Nothing was more important to me, in the 2005-2006 school year than being selected to attend the American

Legion Auxiliarys issouri !irls "tate #rogram$ %eing selected to attend this program was important because !irls "tate was and remains the premier program &or teaching girls how go'ernment wor(s, while de'eloping leadership s(ills ) an appreciation &or your rights as a citi*en$ +t was my ,unior year in high school, and + was a -rd year cadet in the Air .orce /0123 program$ y Air .orce /0123 instructors were responsible &or selecting the &emale students that would attend$ +d been interested in this program since my &irst year o& high school, and since then + had been 'igorously building my resume$ 4owe'er, in /anuary o& 2006 the young ladies were selected to attend$ 2o my chagrin + was not included in the selection$ 5etermined to not bemoan in disappointment immediately &ollowing that school day + got in contact with the "t$ Louis 3hapter o& the American Legion$ 2wo days later + was being called into my instructors o&&ice o'er the intercom, + thought my persistence to attend had cost me dearly$ 6pon arri'ing to their o&&ices + was greeted with the good news that + was being extended the ad'antageous opportunity to attend$ y instructors commented that whome'er + contacted was adamant about me attending$ y tenacious unwillingness to not accept not being selected paid o&&$ + was hope&ul about the experience and exposure which issouri !irl "tate could possibly bring &orth$ 4owe'er, upon arri'ing + instantaneously obser'ed the underrepresentation o& %lac( girls$ + was one o& two %lac( girls in my 3ity, one o& roughly 5 in my county, and one o& roughly 75-20 throughout the entire !irls "tate #rogram &or the 2006 summer$ 2his was extremely unsettling, because though + was not alone, + &elt lonely$ + had no one that + could ethnically and or culturally relate to$ + &ound mysel& ser'ing as the spo(esperson &or the A&rican American ethnicity, by dismantling and diminishing erroneous &allacies, and answering outlandish 8uestions, such as 9do %lac( people wash their bodies with wash cloths:; or 9do blac( people eat chic(en e'ery "unday at their grandmothers house:; +n &act, &or some o& my peers at !irl "tate, + was their &irst encounter with a %lac( woman$ 2here&ore, they re'ealed unner'ing bac(ground in&ormation o& their parents and grandparents being raciest$ +n light o& these re'elations + was curious as to how this experience would conclude$ + discerned that my success in this program would be centered on my ability to remain con&ident in the abilities that !od blessed me with$ <ith this in mind, + ran &or o&&ices, de'eloped public spea(ing s(ills, created and en&orced laws, and acti'ely participated in all phases o& creating and running a wor(ing go'ernment$ <hile there + held the &ollowing positions= mayor, recreational director, and chairman o& the state council$ y in'ol'ement in this program increased my passion &or public ser'ice$ +nitially + was a bit ashamed when + thin( that + had to initiate the contact in order to be selected to attend$ Ne'ertheless, this was an opportunity that unpac(ed my strengths and allowed me to disco'er in depth a treasure that would consume my passion$ 2hat treasure is a public ser'ant leadership$ .ollowing issouri !irl "tate + continued to broaden mysel& beyond the classroom so that + might encounter more treasures$ 2he desire to become a public ser'ant, resol'ing important societal issues, continued to resonate &rom within me$ 2hus, + ser'ed as president o& both my high school ,unior and senior class$ 5uring undergrad + ser'ed on the 5illard 6ni'ersitys "tudent !o'ernment Association >xecuti'e 3ouncil, and gained experience in the &ollowing positions? parliamentarian, chaplain, 'ice president, and iss 5illard 6ni'ersity$ 2hose positions increased my (nowledge o& the critical roles that perse'erance, integrity, personal, organi*ational and ethical 'alues play in e&&ecti'e leadership$ + was also selected as a &ellow in the highly competiti'e elton .oundation 3onsortium, which + tra'eled to 3ologne !ermany, %angalore +ndia, and 4ang*hou 3hina$ + ma,ored in #olitical "cience and minored in #ublic #olicy@6rban "tudies$ + e'en strengthened my commitment to public ser'ice by wor(ing, and 'olunteering, on se'eral political and issue based campaigns$ 1n those campaigns + ha'e been responsible &or a 'ariety o& tas(s? including organi*ing, can'assing, and phone ban(s$ 1ne o& the most essential positions + ha'e held on a campaign

was campus organi*er$ +n this position + was responsible &or mobili*ing students, on the college campuses in New 1rleans, &or the 200A Louisiana !ubernatorial race$ 1ne o& the most interesting issue based campaigns +'e wor(ed on &ocused on 'oter registration in New 1rleans, Louisiana, immediately &ollowing 4urricane Batrina$ +t was my ,ob to can'ass the neighborhoods with door-to-door (noc(ing, and register citi*ens to 'ote$ 5uring my campaign experiences, + learned how common people participating in grassroots, can ha'e a direct impact on the e'ery-day decisions, and public ser'ices which a&&ect their li'es$ <hile in undergrad + also interned at 3ongressman <illiam Lacy 3lay /r$s district o&&ice in "t$ Louis, 1$ .ormer "pea(er 2ip 1Neals 8uote 9all politics are local; began to resonate with me in a more pro&ound manner$ + obser'ed the dependence constituents had &or 3ongressman 3lay$ 3onstituents came to his o&&ice to sol'e personal problems, and though he was not present his sta&&ers handled each problem with urgency, relaying the message that the person whom they ha'e entrusted this position to does indeed care$ As a result o& my undergraduate ser'ice, leadership, and academic experiences + decided to study in a dual program at "u&&ol( 6ni'ersity, earning both a asters in #ublic Administration C #AD and a asters o& "cience in #olitical "cience C "#"D$ y participation in the dual #A@ "#" has stimulated my interest in the relationship amongst strategic management, policy leadership, elected political leaders, and political accountability, in go'ernment$ 2his program has enabled me to de'elop a coherent picture o& the roles o& public administrators, and elected public o&&icials, and their core responsibilities and their ethical obligations in the policy ma(ing@ administrati'e process$ 3onse8uently, + am applying &or the 3%3. 3ongressional .ellowship$ y participation in the 3ongressional .ellowship will propel my career in the direction + desire it to go$ y dream is to become an elected public ser'ant leader$ 2hrough my dual program + ha'e also been immersed in the analytical and critical thin(ing process, which is re8uired to sol'e the complex policy and administrati'e issues &acing the &ield o& public administration has been rewarding$ +n addition, my leadership and communication s(ills ha'e been strengthened, and my aptitude &or establishing e&&ecti'e wor(ing relationships with colleagues and pro&essionals has increased$ y strengths

y ,ourney through public ser'ice was gal'ani*ed with issouri !irl "tate$ Now, A years later, + am ready to utili*e what + ha'e learned, experienced in the class room to integrate those phenomenas and course concepts in the public sector &ield$ + am ready to create public 'alue through public ser'ice$ As a result, + am applying &or a Local !o'ernment anagement .ellow$ 2his will pro'ide me with the pro&essional experience that + need in order to succeed in state and@or local go'ernment$ 5ue to my transition to graduate school ta(ing place immediately &ollowing undergrad, + ha'e no pro&essional experience in state and local go'ernment$ 2hus, this &ellowship will grant me exposure and responsibility, &or 'aluable opportunities, which will allow me to &lourish$ 2his &ellowship could also ser'e as an in'aluable lin(ing construct, &urther enabling me to achie'e the indispensable, real world experience needed &or triumphant success in the public sector$