Over the past 12 years, I have learned the nuances and coping skills to lead a successful life latent with hardship and adversity. When my mom got the call my father passed in 2006 due to gun violence, my life took an unexpected turn.  Losing my father was an experience because not only did I lose someone who played a big role in my life but it completely changed my priorities, goals, and college plans. I long dreamed of being inducted into the infamous network of Trojans by attending the University of Southern California (USC). My mother couldn’t afford to send me there on one income therefore,  I decided to focus my efforts on more affordable schools, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The more I learned about HBCUs while on my college journey, I learned that I am not settling for less by not pursuing USC. With each acceptance to an HBCU, I am moving closer to joining a community that is dedicated to my success. In the fall, I will be attending Clark Atlanta University, majoring in social work. I am committed to social work so that I can support families with similar experiences as mine. I want to be able to educate families on how to protect their futures and the importance of having life insurance.

Not having life insurance to cover expenses associated with my father’s passing has changed the trajectory of my and my mom’s lives, leaving us in debt that I can ultimately inherit. The impact of not having insurance was stressful because my mom and I didn’t have time to mourn my dad’s passing. We had to put grieving energy into paying for the funeral while still trying to pay bills. Today, we still struggle. Covering basic needs presents a challenge each month, and pursuing certain financial goals seems impossible right now. Though a college education is a necessity, I cannot incur more debt to add to the overwhelming pile therefore, part of my work experience is applying for scholarships to fund my education so that one day, I can take care of my mom and my community.

I have worked odd jobs since I was 10 years old, doing whatever I could to lighten the load on my mom’s shoulders. Mowing lawns and raking leaves were my first jobs. More recently, I’ve worked at Compton City Hall, a convenience store, a restaurant, and the Youth WorkSource Center in the last 4 years, ever since I’ve been legally able to work. These jobs have helped me support my mother by taking care of myself so she has one less responsibility. But I’ve also had the chance to explore careers and find my purpose. Even in school, I did well in my job, knowing that it would lead to a better life one day.

My father’s passing has created hardship but I also acknowledge all the ways I have grown. As my dad’s legacy, I intend to create a mentorship program for young boys growing up in gang-heavy areas, low-income areas, and areas where juveniles are arrested the most. The goal of the mentorship program is to let young boys know that just because you live in a certain place doesn’t mean you have to be a product of your environment.

Tuesday, November 23, 2021, is the day that forever changed my life.  That morning, as I was waking up in Prague, Nebraska to catch the bus to school, a family member called me unexpectedly. She came over, picked my brother and me up, and told us the worst words I could ever imagine: that our mom was killed in a car accident in Omaha early that morning. Our mom was 37 years old and had been working as a newspaper delivery driver for the Omaha World Herald. A car ran a red light at an intersection and collided with the car she was riding in. She died at the scene, and the person who caused the accident has never been found.

The accident changed my life in an instant.  We had to move out of our house in Prague, move in with our dad in Omaha, into a one-bedroom apartment, and leave our high school, dogs, friends, and everything else behind. The transition was totally sudden, shocking, and outside of my control.

I am in my final semester at Burke High School in Omaha.  Burke is actually the third high school I have attended.  I started at Westside High School, also in Omaha, during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns when classes were conducted virtually. When we moved to Prague in 2021, I had to transfer to East Butler High School. It took time to make new friends and adjust to attending high school in-person. Just as I started to get comfortable at East Butler, the accident happened, and I had to transfer again.

In the two years since the accident, I have had to work part-time, up to about 34 hours per week during the school year, at an ice cream shop and daycare near my home. At the ice cream shop, I am a shift lead and am fully responsible for running the store independently.  I enjoy this leadership position and am given more and more responsibilities by the store owner. At the daycare, I care for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. 

I am planning to study psychology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. After obtaining my bachelor’s degree, I plan to continue my education and obtain a master’s or doctorate degree in social work or counseling. Then, once licensed, my goal is to provide to others the same solace that my own physical and mental healthcare providers have provided to me.

My mom died without any life insurance coverage. As our family’s primary provider, we were planning that she would continue to provide a large part of my financial support during college. Without her support and without life insurance, I have had to devote most of my free time to working my two part-time jobs. During college, that will continue, and I will have to continue to work to afford tuition and life necessities. In short, my mom’s death without life insurance has caused me to divert much of my time and attention to working instead of studying.

October 15, 2012, my entire world was shaken up.  As a 7-year-old little girl the day started normal, I enjoyed my morning car rides to school with my mom and grandmother.  Around noon, I was called to the principal’s office and greeted by my grandmother and my aunt.  They both had the look of devastation on their face. They had been crying, they appeared angry.  I was taken into the principal office with my grandmother, aunt, and school guidance counselor.  It was then that they told me the devastating news that my mother had been murdered in our home.  My seven-year-old brain was trying to process this information.

My entire earth had been shattered.  I was my mother’s only daughter, she was my entire world, my best friend.  What would I do without her?  It was later that day that I found out that my father was the person that murdered my mom.

And just like that I lost both of my parents in the same day.  My life changed instantly in the blink of an eye. My grandmother had to adjust to this new life where she had not only witnessed the murder of her daughter, but she was left to raise her five children.  My mother was a young and vibrant 27-year-old woman with five children.  She always taught us how important it was to go to college to get an education, that education was the key to success.  When my mother passed away, she didn’t have life insurance.  My siblings and myself had to move in with my grandmother who was on a fixed income. Four years after my mother passed away, my grandmother would pass away in her sleep while I slept in the bed next to her.  For the second time, my life was shattered.

Being that my mom didn’t have life insurance and there was no money saved and there was no money for college funds, or to help pay bills. If my mom had a life insurance policy, then my grandmother could have placed money aside for my college education. I knew that if I wanted to go to college, I would have to work to save money and take out loans to pay for my college education.

I have worked hard all my junior and senior year of high school to have money for my college education and to help my siblings out.  I have been saving my paychecks so that my education is not a burden on my family.  My goal is to attend TSU and major in Biology and purse a career in medicine. I wish I could have saved my mother’s life. I want to focus on a career as an Obstetrician and Gynecologist.  Although a precious life was taken from me, I want to be a blessing to help bring a life into the world.  Although I know that is not always possible, but to be able to save just one life will be a blessing to another.

The death of a mother can be life altering for any family, especially for a young girl. On April 19, 2015, my mother was killed by a drunk driver which left my family in shambles. As my mother struggled to pay for rent before she passed, it became almost impossible for my grandmother to pay for rent and support my brother and I. As a 8 year old, I felt useless for not knowing how to support my grandmother after seeing her break down multiple times after my mothers passing. My mother had no adequate life insurance coverage so my grandmother relied on her social security which was not sustainable enough to live. After being evicted, my family splitting apart, and having extended family support, my grandmother and I were left to live in motels and barely had enough food to survive. If my mother had adequate life insurance coverage, I would have grown up in a household that was calm, consistent, and loving. But, instead I needed to grow up fast because ultimately I am alone and as heart wrenching as it is, I need to financially and emotionally support myself.

After years of seeing my grandmother struggle on her own, I started working during my freshman year at my uncle’s company as a manual labor worker. Working at this job was challenging due to the physical intensity and in addition enduring constant insults due to being a young girl working in a “man’s job”. Later on during my junior year of high school, I met a friend who introduced me to photography. We worked together on learning photography skills and volunteered in many school activities to take photos. This encouraged me to start working in photography part time to gain experience. Both of these work opportunities have allowed me to provide for my grandmother to take some of the financial burden off of my grandmother. Working also allowed me to learn how to save for my future college education.

The loss of my mother impacted my college plans because I have no financial support to afford to attend college. Living each month, since I was 8 years old from paycheck to paycheck, being able to have financial support from my grandmother is impossible. This scholarship means the world to me because I will be given the opportunity to attend college and make a difference. Having counseling myself, I’m inspired to be a counselor and study psychology at University of San Diego so I can support children like me who have lost their parents and need emotional support. I have maintained over a 4.0 grade point average and will be graduating at the top of my class because I want to build a future for myself to support others in need and this scholarship is my way to that future.