. Another challenge that I had to face was the fact that I was taking honors course and I had never taken a course that was such a high level and then succeeding. However, in spite of all this I worked extra hard during the Spring Semester. One strategy that I used was time management by keeping track of important events in your phone calendar. Another thing I had to do was plan out my day and make sure that everything was done before you move onto the next project. Displaying exceptional leadership skills doesn't just apply to when you're in school clubs rather it applies even when you're in the college classroom. In both of my honors class, I had to do a project in which I had to present it to a lot of people. This was very challenging, and I knew I had to practice and research the material before I could present. One of the Honors classes that I was doing was about African Studies and one of the events that we had to present at was the Roxbury Community College murals event. This event was very stressful, and I needed to figure out what murals we were going to use. During the time of research, I would research the murals near me, and I would use go to there and have someone take a picture of it. At the same time, I would do research on the mural and then write my own interpretation of it as well as the background and context. When it came to the day that I was presenting I felt nervous, but I did a good job explaining the murals and their importances to Boston. One of the impacts that I feel my research has done was to get people more educated about the African American community and how we can use art to get people to better understand black people. Another thing that I did that was even bigger was my Honors Colloquium presentation on the Boston Public school systems. I spent more time researching the project and making heavy edits while practicing my presentation skills. I did a good job educating people about the problems with Massachusetts school systems and how we can make it better. Personally, I believe people realize that before they can praise a school system as best in the nation, we need to look at its problems before we can award it that title. However, what I'm focused on doing now is using that skill and applying it to when I get into the field of politics. From my experiences in the public-school systems, I had a terrible experience and I'm making sure that no one has to go through what I went through. The fact that I did a lot of research and exposed the issues of Massachusetts schools can help me when I get into the world of politics. In order for social change policies to be passed, there needs to be research done to show people that there is a problem going on. Another important fact was that I learned people skills from being a part of RCC's SGA.

Going to college is more than just getting a degree rather it's about learning the new skills and developing friendships that can help you later in life. I realize that you shouldn't just go to school and focus on finishing your classes rather you need to engage with the community. What I realize is that it's important that you get involved with student life on campus and that's what I have done. One way that I have done this is by getting involved in Student Government Association and this is great. As student representative I was able to take in ideas that were different from other people and still listen to them. Thus, one thing that I learned about being in college is that you need to understand and take in new information from different people. In life, there will be people who will disagree with you, but in college you need to take that in and apply it more so. Another part of college that I learned was the idea that you're taking in new information and interpreting them. Unlike high school, in college you don't get to hear a statement that this is a bad or good rather you look at a finding and you interpret what the problem is. Most college papers will rarely tell you point-blank what is really going on. It's not just about the classes that I'm taking that makes me enjoy college rather the different experiences that I'm being a part of is great. It's not just Student Government Association that makes me happy rather I'm proud to be a part of groups whether it's Science Club or Dis-abilities alliance in which we focus on how to make our community better. In both these clubs, we figure out what a problem is and how we're going to fix it. In Dis-abilities alliance we want to make people aware of the problems going on with disabled people and how we can make their experiences better. In science club, what we do is figure on how we can help students who are majoring in the sciences find internships. However, the reason why I want to be a part of these clubs is that I want to get into the field of politics. My ultimate goal is to pass legislation that will help people who are victims of systemic racism or are being abused by the system. As a person with Asperger's, I was a victim of public-school abuse and from those experiences I want to make sure that no students have to go through what I went through. One legislation that I hope to pass is to create more seminars and trainings that will help people better understand students who are neurodivergent. Another legislation I hope to pass is by reducing the police budget and giving that money to social services. The problem is that adults as well as children live closer to a cop than they do to a social worker or counselor and that's very alarming. My ultimate goal is to make sure that no one is ever a victim of abuse from police officers and that they're given the help they're needed; the problem is that most of society want to create measures in which we lock people up and deprive them of their freedom instead of giving them the help they need. The fact that I'm passionate about politics and want to get involved shows how much I enjoy going to college. To me college isn't just about getting a degree rather you learn new skills. College teaches you people skills.

The reason why I chose the field of politics is based on the experiences I went through when I was in the school systems. As a person diagnosed with Asperger's I can tell you from first-hand how awful public schools could me. When I was in elementary school, I had teachers who were supportive and understanding of me, but when I went to middle school that's when things went downhill. The problem is that the teachers felt that I was trying to cause problems on purpose and that I deserved putative punishments. However, these punishments didn't do anything to address my issues rather they aggravated my behaviors which created mental health issues. Throughout my times in the school systems, I didn't get better, and things could worse for me. Although, I didn't have a great experience in the school system, but I feel that we need to do a lot to make it better. One of the policies that I hope to enact is to create more workshops and training in order to make teachers better understand students who are neurodivergent. The problem is that whether you're neurodivergent or any underrepresented people, teachers feel that you're nothing, but trouble and you need to fit in. At the same time, many students live closer to a cop than they do to a social worker or a counselor. It's not just students that have to go through this rather many adults are victims of this system as well. The problem is that many people feel that we need to use force in order to establish a civil society and that's not okay. As a person who went through this type of punishments, I can tell you that it's unacceptable and we need to change the way we deal with people who are different from others. One of the goals that I have in mind that will help me achieve my political career is by being joining organizations that will help improve your people skills. One organization that I was proud to be a part of was Student Government Association and I learned a lot from that. Another goal that I feel can help me get into the field of politics is by taking courses that involve social sciences. What I'm doing is that I plan to find internships that will help me better understand the political field and figure out how we can pressure our government officials in adopting policies that will help people who are underrepresented in society. At the same time, I plan to be a part of movements that will help enact social change. One movement that I'm proud to be a part of is Boston Socialist Alternative and what we're doing is protesting and getting people to see how bad things are in America. This is what I feel I need to do in order to make the world a better place. Overall, I'm working harder by taking more political science class and I can enact social change.

As a person who has Asperger's I can tell you that my experiences have encouraged me to get into the world of politics. When I was in elementary school, I used to have teachers that were supportive and wanted to help me, but when I reached middle school that's when things went downhill. Many of the teachers felt that I was misbehaving on purpose and felt that there was zero tolerance for it. They instituted different forms of putative punishments that aggravated my behavior, and this caused so much emotional and mental harm. On top of that, many teachers felt that students can't get mental health issues which prevented me from getting the help I needed. My times in the school system was often terrible and they felt that Asperger's was a disease that needed to be cured. The treatment that they implemented was determinantal to my social health and I had difficulty in maintaining friendships and being able to focus on my schoolwork. When I moved up to Massachusetts, I thought that a fresh new start would help me, but in reality, I was running away from my problems. Massachusetts schools put me through the same emotional pain that my previous school put me through, and they often violated many boundaries with me. Eventually, I got sent to an alternative school and that didn't help me improve either. However, I have come a long way from those experiences and right now I have proven my teachers wrong. When I was young, they told me that I shouldn't work with people in the field of politics because of my Asperger's, but I'm no longer like that since I'm a part of the Student Government Association at Roxbury Community College. As a member of SGA, I have learned so many people skills that I feel I can be a big member in the world of politics. During those meetings, I have listened to my fellow peers, and we discussed how we can make the world a better place. At the same time, I have attended conferences that talk about mental health and how we can mentally ill people. The other thing that I'm proud to be a part of is the Gardening and Cooking Club as well as the Science Club. During the summer I will help both of the clubs with their year-long project whether it's tending the gardening or working on the robotic arm. The fact that I'm friendly and haven't let doubt affect me shows how I have come a long way. Even though I have Asperger's I realize that I can use it in many ways. The more important one is to treat it as a form of my identity and prove people wrong. However, in order for this to happen I need this scholarship due to the tuition I have. This scholarship can make life easier for me since I don't have to worry about the stress of my college finances. I would love to be a big part of my college community, but it's not that easy to do when you have a full-time semester load, and you need to work a job as well. What I hope from this scholarship is that I be able to pay off parts of my bills and then be able to focus more on my studies as well as being heavily involved with Student Life on campus and I feel that would great for me. Overall, what I don't want is to be focused on my college bills and then miss out on the opportunities for my growth.

The thing that I plan to ultimately do is to get into the fields of politics and enact policies to help people who are underrepresented in society. Currently, I'm heavily involved on campus with Roxbury Community College and one organization that I'm proud to be a part of is Student Government Association. When I was on SGA, I worked as a student representative, and I did a lot to contribute as a representative. Being on SGA taught me the necessary people skills that I need in order to get into the field of politics, and I learned how to be objective and patient at the same time. Also, during each SGA meeting, would discuss what problems were going on at RCC and figure out how to resolve it. It's not just my experiences that have made me understand the political field rather I have taken a lot of social science research courses. One of the classes that I took this semester was the Honors Colloquium course and that gave me the necessary tools I need to do well in the field of politics. Unlike other classes, I didn't need to take notes rather we discussed about current events and our main assignment was on our big social science research project. We had smaller assignments as well, but the biggest day was when it came to the Honors Showcase. My project was on the Massachusetts school system and the problems with it, and I did a good job exposing the issues with the school system as well as discussing how we can better improve it. This Honors course taught me good skills that I feel can help me in the world of politics. I realize that you need to be able to present and show to people the problems with our society. At the same time, you need to do research and expose to people what's actually going on in society. This is necessary when getting into the world of politics since many people want to see evidence that a social injustice is going on. I did a good job showcasing to people the many injustices that are in the Massachusetts school system and telling them how it's such a big deal. It's not just my experiences and skills that make me good rather I'm very interested in politics after what I went through in the school systems. As a person diagnosed with Asperger's I went through so much discrimination in the school system. In elementary school, I got supports that were great, but in middle school that's when things took a turn for the worse. Most of the teachers felt I was being a troublemaker on purpose, and they often instituted putative punishments that aggravated my behavior, coupled with the fact that they felt that children can't get mental health issues. This is totally unacceptable, and I feel that I can do a lot in the world of politics in order to make sure that no one has to go through what I went through. One policy that I hope to enact is to reduce the funding that is put into school cops and use that money to create seminars and trainings that will make people better understand and accept neurodivergent people. At the same time, I hope to invest in more social service programs in order to help minorities who are victims of systemic discrimination. At the same time, I want to make changes to the CORI system and make it easier for convicts to get jobs in the social field. My goal is to help underrepresented society members.

The most pressing environmental issue facing us is the CO2 emissions and how we can stop global warming. The reason is that there has been so much forest fires, hot summers, aggressive floods and storms, and aggravated ecological disasters as a result of our CO2 emissions. What I believe what we need to do is to pressure our government and pass laws that will make it easier to cap our carbon emissions. The problem is that we can't do anything our own in order to stop CO2, the problem is that it's impossible to not drive cars or quit using technology in order to stop the emissions of CO2. This is why I feel that we need to pressure our government in order to stop CO2 emissions. What I believe is important is that we get our government officials to invest in public transit and create roads that make driving uncomfortable. The problem is that humans are the cause of traffic and that we need to accept that. Instead, what we need to do is create better public transportation systems that makes it more comfortable and efficient. Most places around America don't have good public transport and what we need to do is make it convenient for people. For places that are in the rural regions, we can create more bus stops in order to encourage people to stop driving their cars. Another source of CO2 emissions from these rural areas is the fact that people are forced to maintain and keep their lawn perfectly spotless. The problem is that lawnmowers and fertilizers are a huge contributor to global warming and that we need to stop this. What we need to do is encourage people to let their lawn grow naturally and have them enjoy the diverse ecosystems from these lawns. Overall, I feel that we need to do something to many suburbs in order for us to fight the battle against climate change. The problem is that we need to stop people from mowing and maintaining a perfect lawn. However, the most important plan that I feel is necessary is to make photosynthesis more efficient. The problem is that plants aren't good at taking CO2 from their environments and turning it into sugars or plant structures and the problem with that is due to an enzyme called RuBisCo which has tendency to malfunction constantly. The problem is that the machinery grabs an oxygen molecule instead of carbon dioxide which can cause the machine to fall apart. At the same time, many organisms that use photosynthesis are terrible at harvesting sunlight efficiently and thus when there's not enough the plant will tend to die. What I believe is important is that we need to create more funding in order to solve this problem with photosynthesis, because we need more efficient tools in capturing and locking away the excessive CO2 in our atmospheres. Overall, we need government interference in order to combat our damages to our environment and the CO2 catastrophe.

From understanding this scholarship, I embody a lot of what Kalia did when she was young and how in some ways my life was cut short. Although I ran cross country and track & field when I was in high school, but the way my teachers treated me prevented me from succeeding in the school system. As a person diagnosed with Asperger's, I went through the exact same journey that Kalia went through, but it was more mental in nature. In elementary school, I head teachers who were understanding and were willing to be patient with me. However, middle school was when things went downhill and that's when I started to have issues. The teachers at the middle and high schools that I went to didn't know how to handle me and felt that I was being nothing but trouble on purpose. They used putative punishments to get me to behave, but that furthered aggravated my problems. However, the school system still kept blaming my Asperger's and tried treating it to make it "better." In reality, I felt that they weren't really looking at a real person rather it was their own caricature of what it means to be someone with Autism. It hurt a lot to be treated as if your condition was a disease that needs to be cured. I can imagine what Kalia went through while having a heart condition and the sadness that she went through. At the same time, I lost a friend to suicide, and it impacted me in ways that hurt me even to this day. I had a friend who ran cross country and track & field with me, and we both enjoyed running and being up to speed. We were both passionate and wanted to be involved in varsity running, but we learned to have fun as well. However, what hurt the most was when my friend decided to commit suicide and that shocked my world upside down. I was shocked that he did this, but I was angry at my school systems as well. The way how the school system treats suicide as a social problem is very unacceptable; I feel that there are students who are in need of mental health supports but aren't getting it because teachers and counselors dismiss it as having a bad day or being stressed. One of my career goals is to get into the world of politics and enact new policies that would help people who are underrepresented in society. The problem is that many students and adults live closer to a cop than they do to a social worker or counselor. I want to help out with the social issues in our society as well as tackling the forms of discrimination that prevent people from succeeding. In order to make this successful, I need a scholarship to help me with this plan. Being a part of college life is very difficult due to the course works, but having this scholarship can make my life easier since it takes away some of the burdens of paying off my tuition. I want to be focused on being a good runner and making it as a college athlete. But in order for me to do that I need a scholarship that will make it easier for me to pay off some of my bills. It's not that the scholarship is great for paying the bills rather I can use this scholarship as a resume builder when I apply to better colleges or when I want to get a good job. I'm proud to be athletic.

My name is Yuanzhe Wang and I'm a student at Roxbury Community College, who's heavily involved on campus. Currently, I'm involved with Student Government Association, Galileo Carver Science Club, Dis-abilities Alliance, and Gardening and Cooking Club. Overall, the semester was a great success, and I did a lot to help with the community. Currently, I'm majoring in the Liberal Arts, but I plan to switch to an education major. The reason why I'm doing this is because I want to get into the world of politics, and I realize that in order to do that you need to do social science research. Thus, I realize that being an education major is the way to go. However, what I do like to say is that I learned a lot of people skills by being involved with SGA. During those times, we discussed on how to get more students interested as well as improving student life on campus. One thing that we did that was important was go to a mental health convention with other colleges and we learned a lot. I realized that I could take what I learned about mental health and use it to help students at RCC who's in a similar vein. At the same time, I was demonstrated leadership when I was in the Dis-abilities alliance and Gardening and Cooking Club. In both clubs, I volunteered to help out with planning events to encourage people to come in. I was part of a big fundraiser for the dis-abilities alliance, while planning with the gardening and cooking club on how to teach people how to be sustainable. During this time, I helped passed out flyers and tabled for the garden that we were going to tend. Also, during science club I helped spread awareness to people about science internships and events regrading science events. Overall, I was heavily involved with student life at RCC, and I feel I can do more. During my experiences at RCC, I learned how to handle different opinions as well as expression your own. The best part of the college was when I presented my research project on the Massachusetts school systems. Right now, I'm planning to go to a four-year university and improve on what I learned from RCC. At the same time, I plan to become a student athlete at my new institution. I feel that this scholarship is important for my goals. The reason is that tuition is going to cost $15000, $2000 for housing, $3000 for books, and $1000 for food and that is a lot. I need the money in order to learn more social science research skills. At the same time, I plan to be more heavily involved by living in the dorms. I feel that I need to live on campus to learn more about the college experience and apply it to the political realm. Being part of this experience can help me learn the educational skills that I need in order to be involved politically.

My name is Yuanzhe Wang and I'm a student at Roxbury Community College who's majoring in Liberal Arts, but I might change to an education major. My ultimate goal is to get into the field of politics and enact legislation that will improve underrepresented people in society. However, right now I'm focused on getting a degree while being heavily involved on campus. One club that I'm proud to be a part of is the Student Government Association at RCC; the fact that I'm a part of the club shows how much I care about people. SGA teaches you important skills that you can use when you get into the world of politics. Another club that I'm a part of is the Gardening and Cooking Club in which we discuss ways on how we can teach people on how to be sustainable. One of the events that we planned was the Earth Day gardening project and what we did was great. What we did was removed the weeds from the garden and in their place, we planted seeds that we plan to harvest in the fall. Another club that I was a part of the Galileo Carver Science club and what we do is great when it comes to helping students who are majoring in the field of sciences. Right now, we're going to be working on a robotic arm and we're planning on finishing it during the summer. It's not just the science club that I will be working with rather I will work with the gardening club as well. What we plan to do during the summer is that we will till and take care of the soil in order for the seeds that we have planted to grow. Most students during the summer will want to rest and do nothing, but I don't agree with that. I believe that you should still offer a helping hand to your fellow peers even if the semester is over. I'm proud that I was a huge member of student involvement at RCC. However, my biggest accomplishment was when I got two A's for the Honors courses that I took this semester. For my Honors Colloquium class, I selected a subject that I feel needs to be researched and what I did was a critique on the Massachusetts school systems. The fact that I listened to the professor's writing suggestions and worked hard on the presentation showed how much I've improved. The ultimate part of the class was during the Honors showcase in which I presented to everyone my project on the Massachusetts school system. Overall, I did a good job on presenting the project and as a result I got a certificate for this Honors project as well as a plaque for being a part of Student Government Association. Although I do enjoy a lot about speaking about my accomplishments and the clubs that I'm involved with, but I do like to say that this scholarship is great. As mentioned earlier, my ultimate goal is to get into the world of politics, but in order to get the education necessary I need the funds. I feel it's necessary to learn social science courses in order to have the skills necessary to highlight the systemic racism in our society, but education is expensive. Tuition for me is going to cost $15000, books will cost me $3000, housing will cost me $2500, and food might cost me $1000 which will make college difficult for me to afford. This scholarship can make it easier for me to pay my college bills along with others.

The reason why I'm a good leader is the fact that I'm a person who wants to take the first stand and I'm willing to take feedback in and listen to others. Another aspect that makes me a good leader is that I'm outgoing and I'm willing to learn new things. I realize that as a leader, you need to be able to take in different responsibilities as well as taking the initiative. The most important aspect of being a good leader is the fact that I'm punctual; the point is that I'm always on time and make sure that I attend all meetings. I believe I have the great skills to be a leader even if I'm not in that role yet. I realize that being a good leader isn't about your age or what standing you are but who capable you are as a person. The thing about me is the fact that I want to take in the huge responsibility and make sure that the team succeeds is what makes me a good leader. It's just who I am as a person that makes me a good leader rather the clubs that I join is another factor as well. When I was at Roxbury Community College, I was a part of Student Government Association, and that club taught me the skills necessary in becoming a good leader. Even though I wasn't president, but I still had an important role as a student representative. What I realized is that as student representative, you need to be able to take in information from different people and learn how to take it in without being emotional. At the same time, being a student representative means you listen to the grievances from other students and tell the students who to turn to. The big part about being SGA and the leadership skills that I learned was being a part of the meeting and always being on time. In these meetings we talk about how we can make life at RCC a better place. One important thing we decided to do is get rid of all the desks that were similar to ones in middle and high school and replace them with tables. The fact that I listen and want to make sure that everyone has a good experience shows that I'm a good leader. However, being a good leader isn't about what you do during the semester, it's also about carrying the baton even after the semester is over. I realize that just because you have finished the major responsibility, doesn't mean that you're done. Being a good leader means that you do more than just the bare minimum, it's about going beyond what's needed. One way that I exemplify this value is the fact that I'm still going to RCC even though I'm not taking any classes. The reason why is that you should be a helping hand even if there's nothing to do. For example, during the summer I will be helping with the Gardening and Cooking Club as well as the Science Club, what I plan to do is work on the garden while helping out with the robotic arm. I realize that being a good leader means you help out even when it's your vacation. At the same time, it's about being outspoken and speaking up for what you feel is right. The fact that I'm outgoing and act very friendly and approachable are great strengths of being a leader. Overall, I can offer a huge contribution as well as being a good leader in political fields.

The fact that my family has immigrated to America and the experiences that we all had to went through shaped my worldview in many ways. The thing that I found most interesting was how my parents came from a nation that was communist, but the fact that we moved to America to seek better opportunities taught me lessons on being determined. Originally, all my ancestors were farmers, but my parents decided to take a bigger approach and become scholars. This was a huge leap from the lifestyle that they were used to, and this taught me that with hard work, you can achieve a better life. I realize that you don't have to be like your ancestors rather you can take the first steps and make a big leap in your life. Having a family member who used to be farmers is one part of the story, the other half is coming from a culture that was communist. The thing about my family is that they grew up in a part of China that didn't suffer the full extent of the atrocities by Chairman Mao and thus my family were spared. However, the problem is that they're ignorant of the damages that the Chinese Communist Party has brought onto the nation of China. The problem is that my family doesn't see any difference between America and China rather they feel that it's the same. However, I'm the only person in my family who's a freethinker and I realize how corrupt people can be. It's not just my family's immigration in this country that has changed me rather the way they interacted with the school system and how they handled me changed my beliefs as well. As a person diagnosed with Asperger's, my parents had a new challenge that they had to deal with. Even though the way that they tried to handle me was terrible, but it taught me a lot about how cold the world is. However, the problems that I had didn't start in elementary school rather it was when I went to middle school that things went downhill. In elementary school, they had so much supports and were willing to be patient, but in middle school the teachers were harsh, and they often used putative punishments against me. These experiences put me through so much emotional trauma that I started to have mental health issues and my parents didn't know what to do. Although, they tried their best to make sure that I get the best educational services, but the reality was much harder than what it was. The problem with the school system is that they felt that children can't get mental health issues, but that's been proven wrong. Thus, as a result I struggled to do well in the school system and the approaches that they tried made things worse instead of better. Throughout my times in public schools, this has changed my career aspirations and I feel like I can do a lot in the world of politics. The fact that I went through so much and yet my parents failed encouraged me to get into politics. I realize that there are students like me whose parents can't advocate for them. To me I want to implement new policies that will allow teachers to better understand neurodivergent people. I realize that I want to make sure that no student has to go through what I went through. Personally, I want the school system to better understand the parents. Overall, my family story has shaped a lot of who I am and it's very inspiring.

As a person who has played lots of chess; I can tell you that the game has taught me lessons that I can use when I get into the field of politics. The best chess player named Garry Kasparov ended up in the world of politics as a result of his chess skills. In fact, even the best world champion chess named Bobby Fischer got involved in politics as well. I realize that the game of chess can teach you many lessons about being mature as well as being patient. Even though Bobby Fischer was a terrible role model for maturity and patience, but he did play good chess. During my journey through the game of chess, I took lessons from different coaches, and I realize that there is more to chess than knowing how the pieces move. I learned a lot about how to draw a position that was hopeless and the different endgame techniques. Also, I realize that not all trades are equal even if it's a rook for rook and vice versa. Every time you make a capture it changes the position, and it can be for the best or the worst. Thus, the point of this all is that when you play chess it tells you to evaluate a position before making any moves while figuring out why your opponent made that move. This teaches me a lot of lessons in life when it comes to making certain decisions because even though two decisions may seem similar but if you choose the wrong one then it can lead into a bad direction. Another lesson about chess is that you shouldn't focus on the opening moves rather you should care more about the middlegame. Most people love to memorialize the opening and try to show to people that they're prepared, but just like with a job interview, players can throw a curveball at you. The best players are those who are able to know what to do once a player throws a move that they didn't expect. In a similar vein, when it comes to the world of politics there are many events that you need to take into account before you do something. Another part of chess that I enjoyed is about being realistic with the game. The truth that I realize is that only the top 30 best players can make money off of playing chess and by that, I mean only 30 players and that is a tragedy. The other ways on how to make money in chess which by teaching young kids isn't enough and I realize that you need to find a job. Even Magnus Carlsen who was number one didn't fully depend on chess in order to make money rather he worked with a modeling agency. Thus, what I realize from all of this is that you need to be realistic with your goals. From all of these lessons, I can take this to the world of politics, and this can help me in many ways. I realize that chess is full of politics on how to attract more players, bring chess into the scholastic program, and figuring out how to best represent the players. I realize that this is very crucial in becoming a good politician because the world is rifled with corruption. However, the best way to fight corruption is by taking a stand and advocating for what is good for the overall society. Overall, the fact that I played so many games of chess, I learned many lessons that can be very crucial in the world of politics.

Well in life many things can go wrong and what I can say is that life will always throw a curveball even when you're not asking for it. I can tell you that many things in my life went wrong and I'm still trying to recover from those experiences. What I'm trying to say is that you can't always feel that everyone is treated equally, rather some people in this world are going to make further in life than others. Even if you're the most intelligent person in the world, but that intelligence is meaningless if you don't have the necessary supports needed for you to thrive. In order to make it further in life, you need to not only know the right connections, but you need to have a good amount of money. The problem is that there are people who can help increase scientific advancements, enact new policies, create wonderful works of art etc., but the problem with these people is that they're too busy paying bills in order to succeed. I started to realize this as I got older, and it really made me angry in many ways. As a person who has Asperger's I went through so much in the public school system that I believe we need to make a lot of reforms. When I was young, I used to have so much supports in elementary school and the teachers were nice and willing to be patient, but middle school was a different story. The teachers in middle school didn't know how to deal with me and often they used putative punishment methods against me which aggravated my behaviors instead of making it better. When I was in Kentucky school systems, I never got better instead I kept getting worse and I had difficulty in focusing on my academics. So, my parents decided that we should move to Massachusetts since we heard from other people how supportive and good the school systems are. In reality, I went through the exact same problem that I had when I was in Kentucky and I realized that even though this state is progressive, but there are still things that Massachusetts needs to work on before it can claim that title. The problem is that Massachusetts intervention school plan was great for children who started their school systems when they were young, but being a teenager is a different animal and it's much harder to fix. When they tried these methods, it didn't help at all rather it made my behaviors worse. At the same time, the school refused to respect my boundaries and tried to pressure me to go to their high school, which made me uncomfortable. The other part of the issue that was really bad was that many of my teachers felt that my issues were social in nature. This really wasn't good for me since I started to suffer emotional issues since sixth grade. These struggles didn't end when I moved up to Massachusetts rather it follows me even to this day. At the same time, I'm learning a lot more about how dark America can be despite what we were taught in the school systems. Growing up a lot of my peers watched educational videos from a company called Schlessinger and it taught us a lot of stories that were pro-American propaganda. They taught us that America had struggles and that through perseverance it overcame all its problems. This isn't even true rather I realize that following the legal codes doesn't guarantee that your life will get better. In reality, the laws and rules for each race are very different and I realize how privileged I can be. Even though I'm Chinese but I realize that I can be subject to the same problems as African Americans. The thing that I realize is that a lot of my teachers didn't support nor help me in my middle school years partly due to the stereotype that all Asians are smart. However, this isn't true and that having this mindset can be quite damaging and it has a racist history behind it. I realize that the reason why my teachers found me getting a tutor to be taboo is because of this myth. However, the stereotypes of black people are even more damaging than for me. It's quite messed up that black people can't exercise their rights compared to white people. The way black people are depicted in media tell me how difficult it must be living like an African American. Many black people are subjected to brutal and harsh treatment at the hands of many police officers. This is a hard fact to believe, but I realize how messed up society can be and that we need to live with it. The thing that I need to do is protest against the messed-up depictions of black people and advocate for me respectful treatment. What we need to do is fight against the injustices that are going on in America. From my experiences I realize that there are many things that can go wrong. You can't take your life for granted and hope that nothing can happen. In life, there are inequalities and that we as a society need to address them in order for things to get better. What's more important is that life can be crazy and unfair. This shows you that anything can go wrong in life. Overall, the main message is that there are many things that can go wrong and that you can't take life for what it is. I realize that as an Asian with Asperger's that life can go wrong in so many different ways. We need work together to make sure that things don't go for the worse; society is full of hateful people who wants to make life worse for others. However, what we need is to fight for what's right and make sure that things get better. Life can go wrong, but we can do better.

My athletic journey has taught me so many valuable lessons that I feel I can give to others in the community. As a person who's proud to be a runner and was a big participant in Cross Country and Track & Field, I can say that this sport has taught me discipline. I realize that running isn't just about getting shoes on and the moving your legs up and down rather there's technique that matters. Also, I realize that runners need to weight lift as well as jogging per day. In order to run a fast pace, you need to take breaks in between days that you run. Even though I didn't have much of a resume when I was in high school, but in college and as an adult I have done a lot of 5k races. During my time training for the races while trying to maintain a healthy weight; I learned a lot about how to manage my time while doing my studies in school. Being a college athlete can be extremely demanding but it's important to focus on your academics before you start to train. It's called student athlete for a reason because being a student is more important than getting involved with people athletically. From this lesson, I realize that I need to demonstrate good time management skills as well as being able to handle the demands of being an athlete. The fact that I want to train and work hard enough to become a good athlete is a great goal on its own. During my time at Roxbury Community College, I had the opportunity to be part of the track and field team which changed me in many ways. One thing that I loved the most was the ability to meet new people and learn the different regiments needed to become a fast runner. From this experience, I learned a lot about what it means to be a good runner, while being able to run on my own. It's not always about the athletic side of running rather I realize that I can have fun as well. However, what I feel is the most important part of this athletic journey is how you can help others. I realize that you don't need to be a junior or senior in order to be a team captain rather it's about having leadership skills. One part of the athletic journey that taught me this is how you need to work together with your teammates and form better communication with one another. Another thing that I did that was necessary to being a stellar role model is by studying hard while doing the athletic training. This is very important because I realize that you need to have good grades in order to be a great team leader, otherwise what's the point of being a student athlete. This is a great lesson not just for myself rather I can use this lesson to shape future athletes and teach them how to handle the stress of college coursework and doing athletic training. However, my favorite part about being an athlete is when you get an award for being the most improved. This is a great standard that you can set for any upcoming Freshmans who want to be a part of the college athlete experience. I believe that the fact that I want to lead people and encourage them to try their best is a wonderful way to make an impact on anyone. Overall, I feel that I did so much while I was training to be an athletic runner.

Education is necessary for me to get involved in the field of politics. The fact of the matter is that college doesn't teach you academic skills rather you can learn people skills as well. One way that I learned skills necessary for the political field is by being a part of student government. What I learned from being a part of student government is being able to take in different information and learning how to tolerate things that you don't agree with. However, the most important thing that I did that I felt was necessary to helping me get into the world of politics is when I took an Honors Colloquium course. This course helped change my path in many ways, because regular college course involves a lecture, and you get quizzed or asked to write a paper about the materials you learned. However, this course is different because it encourages you to take a topic that you like, and you do scientific research on it. Specifically, this class was about doing social science research which I believe is fundamental in getting into the world of politics. The subject that I chose was on Massachusetts school systems and the problems that it has even though it's touted as best in the nation. While I was doing this research, I found a good amount of social science work and I was able to turn it into a good research paper. The best part about doing this work was when I presented at the Honors showcase and that was a great way to help me learn about the world of politics. In order to get into politics, you need to learn how to be a good speaker and be professional; the fact that I worked hard on this project, and I rehearsed a good amount shows how much dedicated I am to get a good education. I'm proud that I made people aware of the problems with the Massachusetts education system and how we need to reform it. We can't just say that Massachusetts has the best school systems in the state instead we need to look at our flaws and fix it. As a result of this mindset, I'm planning to give back to my community by going into the field of politics. One policy that I hope to enact is to reduce the funding of the police and give to the school system that needs while reducing the funding for the wealth public school districts. With this money, what I plan to do is create more seminars and resources for teachers to help students who are neurodivergent or are underrepresented in the school system. The reason is that many students are in need of a counselor or social worker who can help them with their needs, but that isn't the case. Instead, children live closer to a cop which is problematic since most police aren't trained to be understanding and friendly. At the same time, many neurodivergent students are often the targets of hostilities with police in the school systems. Overall, I feel that I'm doing a lot right now to help with my career path in the field of politics. The fact that I did a research project on the Massachusetts school system is great. I do hope to learn presentation skills to make people more aware about our injustices. I'm proud that I served in the Student Government Association and that I'm going to take these skills with me. I'm proud to enact policies that will improve the lives of students who are neurodivergent, underrepresented, minorities, at-risk etc.

The way I give back to my community is by volunteering in many different ways. For example, I volunteered at the Italian Home for Children by serving foods to different people during the Thanksgiving party and I often portion out what is needed for the community. After the Thanksgiving party, I helped clean up and made sure that the place was spotless. The best part about this volunteering experience was putting a smile on the whole community and making sure everything runs smoothly. The next thing that I was decorating the facility on Christmas Eve and making sure that the holiday part ran smoothly. I felt proud that I made so many kids happy and that I was able to improve the lives of people at the Italian Home for Children. However, the best part of volunteering was at Roxbury Community College and what I did there was great. One thing that I'm proud to do was be a huge member of the Gardening and Cooking club which helps to educate people on sustainability and how we can make the planet environmentally friendly. Although the semester is over, but I'm still planning to help out at the college in many ways. One way that I'm doing this is by helping out with the garden by tilling, watering, removing weeds etc. Even though we had our big Earth Day celebration where we got all the vegetable seeds that we needed to grow in the garden, but I feel that every day should be an Earth Day. As a society, we need to work hard to make our environment clean and pick up all the trash that we have produced. However, the best thing we should do is reduce and that is using less trash than there needs to be used. But the fact that I'm helping out with the garden is another great way to give back to the community. Another thing that I'm doing is that I'm working with the Science Club by working on the Robotic arm that we have ordered during the summer. The fact that I want to improve the world of science and make the world cleaner is a wonderful way to give back to the community. However, my ultimate goal is to get into the field of politics and enacting laws that improve the lives of people who are underrepresented. The problem is that structural racism is a rampant issue throughout the community, and we need to address it. Many African Americans often go to schools that are poorly funded and don't have any education curriculum. What I'm hoping to do is change the formula to the point where we can distribute a lot of money from the wealthy towns and give it to poor neighborhoods. The thing is that education is important for people to succeed in life; it's not just children who have these issues rather many adults are in a similar predicament. Many African American families are too busy working jobs that don't pay them that much and what we need to do is increase the minimum wage so that it matches up with the cost of living. The problem is that inflation has made everything in the United States from being affordable. There are many minorities who are single or teenage parents and that is an issue in America. What we need to do is create more social service programs that can address the issues that are impacting them. Overall, I believe that I can do a lot to improve the lives of people in America, while giving back to society.

Traveling to many parts of the world can help expose you to many different cultures and perspectives that you can use in your daily life. One thing that you should know is that every culture has different customs and traditions that makes it unique. Learning different customs can help you grow in your own personal development since it's easier to understand the vastly different people in your workplace or college campuses. Another thing that is good about traveling is learning good health habits that can improve your way of life when you get back home. For example, people who travel to China get to learn great health habits that they can use when they travel back home. The problem is that most Americans want to sleep in, but in China people get up around 6 am and exercise around the parks. The reason why they do this is not just to improve physical health rather it increases your cognitive skills and helps make you a more productive citizen. The other thing about going to different cultures is that you can understand histories of the place as well as the different sights. Many countries have their own tourist attractions that make their countries unique, but the thing that you should know is that each tourist attraction tells a wonderful story. The stories that come from these places teach us how unique and similar we are as a society. It puts into perspective what we think about in our own country since many history books teach American children that America is the best. It's important to note that no cultures are better than one another. Most of the time when we see countries that are developing, we feel that they're backwards and that they aren't good. In reality, when you go inside of villages that are living in the ancient past, you can learn about a different lifestyle and the benefits of it. What I enjoy the most about this simple society when you travel is being able to learn how to farm. The problem is that people feel that the society with technology is the best way to live. However, what traveling does to people is teach them that you can live a life that's vastly different from the developed world and how it's still good. Traveling is essential since it teaches us to put into perspective the idea of a developing, developed, and underdeveloped society is. The perspectives from people who live a rural life can teach us that we don't need technology to be happy. As a matter of fact, the way that some of these people live can actually be beneficial for our mental, spiritual, and social health. Overall, this is why traveling is a transformative experience for many people. What we need to realize is that we can learn new things about going to a different country. At the same time, we can enjoy new food. But the biggest lesson is to appreciate a simple, happy lifestyle.

I'm doing a lot to help people by being open about my mental health. The thing that I realize is that many people don't seek support, because they feel that mental health is a taboo subject. The fact that I open up about my mental health is good on its own. Once I open up, I end up bumping into people that have mental health issues, and it makes thing easier for the both of us. Right now, I'm part of a group of friends that discuss how we can better help people with mental health issues and better educate the public on seeing mental health as just another facet of life. It's not just that that I'm doing to improve the world of mental health; the plan that I have in the future is to get into the field of politics and enact policies to improve mental health. Currently, what I'm studying is Liberal Arts and right now I'm taking two Honors classes that are helping me achieve my dreams. One of the classes that I'm taking is the Honors Colloquium course and it's teaching me important skills. The main thing that we're supposed to do in the class is create a major social science project and I have created a good one. My project is about the problems with Massachusetts school systems and mental health is a big facet of it. What I plan to do with this project is create awareness around mental health disorders in Massachusetts. To me if I want to convince people that mental health is a serious issue, I need the scientific backing to prove my main point. The fact that I'm doing research and finding a lot of evidence that is backing my article is a great stride towards improving mental health. Social Science research allows me to gather all the evidence in order for me to convince lawmakers that mental health is a problem in America. This is how I'm helping to support people with mental health. Overall, I feel that I'm doing so much to help support people with mental health. The fact that I'm going to do research to prove that mental health is a serious issue is great. The ultimate plan is to enact policies to improve mental health. I believe I'm doing enough to help others. I can't wait for what the future has to offer later.

The way I'm trying to address the social issues is by joining protest movements that help enact social change. I'm a part of two groups which are Boston Socialist Alternative and Mass. Indigenous Legislative Agenda. The first movement that I'm proud to be a part of is the Boston Socialist Alternative and the way that I ended up in the organization speaks to one of the issues that I'm trying to address. I met Boston Socialist Alternative at an event called Fund Our Future where we go to the state house and pressure the state government to fund the educational future of many students. The problem is that many wealthy public-school districts are taking money away from school districts that are in poverty, while many private universities take money away from state schools who have trouble paying their bills. In the past the government used to fund our education, but now many state schools either raise prices on tuition, parking, food, books, or any school related fees in order to pay their bills. This is unacceptable and it's bad for students who are struggling to get a college education. As a result of this, I've decided to participate in Fund Our Future and during that event, we would go by the offices of different senators and representatives and state our grievances. At the same time, we would chant down the hallways, the ways in which our lawmakers are hurting us and how they can amend this. Eventually, I joined Boston Socialist Alternative and that's when I became heavily involved in this movement. One of the things that we do is we hold meetings to discuss our strategies in making life better for everyone. During these meetings, we would state the problems that are occurring and how we can better improve society. One of the things that we actively do is go outside and demonstrate the injustices that are going on in society. We would post flyers on telephone poles, and we would chant the injustices that are going on and state loudly that our government needs to do something. Currently, our goal is to fix the issues regarding rent increases, student loans, poverty in the public-school systems, etc. This is what I do when I'm a part of Boston Socialist Alternative; I'm a huge supporter of indigenous rights and I have been an active member. One of the events that I'm proud to be a part of is when we came to the state house and marched inside. I was a huge player during this event, and we came to different offices. When it came to senators who supported us, we came and reiterate the new laws needed for improving the lives of indigenous peoples and encourage them to keep supporting it. However, when it came to senators who opposed us, we came in and left a message encouraging them to consider the legislative action that we have. Another thing that we have done is march around Boston and chant on the streets telling people the injustices being done to indigenous peoples. Currently, the laws that we want to enact are replacing Colombus day with Indigenous People's Day, getting rid of racist mascots, educate Native youth, create more Indigenous events, create more education curriculum that teach about Indigenous people, and redesign the state flag. These laws are meant to help improve the lives of Indigenous peoples. Overall, I feel I'm doing a lot to help address social issues in Massachusetts. I feel that being a part of protest movement can help get our voices heard; I feel I'm doing things.

What I feel is the most important issues that we need to address is the usage of cops in dealing with problems in society, the abuse that many neurodivergent students get from their teachers, and the lack of counselors and social workers that many people need access to. The reason why it's important that we need to get involved is numerous. However, I do want to say that my experiences with the school system is enough reason on its own. As a person with Asperger's, I can tell you that I went through a lot of discrimination as a child. When I was in elementary school, I had a lot of teachers who were supportive and understanding, but middle school was when things went downhill for me. The problem is that many of the teachers felt that I was a troublemaker and wanted to cause problems on purpose. However, I was just a student who had behavioral issues who needed some coaching, but the problem is that most of the teachers used putative punishments against me. This didn't do anything to help me rather it aggravated my behavioral problems. Another type of punishment they used against me was the resource officer. Many of my teachers didn't want to help me, so they decided to use the resource officer to get me to behave, but this further worsened my behaviors. Overall, my experiences from the public-school systems created mental health issues for me, but the teachers dismissed these feelings and felt that all my emotions would just come and go or that it was a part of puberty. Basically, many teachers felt that kids can't get mental health issues and that anything that's related to mental health should just be seen as a part of development. However, this is a serious issue and I feel that we need to address this, because many students struggle with mental health, and this has led to alarming suicide rates. The problem is that many teachers would often default to the explanation that kids are just suffering social challenges. As a result, many students either don't have access to a counselor or social worker or the quality of either the counselor or social worker is very poor. This is a major problem that not only has a personal side to it, but this is a systemic issue that we need to address. I believe that there are lots of neurodivergent people who are given treatment plans that are designed to suppress their form of thinking and force them to be neurotypical. This can be problematic since many teachers often dismiss the feelings of these students, when they generally express how uncomfortable they feel or that they need something, but they lack the ability to communicate it. As a person who's been through this, I feel that we need to fix this issue since many neurodivergent people struggle to do well in life. I believe that we need to address these issues or things may go out of hand. It's not just handling neurodivergent people that we need to address; many students are victims of abuse from resource officers. Originally, school cops were designed to stop an active shooter, but eventually they were assigned to be counselors and mentors. However, this is a problem since most cops are trained to fight crime and have a zero-tolerance mindset. This is very dangerous and has funneled many students into the school to prison pipeline, which has further aggravated the lack of counselors and social workers. Overall, I feel that the issues I have discussed are important social issues.

Hello, my name is Yuanzhe Wang and I'm currently a student at Roxbury Community college and I'm involved in a lot of student engagement at my school. I'm currently a part of student government association, science club, dis-abilities alliance club, and gardening and cooking club. Another thing I'm doing is that I'm training to be a student athlete by running miles and learning basketball moves with a basketball coach. The thing that I'm focused is on is I'm planning to transfer to a four-year institution and getting A's for this semester. But the biggest academic goal I'm doing now is creating an Honors research project that exposes the injustices of Massachusetts public schools. Even though I'm not sure what my major is, but I'm leaning to the field of education since I believe it's important to write the school curriculum in order to improve society. The ultimate goal that I plan to have in mind is to get into the field of politics implementing new policies that help people who are underrepresented and eliminating the barriers that are preventing them from succeeding. As a person with Asperger's, I can tell you that I have suffered discrimination for being neurodivergent and I realize that there are many African Americans who are neurodivergent and are doing worse than I am. I believe that it's important to change the policies around the American education system since a lot of what happens in your grade school years shape who you are as an adult. Many students who are neurodivergent, are in a minority group, or experience structural racism etc. have difficulties in finding a career as an adult and some will end up in the criminal justice system while others live on the streets. One of my career goals is to implement policies to address these issues where teachers can have more trainings and seminars where they can better understand neurodivergent people. At the same time, we need to reduce the police budget where it's easier to have more money to invest in social workers and counselors for K-12 students. Even though I have a big career path, but I still need this scholarship due to my finances. Currently, I only get $1252 from the government in SSDI benefits, but I have lots of bills to pay. My tuition will cost around $15000, books will cost me around $2000, and dorms may cost me $4500. This is a lot of expenses that I have to pay, which makes it difficult for me to get afford higher education. Part of the reason why I can pay for my college expenses is that I get funding from Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, and they help me waive the tuition on my bill as well as provide me funding for my education. Another way I help pay for my education is the financial aid that I get from the federal government. Also, I work a job that allows me to earn enough money to pay for my educational bills when financial aid runs out. However, what I'm doing right now is applying to private scholarships in hopes of getting more aid. I realize that merit-based awards can help you a lot in the long run; I'm an enrolled member of Phi Theta Kappa and I'm hoping to get scholarship opportunities from this honor society. But with regards to heavy metal; I enjoy a lot of it. The thing what I feel about Heavy Metal music is that it's about being yourself and letting your emotions out. One of the songs that enjoyed the most that's heavy metal is Psychosocial by Slipknot. I realize that this song teaches us that it's okay to be who we are and not others determine our paths. This song got me interested in heavy metal music. I realize that all of heavy metal contains themes similar to psychosocial. Even though the song feels loud, but it has a message. I believe heavy metal is great. It can get help us.

The reason why I decided to get into the field of politics is that I want to improve the lives of underrepresented communities and make improvement to our education system. As a person who was diagnosed with Asperger's and went through a lot of abuse in my school years, I can say how poor the system is in handling people who are neurodivergent or minorities. What I hope to do is make sure that no has to endure the harsh, putative punishments that I had to go through. One of the desires I want is for teachers to have more seminars and different forms of training in order for them to better understand and accept people who are neurodivergent. Another thing I hope to do is reduce the budget of the police, since many kids and adults live closer to a cop than they do to a counselor or social worker. The reduction of the police budget is enough money for us to help people who are minorities and neurodivergent people. The extra money can be used to create seminars and trainings that are necessary for teachers to help them better understand people who are neurodivergent. Another thing that I plan to do is create more social programs that can help people overcome barriers in society. The problem is that there's so much subtle discrimination being done that we aren't doing anything to address it. At the same time, I feel that many neurodivergent and underrepresented people are having difficulties being able to attend college. The problem is that most scholarships are given to white students who are high achievers, but many scholarships don't honor different races or anyone who's a disadvantaged member of society. One of my goals that I'm working on is exposing the injustices that's being done in Massachusetts Public schools. What I'm trying to do is disprove the school rankings that place Massachusetts as a top school system and exposing the countless issues that's going on in the state. Even though we're touted as number in the country, but there's still things that we need to work on before we can claim that title. The fact that I'm doing an Honors project research paper gives me the training to help people who are underrepresented. It allows me to gather qualitative data points that we need to show to people that we need to do a lot of fixings on Massachusetts public schools. It's not just that that matters rather I have a personal reason that motivates to achieve my career as a politician. As a student with Asperger's, I can tell you that I didn't have a good experience in the school systems. I got putative punishments and many teachers refused to help the mental health issues that came about due to these punishments; I want to say that even moving to Massachusetts didn't help either because the teachers weren't trained in dealing with mental health. These experiences are why I am passionate about joining politics.

The great achievement that I feel I have done is the fact that I'm still able to earn A's for the end of this upcoming semester, while being heavily involved in student engagement. I feel that this experience taught me so much about who I am as a person and how powerful my talents are. The thing is that before I did all of this, I thought I was going to get nowhere in my life. Many of my teachers told me that my disability is enough of a reason why I can't go to college and that I don't deserve to work in any fields that has to do with being around people. However, I felt that this was wrong and that I can do better than that and I have achieved so much. Even though my school experience was terrible, but I worked hard to be able to overcome the obstacles that have hindered me. When I started at Roxbury Community College, I barely had a lot of credits, but from both my first two semesters I have got a total of eight A's and that has shown to me how much I can achieve. At the same time, I was the team manager for the Roxbury Community College Basketball team and that made my life very stressful. This was all done while balancing my classwork which was actually the load of a full-time student. During this time, I was able to show up to practice and make sure that all the equipment was put in place; I made sure that everything was set in a neat way in order for the practice to run smoothly. Another thing that I did while being team manager was to record games and help point out what the players were doing wrong. Even though I had a full-time load, I was able to get in some study time and make sure that I was on top with my courses. Eventually, from the hard work that I did during both these semesters I was able to achieve A's for both of them. But from these challenges I learned lessons that you achieve things no matter what handicaps you were put through. The life that I had in grade school was very terrible and I didn't do that much, but when I started to attend college, that's when I realize what it means to be successful. I realize that getting a college degree and graduating is already enough of an achievement on its own. The fact that you paid money, took the time to learn, get a passing grade, and then graduating is enough of an achievement. Most careers require you to get a college degree and the fact that you get the degree shows to everyone how hard you worked to get a good certificate of excellence. The other thing I learned from this lesson is that you can still achieve things even if you never were able to when you were young. I realize that even though I was given so many bad cards and my educators deprived me of what I deserved; I realized that it's not too late to achieve anything. From these lessons that I learned from my first two full time semesters at RCC, I realize that I can still achieve more things in the future. Right now, I'm currently involved with student government, dis-abilities alliance, gardening and cooking club, and science club. The fact that I'm still taking classes and being heavily involved is proof that I can achieve even more than what I did during my first two semesters. The plan that I have right now is to be able to attend a four-year university and be a part of clubs that help make the world a better place. What I hope to achieve in the far future is to get into the field of politics and implement policies to help underrepresented people. Ultimately, I feel I can achieve more by removing the barriers that prevent other people from succeeding. But for right now, I will focus on getting A's for this semester and then I will present my Honors project on May 9th and I plan to make it big with my research project. Another thing I plan to do is be a student athlete and improve my health where I can run fast enough. Overall, I do envision a future where I can achieve more. Right now, I'm taking things day by day.

I have gone through so much in order to be able to finally make it this far in order for many to do go to college and do very well. As a student with Asperger's, I can tell you that life wasn't always easy for me and that I went through lots of tribulations, but I was able to overcome it and still be able to apply of higher education. When I was in elementary school, I had a lot of teachers that were supportive, understanding, and patient with me, but middle school was when things went downhill for me. The teachers there felt that I was nothing but trouble and that I needed to be taught a lesson. What they did was used putative punishments against me and get me to behave. One of the punishments they used was in-school detention, but that didn't do anything rather I lost social development, and it caused mental health problems. This was further aggravated by the fact that my teachers felt that kids can't develop mental health issues; they felt that our brains weren't fully developed and that our feelings would come and go. However, this didn't do anything to improve my behavior rather my emotional problems kept getting worse and I lacked the ability to do well in school. During my years in the public-school systems, I always kept getting myself into the same trouble, but they felt that my issues were social in nature. My middle school years were so rough that my parents moved me to Massachusetts for a school system that would better help me. The problem is that Massachusetts still made the same mistakes that my previous school system made, and it never got any better. They still felt that my problems were social in nature and failed to understand the complex emotional issues that I was struggling with. The only people that gave me hope through this was my parents and they did everything they can to advocate for better treatment. Throughout my times, I felt like I had to give up and that my situation was very hopeless, and this impacted my academic ability. Eventually, I ended up getting placed into an alternative school since the school systems couldn't handle me anymore. However, it was during this time that I found God and I decided to pray to him more often. Since I was becoming more spiritual in nature; I felt that things were much easier for me. Even though my alternative school failed and did nothing to address my issues, but I was able to make it through this. When I read the Bible and looked at all the stories about God, I found that God didn't look for people who were the most qualified and well behaved rather he looked for people who were at their worst and that's when I felt compelled to give my life to Christ. This gave me hope even when things were so bleak, and I felt like giving up. However, I felt like I have achieved a lot ever since leaving the school system. Currently, I have earned all A's in my college courses and haven't gotten a single B. My GPA is over 3.5 and it hasn't gotten anywhere lower than that. The best part is that I got invited to an honor society at Bunker Hill Community College called Phi Theta Kappa. The areas that I have achieved the most in is the fact that I listen to what the professor has to say in class, and I use the knowledge to write good essays. More importantly, I'm improving a lot athletically to the point I hope I can make a college sports team. Currently, I'm training with a basketball coach who's teaching me technique and skill moves that I can use to improve my basketball game IQ. I have been able to practice these moves and I have been able to apply these to my games. Another thing that I'm proud to do is the fact that I'm running a lot and doing everything I can to make my legs stronger so that I can run cross country. At the same time, I'm lifting weights and gaining muscle mass that allows me to run faster. The fast time that I have managed to run is 23:32 for a 5k race and I feel I'm getting faster. It's not just the athletic and academic areas I have improved in; the clubs I have joined has shown how much I have changed. My teachers told me that I couldn't make it through in college and that I don't deserve to work with people. However, I'm currently part of the Student Government Association at Roxbury Community college as well as the Disabilities Alliance Club and the STEM club. The fact that I'm working hard to improve lives of students on campus as well as people with disabilities show how much I've improved a lot. Another thing I excelled in is the fact that I managed to publish my first book which shows my improvements in literature. Ultimately, my goal is to get into the field of politics after I graduate and the goal, I'm hoping to accomplish is enact policies that improve the lives of people who are underrepresented people in society. One change I like to enact is the reduction of the resource officer system since it has been shown that cops do more harm to kids than good. Not only does it improve the lives of minorities, but disabled people benefit as well. Many kids and adults live closer to a cop than they do to a social worker or counselor which is a problem. What I plan to do is reduce the police budget to make sure that its easier for students to get the support they need. At the same time, I'm hoping to create more seminars and training courses that will help teachers better understand students who are neurodivergent. The most important law I want to enact is the one that will revamp the special education system. The problem is that special education doesn't differentiate between disabled students and those who are at risk youth. The problem is that many juvenile delinquents are mixed with kids who have behavioral issues and that prevents student who do need support from getting the help they need. At the same time, many at risk students can have a bad influence on kids with special needs. Although I'm not in the field of politics to enact these changes, but I do feel that I can still do a lot to help people. Right now, I'm part of a group called Boston Socialist Alternative and what we do is hold meetings in which we discuss the issues at hand and how we can address it. We hold protests in which we call the government to listen to our grievances and understand where we're coming from. Being a part of this movement has allowed me to go inside of the state house and meet with great government officials. Overall, I feel that I'm doing a lot to improve society and I feel I can help tons of people.

Reading books has taught me a lot about the way that our world is structured, and it teaches me new ideas on the way we should see things. The books that I have enjoyed the most reading are history books that teaches us about the history of America. I realize that there are a lot of uncovered events in history that we weren't even taught about in public schools, and I feel that there should be a need to teach them. Many of these books gives us a different aspect of history that we never knew about whether it's the dark relationships that Thomas Jefferson had with one of slaves to how America went backwards in progress when it came to Civil Rights after the Reconstruction period. I realize that we still have a lot to do and that we need to work hard to avert the different form of discrimination that occurs in society. The best books that I read was the history books that I enjoyed picking up in the library rather the original fairytales were the ones that I loved. For example, the original story of the Little Mermaid in which the mermaid goes through so much turmoil and never ends up with the prince, rather she's given a dagger by her sisters to end his and dip her feet in his blood, so that she can become a mermaid again, but she refuses and throws herself overboard. However, instead of becoming seafoam, she's given a soul by the angels who tell her that she needs to do good deeds for 300 years and then she can gain a soul in heaven. This story taught me so many good lessons that I love to share. One lesson I enjoyed is the story of self-sacrifice and how in life nothing is a straight line rather you go through hills and bumps that are uncomfortable. The thing you should know is that you can do a lot of good things, but sometimes it won't give you the reward that you seek. Even if you suffer and go through a lot of turmoil, you should always do the right thing no matter how painful it feels. This story of the Little Mermaid resonates a lot with me and what I went through in life. The fact that I learned good lessons from this story is shaping the goals that I have in mind. What I plan to do is get into the field of politics and try to implement new policies that will better improve the lives of people who are underrepresented in society. I realize that public school gives us stories in which everything has a happily ever after ending, but I know in life that's not true. What I'm hoping to do is rewrite the education curriculum and make sure that students learn the real truth instead of whitewashed lies. This is great way for kids to grow and encourage them to make change. I realize that not all kids have the same opportunities that I have growing up. Now I'm hoping to eventually hope to enact policies that will address these issues. I feel that many students live closer to a cop than they do to a social worker or counselor. I believe that this is wrong, and I feel that kids need to be given the support they need. I believe we should create more social programs in which it makes it easier for them to succeed and do well in life. Overall, reading taught me good lessons on life and what we can do better.

I've been through tons of hardships in my life and let me say that I never had the best public-school experience compared to most of my peers. When I was in elementary school, I had teachers who were very supportive and patient with me. However, middle school was when things went downhill and that's when I started to face hardships. The teachers felt that I was nothing but trouble and wanted to cause chaos in the classrooms rather I needed behavioral supports. Instead, they used putative punishments against me and that created a lot of mental health problems. Another thing which aggravated my health problems was the belief that kids can't have mental health issues which really made things worse for me. The teachers felt that I was still developing and that my emotions would come and go, but that wasn't really the case. My parents tried to vouch for me so that the school could better understand and treat more humanely. Throughout my school years, I went through so many hardships and my health kept getting worse. The only thing that helped me was the fact that I believe in God and was willing to pray to him. What I realized from reading the Bible and being involved with the church, I saw that God doesn't look for the best and most qualified people rather he looks for the worst people in society and demonstrate his power through these people. This gave me a sense of hope and I realized how much God loved me no matter what flaws I had. During this time, I learned about the importance of Agape love and what it meant. This type of love is when a person loves someone no matter what they have done and it's unconditional. This is the love that I have shown throughout my troubling times when I was in the public school system. One way that I embody Agape love is the way how I view my school system and what I've done to move through that. I realize that my teachers never understood me and abused me, but I've learned to love them no matter what. Another way I demonstrated my love was when I was at an alternative school that was filled with students who were horrible towards me. I realized that these kids didn't have much for them and that either had families who were neglectful, or they were pushed into the criminal justice system. This taught me a lot about what type of love do I need in order to be on a mission trip and I'm working hard to show it even more. One way that I have shown this love is through volunteering with the Italian Home for Children and it has taught me a lot about what's it like working with kids who are from disadvantaged backgrounds. The fact that I've been through what they've been through allows me to empathize and relate to their experiences. There are times when these kids give me a hard time and often get mad with me, but I still show love to them. I realize that not everyone is fortunate to have what I have, and I realize that we need to show love to them. It's not just working at Italian Home that has taught me Agape love rather through the trials and tribulations that I went through in public schools encourage me to show that love. I realize that we need to show Agape love to people who don't love us. I believe I can make the world a better place.

To me there I have gone through so much adversity that there isn't one to nail down rather it's a continuous journey that taught me a lot of lessons. As a person diagnosed with Asperger's I used to have lots of supports that helped me in elementary school, but middle school was when things went downhill. The teachers felt that I was causing problems on purpose and thought that I was a juvenile delinquent rather than a child with special needs. They used lots of putative punishments and that impacted me socially and mentally. This issue was further aggravated by the fact that many of my teachers felt that kids can't have mental health issues. This prevented me from getting the help I needed, and it worsened my mental health state. During this time, my parents advocated for the schools to treat me better and they tried finding doctors who can help treat my problems. This continued throughout my times in public schools, and I felt hopeless, but the fact that I believed in God and prayed to him helped me through these tough circumstances. The more religious I became the easier it felt for me to continue pushing through. Although I never did well in school, when I went to college, I felt like wanting to improve my academic abilities. Right now, I'm working with a mental health counselor who's teaching me coping skills that can help me. Even though there were times in my life that I wanted to give up on education, I realized that many careers were evolving to the point where a college degree is necessary. Right now, I feel passionate about continuing my educational career. The reason why I want to pursue the field of STEM is being able to innovate and improve the medical sciences. The problem is that many babies are born with diseases that prevent them from living a full life. It's not just kids, but many adults have diseases that are difficult to cure and even though we have come a long way, but the Covid-19 pandemic taught us that we can still be vulnerable to infectious diseases as well as diseases caused by our bodies malfunctioning. I feel that we can create better measures to combat these diseases. I feel great that I want to pursue a degree in STEM, and I can do a lot for the field of sciences. However, the financial situation I'm having is making it difficult for me to afford college. By getting this scholarship I hope it will alleviate some of the bills I have to pay. Regrading my financial situation, I only get $1270 per month from the government in SSDI benefits, but that isn't enough to help manage my finances. Currently, my tuition cost around $15000 per year and my housing fee is around $2300 which is more than I can afford. It's not just the scholarship that will help me pay my bills rather it's an achievement at the same time. The fact that I won this scholarship I can use it on my resume as credibility proving to them that I can be a part of the field of STEM. I believe this can help me go further in life with my education. Even though I never had a wonderful school experience, but I feel compelled to achieve more. Right now, I'm working with a mental health counselor who's helping me cope. At the same time, I'm studying and involved on campus. I feel I can do a lot to improve STEM. I believe the scholarship is very helpful.

What I'm doing to address the issue of racism and any forms of discrimination is by being a part of protest movements that call out against injustices. One of the movements that I'm proud to be a part of is the Boston Socialist Alternative group. What we do is hold meetings and find ways to speak out against the injustices that are ongoing in society. During these meetings, we take turns and talk about the problems that are ongoing in the world and what we as Americans have to deal with. The most active for us is when we're a part of protest movements and that's when we call out to our government to act against social injustices. We stand in public spaces and hold up protest signs that state our grievances and we chant loudly about what our government is failing to do. It's not just that movement I'm a part of that helps people; another movement I work for is the North American Indian Center of Boston that addresses the issues with concerns over Native American heritage. One of the things we have done is go inside of the state house and state our proposal for new laws to help Native Americans. During one of our times in the state house, I hold up a sign and try to convince our government officials why we should enact these laws. When it comes to officials that promote our public policy, we tell the person what our laws are and how they can help. However, when it comes to officials who don't support us, we encourage them to consider our laws and why they should be past. Another important thing that we do is be a part of the speaker sessions that's held in the house. What we do is wait until our turn and we tell the state why we should change the policies on Indigenous Americans. One of the things that we have be working is by eliminating Christopher Colombus Day and replacing it with Indigenous People's Day. We have vouched and advocated around Boston and the state house why it's time to retire the holiday and replace it with something that honors Indigenous peoples. Not only am I proud to be a part of big movements that hoped to improve the lives of minorities in American; I even proud to be a part of Student Government Association at my community college. One thing that I do as student representative is hear the grievances of students on campus and tell them where to go to address these issues. The main thing that we do is meet every Wednesday and figure out ways on how to improve the lives of students at RCC. One thing that we're planning to do is get rid of the high school chairs in most classrooms and replacing them with tables. Being a part of this organization is teaching me skills that I can use in the government. Another organization that I'm a part of that's addressing social issues is the Disabilities alliance club. What we're currently planning is for a speaker session event in which a person who's blind will speak about what's it like living with a disability. In the future, we will host a panel to have people with disabilities discuss sensitive subjects. In the meantime, we will be hosting a movie to have people be aware of people with disabilities. Overall, I feel I'm doing a lot to address social issues in America; there's no one social issue rather everything is intersectional, and I feel I can help our society.

The thing that I hope to make on an impact on wellness is that I plan to go into the field of politics to be able to improve the lives of people who are underrepresented in society. Before that, I'm planning to volunteer with young kids. I realize that everything in life involves politics and that's what the field of working in any hotel related jobs is like. In fact, I realize that wellness is another field that does involve politics. The problem is that we have too many structural racist policies that prevent people who are underrepresented from doing well in life. Currently, one of the things that I'm proud to be a part of is working as a volunteer for the Italian Home for Children. I do everything I can to brighten up the day of many kids who are in need of special education treatment. One thing that I did when I was at the Italian Home was to handle out food and decorate the place for the Thanksgiving party. The thing about these kids is that they don't have access to equal opportunities and support and by being a part of the experience I do everything I can to lighten up their day. I hand out food to these kids and try to have fun conversations with them, so that they can feel better about themselves. Eventually, I plan to open up about who I am as a person and will tell them that I went through similar experiences that they went through. As a person with Asperger's, I can tell you that it's difficult to find people who are equipped to understand you. The fact that I want to help kids who are in need of therapeutic support is something that will improve hospitality as well as wellness. Another group that I'm a part of is Boston Socialist Alternative and we create protest movements to help people. One protest that we were a part of is the fund our future campaign. This campaign is a part of helping people financial since the problem is that many students who are working class have difficulty being able to afford college courses. The problem is that the state is refusing to fund schools that are in need of financial support. Meanwhile, the wealthy schools are lobbying the government to give them more money which in turn is hurting schools that are underfunded. At the same time, we hold meeting to determine our call to action and thinking of ways on how we can act and bring to light the injustices that are occurring. Another part of the plan that we do is we host protests to call our government to act and give to those who are in need of financial aid. Not only am I a member of the Boston Socialist Alternative, but I'm also even a member of the STEM club at Roxbury Community College. What I do is attend the meetings that are a part of the science world, and we figure out ways on how to engage more students who are majoring in science. Another thing that we do is bring in keynote speakers to speak out future science internships as well as trying to get people to better understand how the world of science work. One major that I'm hoping to try out is STEM and what I plan to do is figure out ways we can help treat diseases that are incurable. Overall, I'm proud to improve make my community better and I will anything I can to improve wellness and innovation.

My experience with anxiety has impacted my life in ways that prevent me from doing well in life and that is such a major problem for me. The thing about my anxiety is that it makes me feel very agitated to the point where I have difficulty getting along with different people. At times I have difficult being able to focus on my schoolwork and I feel like giving up. One facet of my anxiety is that it makes me very upset to the point that I throw an aggressive tantrum which really cost me a lot of opportunities. The worst part about my anxiety is that it takes so much energy out of me that I find it difficult to study or have a good day. During this time, I feel lousy, and I don't feel like wanting to do anything but sleep all day, but the worst part about it is that I find it difficult to exercise to my maximum potential. This can last for 2 days and then I start to feel better, but the damage from that tantrum is so immense that I have difficult relationship skills with my parents. Another part of my anxiety is the fact that I'm very paranoid of people which makes it difficult for me to have good friendships. I'm scarred that people will find ways to harm me or try to take advantage of me to the point I act up, even when I'm not trying to. Part of the reason why I have extreme anxiety is the abuse that I went through in my school years. When I started middle school, the teachers didn't try to understand me, and they felt that I was causing problems on purpose; they felt that my disability was just an excuse and that my problems with anxiety was just a form of childhood development. Many teachers felt that kids can't have mental health issues and that anxiety isn't something that kids can fully get because they feel that it's something that's caused by puberty. However, I felt this hurt me and it prevented me from getting the help that I need to help with my anxiety. My school system tried using putative punishments like in-school detention to get me to behave, but that made me more anxious. This caused me to have outburst and aggressive interactions with my teachers which still occur even to this day. Right now, I'm working with a mental health counselor who's trying to help manage my anxiety by teaching me new coping skills. The trauma I went through with my anxiety is part of the reason why I'm pursuing a college degree. I realized that even though my teachers told me that I could never make it into college; I decided to ignore them and work hard. What I want to do with my college degree is to be able to get into the field of politics. I realize that college degrees are very important to being successful. The career market that we have now is very different than from what we used to have in the past. Most careers are more technology based now and I feel that getting a degree is necessary. I realize that by studying for a degree, I get to learn information that can help me. College degree allows me to network with different people; these networks teach you new skills that you can use later in your life while making new friends. I feel I can go into the field of politics with my degree and be able to help others.

There are many times in my life in which I had to overcome adversity and each one has a good story to tell. The thing that I want you to know is that I was diagnosed with Asperger's and that has brought challenges for me and my family. In elementary school, I had teachers that were understanding and patient with me. However, when I went to middle school that's when things went downhill for me. The teachers at the school weren't understanding and easily found ways to have problems with me. They thought that I was trying to be a juvenile delinquent on purpose and that I wanted to disrupt the learning environment. However, I was a person who had behavioral issues and I needed some social support, but I need got any. Rather the teachers used harsh disciplinary practices that were putative in nature and often aggravated my issues instead of helping it. During this time, I developed mental health issues, and it made it difficult for me to focus on classwork. I ended up wanting to give up on life and felt that everything I was meaningless. Throughout all my middle school experiences, I never had a wonderful time with teachers, and they often felt that all my problems were social in nature. They believed that kids can't have mental health issues and felt that all our feelings were something that was a part of development and it would come and go. However, I believed that this has done more harm to me and has aggravated my problems instead of helping me improve. The only people that were of support were my parents and they worked hard to advocate for better treatment in my school experiences. Though they tried their best, but I often felt hopeless, and my health kept getting worse. What made me be able to overcome the mental health trauma through my life was when I found God and prayed to him. It all started when I went to an alternative school, and I wasn't getting the help that I needed. I prayed to him many times throughout the day and a lot before I went to bed, and this has helped me. Even though I was struggling and was falling apart, I had hope that things would get better. After leaving the school system, I realized that I need to work hard and be able to overcome the mental health trauma that has hurt me throughout these years. Right now, I'm working with a mental health counselor who's challenging me on my thinking patterns. I'm learning coping skills and ways on how to deal with the emotional trauma that I went through as a child. At the same time, I'm working hard in my classes and being able to focus on getting A's for all my classes. During this time, I have services with the department of developmental services that helps me with my disability. Right now, I'm applying to the Department of Mental Health and I'm hoping to get mental health treatment. Throughout my trails in life, I realize that you learn lessons from them. Life is full of people who will often find ways to hurt you, but you need to overcome them. The fact that I found God and pray to him is enough for me to keep living and wanting to achieve more. I'm proud that I have a mental health counselor who wants me to think in a normal way. Right now, I'm focused on making progress and striving towards a better future that will accept diversity and differences.

The thing what I did to overcome an obstacle was numerous in many ways and I feel that I learned a lot of lessons even though I failed in many ways. As a person who has Asperger's I can tell you that I went through so many challenges. When I was in elementary school, I used to have teachers that were supportive and patient with me. However, when I went to middle school that's when things went downhill for me. The problem was that the teachers didn't know how to handle me, and they felt that it was my fault for the reason why I was acting up. They treated me as if I was a juvenile delinquent who wanted to disrupt the class and cause problems. What they did to me was they put in a place a series of putative punishments that didn't do anything to help rather it made me feel less about myself. During this time in my life, I was struggling a lot and I had difficulty being able to concentrate on my schoolwork. Instead, my mental health deteriorated, and my behavior ended up getting worse. Even though I wasn't getting any better and eventually I ended up having to transfer to a different school. The only people who ever gave me hope through this time was my parents, who advocated for me and tried everything they can to help me. The only thing I did to make it through this time was to endure the sufferings that I had to go through which really didn't help. Instead, I felt that life was over and that everything I did was meaningless which made me feel like giving up on life. The only thing that gave me hope was the fact that I was able to go home despite what I had to go through. My parents did everything they can to better improve my life in the school system, but nothing was working. The next middle school I went to was very mean to me and didn't even want to help me. Instead, they often used an aggressive version of in-school detention in which the teacher in charge of detention would yell at anyone who would go into the room. This form of punishment didn't do anything to make my behavior improve instead it made me hate the school system. I felt like wanting to give up, but things went downhill when they skipped me a grade against my wishes and accused me of assaulting a student which never happened. During this time, I felt very agitated and didn't even want to be a part of the school system. The only thing that gave me hope during this time was the fact that I had a paraeducator who cared about me. He was very funny and wanted to have a relationship with me and that was what allowed me to get through it all. Eventually, due to a false incident I ended up moving to a different school, but I still suffered mental health problems. This problem was further aggravated by the fact that many of my teachers felt that kids can't have mental health issues. They felt that this our brains are still developing, all our emotions and thoughts would come and go. This didn't help and it made my problems get worse every day. I felt very hopeless at times and felt that life was a failure even though I had a wonderful paraprofessional. However, the next year I got one who was very mean and then eventually, my parents decided to move to Massachusetts. However, the next school wasn't even better than the school I went to previously since they approached my problems as social in nature rather than a mental health challenge that needed time and patience. This further aggravated me, and I kept deteriorating. The same problem still occurred even when I went into high school and even with a major incident, they still felt it was a social problem. Eventually, I was sent to an alternative school, but the school only worked for a year, but it eventually caused my problems to get worse since they still felt my problems were social in nature. During these awful times, I ended up becoming fully dedicated as a Christian. The fact that I started to pray to God and hoped that he would help me feel spiritually at peace was what made me happy. Life was very complex during this time and the fact that I found God made me feel that there was still hope in my life. Even though I left the school system and barely completed my coursework, I have improved a lot even since. What's happening now is the fact that I get services from the Department of Developmental Services and the fact that I'm applying to the Department of Mental Health is very good for me. I'm working with a mental health counselor who's helping me learn coping skills and challenge the mindset that I'm having. Overall, I'm doing well in college and I'm proud to be a part of Student Government and Dis-abilities alliance club. I'm proud that I have improved from all these troubling experiences that I had to go through. I learned tons of great lessons from all these experiences. One lessons that I learned was how broken the public-school systems are and the fact that we need better methods to help neurodivergent people. I realize that we have a broken school system and that we need to work extra hard to fix it. Another lesson I learned is that you can't always blame yourself rather learn that not everyone will understand you. This is true especially when it comes to mental health, and I feel that I can better improve our school system by eventually enacting policies that will help teachers better understand mental health and neurodivergence. Finally, the main lesson is to never give up even when teachers tell you can't.

My main goal is to get into the field of politics and help people who are underrepresented in society. Right now, I'm focused on getting a college degree and earning high honors, but I have done a lot to help people in my community. One thing that I have done is volunteer for a place called the Italian Home for Children. What we do there is come and help brighten the day of kids who are special needs, and we read to them in order to improve our social relationship skills. One great event that I was proud to be a part of was the Thanksgiving party that was held at the center. What I did there was get a tray that was filled with different plates of food and give it to the kids and staff who were at the party. I would make sure that everyone in the center was getting their fair share of food. Once the event was over, I would help collect the plates and make sure that all the trash was picked up. Another thing I did to help with the clean-up is by sweeping the floors and then help mop it to make sure that everything was clean. This wasn't the only event that I helped out at, I even helped decorate the facility for Christmas. During the Christmas decorating facility, I helped put lights around the facility as well as inflating Christmas characters to help brighten the kids spirits for Christmas. After decorating the facility, I would help serve the pizza to the kids as well as help them mix mocktails. Overall, I helped the facility a lot and I feel that I can still do more to help society. The fact that I was a part of Italian Home for Children speaks a lot about what it was like for me growing up. Working with these kids helps me with my daily mission that I had during high school. This relates to why I decided to make a difference in the world and it's the fact that I never had a happy childhood growing up. As a person with Asperger's, I realized what's it like being around people who doesn't understand you. When it comes to elementary school, I was lucky to have teachers that was understanding and willing to support me. However, once I reached middle school that's when things started to sour for me. The problem is that middle school required so much of me and they felt that I was nothing but trouble. The school I went to used so much putative punishments in order to get me to behave and that hurt my social development. They used to give me lots of in-school detention and that hurt my mental health. At the same time, many of the teachers felt that mental health issue is something that only adults have and that my feelings was something I chose to have. Due to the high expectations and harsh punishments, it discouraged me from doing my schoolwork. However, now I realized that it wasn't me that was the problem rather the fact that they refused to help me was. This is why I want to help people in society. I want to make everyone understand that being neurodivergent is a type of personality. At the same time, I want to make sure that no one likes me have to go through the same suffering I had to endure. Ultimately, I want to enact policies to help people better understand neurodivergent people. I feel I can do more to help society.

What I hope to do is to ultimately enact policies that will help people who are disadvantaged and make sure that they get the support they need succeed. Right now, I'm focused on getting a college degree and then transferring to a four-year institution. During this time, I'm an active member on campus and I'm learning skills that will help me with my future vision. One club that I'm proud to be a part of is the Student Government Association at Roxbury Community College. As a student representative, I listen to the grievances that many students have on campus regarding their professors, classwork, personal circumstances etc. that's preventing them from succeeding in their classes. Another thing that we do is we have meeting discussing ways in which we can engage with students and find solutions that are problems in our classes. For example, we're discussing about replacing the high school desk and turning them into tables. An important thing that we're doing is we're handing out surveys to student about Title IX violations and we use that survey for solutions to sexual discrimination. Being part of SGA teaches me skills that I know are useful when you're going to be in the role of a government official. I realize that I can take these lessons and make sure that I can use my speech to convince people how we can improve the lives of underrepresented people. It's not just SGA that's helping me make my dream become a reality; I'm even a part of the dis-abilities alliance club. Our club meets every month, and we discuss ways on how we can better help society understand people who are neurodivergent. What we plan to do is have a blind man who's the Accessibility coordinator, to speak about what's it like having a disability and finding ways on how we can better understand and accept people who are disabled. In the upcoming future, we will have an Autism bake sale and a neurodiversity workshop. But the most important event that we're planning is a panel in which people with disabilities or anyone can discuss their past experiences on very sensitive topics. I feel that I can learn a good number of lessons from these events and since I have Asperger's I feel I can learn about ways in which people can better understand me. At the same time, I realize that I have more credibility with my disability since I can relate me to others who went through what I endured. This is especially important when I'm involved in government since I can speak for people with disabilities and encourage new policies that will help neurodivergent people. These extracurricular activities that I signed up for is helping me learn new people skills. I realize that there's a lot you have to do before you make your dreams come true. The last thing I do want to discuss is the Criminal Justice reform internship that I plan to do in the summer. I realize that there are disabled people with criminal records, and I feel that we need to address this problem. By being a part of this internship, we will figure out ways on how we can reform background checks, specifically the CORI, and find ways on how to help people who were a part of the criminal justice system be easily incorporated back into society. The fact that I'm a part of this internship can teach me skills on how we can litigate for equality. Overall, I hope to implement new polices to improve the lives of underrepresented people in society.

The person that I admire who is encouraging me to get into higher education is one of my college admission coach counselors named En-Kuang Lung. The thing about him that I loved is the fact that he encouraged me to continue to pursue a college degree. When I was in an alternative school, many of the teachers told me that I would never do well in college. They feel that I should just go to trade school or just start working for the rest of my life. However, the college admission coach encouraged me to think beyond that and try to still pursue a college degree. The reason why he encouraged me to get a college degree is that pretty soon 25% of people in the world will be college-level educated and that in order to be able to compete in that field, you need to have a college level education. I couldn't agree with him more than and I feel that I need to go to college and be able to get a degree. The thing that I realize is that most jobs are starting to require people to have at least a college level education. The fact that are jobs are starting to get higher tech and we're starting to lose more manual labor job is why I want to pursue a college level education. Another thing that En-Kuang Lung told me is that he worked very hard to get to where he is and that he studied a lot in order for him to be very successful at what he's doing. Looking back at this I realize that getting a college level degree is a necessity that we need to have in mind no matter where we are in life. At the same time, college education will teach you how to communicate and find ways to better improve your life skills. This is why I feel the need to participate in both speech and debate as well as mock trial. What I realize is that these two clubs will teach the importance of how to eloquently communicate your ideas and a way to debate others. Being a part of these clubs is very important for me in order to get into the field of politics. I realize that speech and debate is an important skill that many politicians use when they're trying to seek re-election and I notice how when it comes to policies, they use their debate skills to either encourage or discourage a law that is about to be passed. It's not just that I feel that speech and debate can be very useful rather when you're part of a group of people who are enacting social change, I feel that it's necessary to improve your speech and debate skills. One group I'm a part of is the Mass Indigenous Legislative Action and what we do is advocate for legislation that will better improve the lives of Indigenous people as well as getting rid of racist mascots. This is where speech and debate are important because you need to communicate your ideas to politicians on why your laws are good. This is where I feel I need to improve my speech and debate skills. Overall, I feel I can do a lot in the field of politics and by getting a college degree. The fact is that I need to get a college degree and it will open many doors. Now I will further improve my speech and debate skills. This is why I feel the need to be a part of speech and debate.

One of ultimate goal in my life is to get into the field of politics and make a difference in the lives of people who are underrepresented in society. Right now, I'm focused on getting a college degree and becoming a student athlete. Eventually, I do plan on transferring to a good four-year college but right now I'm focused on being able to do well in my two-year school. The short-term goals that I have to do well is focusing on getting A's for all my classes as well as balancing my work and school life. One club that I'm proud to be a part of the SGA and I feel that being a part of this club is great for my short-term goal. The reason why this club is great is that I can stand out on the applications when I apply to other colleges. SGA teaches me how to better improve life on campus and help people who are in need of clothes or food. The thing that we're doing right now is getting funds for a clothing drive since we feel that many people don't have enough clothes for the winter. Another thing we want to do is change the table and chairs that we have on campus. The problem is that most chairs we have are similar to the small middle and high school chairs that barely allow you to move, and the desk was so small that you couldn't put much stuff on it. The fact that we want to make changes on campus shows that I really want to improve the life of student in general. It's not just that I'm a part of, I'm even a part of STEM club and I feel that we can give people more opportunities in the field of science. The thing is that most people who are in the science field don't know much about science and STEM can teach them new opportunities and new scientific knowledge that can be very useful to them. It's not just STEM Club I'm a part of, I'm proud to be a member of the Civic and Gardening Engagement club which can help me learn new people skills. The thing about the club is that we're going to have a big Earth Day event and harvest the seeds that we're planning to plant this earlier this month. The fact is that we want to show to people who we can better improve the environment and help reduce the amount of pollution that is going on in society. Eventually, once we harvest all the seeds that we have planted, we will plan to use those seeds and make it into a dish that is delicious and sustainable. Overall, the point of joining these clubs is so that I can get into the field of politics and make the lives of minorities easier as well as fighting racial discrimination. The problem is that most people along with kids live closer to a cop than they do to a social worker or counselor. This itself is a major problem and I feel that I can do a lot to help remedy a solution that can benefit a lot of minorities. What I hope to do is enact legislation that will reduce the funding of the police. At the same time, I will use that money to help teachers better combat their subconscious prejudice. It won't be an easy fix, but what I do hope is that we find ways to better understand one another. We still have a long way to go before diversity.

Currently, my financial situation is very dire and it's very difficult for me to be able to afford a college education. Right now, I get $1224 in the form of SSDI benefits but I know that it's not enough for me to pay the tuition bills for the upcoming future. My tuition for college is $15233 and dorms fees are around $5024 which is more than what SSDI can cover. At the same time, I have to pay for a meal plan that would cost around $1267 which is a lot for me to pay. This scholarship is great since I can use it to help pay for some of the bills that I have to deal with in college. My goal is to get into the field of politics, but I feel that I can be a great asset by working in the tech industry. The thing about life is that you will always be involved with technology no matter where you go, and I realize that politics is no different. The thing that I realize is that many government officials use computers in their day-to-day workplace. The reason is that we need to count people as well as their votes. A great example of this is when I worked for the 2020 U.S. Census and the reason is that we used our phones to take record of people who lived in certain places. The fact that we're taking demographic information and address complexes is very crucial to building a society that needs to be changed. This is why I feel the need to pursue a career in tech since I feel that it would be easy to map the data points that are located in any parts of the town and I feel that depending on who's living there, we can use these demographics to build more daycares, schools, increase house of representatives, and etc. The field of technology is very useful since I feel I can use it as a launching platform to better improve the lives of people who need it. It's crazy that we live in a system that is dependent on computers, but that is the truth of the matter. There are many other reasons why I want to be in the field of tech besides just the data part. People in the tech industry create new computer programs that is very important to making our society function as a whole. What I love to do is create new computer programs and figure out ways in which we can better keep track of the people that we govern as well as finding ways of making education accessible. I feel that part of the problem that goes on with many minorities is not being able to access good wi-fi and I feel that by being a part of tech I can better improve their lives. I feel that technology is a great field to get started in. Overall, tech industry is a great career path.

As a person diagnosed with Asperger's my life has been with tons of challenges and I realize that being neurodivergent will present you a lot of obstacles that can hurt you, but you will always make it through it. When I was in elementary school, I used to have a lot of supports and teachers were understanding, but when I went to middle school that's when things took a turn for the worse. The teachers didn't know how to understand me, and they often used putative punishments and got a resource officer involved just to get me to behave. This created a lot of mental health problems, and it made it difficult for me to do well academically. To make the problem worse, a lot of my teachers felt that my problems were social in nature and not a form of mental health. Throughout my school years, I was given special education treatment but that didn't make the problem better rather it aggravated my problems. Even when I left the school system, I still struggled with being able to manage my mental and emotional health. This has made it difficult for me to do well in college and being able to maintain my grades. Yet, despite all of this it has made me want to work harder than ever not matter what life throws at me. The fact that I'm resilient despite what I went through shows how much I still want to get a college degree. One thing that this resilience has done with my character is to teach me that no matter what is happening, I should always work hard and don't let anything that was awful hold me back from being able to accomplish a lot in college. Due to the fact that I suffered a lot of discrimination I found it difficult to fit into college settings, but I found a place to belong once I started to take courses at Roxbury Community College. RCC is a wonderful HBCU, and it has taught me a lot about diversity and what it means to be a part of a community that is marginalized. One thing that I enjoyed about being at RCC is the fact that I'm surrounded by a group of African Americans and that experience is teaching me a lot about what it means to be black. At the same time, the college has a college called Dis-abilities alliance club which is something that I decided to pursue. I'm proud that I can be a part of a club that fights against the discrimination of having a disability and I feel that it's a good thing that I'm a member of the club. I realize that it's not just about race that causes people to be marginalized, it's also about having a disability as well. The club touches on a lot of what I went through when I was in public school and how it reshaped my character. Many teachers and other school officials told me that I couldn't do well in college due to my disability. I thought that was true and at first, I thought that was the way. However, I realized how foolish that was of me to believe that. Now I'm working harder than ever to achieve my goal of getting a bachelor's degree. Going to college has shaped a lot of what I've been through and the fact that I'm at a HBCU makes me happy. I'm proud to be a part of the African community. Overall, I feel I can do a lot to make RCC a wonderful place.

The fact that even though I never graduated college at 22 and yet still wanting to get a degree shows how strong I am mentally even though I went through a lot of challenges. The reason why I never finished college early is because of the mental health challenges that I went through and the abuse I suffered when I was in public schools. My public schools felt that my Asperger's will prevent me from succeeding in college and that they need to cure it. At the same time, they feel that I don't have mental health issues and that all my problems are social in nature. This has made it difficult for me to do well in college and yet I still keep going forward. Throughout my times in college, I have always struggled with my mental health where it causes me to get either anxious where I get overwhelmed and give up on school or I feel so depressed that I can't even do schoolwork no matter how hard I try. Despite all of the challenges I went through, now I'm working harder than ever to get into college and get a degree. From going through the motions of not getting a degree at 22, I realize that you don't need to finish everything in a traditional sense. The thing that I realize is that everyone has their own journey, and some will finish later. At the same time, being in college allows me to relate better to the younger generation. I realize that there are many people who are enrolled in the military, and they are still far behind compared to their peers, but still continue to pursue a college degree. I realize that even though I didn't finish school early and didn't get into my dream job when I was young, I realize that taking care of your health is more important. Even though I feel like I can't be a student athlete, but I still train hard enough to be able to run and be physically fit for the role. I run a lot every day and train with a basketball coach and no matter what happens I will keep striving to the goal of being a student athlete. The thing about all of this is that I'm 26 and I feel like I'm too old to be an athlete or go to college, but I realize that I should still keep pushing forward. The fact that I started college later and still struggling to finish a degree tells me that we need a lot to fix society. One of my future goals that I used to have is that I wanted to work in the field of science but now I realize that I should go into the field of politics. I realize that we need a lot of government program that will make college easier and accessible. At the same time, we need to address discrimination in our society. This change in goal is helping me with being able to pursue a college education. I feel that I can do a lot in the field of politics. I believe we need to have training and seminar that get people to better understand people who are neurodivergent. At the same time, we need more social programs that allow people to better accommodate different people. Many people in society often don't accept people who are neurodivergent, and we need to change that. The fact that I'm still in college that I care about what's right. Overall, I love college and will get a bachelor's degree.

I'm involved in many extracurricular activities at my school called Roxbury Community College and I'm doing a lot to improve the life of students at RCC. One of the Clubs I'm part of is Student Government Association and I attend meetings that address the problems that many students at RCC have to go through. Not only do we plan events and figure out how to keep more students at RCC, but we also hear grievances and complaints that the general student body will deal with on a daily basis. We help with students who are having a problem with a professor to increasing the number of courses that is at RCC. At the same time, we help with students who are in need of accessibility supports and figure out how we can best accommodate them. Another club that I'm a part of other than SGA is the STEM club at RCC and at the club we're helping out with how we can make science more engaging with the student population. One thing that I'm doing as a club officer is tabling and encouraging others to join science. During science, we're planning to do a showcase of robotic body parts and we're working hard to plan for the event. At the same time, we will be coming up with our own robotic body part to compete with the others. It's not just that we're going to do, we will also sponsor lectures and put out flyers for science internships that will help many science majors find work later on. It's not just science club that I'm proud to be a part of, I'm happier to be a part of the dis-abilities alliance club. The point of the club is to get people who have disabilities to be a part of the community and figure out ways on how we can get people of many different disabilities to be easily accepted into society. As a person with Asperger's, I know what's it like to have a disability and I can empathize with people who have suffered from discrimination. The problem with society is that we try to make neurodivergent a problem similar to not being able to walk and that's not true. I believe that being neurodivergent is a different type of ability and I feel that we need to accept people for who they are. It's wonderful that I'm a part of so many different clubs at RCC and I feel that being involved can make it easier for me to transfer into a four-year college. The fact that I'm a part of SGA can help me learn people skills that I can use in my job career and as a student at a four-year college. I realize that by working with student government, it can help me with working with the American government. Student government makes it easier for me to advocate for students who have issues with their professor or are in need of crucial services. This is what it's like for me to be a part of student government. The other two clubs help a lot with my interest as well as advocating for social justice. Science club helps me to make science an engaging part of the student government. I feel I can help inform the student body on what wonderful science exhibition we can bring to the campus as well as the wonderful internship opportunities that can help people in the science field. Finally, being a part of dis-abilities alliance makes it easier for me to get accepted. Overall, I feel I can contribute to college.

Being diagnosed with ASD has helped and hurt me in many ways, but I feel that I can do a lot to overcome what I went through. When I was in elementary school, I used to have so many supports but once I reached middle school that's when things turned for the worst. The teachers didn't know how to help me and didn't understand who I was, and they often used putative punishments rather than trying to understand me. Another thing they did was to use a resource officer on me to get me to behave and that created more problems. This created a lot of mental health issues when I was in the public school system and that hurt me in many ways. However, the school system failed to address my problems and they instead blamed it on my Asperger's diagnosis which hurt me in any ways. Don't get me wrong, I do feel that ASD supports have helped me and that it can help others in the education system, but we can't fully rely on a diagnosis of just only ASD and that every person is more complicated than meets the eye. What my school system failed to see is how the abuse of public schools created mental health issues, but they felt that mental health doesn't happen to young kids and that my problems are social in nature. This isn't really true, and it ignores the emotional and mental trauma that I was struggling and how my school system aggravated the problems. Throughout my school years, I didn't get the help I needed, and it prevented me from doing well in education and it made me unprepared for the adult world. Now as an adult, I feel that we need to do a lot to reform education. Education to me isn't something that should be made compulsory rather it should be a form of learning that is geared based on the individual. At the same time, kids should learn things in school that can be practical in the real world and is necessary to improving the lives of others. The most important thing in education is to avoid teaching false information and myths that can hurt people and actually aggravate the inequality that occurs among people with ASD. At the same time, education should be about nurturing and growing kids and not using abuse and power struggle to make kids learn and behave. From my idea of education and the experience of ASD is that I want to go into the world of politics and make sure that no one with ASD have to go through what I went through. What I plan to do is implement new policies that involve teachers going through training and seminars that teach them to accept students who have ASD or are neurodivergent. The point is that we treat people with ASD as a problem that we need to fix instead of a new form of lifestyle that we need to embrace. Another important policy that I hope to enact is the reduction of the school resource office program. Just like with adults, many kids live closer to a cop than they do to a counselor or social worker. Ultimately, I feel we can do a lot to make the lives of people with ASD easier. I feel that we shouldn't be quick to judge for people who have ASD. Also, I believe we should train people to better understand ASD. I feel I can do a lot to improve education in America. I'm proud to have Asperger's and be neurodivergent.

My mom helped me in many ways and the fact that she still wanted to take care of me even though I put her through so many hardships and unnecessary sufferings helped make me a better person. The truth of the matter is that most parents would send their kids to a facility or place that didn't know how to deal with them, but the fact that my mom cares about me and wants what's right shows our gracious she is. I realized that the way my mom parented me taught me a lot about being gracious and learning to raise a kid that is very difficult. Even though my mom had done things that weren't good, but she put a lot of effort in making sure that I get through in life. What I like to say is that having a mom who still raises me even though I'm 26 shows how much she cares about me. One of the things that my mom is doing is the fact that she helped me get Social Security Disability benefits from the government which is something that I can't do on my own. The other thing that she helped me with is being able to navigate health insurance and figure out how I can get coverage even though I'm on a low-income. The fact is that my mom is trying to get me what is necessary for me and will help me survive living in her house shows how much she cares about me. It's not just the fact that she still takes care of me as an adult that matter; the way how she tried to help me when I was in my middle and high school year was tough. During my times in the school system, I struggled a lot and had difficulty in being able to do well, but my mom pressured the school system into having meeting to help fix the problems that I was dealing with. Often, she left work early a lot to deal with the problems that I was having with my teachers and the paraeducators. The most important thing she did that was very instrumental for me was when she worked hard and made sure that I go back to 7th grade and not be skipped a grade. My 7th grade school skipped me a grade and did so without understanding my mental health and my mom pressured the school board to fix this problem and she even had to speak to an attorney to advocate for child abuse violations. Eventually, I was able to stay back in my normal grade, but I still had a lot of problems still going on. Even though my school years were awful, but my mom is working extra hard to get me the help that I need. There never was one event in my life that caused me to be who I am through my mom rather it was the long years that she still kept raising me even though I kept getting more difficult to control and maintain. I thought that I deserved to be given up for adoption, but the fact that my mom is still trying to raise me shows how much you should love your child and anyone no matter how awful they were to you. The way she handled me and how she was able to tolerate all the difficulties that I gave to her showed how much I should be loving and friendly even if the person wants nothing to do with me. Overall, my mom helped me a lot.

The field of public service that I'm planning to pursue is the world of politics and I'm taking honors courses that talk about social injustices and how racism affects us more in a mental than a physical way. The problem is that many people feel that racism in society is on the fringe since we elected Obama to office, but from a lecture yesterday I realize that it's not the case. What I'm hoping to do with my education is to expose the reality of what most minorities are actually going through. The problem is that many people who receive government benefits are often portrayed as minorities who are taking too much from the government. At the same time, many minorities are accused of monopolizing the amount of scholarship money that is being offered to college students. The reality is a lot different than what people feel is going on and I believe that we need to expose the truth of how corrupt our society can be. I want to do social science research that exposes the injustices that is occurring in society. The problem is that we feel that ever since Obama became president, African Americans can have easy access to opportunities. What I learned growing up and what I can do with my education is show to people how much discrimination is occurring in the public school system. One of the fields of research that I will do in my Honors Colloquium is showing to everyone that despite being touted as the best school system in the nation, Massachusetts still perpetuate educational or any forms of inequality. One way that the school system does this is through the use of resource officers and I'm trying to show through my social science research that the use of resource officers does more harm than good. In reality, our use of resource officers creates more racial injustices and I'm trying to use anecdotal evidence of resource officers causing abuse and putting a lot of young kids into the criminal justice system. By doing this, I feel that we can convince lawmakers to pass new legislation that gives kids more social support and encourage teachers to accept students no matter how different they are. What I'm trying to do is find more encouraging and productive ways that help build kids and I feel that as a person in the field of politics, I can make sure that neurodivergent people and minorities are given the respect that they deserve. The fact that I want to do research in the social system that we have in Massachusetts is a lot that I can do to give back to the community. It's a great form of public service that will impact people for generations to come and the classes I'm taking are helping me learn how to do it. Another classes I'm taking which is African Studies II help me dive into the way social injustices are playing into society and how powerful systemic racism is. One documentary that I really enjoyed, and I feel can help me with my goal of getting into politics is by understanding the complexities of our system. The problem is that we care about freeing people from racism and discrimination from abroad, but I feel that we have more important problems to deal at home. I feel that I can do research that exposes our broken society. Overall, I feel I can do a lot by researching into social injustices. The fact that I want to get into the field of politics and expose systemic racism is great idea.

The way that I feel I can help create a better world is by going into the field of politics and implement policies that help fight systemic racism. Going into politics is a great way to share my Christian faith since I can express to people who God loves everyone no matter what their race is. In fact, I will show to people how God is loving and merciful despite the huge challenges I went through when I was a child. Before I enter into the field of politics, I will do socioeconomic research showing us how racism is still an impactful part of our lives despite the narrative that we have defeated racism. As a person who's Christian I believe it's wrong to judge others based on the color of their skin and I know that that's something God isn't a fan of. When I was growing up in Church, I was taught a lot about God's loving grace and mercy towards those that are unqualified. I loved the Christian God since he was a God who didn't look for the best or those who were wonderful rather, he looked to the worst people in society and even those who were vicious and yet he used them to do good works. The best part about learning God was when his son Jesus died on the cross and instead of him calling for help, he took all the pain in and forgive those who have wronged him. The fact that I want to get into the world of politics encourages me to show to everyone the love and faithfulness that God has given to me. One thing that I want to do is abolish the death penalty and replace it with life behind the bars. Even though God says that he has the right to take life, he chooses not to because he loves all his creation equally and wants to work with those who hate him. By getting rid of the death penalty, I demonstrate God's mercy and grace upon others. Even though we're all sinners, I feel that it's important to be merciful and gracious to those that have wronged us. The problem is that society is all about punishing those that have done us wrong and preventing sinners from getting further in life. One thing that I plan to do is reform the CORI background check and how companies make determinations. The problem is that many companies do CORI checks, and they will deny people the opportunity to work at their facility for a crime that happened many years ago and it's worse for people who have been found not guilty. What I'm hoping to do is not just give many ex-convicts a second chance, I'm hoping to focus her policies on rehabilitation and grace rather than harsh punishments. Another policy that I feel can demonstrate my faith is by reducing the police budget. Our police force doesn't show any mercy rather they use harsh methods to solve problems. The problem is that many people find it difficult to look for a social worker or counselor who can fix their problems. Most people live closer to cops than they do to a support staff. What I hope to enact is new policies that allow people to feel that they're welcomed back into society. At the same time, I want the police budget reduced so that it's easier for us to give people a second chance and demonstrate God's mercy on others. What I feel I can do in politics is enough for me to share my faith.

Personally, I've been an on and off students, but despite that I feel that getting a college degree is necessary in getting a better job. I first started at Massbay community college, but then I left because I was suffering mental health problems. Next, I attended school at Bunker Hill Community College and for a while I didn't want to do college courses. I just wanted to work and make friends rather than getting an education. However, I decided to return back to Bunker Hill Community College, but then the pandemic struck and made it difficult for me to continue taking classes. During the time when I was at Bunker Hill taking classes during the pandemic, I took simple cooking classes so that I can be a chef. But then I had to leave the school because I was starting to suffer mental health challenges, but I persevered. The next school I went to was Roxbury Community College and this is where I worked my hardest. I realize that I made some mistakes and had a lot of slip ups, but I felt it was necessary to get a college degree. I realize that in order to make it through in life with the job market and be able to own a house, I need to get a college degree. It's not just making more money that matters rather a college degree opens up more opportunities and allows me to make more friends than if I didn't have a degree. Many jobs that have college degrees are more long-term and you're more likely to have a career and develop true friendships. If you don't have a degree, then you're working a mundane job that's barely enough to pay your bills and it's difficult to develop real friendships. I realize that going to college is necessary and it will help you gain more opportunities. This is why I'm working hard to get a degree despite my setbacks. Another great reason why I want to go back to school is the ability to find new opportunities and possibly finding a job that matches my interests. At the same time, college has a lot of fun events where you can meet new people and learn new things. The best part of college is being able to serve on important organizations like Student Government Association. I plan to be a part of Student Government at my school where I will attend meetings and try to improve the lives of students at RCC. Many students will have grievances and I will do everything I can to address these issues. By being a part of Student Government I can stand out as a candidate when applying to different career fields in the future. At the same time, Student Government teaches me people skills that I can use in workplace as well as college. This just shows you why I feel that getting a college degree is something that I'm highly motivated to do. I believe I can do a lot more by being in college than working. Eventually my goal is going to a four-year university. Overall, I feel that I can do a lot more by attending college than just working all day. Attending college allows me to better improve my skills as a person. It teaches me new information that I can find engaging and interesting for me to learn. The other part of college that I enjoy the most is being a part of clubs that allow me to stand out on my resume. Overall, I strive to get a Bachelor's degree anyday.

What I do a lot to make my life sustainable is by taking public transportation more than driving. But the most important thing I feel is important to make things sustainable is by calling or messaging our government officials to implement policies that help protect the planet. I realize that doing things on my own isn't the solution to solving my carbon footprint problem rather it's a complex problem that I can't do on my own. I do agree that climate change is already a serious problem, but there are ways around it and I feel that we need to focus our attention to choices that actually impact the climate. One thing I know that is most important decision I can do is reduce the amount of time I'm using my car. I realize that driving more with your car creates a lot of greenhouse gases that can be very deadly to the planet. This is one reason why you should reduce your carbon footprint is the dangerous effects of greenhouse gases on the planet. We have seen what climate change is really like and the fact that floods are more intense to the forest fires that have occurred constantly and created dangerous smoke plumes over cities like NYC is enough to encourage us to reduce our carbon footprint. It's not just the powerful storms that we have to deal with, but the most dangerous effect of our carbon footprint is the heat wave. The truth of the matter is that heat waves have killed more people than all the other deadly effects of climate change. Looking back at 2023, we had the hottest summer in all of history and we need to work hard to put an end to our carbon emissions. However, trying to do it based on our lifestyle choices isn't enough rather the systems that we have in place makes it difficult for individuals to make choices that can have an effect on the climate change. The problem with America is that we need to push our government to implement new policies that can make a dent on climate change. What I feel we need to do is encourage our government to build more train systems and invest more in convenient public transportation in the cities. Even though we have public transit the problem is that the way its design discourages me from wanting to use it. Most transit is designed in a way to get from the suburbs to the city rather than between city to city. Look I do agree that cutting down on usage of driving my car and buy airplane tickets is what I feel is necessary in reducing climate, but I believe that we can do better than that. It's not just reduction of using my car and booking flights I need to do that matters; I also need to shop wisely with my food. I realize that people have always felt that to stop climate change is to stop buying beef, but I don't feel that's enough on its own nor is meatless Mondays going to work. Again, I believe we need to pressure our government to subsidize small farmers who grow health fruits and vegetables. What I feel will help is we stop subsidizing big farms that are monoculture and grow unhealthy foods. At the same time, we need to pressure our government to get many farms to treat their animals humanely. This is what I feel is necessary to help the planet. Overall, I believe I can have a green effect. We need the government to help us.

As a person who's Chinese and has Asperger's I can tell you that I went through a lot in life and have encountered tons of setbacks, but I always persevered and tried to find ways to cope around the challenging times I went through when I was young. When I first started school in elementary school, I had teachers who were understanding and patient with me, but things were downhill once I started middle school. Most of the teachers didn't know how to handle me and they thought that I was troublemaker who wanted to cause problems. They often used putative punishments and sometimes they would get a resource officer involved just to get me to behave. This didn't do anything to help rather it made the problems worse and I started to suffer mental health issues. The problem got even worse when my teachers told my parents that kids can't have mental health and that I was choosing to be sad. It wasn't just middle school that was tough, high was even more challenging for me. I suffered a lot of anxiety which caused me to have emotional outburst and made it difficult for me to get along with others. At the same time, I suffered depression which made me very sad to the point where I had a hard time getting work done. During my moments of depression, I had difficulty feeling happy even when there was nothing negative going on. I didn't have any ways to cope with these feelings and they often attacked me which not only impacted my academics, but it also even affected my relationships with my parents. However, during this time what allowed me to go above and beyond was being part of a Christian church. When I first heard about God and how much he loves us no matter what I felt it necessary to pray to him. During my times of prayers, I expressed to God about what I was going through and asking for him to come and give me spiritual strength. It wasn't just the church that allowed me to make it through my times of darkness, I had supports from the state. Due to my disability, I was given services from the Department of Developmental Services, and I worked with a mental health counselor who's giving me tips on how to handle my mental health. She's teaching me how to journal my thoughts and find ways to cope when things are starting to get rough in life. It's not just that I'm doing, I'm applying to get services from the Department of Mental Health and I'm hoping to get outpatient supports that can help me deal with my emotional problems. I realize that through this horrible chapter in my life I realized how broken the world is and that we have a lot to do. One lesson I learned from this is the effects of systemic racism and how it impacts us as a society. Even though no one is using hate speech, violence, or anything aggressive to show that they're racist and hateful, but the policies and structural barriers are the bigger problem. What I hope to do is enter the field of politics and make changes to our society. I believe we need more government programs that can help combat systemic racism and use more social supports to life people of poverty. At the same time, I plan to reduce the budget of the police and we refocus that money on social workers and mental health professionals. I feel I can do more despite my hardships.

My goal to create a great legacy in the future is by creating a comic book that will highlight how broken our world is and that we can fix it. My business is to create a graphic novel series and highlight how society oppresses and abuse people of color. The ultimate goal that I plan to do is highlight how everyone is a victim of systemic oppression and that we need to do something. Also, I hope to enact new laws that will combat systemic oppression and make sure that no one has to ever suffer from it ever again. One thing I noticed is that what happened in K-12 school systems doesn't end at childhood rather it continues into adulthood, but the players are different. From this, my legacy is to put an end to abusive laws that we have that hurt many minorities and prevent them from being successful in life. But first, what I plan to do is create a comic book that highlights this. My book is a dark fantasy take on a classical tv series and I do hope that people better understand how we're under some type of authoritarian society and that we need to fix that. The thing I want to do as an entrepreneur is to sell more visual works of arts that highlight how broken our society is. At the same time, I want to make animation open to the public and get people to realize that it's for everyone. My teachers used to teach me that animation is for young kids and adults don't watch animation, but I feel that's wrong. By creating a comic book series, I hope to get people to realize that anyone can be a big fan of animation. This one way that I plan to shine my light onto the world and make life better for everyone. I feel that we need to expose how capitalism in America is hurting us and that it's preventing good, animated shows from coming to light. By creating this business, I hope to show everyone that I can help improve the lives of the average American. The thing that I care the most about right now is figuring out how we can highlight the systemic problems that we have in society. I want to be able to create a dark fantasy novel about how a young girl teams up with a mean witch and saves the world from a total genocidal fate. The story will navigate twists and turns and it exposes how the wonderful adventures that these girls go on was nothing, but an illusion meant to protect her. The fact that she teams up with an anti-hero shows to use growth and maturity. At the same time that life isn't always black and white and that there isn't always going to be a straight path in life. Also, it shows that she's biting into the red pill where she sees the world for what it is and will no need to put an end to the totalitarian structure that is in place. By creating this series, I hope to shine to others that we can make a difference in our society and put an end to people who wants to control us. I want to be able to enact policies that fight systemic oppression and make sure that we can all live a better life. The thing that I do want to do is make everyone feel that there's always some glimmer of hope no matter how dark things are. Overall, I want to be an entrepreneur.

As a person who's very knowledgeable about the world we live in and is very good at chess as well as being a volunteer makes me a person fit for politics. The thing what I want to do with my talents is to enact new policies that combat systemic racism and create government programs that make it easier for people to move out of poverty. Currently, I'm a student at Roxbury Community College and I'm a student athlete who runs track and field. At the same time, I train with a basketball coach who improves my skills to the point I can play in a college team. I volunteer with the Italian Home for Children where I help decorate and serve food to kids who are special needs. My talents are that I'm empathetic and willing to be understanding to a lot of people as well as being intellectual. Right now, I'm in an Honors Colloquium course where I'm going to be gathering research and what I plan to do is do research on systemic oppression in the United States. Despite making advancements in Civil Rights, I still feel that we're a long way off and we need to do more to fix this country. In April, my classes will do a public speaking seminar where we will have our projects ready put on a podium. My goal of this seminar to show to everyone how we're being systemically oppressed. It's not just this project that I plan to do in college rather I plan of doing even more research and showing how racism impacts in many different facets of life. I feel that I can teach people more about how we have racial biases that can impact how we perceive and interact with other people. The fact that I have a lot of knowledge and experience in dealing with systemic oppression helps me improve my skills in understanding people and listening to what their concerns are about. This is where I feel that I can make this world more empathetic, and a more understanding global community is by getting into the field of politics. I realize that we often look at our differences, but I believe that we should go beyond that and understand that we're all the same deep down. Regrading getting into politics and using my talents as a researcher I feel that I can highlight how our school system set up our student for a world of systemic prejudice. One thing I should note is that both kids and adults live closer to a cop than they do to a social worker or counselor. This shows to us that no matter how you are we still live in the same environment no matter how old we get. My ultimate goal is to enact policies that heavily reduce the budget of the police and invest that in better understanding and nurturing kids for a better future. Before I do this, I plan to do research that highlights this problem in our society. I will do experiment and look in the archives about how resource officers affect the way how a school system is run. I will look at results to determine whether if students get better or worse by being around cops. Once I compile these results, I will prove to people that cops can do more harm than good. After doing this research, I will push our lawmakers to make better laws that will improve the way kids are being treated. Overall, I will use my gifts to make sure that we aren't judged by color.

My name is Yuanzhe Wang and I'm currently a student at Roxbury Community College who's majoring in Liberal Arts. Currently, I'm a part of Student Government and figure out ways we can better improve life on campus. Also, I'm a club officer for the Science Club where I provide information for scientific internships for prospective students. I'm even a student athlete where I train to run on the track and field team and compete in meets. However, I will tell you about my family needs and the financial hurdle my family had to go through. As a person who was diagnosed with Asperger's my family had to work extra hard to take care of me. When I was young, I had wonderful supports in elementary school in which teachers were understanding and were willing to help me. The problems arose in middle school when the teachers didn't know what to do with me and they often felt I was behaving bad on purpose, and they used putative punishments just to get me to behave. Due to all the stress that middle school placed on me, my parents had to spend money finding doctors and healthcare providers who can better help and treat my mental health as well as my disability. This placed a lot of financial strain on my family since not only did they had to spend more time taking care of me, but they had to invest more money in figuring out which facility or medical practices were better able to help coach and treat me of my mental health disorders. At the same time, my family had to pay the bills with owning a house which came along with maintenance, gas, utilities, electric, and etc. This created so much financial stress on my family that it forced them to live paycheck to paycheck. As a result of all this financial hardship, my parents didn't save up any money for me to attend college and now I'm looking to major in business. These experiences taught me a lot about how the world we live in is rigged and I feel that by getting involved in business I could find ways to improve the problems that many Americans have to deal with. I realize that a lot of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, but their living situations is even worse than the ones that I'm living in. I realize that getting involved in a business career can teach you about how to better invest your money as well as finding ways to help Americans with their finances. The best part of being involved in business is how it teaches you people skills that you need in order to become a CEO in any major companies. However, the part that I enjoyed the most about being in business was when I learned about accounting, and I realized just how important it is to any business that is just starting out. Accounting teaches me how to better close the financial books and figure out how we can have a better business year in the future. Now looking at this I realize that I can do a lot with being in a business career. Being in business is necessary for me to get into the field of politics. My goal is to enact policies that make it easier for people to financially help themselves. I realize that there are a lot of systemic racist laws that make it difficult for people to make it through in life. Ultimately, I plan to use my expertise in business to make finances easier for everyone.

Free speech helps people in many ways by allowing us to discuss different ideas and thoughts on a college campus. The important thing that we need to care is about having a diversity of thought where people can think differently and have different perspectives. Many college students are afraid to share who they are and what they go through as well as how they view the teaching material of a professor. Even though professor are well trained, but they can still make teaching mistakes and it's important that sometimes a student can correct it. This is especially important when it comes to history classes and what textbooks that many of these professors uses. Students can speak out and correct whatever error is written in the book, so that we don't learn false information that can prevent us from affecting the world for the better. It's important that we learn the truth of history so that we don't repeat the dangerous mistakes of the past. Diversity of thought and free speech can help prevent this from happening and making life a disaster. It's important that we preserve free speech so that we don't fall victim to empty rhetoric. The thing what I realize is that hypnotizing people isn't done by physical means rather usage of words that are appealing makes a person the best hypnotist. A great example of this is Donald Trump and the problems that he brought onto America and he's a good example of protecting free speech. There are many people who can speak out and state why what he's doing is wrong and is dangerous to society. When a person uses words to help appeal to people, suddenly people will be attracted and do whatever that person says. People who have free speech can fight back against this and use similar words that are appealing and can help lead people in the right direction. This is why we need to protect free speech and not try to control it. Many people will try to control free speech and they argue that it protects people from hateful groups and avoids hurting people's feelings. The problem is that these people often do it to control others and the ways they protect free speech is often vague and censor out word that they don't like based on preferences. What we try to determine as bad speech is often subjective and does more harm than good since these protectors often tend to use the same hateful speech that they say they're trying to protect society from. We need to work hard to protect free speech and make sure that we challenge ideas so that we can protect one another from trouble. My field of study does a lot to protect free speech since I'm majoring in Liberal Arts. I'm learning a wide variety of subjects and we're hearing different opinions and viewpoints on historical events or philosophers in society. My major encourages me to take subjects that help improve research and how racism is still a major problem in society. At the same time, I'm part of extracurriculars that help with free speech. Currently, I'm a student representative in student government and we do everything we can to make the lives of student better. In fact, I feel that we need to protect speech and encourage students to think differently. Another thing I have done to be part of free speech is joining Model UN. I'm learning a lot about politics. I can to understand different perspectives on matters in life. I care about free speech and want to protect it.

My name is Yuanzhe Wang and I'm a Chinese immigrant and I currently attend school at Roxbury Community College. I don't have any siblings and I live only with my mom, but what I do in my spare time is that I volunteer for the Italian Home for Children. I help decorate the facility when it comes to Christmas parties, and I help serve food when it comes to Thanksgiving Day lunch at the facility. Being with the Italian allows me to better understand kids who are neurodivergent, and it allows me to relate to people who are on the spectrum. As a person who is diagnosed with Asperger's it's difficult finding to fit into people who are neurotypical and being forced to adjust to be like them. Many people told me that I wouldn't handle being in a college setting due to my disability but I'm starting to prove them wrong since I'm doing well in college. The fact that I was deprived of opportunities and was discriminated against when I was in the public school system encouraged me to pursue a course in higher education. The challenges that I had to overcome was the abuse that I went through in the school system, being forced to think and act like a neurotypical, and not being allowed the opportunity to improve myself when I was in the public school system. During my time in school system, I had to deal with different resource officers and the punishments that my teachers extracted against me every time that I tried to be myself. Often, they used putative punishments and tried to isolate me from developing friendships with my peers. Even though my school years were tough, now I'm working hard in college and doing everything I can to manage my mental and emotional health. Even though I never had AP or IB credits nor graduated with honors, but I managed to do more while in college. Currently, I'm working with a mental health counselor who tries to challenge my thinking patterns and find ways to better improve my mental health. At the same time, I'm learning to balance work, life, and school while attending college. What I'm doing in college is be a part of student government and showing to everyone that people who have Asperger's can still work with people. Previously, when I was at Roxbury Community College, I finished two semesters full times with all A's and no A-'s, while being inducted into the Phi Theta Honors society chapter at the college. Now I'm going to be a student representative in Student Government while being a part of Gardening and Economics clubs. I'm working as a club officer with the science club by tabling and providing information for scientific internships. I plan to join international club and try to figure out how we can create more diversity. But the most important club I'm doing is the Dis/abilities Alliance where I hope to find ways on how we can incorporate people who are disabled into society and how to accept them. The reason why I'm doing this is because I was inspired by Greta Thunberg and what she did to help fight climate change. She has a disability and yet she proved to everyone how you can still work with people. What I hope to do is somewhat similar to her after I finish my college studies. I plan to go into the field of politics and figure out ways we can improve the lives of neurodivergent people. I'm hoping to find ways to combat systemic racism against oppressed peoples.

I was inspired to get involved since I want to help people and make sure that no one has to suffer the effects of structural racism. I feel like I can do more to help people who are underrepresented in society and those that suffer the abuse of police or public policies that hurt minorities. A lot of where I get the idea of being involved started with me and my middle school years when I was growing up as a child. As a person diagnosed with Asperger's I was given a lot of supports and elementary school and that worked out quite well for me. The teachers were nice and understanding while being able to be patient. Middle school was a different story and the problem was that many of these teachers handed out putative punishments and often blamed me for wanting to be a troublemaker rather than a person who has a disability. During these times in my life, it was very difficult for me and my mental health decline as a result of the abuse I went through in public schools. At the same time, many of my teachers blamed my problems as more social in nature rather than a mental health issues that required special treatment. This didn't help me at all and it made a lot of my problems worse and I felt sad or very anxious at times when I didn't need to do. Now I'm working hard to mange myself and try to make an impact on my community. One thing that I do is volunteer for a place called the Italian Home for Children and this places teaches me a lot about what it made means to be a child with special education needs. I can relate to these people and I feel that we should enact more laws that create more alternative schools. One of the reason why I'm going to college is hoping to enact policies to better help students who are neurodivergent or anyone who's an underrepresented person in society. The problem is that many kids live closer to a cop than they do to a social worker or counselor who better understand their needs. When I was young I used to have serious talks with the resource officer and it often ended badly and it left mental scars on my life. Even if a school doesn't have a resource officer, many teachers resort to harsh punishments and force kids to behave rather than getting to know them or accept them for being neurodivergent. One policy that I and many others in Boston Socialist Alternative hope to enact is to reduce the budget of police and use that money to improve training and implement more seminars that allow teachers to accept and better understand people who are neurodivergent. Another group that I'm part of that is important is Mass Indigenous Legislative Agenda and we work hard to improve the rights of Indigenous people. During each protest we come inside of the state house and we pressure each senator to either consider of proposals that will improve the lives of Indigenous people and to rewrite the education curriculum. At the same time, we pressure our senators to get rid of racist mascots that can leave a damaging image on Indigenous people. Overall, I'm motivated to improve the lives of underrepresented people. I want to make sure that no one has to go through what I went through. Being a victim of oppression has helped me better understand how unfair society is. I feel that I can improve and better society.

I have learned the most from reading the Bible and learning it through a Christian lens. The reality of the matter is that I never gained the achievements that my peers have, but I realize that the ultimate goal is God. I used to think that God was a person who cared about being the best and being well-behaved but throughout reading the word and my life experiences I realize that it's not the case. When I was a young I was diagnosed with Asperger's and I had great supports when I was in elementary school since the teachers were understanding and patient. However, when middle school rolled around that's when things went for the worse and I struggled a lot since many of the teachers didn't know how to deal with me and they used putative punishments to get me to behave. They felt that I was choosing to misbehave on purpose and that I wanted to cause trouble rather than realizing that I had behavioral issues. During these times I felt less about myself and it affected a lot of my mental health and the teachers took so many opportunities for many to socialize and grow as a person that it prevented me from doing well in middle school. It wasn't just in middle school, these same problems occurred when I went to schools in Massachusetts since they approached my problems as social in nature rather than realizing that I went through so much abuse that I had mental health issues. Many teachers told my parents that I was still fit to go to public schools even though my emotional and mental health weren't being help by me staying public schools and the best option was to go to an alternative school. However, during these times I found the Bible and listened to a lot of sermons and during this time I have transformed and realized the true meaning of who God really is. God doesn't look for people who are well-behaved and those who have high qualifications rather he looks for those who are terrible and the worst in society and he shows his powers through these people. From reading the word, I found peace and hope in God and through baptism and mission trips I was able to learn a lot about the sinful nature of our society and how there's inequality everywhere. The Bible encouraged me a lot to help change the world and make it for the better since I realize that we need to improve the education and mental health system in the world. I'm planning to go into the world of politics and try to enact policies that not only reduce the funds of the police, but implement training seminars that will help teachers learn to accept neurodivergent people. The Bible taught me that being neurodivergent is something God wants and I realize that we need to enact policies that allow them to be more accepted. Other than reading the Bible and wanting to improve the lives of neurodivergent while living out my Christian faith, I do fun things in my spare time. I volunteer for Italian Home for Children and try to make the lives of kids with special needs better. I do a lot of athletic training by running or playing basketball so that I can be a college athlete. I work for the Student Government Association at my school where as a representative I learn people skills and how to make the lives of students on campus better. I plan to do more things to be an active student.

I have done a lot of great thing with my community not only through volunteering, but also through being a part of movements that demand social change in our society. One place that I volunteer that is helping people is the Italian Home for Children and by helping out, I'm doing a lot to improve the lives of kids with challenges. The problem with school systems is that they don't have the time and resources to handle kids with a lot of challenges and I feel that alternative schools may be the solution to the problem. When volunteering at the Italian Home, I'm understanding what's it like to be a kid with special needs and I can easily empathize with them. The thing I do there is pass out food during Thanksgiving or Christmas parties and during Christmas holidays, I help decorate the place with lights and other Christmas decoration. Being at the place makes me realize how we need more alternative schools and I feel that we should push our lawmakers to make or fund more alternative schools because these places are super helpful to students who can't fit well inside of a public school system. Being around these students make it easy for me to relate to them and it allows to help them realize that they're not alone. It's easy for me to open up to these students and tell them that there's an adult who went through what they went through. It's not just volunteering at a special school that makes me feel like I'm having an impact on diversity, inclusion, and social justice rather the political movements I'm part of is doing a lot to help out. One movement I'm a big member of is the Boston Socialist Alternative movement and we're doing a lot to help people. One thing that we do is stage protest movements and demand better treatment for workers and unionizing together as a whole. Sometimes, we protest outside of places like Starbucks and we demand that they give workers better pay, good health insurance package, guaranteed vacation times, and other benefits. There are times we protest and march around the street demanding lawmakers to change the police system in Boston because policing is often used to target and discriminate people of color rather than keep people safe. Sometimes we hold private meetings where we discuss our next course of action and how we can better help and support each other while listening to each other's grievances. Even though I can't make a good amount of donations like other people can, but I feel I can do more to improve the lives of underrepresented people by just showing up and being a member. Another group I'm part of is the Mass. Indigenous Legislative Action and in that group we march around town demanding better treatment of Indigenous people in Massachusetts. One time we were in the state house and we pressured different members of the state congress to consider our grievances and understand where we came from. I held up a sign and explained to the congressional members why they should consider the law and how it helps build better relationships with Indigenous people in America. Another thing I did was be a part of NAICOB and we were in a Senate hearing about whether or not to keep Columbus Day and I was an important member listening to what was going on. During that meeting, I listened and figured out that there were people in opposition to us and we planned how to fight them, but I'm a vocal member.

Travel is a great way for others to better understand culture and the histories of many different civilizations that have occurred throughout history. Many American wants to see their own sights and care about what's cool in America, but I feel that we're losing out on a lot if we don't travel outside the country. What I realize is that American history is very small compared to the history of the world and yet we boost ourselves as the best civilization in history. I believe this is wrong and that we can learn more from studying the history of other cultures and how they had ideas similar to ours. At the same time, many different cultures had history that spanned thousands of years and I feel that we can learn more about our world if we learn what the world is like the past thousand years. The reason why I find this important is that we can easily understand why people act the way they act and how these cultures differ a lot from ours. Learning different perspectives from other people teaches us that sometimes our country isn't the best rather there are some things in other cultures that can help us in the long run. For example, going to India and seeing the Taj Mahal can teach you a lot about Indian history and why the monument came to be. We can't just look at the monuments of other cultures and say that they're just as good as our rather these places have hidden secrets or stories that can connect to the modern day. Even though I'm not Irish, but the idea of me wanting to live in Ireland and exploring what the history and culture of Ireland is very interesting and I see a different worldview. Personally, when it comes to Irish Americans I see them as happy American who party and want to drink a lot, but when I got to know real Irish people, I saw something different in them. These people aren't funny or casual rather they were serious religious folks who often lived one with nature and settled in a peaceful manner. At the same time, when I learned about Irish history I saw similarities between the colonial time period in American history and what Britain did to Ireland that resulted in Northern Ireland. I realized that no matter how far we are and how outdated technology is, we can still be connected no matter how far we are. The policies of colonizing Ireland sounded a lot similar to America. In fact, I learned that Ireland constructed a Native American feathers monument to honor the Choctaw for donating $150 for famine relief. It tells me how people from different cultures can help one another and that people can suffer the same form of oppression. It's not just history that links us together rather the food as well. Turns out I didn't realize that a certain Japanese dish isn't Japanese rather it's Portuguese and that is Tempura. I learned that in 1649, some Portuguese sailors got stranded when sailing to China and they ended up in Japan where they traded goods with the Japanese. It was here that they introduced the Japanese to a dish called Peixinhos da horta and that's where the Japanese got their idea for Tempura. By going to different cultures, you learn how everyone's history is interconnected and how we share a common ancestry. We learn how our foods can come together. At the same time, we see new historical worldviews. Most importantly, we realize how diverse and equal we are.

The reason why I decided to go into the field of education leadership is to better improve the field of STEM and realize that we're missing an important aspect that can help society as a whole. What we need in the field of STEM is art or creativity and that's what we're lacking, but the school system push for robotics, engineering, or technology that is too mathematical in nature and not creative. Not everyone is fit to code for computer programming and we need to accept that; there are different fields of STEM that people can belong to and still make an impact on life. Short-term what I plan to do is take STEM classes and look for internships that teaches me about how to better improve STEM. I'm planning to be an education major and learn more about how STEM is taught in the school system. I want to understand and gauge how kids view STEM vs what STEM really is and figure out why many kids aren't doing well. I want to be part of internships in schools where I can learn more about the STEM curriculum and figure out what's going on with STEM in school systems. During this time I will craft research articles showing people what STEM is and how kids are engaging with STEM. This is what I plan to do short-term, but long-term is changing the landscape of STEM for the better. What I hope to do is rewrite the STEM curriculum for the better and not make it narrow. STEM itself doesn't include all fields of science and it teaches kids that science is stagnant and we're just repeating experiments for fun. The reason why I want to do this is show to everyone that science can be creative and you can learn new things with it. Science isn't meant to prove something is correct rather it's meant to disprove until it's closer to the truth. Even if a theory is disproven rather we don't throw it away, but modify it and leave the core component there. We may never get closer to the truth but science isn't about finding the definitive truth. This is why I really want to change modify the school curriculum since kids feel that science is boring, but I believe the way we're teaching it is what's causing kids to fail in the field of STEM. Another thing I want to do is improve the racial diversity and that's another long-term goal I have with the field of STEM. The fact that I'm Chinese and an underrepresented minority makes it difficult for me to do well in the STEM field. I have a lot of health insurance bills to pay and the problem is that many people feel that I can do it all on my own. However, I need this scholarship in order to be part of the field of STEM. The scholarship can make it easy to fund my education where I can take more courses on education and figure out how to better improve the curriculum. At the same time, I have tons of dorm fees that I need to pay while living at my university. It's not just the tuition, but I feel like I need to pay for books in the future. The extra aid can help me focus more on education rather than working a job. I want to be able to be part of STEM and figure out ways on how to better improve racial relations in STEM. Overall, being a minority makes it difficult for me to go ahead.

Mental health is crucial because it impact how I handle academic as well as social stress when dealing with a heavy workload in college. The reason why I feel this way is that there are times when I'm so depressed that no matter how hard I tried to get myself to do work, it's so difficult. No matter how hard I try to distract myself and realize that there's good in life, I'm so sad to the point where I can't do anything productive. The other side of the spectrum that is when I have super anxiety and that can make it difficult for me to get along with people and learn how to better tolerate each other. At the same time, I have emotional outbursts and feel like the world is ending and that I need to fight even though there's no reason to. This is why I feel mental health is important because if you don't treat it it can interfere with your ability to succeed as a student in college. The problem in society is that we tend to treat mental health as a part of being human rather than a complicated problem that needs a lot of social supports in life. We're taught that if a person is having a bad day, then they should just laugh it off or if they're anxious then we tell them that they're being a drama queen. The problem with these approaches is that it prevents people with serious mental health conditions from seeking the help that they really need. Personally, one thing I 'm doing in my community to advocate for mental health is by sharing and telling people that I have mental health issues. I realize that by not sharing it, I feel like I'm adding to the problem and that is something I don't want to do at all rather I feel we need to ensure everyone that mental health is no different from physical health. If no one is afraid to share they have cancer, burns, or any diseases that make them physically unattractive, then no one should be afraid of sharing how their mental health destroys their family relationships or being able to live a normal life. The other thing that we need to do is tell everyone that anyone is susceptible to mental health no matter what age they are. There's a myth that kids can't get mental health issues and I feel that that's a huge disservice and can lead to dangerous outcomes. Growing up in school, I witnessed the suicide of one of my friends in high school and that has had a huge impact on me. The thing about that person is that he looked fine and had a lot of friends, but deep down he was emotionally tortured and needed mental health support. The problem is that when we tell people mental health issues only occur when they turn 18, it causes a lot of irreversible damage that could've been prevented if the person could treated early. Now I'm hoping that many parents and teachers realize that no matter how old a person is or who they are, mental health can impact anyone and we need to work hard at it. We should encourage people to share their stories and struggles with mental health as well as telling them to open up about it. We need to stop sugarcoating mental health and telling people that they need to laugh it off and just accept the problem for what it is. Overall, I believe mental health is crucial to college students.

The reason why I want to have a degree in STEM is not just the ability to improve the way of life that we have and create more computers. Rather I feel that we can do more to get kids to be creative and find their own path in STEM instead of the narrow path of engineering, robotics, or technology etc. I thing I feel is missing from STEM is creativity and I believe that art should be added to STEM. I really believe that by being involved in STEM I can come up with ways of better improving the curriculum of the school system since STEM involves education. The reason is that science is everchanging and that there are only a few facts, but tons of opinions that make science very wonderful. Science was never designed to prove if something was right rather it's meant to falsify the idea and try to get closer to the truth even if we never reach it. Life is interesting that way because we can come up with new ideas and better ways of fixing things. The reason why I feel that education is great for me when regrading STEM field is that a lot of STEM is taught in the school system and kids don't learn one subject rather they learn a variety of it. Teachers often teach students that science is stagnant and the world is structured the way it is because scientists from long ago already proved it and that we're just recreating experiments. I believe that this view is wrong and that we need to do more than just correct this mistake. As a person who's going into the world of STEM, I want to get people to realize that we can come up with new experiments from pre-existing ones since we can find new answers or find a new idea in that old experiment. We have to consider that it took years for us to know what molecules and atoms are and yet we're still finding new things about simple science principles even when doing the same experiment. I believe that kids should investigate and think of what new things we can learn from doing the same experiment and I feel that is what makes STEM more engaging. At the same time, this unlocks the ability of creativity and I feel that many kids need to be creative in order to become better scientists. The thing I realize is that all fields of STEM use some form of creative expression and that we need to teach kids the skill of how to be creative. It's not just creativity that matter rather if a person of color comes into the STEM field, it gives many minorities a sense of hope. Many young kids who aren't white feel excluded every time they see only white scientists, since I'm Chinese I can show people that anyone can be involved in STEM no matter what they're race is and that you can still contribute a lot to the scientific community. Another problem with the STEM field is how much racism is being thrown around in it. There are tons of innovations in the STEM field that comes from minorities and the problem is that many white inventors end up taking credit for these innovations even though these minorities thought of it first. What I hope to do is address the issue of racism and make sure that everyone is offered an equal opportunity into the STEM field. Personally, by being involved in STEM I hope to make it more engaging and inclusive.

Being a child of immigrants isn't easy since I'm a first born generation on American soil and that has brought on challenges for me. As a person who's diagnosed with Asperger's that has made it very difficult for my family who are new to the medical system of the United States. Before we came to America, we never heard of mental health disorders or disabilities, in fact my parents were surprised that peanut allergies existed since many Chinese families use peanut oil to cook their meals. What I do like to say is that being an immigrant is a whole new experience that I have never dealt with before and learning the ins and outs of the American system is so complicated. The thing about me is that when I went to elementary school, the teachers were kind and willing to help and process things out for me. Middle school was a different story and the thing about is that many of the teachers never cared to help us nor wanted to get to understand our background. The thing that upsets me the most is the stereotypes that our teachers have against us and since I'm Chinese, there's a model minority myth that says that all Asians are smart. On the outside, this may seem okay but in reality it has hurt me in so many ways, because it ignores the fact that I have a disability. The middle school I went to often used putative punishments and many of the teachers blamed me and felt that I was choosing to be a troublemaker rather than I had behavior issues. Throughout my time in school, my parents had difficulty in understanding the school system and the teachers made the education process so difficult that it prevented my parents from getting the necessary help that I needed. Instead the school felt that I should get more supports since I have Asperger's and my IEP should be more social in nature. Due to my parents being immigrants, they could barely understand what was going on and it was difficult for them to realize the harm that the school was doing onto me. Throughout many IEP meetings, they felt I was getting better but in reality I was deteriorating and my social behavior got worse. I had a lot of emotional and mental issues that went unchecked since the school felt that kids can't get mental health issues. My parents struggled since they were new to America and they didn't realize that there were child advocacy groups that could've helped my family. As bad as this thing was, I realize that some families have it worse than me and it's especially true for Hispanic or dark-skinned immigrants. I would like to see what it's like to live in the life of a Hispanic or any immigrants who are stereotyped as dangers to society. Even though I suffered in public schools, but many of these immigrants don't have the luxury of having a wonderful internet connection or being able to have access to food. During the 2020 pandemic, I realized how many Hispanic immigrants lost a lot of education and resources due to the shut down. What I don't realize is the fact that I can get fresh meals and be able to come up with good recipes is enough of a privilege on its own. Many of these families have to eat either tv dinners or any pre-packaged food that is lacking in nutritional value. I realize that being a Chinese immigrant I have a good home, but being Hispanic it's worse overall.

The reason why I enjoy math is its use in everyday life and the fun problems that I learn from getting involved in math. One thing that I like the most is how I realize that we use math in a day-to-day basis. People always say that math is boring and it's waste of time, but I feel that we need to change the way that we teach it. A good example of how math is necessary for life is to the addition and subtraction method that we're taught in school. I realize that no matter where you are you need to add and subtract in life whether it's the grocery store, the pharmacy, or any form of inventory count that we need to do work on. However, the best part of math isn't the the important of math in society, but when you start to learn Calculus and the history of that math. What I found intriguing is that mathematicians used to gamble on finding the derivative of any equations and how they bet to see who can solve it the fastest. By learning about rate of change and finding the derivative I learned that math doesn't have to be black and white rather it can have tons of shades of gray that can allow us to be creative. This is why I enjoy math and I feel that people need to see and be taught math in a different way that allow us to be creative as a whole. The thing that I enjoy about math is that it teaches you about problem solving and it improves on that skill. It's not just adding and subtracting that is important in math, but the ability to use it to plan budgets. What I find great about math isn't the use of simple problems in life but rather that math is another language but a bit simpler and I realize that math itself relates a lot to philosophy. Turns out many philosopher were mathematicians because the same method of thinking that they used is exactly what math really is. Another thing what I love about math is how it relates a lot to board games and how you use it to defeat your opponent. Overall, I enjoy math not just because I play chess or I find it necessary, but rather you can find ways to be creative and engaging.

I've studied calculus and I can tell you that there's more to learn from it than other forms of math. What makes calculus so wonderful is how it creates math problems that aren't abstract rather some of them are concrete and are very applicable to the steam field. For example, there was a calculus problem in which I was learning about shapes and how to get the area of something and I realized how it's an innovative way of approaching a mathematical problem when it comes to finding the area of something. The thing that I learned the most about calculus is how the problems aren't just black and white and that's the end rather there are unsolved problems and that's what life can be like. The other thing about calculus that you can apply to the STEM field is its use in the world of robotics. The way robots are programmed is through the use of calculus because we have to calculate unexpected changes in our environment and robots need human input to better navigate the world that we live in. Calculus allows robots to better understand the position that they're currently in and how to use their velocity and acceleration and this is crucial when it comes to autonomous vehicles when they need to do something like obstacle avoidance. It's not just robotics that uses Calculus rather it's very important in all field of STEM and that this is a form of math that has many problems that aren't black-and-white and that it is what's life is like. For example, when I first studied Calculus I solved a problem that required usage of an area and how to find it via different method and I realized that this can be great when it comes to architecture. I feel that architecture is a field of STEM and I believe that calculus can help us when designing better builds and how to withstand almost any natural disasters or structural problems that can happen in the future. It's not just robotics and architecture that I feel is important in the field of Calculus rather many important concepts in physics, engineering, and computer science use Calculus in their day-to-day work field. The thing about these fields is that they use Calculus to model the motion of object and systems and they need to account for changes that they is unpredictable in nature. Also, Calculus help a lot and improve the Mathematical fields that we learned when we were young. For example, Calculus taught me the modes of differentiation and integration which taught me how to describe the rate of change of a system and to find the total change in a system over time. In many fields of STEM whether it's Science, Technology, or Engineering, you will use Calculus since many systems and scientific endeavors have to deal with an everchanging system. In conclusion, I believe that we need to integrate and encourage people to learn more Calculus and find ways to make it more engaging for the masses. I feel that we need to teach STEM majors the importance of the rate of change and how life will throw curveballs that we don't expect. The problem with most mathematics is that it's black-and-white and ends the story right there, but Calculus can teach us information that is relatable to real world. The other thing we should note is that robotics and many other scientific fields require Calculus allow us to better understand how to position and better engineer solutions to our problems. I believe Calculus is great for the STEM field.

Personally, as a Christian I care a lot about protecting developing fetus and my faith proclaims that I should care about being Pro-Life. The fact that I'm around Christians who care about saving developing fetus is enough. There are times in which I go on retreats and we discuss the Bible and how God values life right from the start before we were ever born. We teach each other and try to proclaim to other people that before we were developing in the womb God knew us and created us from the beginning and planned us. No matter what the fetus we feel that God planned for them to exist and be born. Personally, being faithful to God taught me about how he cares about me and wants what's best for me no matter what's going on. As a child, I never got the wonderful support and care that I should've gotten and I felt I was lost, but having faith in God taught me that there was someone who care about me and planned wonderful destiny for me. I thought I wasn't going into politics, but faith in God taught me that I should work in politics by starting as an education major. I feel that we need to write the curriculum and teach everyone the importance of how great life is. It's not just about life inside the womb, but outside as well. It's bad that we abort babies, but it's worse when we allow them to develop but chose to neglect them or take away social supports since God wants everyone to be treated fairly and with love. Love isn't about the womb itself rather I feel it's about helping those who have come out the womb and need help. The thing about my education and what I plan to do is hope to enact policies that help many kids who come in different variety. God loves everyone no matter their race, gender, disability, etc., but the problems is that school system often look down on neurodivergent people and feel that everyone should conform. I want to do studies showing how many people who are neurodivergent are suffering abuse and the effect it has on their development. The thing I feel is important to enact change and protect all stages of life is to enact better social support systems. The problem is that we focus on the womb, but we fail to understand that many kids are victims of gun violence and that's not acceptable. Not only do I purpose to enact policies that help teachers better understand and mentor students, but we need to have harsh gun laws. I plan to do education studies showing how places that have more guns tend to have more violent outcomes and we need to make sure that no kids live closer to anything dangerous. At the same time, we need to reduce the budget of the police which is a part of the problem. Just like with adults, many kids live closer to a cop than they do to a school counselor or social worker. I want to do educational research that proves how cops in schools lead to poor developmental outcomes and it creates an atmosphere of abuse. At the same time, I want to have more funding in training teachers on how to accept neurodivergent people. Personally, as someone with Asperger's I believe that having a more understanding teaching environment can help neurodivergent people for the better. As a person who's faithful and Pro-Life I feel that I can make a difference in protecting all life stages.

The reason why I'm so passionate in studying the field of biology is that I'm trying to make healthcare a lot easier for people with chronic diseases. The problem is that even with modern medicine, it's difficult to prevent infant mortality. Many people who are healthy, don't smoke, and eat the right foods still have kids who are born with a birth defect and that's a problem. I feel that I can make a difference on people who suffer a lot from kids who have birth defects. It's not just biology that I'm studying, but I'm planning to do music therapy as a minor. I believe that we just can't just give people medicine and expect to cure the physical problems that we see in the hospitals rather we need to focus on the mental as well. I realized that people who are in a positive mindset end up living longer and many people in hospitals with deadly conditions don't have access to these types of treatments. Many people feel that patients should only see a doctor and that's the end of the story, but I feel that it does more harm than good. I believe that doctors should come in different sizes and that music therapy in a hospital can do a lot to make recovery easier for many patients. Many people who have serious sickness are often left alone and have no one who they can socialize with. Personally, I feel that this can do harm to the recovery of the patient and I believe I can fix this problem. I feel that we can use both science and music to make recovery easier for people who have serious health conditions. Most of medicine is focused on treating the physical problems that we see in the hospital rather it's more than that and mental health is going to help people more than just biological medicines. I understand the music therapy can't replace medicine, but we can't just ignore people's feelings. Mental health I feel is an important aspect to recovery and we need to address that. Still, I do find it important that we find ways to improve the physiology health and that I plan to find medical practices that can make it easier for babies who have serious birth defects. The problem is that we need to work harder and find easier ways to treat the health problems that many young babies have to go through. I feel that if I can take course of human and cellular biology, I can figure out a possible cure or better treatment for babies suffering from serious birth defects. It's not just health of babies, but people who suffer from Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia that have social and emotional stress on families. No matter what we do we still can't curb the rate of Alzheimer's and we still have people who suffer from short term memory loss. Through my career in doing music therapy and working hospitals, not only do I hope to possibly cure the disease, but I believe we can make things easier for people who have relatives who suffer from these diseases. I believe we need to address the mental health aspect more so. Many people who have serious illness don't have any opportunity to develop socially or make friends. I believe that if I can study both music and science, I can find treatment methods that can make the physical healing easier and improve the mental health of patients. Overall, by working in the hospital field I can make people's live improve for everyone.

I have a good experience of being involved in the musical field. When I was around 4th grade, I learned to play the violin and then in 5th grade, I learned to play the piano. These musical instruments taught me a lot about the sounds and subtilties of music. One music piece I played when I was young was Beethoven's Symphony 6 and that was a wonderful song that I love to play when I used to play on the violin. Another song I played on the piano was the New Years Eve song called Auld Lang Syne by Rod Stewart and it was great. Every New Years Eve before the year ended, I would play that song on the piano in front of my relatives and that would make them very happy. Afterwards, I would play that song even after the New Years party was over since it was very good. When I was young I would perform violin songs for parents and many students when I used to play in elementary school. We would either perform in the school gym or at a high school where many people would gather. One song I remember playing when I was young was called Don't Fear the Reaper by Blue Öyster Cult. This song was wonderful and I enjoyed the upbeat tone that I heard when playing this song on my violin. I have some experience in handbells and let me tell you that I enjoy the fun from doing it. When people think of handbells, they imagine an old man just ringing for fun and trying to get donations for a group like the Salvation Army, but I feel that there's more to it than that. The one musical group that I feel is underrated is the handbell choir since people feel it's so easy to sing even though there's an art behind it. It's not just moving the bell randomly and making sounds rather it's about a certain style and making the right sound. My goal is to encourage our government to fund the handbell group and encourage them to make more room in their funding for musical enrichments. The thing that we need to do is make sure that everyone has the opportunity to do handbell ringing. At the same time, remote learning is something that we should still use and keep improving. The problem is that not everyone can easily afford or access a teacher in person and it's better for them to learn remotely. Everyone has their own unique circumstances that prevent them from getting better with handbell ringing. Some parents have so much budget problems that it's difficult for them to learn handbell ringing and that they may never get the opportunity. We should be able to provide people more resources and means of access that allows them to be great at handbell ringing. I personally feel that we need to open and fund more music schools in order to make handbell ringing accessible. The problem is that we're so focused on STEM that it's preventing many young minds from becoming creative and that's not good. Our education system is so focused on academics that there isn't enough funding for creative expression. I believe that we should push our school system to make handbell ringing a priority. We really need to pass policies that take money from STEM and put them into creative fields. We also should encourage and put up PSAs that show people why handbell ringing is wonderful. I feel we can do more. Also, I feel I can make handbell ringing popular.

As a person who's Asian and has Asperger's, it can be difficult trying to fit in. People around me find neurodivergent people as strange and that we're nothing but problems. They often feel that I should adhere to a social standard that I know that we can't live up to and it's make me feel lonely. It's not just that, but teachers have been mean and discriminatory towards me and have used harsh punishments to get rid of my neurodivergent mindset. The school system never tried to get to know me rather they often used putative punishments just to get me into line. However, that has done nothing but made my problems worse instead of better. One of my dreams I have is getting into the field of politics and making drastic policy changes that will improve not only the lives of neurodivergent people, but also minorities and other underrepresented people in society. The reason why I'm so passionate about this is that I want to make sure that no one has to go through the same abuse that I went through as a child. People have told me that society is getting better and that everyone is a good person rather than admitting that we need to change the system. It upsets me a lot when people say that the way we nurture and teach kids is a normal part of development. The reason is is that I feel that we need to do a lot more coaching and seminars so that we can find better ways to help children development. At the same time, there are tons of neglect, abuse, and unacceptable practices that are still going on. Another reason why I'm so passionate about helping neurodivergent or any underrepresented people is that a lot of the laws that were in place to protect us is slowly being repealed subtly. Personally, I feel that I should work hard to make sure that we protect these laws and introduce new laws that will help with coaching and training. I believe we can still do more to better school system and finding ways to accept people who are neurodivergent. One thing that I should mention is that the problems that you had in school don't go away rather they still happen into adulthood rather the players are different. A good example is cops and how there's so many of them, but they do more harm than good. When I was in middle school, my teachers used a resource officer to get me to behave but that didn't do anything rather it made my behavior worse. The officer used so much physical force and tons of verbal intimidation in order to get me to behave and I realize that this can still happen into adulthood. It's not just kids, but most people live closer to a cop rather than a guidance counselor or social worker. One act of legislation I hope to enact is reduction of the police budget and using the extra funding to improve the public school system and create more social supports. Not only do kids live closer to a cop, they even live closer to abusive and aggressive teachers who have no patience and use harsh punishments. What I'm hoping to do is use that extra money to create more seminars, trainings, etc. so that teachers can better understand students who are neurodivergent and find better ways of disciplining rather than using harsh punishments. I'm passionate because I want to make sure no one has to go through what I went through. I hope to improve society.

What I did to develop my skills is by putting the extra effort and working hard. The fact that I devote a good chunk of my time wanting to be around people is enough to improve my people's skill. Currently I volunteer for a place called the Italian Home for Children and that has helped me a lot with empathy and people skills. As a person who has Asperger's, it's difficult for me to find people who I can relate to and understand me. People throughout my life often judged me for being different and felt that I was nothing but trouble. At the same time, many people antagonized me for who I was and forced me to do things that didn't like. From volunteering at Italian Home for Children, I've seen what it's like to be around students who are neurodivergent and I feel that I can make an impact in their lives. Not only do I help serve food to these students, I even help decorate the place during the holidays and that makes me happy. It's not just volunteering that helped me develop my skills, but the fact that I'm a part of socialist movement is good. I'm part of a group called Boston Socialist Alternative and we hope to enact policies that help people who are underrepresented in life. We pressure the government and show them what we feel needs to change in society. This relates a lot to how I feel I can help others in life. The thing about volunteering at Italian Home is that fact that I feel that people who are neurodivergent can be helped. I feel that anyone no matter who they are should be given the support that they need and no one needs to be deprived of it. One thing that I hope we can do is create more alternative schools and make it easily accessible for everyone. The problem is that the media depict it as a place of juvenile delinquents, but that negative stereotype prevents kids from getting the help they need. It's not just volunteering at Italian Home that helped me, it's the fact that I'm working with an internship that improve racial and social relations on at Framingham State. The thing I'm doing is collecting surveys and figuring out how we can better fight discrimination on the campus. We hope to create seminars and events in which we can encourage people to open up and speak about what hardships they encounter. Another thing I did was to volunteer for a veterans affair dinner and that was a wonderful opportunity. I helped served out food and thanked the veterans for all the help they did for our country. At the same time, I'm part of student government and I help with student complaint and figuring out how to make life easier for students. I help with tabling and handing out gifts to students who are stressed by finals. The school I go to offer volunteer opportunities that allow me to organize and get food ready for homeless people as well as those suffering food insecurities. It's not just working with people who need food, but the fact that I learn and appreciate what I have makes me happy. But the most important thing to me is trying to address the issues we have in society. I realize that we need to do a lot to reform both school and life. No matter where you are, there will be biases that negatively hurt people. Ultimately, I'm hoping to enact policies that give underrepresented people support and help.

My goals for the future is to help underrepresented people in society and make better policies to combat systemic racism. As a person who's Chinese and diagnosed with Asperger's, I've experienced systemic racism and lived through discrimination from others. I realize that in college people will often not like you for being neurodivergent and that can cause problems in life. Many people will find ways to exclude me from joining their groups or being part of afterschool clubs which can help enrich me. This can be stressful, but I'm hoping that by getting a degree I can prove people wrong. One thing I hope to do is enact policies that help better support and better understand neurodivergent people. The first thing we need to do is reform our school system and implement new coaching and mentoring strategies for teachers to better accept and understand neurodivergent students. The problems is that teachers will use putative punishments and often believe that kids will outgrow every childish behavior. The problem is that there are many people who are neurodivergent who suffer enormously due to this approach. Many of them either quit school or get involved in the criminal justice system. This isn't new since racism is baked into the DNA of our education and society. What I'm doing is to be part of group that advocate for laws that make life better for people who are neurodivergent. One thing we do is protest and pressure our government to consider our word and what we need. Another thing we do is we create a newsletter that address the problems that affect minorities and neurodivergent people. Currently, I'm in an internship at my school that collect data and figure out how to better improve racial relations in our institutions. Ultimately, I'm planning to be part of an internship for government jobs that collect data on the racial injustices in society and the policies that affect minorities in a negative manner. By studying and analyzing the data, I can shift the public opinion to enact policies that improve underrepresent people in society. The other thing I hope to enact is a huge reduction in the police budget and that's what we need. The problems that happen in school don't go away rather it can occur well into adulthood. Most people live closer to a cop than they do to a social worker or counselor and that can be a serious problem. When I was young, my disability impacted me in ways that made things challenging, but I should've been coached and supported. Instead, my school system used putative punishments as well as bringing in a resource officer that left emotional scars onto me. Many teachers who struggle to teach or understand students who are neurodivergent don't have the funding to coach and work with these types of students. The thing that I'm hoping to enact is to create more programs and trainings seminars to help teachers fix this problem that they encounter. The thing is that a lot of teachers use their negative preconceived discriminatory bias that hurts underrepresented people. What I hope to do is show studies that exposes these types of bias and how they affect teachers and they way they handle students. The problem is that racism and discrimination is baked into our system and we need to acknowledge that. My goal of attending is to get more training in dealing with this problem and doing more scientific research. At the same time, I'm hoping to fund more social support programs. This is what I hope to gain from being in a college.

My financial situation heavily prevents me from going to a four year college since I pay a lot in tuition. I have to pay $11235 for tuition cost, but books will cost me $250, and dorms cost me a total of $2567 while meal plan cost $2345 for a whole semester and that is more than I can afford. My financial aid covers only 50 to 60 percent and I need a ton of scholarship money so that I can get a great education at a four year school. The only other option that I have that can help me pay for my bills is to work a job which pays me $16 per hour. However, I do get $1220 in SSDI benefits from the government but that still isn't enough to cover for my cost to college. So the only option is work more and that can put a lot of stress on me that prevents me from finishing my degree at a good four-year university. At the same time, I want to be part of the student involvement at my university and I need the funds that will help me learn the skills to work with different people. What I'm hoping to do is be able to be a part of an internship that teaches you about how to improve racial relations in society. The problem is that many people live closer to a cop than they do to a social worker or counselor and that's a problem. At the same time, there's a lot of racism that tends to be involved in this. My goal is to enact policies that get rid of the structural barriers that prevent people from succeeding in life. My ultimate goal is to help underrepresented people in life and make sure that they get the social services that they deserve. The thing I should mention is that a lot of the people that cops tend to arrest tend to be minorities and they're convicted of subjective offenses. This isn't a problem that happens when they're adult rather many of these people face similar problems when they're in school. What I hope to do is enact policies that better coach and get teachers to understand racial difference and do bias prevention training. The problem is that even without resource officers, many teachers are prone to watching minorities even if they're doing the same thing as their peers and that's a problem. Many of these people tend to be easily suspended and eventually some of them end up in the criminal justice system or hurt at the hands of a resource officer. I'm hoping that we enact policies that get teachers and principles better coaching and nurturing methods that stop them from using their biases to enact harsh punishments. Another thing I'm hoping to do is reduce the budget of the police since many schools lack funding and I feel that the police budget is enough to help alleviate problems in the school system. It's not just that teachers are underpaid, but there aren't enough counseling and supports in the school system. What I hope to do with the scholarship is learn scientific research skill that exposes the racial bias that occurs in our school system. At the same time, I'm hoping to find ways to make school and life more welcoming to minorities. Ideally, I'm hoping many minorities get the support they need and succeed in enough. The main thing I want is for people to acknowledge the racism that is built in our society. Hopefully, I can make a change in life.

The fact that I'm working and having to be a student put a lot of stress on me and my academics. I go to Framingham State University and working has forced me to be a part-time student and forced me to work part time. Everyday I have to get up early in order to get enough time to study while being able to work a job. I drive a car and I have to make time for traffic and this puts a lot of stress on me. At the same time, my classes are in the late afternoon and that impacts my availability of when I can work. Thus, the only time I can work are the weekends and those times make it difficult for me to study. In order for me to pay my bills, I have to work a double on both Saturday and Sunday, which prevents me from studying on the weekends. This added stress makes me work harder academically during the weekdays and that means studying a week ahead of my classmates. For examples, if I have to do an assignment due by Thursday, then I complete it Tuesday and if it's due by Tuesday, I completed Thursday. Thus, the amount of academic work I have to do is a lot of pressure for me to deal with and this barely gives me time to be friendly. The other thing that I have to balance is being part of after-school clubs and that adds more stress. I have to juggle being a student government representative, a Christian Club member, writing for a newspaper media, and planning events with the history club. The most stress of these activities is being involved in student government and that requires extra time in my day. For one hour I have to do office hours and another hour for out of office hours where I go to trainings or be a part of conferences. Being part of this can be stressful, but I have learned a lot and developed tons of skills necessary for my growth. One thing that I have learned from this is being able to improve my time management skill and learning how to juggle between different tasks. I realize that there is so much time throughout the day and I realize it's not about how much time you have but rather how you use it properly. Another thing I learned from this experience is what adult life is going to be like and I realize that when you have a professional job, you will have to juggle work as well as kids depending on where your path goes. At the same time, I learned a lot of people skills that teaches me how to better advocate for your own needs while being able to be professional in times of stress. Being in school is stressful, but that's what college is going to be like and you have to manage yourself. I have done a good job managing my different commitments and being able to adapt to many different changes in my schedule. Even though school work can be overwhelming I realize that I need to keep my cool and take deep breaths. Working a double can be taxing but sometimes when you're working a professional job, you may need to work a few additional hours. At the same time, there are problems in my school that can affect my mood, but I need to realize that I need to put that aside and put on my professional uniform. This is great for growth anywhere you will go.

This opportunity is wonderful since I can still pursue a college education even though my finances are terrible, but I still have faith in God despite all the challenges I went through. As a person who's Christian, I've always had faith in Lord Jesus the man who died for all our sins and the fact that he is gracious and wants to use me despite my terrible upbringing. As a person diagnosed with Aspergers', life wasn't always that nice to me, but it got worse in middle school. The teachers were harsh towards me and didn't know how to understand me and decided to hand out putative punishments. These times were rough and I felt that life had no meaning, but my faith in God prevented me from wanting to give up and I still persevered despite all these hardships that were coming onto me. Things were especially difficult when I had a paraeducator in 7th grade who bullied me about following God and said that I was disobeying and being horrible to God. The man often bragged about how he was more Godly than I was and said that I was dishonorable due to my disobedience. During these times, I went through tons of prayers and asked God what is he going to do to help me and how am I going to go through these tribulations. It wasn't just that man who bullied me, but the resource officer who used force and often was physically aggressive to me, even though she had a lot of posters talking about how wonderful Jesus was. During these times of struggle, I felt that God wasn't there and he didn't want to help me, but I still kept having faith in him. Eventually, I moved to Massachusetts and life was very rough even though I was in a new state. Eventually, I found a new church and they exposed to me a side of God that I never thought of and realized how much God wants to use me even though I was broken in many ways. This teaching of the Bible made me feel joyful and I realized that God does want to use me even though I wasn't qualified. At the same time, I realized that being dedicated to God and a Christian is more than reading the Bible and going to church consistently rather it's about a full relationship with God and loving him. This helped me a lot and it's why I'm still faithful to him even though I don't go to a church, but I still pray that I may find a good church. From all these experiences, I'm using my faith to get a college degree and a good job. Every day I always pray to the Lord and ask him for strength and healing while dealing with tribulations that are happening. At the same time, I pray that he will give me the strength to be able to take college classes as well as increase my ability to join an athletic sports team. God knows about my talents and sees a huge potential in me, but I need his strength and prayers to make it through this tough tribulation. Many people feel that I'm not that qualified and that I deserve to be put down at the bottom, but I pray that I can prove them wrong. Throughout all this tribulation, I pray that I can not only get good grades in college but graduate with honors on my degree. Furthermore, I use my faith to be a part of the community and improve it.

Hi, my name is Yuanzhe Wang and I'm a first-generation college student, Chinese American, and an immigrant to the United States. I'm planning to attend Roxbury Community College where I plan to be part of student government and hope to make the lives of students better at the college. Another club that I plan to join is The Gardening and Cooking Club where I plan to help prepare better dishes as well as build a better sustainable future. Another club I plan to be part of is Economics and Engineering where we will find ways to improve carbon emissions as well as find ways to clean the air. I even plan on being part of an international club where I will find ways to improve the world that we are living in. It's not just clubs that I do, but I'm a student-athlete as well since I'm part of the RCC Track and Field team. As a member of the team, I train by running every day while lifting tons of weights and eating a healthy diet. However, what I'm planning to do is to be able to get a degree in dietetics since I feel that we need to do a lot to improve our healthy habits. Personally, many Americans aren't eating correctly and I feel that we need to fix and train the way many people eat. Part of the problem has less to do with what Americans can do and rather the involvement of our government in making sure that it's easy to prescribe the correct guidelines. It's difficult to be a dietitian and help prescribe what is healthy for people when it's difficult for people to access the right foods. A lot of people live in food deserts and the stores they're near have a lot of junk food that lacks a lot of nutrients. Many of these communities can't access fresh fruits and vegetables and are forced to eat junk foods that are advertised as cheap. The other problem that we have in society is the big fast food giants and big farmers that pump out a lot of toxic foods to our society. These companies market and advertise their meals as cheap and that you'll get more for your money if you buy their food. What I plan to do as a dietitian is to encourage government policies that reduce the amount of junk food commercials while making it easier to access healthy foods. A lot of the cheap crops tend to be very unhealthy and make people sick. What I'm hoping for is for the government to push the government to subsidize healthy fruits and vegetables. Many people can't afford to buy healthy meal plans because healthy foods cost a lot of money and junk foods tend to be cheap. Government subsidy should be able to help cover the cost of many of these healthy crops and it should be heavily marketed as better for the consumer. Another reason why I want to be a dietitian is to educate people about how easy it is to eat healthily. The problem is that many people feel that fast food is the cheapest option and I want to disprove that myth and have people learn the truth. I feel that many Americans are being barred from the knowledge that is helpful to them and can prevent a lot of diseases that shorten people's lifespans and make their medical bills expensive. This is why I want to be a dietitian and improve people's health. I feel that joining healthcare is a wonderful field to be in.

The book that I enjoyed the most reading would be Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and it was a great story that got me into the world of wizarding. The first book in the Harry Potter series was something that I will never forget and it introduced me to a world of reading that I love. The idea is that all wizards go to a school where they learn magic at a young age and the crazy adventures that happen in Hogwarts. What's great about this story is the idea of a class in which unless you have a family member who can practice magic, then you're a muggle and you're not allowed to learn about magic at all. It often intrigues me and I always wonder about a world where magical and humans can interact with each other. But that's besides the main reason why I love Harry Potter and how I ended up getting into the world of reading. The book mentions how Harry is the chosen one who will save the wizard world from a man named Voldemort and that's very interesting. I can't believe the whole book series is about a child wizard trying to save everyone from his archenemy named Voldemort. But that's not what I find interesting about this story. What I find crazy is the origins of Harry Potter and where his family came from. It saddens me that Harry never got a chance to fully know his biological family and that all of them died at the hands of Lord Voldemort. The only thing that Voldemort could do is leave a lightning scar on Harry and see how become the most powerful wizard. Throughout the story, Harry has to deal with the fact that he has a family who hates him for being magical. The thing that I find interesting is how Harry navigates living at home while spending the majority of his life at Hogwarts. I'm happy that everyone should read this book and that the whole world should dive into the story because it tells the story of a wizard who has to fight an evil person while juggling the world of magic and having to deal with people who either don't like him or are out to get him. Overall, I feel that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone can improve a kid's understanding of literature and wizardry.

Having mental health changes a lot about how I interact with the world. The reason is that having so much depression and anxiety can make it difficult for me to live in society. It's difficult for me to form relationships or feel better when there's nothing wrong going on. There are times I say crazy things or accuse people of doing something to me when they haven't done anything at all. Other times, I feel that this person is out to get me and I feel like blowing up, but this has gotten me into trouble. The fact that my mental health causes me to act up and not trust others is what leads to depression. Being depressed can prevent me from being able to do activities that I find enjoyable in my life and the passions that I love. I love to go outside and take a walk or watch a movie, but depression can cause me to feel so sad that it prevents from me doing necessities whether it's chores or finishing school assignments. It's even determinantal when I'm at work since I'm working as a host and need to be friendly and greet customers. I feel that having this mindset can be damaging to your brain and prevent you from getting further in life. The other thing that I find sad about this is that it prevents me from having a great relationship with my parents since I'm stuck at home all day sad and doing nothing while my family is out and active doing what is great for them. It's already rough dealing with anxiety and having emotional outbursts but being depressed is bad in its way. It's sad that I can't distract myself and find something that I love to do that makes me very happy. Instead, I have to fight this feeling of sadness that is preventing me from wanting to go outside or interacting with friends that can help improve my life in many ways. Right now I'm hoping to make changes to our mental health institution and hope that we have better access to it. The fact that I have mental health challenges encourages me to take a role in the field of politics and make sure that we all have the access to mental health support that we all need. The way I'm going to do this is to get into the field of politics and enact policies that improve mental health in our society. One policy I'm hoping to enact is for better mental health awareness and training to be brought to the public school system. Many school systems feel that kids can't have mental issues since they're brains aren't fully developed and that whatever feelings they have is a form of growing up and that they're outgrowing out. This is very bad since many students feel excluded and it leads to an increase a teen suicide. By having mental health training in our public school system, I feel that we can make people more aware and better able to support students who have mental health issues. The other thing we need to do is enact legislation increasing the funds for mental health counselors and social workers. Just like with kids, many adults live closer to a cop than they do to a mental health provider and that is very detrimental. Due to this discrepancy, many people who are mentally ill end up being locked up and put in the criminal justice system. The thing I hope to do is make sure this doesn't help and improve mental health awareness.

Diverse voices can help people better understand where people come from. The thing that we need to understand is that some people are more privileged than others. Many people feel that everyone who's middle class will have the same experience and that everyone is equal. The problem is that it's far from the truth and the reality is way different. Diverse voices can share the different injustices that are going on in our society. For example, many people feel that everyone has the same access to jobs depending on their skill levels, but the problem is that many qualified African-American candidates often don't get picked and get chosen over a white person who isn't that qualified. This is one example of how a diverse voice can help improve public relations and help people better understand the public narrative. The other thing in the public narrative that is similar to job discrimination is poverty and how people perceive it in our society. We're taught that being poor is a subject of not working hard and that it's a punishment for laziness and the thing is often taught about people who are criminals who are behind bars. The truth of the matter is that many minorities often make up a majority of these people and their voices will tell you a different story from reality. Many of these communities will tell you that they don't have enough food to eat and are often threatened will notice of eviction if they don't pay their rent which puts a lot of stress on them. For many parents, they don't get time to spend with their kids and this can cause a lot of psychological damage to the kid's development. Many criminals who end up in prison often do so because they were in terrible childhood situations and the reason why they're in prison is often due to a minor infraction that isn't a grave threat to society. What I'm saying is that many kids who never spend time with their parents often act up in school and these teachers use putative punishments which aggravates the problems and causes these kids to not only drop out but turn to a life of crime so that they can feed themselves. This is a great example of how diverse voices can help improve public relations and get people to better understand why there are so many injustices in our society and expose racial biases that affect many people. It's not just the voices of poverty that can help shape the public narrative of how we view crime and poverty, but the individual voices that we hear from kids. We often feel that adults know what's best for kids and that they need protection until they're 18, but this mindset is damaging. Voices from kids can help adults improve their empathy skills and fix the problems that many teachers do to their students. Not allowing kids a voice allows many teachers to be abusive and force an unrealistic expectation that adults and teachers know everything. The point is that voices from kids can better shape the problems with bullying and how the public views our public school system. Instead of seeing it as the best in the country, the voices of kids can teach us what we need to do to improve schooling. From what I've discussed, I feel that we need to hear voices from different groups as well as different age brackets. These diverse voices help the public understand the problems in our society and that no one should discriminate against anyone based on their biases.

Hello, my name is Yuanzhe Wang and I'm a first-generation college student, Chinese American, and an immigrant to America. I'm a person who loves to play chess and I love to run a lot in my spare time. At the same time, I'm a person who has an interest in the world of politics and I'm hoping to make the world a better place. Another thing I do in my free time is volunteer at the Italian Home for Children where I help serve food or decorate the place for special events. Throughout my time volunteering at this place, I have been able to understand and witness what's it like being socioeconomically disadvantaged and having a disability. The most important thing I want people to know is that I have Asperger's and this has affected me a lot in many socially economic ways. Growing up I used to have a lot of wonderful support that helped me in elementary school, but middle school was when things went downhill. The teachers at my middle school didn't know how to help me nor did they understand my disability. Instead, they handed out putative punishments that hurt me while destroying my self-esteem and making it difficult for me to focus on my academics. Throughout this turmoil, I thought it was my fault, but looking back I realize that my teachers and the system failed me. I realized that the school system needs a lot of reform and this is why I'm pursuing a field in politics to address these issues. What I hope to do is enact policies that will improve the way we help kids and give them the support that allows them to succeed in school. Throughout my experiences in school, I realized that many socioeconomically disadvantaged people are more likely to suffer discrimination. I realize that the reason why I have financial problems is that there is tons of structural racism in society. What I'm hoping to do is enact policies that will help socioeconomically disadvantaged people the ability to gain the resources that they need to help their kids. The problem with most of the state budget is that the funds are distributed based on the prestige and wealth of a town or neighborhood rather than based on their needs. The point is that many wealthy families have a lot of money that they use to lobby government officials and they desire more educational resources. What I'm hoping to do is change the formula where it's based on need and how the students are doing. The problem is that many minorities are in a school system that doesn't have much good teachers and their education is very outdated. At the same time, when the pandemic broke out, many kids were forced into remote learning. The problem is that many of these socioeconomically disadvantaged people don't have access to computers or a good wifi connection. One of the policies I'm hoping to do is subsidized cable and any other forms of technology so that it's easier for these families to get kids the digital resources they need for them to learn. At the same time, I'm hoping that we can give families free tablets or devices that can help kids learn whenever something like the pandemic occurs. The other thing that we need to do is improve the curriculum that we're teaching kids. Most kids are taught that socioeconomic problems are a minor thing and that it's often the result of the person being lazy. What I know is further from the truth and I'm hoping to do is educate.

My experience with mental health influenced the way I interact with society along with my beliefs, relationships, and my career aspirations. The reason why is that I first started to struggle a lot in the school system. As a young kid, I was diagnosed with Asperger's and I used to get good support when I was in elementary school. However, in middle school that's when the crux of mental health problems started to emerge. The reason is that many of the teachers didn't understand me and often proposed solutions that aggravated the problem. These included punitive punishments and the use of a resource officer that made my problems worse and aggravated my mental health problems. To make matters worse, many teachers told my parents that all my health problems were social and not mental, but this did nothing to address what I was going through. Throughout my life, I struggled with paranoia and bouts of depression that hampered my day-to-day activities. There were times in which I felt sad to the point that I didn't want to do anything or get so worried that I would have emotional outbursts that would affect my relationships with my parents. Eventually, I grew to distrust and have serious paranoia against the public school system as a whole. Regarding my relationships with my parents, I used to have emotional and verbal problems with getting along with them. I felt that my parents weren't doing anything to make my life better and rather they were making things worse. I would bicker and have constant arguments with them would make it difficult for me to have a good life at home and it would impact my school day when I went to school. Other times I would write crazy things on Facebook and or message people with very inflammatory comments to get attention. There were times in which I would write false information and make people believe in dangerous beliefs even though it was wrong. These mindsets fed into the notion that everyone was out to get me and this caused me to distrust tons of people. I felt that the only reason why my teachers wanted to get to know me or maintain contact with me was to use me as a testimony. In reality, none of this was true and I was one student out of many, but the abuse made me feel that that's the only thing they want out of me. Throughout my school years, I had problems with getting along with teachers and trying to maintain my cool. I often had emotional outbursts and kept complaining to different people about how the school was a puppet. During these struggles, I felt hopeless and that I had nowhere to go but public schools. At the same time, I felt that my mental health issues were just a part of growing up and that I would grow out of it, but that was wrong. I realized how I was still paranoid and that my public schools were still using me as a testimony. During this time, I had episodes of paranoia that caused me to have loud emotional outbursts. It made a difficult for me to go through college or maintain long-term friendships that would've helped me. This produced depression which prevented me from being able to focus on my academic work. In the past, I used to think that kids can't get mental health problems, but now I'm starting to understand a lot of the problem that occurred to me when I was in the public school system and I realize that we need to reform it in many ways. One thing I hope to do is enact new policies that train teachers in being able to differentiate the difference between childhood development and mental health issues. This training is very important because it gives kids who have a lot of mental issues, the support that they need. At the same time, it prevents teachers from aggravating the problems that many kids with mental health challenges are facing at home and in school. It's not just these policies that I hope to enact, but I'm hoping to do other things in the world of politics based on my experiences with mental health. Most people told me that anyone who has mental health or a disability shouldn't be involved in jobs that require working with people and I want to disprove that mindset. The fact that I want to work in the field of politics is already proving people wrong and I feel that it can help people who have a disability or mental health issues. I feel that having mental health experience can help me relate more easily to people who have mental health issues. I believe I set an example for people with mental health that no matter what challenges you have, you can achieve great things. At the same time, I feel that we need to make it more easy and accessible for people to get the mental health support that we need in society. Just like in school, most people live closer to a cop than they do to mental health counselors or social workers and that is a problem. What I hope to do is reduce the budget of the police and use that funding to help improve the Department of Mental Health and give them more resources. The problem is that the number of hospitals that were designed to help mentally ill people is declining and a lot of mentally ill people are forced to live on the streets. I'm hoping that we have more facilities that can help cater to the amount of mentally ill people that we see. From my experience of mental health, I feel that we must invest more resources in helping people who have mental health challenges. Based on what I experienced I believe we need to realize that kids can have mental health issues and that we need better training approaches.

Being an immigrant changes a lot about what's it like going to college in America. I'm the first generation in my family to attend college and that has impacted me in so many ways. The thing about being an immigrant is how people perceive you as different from everyone else. Many people will subtly discriminate against you and find ways to exclude you from joining their groups. At the same time, many will ask you mean questions whether it's from, "Can you speak English?" to "Do you only love things from your foreign country?" However, these things occur when the discrimination has gotten very bad, but what's troubling is how difficult it is for my family to understand the language barrier and that prevents me from getting good healthcare, a steady income, and other benefits that can make it easier. The problem is even terrible at school when teachers have this idea that I'm very capable on my own and that I don't need any help. Many people have this preconceived notion that all Asian immigrants are smart and that they can be self-sufficient on their own. The thing about me is that I have a disability and people see that as an excuse for the reason why I'm not doing well. Many teachers often gave out putative punishments for small behavioral issues. This created a lot of stress that prevented me from doing well and it caused a significant deterioration in my self-esteem. But now looking back, I realize that my teachers failed me and not myself and I realized that we need to do a lot to reform the school system. The thing that I'm planning to do is get into the field of politics and enact legislation that will make things easier for kids. The problem is that many kids live closer to a cop than they do to a social worker or a school counselor and that is a lot of problems. The other thing that we need to do is change how we see people who are neurodivergent and I'm hoping to enact policies that will get teachers to better understand neurodivergent people and find ways of better helping them rather than punishing them. To make this a possibility, I feel that the best way to fix this is by cutting the fund that is given to the police department. The problem is that the police are terrible at helping people who are immigrants, economically disadvantaged, or anyone who is underrepresented in American society. Most people need the economic and social support that is given by our government and I feel that will help more people in the long run. I went through a lot when I suffered when I used to deal with a resource officer in my school system. The officer used physical force and verbal abuse just to get me to behave. This made me feel scared to go to school and made me want to quit and the other thing they did was take away my education based on my behavior. This prevented me from being able to catch up with my peers and achieve academic success. Another thing I'm hoping to do is improve the special education system by increasing the qualifications of many paraprofessionals. The problem is that a lot of these people tend to be college students looking for resume buildup or volunteer experience rather than full-time staff who want to help students. My goal is to increase the qualifications of paraprofessionals so that students don't suffer any abuse or get fed misinformation that can damage their development.

Success is about being able to build others up and improving the lives of others. It isn't about how high you go, but how many people you can help in the end. When it comes to me I feel that we shouldn't be comparing and seeing how one person is better than another. I know that there are tons of people who can't do a lot in life, but the fact that they're friendly and learn to be happy is what matters. I realize that no matter what you're capable of if you can make the lives of other people better then that's what it means to be successful. I feel that people should always be able to help each other and make sure that no one is ever left behind. The problem with society is that a lot of structural racism prevents people from succeeding. I realize that this is the reason why we have so many wealthy and good folks at the top who are doing very well, but tons of people in poverty who are barely getting by. Look, I understand how many people feel that getting a degree from an Ivy League and working as a CEO is what success is perceived as by the general population, but that is wrong in many ways. This is a type of egocentric thinking that we can't have in society anymore and I feel that we need to put an end to this mindset. I know tons of people who have disabilities whether it's Down Syndrome, Autism, etc. and I see how wonderful these people are. Many of these people are willing to follow instructions and try to make things better for everyone. These people try to make the mood of the environment better than what it is and they feel that if they can make people happy, then they're doing a good job. This is what we need in society and I feel that success should be measured in this way rather than by how many big achievements that we can make. I know for a fact that there are tons of very educated and high-ranking individuals who feel they have done the most for society but are mean people when you get to know them. Now I feel that we can do more to make sure that people are successful rather than be dismissive of who they are. From going through life and understanding this I realize what success really is and I will work hard at it. As a student in college, I'm not going to obsess over getting into a lot of honors society rather I want to be happy that I get a degree. Turns out that getting a degree is one of the biggest accomplishments you can ever do in life. I will work hard to the best of my ability and make sure that I can do very well in college. Another thing I'm doing is to get through college and finish what I can do. Many people are obsessed with finishing college in four years and getting things done as quickly as possible. But I realize that you don't always need to follow the four-year path and follow the ideal college route that everyone feels they're forced to do. Sometimes it's okay to take a few courses and be the oldest student in your graduating class. At the same time, having prestigious scholarship awards isn't something that we all need to achieve. I know people who have need-based scholarships and they're doing well in life. By getting this scholarship I'm hoping to get into the field of politics and make sure that everyone is successful. I'm planning to start as an education major and improve the school system. For people to get better, we need to make their school lives good as well. The reason why many people don't succeed is the structural barriers that are put on many kids. What I'm hoping to do is enact policies that can better improve the lives of kids who are underrepresented. The problem is that many kids live closer to a cop than they do to a social worker or counselor. I want to reduce the budget that many cops are getting and use that money to improve the lives of students. I want to improve the discipline that's going on and use policies like restorative justice. Instead of punishing kids and blaming people rather we should be working to make things better. What I hope from this scholarship is that I can make the lives of students and underrepresented people better. It's time that we stop using force to solve our problems and we work to make everyone successful. Overall, I hope I can enact policies so that everyone can be successful.

Hello, my name is Yuanzehe Wang and I'm a student at Framingham State. I'm involved in many clubs and organizations at my institution. Currently, I'm a senator for Student Government and I help improve the lives of students at my school. I help plan events and figure out ways we can make student lives easier and more engaging on campus. Other things that I do on campus are writing for the Gatepost and shadow editing with people. This is when I go with an editor and we watch a sports game and during this time we take notes on what's happening. We stay till the end of the game and we do interviews so that we can get to know more about the players and what's going on. Another club I'm part of is Christian Club where I learn a lot about the Bible and how we can apply that to our lives. The other club I do is the comic book club where I discuss comics and what our favorite story is. It's not just clubs I do; I even exercise in my free time as well. My goal is to become a student-athlete and make it to the Cross Country team during my time I lift weights, run 15 miles per week, and do other types of aerobic exercise. At the same time, I'm working with a basketball coach to help improve my basketball skills so that I can make it on the college level. I learned a lot of techniques from the man and I practice them for one hour every day so that I can apply them when I play games. It's not just athletic activities that I do, but I play chess as well. I enjoy the idea of studying chess theory and playing with other opponents since I can improve my game. However, the ultimate thing that I want to do is get into the world of politics. Currently, I have a lot of fees to pay and that includes paying a rent of $800 per month with a roommate. Also, I have to pay $50 to $75 in utilities, but that's not the only thing I have to do. College tuition costs me $15000 per semester and books will cost me $1000 while dorms will cost me $2000 and that's a lot of bills that I have to pay. These fees prevent me from gaining an education that I know can help me better improve society. The ultimate goal that I plan to do is to get into the world of politics. I feel that I can do a lot to improve the lives of people who are underrepresented in society. Most people including kids live closer to a cop than they do to a counselor or social worker. This can be problematic since many people have been physically abused by cops and this has created outrage. The main thing I feel is necessary is to reduce the budget of the police by 90% and the extra money can help a lot of people. Many underrepresented people live in poverty and don't get access to the funds needed to pay off their rent or put food on the table. Many low-income families have to work two or three jobs to pay rent. What's even worse is that a good chunk of these families live in dangerous neighborhoods and it creates a lot of stress that is not only bad for the parents but terrible for kids who are starting to develop. I feel that we need policies to address these issues.

My career path is to work in the field of politics and improve the lives of people who are underrepresented and hurt by structural racism. Before I didn't know what I wanted to be since I was always interested in a wide array of subjects. I had plans of becoming an astronaut and seeing what's it like living in space. However, a lot of my teachers didn't understand me and often laughed at my dreams. The thing about me is that I am diagnosed with Asperger's and that affects me on a day-to-day basis. In elementary school, I used to have tons of support and teachers who were understanding and wanted to help me. However, as soon as I reached middle school that's when things started to go downhill. Many of the teachers felt that I was a troublemaker and wanted to cause problems on purpose. At the same time, many of the teachers issued a lot of punitive punishments that didn't help me grow rather it made me feel less about myself. These punishments prevented me from developing socially. At the same time, my mental health deteriorated as a result of all the abuse I went through. Originally, I thought it was my fault and that I was the problem and I had to change, but looking back I realized that it was the teacher's lack of understanding that was the problem. I realize that we need to make a lot of adjustments to the school system and that we need to come up with ways to help better nurture and teach students. Now I'm working with a mental health professional who's teaching me skills on how to navigate and deal with challenges in life. At the same time, I'm planning on majoring in education and hoping to improve the education system that we have in our country. Another thing I want to do is to implement new policies that I feel can improve the lives of people who are underrepresented and suffer structural racism. I realize that the problems that you suffer in the K-12 school system don't go away rather the players are different. Just like with adults, many kids live closer to a cop than a social worker or counselor. This is a major problem since I was a victim of the school resource officer program. The problem with police in schools is that they use excessive force and arrest kids with petty offenses. Many of these officers are involved in school discipline and that can get out of hand. Cops in schools are known to use excessive force and can cause bodily harm to kids for things that kids normally do. At the same time, when it comes to normal behavior, cops will arrest and book a child for a major offense when all they did was act like a child. This causes so many kids to end up in the criminal justice system and it fuels the school-to-prison pipeline problem. What's sinister is that many blacks and minorities suffer the most with this problem and it has a lot to do with racism. What I'm hoping to do is reduce the amount of police that is in schools and increase the amount of social support that students need. The other thing we should do is make counseling easier for everyone. What I'm saying is that there is a lack of mental health professionals and we need more. At the same time, many of these people aren't paid enough. What I suggest is to incentivize and improve mental healthcare. I'm changing my trajectory for good.

My current passion is writing stories and making them into comics. The fact that I love to write is something that I can use to help improve society. Creativity shouldn't be limited to art, but it can occur in accounting, STEM, and politics. The reason is that life sometimes doesn't have answers and this is where creativity comes in. As a writer, I'm hoping to come up with stories that will help kids understand that life isn't a straight line. The problem with society is that we love to protect kids and we want to sugarcoat everything until they become an adult. I feel that this is bad and it prevents kids from making progress and realizing that life is ever-changing. By writing stories, it brings out my creativity and I find ways on how to expose injustices in society while learning something new. I love when I come up with stories that teach us that there's no such thing as happily ever after and I feel that this promotes creativity. This is something I feel can help kids get better in life. Also, if I had an extra 24 hours, not only would I write stories, but I would play musical instruments and find ways to improve musical theory. I believe that music can be a great way to express injustices in our society. I do agree that we need teachers to help guide us, but I feel that we need some sort of creativity when it comes to music. During my extra 24, I would encourage kids to play some sounds and come up with their songs while being guided by someone. This can help people become better musicians. I do want to not only work on my writing, but I want to figure out how to navigate the world of business with my extra 24. I want to learn how to be a good accountant while finding ways to be flexible and creative when working with finances. Even though we have principles they're not always set in stone and sometimes we can do the same thing but with different values. Making music and finding out what is great is what makes creativity a great skill set to have. Even though I can't be very detailed in drawing, I do find ways to make it better. It's not just music that makes me creative, but figuring out how to make the world a better place. As stated earlier, I feel that I can use my writing skills to demonstrate how we can't take things from kids when there's no need to. Currently, many states are enacting book bans that are preventing kids from learning about injustices in our society. At the same time, we end up hurting the same people that we're trying to protect. Being a writer brings out my creativity the most in me. I feel that I can come up with stories or events in my life that I can write to make it engaging to the readers. I feel that I can think of many ways a story can go and the many opportunities that are presented to me when I think of how I can make a wonderful satire. These forms of creativity make me who I am and I love to show that when I write my stories since a lot of them are dark fantasy and I realize that life is a lot like that. I feel that it's time to get rid of the happily ever afters that we have been taught. It's time to show stories with loose ends.

Being a first generation is great since it exposes me to the world of higher education. It makes me feel more established in society. At the same time, I feel like I accomplished something so wonderful and I can have more opportunities open to me. Going to college allows me to learn new materials that I wouldn't have learned in school. Every major that is offered in college allows me to learn something that I wouldn't have learned in public schools. College isn't just about academics but the social life that you can get from attending any university. Living in the dorms allows me to attend events that allow me to get personal and open up about who I am as a person. Sometimes there are nights when we play games, sing karaoke, or make delicious meals. Overall, I do enjoy being a student on campus and making friends. The other part of college that I enjoy is being a part of extracurricular activities. One thing that I aspire to be is a student-athlete and I'm working hard to become one. Every day I either swim or play basketball. During these times of training, I practice drills and improve my running speed while taking care of my health. My goal is to be a fast runner when I start the new year. It's not just athletics that I do, I'm involved in other extracurricular activities like student government. Student government gave me new insights about how to run a government. I learned a lot about how we should make decisions about when to pass a motion and how to get along with people of different opinions. Being part of it allows me to come up with creative ways to make college engaging for students who attend our university. This taught me skills that I find necessary in a workplace and I feel it's important as a first generation student. The other club I enjoy is the history club in which we discuss ways to make the public engaged with history. We plan veterans' dinners and make it easier on the veterans so that they know that we appreciate what they did for us. It's not just the history club that I enjoy, I'm also a part of the Gatepost and in that club, I write articles for the newspaper. The other thing I do is shadow edit and I learn a lot about how to cover a sports game. I was with one of the editors and we watched the game and tried to understand what was going on. At the end of the game, we would interview the players and try to understand what went wrong and what was wonderful about the game. Being a part of Gatepost improved my knowledge about the world and my writing skills. It made me feel passionate about writing for a newsletter. At the same time, I'm learning how to make stories and images for a form of media that is printed for the masses. Overall, all these clubs have shaped me to go into the field of politics. These clubs taught me a lot about how our world works and what we can do to make it better. Throughout my time engaging with the clubs, I learned how to get along with different groups of people, while being engaging. Now I'm hoping to get into the field of politics and figure out how to improve America. I feel that I can improve the school system and make it easier for kids. Now I know what's it like working with people and differences.

My name is Yuanzhe Wang and I'm a Chinese American student at Roxbury Community College. Currently, I'm a student-athlete at my school and I run cross country and track and field. Regarding my family dynamics, I come from a nuclear family with one mom and one dad. The family that I grew up with wasn't an easy life. My parents were harsh and expected so much out of me and they often did tons of corporal punishments for small behaviors. They often felt that I could do better and they believed that harsh punishments were necessary for me to learn moral values. Often it was very difficult for me to live up to their expectations since they were often competitive with me. At the same time, I was diagnosed with Asperger's which impacted a lot of the family dynamics. This created a lot of additional stress that made it difficult for my family to understand me. They felt that I should do a lot of activities and play with other kids, but I wasn't that type. Having a disability made my parents upset with me at times, but I still managed to live through it. However, a lot of my difficulties didn't occur until I was in middle school. The reason is that in elementary school, the teachers were understanding and were willing to listen to me and understand who I was. In middle school, many of the teachers expected so much out of me and felt that I was being a troublemaker on purpose. This produced tons of problems and made me emotionally stressed to the point I wasn't doing any schoolwork. It caused me to lose a lot of interest in extracurriculars that could've helped me succeed. Throughout my school years, I was put in public schools, but some of my friends were in private schools. My parents kept telling me that my behavior was the reason why I couldn't survive in private schools and this produced emotional stress. No matter how many IEP adjustments they made I couldn't get better no matter what was being tried. The only other option was a public alternative school, but the school district felt that it was bad for me. They told my parents that I was still fit for public schools and that support in the schools was enough. Eventually, my parents moved me to Massachusetts for a school system that could help me, but it wasn't of any help. The school system felt that my problems were social, but in reality, I was suffering from mental health issues. High school was no better and eventually, I decided to go to an alternative school since they had more support. However, the school still kept addressing my problems as social and this caused a lot of aggravation in my behavior. After leaving the school system, I'm now working with a mental health clinician to better improve my life. Now I'm training with the RCC athletic community to become a better runner while working with a basketball coach to learn more technique skills in basketball. I'm running and doing tons of basketball drills so that I can make a college sports team. I plan to major in education so that I can improve the school system and what kids learn. The problem is that many kids are closer to a cop rather than a counselor. This can be so determinantal that it prevents many kids from succeeding. I feel that we can do more in our school system so that students can succeed. Overall, I hope kids can the help they need.

Personally, kindness has made me think about who I am as a person and what it means to love those who don't love you back. The one person who has shown me is my mom and it has changed the way how I think about kindness. I realize that no matter what happens your mom will always love you no matter what you do. With all the struggles I went through I realize how strong the love of my mom is. It teaches me that you should never give up on someone no matter how bad the person is. My mom taught me that what you go through doesn't define who you are rather it's what you are deep down. The way how my mom was kind to me even though I used to be a troublesome child teaches me a lot about what kindness can do for other people. Life isn't always going to be easy rather you have to make the best use of it. There will always be people who will antagonize you and you have to live with that. No matter where you are, there will always be unkind people wherever you go. The way that my mom has shown kindness made me a better person. I realize the importance of how only your mom will be the one who will stand in there for you. Most other people in society will just move on and forget about you when you don't live up to their expectations. My mom's kindness teaches me that the things you do don't define you rather you should always love the person no matter who they are. The best person in life isn't the one who loves those who are friendly to them rather it's loving people who are very difficult to understand. I learned a lot of this from living with my mom and it has helped me so much. I realize that even if you have problems with your mom, she's the only one who will fully care about you. You don't realize the importance of your mom until the day she dies. During that day, you fully understand the importance of her kindness and how it can teach you a lot of good lessons. From being with my mom, I learned that you should still be kind to people even if they're not kind to you. Life isn't going to be that easy and sometimes you need to have a tough, but loving shell when life hits you with something you hate. Looking back I realize that since my mom put up with so much of the trouble and suffering I put her and the stress it has caused her, made me realize that if she can do that then it's no different than when I deal with people on the streets. Having a kind and supportive mother has made me see the world differently and I've decided that being kind is a great thing to do no matter what happens. I've grown a lot in the coming years and I'm starting to do better for myself. Overall, the kindness of my mom has taught me how to live my life and what to do growing up as an adult.

My name is Yuanzhe Wang and I plan to get into the field of politics and improve the lives of disadvantaged people. Currently, I'm a student at Framingham State and I'm a senator of the Student Government Organization there. I'm also involved in the comic book club along with Christian Fellowship. I even write for the Gatepost which is a student newspaper, but I'm planning to be a member of the chess club. Next year, I'm preparing to be a member of the Cross Country team and that means a lot of exercise. It's not only running that I'm doing, but I'm practicing with a basketball coach. My goal is to get into the NBA and I'm doing a lot of lessons to be great. My long-term career is to implement new policies that help minorities and disadvantaged people. What I went through in life is the reason why I'm getting into the world of politics. As a person diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, it was very difficult for me when I was in middle school. The elementary school I went to had a lot of teachers who were understanding and willing to help me. The problem was the rough transition I had when going into middle school. Many of the teachers didn't know how to help me and they were harsh on me. They often gave putative punishments and it often made things worse instead of better. I often kept getting into trouble for things that I had no control over and it was miserable. Soon, I was no longer interested in academic work and I found it difficult to do well in extracurricular activities. I felt that no one wanted to help me at all and many teachers felt that I was being lazy. The only people who helped me were my parents and they kept advocating for me when I was struggling a lot in school. At the same time, they found me a psychiatrist and therapist who can help manage my behaviors at my school. Eventually, we decided to move to Massachusetts to get a better support system there. The problem is that Massachusetts schools didn't offer me any better hope at all. Rather they kept blaming my autism rather than giving me mental health support. Eventually, I ended up leaving school, but I got a lot of help from the Department of Developmental Services. I'm currently getting medications from them as well as getting a mental health counselor. What I find great is the amount of progress I have been making. But looking back from these experiences it taught me so much about how messed up our school system is. What I plan to do is cut the funding that is being used for ABA services since it's very counterproductive and has hurt a lot of kids. At the same time, many kids live closer to a police officer than they do to a counselor or social worker. I believe that it's time to cut the funding that is being given to the police and use it to better the lives of kids. It's not just kids but adults who suffer the same problem as well. From looking at my adversity, I realize that the things that happen in school can happen as an adult. It's just that the way it's done is very different. I realize that we need to stop investing money in police and focus on mental health counseling. I believe people should be given social services rather than being punished for things they're not in control of. I care for what's right.

Hey, my name is Yuanzhe Wang and I'm a student at Framingham State. Currently, I'm involved with the Student Government Association at my school. In my spare time, I'm very athletic and I love to run a lot, but I work with a basketball coach who's helping me improve my skills. The other thing I do is volunteer at a place called the Italian Home for Children where I serve food or help decorate the place. Currently, I'm involved in Christian fellowship and writing for the Gatepost at my university. The thing about what I plan to do after graduation is get into the world of politics. The reason why I want to do this is to improve the lives of disadvantaged people. Currently, our system is structured in a way that prevents people from succeeding and I feel it's important that we improve in that aspect. I want to enact legislation that will improve and make it accessible to social workers and school counselors rather than cops. Hopefully, I can make legal arguments explaining why we need these changes and the dangers that systemic oppression has on society. This type of oppression relates a lot to what I went through growing up and what I did to overcome it. As a person diagnosed with Asperger's, it was difficult for me to do well in middle school, once puberty hit, but that wasn't the real problem. Many teachers didn't know how to deal with me and I kept getting into so much trouble when I didn't need to. My school years were so difficult, but I had to endure them even when times were so tough. There were times in which I was sad for days on end and I felt that there was no hope at all. The only person who managed to comfort me during this time was my mom. However, even then it didn't do that much to improve my morale. During this troubling time I went through so much suffering and I didn't know what to do. The only thing I could do was endure and let my parents fight on my behalf. During these ensuring struggles, my parents had to advocate for better treatment and I saw a lot of doctors during this time. Eventually, I got connected to a good psychiatrist and therapist during this awful time. These people did everything they could to improve my situation but life was so difficult. Eventually, we moved up to Massachusetts to gain better services, but no schools could provide them. It was hopeless until I was able to leave school. Now I'm doing better than I was beforehand since I'm getting services from the Department of Developmental Services. Also, I'm working with people who are trying to help me manage my mental health, but I'm doing well in college as well. When I was at Roxbury Community College, I took 8 classes for two semesters and I got all A's. I was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa honor society when I was at RCC and now I'm doing better. I was the team manager for the basketball team at the college while being the club officer for the Science Club there. I helped lead a lot of people during orientation when I was at the college. Overall, I feel like I made a lot of progress and I believe I can do better now. I'm doing more as a Student Government Representative. At the same time, I'm working harder to improve my body so that I can make the Cross Country or any sports team.

My goal in the future is to be able to get into the field of politics and enact policies that can improve the lives of minorities, disadvantaged people, people with disabilities etc. I believe that there is too much systemic racism that prevents many people from succeeding. It's not just adults who suffer, many kids go through the same thing as well. Many people in society live closer to a police officer than they do to a social worker or a counselor. At the same time, school systems blame the child and use harsh measures to get them to behave. Studies have shown that this is more counterproductive than it is good. I believe in the importance of enacting policies that help kids with special needs or improve the lives of disadvantaged adults. The problem is that the state doesn't believe anyone and I feel that we need more research proving the point. One thing I hope I can gain from this scholarship is by applying to Law School and what I feel is important is understanding the law and learning its original meaning. The reason why I feel that social change is so difficult is how unbending we are to change. The problem with society is that we often depend too much on our constitution and I feel that by understanding the context of the laws and what people think, we can better change our society. Many lawmakers debate whether or not the founding fathers would agree with their stance, but the reality shows us that the founding fathers didn't kindly of the Constitution. This mindset is the reason why it's difficult for people to do well in life. What I hope is by gaining this scholarship, I can study more about American law and use it to improve society. If I can get into law school, then it be easier for me to speak inside of the state house. For example, I saw a lawyer argue why we should keep Christopher Columbus Day and use legal reasons. I feel that I can do the same thing when trying to help improve the lives of minorities or anyone disadvantaged. I can explain an unjust law called Qualified Immunity and the impact that the law has on society. I can argue that the use of passing such laws has prevented police officers from being held accountable when they do something wrong. I can argue the original intent behind the law and the effects it has on modern society. This is what I plan to do once I achieve the scholarship. I do hope I can go into the field of law and not just do lawsuits, but policy changes as well. I feel that as a lawyer I can advocate for more civil services that can improve the lives of minorities. The thing that I do hope to accomplish is to make sure that disadvantaged people can get the legal representation that they need. I feel that I can convince society that the system needs to be repaired. It's not enough that we need to work in society, we need to change. With the scholarship, it can help me fund my law school education so that I can legally argue for better social services. At the same time, I do want a drastic decrease in funds for the police since it's been shown that policing doesn't help anyone. The thing that I want is to implement new policies that can improve the lives of people who suffer systemic oppression. Hopefully, I can be a lawyer who argues for justice.

Currently, my financial situation is very dire and it's preventing me from being able to attend college full-time. Tuition for me costs $22560 while dorms, books, etc. cost me $15340 which adds up to a lot in four years and I can't afford that. I only get $1220 per month in SSDI and I have to pay $550 in rent which exacerbates my financial situation. However, what I'm planning to do is improve my financial situation by applying for scholarships and studying hard. I plan to apply to my school scholarships as well as private. What I plan to do with this money is get into the field of human anatomy and improve the survival rate of many infants who survive serious birth defects. It's a sad thing that many young kids who have healthy parents are born with birth defects once they leave the womb. My goal is to be able to understand why this is happening and if there can be medicines that can help the fetus. Also, I do hope that we can treat diseases that seriously affect the health of infants. Sadly, many infants are prone to getting cancer or neurodegenerative diseases. By getting this scholarship, I'm hoping I can use this money to better understand how the development of a fetus works. With the money, I hope I can use it to do tests on small mammals like rats and figure out how to save a human fetus from a disaster. Also, I plan to do more thorough research on epigenetics and figure out why some people are prone to getting bad genes. I believe I can do more research on what evolution is and by doing so I can better understand the crucial proteins that are needed for a womb to develop. At the same time, I feel that a lot of who we are comes from the womb and we tend to forget about that. The reason why I feel it's important is that when I did scientific research on human development, I often found that a certain disease occurs because there was a faulty process when the embryo was developing. This explains a lot of why many parents kept having kids that have a lot of birth defects and I'm working to make sure that we can reduce the amount of times it happens. The goal of my research is not just about curing the disease but making things easier for people. As you all know, it costs the medical field a lot of money to treat kids with birth defects and the burden it places on the parents. Many parents love to make sure that all their kids survive and want to take care of them. In our culture, people feel all kids must survive no matter what happens. The fact that many babies are already disabled once they're born is too much of a stress. My dream of doing research in mitigating the problems that occur with kids with birth defects is very crucial. I feel that many parents would be helped if they could have a child who can walk without problems. This would be a wonderful thing to happen to many families. It's not just families that benefit, but the medical field as well. Dealing with a lot of kids who suffer from birth defects is so much a burden when they have other patients. What I feel is that we need more research done on fetal development. This would ease the hospital even when it's during Covid. Ultimately, I feel I can do a lot for medicine.

I'm in serious need of a scholarship considering all the bills I have to pay. Currently, I only receive $1200 in SSDI funds, but my college tuition is insane. I have to pay $20500 in tuition, but books and housing may cost me $17600 and this is a lot to pay for. Also, at home, I need to pay rent which costs $550 per month and this is a big drain on my financial situation. However, I'm working hard by studying and hoping to apply for more private scholarships. Not only will the scholarship help me financially, but it will help me achieve my dream as well. What I plan to do with the scholarship is invest it in helping people see the systemic problem that is occurring in our society. People have always taught me that everyone is equal and that we're all treated equally, but I believe this type of teaching is terrible. As a person with Asperger's, I can tell you that life is equal and people can be treated unfairly. I hope I can do more social science research that shows how our society creates structural barriers that prevent people with disabilities, minorities, or any disadvantaged member from succeeding. Also, I feel that we need to change the school education curriculum and make it more accurate. What we're taught is that life is a straight line and if you work hard, then you can achieve your goal. The reality is that it's not true and that there are tons of people who suffer many different forms of discrimination. The school education curriculum tells kids that they can't be a driving force in society and that they can't do anything to affect the local politics of our town. I believe that this is wrong and it's a form of blind obedience that is being forced onto young kids. Also, it's another form of division that many wealthy and racist people use to maintain their power. The point is that I need a scholarship to highlight the injustices that are occurring in society. Ultimately, I want to go into the world of politics and change the education system for the better. Just like with adults, many kids live closer to a cop than they do to a social worker or a counselor and that spells bad results. Many cops are poorly trained in helping kids who are developing and struggling with hormones. The way they handle this problem is unacceptable and has led to countless incidents that are very dangerous. The goal of my scholarship is to show everyone the results that police in school have on kids and enact new policies. What I want is to create more social services and support that can help lift people out of poverty. Also, I feel that we need to reduce the budget of the police force and use the money to expand departments that deal with mental health and disability support. I believe that we as a society shouldn't look down on people who are different from us. I believe that we need to see how our thoughts and beliefs can hurt people when we don't want to. This and many others are some of the many benefits that I hope to enact in society. I plan to get funding so that I can highlight the systemic racism that is at play. Also, I want to enact policies that can help make everyone equal. The most important thing I want to see is helping kids in schools get the help they need. These are my goals with the scholarship.

Currently, my financial situation makes it difficult for me to go to a great private university. Currently, I receive $1220 in the form of SSDI, but tuition itself costs $15000 and the cost of books, dorms, food etc. will add another $12000. This is more than what I can afford and especially since I have Asperger's, it's making it difficult for me to go ahead in life. The only other option I have is to work a job, but the amount I get from my paycheck isn't enough to cover the rent I have to pay. Every month, I have to pay $600 in rent, while paying $100 to $200 in the electric bill. Due to this, it's more than what I can afford in college and trying to get a scholarship is very difficult to apply to. Currently, by getting a scholarship, I feel that I can achieve my dream of improving the lives of people with disabilities. As a person with Asperger's, I realize that a lot of people like me are barred from being successful in society. I realize that there are lots of structural barriers that make sure that people with disabilities are set up for failure. Personally, my goal is to get into the field of politics and make sure that people like me get the support they need. If I can get a scholarship, then I can take the classes I need to learn more skills on how the political system works. What I also want to learn is to conduct scientific research on systemic oppression and what it does to people. I've seen a lot of sociological articles that discuss injustices in human society and I feel a scholarship can give me the funds to do it. I want to prove to many people in the government that there needs to be laws to improve the lives of disabled people. I've seen how many people try to argue that everything is fine, but I know it's far from the truth. What I hope is to shed light on that and write books and show research materials proving that our society isn't equal. No matter where you are, people will always treat you unequally since it's just human nature. However, what we can do is try to make it better and improve as the years go by. What is unacceptable is telling people that life is a straight line and by hard work, you will get to your goals. The reality is that the system is rigged and that no matter how hard you work, you can still be in poverty. My idea is to shed light on this and prove to everyone how people who are disabled and wealthy can still come far in life compared to someone normal and smart but is in poverty. Ultimately what I want to do is make sure that everyone is on a level playing field and I believe that by getting into politics this can be a reality. The thing that I expect to achieve is to make sure that people with disabilities can the support that they need. At the same time, I'm hoping that they can the proper help and coaching when they're in public schools. Most people, including kids, live closer to a cop than they do social workers or therapists. I feel that people should be given access to services that can help make their lives easier. Ultimately, by getting a scholarship I can get the grants to do social research on the injustices in our society and enact good legislation.

My dire financial situation prevents me from being able to go to the best institution that have ever lived. Right now I only get income from SSDI and a lot of college tuition costs over $15000, plus dorm, books, food etc. may add $10000.This is a lot more than what SSDI can provide to cover my expenses and I feel that I need the scholarship to improve my chances of getting a degree. Currently, I'm too busy paying my rent which aggravates the problem with going to college. The only other option I have is to work a job, but that can prevent me from being a part of the college community. What I want from being a part of the community is to create policies that can help people who are disadvantaged or a minority. What I hope from a scholarship is to be able to get the funds to study and research the systemic oppression that is occurring in society. I feel that by doing social science work, I can show people the systemic problems that our policy has enacted on minorities. What I feel is important as well is being able to change the school education curriculum. The problem is that we're taught that life is a straight line and that if you try your best, you will reach the treasure chest. I find that to be appalling because there were times in our history when we went backward. It's still going on today since many kids live closer to a cop than they do to a counselor or social worker. What I hope to do is do more research proving the link between police and an increase in juvenile crime, while using interviews from a wide range of people on their experience with police in schools. It's very crucial that we need to present to the policymakers that we need a lot of reforms in our society. The problems that happen in school don't end in school rather the players who institute our problems are different. For example, cops are just mean to kids in public school, but to many adults as well. It's not just the Geroge Flyod incident that showed how corrupt cops are, but the decade-long history of policing in our country as well. Many minorities have complained about how often the law targets them more frequently than white folks. What is so horrendous is that many of these minorities find it difficult to function in society due to fears of being arrested. What I hope is to enact policies that make sure that people are treated with equality and respect. Most people are ignorant of the racist policies that are built in our society and they feel that everything is fine. What I'm hoping to get from a scholarship is to be able to do more research and prove how broken our society is. I believe it's necessary that we need to implement these reforms since many minorities still struggle to make it far in life. Also, we need to adjust the school education standards so that we can teach kids that they can be a major driver of change. We can't keep teaching kids that a lot of our problems in society have been solved. What I hope to accomplish with my dream is that people get fair treatment. Also, I hope that no one has to face structural barriers that keep them from succeeding. The thing I care about the most is making sure that we can the services that everyone deserves. More importantly, I feel that change is necessary.

My name is Yuanzhe Wang and I'm a person who's interested in the world of politics. Another part of me that I love to share is that I'm a very athletic person. I enjoy swimming, lifting weights, running, playing basketball etc. Another part of me that I love discussing is how much I love playing chess and solving intellectual puzzles. As you can tell, I love doing physical or athletic activities that can help enrich society. When I'm at school, I'm a part of an association called the Student Government Association, I feel it's important that we should listen to what each student has to say and improve life on campus. I believe that there are things that we can do to improve life on college campuses. One of the places I volunteer at does something similar. I volunteer for the Italian Home for Children and I do everything I can to make the kids happy. I serve food to the kids when it comes to Holiday specials that are hosted at the facility and I decorate the place when a big event is going on. Volunteering at the place has taught me lessons about what's it like being a kid with a disability. I can relate a lot to these kids and I feel that I can do more to make their lives better. The thing I learned is how much I want to go into the world of politics to make the lives of kids better. It's not just kids, some people are minorities or disadvantaged who don't have the same access to opportunities that white people can get. It has become a privilege that is only accessible to a few groups of people in society. From volunteering at the Italian Home, I feel that we need to put more funding into places like these. The problem is that most people live closer to a cop than they do to a social service worker or any mental health professional. To me this is awful and I feel that we should do more to improve the lives of people who are disadvantaged and by going into politics, I hope to make this a reality. My goal is to enact policies that can make it easier for kids to get the help they need. At the same time, I feel that we need to reduce the budget for the police force. Many schools have tried to implement resource officers to better help students, but many studies and news events have shown us that cops have done more harm than good. Many cops don't know how to work with students and they don't understand their hormones or the development phases that they go through. At the same time, many teachers focus on punitive punishments rather than fixing what caused the problem and doing restorative justice. It's not just cops, society has placed structural barriers that make it difficult for disadvantaged people to gain a foothold in life. I believe that by going into politics, I can do a lot to help others. Overall, I feel that volunteering in the Italian Home has given me experience on what kids with special needs are like. Volunteering there has helped me find my calling and I feel that it's in politics. Right now I want to be an education major so that I can learn more about our society. Personally, by being part of student government, I'm learning a lot of people skills and it helps with understanding other people's perspectives. Now I hope to make a change by going into the political field.

Volunteer service has taught me what it means to give to your community. Throughout my time working at the Italian Home, I've witnessed what it's like to be disadvantaged. I realize that I'm not the only one alone and I enjoy connecting with kids. As a person who has Asperger's, I felt that I was the only one and that I couldn't find anyone similar to me. But now by working with the Italian Home, I'm learning what it's like being around people with disabilities. When I was young, I was taught that people with Asperger's can't do any jobs relating to people and that their only work field should be analytical. However, I'm realizing that you don't always have to listen to what your teachers say. By volunteering at the Italian Home, I'm proving my teachers wrong and showing that I can be more than capable of what my teachers told me. I realize that I can connect with people better than what I give credit for. Right now, I'm learning how to work with people and being around kids is helping me. The fact that I enjoy being around kids teaches me a lot about myself. I realize how much I love to do the extra work even when all the duties have been fulfilled. I understand how much of an extrovert I am by just being around people. I told them I was introverted, but in reality, I do enjoy hanging around with people and being able to speak to them. This has helped me figure out what career path I want to take in life. In the past, I thought that I could only work in the field of science, but now I want to help disadvantaged people. I realize that volunteering in an organization to help kids with special needs can teach you more about the injustices in our society. Ultimately my goal is to get into the field of politics and make sure that there are laws enacted to lift people out of poverty. Now I feel that I can do more in life by volunteering. It's not just volunteering at kids' places that makes it wonderful, but the working food pantries help as well. I've seen how much food pantries improve my organizational skills and how they teach me about food insecurities in America. I imagine how hard it must be for people who don't have good quality food to be forced to eat food that is bad for their health. I'm shocked that a lot of people throw away tons of good food and yet don't understand that people similar to them don't have anything to eat at all. While volunteering at the pantry, I imagine how hard it must be for families who still have to wait to get food. By seeing this, I feel compelled to want to go into the world of politics. I realize that people will always find ways to put others in economic poverty. There are always structural barriers that prevent people from doing well in life. Volunteering has taught me that I need to be grateful for what I have, because someone else may be worse off than me. At the same time, I need to realize that I'm in a bad situation as well and realize that I need to make things better not just for me but for people who are in a more disadvantaged situation as well. Volunteering has taught not just the skills to see from other people's perspective, but I learned different types of people skills while volunteering.

The reason why I want to pursue higher education is to get a better career and help improve the lives of people who have disabilities. The thing that people don't understand is that many scientific advancements have been made due to people who were on the spectrum. I believe that going into sociology may be the key to understanding our problems with differences. Sociology can teach me a lot about the development of society and our behavior patterns. The reason why I find this important is that there are a lot of injustices in the world and I believe we can do something about it. Ignoring the problem and not doing anything is not an option and I feel that we need to work together to make the world a better place. What I find interesting about this field is being able to study humans and the patterns of behavior that we have. Throughout history, what I find horrifying is the forms of abuse and neglect that I have seen against people with disabilities. I believe that as a society we should be way better than this. There are certain things that society blames people for and want to criminalize but this isn't the case. This is one thing that I find interesting about working in the field of sociology and I believe that as I study more I can learn more ways to improve the world that we live in. There will always be forms of discrimination and we can't teach people that it's over. I feel that as a sociologist I can be able to understand a lot of the whitewashing that goes around in our society. I want to be able to understand why our public schools teach us that bullying is something that you outgrow. I believe that we can't be teaching kids these ideas anymore. By studying sociology, we can figure out better ways to improve the school curriculum and make sure that people with disabilities can get the help they need. It's wrong that there are a lot of structural barriers that prevent disabled people from succeeding. What I feel is necessary is that I study sociology in more detail and figure out why that is the case. I want to learn more about why our society wants to look down upon people and why they sugarcoat many horrible acts. It's wrong that people want to say that bullying is something you outgrow. What is more unacceptable is the idea that racism ended with the Civil Rights movement. I realize that bullying and racism aren't just two different things rather one's a facet of another. Racism is a different side of bullying that we don't talk about. Studying Sociology can help me better understand why we have so many racist ideas embedded in our institutions. At the same time, we need to know why no one wants to address these problems. Now I feel that we need to work as a society to make sure that everyone is included. Studying Sociology is an important field that I feel can help make everyone better understand each other. I feel that in society we need to better accept people for who they are and understand that being neurodivergent is something that no one needs to be ashamed of. At the same time, I believe that I can help call for better policies that can improve the lives of people who are suffering at the hands of people who are racist. It's time that I feel that I should study Sociology and improve people's lives for good.

Personally, what I'm trying to do is study the world of physics and astronomy and figure out ways in which we can time travel or travel to other planets. I believe that a lot of time and space travel has to do with the field of physics as well as astronomy. Even though there are tons of scientific laws, there are times in which we were able to break those laws. The reason is that science is ever-changing and never stays the same. You're supposed to have an experiment that is always disprovable otherwise it isn't science at all. Science is meant for us to get closer to the truth, but we do need to accept the fact that we may never get there. It's still possible, but the fact that we uncover new things is what makes science fun. What I'm hoping to do is get into the world of physics and I feel that by testing how light works, I believe we can find ways to travel back into the past. At the same time, I feel that solving light can allow us to travel to distant worlds without having to wait millions of years. One thing that made me want to go into this field is a book called A Wrinkle in Time. Although it's fiction, there is a part of the book that does have a basis in reality. When reading the book, the three women explain to the main character how they travel to distant worlds by Tesseract. The idea is that by traveling through light, you're like an ant crawling on a long line, but the tesseract is you bend the space so that it's easier to travel. I believe that there is something like this in our real world. Part of what I feel is necessary to travel in the past or to distant galaxies is by going into the realm of space-time. We struggle to go to distant worlds since we're three-dimensional beings, but the fourth dimension may solve our problems. The reason is that time is no longer considered separate but rather it's a part of you. In space-time, it's easier to travel to distant worlds, since objects in space will bend anything they sit on. Thus, I believe we can get into the world of Tesseract. Remember, to make it easier we don't need to go at the speed of light instead, maybe we should be thinking of how we should bend the distance between distant worlds. The point is that this may make it easier for us to travel to distant planets, but I do want to say this will help us with time travel. Just like how they were able to find a way to go faster than light, astronauts in space tend to be a second ahead. I feel that we can travel back in time or go to distant galaxies that we want to explore. The key is being able to find discoveries in physics and astronomy that can help us in the long run. Science is always going to change the way how we see the world and sometimes we may find a way to tesseract. The thing that I believe is necessary is doing more experiments on light and trying to find a way to get into the fourth dimension. Overall, I feel that by studying more physics and astronomy, I can make time and space travel go from science fiction into science fact. The fact that I want to explore more about particles and how light is affected is my goal for science.

My ideal job is to work in politics and help people with disabilities; I feel that it's important that we do everything we can to better understand people who are neurodivergent. This quality is very important because no matter who we are we're all the same deep down. As a person who has Asperger's I feel that this matters more so to me. The thing that I want is for people to understand me and not judge me based on my looks. The problem in society is that we judge people who we feel are different from each other. It's impossible to avoid this no matter where you go and what types of career fields you choose to go into. Remember, discrimination can still occur, it's just that the players are different, the way it's done is different, or possibly both. No matter what happens, if someone understands who you are and opens up about who you are, then it will make the world a better place. This is why I feel that this trait is the most important in any career that you want to work in. I believe that if you can start at the top, the effects will trickle down and it can help a lot of people's lives. While I'm working in politics, I want people to be open to accepting new approaches and encourage others to listen rather than speak what they feel is right. I understand that there may be disagreements, but some things are just unacceptable. For example, I feel that a lot of disabled people suffer the most in their childhood years because the teachers aren't properly trained and will often dismiss them. As a person in politics, I believe that a person with a disability may be an example to teachers that you don't need to "normalize" everyone and that it's okay to be different. To me, I feel that this is a great thing I want to see in my dream job. It's not just what I will the qualities I feel should be in a career, but the way I will search for it. The thing I should know is that having a disability can hinder me from getting good high-position jobs. Sometimes, I may need to find another one or fake it till I make it, but that may hinder my idea of improving rights for people with disabilities. But, I still should be open about my disability and be willing to not be afraid to show who I am. This is why I feel that I need to look for a career that has a union as well. Another great quality is being able to unionize, because unions can protect you from losing your job and they can speak on your behalf. I understand that unions aren't perfect, but having no unions is a worse alternative and it can leave you open to exploitation. But being part of a union can be great when you want to improve the workplace for people who have disabilities. At the same time, joining a union is a very crucial step in getting into the field of politics. This is the importance of looking for a union-based job because some bosses can fire you for just having a disability. Which is what I have to consider when looking for a career. Overall, I feel that having a great career involves being able to understand others, speaking out when you see something is wrong, and being part of a union. These qualities are what allow for a better work environment.

What I'm doing to help people with disabilities is by joining Boston Socialist Alternative. What we do in the group is advocate for workers' rights, rent control, disability benefits, etc. There are times that we do meetings and hear the stories of other people who are suffering. Sometimes, we hold a protest movement where we march to specific areas and call out the injustices that the city has done to us. At times we host rallies and demand that our government do something. As great as what Boston Socialist Alternative does, I feel that I can do better than this. Currently, my goal is to get into the world of politics and change the world from the top. As a person who was diagnosed with Asperger's, it's been difficult living in society. People often attack me for being neurodivergent and say that it's my fault for not getting them. When I was in middle school, teachers refused to discriminate between behavioral students and those who were juvenile delinquents. To me, it was a horrible experience with what I went through and I feel that something should be done. This is why I'm learning government skills by participating in student government, I realize that there's a lot about government that you need to read about. Getting the hands-on experiences of government on a local level can help you understand how the federal government works. The thing that I learned from all of this is that all politics are local. To be elected by the whole country, you need to be elected by your local people. Right now, I'm working hard to make sure that no one discriminates against people who have disabilities. The fact that I'm open to sharing that I have Asperger's is enough to enact change because people with disabilities are afraid to speak up. I believe that sharing with people that I have a disability encourages others to do so and speak up. Overall, I feel that I've learned a lot of skills by participating in government and seeing how our system is run. One thing I remember from doing Boston Socialist Alternative is the importance of being vocal and speaking out. Another group of people that I have worked with is Native Americans. One important event that I was part of was the Mass. Indigenous Legislative Action and what I did eloquently advocated for Indigenous rights. I would open up a sign listing the five laws that need to be passed and give reasons why it should be done. I articulated the concerns that the Indigenous people are going through and why each law is important. When it came to a hostile representative, I would advocate why it's important to consider the laws that we have. By being a part of this group, I learned a lot of skills on how to deal with people who may not agree with me. It's not just the fact that I'm holding up a sign that matters, but that I'm a part of the movement as well. Turns out social change is caused by one person, but by a group of people who aren't willing to give up and keep pushing forward. I realize that for change to happen, you need to educate and get people to listen to what you have to say. I feel that I have done a lot more via this method than in any other way. Overall, I feel that I'm doing a lot to improve the problems that are in our society. The fact that I'm vocal and part of a movement is great.

My favorite Nintendo game to play in co-op mode is Mario Kart Deluxe and the wonderful moments it brought when I used to hang out with my friends. The reason why I enjoy this game the most is that I used to play it with my youth group friends. Sometimes when we hung out at each other's house, we would play Mario Kart a lot. This was the only game that ever made me happy as a whole when it came to co-op. I never had any siblings or friends when I was young so youth group was the only way I could make friends. Eventually, once I started hanging out with them at their homes, I learned a lot about them from playing Mario Kart Deluxe. The thing that made it enjoyable was the funny usernames that we could create for each other. I was bad at these games and I often came in last places, but the fun I got from this was wonderful. It didn't matter what happened, but we would joke about school life and what could happen once we reached college. I laughed at all the memories that racing games gave me when I played with my friends. The thing that I enjoyed the most from this game was the feeling moments and emotions that came. Sometimes, a person is playing and then suddenly they trip and falls. These moments allowed me to get back into the game and win. Even though these were rarities, they did have sentimental values that I never forgot about. I would often laugh at this and think about where my life would go after I would head to college and whether I would see them again. These moments taught me a lot to be thankful for our lives and it gave me time to understand who I am as a person. It wasn't just the game itself, but sometimes we would teach each other tips on how to play and defeat each other. Yes, there wasn't much drama as expected, but we had as much fun just playing the game. We often laughed and debated over which race course to take and sometimes we would vote. Other times, we just let the computer decide for us and it would lead to a lot of crazy courses. On these courses, we would bet to see how can navigate them better and we would bet Pokemon cards and those who can get first place will win the most expensive card ever. At the same time, we laughed about who knew the most about the Mario game series and we would quiz each other before the end of the game. The thing about these stories is that we started to learn more about Mario and what he does in his world. These quizzes taught us about different facets of Japanese culture and some of us would create pictures of us cosplaying at different fan expos. The fact that I played Mario Kart is what allowed me to get to know more about Nintendo games. Nintendo games would build the fascination for games that I would later enjoy in my life whether it be Legend of Zelda BOTW and others. The fact that they have Mario Kart Deluxe, helped introduce me to more Zelda games. Sometimes, my friends would watch one of us play a quest game that would last for days. This is why I enjoyed Mario Kart and the memories it gave me that made me happy. What matters is how I found so many friends through this game.

"Now that those who practise justice do so involuntarily and because they have not the power to be unjust will best appear if we imagine something of this kind: having given both to the just and the unjust power to do what they will, let us watch and see whither desire will lead them; then we shall discover in the very act the just and unjust man to be proceeding along the same road, following their interest, which all natures deem to be their good, and are only diverted into the path of justice by the force of law. The liberty which we are supposing may be most completely given to them in the form of such a power as is said to have been possessed by Gyges, the ancestor of Croesus the Lydian. According to the tradition, Gyges was a shepherd in the service of the king of Lydia; there was a great storm, and an earthquake made an opening in the earth at the place where he was feeding his flock. Amazed at the sight, he descended into the opening, where, among other marvels, he beheld a hollow brazen horse, having doors, at which he stooping and looking in saw a dead body of stature, as appeared to him, more than human, and having nothing on but a gold ring; this he took from the finger of the dead and reascended. Now the shepherds met together, according to custom, that they might send their monthly report about the flocks to the king; into their assembly he came having the ring on his finger, and as he was sitting among them he chanced to turn the collet of the ring inside his hand, when instantly he became invisible to the rest of the company and they began to speak of him as if he were no longer present. He was astonished at this, and again touching the ring he turned the collet outwards and reappeared; he made several trials of the ring, and always with the same result—when he turned the collet inwards he became invisible, when outwards he reappeared. Whereupon he contrived to be chosen one of the messengers who were sent to the court; whereas soon as he arrived he seduced the queen, and with her help conspired against the king and slew him, and took the kingdom. Suppose now that there were two such magic rings, and the just put on one of them and the unjust the other; no man can be imagined to be of such an iron nature that he would stand fast in justice. No man would keep his hands off what was not his own when he could safely take what he liked out of the market, or go into houses and lie with any one at his pleasure, or kill or release from prison whom he would, and in all respects be like a God among men. Then the actions of the just would be as the actions of the unjust; they would both come at last to the same point. And this we may truly affirm to be a great proof that a man is just, not willingly or because he thinks that justice is any good to him individually, but of necessity, for wherever any one thinks that he can safely be unjust, there he is unjust. For all men believe in their hearts that injustice is far more profitable to the individual than justice, and he who argues as I have been supposing, will say that they are right. If you could imagine any one obtaining this power of becoming invisible, and never doing any wrong or touching what was another’s, he would be thought by the lookers-on to be a most wretched idiot, although they would praise him to one another’s faces, and keep up appearances with one another from a fear that they too might suffer injustice. Enough of this." (The Republic Plato Book II) From what I could read from the understanding of the text is why a man wants to be unjust and how injustice is the ultimate way to life. The writer, who is Plato recounting Glaucon's words, states that humans want to be unjust and do whatever they want. He is trying to demonstrate to us why individuals want to be unjust more often than just. He decides to use an allegory of a ring pressed by a normal man and the corruption it brings upon him. Glucaon's main story is that there was a shepherd named Gyges who was minding his own business when the Earth cracked open. Eventually, the man finds a ring and eventually once he's a meeting and plays with the ring, he becomes invisible. Suddenly, the man feels great and wants to do whatever he can to gain the most reward. The man sleeps with the queen and kills the king, thus becoming the most powerful person most ruthlessly. Thus, the main point of this story is that humans want to be unjust and that consequences prevent us from doing so. Whether it's an individual who loves to be just or an individual born of pure evil will both pursue evil acts if they were both given the ring. Humans are born unjust and we love to commit acts of injustice against each other if we could avoid the consequences. Thus, people love to be just not because they want to be rather they do it out of convenience. People don't want to be just because they feel that justice is a wonderful thing and that we should embrace it. Justice is something that people will use in times of necessity since they know that being unjust constantly is unsustainable. However, when they feel that they can get away with injustice and do whatever they want, then they'll go into their unjust mode. Thus, we can conclude that all humans have an unjust heart and are wired to be unjust if they can do it. They want to do what's in their best interest and feel that they can reap all the rewards while not caring about others. To prove the point of Glucaon, he states that if anyone can have the power of invisibility, then they can be unjust whenever they want to and they will do it no matter what and to the utmost barbarity. Anyone who finds out that the person is using his invisibility to get his reward will find him a coward, but deep down will admire his genius since that individual will come after them. The main point of this whole passage is that humans are unjust from the start and that justice is out of convenience and not because it's the best thing ever.

The movie that I would enjoy the most is the Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. This movie teaches a lot about adventures and when it's time to retire. The final movie in the series brings a lot of good grace to a wonderful film franchise. When I first watched Indiana Jones, I thought the movie was about a man who does the right thing and restores artifacts to where they belong. But now I realize how completely off that is. The reality of all those movies is about a man who's trying to defeat a government that is so evil and who's their leader is hell-bent on world domination. Jones is trying to prevent many sacred artifacts from falling into the hands of the Nazis. The reason is that Hitler wanted to take these artifacts and use them to make his army superhuman. Jones knows the truth about the matter and does everything he can to make sure that it doesn't fall into their hands. However, the last movie changes this whole thing and flips it upside down. The final film is set well after the Nazis are defeated and Jones is doing everything he can to live a normal life, but what I love about the movie is how he eventually accepts his fate. At the beginning of the film, he is trying to cope with the loss of his son and the divorce of his wife. However, eventually, some former Nazis come and threaten Jones and steal one of his devices. Throughout their adventures, Jones comes across different countries and the eventual discovery of time travel. He feels that his home life is worthless. Eventually, the head Nazi comes and kidnaps Jones and his Goddaughter and they eventually try to go back in time and assassinate Hitler. However, they end up in Archimedes' time and Jones feels happy that he's there. During their journey in the air, they're shot down by a lot of the Roman arrows thinking that the plane is a dragon. Indiana Jones and his goddaughter both jump out of the plane and they land safely. Jones, who's heavily wounded, speaks to Archimedes and tries to teach him the ways of the modern world. He argues with his goddaughter telling her that the present is unwelcoming of him and he has nowhere to turn back to. This is a part of the movie where Jones is torn between reality and trying to live in a world he feels is right. Jones is stuck in his bubble and feels that everything is over and that only the ancient past is where he belongs. This relates a lot to what I went through when I was young and how I feel that being an adult has no destination at all; it's every man for himself. However, I learned the hard way and just like Jones, I see a bright future. Eventually, Jones is knocked unconscious by his goddaughter and he wakes up to the present day. At first, he is in disbelief but he accepts the reality of his society and feels it's important to accept the reality. Jones reconciles with his wife and realizes that there is a lot worth going to in the present and he hangs his hat realizing it's time to retire. This is similar to when I had to go into adulthood and realize that there is still more for me. I thought that being an adult meant everything was over, but it's not. I realize, by watching the movie, that childhood and adulthood aren't separate rather they go together.

The reason I chose to pursue higher education is so I can do more with my life than anything else. Currently, the job market is starting to shrink the amount of manual labor-type jobs in the world. A lot of the jobs that we have on the market require a college degree and it wouldn't be fair for me to not go to college. Sure, some people don't go because they have found a job whether it's being a manager, car mechanic, police, etc. However, there are more opportunities for degree-seeking students than there are for those who don't have a degree. Having a degree teaches you a lot of important skills and insights that can help you in your life with your peers. Some studies have shown that those who pursue a degree are more likely to be friendlier than those who don't. This relates a lot to personal growth and by being a college student you are exposed to more opportunities. Those who chart their course to earn a degree are more likely to do more extracurricular activities. It can range from Student Government Association, Volunteering, Participating in activities with kids etc. All these activities require a lot of people skills and I feel that by earning a degree I can easily improve my people skills. It's not just people skills that matter, but how marketable you are to future employers. As mentioned earlier, a lot of jobs are starting to require more degrees than ever and having a degree shows that you have learned a lot of different skills. Many employers want a lot of their employees to be well-rounded and having a degree proves their point. Higher education teaches you skills from vastly different areas and can help you better adapt to different workforce challenges. It's not just being able to adapt and show your employers the different skill sets you offer, but being prepared as well. Technically, I'm a first-generation student who's new to college, but I'm not new to learning. One of the things I have done to prepare for college is to study hard and listen to my teachers. I realize that to get into a good college, you have to prove your worth and one way to do that is by studying hard. It's not guaranteed that having four straight A's will get you into Harvard, but you do have a higher chance of standing out. The other thing that matters is studying well for the SATs or ACTs since a lot of schools will use this to determine if you're in or out. The questions on both these tests don't make sense and you have to practice and get a feel for how these tests work. At the same time, you need to do a lot of tutoring and lessons to figure out the right strategies to tackle these standardized tests. The problem is that most people want to go with what they feel is right rather than what the passage is asking for. This is the reason why tutoring or lessons can help you improve your test scores in the long run. It's not just SATs and GPAs that matter, but what you do on the outside as well. To be let in, some colleges will ask about your life activities. One thing I do is volunteer and participate in activities that help my community. If you go around and help whether it's children in need or people with food insecurities, it shows to colleges your work ethic. This is my way of preparing to be a first-generation student.

The best lesson I ever learned from finance is learning how much you can get from $20 and what your parents can afford. When I was a young kid, I always wanted to buy so many things, but my parents only brought me one out of the many toy sets I enjoyed. At the same time, when I went out to eat, they only gave me $10, but I wasn't able to buy that much from my lunch money. Now, looking back at this I realize how money isn't something you can just get rather it's only earned by hard work. In life, you can't just throw money at whatever project, you still need to be careful. It's not just what my parents did when it came to toys and food but with allowances as well. When I was young, I felt that my parents could give me a certain amount of money and then over time I could save up to buy things. However, every time I did that, it wouldn't come to fruition and I only got a few dollars and I barely could buy things with that amount of money. Eventually, I realized how useless it was and I gave up, but now I learned an important lesson. I just that having an allowance doesn't teach you about budgeting and it spoils you. Now I realize that you should be careful about how much you spend and the amount people are willing to trick out of you. A good example of this is freemium games, these games tend to use your psychology to trick you into spending more money. What they do similar to a casino is get you is distancing cash by using a different item and these games use coins. Also, they offer you a decoy item that causes you to spend more and it's an item that's between the most expensive and cheapest deal. This will encourage you to spend a lot of money which can add up. At the same time, they will say that only certain features are available if you buy more items which will further distance you from cash. If you see a bunch of paper money and someone tells you that you can get this much for a certain amount of your cash, you will more likely want to spend less. The reason is that you see money leaving your hands and you don't want it all gone. Many people who have credit cards suffer overspenditure due to not seeing money leave in front of them. This is what freemium games do to you. From playing all these freemium games, I realize that it's best not to waste your money on things that don't matter. The truth of the matter is that it's better to buy a game console and a video game and you save money that way. Yes, it's only one game, but you have a lot of features and tools that are already built into it. There's no one knocking at your door to pay for additional charges nor does the store ask you to pay extra for the same game to get more features. This is just one of the many lessons I learned about money and I will take it to heart. What matters now to me is to be able to be wise and learn how to budget. Right now I'm trying to start a business, but I need to understand how to fundraise and company policies. But now I'm hoping I learned my lesson and can improve on my past money mistakes.

The one part of her career that I enjoyed the most was her acting on Disney Channel. When I first saw her on TV, I didn't expect much from her and just thought let's just go with the flow. However, once Shake it Up started airing on Disney, I saw a lot about her that I didn't expect. Throughout her time on the show, she was able to demonstrate the importance of dancing while being able to juggle school and a rambunctious sibling at home. At the same time, I was glad that she was able to show her good side in acting. However, the best show that I felt she was good in was K.C. Undercover when she became a spy. During her time on the show, she stops being a funny and happy girl to a more mature and character-developing mindset. In her spy role, she not only deals with life inside of a high school, but she has to be a spy as well. She has to learn to hide her secret from her friend and be able to explain why she's been gone for so long. Eventually, she has to break the truth to her friend and she tells her about who she is. During her time and emotional struggle on K.C. Undercover, Zendaya managed to demonstrate a mature attitude while fighting for what was right. Eventually, she has to deal with her dad and mother who feel that her way of spying can be dangerous and lead to problems. She has to deal with a sibling who can be annoying at times and be bothersome. Yet, she tries to find ways to manage it and grow up. During, her time on the show, Zendaya was able to show character development and growth. Overall, I feel that by watching Zendaya, I grew up as well and I learned a lot about the world of espionage. The other thing that makes her act great is that she was a part of my childhood and how small of a world we live in. When I did research, Zendaya was around my age and I was shocked to figure out how crazy that a person like her was suddenly put into the world of acting. I felt jealous and I thought I was missing out on a lot, but eventually I did research and realized how stressful it is to work a job like that. But Zendaya taught me how you can still be a kid and live in such a stressful environment.

Hi, my name is Yuanzhe Wang and I'm a Chinese-born American who's going to be the first generation in my family to go to college. At a young age, I was diagnosed with Asperger's and I was given a lot of support that made elementary school successful, but in middle school that's when things turned for the worse. The teachers felt I was nothing but trouble and felt that I was a troublemaker and gave me a lot of punitive punishments. This caused so much of a psychological toll that it prevented me from trying out a lot of good activities and prevented me from doing sports. Instead, they're like if you behave better, you'll get what you want, but no matter how hard I tried, it made things worse. As a result, I was stripped of being a great student-athlete as well as being able to be part of many clubs that could've enriched my growth. However, now I'm trying to turn that around, I currently volunteer at a specialty school and I do decorations, food catering, cleanup etc. At the same time, I was the team manager of the RCC Basketball team, a club officer for the Science Club, and a student representative for the Student government. During my time as a student government official, I helped pass out food during events, planned events that would increase the amount of student engagement at RCC as well as gave a tour and told people about services on campus. Even though I wasn't the president or vice-president I led by example and always followed the rules. Not only was I a student representative, but I was also a student-athlete by being part of the track and field team at RCC. Now I'm planning to be an athlete at Framingham State as well as part of different clubs at the college. Even though I didn't do that much when I was a child, I have managed to do more as an adult. The other thing you should know is that I was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa for maintaining a GPA above 3.5. However, what I care the most is about improving education and the lives of people who are underrepresented. Since I'm Chinese and have Asperger's, I believe people like me are subject to discrimination. My goal is to enact legislation that improves education training and standards when dealing with neurodivergent people and the punishment system they have in schools. Most school systems often finger-point and blame the child for their behavior and they refuse to recognize the importance of development and that puberty affects people in many ways. I believe that teachers should given additional resources to help get to know these types of people and understand them for who they are. The other issue that plays a more important role is the use of resource officers. The problem is that most students live closer to a cop than they do to a counselor and often the ways cops handle the issues tend to escalate the problem. To me, we need more funding for counselors and social workers rather than police. It's not just in schools, but the same problems occur during adulthood. Just like how kids suffer discrimination from teachers, adults are in the same shoes as well. Many underrepresented communities need social support similar to what I feel students need in schools. Overall, my goal is to fix the injustices that are enacted against people who are underrepresented. To me, I feel that we find ways of subtly setting people up for failure and I need change.

This crossover I imagine is between A.N.T Farm and Wizards of Waverly Place and the idea would be A.N.T. Wizards in Training. The idea of the show is that the Wizards have to go to a comic con convention and that they're cosplaying as wizards. In reality, they're using the convention to hold important meetings and come up with new ways of keeping the wizard world. However, at the same time, they have to deal with the fact that a wizard named Drustan wants to steal the magic wizard hat and use it to enslave not just wizards, but humans as well. At the same time, he will expose to everyone that wizards do exist. But for the time being, he creates a human disguise to keep himself under the radar. Meanwhile, the A.N.T.s decide to attend the convention to avoid having to do flavors for Principal Skidmore and the high schoolers older than them. They feel that they had enough of what's going on and the fact that a big day is coming up that they hate, but the rest of the school loves. The event that is going on is a big pep rally in which all A.N.T.s are subjected to various forms of humiliation. This is something that the A.N.T.s can't tolerate and they hatch a plan to escape. Eventually, they successfully manage to ditch school and avoid being tortured by their upper classmates. At the convention, they see a lot of different people and cosplayers while being able to look at the different vendors. One thing that they decide to do is play video games since there's a ton of video game display. They have fun and move up and down playing their favorite games while remembering the nostalgia of past game consoles. While looking at the schedule of events, they find a good place to cosplay and play their favorite characters. While cosplaying they notice that something suspicious is going on and they notice how people dressed in wizard costumes enter through a special door. One of the A.N.Ts named Fletcher tells them that on their itinerary he notices that there's a weird event on their. It says it's called the gathering of the magic council and he wonders if it's just a panel for people interested in coming up with movies about wizards. However, Olive feels that something suspicious is going on and that they need to investigate. Eventually, they ask people how to get into that special door and they're met with a wide variety of questions. Some reply that they don't know what they're talking about, while others feel that they're overthinking things and that they should just have fun. After asking so many people, they get so tired and they decide to give up. However, one of the wizards named Max goes up to them and says that there's a way to get in. Eventually, all the A.N.T.s dress up as witches and he leads them to the secret door. Soon they're in the part of the convention only meant for wizards and they're fascinated. They're surprised at what they see and they ask different vendors how to practice magic. Eventually, they're guided to different workshops and they learn a lot. Most of the magic is conducted via wand, but sometimes they're given a beginner guide to using their hands. Eventually, all the A.N.T.s know how to conduct magic. This is all fun and games until the evil wizard shows up and starts to take control of everything. I can't say much, but this is the crossover that I imagined.

Personally, my favorite actor is Tobey Maguire when it comes to the Spider-Man stories. Personally, a lot of it has to do with personal nostalgia and the fact that he is the most familiar person in the Spider-Man stories. At the same time, he is the most iconic actor in the whole genre and when people think of Spider-Man, they think of him. However, we should look at how he played the role and what he did to make it look good. The thing about Tobey that I like is the fact that he made a very good character throughout the whole series. The man demonstrated what it meant to be Peter Parker while juggling his identity of being a hero. He loved Mary Jane so much, but there were times that he missed important dates due to his call of duty as a superhero. He had to come up with so many excuses as to why he couldn't make it. This caused so much friction between him and Mary Jane, that one day he had to reveal the truth about his identity. At first, Peter felt that he was going to lose everything and that she would see him as a monster, but things worked out in the end. Mary Jane appreciated him for who he is and she got to see a cool side of him. Eventually, she accommodated her schedule to meet his crime-fighting times; Peter felt a lot better about himself afterward. During, this time Tobey as the actor showed us the importance of not trying to keep everything locked up. The actor showed us what it means to truly understand yourself and not to be ashamed of who you are. The way he does this, speaks to a lot of people who are struggling with their identities. Many people have so many issues in their lives and they feel they need to keep it to themselves. But just as Tobey showed his true identity to his girlfriend, we can open up about ourselves and have people better understand us. Normally, people feel that opening up about yourself would make other people scared of you. Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man teaches us that we can do better and show people our true selves. Not only do I enjoy what Tobey did with opening up to ourselves, but how we can reconcile with those who hate us. One important aspect of Spider-Man is how the son of the Green Golbin hates Spider-Man for killing his dad. Throughout his time in the movies, he thinks of ways of trying to kill him and teaching him a lesson. Peter knows the truth of the matter and he doesn't know how to bring himself to explain it to Harry. Eventually, Peter decides to reveal his true identity to Harry and at first it may seem like it's the end, but Harry refuses to kill Peter. Eventually, Peter breaks the mirror that Harry's deceased dad used to control him. In the last film with Tobey, the actor does a good job of portraying what to do when we're managing a conflict with someone who hates us. Peter realizes that it's not always easy to convince the other to accept the truth and it's best to let them be. Soon, Peter has to deal with the fact that Harry wants to kill him, but he accepts the truth. Soon, Harry comes to his realization and does everything to save Peter which causes his injuries. During Harry's dying moments, Peter and Harry reconcile which makes for a happy ending.

I'm a resilient person because I'm willing to do what's right and change the system as a whole. I was diagnosed at a young age with Aspergers and people told me that I can't work with people because I can't understand people. I'm trying to prove that wrong and show others how being non-neurotypical can help with problem-solving. At the same time, I'm trying to show people how Asians are just as underrepresented as other communities. People say that we're smart, well-behaved, and self-sufficient which may seem nice, but always hides something sinister. Seriously, many Asians find it difficult to get support or services since they feel that we're lazy. However, I'm trying to prove that wrong and show people what I'm capable of. Even though I never got a good scholarship from my school years, I'm studying hard to find ways to earn money. I always work hard to get a 4.0 GPA in college and that makes me eligible for a lot of scholarships through invitations to honor societies. At the same time, I get services from the state that help me pay for my college tuition, books, and dorms. Despite, the fact that sometimes it's difficult to get what you need, I always try to find a way. Currently, I work at Chipotle and sometimes I work extra shifts to make enough money to fund my education. My goal is to earn a bachelor's degree in political science so that I can help people who are in need. My goal is to enact policies that change the way we see people who are underrepresented. Many underrepresented communities are often seen as places of crime that deserve tons of law enforcement patrol. To me, this is wrong and I feel that it's a form of power struggle that prevents underrepresented communities from growing. This is why I want to implement policies that reduce the budget and amount of police that are used in our lives. Many people argue that there isn't enough money to help people in poverty, but I disagree with that. In reality, a lot of money is being used to fund the police and it hasn't done much for society. Police departments argue that if they get more money, then it can help their departments become more efficient at their jobs. The problem is that police departments have been given tons of money and used it to implement their "reforms", but nothing has changed. In reality, crime has risen to some degree and the amount of people injured or killed by police is skyrocketing. This is why I want to allocate a lot of police budget to social reforms. This doesn't apply to adults, but kids as well since both face challenges similar to one another. Many students are closer to a cop than they are to a social worker and that presents problems. At the same time, many teachers aren't trained to deal with kids with different types of needs. So they either resort to a resource officer or use punitive punishment to get kids to behave. I want to fund the education system more so that teachers can gain the knowledge and expertise to help students with different needs. It should be worth noting that teachers are underpaid and I feel that increasing the salaries of teachers, then it may change their outlook on kids. These new policies of defunding the police and funding education can come a long way. These two policies are the crux of the problems that many underrepresented communities face. This is my way of uplifting these people.

The one show on Netflix that I loved the most is Carmen Sandiego and I can tell you that I learned a lot by watching the whole series. When I was a young kid, I grew up with computer games and using my intellect to find Carmen Sandiego. However, those games tend to portray Carmen as the villain who wants to steal and keep artifacts for herself. In the series, we see a different side of her and realize that V.I.L.E isn't solely something that is about her. But, we get to learn about geography and facts about our everyday life through both the games and the show. While watching the show, I learned how Carmen got her name and how she started. At the same time, we get to see her life and training at V.I.L.E, but eventually, she grows so disillusioned with the whole organization that she decides to betray them. The organization decides to punish her and make it difficult for her to sabotage and want to escape from the island. One day, Carmen gets her big break and then finds a way to escape. She speaks with a correspondent that she has been talking to for so long and then calls herself Carmen Sandiego based on what she's wearing. This storyline is one of the great reasons why people should clear their weekend and binge-watch it. There are tons of people who grew up with the Carmen Sandiego franchise and I believe this a great way to see a different look on the original character. The show teaches us that we don't need to see everything as a clear distinction between good and evil, rather everyone is a mix of both. At the same time, the show reappropriates the image of Carmen Sandiego as a misunderstood hero in disguise. She isn't a woman who loves to steal rather V.I.L.E is trying to take a lot of artifacts and heirlooms for their selfish purposes. Carmen is trying to give back to the museum what they have lost, even if she looks bad. The series teaches important lessons about redemption and renewal. Anyone who loves anti-heroes would be glad to learn about Shadowsun and how he joined V.I.L.E. Shadowsun was a man who felt he could make life for his family better. While his brother became a scholar, he decided to engage in a world of underground crime and wanted to steal a prized sword, but his brother stopped him. At first, it may seem like this relationship is over and that there is no way to redeem himself to his brother. But later down the line, after he has so many interactions with Carmen and her pals, he decides to do the right thing and give half of a sword to his brother. His brother is stunned at what he has done and at first, he thinks it's just a trap. Shadowsun tells his brother that he's remorseful and that he doesn't expect acceptance that easily. His brother rejects him and Shadowsun accepts the truth for what it is. Eventually, after V.I.L.E. is defeated, he goes back to his brother and his brother smiles at him, thus signaling reconciliation. The whole point of this story arc tells us that at times, we can do bad things, but that doesn't mean we can't fix ourselves. Seriously, I believe anyone should open their weekend and just binge-watch until they reach the final episode. The story about Carmen and her new cast of characters is something we haven't seen. The thing we should do is have fun and enjoy it.

The text talks a lot about what it felt like for me growing up. Personally, my school blocked us from Facebook and Youtube, which reflects their previous generational thinking being projected onto us. I get why we shouldn't use Facebook, but Youtube is something that I don't get. I understand how they feel that Youtube is bad for your growth, but it's very ironic. The teachers in my school use Youtube to teach us important Common Core subjects. The problem is what happens if we want to see the video again and learn something. At the same time, Youtube can teach you more accurate information than what you're taught in school. Teachers will often say that what you're taught in school is correct because it comes from a professional. They say that if you don't follow how the school wants you to study, then you're not going to do well in life. They even say that you will fail the first day that you step into college. Not only do I find this counterproductive, but it prevents generations from getting along. I understand that you did things differently, but that doesn't mean your way is better. On the contrary, Youtube can be useful in opening your mind to new knowledge. For example, many channels are talking about history and what went on and the truth of the matter, but teachers will say that it's not right because they're not professionals. In reality, when you go behind the scenes, many of the textbooks that they give you in class often teach false information. This can have very devasting effects on the Millennials-Gen Z who grew up with these teachings. A lot of them later on will have to unlearn this and this can put a lot of stress on them. At the same time, many of these grown-up Millennials-Gen Z will be furious and shocked that a lot of historical atrocities occurred on American soil. In some places, these atrocities took place in or near the town the Millennials-Gen Z grew up in. These younger generations will form a backlash against the school system that lied to them. The thing is that no generation is better than the other rather each one has its challenges. As mentioned earlier, I got a lot of scolding that I didn't deserve. One thing I found very egregious is the idea that living with your parents is a terrible idea. Part of it is the media, but many older generations feel that Millennials-Gen Z are lazy and will do nothing but freeload on their parents. They will live in the basement and they will do nothing but play video games. To me, this is a caricature of how society portrays people like us and a lot of that isn't true. I live with my parents and I'm doing very well. One thing that is mentioned in the text is how this current generation has tons of student loans that create poverty and medical bills that rips them off. Doesn't this explain why so many people of this generation want to live with their parents. It's impossible to pay anything off since a lot of interest tends to accumulate. Here's the thing I know the reality of why this occurred and it all goes back to the 1980s. The President at the time was Ronald Reagan and he was one of the people who was part of Roosevelt's greatest generation. Many of our parents say that their generation or families were wiser and knew what to do. Thus, they're more successful and can easily get through life with so much wealth to the point they can buy a good-looking house. Reagan disproves them if you look at the policies that he created. Before he was in office, the rich used to be taxed over 90% and that was what allowed the economy to prosper. The amount of tax revenue from the rich allowed the government to pay for social services that gives the average American the leverage to live a good life. The extra money can be used to ameliorate a recession. The tax dollar isn't just used for social services but can be used to build different industries, improve standards of living, etc. However, Reagan's policies of Trickle-Down Economics caused our current economic crisis. The reason is that once the wealthy got to keep more of their money, they used it against the working class. The wealthy were able to hire accountants to lie to the IRS that they were in poverty and lobby Congress to leave them alone. The rich didn't give the money as Reagan promised rather they kept it to themselves and enact legislation that allowed them to keep more of their money. Sometimes, the rich would lobby the government to take some of our tax dollars and keep it for themselves. This show that just because you were in a hard-working generation, doesn't mean that you can't make mistakes. Now, when you look at this, it makes sense why everything is so expensive. Our generation isn't lazy or spoiled, we're put on an uneven playing field. The point is that instead of looking down at the current generation rather we should work together and make the world a better place. Millennials-Gen Z has a lot of ideas and ways to improve the workforce. The fact that we care about the planet shows that we're hard workers just like the previous generations. Look, I can understand how you may feel we don't care and aren't polite, but that's not who we are. It's just that we have a different style of how we should live and what we find to be good. We aren't backward thinking rather we're innovating. Being part of the Millennials-Gen Z is what allows me to express my individuality. The fact that I want to prevent the planet from suffering a climate catastrophe and put an end to greedy capitalism shows that I really care about people.

Throughout all of my life, I never had one influential person rather I went through so many experiences, but ultimately to be honest the most influential person came from my hard work ethic. The reason why I feel this way is because I lived in a household of immigrants, but I never was brought up the right way. My parents never were there for me and they only cared about my academic achievements rather than who I was as a person. They often told me that everything is equal and that everyone can get what they want if they work hard for it. My parents never understood how unjust society can be rather they said that everyone treats you equally. However, going into middle school, that's when things got turned upside down. The reason is that a lot of the teachers didn't know how to deal with me. Instead, they threw out harsh punishment procedures against me and felt that it was my fault. They often would give out punishments when there wasn't a need for one. At the same time, they often say that there's always a next time if you can behave. When I heard this, I thought it was my fault, but now I realized that it shows that they don't appreciate how I am as a person. As a person with Aspergers, it's difficult trying to fit in when you're brain is wired differently and this often causes people to look down upon immigrants. However, when I look back at this, I realize that this is a form of xenophobia and prejudice. From my experiences, I realize how much teachers can be a part of the bullying problem as well as students. My middle school in 6th grade often bullied me for who I was. I thought it was because I wasn't meeting there expectations and that as students you need to follow a code of conduct. In reality, I now realize that it's a form of social control and a way to segregate students who they feel don't belong. The other thing that I didn't realize is how much Asians can be subjected to prejudice just as much as Blacks. The reason why I got so much hate in middle school was due to the model minority myth. I couldn't understand why we're taught that all Asians are smart or successfully self-sufficient. I thought it was part of Asian immigration culture, but now I know that it was based on White American propaganda. What I learned is that even if a stereotype is nice, there's always a long-term harmful effect. I realized that the reason why my teachers treated me so poorly is that they felt I was the one who was the problem. They didn't stop and think that I am not neurotypical and don't think the way you're supposed to. At the same time, I struggle with things that normally most people don't think Asians struggle with. All in all, from these experiences, I'm working to make sure that no Asians ever suffer what I suffered. I want to implement new policies that change how teachers deal with non-neurotypical kids or subconscious stereotypes that they have. My goal is to work in politics and make sure that immigrants are given the help they need. People feel immigrants are the same, but each one is as different as white Americans. I believe it's important to make it easier for immigrants like me to be understood and given government services that can drastically make lives easier for them.

Hi, I'm a student who's planning to pursue a major in political science and possibly a minor in English literature. Currently, I'm a person who loves to exercise and run races. At the same time, I'm working with a basketball coach to help improve my skills so I can join the NBA. Another thing I like to do is play chess and listen to lectures online. Currently, I'm planning on writing some form of fanfiction where it can get published and become mainstream. However, currently, I'm dealing with a lot of mental health challenges that prevent me from reaching my full potential. The thing about my depression is that at times I feel less about myself and I don't want to do anything. Depression started for me around middle school when my school decided to dismiss me for medical reasons. The problem is that I was losing out on a lot of educational material and my social development deteriorated. At the same time, I had a moment in which I felt sad, but no matter what I did I couldn't distract myself from the sadness. My life felt so unfulfilled and I can now understand why. The way how school system dealt with people like me aggravated a lot of my mental health issues. The public schools I went to used harsh disciplinary measures to get us to behave. At times, I felt scared of coming to school and to the point I felt that someone was watching me. This created a lot of anxiety problems that I'm still dealing with today. Currently, I tend to not trust any authority figures and be very combative at times. Sometimes, I would have emotional outbursts when I'm not trying to. There are times when I would feel sick or feel nauseated. The worst part is when I feel something unfair is being done to me and that's when I get heated. I blow up and have a very emotional outburst to the point that I don't want to do anything. After having an outburst, I would feel sick and too tired to think of anything. I have trouble finding something to do or focusing on academic work. It's difficult for me to enjoy anything once I'm having these emotional moments. There are times in the past when I blame people for something that they didn't do and I lash out online. Sometimes, I would write aggressive posts about someone and then nothing would happen. This would hurt my mental state and it would prevent me from feeling better. I would feel lazy and less likely to do any work. Both my depression and anxiety cause me to procrastinate and not get anything done. Ultimately, this prevents me from reaching my full potential and seeing what I can do for society. Now I'm hoping to get more help and support than I ever did when I was in school. Currently, I have services from DDS and they're trying to find services that can improve my mental health. I currently am taking my medications and working with a prescriber that modifies the doses. Now I'm working with a therapist who is teaching me strategies on how to cope with others and deal with my emotions. The person tells me that I should find ways of not ruminating or seeking revenge against people who have wronged me. Ultimately, my goal is to get services from the Department of Mental Health.

Being part of an Asian family is very tough, especially if your parents had to deal with a child with Aspergers. My family felt that they needed to study hard and they tried that expectation on me. I used to be given a lot of physical punishments every time I misbehaved. At the same time, they felt that I was the one who needed to change. These things were so crucial to me that they allowed me to understand how unjust society can be. One thing that is so unjust is the idea that all Asians are smart and well-behaved. This explains a lot of the academic stress I went through and the physical punishments I got for subjective behaviors. This explains why I went through so much academic stress and harsh discipline that was put on me. In middle school, I was given psychological punishment that made it difficult for me to feel happy. As a person with Aspergers, this hurt my ability to work with my disability. Throughout my school years, my parents felt that I wasn't trying hard enough and that I'm more intelligent than I give credit for. They told me that it was my fault that I wasn't doing well and that neither the school nor they were to blame. They told me that everyone is treated equally and that discrimination doesn't exist. In reality, when I was in school, I was living in a different world and I know what the truth was. At the same time, they felt that public schools were the only option for me. The fact that they felt that I should be the one who change is absurd. My family never understood my disability and that my behaviors didn't come out of choice. What they didn't realize was that I wasn't neurotypical and being that way isn't wrong. But to them, they thought I was misbehaving and causing trouble which made it difficult for me to relate to people. This type of mentality made it difficult for me to feel happy at all. The reason why I lack happiness is that I felt no one can understand me and relate to me. Until recently, I didn't realize that there were options for alternative schools. However, when I first thought about one, my mom told me that there were none at all. This made me feel sad and I felt I was shut off and thus I felt the only option was to go to another public school. However, that was the biggest mistake I've ever made, but it was for the better. During these times of tribulations, I saw how much people treat others differently. I realize that society isn't fair and that some people get better treatment than others. As a person who lived with parents who didn't understand me made me feel sad. But this type of lesson I learned about my parent made me realize the truth about society. Most people who aren't neurotypical are subjected to various forms of abuse. From what I learned, I'm hoping to get into the world of politics and prove people wrong. I want to enact various forms of legislation where people are trained on how to handle non-neurotypicals. At the same time, I want schools to shift from BCBA and more on individualized learning. The more important I want to do is make social counseling more accessible to people who aren't neurotypical. The problem is that most people with disabilities are often closer to a police officer than they are to someone who understands their special needs.

My ultimate goal is to improve the lives of people with disabilities, disadvantaged people, and anyone who is a minority. I plan to become a politician and enact policies that make it easier for people to access services that can help them. The problem with society is that they often blame it on us and say that we're not trying. In reality, a lot of the issues that go on in society aren't the fault of the individual but the lack of good opportunities that are locked away. For example, as a person with autism, I was told that my disability caused me to act up. As a result, I was given a lot of BCBA plans that didn't address my behaviors and were focused on punitive punishments. This didn't improve my self-esteem and it made me feel less about myself to the point I gave up. One thing I hoped to do is to cut out the BCBA plan and replace it with more efficient mentoring solutions that aim to address every special needs student based on who they are. The more important thing I want to improve is getting rid of the resource officer. As a person in public school, I often got a lot of dealings with school police and it often escalated to psychological abuse. This left a lot of trauma that affects me to this day and prevents me from trusting authorities. It's not just disabled people that are victims, but many minorities and disadvantaged people are the most targeted by school police. The reason is that when it comes to these people, cops have implicit biases that these people are the most dangerous and need to be dealt with. This is why I plan to pass a series of laws that reform the educational system a lot. Once the resource officer has been removed, we can use that money to allow schools to not only improve education but also be able to have more social workers and counselors as well. It's not just removing the resource officer that helps, but we should fund more social service programs that make schools easy to access for people of minorities. Another thing that matters is being able to put rent control since many of these minorities and disadvantaged people tend to be victims of rent rip off. Many kids don't have time to spend with their parents since they're too busy working to pay rent and get food on the table. One act of legislation I propose is to use subsidies to pay part of the rent and increase the budget of food banks. Many disadvantaged people struggle to get food on the table due to logistics and I believe that there is a simple solution. It's not just rent and food that we need to deal with, but the lack of employment opportunities. A lot of employers will tend to hire white-sounding names instead of looking at the qualifications or doing a second interview. This puts a lot of disadvantaged people in a world of poverty. As mentioned earlier, many people don't choose to do things rather their predicament forces them to. The reason why disadvantaged neighborhoods have so much crime is that crime is their only way of feeding their families. As I suggested, I believe legislation should be done to hold a lot of companies accountable and not let their own biases determine if someone should get hired or not. As stated, what I plan is to enact legislation that opens tons of opportunities and reform education to make the world better.

Being a person with mental health challanges can be very tough and it prevents me from reaching my goals. What I plan to do is graduate from college and get a job in the field of politics so that I can improve the mental health field. However, there are times in which my depression kicks in and I feel like everything is over. I'm less likely to do anything productive or engaging with the community. The depression I experience makes me want to sleep in all day. While being depressed, it makes me difficult to do my job or anywork since I feel my life has no meaning. Even though I work at food restaurant, but I feel that my life is over and that there's not much to live for. At the same time, these episodes of depression makes it difficult for me to focus on my job and I end up being slow and not getting the food delivered on time. No matter what I do these moments of saddness affect my ability to work well. Usually, when someone is sad, they do things that will distract them from it, but the same can't be said for me. My bouts of depression can't be thrown off by video games, tv, books, or anything that usually works on normal people. At the same time, I feel less about myself and I don't realize that I have a lot going on. Throughout my life, I was subjected to all forms of abuse by teachers and school officals. These types of abuse create tons of traumatic memories that bother me just as much as my depression. These traumatic moments make it feel like I'm living through the events even though it's already long gone. During these episodes, I have a sense of distrust towards my mom and I feel that she doesn't know how to help me. Sometimes, I get aggressive and tell her that her modes of teaching isn't helpful. There are times where I blame her and I feel that she could've done more to raise me. At the same time, I feel emotionally charged with her and I feel that she should've been able to find support services for me. It's not just my mom, but I get angry at the school officals who got away with the abuse they threw onto me. I have thoughts of teaching some of my school principals, resource officers, deans, and etc. lessons for the pain they inflicted onto me. There are times in which I imagined myself torturing a resource officer for all the pain she put me through. This type of mindsets affects how I see authority figures in the present day. There are times in which I have emotional outburts everytime I see a police officer. Sometimes, I get scared and have moments of anxiety attacks in which I feel that the officer is watching me. When I'm at home, I check around the whole house to make sure that there are no secret cameras. Once, I have checked the premise I sometimes I have thoughts of wanting to lash out vicously. There once was a time in which I left hateful voicemail on one of my school officals phone number. The reason why I did this was because of the abuse I went through in public schools. I felt that the man was trying to use me as a testimony. I believed that by talking about me, he would trick other students similar to me into enrolling into Newton School system. I even felt that he was part of the abusive cycle in which he wanted to perpetuate abuse against people with disabilities. I felt that was enough and I left him these voicemails, so that he would learn his lesson. This type of mindset impact my day-to-day life and I feel that people want to cause harm onto me. I get scared of support services and feel that social services are nothing but harm. However, now I'm working with people just to make sure that I don't do this again. Currently, I'm working hard with the DMH and hoping to get services from them. At the same time, I have a service provider who is trying to get me services that can help with my behaivors. I know this is going to be a long process, but I'm hoping that things get better. In the past, I used to have a life coach who would speak to me and help me understand the world. However, something happened and now I'm hoping to get another one. Right now, I'm looking for help with other facilites that can improve my behaivor, But one good thing I'm doing is working a threapist who is trying to teach me the right ways to handle my behaivor. It's not just threapy that I'm doing that's helping me, but meds as well. Currently, I'm taking mood stabilizer medications so that my behaivor can improve a lot. Even though I have moments of anger and resenment, but I know my meds prevent me from blowing up big time. Now, I'm hoping that I can learn better coping skills that can prevent me from having another episode. My hope is to get full-time services from DMH.

My name is Yuanzhe Wang and I'm a person who's struggling with mental health. Currently, what I like to do is play chess, exercise, volunteer, and play video games. Sometimes, I would go outside and explore nature or read a book about the injustices of our society. Other times I would go on nature walks and enjoy the pristine view of nature, while looking for animals. These hobbies help me to cool down and make me feel better. However, now I'm focused on managing my mental health challenges. As a person with mental health, this has impaced in more ways than one. A lot of my mental issues has made it difficult for me to get things done. There are times in which I'm so depressed where I can't do anything. At the same time, I find it difficult to do school works or any academically challenging work due to my dpression. It's not just depression that comes along, but there are times in which I'm paranoid to the point I'm very scared of my family. These type of health problems I have started a lot around middle school. Many of the teachers there expected so much out of me and had implemented a zero-tolerance policy, which prevented me from growing. I missed out on a lot of social development and friendship due to these puntative punishments. To make things worse, these puntative punishments made me feel less about myself and I wanted to quit school. It wasn't just school that was being impacted, but my home life as well. There were times in which I had very aggressive arguments with my parents and I felt more inclined to not do work. I would yell and blame my parents for the all pain I have. Sometimes, I would blame myself and I would be refusing to do any work. My parents tried finding a lot of healthcare providers just to improve me and get me to like school. Even though, these doctors help alleviate the problem, it didn't do anything to solve it. There were times in which I had thoughts of aggression and I would feel emotionally charged. I was even worried that my school system was trying to make money off of me. Soon, my parents felt that Kentucky wasn't good and they moved me to Massachusetts school system. However, the problems didn't get any better and I still struggled with the teachers. The first school I went to in Massachusetts thought that all my problems were social in nature and focused on BCBA or social awareness. However, these didn't work and it make me feel like that they were molding me into something that I wasn't like. Also, these threapies made me feel agitated and very aggressive. It also created a fake world that didn't make any sense and it make me felt that the world was out to get me. To make things worse, the school pressured me to go to their feeder school and tried to tug on my heartstrings and mentioned how much they wanted to maintain contact with me. These types of pressure scared me and made me feel less likely to trust school in general. At the same time, I felt the school was monitoring me and it make me stressed out. There were moments in which I felt suicidal and felt everything was over. This put stress on my family and I had to be hospitalized. However, now I'm hoping to get services from DMH and I have a good service coordinator getting me adequate services.

Currently, I volunteer at a place called the Italian Home for Children and I help keep the place smooth. The thing I do is help serve food to kids and clean the place up when needed. At the same time, when it comes to special holidays, I help decorate the place and try to make everyone happy. Sometimes, when the time permits, I sit down and mingle with the kids. The fact that I'm speaking to them shows how much I want to help them. As a person with a disability, I find it easier to relate to these kids and make sure they have a wonderful day. When I speak with them, I help the kids feel more included and that they're not alone, which is a lot similar to career plans. One thing I plan to do to help with the community is enact policies to improve the American education system. Kids with disabiliites or mental health are underrpresented in the school system and I feel that I can change that a lot. One policy I plan to enact is being able to let students have a sense of agency. The problem with our system is that many students with special needs often have an adult speaking for them. I'm hoping to implement laws that make this illegal and find forms of training where these special needs students are taught to advocate for themselves. I don't believe it's in the best interest of anyone to have someone always speak for them. It's not just this law that I plan to enact, but I want to create new training where teachers can understand that students can have mental health conditions as well. In that past, people often thought that kids can't get mental health conditions, but now we're seeing that to not be the case. The fact that many teachers often default to the disability rather than investigating is determinental to kids and prevents them from getting the help they need. This relates to my other goal which is to create more funding for alternative schools. The media and many others try to potray public schools are the best and alternative for bad kids, but I find this counterproductive. There are many students who can't handle public schools and are in need of a lot or a certain kind of support. I believe that by funding alternative schools and getting rid of the stigma around alternative schools, we can better help kids improve. Many students tend to lose closer to a cop than a counselor and I feel that that's not okay. Another policy, I plan to do is get rid of the resource officer system and replace it with restorative justice. As I stated earlier, many special needs students are forced to seek help with a cop which makes things worse. Most people who sign up for cops do it to fight crime. This type of mentality is so bad that many special need students are often hurt. Some of them even get arrestted in front of their peers. At the same time, many of these students are scared to go to school and lose academic and social knowledge. Currently, I'm working with a group called Boston Socialist Alternative to help with this. The group I'm with stage protests and we go into the state house to protest the injustices that's been happening to us. By being part of Boston Socialist Alternative, I'm planning to learn people skills and skills on how to work in the government. I hope to improve the lives of underrepresented people.

Being a volunteer makes me feel that I'm helping out in the community. When I was in school, I was diagnosed with Aspergers and it's easier to relate to these kids. I find it important that no kid has to go through what I went through. When I was young, I used to believe that kids couldn't get mental health issues, but now I realize how wrong this is. At the same time, this deprives kids from getting support services that can help them. Most kids are afraid to open up about who they are. For someone who went has a disability along with mental health issues, it makes it easier for me to help them. I feel that I'm making an impact on these kids and know that I'm doing a lot for the greater good. By being a volunteer, I can work with kids and if they're going through something, I can be their mentor. I can tell them that I went through what they went through when I was young. The fact that I can relate to these kids relates to one of my core values and that is to create policies to improve the socioeconomic life of people with disabilities. I want to get into the field of politics and reform the school system. Most people with disabilities don't get the proper treatment for their disorder and public schools don't have the resources to address these needs. Many school systems want to condition kids into thinking that alternative schools are for bad students and that public schools are the best way to go. This is wrong and it prevents many students with disabilities or mental health from getting the right treatment. The fact that I volunteer at this facility allows me to see a model of what a good alternative school is like. I can see how the staff treats kids and what I feel is needed to improve the lives of people with disabilities or mental health. I believe that many students are stuck between a psych ward or school and that isn't great. Many school teachers in Special Ed will hide this information from students to trap them. I want to make sure that no kids have to suffer this way. Many schools feel that they have the resources to handle these kids even if a major incident has happened. Schools either brush the incident off or says that they have no control over it. I feel that schools should help kids at school and off campus. Implementing policies that can give more resources to students with disabilities or mental health is crucial to helping these students. Volunteering at a special school allows me to take what works there and hope to implement it in the school system. Public schools will often say that their method of IEP change is what allows the students to get better. However, sometimes these plans are still tried even if the student isn't getting better. I want to put an end to this and make it illegal for teachers to withhold information about special schools. Many students shouldn't have to suffer at public schools before it's too late. These students should get the help that is found in places like the Italian Home for Children. I hear about treatment plans and what this place has done and I believe some of it should be used in schools. More importantly, this facility doesn't have a resource officer or any punitive punishments found in public schools. Volunteering at the place helps me better understand the education system.

I have been affected a lot by my mental health and suicide a lot since middle school. The thing that started this all is the high expectations that my teachers placed a lot on me. The fact that public schools believe in a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to behavior caused a lot of those. In elementary school, I never had these problems because I had tons of support who wanted to care for me. However, middle school was a different story since they expected a lot out of you. A lot of the teachers at these schools gave out punitive punishments for these small behaviors. Anytime, that a student misbehaves, they either put them in detention or get a resource officer involved. This put a lot of stress on me and made me feel bad about myself. At the same time, being in the room made me lose a lot of social development that would've helped me. Eventually, I got used to this and I didn't care, but in the long term, it created mental health issues. The other part of this aspect is the use of resource officers; school cops aren't trained to process and nurture students rather they use force and talk down upon us. Whenever a resource officer did this to me, I felt unhappy about myself and felt like quitting school. Sometimes they would punish me and make sure that I never attend any after-school activities. The stress from the teachers and the cops made me have mental issues. It caused me to doubt who I was as a person and it made me feel that every time I did something bad, then I was a bad person. This problem followed me up to Massachusetts and the teachers at that school felt that I was having social issues. This didn't help me out rather it made me feel that behavior is something that you chose to do and it's your fault. The same approach was tried in high school, but I wasn't getting much and I had tons of suicidal ideations. During my high school years, I felt like my old K-8 school was trying to control me and I thought my high school was working with them. Eventually, I went to a therapeutic boarding school. The facility helped initially, but the fact that they still blamed my autism created problems. It didn't solve the long-term effect of the abuse I went through. It put everything in a black-and-white frame that prevented me from seeing the whole world. For the rest of the time, I kept having issues and my school kept refusing to see the school as the problem. Eventually, I ended up leaving the place and I'm lucky to find good supports. Now I'm working with people who don't try to blame my disability and can work on the mental health problems I have now. Currently, I'm hoping to get DMH services and still work well with my life coach who has helped me a lot. The person has helped me understand the troubles of society and how I can behave better. One thing I plan to do is study politics to implement policies to help people with mental health and suicide. Many kids and adults live closer to guns and police rather than a counselor and medications. As a person who has experienced both, I want to make sure that no other people have to go through what I went through. I'm hoping that we reduce police in schools and change teachers' views on mental health. I hope to make a change.

The Hogwarts house that I feel I belong to is the Slytherin house since I'm willing to take chances and risks. One thing I should note is that I'm a person who's willing to put in the time and effort to make things happen. I want to be a professional basketball player and I have tried to dedicate my time to being a good player. I have focused on doing the drills and making sure that I practice every day to be great. Even though there have been myths about Slytherin, I feel that we need to look beyond that. I'm a person who pushes myself to my maximum potential. I'm willing to work hard and make sure that things get done. At the same time, I would love to be a fast runner and I've been running a lot to make sure that my legs get stronger. It's not just athletics, but I'm reading and studying a lot to better prepare myself. As any Slytherin should be aware, you need to put your mind to it and make sure that you can have the ambition to do it. A lot of people would feel frustrated and let their emotions control themselves, but I feel that you need to do more than that. Even if you have a bad day, I don't care and I do everything I can to make sure that I get to where I want to be. Yes, when you're doing something new that can be very challenging and you may feel like quitting, but I keep pushing forward. Even though it's so difficult, the reward is what matters. Currently, I'm doing a lot for my community and I feel that I can be a big member of Slytherin. I'm willing to do everything beyond my comfort zone. As a person who wants to win and get what's done, I feel that Slytherin is the best fit for me. Even though I'm always caught in a web of disappointment, I end up realizing that what matters isn't the destination but the journey. For example, I ran a 5k and my time was a lot slower than what I expected. However, what I realized was the fact that I kept running the race was what mattered. During the race, I felt soreness and pain in my back and right chest, I felt like slowing down and just walking for a bit. However, I told myself not to take the easy way out rather it's better to just keep running no matter how uncomfortable you feel. During this race, I realized the importance of being able to finish and be proud of the fact that you never walked at all. These lessons are very important for being a Slytherin since you need to be ambitious. Overall, I see the true and important meaning of being a Slytherin and that is to keep going. In life, you may have obstacles and barriers that can affect you, but you still keep trying. I never did much activities when I was in high school and I lack that resume. However, I realize you shouldn't be focusing on what you don't have, but improving what you do have. As a Slytherin, I will keep trying until I find the solution. Finally, I believe that I need to see what others have to say. You can't always do things by yourself rather you need to listen to others. To find great solutions in magic, you need to innovate. There are rare cases in which one person comes up, but it comes via groups.

As a Christian, I can say that God has helped my life in many ways. Throughout my life, I have been through so many struggles and sufferings. When I first accepted Jesus in my life, I was unsure of what would have to happen, but eventually, things went sour. When I first started middle school, a lot of teachers were hard on me and enforced harsh disciplinary measures. These measures made me feel sad and I thought my life was over. When I was in 7th grade, I had a paraprofessional who would often look down upon me and say that my behaviors violated the Bible a lot. I felt my life was over, but eventually, when I went to a church in Massachusetts, that's when I saw my life change around. Initially, I had a lot of struggles and I had difficulty adjusting to the church, but things started to change. I learned a lot about how God loves us no matter how bad we are. The pastors told stories of many people who were unqualified and yet God still used them. For example, they told us the story of Paul and how he murdered a lot of Christians and then suddenly God turned his life around. Paul had a vision from Jesus and he was told to go to a certain place and be a part of God's ministry. Most Christians felt this was wrong, but eventually, they welcome Paul into their circle. For me, a lot of my life was like that where people rejected me for who I am and often felt I was nothing but trouble. I thought that to be respected and liked as a Christian, you have to do a lot of good work and be well-behaved, but I know God isn't looking for these. At the same time, when I became a Christian, I thought that God would spiritually transform me and make sure that I don't misbehave. However, there were times in which I would slip up and do a lot of messed up things. The church did harsh disciplinary measures and made me feel as if I wasn't a member of their family anymore. But I stumbled upon the story of David and how he committed a horrific atrocity as king, but he was still spared. It's not just David's story, but I learned about Simon Peter denying Jesus three times. From these stories, I realized how God loves us even when we do something horrific as a born-again Christian. God's mercy always abounds and I realize how much that when we do something horrible, we should pray and turn to God. Now I'm in a new chapter of my life and I feel that there's still a lot that God has to offer for me. Right now I pray to him and ask him for what's needed for me and I obeyed. At the same time, I call on him and tell him all the pains and struggles I have to go through. As a Christian, I pray to the Lord and tell him about all the troubles that have fallen upon me. During these prayers, I feel refreshed and renewed and I realize how much the Lord has protected me. Following Jesus has allowed me to focus on getting a degree and taking courses in class. Currently I don't know what I want to be, but I pray to God and ask him for directions. Even though he may not answer, I realize that having faith in him is more important. I trust in the Lord and believe.

The thing that I would do is create new policies that can help people with mental health challenges. One of my goals is to become a politician and introduce new ways of improving mental health care. I believe that for change to occur, you need government power to hold people accountable. Currently, the situation we have is that many mental health services deflect people to other places. Government influence is what's necessary for us to make mental health care accessible. As part of the government, I want to create new protocols and mandates that make mental health care easy to access but I will have people who will make sure that patients are being treated fairly. It's not just patient care that matters, we should make mental care cheap. To do this we should divert money that is being wasted on the military, police, etc. and use it as subsidies that allow mental health care to be cheap. Another thing that makes mental health care expensive is the price these facilities charge without insurance. Many of these places are being coerced by insurance to charge high prices and I believe that we should enforce mandates that make it illegal. Most people focus on paying the bill, but I believe we should use government power to lower the bill. Most medical care is cheap, but insurance companies are forcing a form of artificial inflation that causes medical facilities to create huge prices. I want new policies that will make this illegal.

The reason why I feel like I can be a leader is because of how passionate I can be. I'm willing to do what's right and articulate what's needed for the common people. For example, I was at the state house to propose five bills for Indigenous rights. Even though I'm not indigenous, I was able to list down what each bill was about and why each senator should consider the bill. I spoke vocally and passionately about why the bill needs to be passed. At the same time, I was emphatic with the Indigenous people which is an important trait for being a leader. Before I was involved in Indigenous People's rights, I was a student government representative at Roxbury Community College. Even though I wasn't the president, being a student representative requires the attributes of a leader. One of my tasks is to listen to concerns from the student body and address them. It's not about concerns that the student body has, but outside events as well that requires leadership. For example, I was selected to lead orientation for upcoming new students and that require a lot of hard work. This is a great example of using leadership skills while being in a non-leader role. During orientation, I would give a tour of RCC and I would point out what resources the school has to provide. At the same time, I would tell the students what rooms have certain services that the students can access, while telling the students about the services at Roxbury Community College. During each part of the tour, I would engage with the new upcoming students and share with them what RCC has to offer and my experience there. The most important I told the students is that the institution is always there to support them. It's not just helping with new students at orientation that matters, but planning events and how to make the facility more engaging. One thing that you should know about being a leader is that you want to engage the crowd and make them come back for more. In other words, being a leader isn't about addressing student grievances, but finding ways to encourage students to engage more on campus. As a student representative, I suggested what events we should do and what time frame would make sense. I feel that leaders should be willing to engage with the common people and discuss issues that are at hand. It's not just fun and casual events that require leadership, but trying to introduce people to new opportunities. For example, I was in the role of Vice President for the Science Club at RCC and I helped out a lot. One thing I do is tabling which requires leadership since you're engaging with people and telling them about upcoming opportunities. As Vice President, I spoke with the President and we came up with ingenious events relating to science. We felt that people should see science as boring, but that everyone can take a role in scientific advancements. Overall, I feel that I have a lot to offer as a leader; I'm willing to listen to others as well. I realized that to gain trust, I should be willing to listen to others. Leadership requires a good listening skills and by listening I can better understand what the other side has to say and make amends. At the same time, I should be willing to do perspective-taking as well. As a leader, I should be willing to understand what the other side is like. By doing that, I can help build trust.

The thing I enjoyed a lot about Disney is the Disney Channel Original Movie called Freaky Friday. The thing that made me like the movie is about understanding perspectives. I realize that no one should go around saying that their life is better or worse. While I was watching the movie, I learned a lot about what it means to live in the shoe of another person. The movie demonstrates how when the mother and daughter switch each other's bodies, they see what it's really like. When I was watching the movie, the daughter feels that mom can relax, watch movies all day, or do whatever since she can stay at home. For her, she has to take exams, meet deadlines, follow a schedule, etc. but soon she realizes the difficulty of being a stay-at-home mother. Soon, she realizes that despite not working, she has important errands to do. One thing she has to do is make meals for a luncheon and she doesn't have any ideas on how to cook. At the same time, she is told that she has to do laundry, but she feels that it's easy. Soon, when doing the laundry, disaster strikes and the room is filled with a lot of soap and the laundry looks bad. Eventually, someone tells her how to do it and then she realizes that there's a procedure on how to do the laundry. Soon, she realizes that being a stay-at-home mom isn't the fun-loving world that she imagined to be. At the same time, the mom starts to see what her daughter's life is like. One thing she notices is that she has no idea where the classrooms are located, which frustrates her. Even though the mom already went to school and has all the "knowledge", she still doesn't understand what to do. When she tried to do the typewriting test, she created a whole disaster that caused an electrical power outage. Also, when she tried to play in her daughter's sports game, she caused the whole team to lose. Eventually, she realizes that her daughter has a hard life just like her. After watching this movie, I see a lot of similarities to my own life. My mom and I always argue a lot and we don't see things eye-to-eye; sometimes she argues that she was doing what was best for me. At the same time, I try to try her that I have to live with it and we don't seem to understand each other. Throughout this movie, I see that we can't always believe that someone's life is better than ours. Instead, we should be happy with what we have and be thankful that it isn't worse. Throughout the understanding of the movie, I see that sometimes we should be thankful instead of disappointed. I'm always looking into life and I realize that eventually I will become a parent and I realize that it's not going to be a walk in the park. People will always tell us that being a kid or an adult is better, but I feel that we should just be grateful for both rather than just feeling that one is better than the other. I understand that as a child, your parents will do things for you, but there are responsibilities that you have to do as a child. At the same time, adults have to do things that are stressful as well and we can't just say one is better than the other. The thing I realize is instead of comparing, try to make one life easier for the other.

One of the greatest achievements I did so far is being able to be part of student government. The reason I feel this way was because of my life growing up. As a young kid, I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum disorder and I was told that I shouldn't be around people. They had a belief that Autistic people shouldn't interact much with people or do people-related jobs since they lacked social communication skills. However, I felt that I was more capable than what others said about me. Beforehand, I agreed and thought that Student Government should only be given to qualified people, but now I feel that I shouldn't have doubted myself. Turns out that being part of the Student Government is what you need to improve your people's skills. The reason is that you can understand the political system and you're exposing yourself to many different ideas. People will have different ideas and we have to learn to deal with different opinions. At the same time, refusing to join Student Government can make the problem worse. Turns out, I realized that a lot of people in government tend to be seen as elegant, well-dressed, and socially appropriate people. Due to this, many feel that if you can't live up to that standard, then you can't join government. But when someone different joins, then you prove a lot of people wrong and I realize that I act as a bastion of hope for many people on the spectrum. At the same time, being part of the student government allows me to be an advocate for people with disabilities. I remembered this a while back ago, but it's difficult for progress to be made if we hold everyone to a perfect standard. Turns out, it's difficult for people with disabilities to have a better life if there's no one speaking out for them. For change to occur, someone who empathizes with people with disabilities can make the people in government understand them. The reason is that person already knows what disabled people go through on a day-to-day basis. If a normal person tries to speak out for them, then there can be tons of misunderstanding and sometimes there could be a policy that ends up hurting disabled people. As a society, I realized that we're a long way off from an equal society despite progress. At a young age, I was told that everyone is treated equally and can achieve whatever they want if they put their mind to it. But from joining student government, I learned that it's not possible without changes in policies. I thought that if I can work hard, then I can achieve what I want, but from experience, I realized that that's not always the case and that there are policies that prevent certain people from succeeding. Since I have a disability, many people will misinterpret me and think I'm a problem, but my brain is wired differently. The society that we live in is structured for neurotypicals, but they have no patience for people who are different. This makes it harder for people who aren't neurotypical to get through life. For me, I've seen people who look down upon me and I get excluded. Thus, I realize that getting into Student Government is necessary to improve the lives of disabled people. You shouldn't always believe everything you hear, especially if they're your teachers. Now, I realize how much we need more government support to make things better. What I want to do in the future is to get into politics and create policies that can help disabled people. When I was young, I faced discrimination based on my disability and was given a lot of punitive punishments. What I hope to do is enact policies that will get rid of in-school suspension, detentions, or any other harmful punishments and switch them to things like restorative justice. Also, I want to create more opportunities for alternative schools that can help kids who aren't neurotypical. The problem is that there aren't many public-funded alternative schools and a lot of them tend to be private. The problem with privatization is that many of these facilities do the same punishments similar to alternative schools while refusing to address the behavior. I feel that we need government support to hold teachers in alternative facilities accountable. At the same time, I want kids at these schools to be given the same athletic and extracurricular activities that neurotypicals get.

The skills that I have that are necessary for being an engineer are creativity, mathematics, perseverance, and teamwork. The reason is that going into that trade requires being able to find creative problem-solving solutions. If you were to first approach a trade and you had some understanding, then you would feel that you don't need to learn it, but if you're naive, then you would find encouragement in learning that skill. Sometimes, it's best to admit that you're a beginner and from there, you start to develop a new mindset of problem-solving. The importance of this is that it allows you to break a problem down into manageable portions. It would be a bad idea to solve the problem as a whole since you would miss out on important details, but it would waste energy and resources when there was a simpler path. While trying to solve the problem, you should be willing to fail. The reason is that trying to come up with a solution isn't going to be a walk in the park and you should be willing to get your hands dirty. Through failures, you can see what you did wrong and from there, you can find a solution to the problem. Thus, this is why persevering is very important; I should mention that teamwork is another component of being a good engineer. When you're an engineer, you're not the only one coming up with a brainstorm rather you're working with a team of people. You shouldn't feel that it's only going to be one person speaking or suddenly you're the leader, but each person in a group will give out their ideas. No matter if you're in NASA, the Pentagon, Environmental design, etc. everyone will be assigned to a small part of a larger project. In that group, everyone will discuss ways to solve the problem and think of creative solutions. Thus, I feel that having the ability to work as a team and let others speak is great for coming up with ingenious solutions. No one should just believe that one person's solution is better than another. Thus, I feel that I can contribute a lot as an engineer, but I do want to explain how I got into this field. The idea of becoming an engineer came from a famous man named Mark Rober. When I watched a lot of his videos, I learned a lot about how engineering can be used in simple day-to-day life. One thing that interested me was how he made modifications to his car horn. Turns out, he saw a problem that the horn is only one dimensional and so he analyzed the car horn, wires, etc. that allow a horn to work, finally, he created a car with three different horn sounds for different situations. The thing that got me hooked on engineering was when he offered a course to think like an engineer and I saw how some people create devices that make lunch, allow plants to talk to us, remind us to take a walk, etc. One thing I learned from this is how his engineering course taught people to be creative and use physics/psychology to change behavior. On the matter of this subject, I learned how people are thinking of how to design facilities to make people think positively. Thus, this is why I'm so interested in engineering; I believe that we should change the features of certain neighborhoods, especially prisons so that crime can go down. I found that people in poorly designed facilities often felt terrible and I want to help the problem.

I do enjoy computer science since I was a young kid, I did very well on my state test scores. Turns out my teachers told me that since I was 99 percentile for science and math, they feel I should go into computer science. From a young age, I was always interested in AI and anything similar to robots that gain sentience, but now I'm learning that we're living in that age but in a different way. What surprises me is that a lot of our automated suggestions come from computer science. Turns out there are tons of people who are doing programming that allows computers to predict our behaviors and give us ads that match what we do online. Thus, I realize how much there is a market for computer science jobs. Every place has an IT department that uses computer science. One thing I can do with a computer science degree is work in a college IT department. Every university uses computers to help with students and login information; I can sit at a desk and help students get their accounts set up to help students or professors with their online accounts which requires engaging with academic materials. I thought computer science only applies to computers, but I'm surprised you can find it in government jobs. I'm very interested in politics and I thought you rarely use computers, but a lot of intelligence and military projects use tons of computer science. For example, I can work as a network administrator in which I would check WAN or LAN network connections to see if anyone was trying to hack inside. At the same time, I would always update the software continuously while making sure that the network is working fine. The most important thing I need to do is to fix internet connections and repair any networks. Working with internet connections isn't the only thing that governments use with computer science. I feel that there are tons of other opportunities I can develop and grow in computer science. I feel that I can be a great candidate for this scholarship since I'm very interested in computers. Currently, I'm taking a Google IT Support Specialist course that teaches me about computers. I'm learning a lot about it and I feel I can grow in this course. Even though this is the most basic one, I feel it's a great stepping stone to understanding computers as a whole. I realized that being good in computer science isn't about software but you need to understand the hardware as well. One of the modules I studied required putting a whole computer case together. I put the motherboard along with the CPU, RAM, etc. devices in a case together. The module taught me why you need to take care of the hardware and monitor it. Now, I'm very interested in computers and I'm planning to take more professional courses at the college level to improve my understanding of computers.

My future is to be a politician, I want to make sure that no one will ever suffer the same social injustices that I went through growing up.

My favorite song is Wildest Dreams since this song is about love. I can relate a lot to this song because it doesn't just apply to loving people, but your passions as well. Life is always full of people who you feel care about you, but sometimes they end up betraying you. At the same time, I've been through places where I thought people would understand me and try to get to know me, but I learned that people always expect a perfect person out of you. The song Wildest Dreams teaches us that not everything is going to go the way you want it to go. At the same time, it talks about a false sense of security by thinking that the situation or person we love is going to be there for us. I mean, the music video for the song encapsulates a lot of the song's ideas. It starts with Taylor Swift acting with a handsome male actor. During the video, we see Swift developing a relationship with the actor and thinking that he loves her. While on set, we can tell by their body language and facial expressions that they both open up about experiences throughout their lives. Originally, the whole movie gig was just for both Swift and the man to talk about movies and plans for Hollywood. Soon, those ideas go away and we see them starting to get personal. For a while, Swift feels that she will one day marry this man; this belief is crushed when she sees his wife with him. Swift, when watching the movie can't bear seeing this anymore that she stomps out. The point I'm trying to make is that I've been through this a lot as well. I always hope people would understand my disability and who I am as a person, but I've been discriminated and I feel sad, but I move on. The thing that I learned from this song is that you can't always expect a community to accept you nor should you force yourself to fit into all communities. Sometimes in life, you have to make do with what you have and just wait for the time when you will find that perfect fit. You don't have to go through the motions of love nor romance to understand this, but by going through rejection, you can see that not everyone will accept you for who you are.