I began my BUILD journey as a inexperienced entrepreneur and as I continued through each year of the program I built a strong foundation for my creativity, confidence, and self expression to flourish.
When were you a BUILD student and what did you do as a BUILD student or within your BUILD team?
I was a BUILD student from 2014-2018 in Oakland, California (Bay Area). BUILD and Oakland Technical High School class of 2018! During my years as a BUILD entrepreneur I created many businesses but I also held the roles of Chief Executive Officer for Royal Threads and Chief Marketing and Design Officer for Scarfed Up.
What were two things you learned or felt like you improved in because of your experience with BUILD?
As a BUILDer I grew immensely in my sense of self confidence and public speaking abilities. I remember one Build memory quite vividly, Build Bay Area high school business teams were given the opportunity to create a website for their business using wix.com. I was the only member from my team willing to represent my business against three other teams from Oakland. Thanks to my amazing BUILD experience and the many years of business pitches and opportunities to practice public speaking at Galas and other selling events I walked away as the winner of the competition having created the winning website as a one woman team representing my business Royal Threads as an E3 (junior year student in BUILD)
What advice would you give to future BUILD alumni?
My advice for future BUILDers would be to always take the time to connect with your mentors. Make an effort to get to know them and find ways to build connections that will grow into impactful relationships long after your time in BUILD. Take each year in BUILD as an opportunity to change your business if that’s what you decide or find ways to reinvent your business as your business flourishes from freshman to senior year. Lastly and most importantly, give yourself the freedom to be creative, lean into your leadership abilities and strengthen your areas of growth from one BUILDer to another. These four years will fly by and you will greatly appreciate each opportunity you take advantage of and use to build your resume and increase your own knowledge.
- When were you a BUILD student and what did you do as a BUILD student or within your BUILD team?
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My BUILD experience
My favorite BUILD memories as a BUILD Intern.
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