Personal Narrative-Gender Stereotypes

Achieving a higher education is a dream of mine. I am not your traditional college student I am thirty-one, African American female and a mother of a six year old son. Coming from a family that has little means, the thought of attempting to go to college was farfetch, something that was merely impossible to achieve. I am the second person in my family to achieve a high school diploma and the first to attend college. Growing up in Oakland Ca in a neighborhood that others seen as impoverished I called home and treated it as such. I knew my neighborhood had the possibilities of being great. I was aware of the stereotypes that was placed upon me and I decided to fight these stereotypes, by going outside of the frame of societal norms. With in my

As well as paving a way for others and sharing my gain knowledge. With hopes of equipping others with the tools to navigate the system that is often times building against them. Being told by society that because of my age, race and the labeling of being a single parent I’m expected to not achieve much. My study abroad can allow me to push others like myself to not allow these societal labels to dictate how far you can push yourself.

I hope to be able to equip myself to get a better understanding of possible ways of making a social change, in my community and abroad.

I have faced some challenges in my decision to study abroad one being finances the second being a single parent. I believe this experience is something I can share with my son in hopes of inspiring him to dream big and continue on a path of growth. I believe this experience can also allow me to become more prepared for my professional goal of becoming a college counselor. I look forward in helping college students map out their academic goals, this experience I believe can expose me to the many different cultural groups that I will meet during my career as a college counselor.

The impact of receiving the Gilman Scholarship would allow me to further my goals of exposure to new cultures and social issues. Also allowing me to gather the knowledge I will gain for my future career in counseling. I have a deep passion for social change. I believe that one should be equipped and well cultured to be able to understand the communities that you will serve. Receiving the Gilman Scholarship will allow me to go beyond the box that society had placed me and, thus allowing me to be more prepared for my future career, in hope of inspiring