Page 17 - District 20-K1 Kings & Queens SUMMER-JUNE EDITION 2022

DISTRICT 20-K1

PDG ASSOCIATION SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

“THE WORLD IS FULL OF PEOPLE WE LOOK UP TO AND ADMIRE BECAUSE OF THEIR
COURAGE, SERVICE OR STATUS IN THE COMMUNITY OR NATION. WHAT PERSON, PRESENT
OR PAST DO YOU ADMIRE AND WHY?”
by Omega Leo Kayla Draghine
Metro Omega Leo Club
20-K1 PDG LEO ESSAY SCHOLARSHIP WINNER
One person who I truly admire is Taraji P. Henson. Taraji Henson is a very

well known and successful actress, singer, and producer. I don’t say that I

admire her because I want to become an actress; I admire her because of all
of the tribulations that she encountered and how she did not let anything

deter her from accomplishing all of her goals. I have been watching her

movies and television shows since I was a young child and I’ve always

gravitated to her personality. I see how she is extremely confident and well respected and those are both

admirable qualities to have as a black woman living in America. When Henson was a young girl, she had
a few encounters that could’ve easily destroyed her mental health. Her father was an alcoholic and that

was nothing that a child of her age needed to be around. One day while walking home with her mother,

Henson and her mother were held at gunpoint. Thankfully, they were able to get away and see another
day. Taraji grew up in a dangerous neighborhood in D.C where there was poverty and crime around her

daily. Instead of gravitating to the negativity around her, she turned her lemons into lemonade. Henson

was also homeless for a while after her parents’ divorce. Initially, she went to North Carolina
Agricultural and Technical State University but quickly dropped out after failing a math class. She

decided to go back to school where she then attended and graduated from the Illustrious HBCU Howard

University. This stood out to me because I’ve always struggled with Mathematics ever since I was in

elementary school. I also contemplated going to college because I was so afraid that I would never do
well in math. Taraji inspired me because she did not give up after failing, she continued to persevere

until she accomplished what she set out to do. This is a motto that I live by because nothing in life is

handed to you so with the help of her I understand that if I want something, I have to work hard to and

never give up in order to attain everything that I want in life.