Aspirations I have for the upcoming school year and what motivates me to achieve them? by Aliyah

Aspirations I have for the upcoming school year and what motivates me to achieve them? by Aliyah - August 2025 Scholarship Essay

What excites me most about communication, journalism and emerging media is getting to interview big writers and their point of view of things. The impact of media and communication is very important to me because I feel without it I wouldn't know what would be going on around the world, and it's important to know what's going on especially in your community. With journalism I get the chance to have my voice being put out there on a story that could be overlooked and as a teenager and a young African American woman, and I get the opportunity to share my voice in the community as I'm sharing my story to other people. Having the chance to interview a writer and writing a story makes me feel listened to because they took the time out of their day to get interviewed by a kid who knows nothing about journalism and is trying to write a story about them and the stories that they cover. What I've learned from most writers I've interviewed is that they push stories out there that are overlooked and more people should look into it. What I can learn from these writers is that you have to be strategic in the questions that you are asking and get into as much depth as you can to get the story that you want. I can learn a bigger perspective when they share a side to the story that nobody has shared when publishing the story.

Coming from a background growing up with caucasian people and mostly being the only black person in my classroom setting, and leadership groups, I know I could be bringing something to the table. Having perspectives that aren't seen or thought of I can bring that to the campus community. I'll be able to connect more when I see other people of black and brown skin and make sure people who would like the opportunity to have a voice get that chance because I know what that feels like being the only black kid in a white setting and being overlooked.