"My Entrepreneurship Story"

            This is the story of a close friend who without knowing was becoming an entrepreneur. A sociology major from the University of Pennsylvania, Daniela advocates for the educational rights of minority students in her community. In the Spring of 2015, she came upon the opportunity of the President’s Engagement Prize. The engagement prize was created by the university’s president to engage students in their own project implementations that promises local, national and global engagement. As an entrepreneur, she decided to apply for the prize that awards $150,000. The prize is intended for University of Pennsylvania students to create a program that would have a positive effect on society.

            The application was very complex. In order to receive $100,000 for one year to implement the project, and $50,000 as income, she needed to do research on the expenditures she will be incurring for that period. Every single penny had to be documented, but here is the catch, that money was not given to her yet, if they accepted her application, then she would be awarded the prize, if not, then her whole project would be rejected. This can be encouraging or discouraging for some since it is not a guaranteed that you will win the prize.

Against odds, she went ahead and did her research. As a close friend, I decided to help Daniela with her budget. By aiding her through this process, it actually became an experience that was enjoyable, and it reinforced my reasons on being a business major. Most importantly, I got to witness a good friend become an entrepreneur, even though she did not see it that way. As a sociologist, she saw it as giving back to her community. I saw it differently. She found an unmet need, and found a solution. The unmet need is students who do not have resources to attend the college, and her solution was utilizing the prize (if she wins) to create a program where she would become a coach and mentor minority students in Lake Worth, Florida.

In the program, she would create three fellowships, and the fellows chosen would also become a coach for students, and they would travel to high schools to guide the students through the process of college applications, SAT and ACT, as well as scholarship applications. Workshops in high schools and the community would be also conducted.

The needs will be met through resources that she will provide through the funding of the President’s Engagement Prize. As a friend, I was impacted by her her skills to be dedicated to a project that could have a large impact for students, and her knowledge on how to start her non-profit to meet the needs of minority students in her community.

“Why Principles of Entrepreneurship?”

            A few days before the drop/add, I had to find my fourth class to add to my schedule. I found three courses that I became interested in, and one of them was ENT3003; I added one course, and then dropped it after I reviewed the syllabus, and its’ Canvas page. For the three courses I did this procedure. When I added ENT3003, I decided to watch the lectures, and as an introvert I was shying away from this course. After two days, I decided to add the course, not only because it would let me get out of the “box” and be comfortable speaking out, even through a YouTube video (which out of all honesty, I would not have done otherwise), but also because I do not need to become an entrepreneur to gain skills that will prepare me for the workforce.

This class is exactly that, it is going to teach me skills that are going to prepare for the workforce, and maybe one day I will become an entrepreneur………

Actually, I Am an Entrepreneur.