Many people love my birth city: New Orleans. It is home to jazz, bounce music, mouthwatering food, Mardi Gras, and the stunning colonial buildings. That is what every tourist sees. No one sees the high rates of violent crimes, being ranked the most dangerous cities in the United States, the crumbling infrastructure, flood risks, and our insurance crisis. I was born and raised here in all these conditions, so I have seen the good and the bad. All throughout my life, the biggest issue I have seen firsthand while living here is our rise in homelessness. I have seen this ever growing issue everywhere, on my way to work, to school, or any other personal outings. From the age of seven years old to now seventeen I still talk to the homeless man , Gerald, in my neighborhood. He tells me the difficulties he has been going through. He was not always homeless, after returning from his deployment he had never gotten his check for being a veteran, put on disability aid, or any of the legal help he rightfully deserved. This issue is not trying to be solved at its root, in fact Louisiana enacted House Bill 211 (“Streets to Success Act”) which criminalized sleeping or camping on public property statewide. This is a detrimental step backwards and deepens the causes instead of making it easier. While I am young now, I still try to do my part by protesting, signing petitions, and volunteering at homeless shelters. My SecondHarvest team, the largest anti-hunger network in Louisiana, was nominated for best volunteer group of the year for volunteering from 5 a.m to 5 p.m. That sense of community as well as justice has been embedded in me , something, which I will carry into my adult years. All of the colleges I am hoping to attend are HBCUS, which are places I value, especially coming from a PWI. Personally, the demographics at these schools will better support my goals and understand where I am coming from. That is not the only thing that attracts me though. One thing all these colleges have in common is an escalated course that intrigues me because of its ability to help me help others. It is called the 3+3 accelerated J.D program, and allows students to earn a bachelor's and law dress in six years. Attorneys are incredibly expensive, and everyone who needs one might not get provided one with the resources they need to help their situation. I want to be an attorney who is able to do the opposite, and give people what they need. I want to open my own law firm specifically in a disadvantaged area. It would be for communities that usually can not afford certain services. I would provide my abilities pro-bono or for a discounted price. For example, with people like Gerald, I would gladly help them collect their pension, and or disability aid if it is being held up for legal reasons. I would also use my degree in the political and activist community to better dissect laws proposed by our state’s leaders. That way, the truth about bills similar to “Bill 211” can come to light, along with the possibility of preventing such laws and allowing those in need to get the services we all deserve.

My dream was to establish the first-ever majorette dance team at The Willow School, a predominantly white institution in New Orleans. Most other schools here have majorette teams; they march in parades and have marching bands too. We have none of that. Majorette dancing started in 1968 and it comes from the HBCU community and serves as a symbol for many African Americans. It was disappointing to not see something that displayed Black excellence, femininity, pride, and precision at my school. Willow missed this display of strength that should’ve been a part of our school community. As a former dancer, I understood the importance of the art, especially majorette dancing: it builds confidence in young women and dance builds morale at events. I met with administrators, and eventually gained approval from the CEO. There was also a need for student support, so I presented the idea to interested students. The idea was also presented to the now co-captain,who was a majorette, E’mya. Currently, I choreograph routines, captain, lead rehearsals, pick band style music tracks, and set performance dates. At the beginning, this seemed daunting because there was no framework for a majorette team in my school’s history. I spent weeks researching and writing a detailed proposal that outlined the team’s purpose, budget, logistical needs, and stressed the need for this group. It did not get easier after that. Next, I had to find a sponsor and confirm a practice space. I asked our dance teacher and a teacher who was a former dancer to be the sponsor. We managed to schedule a division of the dance room between our cheerleading team and our club. But there was no club without participants. For our debut I taught a cater to E’mya and Tyanna. On club fair day, we got a speaker, made a signup sheet, and danced our hearts out. That attracted many dancers and some wanted to be managers. That was how “Lionettes” was born. This experience taught me that bridging awareness to a gap in cultures requires persistence, organization, and the ability to articulate needs and wants. Now we are setting a new tradition that showcases Black excellence. Lionettes keep growing. My next step is advancing from a club to an official school organization. This will require meeting with administrators, the CEO, figuring out permanent uniforms, dues, and which sport events we will perform at. This ensures that the tradition I established will thrive, continuing to empower young Black women at our school for years to come. Recently, the “Lionettes” have been in talk with administration about when tryouts can be and coordinated with the cheerleading team, so as to not overstep.