I had big plans for the summer of 2020. I was going to get my driver’s license, get a job, and learn to surf. Last spring, I was brainstorming on what jobs would work best with my physical abilities. Then, the world shut down. I live in Los Angeles, where the case counts have been high. We lost friends and neighbors to COVID and we have stayed home for a whole year. I felt bad for my younger sister who would spend an entire year planning an elaborate birthday party. For her birthday, my family brainstormed on how we could make it special for her. I scoured the internet and came across funny signs like “Amanda’s Birthday Party, No One Is Invited!” I designed signs that were Covid birthday themed and ordered giant letters saying, “Happy Birthday!” The night before her birthday I decorated our lawn and when she woke up it was magical. She loved it and during her birthday parade everyone loved the lawn signs. I realized I had stumbled on a great business idea. I called my lawn decorating business “Celebrations by QuaranTEEN” I expanded my business and have several different styles and themes. I love it when my clients send pictures or videos of their kids waking up to a decorated lawn. This has been the perfect job for me and I helped another teen in another city set up his own lawn decorating business; he also has health issues that make it impossible to work in the public during the pandemic. Owning my own busines has sparked a desire to learn how different businesses work. I have taken online classes to learn how to grow my business. I applied and was accepted to the Eccles Business Scholars Program at the University of Utah. I am grateful there is a giant hospital on campus and there are several direct flights back home in case I need to see my regular doctors. They have a great Student Services department that will provide resources if needed. Once I graduate, I hope to work in Sports Management. I love sports and my summer job helped me realize how much I love business. Now when I watch baseball, I wonder, “What are the fixed costs? How do teams maximize revenue?” I have already made contacts in the Sports Field inquiring about internships. Also, I want to make sure that the team I work for will have an alliance with the Arthritis Foundation. I was diagnosed with Arthritis in 5th grade. It's been a tough road, I had to take a 5 year break from sports and work really hard to get healthy enough to play baseball again. I dream of having kids with rheumatic disease on the ballfield helping the players warm up. I even thought about how fun it would be to have the “Walk to Cure” Arthritis be a walk around the stadium and onto the field. I can not wait to combine my love of sports and business and give back to organization that has made my life better.

I had big plans for the summer of 2020. I was going to get my driver’s license, get a job, and learn to surf. Last spring, I was brainstorming on what jobs would work best with my physical abilities. Then, the world shut down. I live in Los Angeles, where the case counts have been high. We lost friends and neighbors to COVID and we have stayed home for a whole year. I felt bad for my younger sister who would spend an entire year planning an elaborate birthday party. For her birthday, my family brainstormed on how we could make it special for her. I scoured the internet and came across funny signs like “Amanda’s Birthday Party, No One Is Invited!” I designed signs that were Covid birthday themed and ordered giant letters saying, “Happy Birthday!” The night before her birthday I decorated our lawn and when she woke up it was magical. She loved it and during her birthday parade everyone loved the lawn signs. I realized I had stumbled on a great business idea. I called my lawn decorating business “Celebrations by QuaranTEEN” I expanded my business and have several different styles and themes. I love it when my clients send pictures or videos of their kids waking up to a decorated lawn. This has been the perfect job for me and I helped another teen in another city set up his own lawn decorating business; he also has health issues that make it impossible to work in the public during the pandemic. Owning my own busines has sparked a desire to learn how different businesses work. I have taken online classes to learn how to grow my business. I applied and was accepted to the Eccles Business Scholars Program at the University of Utah. I am grateful there is a giant hospital on campus and there are several direct flights back home in case I need to see my regular doctors. They have a great Student Services department that will provide resources if needed. Once I graduate, I hope to work in Sports Management. I love sports and my summer job helped me realize how much I love business. Now when I watch baseball, I wonder, “What are the fixed costs? How do teams maximize revenue?” I have already made contacts in the Sports Field inquiring about internships. Also, I want to make sure that the team I work for will have an alliance with the Arthritis Foundation. I was diagnosed with Arthritis in 5th grade. It's been a tough road, I had to take a 5 year break from sports and work really hard to get healthy enough to play baseball again. I dream of having kids with rheumatic disease on the ballfield helping the players warm up. I even thought about how fun it would be to have the “Walk to Cure” Arthritis be a walk around the stadium and onto the field. I can not wait to combine my love of sports and business and give back to organization that has made my life better.