March 30, 2007
Hi, my name is Kelly Thomas and I am applying for the scholarship you have offered. After reading this essay I hope that you will agree that I deserve this scholarship.
I am the youngest of seven children. I am 18 years old and I was born and raised in Atlantic City, NJ. I've lived with my mother all my life. All of my sisters and brothers are grown and have received a high school diploma. I am the last one standing to graduate and move on with my life. My father was in my life until he moved away. He was always there for us in time of need, but it was from a distance. He has since passed away and I still feel the loss. I've been through a lot in my life, but I have overcome many tough obstacles. When I was young my family and I were homeless because we were evicted. My family and I had to stay in a shelter until we were able to find housing. Another incident that had a big impact on me was when I was 10 years old. I almost drowned. The tragedy was a man died trying to save me. It has changed my view of life forever.
Even though I have been through a lot, I didn't let it bring me down. The only thing that kept me willing to move forward and not give up on life was the relationships that I have with my family and God.
As far as school, I have always done well. From kindergarten until the fifth grade I was on the honor roll, and attended banquets for my grades and behavior. Things got rough for me in the sixth grade. There were many changes in my household. Older brother and sisters came and went because of circumstances in their lives. I was at that age where girls start to mature and change. Even with these different circumstances, I cannot say exactly why I started having trouble in school. I never had problems with my academics. Even with my behavior problems, I managed to make it through high school without failing any courses or grades. What scared me was seeing my peers fail out of school. I wasn't sure I could make it. I am now in the 12" grade and I will be graduating in June of 07.
I am in the D0.V.E.S Residential Community Home, a substance abuse program, because I had an active drug problem. (Both selling and using.) Other family members have struggled with this as well. This is my first time getting locked up and being away from my family for a long time. Since being in DOVES, I have learned that I was hanging with the wrong people, in the wrong places, looking for acceptance through others and people pleasing. I also discovered that I wasn't making very good decisions and certainly not looking ahead to the consequences. At first I wasn't with the whole selling drugs or smoking marijuana thing, but I thought since everyone else was doing it I wanted to be part of the crowd. But wanting to be part of the crowd got me here. You know when they say, "birds of a feather flock together", well that statement is really true. Even though I'm missing out on a lot, like being away from my family and friends, missing school and all of the activities, working, and striving hard towards my career, I'm kind of happy I'm here. If I wasn't here today I don't know where I would have ended up. Luckily I got locked up before my 18th birthday because I could have died or been sentenced to a woman's correctional facility. Being here at this program has taught me a lot of things that I didn't realize when I was out there on the streets. Since I've been here, I have learned a lot of things. I've learned to identify my strengths as well as my weaknesses, identify and express my feelings and triggers, how the cope with my feelings, avoid temptations and old people, places and things, identify harmful behaviors, self- control, and relapse prevention techniques.
I have been in this program for 5 months and I am now the Coordinator of Expediters and on the Resident council Board. In order to hold this position you have to have and show leadership skills, be a positive peer, work on yourself in treatment as well as have the ability to help others. As a DOVE, I am responsible for the way our group of girls act, handle directions, and complete assignments. I take this seriously and believe that is why I was chosen for the position I received.
Another benefit is being given the opportunity to finish high school and attend college class from the Burlington county college. I will be receiving 3 credits towards college when I complete the course. I am studying is Sociology: Marriage and the Family. I was excited to receive that opportunity because I want to go to college and study to be social worker/youth advocate.
I think that I deserve and should receive the Joseph DeJames Scholarship because I would appreciate and need the assistance. I have come to understand that I need college to not get caught up in my negative surroundings. The DOVES staff has helped me learn the steps necessary for college. I know I need a higher education because I want to be a social worker or youth advocate. That was always my dream because I want to help out others in my community. I want to be able to provide the help that I didn't reach out for when I was young, or thought wasn't helpful or even provided. I was too caught up in the. streets to realize that's what I needed. I want to let the youth know that there are better options out there in the
real world besides just ruining your life. Everyone doesn't have to be a criminal and be in the system. They can lean to make better choices. It can change your life around completely and that's going to make it harder on you when you want to get a job or even go to college. I want to help the youth because that's where its starts. You can make a difference in the beginning, maybe it will affect the rest of their lives, show them that they don't have to settle for less, and can be successful no matter what they've been through. I want to especially help the youth that are already heading down the wrong road. I want to let them know that even though they have made some bad decisions in life, it’s not too late to turn their life around. Many people who have struggled with addiction, drugs/alcohol, family issues, and/or a criminal history have become successful. It all depends upon how much you really want it, what choices you make, how much you're willing to work, and how hard you strive towards changing.
My main goal is to use all of my training, working, community service, volunteer work, and college to gain knowledge. I want to be able to create a foundation that kids can go to for help when dealing with tough situations at home, school, on the streets, or even while in jail. Now that I am on the outside looking in, I have realized that my needs weren't being met. I didn't even know I had needs. Some youth may think that they don't have a voice in their situations. Well I'm going to let them know that their opinions, thoughts, and feelings are important and do matter. I feel as though that's what Joseph Defames did, wants to continue, and I want to be able to keep his legacy going.
I want to thank you for your time and consideration. I wish the best of luck to whomever you choose.
