Kareen Catherine Hurns

I attribute my success to God and my family, specifically my mom. From the very moment that I showed potential, my mom has made sacrifice after sacrifice to enroll me in private schooling. From Catholic academies to my now private all-girls high school, I was afforded the opportunities to lead, create, and innovate that I would not be afforded anywhere else. My mom has spent countless hours listening to my essay drafts, speeches, video essays, and writing ideas, offering the support that has upheld my confidence to try new things and even to fail graciously. Through her, I learned about God. My faith in him has allowed me to prevail through the hardships of failure, grief, and all conflict. It is through God that I thank my mother, and therefore for all the success I experience in my life.

The best career advice I received is quite cliché, but instrumental for any young girl: do not doubt your potential. In a world where hate brews for everything I am, it is important to acknowledge your background, use it as a strength, and never see it as something that dilutes your potential. I struggled with my place in the world as a black girl, especially one who was considered "whitewashed" yet also not palatable enough because of my ethnicity. It is in these moments that I learned not to doubt my potential. It is because of that advice that I am able not just to grow but also to love the process of my growth. I can pursue both STEM and writing; I am allowed to pry into deep historical secrets of our nation while also analyzing how its secrets make it richer; I and all young girls are allowed to be more than one thing because our potential affords it. Young women, do not doubt your potential; do not limit yourself or let the world put a price on you.

Young women, I would say maybe this is a little bit cliche, but don't get in your own head. I feel like there's so much pressure as a girl to go above and beyond to be seen as competent, and I feel like there's a lot of imposter syndrome. I've definitely had that, where I'm walking into rooms teaching people, and I'm like, I'm still a kid, but I think making sure that you know why you're there is really important. That's something that always, like, backs up your confidence. So I'd say for young girls, don't get in your own head about being like, oh, I'm too young, or oh, I'm in an all-male room. Like, those are strong points of, like, who you are and, like, what you're doing. So, I'd say try to leave that imposter syndrome. I understand that it's hard, I'm still going through it myself, but developing your confidence in your abilities at an early age is what really helps you, especially when other people might not believe in you in the workforce.

I am not in a certain field right now, as I am still a high schooler, but I believe the biggest opportunity in my position is just that. I am still young and still receiving an education that I can explore before dedicating myself to one field later on. The biggest opportunity is the low cost of failure in high school. I can stack electives such as Genocide Studies or AP Statistics; it is that adventure of mixing and matching disciplines that high school gives as the biggest opportunity to girls my age. I'd have to say the biggest challenge is not having the time to try every combination of the curriculum. The youth that we girls have is irreplaceable. Yes, you will still have the freedom to pursue such endeavors when you're older, but I believe there is something beautiful about getting to combine your interests as you develop your identity; you will get to carry both classroom lessons and personal lessons into your budding adulthood.

I'd say honesty. I've always been a little bit of, like, an academic stickler, where I really like doing things by the book, and my teachers view that as a positive thing. I will say it does take a lot more time, like, in my day-to-day life, but I feel like that's something I really want to preserve, because I tie myself so deeply back into, like, my academics. I feel like that's who I am, and that's who I've always been. I'd also say culture's a new one for me. I grew up, like I said, not very connected to my culture, even though my mom is, like, from Jamaica and my family is. So that's something new that I've been really trying to make room for, like, the fact that I can have different identities, and that's okay. Also, like, doing more traditions, like, my family has traditional food that we make, like, trying to learn those recipes by going to my aunt's house a lot. And also doing, like, the Jamaican black cake for Christmas. I'd say the value I have a huge problem, I think, with making time for myself. I feel like with all the things that I do to, like, help others, I feel like I've realized that I need to sometimes take a break, and that that's not a bad thing, so I think prioritizing myself a little bit has also been a new value that I've been discovering. And then, I'd also say leaning into trusting people more. Like, I think having a really big support system is the only reason that I have gotten this far in my life. My mom, specifically, is my biggest support system all in one. And then, hmm, I guess another value I'd say is, like, trying to slow down a little bit. I'd definitely say faith as well, like, my religion, I'm Seventh-day Adventist.