Assignment 3A- Entrepreneurship Story

My entrepreneurship story is longer than most, but it is one that I will always cherish. Throughout my life, I have been surrounded by many incredible role models who were not only entrepreneurs but also taught me valuable lessons that helped mold me into the person and student I am today. My story begins with my grandparents, who are Armenian, but came to the United States from Romania in 1961. They did not speak any English and left all of their belongings behind, but they wanted to have better lives than they did in Romania. After moving to New York, my grandfather got a job working for Omega Watches and took up a trade as a watchmaker. My grandparents worked extremely hard while raising three children (they had my mom in 1963), saved their money, and eventually opened their own jewelry store. They moved to Vero Beach in 1981, where they catered their jewelry store, Adriane Jewelers, to people who would purchase their higher-end products. In fact, their clients included fellow entrepreneurs like the CEOs of Hanes Underwear and Ragu. When they found out that my mom was pregnant with me in 1998, they retired so they could focus on their family and be the best grandparents. To me, my grandparents are the epitome of the "American Dream."

My entrepreneurship story continues as I was raised by two dedicated and hard-working parents. My mother worked in a variety of professional settings until I was born as a Medical Assistant for a Pediatrician, Sales Manager and Morgage Broker, and an Office Manager for an OB/GYN. My father has his own law firm that focuses on personal injury, workers' compensation, and immigration law. Specifically, my father is a personal injury lawyer who represents injured clients after they get into accidents. He works with a mixture of people to get cases settled, including his clients, employees, insurance adjusters, other lawyers, doctors, and judges, so no two days are exactly the same. But, unless he has a scheduled appointment like a mediation, he has the flexibility to work his own hours, and can even take a day off to spend time with my mom and me... what can I say, he is a family man! One of the things I respect the most about my father is that he always puts his clients' best interests first and uses his career not only to be his own boss but also as a pathway to helping others on a daily basis.

My father's graduation from Stetson University Law School in 1995.

My story is still changing and evolving, but the next page lies in my future as an entrepreneur. When I was in fourth grade, I noticed that my school, Bessey Creek Elementary, was not recycling and decided to take action by creating a recycling club called Team Green. As a middle school student, I regularly went back to Bessey Creek and volunteered by overseeing Team Green. I often noticed that students with Autism and other disabilities were excluded from activities like News Crew and Safety Patrol, so I sought out to include them in this club. The mission of the program evolved to empower and enhance leadership opportunities for all members through a common goal of recycling and becoming involved in our community by protecting our environment. Now known as Team Green Martin, my recycling program is implemented in numerous Martin County schools as part of a district-wide initiative.

When I was in fifth-grade, I had life-saving brain surgery performed by Dr. Ben Carson. While I was his patient, Dr. Carson taught me to "think big." After my surgery, I learned about the global water crisis and how girls in developing nations sacrifice their education to collect contaminated water for their families. They carry jerrycans, which resemble yellow gasoline tanks and weigh 40 pounds when full of water. I decided to take action by asking for donations to charities that provide clean water to people in developing nations instead of receiving birthday and Christmas gifts. To date, I have fundraised over $70,000 to help end the global water crisis.

In 2016, I became the first high school recipient of Seton Hall University’s United Nations Sustainable Development Challenge. As a participant in this challenge, I learned about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations, which work together to end poverty, reduce inequalities, and protect our planet by 2030. My passion for bringing attention to the global water crisis expanded to include the Sustainable Development Goals because the additional 16 Goals have a connection to Clean Water and Sanitation, which is Goal 6.

Getting ready for my presentation to the judging committee!

Later that afternoon, I was so shocked when I found out I won first place!

This experience led me to establish Students4H2O in 2018. Students4H2O is a non-profit organization with the mission is to enhance education, stewardship, and citizenship, beginning with elementary and middle school students in Martin County. One of Students4H2O’s core values is that a sustainable community will lead to a sustainable planet by working towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

I know that this post is very long, and I am sorry, but I promise I am getting to the end of the story now. I am currently a public relations major at UF and am taking this course to fulfill my outside concentration requirement in business administration. I took an entrepreneurship course when I was in high school, so I have a basic knowledge of this subject. However, I specifically chose to take this course because I want to expand upon my existing understanding of entrepreneurship and learn how the knowledge I obtain can benefit my future. One of the most valuable lessons my father taught me is that it's better to be the boss than the one who has to answer to the boss. I plan to honor this advice and be the boss. I am grateful to be a student in this course, and I am excited to see what I will learn this semester.