May 24, 2019

Graduation Project Judges

Garinger High School
1100 Eastway Dr.
Charlotte, NC 28205

Dear Judges:

Hello, my name is Mirna Peralta. Later this fall, I will be attending the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill and be majoring in Biology. After obtaining my Bachelor's degree, I plan
to go to graduate school to study Food Science and then go into research. I was inspired to
become a researcher after completing a chemistry research internship at UNC Charlotte last
summer.

For my junior research paper I wrote about the equity issue in education within Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Schools. The education in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is unequal due to
varying teacher quality throughout the district, the gerrymandering of student assignment maps
to racially and socioeconomically segregate students, and the lack of resources in schools with
more economically-disadvantaged students. I chose to write about this topic because the way this
district is treating poor students, that are children of color most of the time, is wrong and should
be talked about more so they can be held accountable for their actions that further harm and
oppress marginalized people.

I chose to make a video as part of my service learning experience to create a more digestible
medium that could be easily shared with others to bring as much awareness to this issue as
possible. While creating this video, speaking at conferences, and volunteering at Garinger to
create a more positive school environment I learned about how others are tackling this issue and
was inspired to continue to fight this issue.

Sincerely,

Mirna Peralta