Category: Scholarship

I chose healthcare administration because it was a natural calling for me. Early on I wanted to be a nurse; however I learned quickly that hands on clinical care was not my strong suit. I enjoy the healthcare field and wanted to help people. Growing up in New York City in Spanish Harlem, the choices were limited in my neighborhood. My mother always told me that if I put my mind to it, there wasn’t anything I couldn’t accomplish. I believed her and worked very hard in school.

I witnessed incredible acts of violence during high school. I wanted to do something for others, since this is what made me feel good. I was raised by a single parent. I knew that college was an option, but how we would pay for college was a mystery. I left to serve my country not knowing what I wanted to do as a career, the only thing I had been motivated by was that my uncle went to medical school and became a doctor. This inspired me to work hard and dream BIG. In my first duty assignment, I had a great leader. He pushed me to do and be my very best. He would always say “I see something great in you”. Although at times I could not see this in myself.

When things got tough, as they sometimes did being the only female in my position, I would look for ways to accomplish my goals without sacrificing quality. I knew I wanted to be a good example to others. My exposure to healthcare administration while serving my country was what I needed. I knew this was a career that would allow me to assist clinicians, patients and their family members. I would be able to help people. This was just what I was looking for. I was amazed as to the many options in this field I had. I have been enjoying working as a Health Information Manager. The great mentors I have encountered always encouraged me while challenging me. They challenged me to go to school and earn my degree. I did begin while in the service, however had to place my personal goals on hold since on-line classes weren’t even heard of. I knew I needed to go back to school and achieve a goal I put on hold.

I am a veteran and a military spouse. I have three daughters that are also proudly serving their country. I wanted to lead by example and show them that mom will work hard besides them as they accomplish their dreams of a college degree. Achieving my BS in Healthcare administration will allow me to help others accomplish their educational goals. I want to be an educator of Healthcare Administration. I want to motivate those that cross my path and push them to search inside themselves and find the strength to accomplish a goal and become what they set out to become. I want to give back.

DiversityJobs.com’s scholarship program for diversity and minority students is proud to announce Mayra Solomon as one of the seven finalists for its August 2012 application deadline.  Vote for her essay (Facebook ‘Like’ and other social media sharing options in left column), and/or leave comments of support to help us with the selection process.

“How did you choose your major?” This is a question I am asked on a daily basis, as my choice of interests seems to puzzle all those around me. None can fathom why a quarter Mexican, Indian, Italian, and German student would Double Major in Middle Eastern Studies and Peace and Conflict Studies, minoring in Arabic. My peers query, “you are not Jewish of Muslim or Israeli or Arab, so why do you care?” To be honest, answering my skeptics has been one of the greatest challenges I have had to overcome in this field — a field where everyone is certain I do not belong.

The truth of the matter is, I cannot pinpoint where this love-affair with the Middle East began. It may have its origins in my Christian religious ties to the Holy Land, or the Sunday mornings watching Fareed Zakaria with my father, or my 11th grade research papers on Islamophobia and Palestinian refugees. Or it may have been a convergence of a number of factors over time, but it eventually resulted in the knowledge that I would one day be working towards peace and diplomacy in the region. However, this answer lacks the striking epiphany or life-changing story that would soothe my critics, so I have come to realize that the best way to quell disbelief is through action.

I knew that I wanted to reach fluency in Arabic, Hebrew, and Farsi, so I began Rosetta Stone and just completed my first two semesters of my Arabic minor. I developed a deeply convicted interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and founded and presided over the Olive Tree Initiative at Berkeley. In this step, my racial diversity and ambiguity became an asset rather than an obstacle, as I was seen as an unbiased, unaffiliated leader capable of working with the Arab and Jewish communities on campus. Thus, I garnered the legitimacy and authority to unite students of all creeds and backgrounds, and this summer, I will be leading an interfaith group of UC students to the Middle East. On this three-week diplomatic and educational program to Israel and the West Bank, I will have the opportunity to work with the experts and top-political leaders in my field, learning and leading students with different perspectives but a shared passion. However, my journey will not end there.

I plan to use the opportunities afforded me to study Arabic intensively in Lebanon or Egypt next summer, intern at a peace organization in the region, and research for my Middle Eastern Studies thesis. Most importantly, however, graduating from UC Berkeley with my degree will open up doors for graduate school and my career path in Middle East foreign service. Perhaps I will be the next Susan Rice or Hilary Clinton, or the diplomat to craft the next Oslo Accords. Wherever the future leads, I know I will be pursuing my passion, making a difference, and proving to the world that my diversity is not a detriment, but a gift. 

DiversityJobs.com’s scholarship program for diversity and minority students is proud to announce Shannon Thomas as one of the seven finalists for its August 2012 application deadline. Vote for her essay (Facebook ‘Like’ and other social media sharing options in left column), and/or leave comments of support to help us with the selection process.

Everybody knows most children will change their career goal many times. In that case I would say I was fairly average, but it could be said otherwise judging from the various careers that I chose. The first one I can remember, from when I was five years old, was a firefighter. I specifically wanted to be the one driving the back of the fire engine. I know this surprised my parents because all they thought of when they saw me was their curly-haired baby girl. Throughout my childhood and even into my teenage years, I considered becoming a pediatrician, a writer, a pastor, a businesswoman, and a teacher, just to name a few.

I was not absolutely sure of what I should be but what I was sure of is that I would never consider my gender or ethnicity when deciding what I was going to become. Just before beginning college I finally discovered that I was made to become a dietician. One thing would stand in my way but I chose to pursue this career with all diligence because I hope that it will one day bear much significance in the lives of others. 

At the end of my eleventh grade year, my parents and I made the tough choice to change our eating habits. Over the course of the following year I lost about forty pounds, but gained something much more important. I developed a deep passion for helping others change their health in the same way that I did. I came to believe that nutrition is one of the most important factors in living up to our full potential because it has one of the biggest influences on our ability to function in everyday life. It is no secret that the typical American diet has caused obesity rates to soar, along with diet-related illnesses like heart disease and diabetes.

By the end of my twelfth grade year, I thought about this quite often, and how much my own life had changed. I felt an urgency to do something to help improve the health of other people. I finally knew that I wanted to become a dietitian. The problem was that I had already made the choice to attend UC Santa Cruz for college, and a degree related to nutrition was not offered there. Over the next academic year I struggled to find somewhere else to attend. I applied to UC Davis, and was not admitted. This brought down my hopes until I discovered at the beginning of my sophomore year at UC Santa Cruz that Pepperdine University offers a degree in Nutritional Sciences. I was far beyond happy to be admitted for the Spring 2012 semester. To me, earning a degree in Nutrition will mean that I will be able to serve the lives others in a way which will help them live longer and stronger, and help them achieve what perhaps they did not think possible before. 

DiversityJobs.com’s scholarship program for diversity and minority students is proud to announce Adrienne Rodriguez as one of the seven finalists for its August 2012 application deadline. Vote for her essay (Facebook ‘Like’ and other social media sharing options in left column), and/or leave comments of support to help us with the selection process.

I chose Criminal Justice as my major. I grew up in Compton California and saw many of my peers fall to peer pressure. I on the other hand grew up with a mother that showed me that discipline, responsibility, and structure was the way to go. As I began to grow older, I realize that some of the traits I saw were generational.  Many people make the misconception that if you’re a teenager or adult a person is supposed to automatically know what behaviors are correct and acceptable to society. Yes there are laws that instruct people the dos and don’ts of society. Well this misconception is incorrect.

Many children growing up mimic the behaviors that are seen in and around the home. If your family members were involved in gangs, stealing, and selling drugs all your life, would you think that this is not normal behavior? A young child learns from what they see and if this behavior has been glorified then for them it is the right way to live, until they wind up in prison to say the least. Just as babies don’t know how to act until they are taught, youth and unstructured adults are the same. We as society need to look into our hearts and have a little understanding for those that has not been taught proper ways of living and share knowledge with those that have a feeling of hopelessness.

I would like to make a difference and show young people and adults that there is another way to live no matter what kind of upbringing they have had or neighborhood they have grown up in. My grandmother always taught me it is not where you come from, but where you plan to go and how far your dreams can take you. Through my degree in Criminal Justice I would like to be an encouraging figure to the lives that I can touch. I would like to be the voice that can give youth and wayward adults another way of thinking, acting, and dreaming. 

I have overcome many obstacles in my life. Raising 3 sons as a single parent and being laid off my job, just to name a few has been difficult. Returning to school at 38 years of age has been an obstacle in itself. I didn’t know if I could keep up with younger students that have just finished high school, but I studied twice as hard and my children are proud of me and most of all I am proud of myself. To complete my dream of a college degree would be a remarkable accomplishment, not only to me and my children, but to my parents who did not attend college.

DiversityJobs.com’s scholarship program for diversity and minority students is proud to announce Shondra Celestine as one of the seven finalists for its August 2012 application deadline. Vote for her essay (Facebook ‘Like’ and other social media sharing options in left column), and/or leave comments of support to help us with the selection process.

There is nothing more rewarding than witnessing children gain a love for learning.  The ability to teach young ones and instill values and lessons that will make them fully capable to handle the challenges of the real world is a rewarding accomplishment for any educator.  Educators make a difference by inspiring students and helping them unlock their own dreams to make them a reality.  Teaching will allow me to express my creativity and autonomy each day.  I hope to become one of those dedicated teachers that I reflect on when I was in school.  I have has a few teachers who taught me valuable life lessons that have made me a hard-working person today.

My greatest inspiration for becoming a teacher is my mother.  She has been an educator for more than 30 years, first as an emotional-behavior disorder (EBD) teacher and currently as a Kindergarten Early Intervention Program (EIP) teacher.  I have seen her nurture her students and set higher standards for them than they had for themselves.  Despite normal classroom struggles and complications that emerged, at the end of the each school year my mother noticed their academic and social growth.  She once told me that it was amazing to observe where students began at the onset of the school year compared to how far they advanced towards the end.  That progress brings her fulfillment and keeps her excited and optimistic about the next crop of students she hopes to instill the love of learning.

After graduating high school, I had a hard time getting my life on track.  Although I enrolled in college, I dropped out a year into my program after my relationship with my parents deteriorated.  We had a hard time seeing eye to eye on the direction of my life and ended up in serious emotional and financial distress.  I moved out of their household and six months later, I found myself pregnant and alone.  I reached a point where I wanted to give up and lost all faith in myself.  However, by asking God to give me that strength I needed to push forward, I reconciled with my family and began to make healthy choices.  I was able to secure a paraprofessional position with my mother’s school district and gain a true passion for teaching.  Now, there is nothing more I desire than to graduate with my Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Elementary Education.  I have one year left in fulfilling the first part of my goal.

As a future educator, my dream is to instill in my students a love for learning so they will strive to become lifelong learners.  I have a passion for teaching and I love working with students in hopes that they gain a passion for learning.  My goal as a future educator is to offer the best opportunity available to ensure that my students enjoy learning and become productive members of society.

DiversityJobs.com’s scholarship program for diversity and minority students is proud to announce LaToya Samuel as one of the seven finalists for its August 2012 application deadline.  Vote for her essay (Facebook ‘Like’ and other social media sharing options in left column), and/or leave comments of support to help us with the selection process.

When it comes to social and environmental justice, I have a personal responsibility to represent those who are socially and politically underrepresented. Through majoring in Urban Studies, I have committed my life to understanding the theory behind urban issues and more importantly applying practice to that theory in order to contribute to radical societal change.

My decision to major in Urban Studies followed my experience as an employee for the City of San Jose. I worked for the Department of Parks and Recreation as a youth program coordinator and recreational leader. I worked in low-income neighborhoods in San Jose during a time of economic downturn. This resulted in great disinvestment of our city’s youth. I witnessed first-hand the struggle of vulnerable adolescents who were left without afterschool programs that would keep them away from neighborhood violence and peer pressure. The lack of creative space available for young people to express themselves in positive ways aggravated me. The financial decrease in programs that ultimately influence youth to contribute positively to society made me feel strongly about the need for urban change. I knew that a degree in Urban Studies would provide me with skills in city planning, environmental design, urban poverty reform, education, political economics and other subjects that would help me contribute to systemic change.

Through my job with the City of San Jose, I was more than just a recreational leader. I grew in my skills as a personal mentor to desperate youth. Many of the teens that I worked with felt comfortable with me because I could relate to them through my own experience as an adolescent. Like many of today’s youth, I was raised by a single mother in a low-income household. Because my mom was always working multiple jobs, her absence from the household led me to be very independent. As an adolescent with too much independence, I found myself involved in irresponsible situations. It has by personal experiences in addition to my professional experiences that have driven me academically. It is easy for me to understand why much of today’s youth struggle academically and the root of the problem stems from socio-economic inequalities. When I complete my undergraduate degree, I plan to continue my education in the field of urban studies at the graduate level. I have been motivated through my experience with these issues to contribute to reforming these inequalities through my achievement in higher level education.

DiversityJobs.com’s scholarship program for diversity and minority students is proud to announce Leilah Moeinzadeh as one of the seven finalists for its August 2012 application deadline. Vote for her essay (Facebook ‘Like’ and other social media sharing options in left column), and/or leave comments of support to help us with the selection process.