Dan Leahy Scholarship Fund

A simple gold wedding ring sits on my finger, but within its presence lies a vitalizing, multifaceted narrative. The ring transports me to Ethiopia: Addis Ababa, 1999. My sweet mother smiles; her ring shimmers as the beaming sun radiates upon her calm face. Becoming a Christian in an anti-Protestant society, she faced immense injustices as her father strived to kill her. Disowned by her family, she was left with a ring, a visa, and $500. While fleeing to the land of the free, fear gripped her mind as she pondered her circumstances: “Am I qualified to live in America?” Tears escaped from her eyes as she examined the dimming ring. However, as she took steps onto American soil, determination implanted within her heart. Though struggling to learn English, my mother completed community college and fufilled her dreams of becoming a nurse. She took the rough carbon rock in her way and transformed it into a gleaming diamond. She had finally accomplished the American dream. Sixteen years later, it is now 2014 in Aurora, Colorado. My mother sits me down inside of our brightly-lit home. My 10 year-old-eyes widened as she pulled off the wedding ring from her finger and slid it onto mine. She whispered, “This is why I came to America.” As I heard her story, my ears tingled with fascination. Gazing at my mother, I saw courage flicker within her brown eyes. Looking down at the stunning ring, I wondered: “Can I mirror the courageous tenacity my mother formed?” Frightened by this confrontation, I resorted to isolation as my slight stutter and Ethiopian accent hindered my speaking abilities. Unknowingly, the seeds of curiosity germinated within my heart. As I continued to wear my ring, I allowed myself to explore my range of courage. During my sophomore year of high school, I decided to take a leap of faith: I joined my school's Speech and Debate team. Though timid, I gained valuable skills that slowly erased my fear of public speaking. I won numerous Original Oratory awards and competed at 8 different Speech and Debate locations. This, when asked to lead worship and teach bible studies at my local church, I felt the roots of dauntlessness tug on my heart. I taught and led worship for three years as my heart for children expanded. As my mother’s bravery, endurance, and tenacity influenced my actions, I desired to pass the baton of these values into other children's lives. Energized, I stepped into leadership roles within my community. Awakened by my mother’s injustices, I desired to educate others about the austerities victims face. By joining the Justice Education Project, I taught youth the flaws in the criminal justice system. I became the Co-Marketing Leader and spoke at webinars that provided solutions to systemic racism as I utilized the skills I learned from Speech and Debate. In addition, I helped publish our book, "First Steps Into Criminal Justice Activism: For Youth". I joined the Chief’s Youth Advisory Team, where I communicated with police officers about police brutality. I met with the Aurora mayor, and I voiced my concerns to the Arapahoe District Attorney about necessary criminal justice reform and was interviewed by my city about Youth Violence. As I wear the ring of my mother’s affliction each day, I am reminded of the igniting joy of courage it carries. The seeds of my mother’s dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism have sprouted into a fruitful tree in me. I am no longer restricted to the barriers of anxiety; my newfound courage will write its own narrative for the rest of my life.

The day I walked into the Supreme Court in Washington D.C. during a trip in the 5th grade, I was instantly smitten. The judicial panel seemed to beckon to me; its imposing marble columns and intricate carvings reminded me of the centuries of ground-breaking decisions made in that very room. I decided that I, too, should like to stand in such an inspiring room as a lawyer, or even a judge. When I voiced these ambitions though, I received the same response: “That’s quite a reach for someone like you!” Someone like me: a woman of color. Success in the field of law and politics seemed like a pipe dream. Growing up, I never saw someone who looked like me standing in front of the podium. That changed in my freshman year when I met Ms. Shonda Mosby, a successful woman of color and mother who serves as a death row appeal attorney. Ms. Mosby volunteered her free time to coach my mock trial team. For the first time in my life, I saw someone who had overcome the obstacles our identity poses in this white, male-dominated field. All of my fears about being unable to reconcile my background and gender with the ambitious role I wished to pursue dissolved as I learned how to craft arguments and navigate a legal career path from Ms. Mosby. I resolved that I would committedly pursue a JD; I am currently committed to Georgetown University for a Government major that will prepare me for law school. My passion for law arose from my interests in public speaking and writing, which I pursued through both Speech and Debate and Mock Trial. Speech and Debate taught me what it is to be a leader, speaker, and active member of my community. As a Vice President and President, I have reformed my school club. By communicating directly with parents, students, administrators, my officers, and tournament directors, I saved our team thousands in fines and built a procedure from scratch that other officers now use to carry on my work. I have developed public speaking skills and confidence through my oratories that I use in every aspect of my life. Part of what motivated me to participate in Speech and Debate was the opportunity to give back to my community. I have led a free program at my junior high school that spread these skills to hundreds of students. My fellow coaches and I put our personal time into coaching other students for free to make up for the lack of support in public schools. For every piece of knowledge I’ve passed on, Speech and Debate has returned it in threefold. I’ve learned how to be resourceful, take initiative, and inspire change. I also joined my school’s Mock Trial team to gain an introduction to the legal world. For the past few years, I have served as a pretrial attorney, pouring over packets of cases, witness statements, and factual situations to craft my own legal arguments in both the regular season and the mock summer trials that my passionately keen team holds to practice. During this time, I’ve drafted five cases while simultaneously coaching other students. Mock Trial has taught me how to look analytically at evidence to draw crucial connections and contrasts, a skill I employ when parsing through the media and politics in today’s world, oversaturated as it is with ‘news’. I have developed the ability to transform three-sentence outlines into powerful arguments that have swayed judges despite the odds being stacked against me time and time again.