“Keep your dreams alive and keep working towards them,” says Emma C. You may just be reading a book from this 1,000 Dreams Fund Scholarship winner in the future. She will be studying creative writing at The University of Southern California.

What is your professional dream?

My professional dream is to be an author and publisher who gets a book on the New York Times Best Seller list.

How will you use the 1,000 Dreams Scholarship?

I will use the scholarship to purchase a new laptop for college. This laptop will be used for all my classes to get assignments and homework done.

How is this scholarship helping you get closer to your dream?

This scholarship is helping me get closer to my dreams because it will help me purchase my laptop to excel in all my writing classes and be shaped into a better writer. As I engage in my classes and learn more about creative writing, I will be able to put my writing into practice.

​What advice do you have for other young women who are wanting to pursue their dreams?

For those young women who want to pursue their dreams I would say: Don’t be afraid to keep your dreams alive. It is very easy to lose a dream out of fear and because you lose hope, but don’t lose sight of your dreams. Do not let fear of failure or anything else stop you from dreaming.

​Have you had any setbacks? How did you move past them?

I’ve moved past my setbacks because of my faith. I am a devoted Christian; and faith has truly been my ultimate hope in times of trouble. One of my setbacks was always insecurity until I realized that my worth is found in Christ and not in what others say about me, much less myself. I soon began to feel more confident and became surer of my identity.

What’s next for you? What is your next goal?

I will be beginning my first semester of college at USC this upcoming fall. My goal is to join programs at USC such as the First-Gen program to help me adapt to college life and have peer mentors to help me navigate school.