My grandparents are from Little Rock, Arkansas, and worked incredibly hard their entire lives. My grandaddy was in the Air Force, and my grandmother was a school teacher. My parents did too. Both of them spent decades serving others as officers in The Salvation Army. They dedicated their careers to helping families find stability, housing, and opportunity. But only more recently (in 2020) did my parents purchase their first home. Watching that shaped how I think about opportunity, wealth, and what it means to create something that lasts beyond one generation. It also shaped my belief that lasting economic empowerment requires more than helping people meet their immediate needs. Underrepresented communities need equitable access to business ownership, capital, professional networks, and opportunities to build something that will endure. Throughout my career in philanthropy, I have worked to expand access to those opportunities. I have led grantmaking operations, cross-sector partnerships, and community investment initiatives focused on economic mobility and systems change. At the California Black Freedom Fund, I oversaw grantmaking operations that resulted in millions of dollars in investments in community organizations. At the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, I managed regional scholarship and grantmaking portfolio supporting postsecondary access and career pathways for first-generation students and young men of color. And while serving as the Director of Communications for the Lodi District Chamber of Commerce, my interest in business ownership and building wealth for myself grew. Working with more than 600 small businesses, I saw how local companies built their family’s wealth, created jobs, and became part of their communities’ identities. My career goal is to work at the intersection of corporate social responsibility, community investment, and entrepreneurship through acquisition. I want to help companies align their resources and business strategies with the priorities of the communities they serve while building a business of my own. As I move forward to complete my dual Master of Business Administration and Master of Social Work at Howard University, I haven’t just imagined the career I see for myself; I’ve actively pursued it. I completed Georgetown University’s Executive Certificate in Philanthropic Leadership to strengthen my ability to lead and drive change within the philanthropic sector. I completed a social finance fellowship with a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm, where I gained experience in research and supporting nonprofits through revenue-generation strategies. As a graduate assistant with Howard University’s PNC Center for Entrepreneurship, I expanded my exposure to entrepreneurship and the steps required to start and own a business. Currently, I am conducting informational interviews with leaders at Fortune 500 companies, including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America, and have developed mentoring relationships within each organization as I prepare to transition into corporate social responsibility. At the same time, I am beginning my search for a company to acquire and grow through entrepreneurship through acquisition. My HBCU business education and roles that I've had while in school have strengthened my ability to evaluate companies, manage operations, lead teams, and build sustainable growth strategies. My social work education has ensured that equity, community voice, and human impact remain central to those strategies. And I've acquired this learning and skill-building through the support of scholarships and loans. Had it not been for financial aid, I would not be a student or leader here. By aligning business strategy with community priorities, I hope to demonstrate that business success and social justice are not competing goals. Together, they can leave a more secure foundation for future generations.