My name is Zaughn Michael Cabrera, and I am a first-generation college graduate from the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. Additionally, I am also Chamorro, and I was raised in a single parent blended family household. In business, Chamorro people are so underrepresented there are no reliable sources for how many business entrepreneurs are Chamorro. However, according to a statistic for Pacific Islanders (https://advocacy.sba.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/AAPI-Heritage-Month-Infographic-2.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com), there are about ninety thousand firms owned by pacific islanders in the US. I’ve been interested in business as a profession since I learned about it. Acquiring my associate in business has been a deeply educational experience. Within business, I have a particular passion for economics and investment. As a low-income student, taking macroeconomics and learning about subsidies and government spending has shown me a lot about the welfare programs I participate in and why it is important to advocate for the policies that impact my life, as well as those who are similar to me. Additionally, I’ve also learned things in business that I had no prior detailed knowledge about previously, especially in business law. Business law has taught me about commerce, insurance, and contracts within business. Before taking these courses, I only had a vague understanding of these transactions that fuel the world of business. All of these things ultimately inspire me to become a better businessperson. It is my personal goal to pursue a master’s degree in a business field once I transfer to Portland State University in 2027. I plan on using my education to come back to the island I was raised and work to do better for my people. I want to help make life easier for my people and island community because this island along with its people mean a great deal to me. They are my everything. I believe that with an advanced business degree, I am able to better advocate for more resources, better operations and management, and add to the positive externalities that my people will benefit from through my attainment of this advanced degree. Currently, my island is facing financial and economic hardship as a result of some of the executive orders that hinder the subsidies that we need due to our geographical separation from the mainland United States. Our economy is deeply reliant on tourism as it is our main source of revenue. A business degree, although personal, will impact not only my life, but the thousands of people who stay in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, as well as the surrounding islands within Micronesia and Oceania.

According to a recent census, there are around 257,000 people of my ethnicity globally, the Chamorro people. I am an indigenous Chamorro from the island of Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. Although this is my homeland, I remain a minority with my people representing less than 50% of the island’s total population. Pacific islanders remain heavily underrepresented in today’s society. Growing up, I have not seen myself represented much in any mainstream media. Even though there is pacific islander representation, often it is Polynesian characters, not Micronesian, which is what I am. Micronesian refers to a group of ethnicities located west in the Oceania region. Another part of my identity is being part of the LGBTQ+ community. One of the worst troubles I have experienced has been dealing with depression as a result of an unrequited love because I was too ashamed to passionately pursue the boy I liked. The whole time I slowly got to know him, I let myself feel things I had rather not because of the nature of our shared space. As our friendship went on, it almost came time for us to go our separate ways. When it came time and it was just us, due to the fear of being rejected by someone I have grown to love, I stayed silent. I would estrange myself as a result of this believing that if I had worked harder, I could be worthy of love. With the help of mental health resources, friends, and community, I have grown and learned beyond limiting beliefs that I am worthy of love regardless of what the other person may believe. Now, I am more open with who I am with even if I run the risk of getting rejected because I know that regardless of the answer, I am worthy of love as a queer person. It makes it even harder coming from an underrepresented minority that I see others like me at all. I also come from a low-income single-parent household. Coming from a single parent household, I have had the responsibility of taking on the burden of taking care of expenses, chores, and even caring for my other siblings at times. In 2023, one of those aunties died a month prior to my college experience, she left behind her nine-year-old daughter. Naturally, my mother and I took her in. In our house, there is my mother, my adopted sister, and I. Since we took her in, I have done everything I could to balance school, responsibilities, and personal life. There were definitely hardships I have endured in all areas as I was also navigating being a young queer adult, being intermittently ill having been diagnosed with colon diverticulosis & at one time Bell’s palsy, and several financial challenges. Because of this, I ended up going into a deep dive on how to deal with my mental health. One resource that I have found most helpful is the book Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before by Julie Smith. In this book, I have learned a lot about mental health, its intricacies, techniques to manage it, and how to support it for myself and others. It would be no exaggeration for me to say I have been deeply impacted by it and have seen how my life has changed because of it. I have also benefited from online resources that offer resources on how to deal with things that are supplemented by the book; adjacently, some sources I look to are The Mental Health Coalition, therapist_kirby, and Pasifika Rooted Therapy on Instagram. These pages offer insight on mental health as well. Amongst all these tribulations I've faced, I have successfully attained my Associates of Arts in Business this year. Currently, I am pursuing an Associate of Applied Science in Criminal Justice and then plan on transferring to Portland State University to purse a more advanced business degree, hopefully in economics. I plan on using my education to come back to the island I was raised and working to do better for my people. I want to help make life easier for my people and island community because this island along with its people mean a great deal to me. They are my everything. I believe that with an advanced business degree, I am able to better advocate for more resources, better operations and management, and add to the positive externalities that my people will benefit off of through my attainment of this advanced degree. Currently, my island is facing financial and economic hardship as a result of some of the executive orders that hinder our subsidies that we need due to our geographical separation from the mainland United States. Our economy is deeply reliant on tourism as it is our main source of revenue. A business degree, although personal, will impact not only my life, but the thousands of people that stay in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, as well as the surrounding islands within Micronesia and Oceania.

In the Fall of 2022, I lost my aunt to Ovarian cancer. She helped raise me alongside my mother and their other siblings. She, like my mom, was a single mother with one child. When she passed, my mother and I took in her daughter, Lucia. Lucia, at the time, was nine years old. Some important things to note that were happening at the time are that I had begun college, and that I just recently finished completing surgery to remove a part of my colon. I had been diagnosed with colon diverticulitis since I was nine years old. Naturally, amidst all of these happenings, it was stressful that we had a family member who was sick and in need of aid. I had prayed every day that she would live until I achieved my associate’s degree before passing; unfortunately, she had not. Through the pain of losing not only one of my closest aunties, we also had the responsibility of looking after a child whom we were not prepared to take on immediately. In my desperation, I rewrote my prayer that, since my original prayer for her life being preserved was not able to come to fruition, I would be strong enough to achieve my associate’s degree regardless of what may come. This year, that prayer came true, and I walked down the stage able to graduate with my Associate of Arts in Business. This success did not come lightly to me. In the time leading up, I have learned so much that I believe myself to grown into a completely different person for the better. Something I learned in the time leading up to then is patience. Raising Lucia at first was something we did not know how to handle. It took a while to adjust to her new living situation with us. She had some troubles with school and was a bit rebellious. I had to have the patience that even though there were times where our attitudes would conflict, that this is someone I loved, and even if I did not see immediate change, that with patience, I would be able to see her improve. I am proud to say that now she is at the top of her class for the STAR reading assessment. Another thing I have learned is compassion. There were many things out of my control, such as increased financial struggle, interpersonal problems, and delays in my school that I had to sit and have the compassion to deal with. I am proud of myself as well for having been able to deal with these things without much guidance. Ultimately, from the loss of my aunt, I have grown and learned love, patience, and faith.

I was raised by a single mother and her siblings, amongst them primarily the other single mothers. Growing up, I have had a special bond with those aunties and the daughters of those aunties, they are the closest thing I have to born siblings. In 2023, one of those aunties died a month prior to my college experience, she left behind her nine-year-old daughter. Naturally, my mother and I took her in. In our house, there is my mother, my adopted sister, and I. Since we took her in, I have done everything I could to balance school, responsibilities, and personal life. There were definitely hardships I have endured in all areas as I was also navigating being a young queer adult, being intermittently ill having been diagnosed with colon diverticulosis & at one time Bell’s palsy, and several financial challenges. Because of this, I ended up going into a deep dive on how to deal with my mental health. One resource that I have found most helpful is the book Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before by Julie Smith. In this book, I have learned a lot about mental health, its intricacies, techniques to manage it, and how to support it for myself and others. Amongst all these tribulations I've faced, I have successfully attained my Associates of Arts in Business this year. Currently, I am pursuing an Associate of Applied Science in Criminal Justice and then plan on transferring to Portland State University to purse a more advanced business degree, hopefully in economics. I plan on using my education to come back to the island I was raised and working to do better for my people. I want to help make life easier for my people and island community because this island along with its people mean a great deal to me. They are my everything. I believe that with an advanced business degree, I am able to better advocate for more resources, better operations and management, and add to the positive externalities that my people will benefit off of through my attainment of this advanced degree. Currently, my island is facing financial and economic hardship as a result of some of the executive orders that hinder our subsidies that we need due to our geographical separation from the mainland United States. Our economy is deeply reliant on tourism as it is our main source of revenue. A business degree, although personal, will impact not only my life, but the thousands of people that stay in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, as well as the surrounding islands within Micronesia and Oceania.

I was raised by a single mother and her siblings, amongst them primarily the other single mothers. Growing up, I have had a special bond with those aunties and the daughters of those aunties, they are the closest thing I have to born siblings. In 2023, one of those aunties died a month before my college experience, she left behind her nine-year-old daughter. Naturally, my mother and I took her in. In our house, there is my mother, my adopted sister, and I. Since we took her in, I have done everything I could to balance school, responsibilities, and personal life. There were definitely hardships I have endured in all areas as I was also navigating being a young queer adult, being intermittently ill, having been diagnosed with colon diverticulosis & at one time Bell’s palsy, and several financial challenges. Amongst all these tribulations I've faced, I have successfully attained my Associate of Arts in Business this year. Currently, I am pursuing an Associate of Applied Science in Criminal Justice and then plan on transferring to Portland State University to pursue a more advanced business degree, hopefully in economics. I plan on using my education to come back to the island I was raised on and work to do better for my people. I want to help make life easier for my people and island community because this island, along with its people mean a great deal to me. They are my everything. I believe that with an advanced business degree, I am able to better advocate for more resources, better operations and management, and add to the positive externalities that my people will benefit from through my attainment of this advanced degree. Because these degrees allow for versatility, there is a greater ease in finding work in one of the many related departments on Saipan. Some places that would be ideal for me would be the court and local or federal government programs. Currently, my island is facing financial and economic hardship as a result of some of the executive orders that hinder the subsidies that we need due to our geographical separation from the mainland United States. Our economy is deeply reliant on tourism as it is our main source of revenue. A business degree, although personal, will impact not only my life, but the thousands of people who stay in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, as well as the surrounding islands within Micronesia and Oceania.

In the Fall of 2022, I lost my aunt to Ovarian cancer. She helped raise me alongside my mother and their other siblings. She, like my mom, was a single mother with one child. When she passed, my mother and I took in her daughter, Lucia. Lucia, at the time, was nine years old. Some important things to note that were happening at the time are that I had begun college, and that I just recently finished completing surgery to remove a part of my colon. I had been diagnosed with colon diverticulitis since I was nine years old. Naturally, amidst all of these happenings, it was stressful that we had a family member who was sick and in need of aid. I had prayed every day that she would live until I achieved my associate’s degree before passing; unfortunately, she had not. Through the pain of losing not only one of my closest aunties, we also had the responsibility of looking after a child whom we were not prepared to take on immediately. In my desperation, I rewrote my prayer that, since my original prayer for her life being preserved was not able to come to fruition, I would be strong enough to achieve my associate’s degree regardless of what may come. This year, that prayer came true, and I walked down the stage able to graduate with my Associate of Arts in Business. This success did not come lightly to me. In the time leading up, I have learned so much that I believe myself to grown into a completely different person for the better. Something I learned in the time leading up to then is patience. Raising Lucia at first was something we did not know how to handle. It took a while to adjust to her new living situation with us. She had some troubles with school and was a bit rebellious. I had to have the patience that even though there were times where our attitudes would conflict, that this is someone I loved, and even if I did not see immediate change, that with patience I would be able to see her improve. I am proud to say that now she is at the top her class for the STAR reading assessment. Another thing I have learned is compassion. There were many things out of my control such as increased financial struggle, interpersonal problems, and delays in my school that I have had to sit and have the compassion to deal with. I am proud of myself as well for having been able to deal with these things without much guidance. Ultimately, from the loss of my aunt, I have grown and learned love, patience, and compassion.

Mental health is important to me because until recently, it has been an overlooked part of the human experience. Contemporary efforts in the mental health field have led to more awareness and understanding of what mental health is and why it is important. I myself have had my fair share of mental health challenges. A tribulation I have faced is when my mental health took a turn for the worse due to problems regarding my family, finances, and personal relationships. I ended up developing a certain anxiety and depression due to how isolated I felt. Because of this, I ended up going into a deep dive on how to deal with my mental health. One resource that I have found most helpful is the book Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before by Julie Smith. In this book, I have learned a lot about mental health, its intricacies, techniques to manage it, and how to support it for myself and others. It would be no exaggeration for me to say I have been deeply impacted by it and have seen how my life has changed because of it. I have also benefited from online resources that offer resources on how to deal with things that are supplemented by the book; adjacently, some sources I look to are The Mental Health Coalition, therapist_kirby, and Pasifika Rooted Therapy on Instagram. These pages offer insight on mental health as well. I practice being a mental health advocate by showing up for my friends and community. As a pacific islander, it is important to me that I be there for them because it is part of my culture and who I am. This is also stated in the aforementioned book that community plays a big role in mental health. I do my best to be authentic with how I feel and what I think because I believe that there is a certain authenticity and vulnerability that is needed to be able to connect with others. Another important aspect of mental health I believe to be is the emotional aspect. I try to be considerate of others' circumstances and unique dispositions because I myself am aware of the first hand struggle. I have had the opportunity to buy more books on mental health that I plan on reading and using to further help myself and those around me. One practice that I actively partake in is sharing the books I buy with my friends so that we may have the shared resources necessary to function interpersonally. Ultimately, it is my intention to keep on advocating for mental health and remind others that it is okay to take breaks if they feel it is necessary.

I would love to build a decent educational attainment so that I always have a reliable resource to go to. As simple as it sounds, I believe that having a strong foundation will allow for greater ease and freedom in the things I would like to do. It is my current goal that I achieve the degrees I am pursuing on top of the degree I already have, which is an Associate of Arts in Business. I am currently pursuing a degree in criminal justice and plan on completing it by spring 2027. After that, I plan on transferring to a university in order to pursue a more advanced business-related degree, hopefully one in economics. I plan on building towards my educational endeavors by committing myself to seeing them through and acting upon them. Some ways I have already started are by applying to various scholarships, maintaining a decent GPA, nurturing my extracurriculars, and applying for programs that will help me with transitioning from the college I am currently enrolled into the university I wish to attend. I believe this will have a positive impact on me and my community and me because I am an underrepresented minority and come from an economically struggling island. By achieving success, I will be able to show others like me that they are able to attain their goals. In addition to being a pacific islander, I am also a first-generation college student; and, like my peers, have dealt with the trials and tribulations first-gen college students face when navigating higher education for the first time. Ultimately, building towards this degree will help alleviate some of the economic burden my island, Saipan of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, faces as my degrees will help me better serve my community. Attaining my educational goal will showcase my commitment, grit, passion, and integrity for a better future.

In the Fall of 2022, I lost my aunt to Ovarian cancer. She helped raise me alongside my mother and their other siblings. She, like my mom, was a single mother with one child. When she passed, my mother and I took in her daughter, Lucia. Lucia, at the time, was nine years old. Some important things to note that were happening at the time are that I had begun college, and that I just recently finished completing surgery to remove a part of my colon. I had been diagnosed with colon diverticulitis since I was nine years old. Naturally, amidst all of these happenings, it was stressful that we had a family member who was sick and in need of aid. I had prayed every day that she would live until I achieved my associate’s degree before passing; unfortunately, she had not. Through the pain of losing not only one of my closest aunties, we also had the responsibility of looking after a child whom we were not prepared to take on immediately. In my desperation, I rewrote my prayer that, since my original prayer for her life being preserved was not able to come to fruition, I would be strong enough to achieve my associate’s degree regardless of what may come. This year, that prayer came true, and I walked down the stage able to graduate with my Associate of Arts in Business. This success did not come lightly to me. In the time leading up, I have learned so much that I believe myself to grown into a completely different person for the better. Something I learned in the time leading up to then is patience. Raising Lucia at first was something we did not know how to handle. It took a while to adjust to her new living situation with us. She had some troubles with school and was a bit rebellious. I had to have the patience that even though there were times where our attitudes would conflict, that this is someone I loved, and even if I did not see immediate change, that with patience I would be able to see her improve. I am proud to say that now she is at the top her class for the STAR reading assessment. Another thing I have learned is compassion. There were many things out of my control such as increased financial struggle, interpersonal problems, and delays in my school that I have had to sit and have the compassion to deal with. I am proud of myself as well for having been able to deal with these things without much guidance. Ultimately, from the loss of my aunt, I have grown and learned love, patience, and pain.

Mental health is important to me because until recently, it has been an overlooked part of the human experience. Contemporary efforts in the mental health field have led to more awareness and understanding of what mental health is and why it is important. I myself have had my fair share of mental health challenges. A tribulation I have faced is when my mental health took a turn for the worse due to problems regarding my family, finances, and personal relationships. I ended up developing a certain anxiety and depression due to how isolated I felt. Because of this, I ended up going into a deep dive on how to deal with my mental health. One resource that I have found most helpful is the book Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before by Julie Smith. In this book, I have learned a lot about mental health, its intricacies, techniques to manage it, and how to support it for myself and others. It would be no exaggeration for me to say I have been deeply impacted by it and have seen how my life has changed because of it. I have also benefited from online resources that offer resources on how to deal with things that are supplemented by the book; adjacently, some sources I look to are The Mental Health Coalition, therapist_kirby, and Pasifika Rooted Therapy on Instagram. These pages offer insight on mental health as well. As a queer person, I have experienced my fair share of struggles similar to my peers. I have had trouble in my personal relationships due to the oppression and stigma queer people face as a result of a toxic masculine culture. One of the worst troubles I have experienced has been dealing with depression as a result of an unrequited love because I was too ashamed to passionately pursue the boy I liked. This was someone who I loved slowly, someone I got to know. The whole time I slowly got to know him, I let myself feel things I had rather not because of the nature of our shared space. As our friendship went on, it almost came time for us to go our separate ways. When it came time and it was just us, due to the fear of being rejected by someone I have grown to love, I stayed silent. With the help of mental health resources, friends, and community, I have grown and learned beyond limiting beliefs that I am worthy of love regardless of what the other person may believe. Ever since then, I have opened my heart and learned how to deal with my feelings. Now, I am more open with who I am with even if I run the risk of getting rejected because I know that regardless of the answer, I am worthy of love as a queer person. Self-worth has been one of the greatest lessons I have learned as a result of the pain I have endured in my life.

According to a recent census, there are around 257,000 people of my ethnicity globally, the Chamorro people. I am an indigenous Chamorro from the island of Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. Although this is my homeland, I remain a minority with my people representing less than 50% of the island’s total population. Pacific islanders remain heavily underrepresented in today’s society. Growing up, I have not seen myself represented much in any mainstream media. Even though there is pacific islander representation, often it is Polynesian characters, not Micronesian, which is what I am. Micronesian refers to a group of ethnicities located west in the Oceania region. Another underrepresented part of my identity is being part of the LGBTQ+ community. One of the worst troubles I have experienced has been dealing with depression as a result of an unrequited love because I was too ashamed to passionately pursue the boy I liked. The whole time I slowly got to know him, I let myself feel things I had rather not because of the nature of our shared space. As our friendship went on, it almost came time for us to go our separate ways. When it came time and it was just us, due to the fear of being rejected by someone I have grown to love, I stayed silent. I would estrange myself as a result of this believing that if I had worked harder, I could be worthy of love. With the help of mental health resources, friends, and community, I have grown and learned beyond limiting beliefs that I am worthy of love regardless of what the other person may believe. Now, I am more open with who I am with even if I run the risk of getting rejected because I know that regardless of the answer, I am worthy of love as a queer person. It makes it even harder coming from an underrepresented minority that I see others like me at all. I also come from a low-income single-parent household. Coming from a single parent household, I have had the responsibility of taking on the burden of taking care of expenses, chores, and even caring for my other siblings at times. I will go the rest of my life as part of this niche demographic, racial minority, raised financially challenged, and queer. I have accepted that if I am going to see myself represented in the future, it will be in a large part, due to my efforts to put myself there. However, I am ultimately willing to work hard enough for the life I would like to live as a minority.

“He deserves sunshine, and so do you.” -Elena from Heated Rivalry. As a queer person, I have experienced my fair share of struggles similar to my peers. I have had trouble in my personal relationships due to the oppression and stigma queer people face as a result of a toxic masculine culture. One of the worst troubles I have experienced has been dealing with depression as a result of an unrequited love because I was too ashamed to passionately pursue the boy I liked. This was someone who I loved slowly; someone I got to know. The whole time I slowly got to know him, I let myself feel things I had rather not because of the nature of our shared space. As our friendship went on, it almost came time for us to go our separate ways. When it came time and it was just us, due to the fear of being rejected by someone I have grown to love, I stayed silent. I would estrange myself as a result of this believing that if I had worked harder, I could be worthy of love. With the help of mental health resources, friends, and community, I have grown and learned beyond limiting beliefs that I am worthy of love regardless of what the other person may believe. Ever since then, I have opened my heart and learned how to deal with my feelings. Now, I am more open with who I am with even if I run the risk of getting rejected because I know that regardless of the answer, I am worthy of love as a queer person. Self-worth has been one of the greatest lessons I have learned as a result of the pain I have endured in my life. This year, I achieved my Associate of Arts in business. My aspirations for higher education include pursuing an Associate of Applied Science in Criminal Justice and subsequently transferring to Portland State University to pursue a more advanced business-related degree, ideally in economics. I hope to advocate for the LGBTQ+ community by being openly myself and showing that we are capable of just as much accomplishment as our heterosexual counterparts. Success is limited to no one identity. This scholarship can help me by allowing me greater ease in transitioning from where I am now to Portland. I stay in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands and plan on transferring via Proa Pathways as a way to mitigate the financial burden of transferring. This scholarship along with other forms of aid can help make my dream a reality.

Mental health is important to me because until recently, it has been an overlooked part of the human experience. Contemporary efforts in the mental health field have led to more awareness and understanding of what mental health is and why it is important. I myself have had my fair share of mental health challenges. A tribulation I have faced is when my mental health took a turn for the worse due to problems regarding my family, finances, and personal relationships. I ended up developing a certain anxiety and depression due to how isolated I felt. Because of this, I ended up going into a deep dive on how to deal with my mental health. One resource that I have found most helpful is the book Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before by Julie Smith. In this book, I have learned a lot about mental health, its intricacies, techniques to manage it, and how to support it for myself and others. It would be no exaggeration for me to say I have been deeply impacted by it and have seen how my life has changed because of it. I have also benefited from online resources that offer resources on how to deal with things that are supplemented by the book; adjacently, some sources I look to are The Mental Health Coalition, therapist_kirby, and Pasifika Rooted Therapy on Instagram. These pages offer insight on mental health as well. I practice being a mental health advocate by showing up for my friends and community. As a pacific islander, it is important to me that I be there for them because it is part of my culture and who I am. This is also stated in the aforementioned book that community plays a big role in mental health. I do my best to be authentic with how I feel and what I think because I believe that there is a certain authenticity and vulnerability that is needed to be able to connect with others. Another important aspect of mental health I believe to be is the emotional aspect. I try to be considerate of others' circumstances and unique dispositions because I myself am aware of the first hand struggle. I have had the opportunity to buy more books on mental health that I plan on reading and using to further help myself and those around me. One practice that I actively partake in is sharing the books I buy with my friends so that we may have the shared resources necessary to function interpersonally. Ultimately, it is my intention to keep on advocating for mental health and remind others that it is okay to take breaks if they feel it is necessary.

Coming from a single-parent household, I have had the responsibility of taking on the burden of managing expenses, chores, and even caring for my other siblings at times. Despite these tribulations, I overcame these challenges by having the vision for more and the ambition to see things through, along with the support of my community. I completed my Associate of Arts in Business this year and plan to pursue further academic studies. During that time, I have also served as a work study tutor to help other students pass their classes. This scholarship can help me by providing the resources to pursue a second degree in Criminal Justice and subsequently another degree in Economics. My dream is to be an efficient businessperson not only for my family and I, but for my island as well. I come from the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, which is a territory of the United States. Currently, my island is going through economic hardship, and it is my dream to be able to alleviate some of that strain by becoming well-versed in business. Ultimately, this scholarship can help open doors for my community and I, who, like me, deserve a good quality of living.

Being a first-generation student means to me having to hustle harder than my privileged peers, building the courage to try things and fail without safety nets in place, and doing the damn thing regardless of the odds that are stacked against me! As a low-income first-generation student, I have dealt with my fair share of problems. Coming from a single parent household, I have the responsibility of taking on the burden of taking care of expenses, chores, and even caring for my other siblings at times. Despite these tribulations, I overcame these challenges by having the vision for more and the ambition to see things through. I have successfully completed my Associates of Arts in Business this year and plan on pursuing more in terms of academia. During that time, I have also served as a work study tutor to help other students pass their classes. This scholarship can help me by allotting me the resources to pursue another degree in Criminal Justice and thereafter another degree in Economics. My dream is to be able to be an efficient businessperson not only for my family and I, but for my island as well. I come from the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands which is a territory of the United States. Currently, my island is going through economic hardship and it is my dream to be able to alleviate some of that strain by becoming well versed in business. Growing up, I have seen first hand the struggle of those in my socioeconomic class and other first generation students, all of us desiring positive change for ourselves and those around us. Although unconventional, I am fortunate enough to be able to represent a specific demographic that bears the effects of economic inequality. Ultimately, this scholarship can help open doors for my community and I, who like me, deserve a good quality of living.

"NO WIZARD THAT THERE IS OR WAS, IS EVER GONNA BRING, ME, DOWNNNN AH AHHHH AHHH AHHHH." I am a fan of Wicked because of the story it tells, the music it provides, and feeling I get empathizing with Elphaba. While I have not yet watched the second Wicked film or latter half of the original Broadway musical, I have watched the first film and have listened to the songs of the musical through YouTube animations. I have been reposting Wicked content on my Instagram page ever since the first trailer aired. My three favorite Wicked songs include No One Mourns the Wicked, Defying Gravity, and Popular. I am also a fan of the casting. I have been an Ariana Grande fan ever since she first starred on Victorious on Nickelodeon, and when she was announced to play Glinda, I was ecstatic with joy! I find both her and Cynthia Erivo's commitment to the film to be truly phenomenal. I was a bit bummed out when Cynthia was snubbed of her EGOT status when she lost the award needed for the film. Had she gotten the award she would have been the youngest ever to achieve the EGOT status, while being a minority black woman nontheless.

Sabrina Carpenter to me is one of the best contemporary artists of this generation. Her music inspires me to live closer to my authenticity as she sings about a bunch of topics that young college students can relate to. A few of my favorite songs by her include Busy Woman, Buy Me Presents, and Juno. It makes me comfortable knowing that a pop star like her has experiences similar to the rest of us around her age. Relatability, good melody, and great fashion aesthetic greatly contribute to why I am a fan of her. One song of hers that has impacted my career is definitely Busy Woman lol, although I am not a woman, I am queer and have dealt with my fair share of men who I would like to give my time to but choose to focus on my career (unless they call at night XD). Sabrina Carpenter is a Gen Z icon that I would support as defining us as a generation. I deeply appreciate her authenticity, raunchiness, and willingness to express herself in ways that regular society has deemed stigmatic about our generation regarding our sexuality and interpersonal relationships. I will continue to be a fan of hers and hope that she continues to do better for herself and her fans.

I believe a business degree in itself is very versatile. In my experience from achieving my Associates of Arts in Business, I’ve learned a lot about the fundamentals of business such as communications, management, macro & microeconomics, and law amongst the rest of the classes. Knowing these things allow for smoother action regarding the flow of business. However, the full extent of a business degree can be shown through the successes of prominent Chief Executive Officers, business managers, and project managers. A business degree is a worthwhile investment as it allows for a secure position in administrative work in many fields. I’ve been interested in business as a profession since I learned about it. Acquiring my associate's in business has been a deeply educating experience. Within business, I have a particular passion for economics and investment. As a low-income student, taking macroeconomics and learning about subsidies and government spending has shown me a lot about the welfare programs I participate in and why it is important to advocate for the policies that impact my life as well as those who are similar to me. Adjacently, I’ve also learned things in business that I had no prior detailed knowledge about previously, especially in business law. Business law has taught me about commerce, insurance, and contracts within business. Before taking these courses, I only had a vague knowing about these transactions that fuel the world of business. It is my personal goal to pursue a master’s degree in a business field once I transfer to Portland State University in 2027. A master’s degree in business will help me polish my skills regarding investment and entrepreneurship. In my free time, I have dedicated time into learning about online investing, assets, and stock exchanges, and believe that an advanced business degree may help me refine my skills and take me further in several regards. It will also help me in regard to necessary connections that I may need and help augment the networking aspect businesspeople need in order to work with one another. It is my goal that once I finish my degree to come back to the island I was raised on, Saipan of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, and help the local economy as it is in a dire state. I believe that with an advanced business degree, I am able to better advocate for more resources, better operations and management, and add to the positive externalities that my people will benefit off of through my attainment of this advanced degree. Currently, my island is facing financial and economic hardship as a result of some of the executive orders that hinder our subsidies that we need due to our geographical separation from the mainland United States. Our economy is deeply reliant on tourism as it is our main source of revenue. A business degree, although personal, will impact not only my life, but the thousands of people that stay in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, as well as the surrounding islands within Micronesia and Oceania.