For as long as I can remember business has been a part of me. I have always had a vision, a goal, a dream that I had to flesh out into reality. Because of this, I’ve spent a lot of my time looking for ways to further myself to make those dreams successful. However, it hasn’t always been so easy. Growing up, I noticed a lot of disparity in the opportunities my community was given. While my parents tried their hardest to send me to the best schools, without having the powerful connections of my peers, I never found myself reaping the same rewards as them. One of the biggest challenges I faced was taking the SHSAT, an admissions test required to get into the best high schools in New York City. It is notorious for being difficult and skewed toward those who can afford private tutoring, which makes it almost impossible to pass. However, I was determined to make it despite my lack of access to tutoring. Every day for weeks on end I dragged my huge textbook to and from school revising over all my notes while my friends complained about the practice problems their tutors would assign them. During breaks, after school, and on the weekend I would go over questions in my head. Finally, after months of working hard, the test day arrived. I felt confident, knowing that my hard work would pay off. So when I opened my letter and realized I had gotten into one of the schools I was overjoyed. I felt proud of myself for being able to work hard to achieve my goal all on my own. This same work ethic is what I continue to bring to my academic career. As a business major, I plan to combine my business knowledge with my passion for fashion design and create a clothing brand that reflects my community. While the fashion industry is getting more diverse, there is still a lot of work to be done. My goal is to one day make a sustainable line of clothing that speaks for my culture, while also supporting the people in it. In the Hispanic community, many people are seamstresses. My goal is to enlist these people and create made-to-order capsule lines. Through these pieces, I want to convey the joy in our community through our bright colors, bold prints, and embroidery. With the revenue I make from this brand, I hope to not only give back to the seamstresses who are often underpaid but also create a scholarship fund for other Latinx designers who might not have the means to pursue their passion. I hope that through this I can give girls the opportunities that I wish I had growing up.

When I think of business, I think of how when I was younger I began writing books about fashionable fruits during class, selling copies around my school. I remember how joyous I was when people asked if I could create merchandise with illustrations of my characters on it, and how supportive my family was in helping me. However, I also think about how as a young boy, only twelve years old, my grandfather was also somewhat of a businessman. All alone he found himself selling plantains off a small boat with other migrants from Puerto Rico. Despite being alone in a strange place, he felt more inspired to pursue his dream of creating a music empire. More times than not, I think about my grandfather. How much his story inspires me and reminds me of my own. For as long as I can remember business has been a part of me. I have always had a vision, a goal, a dream that I had to flesh out into reality. Because of this, I’ve spent a lot of my time looking for ways to further myself to make those dreams successful. However, it hasn’t always been so easy. Growing up, I noticed a lot of disparity in the opportunities my community was given. While my parents tried their hardest to send me to the best schools, without having the powerful connections of my peers, I never found myself reaping the same rewards as them. One of the biggest challenges I faced was taking the SHSAT, an admissions test required to get into the best high schools in New York City. It is notorious for being difficult and skewed toward those who can afford private tutoring, which makes it almost impossible to pass. However, I was determined to make it despite my lack of access to tutoring. Every day for weeks on end I dragged my huge textbook to and from school revising over all my notes while my friends complained about the practice problems their tutors would assign them. During breaks, after school, and on the weekend I would go over questions in my head. Finally, after months of working hard, the test day arrived. I felt confident, knowing that my hard work would pay off. So when I opened my letter and realized I had gotten into one of the schools I was overjoyed. I felt proud of myself for being able to work hard to achieve my goal all on my own. This same work ethic is what I continue to bring to my academic career. As a business major, I plan to combine my business knowledge with my passion for fashion design and create a clothing brand that reflects my community. While the fashion industry is getting more diverse, there is still a lot of work to be done. My goal is to one day make a sustainable line of clothing that speaks for my culture, while also supporting the people in it. In the Hispanic community, many people are seamstresses. My goal is to enlist these people and create made-to-order capsule lines. Through these pieces, I want to convey the joy in our community through our bright colors, bold prints, and embroidery. With the revenue I make from this brand, I hope to not only give back to the seamstresses who are often underpaid but also create a scholarship fund for other Latinx designers who might not have the means to pursue their passion. I hope that through this I can give girls the opportunities that I wish I had growing up.

I have always had a vision, a goal, a dream that I had to flesh out into reality. Because of this, I’ve spent a lot of my time looking for ways to further myself to make those dreams successful. However, it hasn’t always been so easy. Growing up, I noticed a lot of disparity in the opportunities my community was given. While my parents tried their hardest to send me to the best schools, without having the powerful connections of my peers, I never found myself reaping the same rewards as them. One of the biggest challenges I faced was taking the SHSAT, an admissions test required to get into the best high schools in New York City. It is notorious for being difficult and skewed toward those who can afford private tutoring, which makes it almost impossible to pass. However, I was determined to make it despite my lack of access to tutoring. Every day for weeks on end I dragged my huge textbook to and from school revising over all my notes while my friends complained about the practice problems their tutors would assign them. During breaks, after school, and on the weekend I would go over questions in my head. Finally, after months of working hard, the test day arrived. I felt confident, knowing that my hard work would pay off. So when I opened my letter and realized I had gotten into one of the schools I was overjoyed. I felt proud of myself for being able to work hard to achieve my goal all on my own. This same work ethic is what I continue to bring to my academic career. As a business major, I plan to combine my business knowledge with my passion for fashion design and create a clothing brand that reflects my community. While the fashion industry is getting more diverse, there is still a lot of work to be done. My goal is to one day make a sustainable line of clothing that speaks for my culture, while also supporting the people in it. In the Hispanic community, many people are seamstresses. My goal is to enlist these people and create made-to-order capsule lines. Through these pieces, I want to convey the joy in our community through our bright colors, bold prints, and embroidery. With the revenue I make from this brand, I hope to not only give back to the seamstresses who are often underpaid but also create a scholarship fund for other Latinx designers who might not have the means to pursue their passion. I hope that through this I can give girls the opportunities that I wish I had growing up.

Growing up, I noticed a lot of disparity in the opportunities my community was given. While my parents tried their hardest to send me to the best schools, without having the powerful connections of my peers, I never found myself reaping the same rewards as them. One of the biggest challenges I faced was taking the SHSAT, an admissions test required to get into the best high schools in New York City. It is notorious for being difficult and skewed toward those who can afford private tutoring, which makes it almost impossible to pass. However, I was determined to make it despite my lack of access to tutoring. Every day for weeks on end I dragged my huge textbook to and from school revising over all my notes while my friends complained about the practice problems their tutors would assign them. During breaks, after school, and on the weekend I would go over questions in my head. Finally, after months of working hard, the test day arrived. I felt confident, knowing that my hard work would pay off. So when I opened my letter and realized I had gotten into one of the schools I was overjoyed. I felt proud of myself for being able to work hard to achieve my goal all on my own. This same work ethic is what I continue to bring to my academic career. As a business major, I plan to combine my business knowledge with my passion for fashion design and create a clothing brand that reflects my community. While the fashion industry is getting more diverse, there is still a lot of work to be done. My goal is to one day make a sustainable line of clothing that speaks for my culture, while also supporting the people in it. In the Hispanic community, many people are seamstresses. My goal is to enlist these people and create made-to-order capsule lines. Through these pieces, I want to convey the joy in our community through our bright colors, bold prints, and embroidery. With the revenue I make from this brand, I hope to not only give back to the seamstresses who are often underpaid but also create a scholarship fund for other Latinx designers who might not have the means to pursue their passion. When discussing philately, I believe I can use my background to offer a solution. Had I had a community resource in which I could get assistance, I would likely have been able to achieve more. By utilizing our libraries, schools, and different organizations, we can host workshops and create resources for young people to learn more about stamp collecting. By creating this sense of community, kids will not only feel comfortable sharing their love of stamps but also pursuing their other passions. Furthermore, I believe that my goals of creating a scholarship fund might be applicable here. By creating an incentive for philately, we can further reward those who are passionate about stamps and applaud their achievements.

When I think of business, I think of how when I was younger I began writing books about fashionable fruits during class, selling copies around my school. I remember how joyous I was when people asked if I could create merchandise with illustrations of my characters on it, and how supportive my family was in helping me. However, I also think about how as a young boy, only twelve years old, my grandfather was also somewhat of a businessman. All alone he found himself selling plantains off a small boat with other migrants from Puerto Rico. Despite being alone in a strange place, he felt more inspired to pursue his dream of creating a music empire. More times than not, I think about my grandfather. How much his story inspires me and reminds me of my own. For as long as I can remember business has been a part of me. I have always had a vision, a goal, a dream that I had to flesh out into reality. Because of this, I’ve spent a lot of my time looking for ways to further myself to make those dreams successful. However, it hasn’t always been so easy. Growing up, I noticed a lot of disparity in the opportunities my community was given. While my parents tried their hardest to send me to the best schools, without having the powerful connections of my peers, I never found myself reaping the same rewards as them. One of the biggest challenges I faced was taking the SHSAT, an admissions test required to get into the best high schools in New York City. It is notorious for being difficult and skewed toward those who can afford private tutoring, which makes it almost impossible to pass. However, I was determined to make it despite my lack of access to tutoring. Every day for weeks on end I dragged my huge textbook to and from school revising over all my notes while my friends complained about the practice problems their tutors would assign them. During breaks, after school, and on the weekend I would go over questions in my head. Finally, after months of working hard, the test day arrived. I felt confident, knowing that my hard work would pay off. So when I opened my letter and realized I had gotten into one of the schools I was overjoyed. I felt proud of myself for being able to work hard to achieve my goal all on my own. This same work ethic is what I continue to bring to my academic career. As a business major, I plan to combine my business knowledge with my passion for fashion design and create a clothing brand that reflects my community. While the fashion industry is getting more diverse, there is still a lot of work to be done. My goal is to one day make a sustainable line of clothing that speaks for my culture, while also supporting the people in it. In the Hispanic community, many people are seamstresses. My goal is to enlist these people and create made-to-order capsule lines. Through these pieces, I want to convey the joy in our community through our bright colors, bold prints, and embroidery. With the revenue I make from this brand, I hope to not only give back to the seamstresses who are often underpaid but also create a scholarship fund for other Latinx designers who might not have the means to pursue their passion. I hope that through this I can give girls the opportunities that I wish I had growing up.