My name is Unique Fuller. I’m 19 years old, and I was born and raised in Newburgh, NY. My conditions growing up were somewhat favorable, as I had a strong mom to rely on. She gave us what we needed to not end up in an even worse situation. She always kept food in our mouths and clothes on our backs, and I’ll say she was the one person who gave me strength. I wasn’t always a perfect son or even an ideal sibling, as I had times where logic that my mom bestowed upon me went out the window, following in the footsteps of my brothers. For years my mom questioned if I would be the caterpillar that turns into something beautiful, and beautiful it was. Something changed in me. I was no longer walking down a path that was already forged. I found myself establishing my own path. I started studying like never before and trying to grow and develop myself for my mom’s sake. I never had a goal I wanted to achieve before then. I decided I didn’t want my mom’s sacrifices to be in vain, so I strived to be better so she could tell others that at least one of her kids accomplished something. However, there was one question I had when starting my path. What can I do to make that happen? At the time, I didn’t think it was a goal; I thought of it as a necessity, something I needed to do. That’s when it found me in 2018 and my life entered a new chapter. I was introduced to a program called My Brother’s Keeper (MBK), a program where young men of colors and different cultures voices were heard. An opportunity arose and it’s where I discovered my dormant passion. When it came to speaking and wanting to help others, MBK made it possible. MBK taught me skills and strategies for leading and thriving, and they trained me to construct events and meetings where I could inform, assist, and train others. Knowing what I wanted to do, I began to nurture these skills, adding them into my toolbox and using them when I needed help. Due to this, I was able to make honors every month my senior year, graduated in the top 300 of my class, and represented my school district as a MBK fellow. I went to numerous events, learned a lot, spoke in front of hundreds of people, and allowed myself to get better and make significant contributions to my community while developing the youth back home. What once started off as a necessity has transformed into something I want to do. I just hope this isn’t as far as I can go since my ultimate goal is to change people’s lives with my voice.
