Why I Want To Pursue A Social Justice Degree

I believe that I am a strong candidate for the Social Justice Fellowship Program because I embody a commitment to social justice and I have been able to excel academically; earning a 3.745 cumulative G.P.A., full scholarship for my senior year, dean’s lists, honors and awards recognition, and being an active change maker through leadership and service. In 2013, I earned the President’s Bronze Standard award given to me by Honorable Mwai Kibaki, the third president of Kenya, for being a young person equipped with positive life skills and a change maker in my community, country, and globally. Despite having faced challenges in my life, including the socio-economic challenges of growing up in the slums of Kariobangi South in Nairobi, Kenya; where I saw my neighbors experience a cycle of poverty and helplessly watched as friends, close relatives, and other young girls dropped out of school due to teenage pregnancy and young men becoming criminals, I have excelled academically and achieved some of my goals. The most challenging experience due to my socio-economic status was during my sophomore college year when I learned that my cousin, who was a brother to me, had been a victim of a deadly armed robbery. This experience opened my eyes to the sacrifices I was making by pursuing a higher
In those communities, I challenged child marriage while thinking up strategies for ending the practice. This experience further inspired me to continue promoting diversity, social justice, and advocating for people’s voices to be heard. Most people do not know that socially-evil practices like child marriage exist. Consequently, there is a need to raise awareness about injustices, which begins with an effort to embrace diversity and learn about other people’s