Money is a very important component to getting a good secondary education. Some may argue that it is a substantial factor to receiving any type of education. The StraightFoward Media Law Enforcement Scholarship award will go towards purchasing books and covering fees that are added to my financial account after tuition has been added. By attaining this money it will give me peace of mind because I will have less to worry about. I will not have to be troubled as to whether or not I will be dropped from my classes because of an unpaid fee or be concerned about going to class or taking a class and not having the proper material needed. If I receive this award, it will help me take the first steps needed in order to reach my goal of receiving a degree in criminology and later moving onto the NYPD.

Growing up in the streets of New York, one can be exposed to a considerable amount of mishaps. At the young age of 8 years old, I had already witnessed numerous robberies, highway pursuits, gang related crimes and drug trafficking. As a child, I was starting to get accustomed to such scenarios until my family and I left the city and moved to the suburbs of Florida. My parents believed they were placing my sister and me in a better and much safer environment, and in a way this was true. There may not have been juveniles committing crimes outside our home, but crime was still present. Its existence was covert, and it was always visible through television news reports or movies.

As I got older I watched many of my high school friends throw their lives away. Several got involved in gangs and took part in rapes and robberies; while others turned to selling drugs as a quick source of cash. Witnessing such things happening always held a part of my interest. I wondered why people turned to crime. Was it something psychological or biological? Were people not scared of the consequences of their actions? Being exposed to crime at such a young age, it was only natural for me to have an intuitive attraction to crime and the criminal justice system. When I entered college it was quite simple for me to choose a major. It was a relief not to check that "undecided box" because I knew exactly what I wanted to do and that was attain a degree in criminology in order to work in law enforcement.

After graduating college and obtaining my masters in criminology I plan on moving back to New York and working for the New York Police Department (NYPD). My main objective is to work with juvenile delinquents. A large part of my generation has already given up on themselves. I look to the coming generations and see so much potential. I want them to know that they have the ability to be anything they want to be and as long as they are driven, anything is possible. The main contribution I would make to the world is to try and clear up the streets of adolescent crimes. I would go about doing this by being interactive with the community, holding education seminars and taking part in extra curricular activities after school. I hope this will cut down on crime committed by teenagers and allow them to know that they have options. Turning to a life of crime and drugs is not the wisest idea and definitely not their only choice.

I think the main reason children resort to criminal behavior is because they have no one to guide them, and they think no one cares. By becoming an NYPD officer I hope that it will change this mentality, and they will know that they will always have someone to turn to.