My first semester at Wheaton College, in Massachusetts was nerve racking but I adjusted. I wasn’t put with a roommate and I was worried I wouldn't have a “built in best friend”. But as the days went on, it truly was one of best thing that could have happened to me as an incoming freshman. I felt like an outcast at first, but it forced me to put myself out there - to make connections, and join groups that I never thought I would be a part of. After the first week of school, I auditioned for Wheaton’s hip-hop and multicultural dance group called TRYBE. Everyone in TRYBE is so different and diverse and learning each other’s culture has been such a fun learning experience for me. I was so excited to be on a dance team, doing something that I love. With all my classes offered in person and wearing masks, it has easily helped me connect with other students and especially get to know my professors. My college experience has almost been normal and I am grateful I had the opportunity to meet great people and have the options to explore as many things as I would like. For my first semester I walked in undecided. Only because Wheaton does not have a communications major, and that was what I wanted to go into. So I just took classes that sparked my interest like, African American History, Social Justice and the Arts, West African Mande History, and French. All those classes were thought provoking and I learned a lot about myself and how I view our country. For my spring semester, I will be majoring in business finance, a complete 180! I am excited for what next semester has in store. I just want to say a huge thank you to MVYouth for allowing me to have this scholarship. It has given me so much room to explore and enjoy my time in my academic career, and is one of the best things that has ever been given to me.