Not Another Statistic by Adrian

Not Another Statistic by Adrian - May 2022 Scholarship Essay

I had a rocky childhood. I had to decide to rise above and not be another statistic. My dad is an alcoholic and has been unemployed most of my life. He has not been around much in my life either. He and my mother never married and separated when I was only five years old. Since he did not hold a steady job, he was unable to provide child support funds nor any other means of financial assistance. My mother only has a GED which limits her jobs and income. She also enjoyed partying while I was a child because she was a younger mother. Nights when she would go out, my sister and I would either stay with friends or hold the fort down ourselves. Since she was only able to hold part time work, making ends meet was a difficult process. My childhood experience helped instill a fire in me to do something and be something different than my parents and my family members. I made a plan that would not only bring me out of poverty and an adverse environment, but a plan that would also get others out of those same outcomes too.

Along my journey towards social success, there is one volunteer opportunity I did that has always stood out to me. It was a volunteer opportunity to mentor a group of five male teenagers in one of Memphis's low income communities. As I was painting a vision for my mentees, I could see my words just bouncing around the room. I stopped and asked if things made sense. One responded, "Yes, but we are just trying to survive until the next day." Why was no one standing up for them? This is a sad reality faced by youths all over our nation. Their experience reminded me of my childhood and how my parents could not be there for me to provide the best opportunity for me to thrive and succeed. This mentorship experience will always be a moment I go back to, to remind myself why I want a career in law and social justice.

My plan to do this starts with creating a firm once I graduate with my J.D. that has operations in private equity, advocacy, and public relations. The mission is a holistic approach to social success. The firm will invest in projects that bring value to communities, lobby for legislation that creates equity for all, build awareness for the need to focus on communal success, and create a culture of social impact through messaging. Simply investing in projects is not enough when the political climate is failing the community. Likewise, waiting for Congress but having no agenda to educate the public, has no momentum towards awareness and action. My firm will tackle each area to approach the issues in a multitude of directions.

The greatest part of my plan is that my career will build my resume for my candidacy for President of the United States. Congressman and governors often tout a resume of community development and getting legislation passed. As a private equity firm that lobbies, we will be doing both of those. Not only that, but we will also work directly with the public to revitalize communities and improve lives. My focus would be on education, income, and opportunity. Education policy will help many of the issues societies face because education opens the door to success. Income policy should include more than just higher wages but also financial literacy and policy that helps to further the purchasing power of people. This accomplishment would be the ultimate way to demonstrate to the world how to improve societies and serve everyone. My focus would be on education, income, and opportunity.

Our purpose while we are alive is to give back and help when we can. I have always wanted to be a part of community development but this experience made my passion even stronger because the need is great. There are many underserved communities that are waiting on relief and resources. I want to be in a position where I can directly invest and impact the community. I want to lead change initiatives in the areas that I care most about and bring effective policy to all communities. With a servant mentality and a duty to enhance the quality of life for all, I will be in a position to bring progress for generations to come.