Fall 2025 Winner of the Single Parent Scholarship

Lilyana Suwannetr

Lilyana credits her ambitious personality to her mother. Constantly inspired to work hard, she plans to study criminal justice and eventually go to law school. She is determined to achieve her dream and give back to her family. Congratulations, Lilyana, we admire your commitment to your education!

Read her essay here

Being the child of a single mother isn't all that different from having both parents. My mom puts food on the table, clothes on my back, a roof over my head, reassurance, safety, her love. She just isn't around as much as I would like her to. She works hard to care for me and my two younger sisters. She works two jobs and is gone from 7 am to 12 pm or sometimes 1 am.

Being the eldest child, I get to play parent number two, or parent one when my mom is gone. Raising two young girls was never an easy road, especially when I was a child myself. But how could I ever turn down a chance to help my mom? It isn't easy for her either. I held the responsibility for myself and my siblings because it's not just about me but them too. I've had to help them get ready for school in the mornings because my mom would already be gone for work. I've had to help them with their homework on top of mine. I taught them how to tie their shoes, how to ride a bike, and how to divide fractions amongst other things. It wasn't always fun but it was my life. It can be difficult to discipline your siblings when "you're not mom". Regardless, I did whatever I could do to ease my mom’s troubles.

My mom always told me to work hard in school because "This was never the life I wanted you to have." She wants me to have a life better than her own. Intended or not, life is difficult no matter the cards you’re dealt. My career goal is to become a prosecuting attorney in my home state of Illinois. "Ambitious" so I'm told, and it's true. It's more time in school, more money, and extremely difficult. But this will not deter me from picking something "easier".

My mom and I always loved watching court proceedings together when time let us. As boring as it may seem to some, it was everything to me. Not only was it fun and interesting, but it gave me that time with my mom. I always enjoyed the cross-examinations, I always thought they were the most interesting. This seeded my interest in the criminal justice system, which only blossomed as I got older. Watching criminal documentaries, body cam footage, and court proceedings. The flow from arrests to corrections captivated my interest. In my senior year of high school, I was allowed to attend Lake County Tech Campus which offers an intro to criminal justice. This class taught criminology, policing, and an introduction to the criminal justice process as a whole. I was even able to become my class's student ambassador. But besides all of that, my favorite part was the mock trial.

Everyone had a part, from the judge, the jury, the bailiff, and the attorneys. I was the prosecuting attorney. From researching this case, to questioning, and cross-examination, everything was so much fun. My public speaking was never the greatest, but with how much fun I was having, it never mattered how nervous I was because I was simply excited to show people all the work I had put into this assignment and show it in the trial. The workload never bothered me because the work itself was fun. My favorite part was probably objecting to the defense's statements. It was like taking their ammo away. My work especially paid off when it came to the jury's verdict and I won the case. This moment boosted my interest further and my desire to become an attorney.

I plan to major in criminal justice and get my bachelors degree. Then I am going to apply to law school, most likely in-state. I'm aware of how difficult and expensive it will be. My mom always said, "No one gets successful easily." With this in mind, I'm going to continue to strive towards my goal of becoming an attorney, failure is not an option. I hope to make my mom proud and give her an easier life when I'm older. She is my drive and I won't be deterred. From raising my siblings and working as hard as I can in school, getting honor roll yearly, improving my test scores, and studying no matter how tired, this is all to reach my goal and I don't plan to keep it unfulfilled.