Newland & Newland Single Parent Scholarship

Myla Croft

Myla's essay is an inspiring lesson in turning a negative situation into a life mission to help others. Being hurt, forgiving, and then seeking a positive outcome are values we should all aspire to. We are very proud of Myla and honored to award her with the Fall 2023 Single Parent Scholarship.

Read Myla's Essay:

I thought a father was supposed to be a girl’s first love. He is placed on a pedestal and would set the standard for every important man that would come into her life. However, my view of my father was different. When I was in third grade, my parents flipped my perspective of family life upside down. I had become aware that my parents had never married and living in a single-parent household had become normal to me. My father lived in Mississippi, and I would only have brief phone calls with him. However, I did not know an ugly truth, that from the age of two years old, my father had been incarcerated. When my parents informed me of this truth, I was devastated. Instantly, disappointment and vexation filled my heart. I felt betrayed by my own parents for hiding his imprisonment from me. This newfound knowledge had tainted the image of him in my head. What was love, quickly became resentment. It created a divide between me and the both of them. I could never see them the same way.

Sooner than later, I started to experience extreme anger toward my mother. I would always wonder what would make a college educated woman become involved with a non-college educated man? How did she form a relationship with a man of his character? She would often say to me, “people make mistakes” or “bad things happen to good people.” My pain was never satisfied with her answers. There were more questions. Why did I have to suffer for the actions of my parents? Why was I born? What was my purpose? Why couldn’t my parents be married? It was obvious that my father’s absence in my life, affected my mother. At times, being a single mom was challenging for her. She would have to juggle both career and motherly duties. She made motherhood look easy, but I knew it was difficult. She sacrificed her whole life for me to be successful in life.

Overtime, I was able to forgive my mother and father for their past. Then, I began to start focusing on my future. One that involves keeping families together. As a child of an incarcerated parent, I understand the hurt and emotional trauma that family separation can cause. One day, I was triggered by an event that took place during the previous presidential administration. Immigrant children were being separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border. The images of the crying children in the cages with foil blankets were very disturbing. While watching the CNN broadcast, I became both angry and compassionate. I developed an unexplainable connection to Hispanic immigrants. Somehow, I discovered a passion or even a calling to help immigrant families who come to America to escape the war and poverty in their home countries.

This is what I love! This is what I desire to contribute to the legal and public policy community. Therefore, I am attending Southern Illinois University School of Law to pursue a law degree. In the future, I plan to practice immigration law. I believe that law school will help me reach my full potential. It will broaden my horizons, expand my network, and shape me into an effective, civic-minded leader and attorney. After all, I believe that my dad’s incarceration and the hurt that came with it, helped to plant a germinating seed toward my future of keeping families together and being a voice for the voiceless.