Narcotics.com Fall 2023 College Scholarship

Doing all I can to help my community

I have been enrolled in school for a few years now, taking classes little by little while working full time and raising my daughter. Initially I thought I would go to school for nursing. I was already working as a phlebotomist and HIV counselor in drug and alcohol rehab centers. I was performing HIV and Hepatitis C testing and teaching an HIV education class to this very high risk population. The work I was doing in the treatment centers was extremely rewarding, and I wanted to do anything I could to be of service to this population. However, after working so closely with this population in this capacity, I realized I wouldn’t get to help as much once I became an RN. I had ended up in this role because at the time I, myself, had 3 years clean.

To tell you a little bit more about myself, I currently have 9 years clean. I had reached out for help and got my life together when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, Lily. After growing up in a very hectic home, I had turned to drugs and alcohol and lived that life from 13 to the age of 26. I have experienced homelessness, the loss of many friends, isolation from my family, and a myriad of other challenges that come along with the disease of addiction.

Once I found out I was pregnant with my daughter in 2013 I made the decision to really try at getting my life together. I wasn’t able to go into residential treatment due to my pregnancy, so I slept on my mom couch, slowly tapered off methadone maintenance, while also attending NA meetings until I was finally able to fully detox. My daughter was born perfectly healthy, and has fortunately never had to see me intoxicated. I don’t want to say I’m cured but I do the work it takes to maintain my recovery on a daily basis with the help of NA.

As I mentioned, after a few years of school I decided to change my career path. The medical field didn’t seem to suit what I wanted to accomplish in my life. My major is now Psychology/ Social work. I know that the experiences I’ve had, and things I’ve overcome can be extremely helpful to a lot of people. I believe I bring a special perspective, understanding and level of empathy that is not something they can teach in school. I’d like to use what I’ve gained to better serve and help people to find a little bit of the freedom and peace that I have found.

I plan to continue my education and eventually have a Masters degree in social work. I am 3 classes away from completing my Associates for Transfer at Los Angeles Valley College. I intend to transfer to CSUN and continue to gain as much knowledge as possible, while continuing to work with the underserved populations and community that I currently serve. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Jayla Jefferson
248-497-9799 [email protected]
921 Canterbury drive, Pontiac MI, 48341
Wayne State University (May, 2025)
HK1530

My name is Jayla Jefferson, I am a junior at Wayne State University located in Detroit Michigan. I am currently double majoring in public health and community health. I decided to pick these majors because I’ve always found an interest in helping others. I knew that I wanted to go into a field that helped others, and something that would make a change.

From a young age, I was very passionate about helping others in need and helping people understand things they lacked knowledge of. My journey first began while I was being raised in the church. In church, I did a lot of things like being in the church plays for Christmas and Easter, and being a part of the praise and mime team but one of my favorite things to do was to go out into my community and volunteer. Volunteering was a weekly thing that my family and I would do. And that is where my passion all began. After every volunteer event, I noticed that I would be tired but I would be so filled with joy because I was able to help someone in need. And I think public health and community health have also been a joy for me because in the future I will be doing something I’ve always loved just with more knowledge and on a bigger scale.

Coming from Pontiac Michigan I see the need for change in my city. And my city has been on a continuous cycle of leaving fixable problems to develop into something so much larger. Currently, in my classes, I have been learning about health disparities, social disparities, and lack of knowledge. In my city, I’ve seen these problems firsthand, and before learning what public and community health was I never knew what that was called. Every Wednesday I teach free dance classes in partnership with Pontiac United and United Whole Mortgage. I teach all styles of dance to girls eight to eighteen. And weekly I see the impact the program has had on the girls. Extracurricular activities can be very expensive so being able to support the girls and their families has been amazing. It is also incredible to see how impacted their social, physical, emotional, and mental health has improved.

There is a quote by Peter Senge that says “sharing knowledge is not about giving people something, or getting something from them. That is only valid for information sharing. Sharing knowledge occurs when people are genuinely interested in helping one another develop new capacities for action; it is about creating learning processes.” I think this quote explains why I have picked public health and community health as my field
of study, to know for myself how I can improve my life but also how I can apply it to make life to help inform others. I want to take the knowledge that I learn about health and resources and inform others and help them get the most out of life.

Public and community health has impacted my life for the better. After attending Wayne State University I would like to receive my Ph.D. in public health. Throughout my experience throughout my time in the program, I have learned so much about myself but also so much about how I can help others around me.

I was born at one pound and ten ounces with a traumatic brain injury. I had excessive bleeding and swelling in the left hemisphere of my brain. These difficulties led to the diagnosis of cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that impairs muscular coordination, balance, and mobility. Although cerebral palsy is a lifelong impairment that does not worsen, it may lead to other issues. Since I have mild cerebral palsy, only one part of my body is affected. These are my legs, and when I walk, they make a scissor pattern. It was determined by doctors that I may never learn how to walk. But after several years of therapy and doctor visits, I surpassed all expectations.

The finest advocates are self-advocates. Becoming an advocate and service to others in the disabled community is my passion. Being born with mild cerebral palsy inspired my decision to create a nonprofit organization and become a mentor for disabled children. Due to my disability, I was unable to participate in many common childhood activities and events. My cerebral palsy hinders my intellectual and personal development. Achieving my dreams has not been simple, despite the help of my doctors and family, who have helped me progress. To support kids who are in similar situations, I intend to open a daycare and community center.

My education will allow me to thrive in my career of molding children’s lives. I love the idea of instructing disadvantaged children since it will help them acquire the abilities, they need to lead successful lives. I plan to build a community and daycare center that offers services to assist them with any issues. My organization’s main goal is to help those with Cerebral Palsy and other developmental problems, but all kids are invited to join. Because it teaches me how to become a great mentor, understanding the resources and techniques required to support children’s success is essential. The services in my organization will increase their overall development according to the needs of each child. My objective is to create a neighborhood where kids may feel at home and treat one another equally while also obtaining services to help them get ready for the future.

I will consider it an honor to provide future generations with possibilities I never had. Because I come from a less fortunate background, I did not get many opportunities to show off my abilities. I became passionate about helping disadvantaged kids after being rejected while seeking guidance from many places. Support and direction are all that children require to succeed in this world. Children who lack access to resources and are unable to achieve their goals can benefit from any kind of support. Due to how difficult it was for me to accept that I had little support, these circumstances also played a role in my determination to help other kids going through similar situations.

My goal in opening a daycare and community center is not to advance my career but to transform the lives of children with disabilities. Teaching children is essential because they are not influenced by their environment or society’s standards. Children should have access to an equal education regardless of their circumstances since they are the future leaders of the world. Guiding disabled children to succeed will become my mark on earth. We will prove that a disability does not mean inability and eliminate the stereotypes of the disabled community.