An issue in my community I have taken the initiative to address is food insecurity. My motivation for tackling this issue started September of my freshman year of high school when my father decided he was no longer interested in being a father and left without saying goodbye. As a result of him leaving, we were faced with financial hardship which led to food insecurity; however, my mother assured me that our current situation wouldn't always be our plight. Once we were back on our feet, we were determined to help those in our community dealing with food insecurity. The two places where I volunteer are the Fairmount Heights Food Distribution Center (first and second Sundays) and the Capitol Heights Food Give-away (third, fourth and the occasional fifth Sundays). Additionally, during the summer months, I volunteer at a local church on Tuesdays, for about six hours, to help with their food give-away. During my high school career, I have completed over 400 hours servicing those in my community faced with food insecurity and my takeaway from this experience is that service, although it can be hard work, it is transformative and something that we shouldn't run from but embrace. As a result of my service to my community, I was awarded the President's Volunteer Service Award from the White House in 2024, during the 2024-2025 Academic Year, I received the Holy Cross Service Award for completing 146 hours of service, for the 2025-2026 Academic Year, I was recognized for completing 198 hours of service to my community. In addition, I had the honor of receiving the Cross and Anchors Award, which is presented to one or more students who strive to make a difference in the world by living extraordinary lives and offer hope to others. My future goal is to become a federal prosecutor, and the manner in which I plan to expand my effort to serve those in my community is to use my legal education to address the root causes of food insecurity, to support policies that expand access to nutritious food and to connect families with resources and job opportunity because no family should have to wonder where their meal will come from. My goal is to leave a lasting legacy beyond the courtroom as I commit to serve other and creating opportunities for those who feel they don't have a voice to advocate for themselves.

My future plan is to become a federal prosecutor and the area of law that I am interested in pursuing is criminal law. The impact that I hope to have as a prosecutor is to be a person of integrity, fairness and sensitivity who seeks justice based on the law and not on my opinion. Additionally, I would like to mentor others as I was mentored and saw how a person’s life can be transformed by having positive role models especially young men who are being raised solely by their mothers. The one pivotal experience that led me to consider a career in law stems from my community service involvement centered around food insecurity. I must admit that at first I didn’t fully understand the importance of service until one Saturday my mother woke me up to go to our church’s food bank to volunteer because she felt that being of service to all mankind is something that everyone should embrace and not reject. Not fully understanding, I went and completed the hours and when I returned home, I was asked, “was that so bad.” Initially, I answered yes but when I reflected back on the experience, I realized it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be especially after seeing many people lined up early in the morning for food to feed their families regardless of the weather condition. The summer of the next school year, I went to a different church every Tuesday for about six hours to help with their food bank and again, there were lines of cars waiting for food. It was during this summer, prior to my junior year, that it clicked, and I finally saw the importance of serving and giving back to my community as I noticed numerous individuals whose lives were benefited due to my service. As I continued with my service hours, it was no longer about meeting my graduation requirements but impacting lives while learning how to effectively communicate with adults, building relationships, and learning customer service skills which are valuable tools that I will take with me to college and beyond. I also realized that one of the main reasons that I was enjoying my service so much is that I felt I was making a significant difference and influencing the lives of others in a positive way, so I decided to bring some friends along because I wanted them to not only complete their required service hours but also experience the joy of helping those in the community. Thus, with my community involvement in mind and after a week with the Leadership Initiative Program at Georgetown University where I collaborated on a case with Criminal Law and Trial, I decided to major in legal studies and minor in criminal justice before entering law school. I envision leveraging my legal education to effect positive changes in my community by continuing to advocate for those who feel they don't have a voice and this is why it is so vital for me to pursue a career in law because with this degree and my numerous hours of volunteering, I know that I will be taken seriously and will be better equipped to implement programs that will benefit my community members as I am able to relate to them and come up with solutions on how to best handle this crisis. This scholarship, which will be used towards my room and board, will allow me to complete my undergraduate studies without having to take out a loan as I know that I will need a loan for law school.