Personal Essay: Single-Parenting

Like approximately 72% of African American children in the United States, I was raised in a single-parent household. While most people view this as a disadvantage, I saw it as a motivating reason to strive to achieve success. According to statistics, I should be underprivileged, unmotivated, and deemed to be unsuccessful due to a lack of resources and guidance that two-parent households universally provide. To the contrary, because of my nurturing and positive upbringing I have overcome many challenges and achieved tremendous success thus far. In many ways it was my single parent upbringing that has given me some of the most vital that distinguish me as a leader who can contribute to diversity at JPMorgan Chase.

According to statistics, I should be emotionally weak and suffer from feelings of abandonment, however it was these feelings of abandonment that taught me most to honor relationships. Knowing the feeling of exclusion triggers my passion to be inclusive. This love for relationships prompted my current involvement in organizations such as Georgia Daze where I encourage minorities to attend the University of Georgia, and the Black Educational Support Team where I serve as a mentor for diverse freshmen once they commit. I
relate with these students, as it is easy to feel forgotten at a large institution as a minority student. Therefore I make it my goal to be that reliable reference for anything they experience academically or personally.

At an early age I learned to take responsibility to make up for the absence of my father. This experience taught me how to assume positions of responsibility and become a leader. I emphasized my leadership roles in high school as the president of the Key Club and Vice President of my senior class. I continue to exhibit leadership, as I am the Programming Chair for the Black Educational Support Team and a Head Coach for Math Counts. I flourish as a leader because of the motivation that my mother instilled in me. The home that she fostered was one of ambition and achievement. It was always my goal to make my mother happy and aware that her efforts were not aimless.

Using my desires to prove statistics invalid and compose my own narrative, I have always targeted to exceed traditional standards.
Constantly exercising my wits, my personal heritage has taught me to always academically want for more. Since starting college, I have challenged myself to take courses that required me to think critically and leverage my natural abilities. My ambition for higher learning continues as I take advantage of opportunities to learn more about various industries and the business world in general. Some people attempt to erase their personal heritage or even wish they could alter it. However, I use my personal heritage to fuel my passion to invest in my skills and give back to my campus and the surrounding
community.