Student profile

Accepted into University of Virginia, Indiana, Washington+Lee, Villanova, University of Michigan

GPA: 3.9

SAT: 1480

Extracurricular activities: RevLux: Founder, Ociter Lumen Capital LLC: Founder, Tennis for Life LLC: President, MIT Launch 2017; Yale Young Global Scholars; TEDx Speaker and Presenter; Flint Hill Investment Club; University of Pennsylvania High School Investment Competition; Inclusive Leadership Council; Flint Hill Young Republicans Club; Four-year varsity tennis member; Model United Nations (Vice President); Variable X, mathematics tutoring service


Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.  



I am an entrepreneur. Once, I was a lonely one.
 
At twelve, I worked with at-risk youth for my non-profit organization in a run-down, bullet-ridden neighborhood in South-East Washington DC.
 
At fourteen, I Skyped with Chinese manufacturing executives at 1AM to optimize the pricing and distribution of shirts for a clothing startup.
 
At seventeen, I co-founded a medical imaging software company to detect bone fractures without a doctor.
 
These endeavors faced long odds. Grownups said that I should wait until I was older or not waste my time pursuing such lofty ideas. I have always had big ideas and ambitious goals –the ones that parents tell you that are great and admirable, but in their minds, they believe are unachievable and naive . I didn’t see it that way. I could achieve them. Not being understood by my peers, doubted by professionals, and lacking mentorship, it was a perfect recipe for me to abandon my ambitions.

During sixth grade, my friends and I were excited for a long holiday weekend. Some were planning to watch a movie while others were attending a Washington Wizards game. Yet, for the fourth week in a row, they heard the same “boring” answer from me. I would be collecting donated tennis rackets, apparel, and shoes and teaching tennis to kids my age in impoverished neighborhoods in Washington D.C.
 
I thought I had developed a unique and successful approach combining social entrepreneurship and tennis, yet my friends were skeptical. During lunch when I tried to discuss Elon Musk’s new technology or innovative ways to make our school better, I inevitably drew bored stares and glossed eyes.   Over time, I talked less and less about my entrepreneurial passion to my friends and on the surface, I no longer looked like an entrepreneur. I felt ostracized because we didn’t share the same interests and didn’t have someone to relate to.  I internalized my struggles and continued forward in hopes of eventually finding a community of entrepreneurs.
 
     As donations increased and more and more kids showed up, I contacted tennis clubs and companies trying to develop community partnerships and initiate marketing campaigns. However, they were skeptical. None of the managers thought that I could contribute anything significant given my age. Even as I told adults, they too dismissed my organization and market strategies.  
 
Over the years, I continued with other entrepreneurial endeavors , and with each venture came new challenges as I learned to adapt.

I subsequently learned what entrepreneurship was: “The pursuit of opportunity beyond resources controlled” as defined by Harvard Business Review. My resource  controlled was my age.

I became familiar with this definition when I attended MIT Launch, an entrepreneurship incubator at MIT. Four weeks of meeting business executives, pulling all-nighters with my teammates to perfect our pitch to investors, learning from renowned professors, and analyzing case studies with MBA students, I was in entrepreneurial Heaven!
I availed myself of the opportunities provided by MIT Launch and the city of Boston, arranging meetings with Venture Capital firms, tapping into the unconventional resources of the MIT Media Lab, and sneaking into networking events. I was thereby presented with the “MIT Hustler” award for determination, ambition, and commitment.
Regardless of the origin of our passports, our friendships there were established through our passion  for entrepreneurship  . The bonds we formed spurred my entrepreneurial  spirit as I discovered how friendship supports business.   I had developed an unbelievable family who I could rely upon and could relate to my journey. My yearning for a nurturing  environment was finally satisfied.
I was finally in my element. Emboldened, my journey has not been easy, but I have at last found my community. The true entrepreneur spirit is raging within me and I am ready to be who I am.
 
I am an entrepreneur, but finally no longer a lonely one.