I like to describe my family as the struggling American Dream. They met working at Olive Garden in Philadelphia, moved to Florida where my dad cooked and my mom waited tables to support my brother. But alas, they missed home, the city, family, and moved back to Philadelphia. They rented an apartment until they had enough money to rent a small twin home in a better school district. And they worked, my dad got his degree, and worked, until they bought a home in that same town. They had no savings, no investments, just a dream of a better future for their children. A dream that they did not need to work a job they did not enjoy, to not doubt themselves, for dreams to become a reality. My brother struggled in school. He had behavioral struggles, mental disorders, and is still struggling with addiction. So in many ways, my parents called on me. It was my job at ten to make sure my fifteen year old brother was turning in assignments, doing his chores, staying out of trouble. It was my job at twelve to keep his secrets so they “peace was kept” in the house. It was my jobs to sign cards from “Zoe and Xavier,” to decorate the Christmas tree, or Mac and cheese on Thanksgiving. I grew up as the role model, the babysitter, as well as the future. When I got into high school I found comfort in politics. In activism groups that wanted to make a change, in politicians that supported that change and were not just after votes or money. I joined the Media Fellowship House and volunteered in the community garden. I would spend hours watering, pruning, and taking care of the garden so all people in the community could have fresh, healthy ingredients. I also volunteered at my local food pantry, and PA Youth Vote where we educated young people on the importance of voting, how to vote, and ways you can continue the movement. Not only did volunteering give me the opportunity it to make others lives better, it gave me a chance to not dwell on my own life. Volunteer work lets me look back on my blessings, and remind myself that I have pressures, struggles, annoyances, but I am not alone in that feeling. I continued to look for that same sense of community through volunteer work in college, and I had amazing opportunities such as volunteering at a food bank, school supplies drive, campaigns, and more. Being in the nations capital gave me the chance to volunteer with so many different types of people, and expand my knowledge socially as well as academically. These are opportunities I will continue to seek out in order to better my community, and better myself.

In April of 2026, the Department of State released a new initiative to encourage a new age of U.S. diplomats. This comes after many years of the Foreign Service Officer Test being unavailable to the public, as they planned to revamp the process to be more holistic. So, as someone who has wanted to be a diplomat for the past five years, double-majored in international relations and economics, and went to a school that produces some of the top diplomats in the country, I was pretty excited to see my dream career was back on the table. It wasn't until I went to the website and saw what a "real American diplomat" looked like. The ad featured clips of white men from the 50s, shooting guns, drinking whiskey, traveling the world, reading the bible, and having loads of money. The other videos in this initiative mirror this design, and image of what an American diplomat should be. In previous administrations, the narrative was that anyone could be a diplomat. That diplomats were the face of the United States, and the United States had many faces. My original excitement was replaced with embarrassment and shame. Thinking someone like me, a black, middle-class woman, could become one of the faces of the United States. That is when someone is looking for a "real American," they are looking for someone like me. But then I thought about the majors I have decided to pursue. As if any of my career aspirations are not male-dominated or white-dominated. My majors will make a positive impact on the world for two reasons. Because I will be able to represent those who have not had the opportunities I have had, who are not as lucky as I have been, and to show other people of color or women or people with disabilities, or really anyone who is not a straight white male, that we are what real Americans look like. That you do not need to be rich and white to be in the foreign service, that there is more out there for us than what the system allows. I hope that I will help bring economic empowerment and peace to this world, along with motivating others that people who look like me can be success stories. This scholarship would help my education because I am a rising 2nd year at American University, a school that is very expensive, and I have already taken out a few loans to be able to attend. This money would help pay for books, along with going towards my FAFSA loans.

My name is Zoe Likely, and I am a current first-year student at American University. I am majoring in international studies and economics with a potential minor in business administration. I chose American University for the location and highly respected degree programs. I am hoping to become a diplomat and eventually work in the U.S. Senate. Additionally, having a complex understanding of economics and business is important because many areas in government are run like a business. And while I do not believe this is the most productive way to run a government, until I can change it, I must fully comprehend and "play the game" of the system. As a black American, every day I see the differences in the way I am treated, how I am ignored, how my family is treated, and how those in my community are treated. Because of this, I hold myself to a larger standard on what my impact can be, and the pace at which it can be completed. As a first-year student, I was elected as the president of the College of Arts and Sciences at my school, the largest and most diverse school in terms of majors. I have also had the privilege to be the social media editor of the "Aviary," the all-women's magazine, and write for the school newspaper. All of this is to say, I plan to make an impact on my community by listening, speaking up, and taking action. Advocacy is something I have been passionate about since ninth grade, and I will not be letting up any time soon. As someone who has been described as "too black" or "not black enough," people look for insecurities to hurt you the most and silence your advocacy. Especially in today's political climate, you are never too young, too emotional, or "too black" to make the change you want to see in the world. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 5.19% of economics undergraduate majors are black in the U.S. While that statistic is small, it does not scare me, and it does not scare the others in this major. We know we are laying the groundwork for those who follow us. Who crave financial stability, those who want to honor their name, make a difference, inspire others. The best way to inspire the next generation is to show what is possible. So many children grow up believing they would never make it to college, to thrive in an academic space. But, by demonstrating it is possible, it is in reach, and they are worthy of greatness, we will see a greater number of BIPOC students in STEM and business based degrees.

Hello! My name is Zoe Likely, and I am from Wallingford, Pennsylvania, located just outside Philadelphia. This fall, I will be attending American University, where I will be studying International Relations and Linguistics. I hope to join the school's dance team, write for the newspaper, and participate in the networking sorority at my school, Delta Gamma. I am very interested in the sorority because I love the idea of having a sisterhood at school, specifically where we all look to lift each other professionally into fields that are typically male-dominated. My dream is to work in diplomacy, specifically as a U.S. ambassador for a country in the Americas. In the United States' current political state, Central and South America are extremely underrepresented for being our direct neighbors. I want to speak up for the people in Central and South America who could use our support and wage diplomacy between all of the nations. Working for the government in some way is a dream of mine because that is where change gets made. I want to be able to change someone's life in my job. Raising the minimum wage, reducing the cost of college tuition, and fixing housing insecurity. It excites me to see the impact of my work, and inspires people to do the same as I. One way I have supported women's empowerment is through the organization Unite For Her. Unite For Her is an organization based outside of Philadelphia that works to empower and support women struggling with breast and/or ovarian cancer. I have been involved with this organization for the past two years after my aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer. At my school, I founded the Unite for Her club, where all of the money we raised goes straight to the organization. In my junior year, when I founded the club, we raised $1,500, and in my senior year, we raised $2,500. In addition to raising money, we went and visited women in the hospital to hang out with them during chemo treatment because it is a long, grueling process. To continue women's empowerment, I plan to do small things, such as encouraging classmates to stick with careers that are male-dominated, or joining clubs all about female empowerment. At the end of the day, female empowerment starts from within. It starts with having confidence in your abilities, and not letting a man think that they are better because of the social hierarchy our society has chosen to follow.

Hard work doesn't stop when you sleep. My mother, Lisa, was on track to go to college, get a degree, work in the city, and make her mother proud. However, the price of education got in the way, and she needed to drop out after her first semester to help my grandma pay her bills. She worked two jobs, as a waitress and a maid at a hotel, waiting for an opportunity to arise. My father, Chris, dreamed of being on television. He went to community college, was able to graduate from Temple University, but found himself in a similar situation to my mom. He had left his family, worked as a cook and bartender, barely making ends meet. But they worked. Hard. They worked hard to get their children into a good school district with opportunities, finding the cheapest house they could. They put all their money towards their children. Club field hockey, basketball, Girl Scouts, anything to get their children ahead. The thing was, my parents were silent about their struggles because I was a worrier. They didn't tell me about the thousands of dollars of debt they were in because of medical bills for my grandma, for my father, for the house. Everything was always ok as long as my brother and I were happy. Once I got older, they were not as secretive, and they made jokes about it. Laughing through the pain as they sorted through bills at the dining room table, dreaming of one day winning the lottery. Until about last spring, when the topic of college came up. Neither my father nor my mother had an easy road to education. My mother got her degree this year after 30 years of taking night classes, juggling two jobs, and raising two children. I have always wanted to work as a diplomat, and throughout high school, I centered my extracurriculars around that idea. I took all of the AP history and politics classes my school offered. I worked at a think tank and with a political lobbyist. I kept my grades up so I could make a change in my family. And we made it, but there is still so much more. Despite my working two jobs, and both of my parents, we barely scratch away at the bill due on the dreaded June 22nd. We are the Likely's, but we will make it happen. Because hard work doesn't stop when you sleep. This scholarship would take a small burden off my family's plate, and help us see the light towards a better future. But no matter what, I will keep on working, my family will keep on supporting, and we will succeed.

Public speaking, for me, is like swimming in the sense that there is a high probability I would drown in water deeper than 10 feet. These are both my weakest abilities, and thankfully, I do not need to swim much. But, when I learned about the 30-point presentation in front of the whole class with a maximum of 4 notecards, I wanted floaties for an attempt at saving myself from embarrassment. What frightened me was the pity from the audience. Belligerence floated around in small bubbles, popping one by one for every stutter I made. But alas, I arrived at the board to present. The first lines went well. Then it came to explain why my podcast was related to Mice and Men, and I slowly went underwater, while my mouth could not move to speak. Twenty pairs of eyes tracked me as my foundation shook, and I was silent. My teacher tried to rescue me, her tone was steady but not soothing because I remembered I was standing in front of the smartest people I knew, looking like an idiot. My eyes were blurring from tears, and my mouth was drained of saliva. “I don’t know the rest of my speech. I cannot remember.” My teacher looked puzzled as my hands shook with crumpled-up note cards. “Stay up there, Zoe, just until the timer runs out.” So I stood, scanning the room as I felt I was drowning in my sea of tears. The next person to present had a relaxed face, as nothing could be worse than that fiasco. I took AP Seminar, embracing ambition, a dare, more accurately. I knew my abilities, yet I risked embarrassment, making a dare to myself to go beyond all limits. I worked with my teachers until I became confident in my words, like swimming lessons. My favorite childhood game was Dare or Double Dare, as it pushed limits and stimulated all types of personal growth. My relationship with public speaking is still tainted, however, I have gained the confidence to host multiple school assemblies and present to the same class I once embarrassed myself in. I honor that teacher for forcing me to stay up there, even though I cried to my guidance counselor about it approximately 45 seconds later. I needed this experience because I do not like to do things I'm not good at. I don't like to be uncomfortable. But, as I continue my studies at American University in the fall, and I engage with classmates in equally challenging political debates, I will know my voice is worth something. And when I work for the U.S. Embassy, I'll speak on behalf of the people, and not get choked up in the middle of my sentence. I still have a lot to improve in public speaking. But in a time where it seems you need to be a master to get an opportunity or to win a scholarship, it was valuable for me to understand that it is ok to be a novice, and the growth I have is most important. P.S.: Not that it matters, I’m still a terrible swimmer. So after I perfect public speaking, that’s a second priority.

My main professional goal is to become a United States diplomat focusing on human rights. Advocating for myself and others has always been an important part of my life. Advocacy is how I found who I am as a person and what I value. In school, I am the president of the Young Activist Coalition, a group of young students who advocate for those who can't in our community, and generally in our world. We hold the school's Black History Month Assembly, paint murals around the school, and hold bake sales for certain groups. In October, we sold candy bags where all of the proceeds went to breast cancer patients, and in April, we are holding a bake sale for sexual assault survivors in a shelter. We give safe spaces for students to talk about hard feelings, for example, when a student suddenly passes away at our school, or the shock of some students with the 2024 election. Leading the group has let me see the small things we do and their impact, and taught me things I will cherish forever. Outside of school, I work with the Media Fellowship House, which was originally started to support those with housing insecurity; however, now advocates for elderly protections and access to healthier foods. I am one of the volunteers who help take care of our free garden, planting seeds, pulling weeds, watering the plants, and plucking them when ripe, ready to give out to the community, or prepare for people to come and pick up. This year, I am hoping to help with the housing insecurity sector, helping people fund their housing payments, working with their loans, and supporting them in any way necessary. I live in an upper-middle-class area, so ignorantly, I don't always see people struggling. I see my own family struggle with my future college tuition, but this experience has shown me how I can't turn a blind eye to things I don't see all the time. That even in good areas, people still struggle, and still need support. Finally, this January, I worked with a group of college students to advocate for same-day voter registration in PA. I wrote senators, representatives, trying to get the bill reintroduced. After many meetings and a lack of support, the bill was reintroduced in the House and will soon make it to the Senate. This is the first time I've seen the impact my advocacy can make, and solidified what I want to do with my life. I was to make this earth as safe as possible, and these opportunities have shown me that it can happen, as long as I put in the work.