I was very active in the Veg Society of DC children’s playgroup, which my mother founded in 2010. I helped come up with ideas for activities and plan picnics, holiday parties, baking classes, movie nights, restaurant outings, ice skating, and more. Since I was one of the only children in the group that was vegan from birth and one of the oldest, I assisted the other children with how to navigate being the only vegan or vegetarian at school.
When my aunt started her non-profit organization, Vegan Ingenuity, I created the logo for her brand. I also collaborated with her on ways to reach her goal of getting 10 million black women worldwide to eat more plant-based food. I facilitated zoom meetings that included hundreds of participants and featured speakers. For the past five years, I have helped at book talks, conferences, and festivals. The ones that stand out most are the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco, a book talk at the Book Larder bookstore in Seattle, WA, Vegan Soulfest in Baltimore, MD, the Farm Sanctuary Hoe Down, and of course the DC Vegfest. At festivals I help set up booths and answer questions. I also helped to implement new technology to facilitate easy sign-in for 10MBVW (10 Million Black Vegan Women campaign).
I co-founded the food committee at my high school. Dublin, like most schools, struggles with finding the best meals to offer students who are vegetarian and vegan. As a food committee member, as well as student-government vice-president, I advocate for better vegan and vegetarian options for students and teachers. Collaborating with kitchen staff, I work to create menus and brainstorm meal ideas. This work has been both challenging and rewarding. Unexpectedly, I also gained more respect for the kitchen staff because I witnessed firsthand how hard they work to provide food for so many people.
I plan to attend Occidental College. My focus will be on environmental and climate justice. I’m concerned that so many people in the U.S. and beyond don’t have access to clean water, soil and air, largely due to factory farming, monocrops for animals, and the corporatization of daily necessities. After college, I will go to law school with the goal of becoming an environmental lawyer.
The deadline for VRG scholarships is February 20 of each year.
For information, see https://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm
To support The Vegetarian Resource Group internships and scholarships, donate at www.vrg.org/donate