Newland & Newland Single Parent Scholarship

Haley Palumbo

Haley’s essay is an inspirational tale of how she emerged from a difficult situation to become the high-achieving person and student that she is today. Haley is determined to use her legal education to help others wherever she can, especially when it comes to women’s issues. We are proud to present Haley with our Fall 2024 Single Parent Scholarship.

Read Haley’s Essay:

To the world, homelessness and joblessness were viewed as oppression. However, during the spring, before I should have started high school, my mom, little brother, and I escaped our home, leaving my alcoholic father after suffering eight years of verbal, physical, and emotional abuse. I never knew I was trapped until I realized screaming, crying, and physical abuse were not supposed to be a part of your everyday routine. Although we did not have a place to go, waking up in our car in the middle of nowhere and figuring out how to get food and water was better than what we had to leave behind. At that moment, homelessness and joblessness were a witness to our strength, a noble battle to overcome our systematic oppression so that we could redeem our lives until it wasn't. The summer quickly dissipated, and the fundamental human right to an education hung by a thread. Despite my mother's persistent pleas to the school board, we realized we could not start school until we had an address. We tried to call the resources they provided us, which supported families facing homelessness, but we were met with silence. However, I refused to be silent. As my mom continued to apply for jobs, I continued to make the world my classroom. My education had always given me hope. I knew it was the only way to help us. At that moment, my aspirations to pursue a career that would protect the rights of individuals suffering from poverty, homelessness, and abuse arose inside me. For the first time in my life, I saw the law, an entity that should have protected us, function in a way that did not. Yet, this realization made me want to become part of the solution: the solution that creates laws that protect the human rights of all. Fast forward three years to the summer before I started my senior year of high school, I was invited by the United Nations Foundation to lobby our government for equal access to education for displaced women and girls. I remember how nervous I was to stand and even be in the same building as our country's most powerful leaders. However, as soon as I glanced at my notes on H.R. 2408, a wave of calm came over me. As the nature of the bill passed through my lips, "To enhance the transparency, improve the coordination and intensify the impact of assistance to support access to primary and secondary education for displaced children and persons, including women and girls," I realized my greatest strength: my voice was made for those who have been silenced. Now, two months out of starting law school at the University of Notre Dame, I realized that the laws presiding over us, an entity that I believed was against me, could be for me. It is this reality that ensured I wanted to practice law. This program ultimately led me to intern for the United States House of Representatives, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) as well and the United Nations Foundation. During my time with Girl Up, I was the Community lead and the Florida Coalition head, assisting our High School clubs in fundraising and development. Additionally, as their communications lead, I have worked with Girl Rising, a global campaign for girls' education, where I hosted fundraising events, including film screenings and carnivals, to raise money for individuals who did not have an education. My most exciting opportunity was when I went back to where my career in human rights began. I had the opportunity to intern for my local congresswoman in Washington, D.C. During this experience, I worked on multiple community projects and attended research briefings. I also worked on policy proposals, including H.R. 1280 and additional bills impacting our justice system. Through this opportunity, I could target minority people in the community and let their voices become heard. Additionally, as the Public Relations Intern for the Women Ambassador Forum, I created media and assisted in planning the yearly forum and events. This experience allowed me to use my communication skills and assist in fighting for gender equality. When I write, I have the privilege of using a language that my mother and her mother and her mother's mother fought to understand their whole life. I am grateful that my voice is uncensored when I speak in opposition, and I do not take my freedom of speech and access to education for granted. It is this acknowledgment of my liberty and my civil duty to protect these rights for myself and others that fuels my desire to get my Juris Doctor. This scholarship will make it all the more possible!