Biography

I am a 20-year old junior Political Science and Communication Studies double major with a minor in Economics at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in Ewing, New Jersey. Within my Communication Studies major, I have a concentration in Public and Mass Communication. From 2008 to 2009 I served a one year term with the domestic Peace Corps, AmeriCorps. At TCNJ, I am a Bonner Community Scholar. The Bonner Foundation partners with colleges and universities around the country and give service based scholarships to a select number of students. Bonner Scholars at TCNJ are required to complete a minimum of 300 community service hours in the Trenton, New Jersey area per school year, attend various trainings and conferences, and keep a certain GPA in order to receive the scholarship and remain in the program.

As a Bonner Scholar at TCNJ, I focus mainly on the issue of homelessness. I do most of my service at the Trenton Salvation Army where I teach a Life Skills: Job Readiness course to adults. The course consists of teaching basic computer skills, resume writing, interviewing skills, etc. The ultimate goal of the class is for each student to find employment. Several times a month the Salvation Army runs a youth program where I do activities and crafts with homeless children. I also participate in the Mobile Feeding Unit that the Salvation Army does. We prepare food and drive into the poorest of neighborhoods in Trenton and distribute hot meals to all those that need one. I also have an interest in urban education and I have the pleasure of tutoring and mentoring children at an afterschool program held at Hedgepeth-Williams Elementary School in Trenton.

My passion for service and helping others has opened my eyes to see the career in which I am called. This past summer I was fortunate enough to go on a service trip to Nicaragua with a non-profit organization called Witness for Peace. Doing service in a poor urban area such as Trenton during the school year is a lot to handle, but nothing could have prepared me for what was to come during my three week adventure in Nicaragua. I saw the unimaginable, people living in trash dumps, houses made out of cardboard and plastic, and people desperate to get the attention of their government. At this moment, a fire was lit; I realized my calling.

It was undeniable that my passion was for human rights and activism. After graduating from TCNJ I plan to go to law school and pursue a career in human rights law. I hope to never lose the spark to help others I felt when I saw my fellow humans living in such extreme poverty and no one doing anything to help. I hope I never lose the inspiration I received when talking with the Nicaraguan people. And I hope to never forget how blessed I am that I’m in a position with the power to help others.