The Youth Court Program by Elizabeth

The Youth Court Program by Elizabeth - December 2019 Scholarship Essay

My family has always been incredibly supportive of me in all that I do. Because my family has always demonstrated their love for me, I was blind to the fact that not everyone receives that kind of support or that type of love. Attending a public school, I became more aware of the family heartbreak that went on around me and everything began to make sense. The negative emotional luggage my peers carried, caused them to inflict that pain and anger not only upon me but to everyone around them. I have witnessed my peers go to court cases for their parents' divorce, struggle with child custody concerns, and watch their families being torn apart as they go from one foster home to another. Witnessing this in other peoples’ lives broke my heart, but it also deepened my appreciation for my parents who worked hard to bring me to America.
As a first-generation American college student, it inspires me to think about my future and the countless opportunities I will have to share with others. Realizing all of this helped me shape my idea of what I wanted to contribute not only to my community but to the world. When I entered high school, I took on many leadership roles, including but not limited to, junior and senior class president, leading global cultural diversity -- a club that embraces cultural differences through understands that differences are what make us special and the similarities are what make us human. Although all of these leadership roles have incredible impacted my life, none had a greater impact on me than the Youth Court Diversion Program, this is a program in which the youth are sentenced by their peers for minor offenses. This program provides a second chance for many youths, as it also “harnesses positive peer pressure and utilize it in a peer judgment setting to help address delinquents” (National Criminal Justice Reference Service, 2009). When I began helping out with teen court, I thought about the responsibilities I had. I was in a position to help other kids just like me who happened to have made a mistake. Getting to work in a courtroom with my peers was also an incredible opportunity. I gained full confidence in a young person's ability to make a change. To me, it was a place for second chances, for justice, and for the smallest of voices to be heard. Being apart of this program helped me spread awareness in my community that the youth just need guidance, and someone to believe they are capable of change.
The state of America and an individual’s predispositions towards an American dream are dreary and disheartening. We live in a time with extreme partisanship and thus ineffective policy making. I wish to be able to create effective policy making after my education. I believe that being an individual who is infatuated with a vision, I will have the opportunity to positively contribute to any community I am apart of. However, my impact will not stop within my community, it will expand into the state of Kansas and one day the nation. It is commonly forgotten, that oftentimes the most effective change comes from adversity. Thus, dreaming big despite the challenges continues to be a rule of mine. I aspire to earn a J.D in family law at an amazing law school, and work at a thriving law firm in America. My calling for family law also came in recognizing how incredibly powerful it is to be an African American woman with an educational tool that can make a difference. Knowing not every child is fought for in the way that I was, cements my love for the concept of family. I hope one day, I will inspire In a similar way that teen court pushed and inspired me. I dream to be a role model for my children, who pushed and believed in myself despite the adversity I faced.