I’ve always been fascinated with the science of making money. Growing up, I sold Girl Scout Cookies and ran lemonade stands. By the time I was in middle school, I found a way to monetize my love of reading by running my own book blog, gaining several hundred thousand followers. Shortly after beginning this venture, my love of reading quickly evolved into a love of writing, which led me to write and publish my own original stories on Episode, a mobile app that features interactive stories where the user chooses their own path. I self-taught myself how to code story animations using Episode’s programming language, ultimately amassing over half a million reads and ranking #4 in Drama out of over 150,000 stories on the platform.

Coming into college, double majoring in Canfield Business Honors and Plan II Honors felt like a natural fit for combining my love of the humanities with my passion for business. I’ve also had the opportunity to explore my passion for entrepreneurship, which was my first avenue of experiencing the business world.

Back in high school, I won my first pitch competition and was awarded with a tour of Capital Factory–the biggest investor of startups in the state of Texas. I am now a partner in the Austin-based startup FreeWater, which is the world’s first free beverage company. We produce and distribute bottles of natural spring water, and our water is always free because the ads on the packaging pay for everything, including a ten-cent per beverage donation to build water wells in Kenya. I’m currently in a class called Longhorn Startup Lab, which gives student entrepreneurs real course credit for working on their startups while still in school and awards each company a $1k grant. This class meets in Capital Factory and is taught by Capital Factory’s CEO and Founder. So, five years later, everything has come full circle… the place that I originally toured in high school after winning my first entrepreneurship competition is now where I go every week to work on my startup. It’s surreal.

My business philosophy is heavily influenced by my liberal arts education. We have such an appreciation for beauty in the liberal arts, while business can be so focused on the bottom line. It’s easy to lean into finance—the goal is to make profit, right? But with the liberal arts, the goal is to create, admire, or try to explain beauty.

I think the real magic of business is when we combine it with the human side of life. My view of business is that it’s a way to spark joy in people’s lives and create magic. Take a really amazing product, like a Bath and Body Works candle. A customer walks into the store and is suddenly overcome by a raft of delightful scents, and before she knows it, a smile has graced her face as she browses the shelves. After a leisurely stroll through seasonal displays, she finally finds that candle that smells just like the cinnamon rolls her mother baked on Christmas morning when she was a child. The customer swiftly checks out, eager to take her newfound treasure home and watch a cozy holiday movie with the candle flickering on her coffee table, as she is comforted by the aromas of her past. That’s sparking joy. That’s creating a whole journey for the customer and igniting their imagination. It’s such a small thing, but it’s just one example, and when you have a liberal arts education, those small things become stories — they’re not just numbers on a financial report.

I’m always asking myself: Is the work I’m doing sparking joy? Am I making someone’s life easier? What does that process look like? And I think by infusing little bits of joy or magic into business processes, you can really have a profound impact on people’s lives.

As a Texas Longhorn, I know that what starts here changes the world, and I don’t take that charge lightly. Whatever I choose to do in business–whether that be founding my own startup or steering a Fortune 500 company–I have to believe that it will change the world. And if my work does change the world, that the change is for the better.

After graduating in May 2023, I will be joining Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as an Associate in the Austin office. I’m so blessed to have this opportunity, and after two summers interning at BCG, I can’t imagine a better place to call my new home. Thank you, UT Austin, for the best four years of my life. Thank you for helping me make my wildest dreams become reality. Hook’em forever!

Majors 
Canfield Business Honors and Plan II Honors

Honors Programs
Canfield Business Honors and Plan II Honors

Other Academic Interests
Social Entrepreneurship, Spanish

Extracurricular Activities
Partner and Early Joiner in FreeWater, Treasurer of Zeta Tau Alpha, Vice Chair of University Unions Board of Directors, Student Body President Representative on Student Services Budget Committee, Deputy Financial Director of Student Government, Longhorn Legislative Aides, Consult Your Community, Management Consulting Association

What drew you to the Forty Acres Scholars Program?
Being a part of the Forty Acres Scholars Program is a dream come true. The vast network of Texas Exes alumni, coupled with the very dedicated staff at the Texas Exes, makes for a powerful college experience. FASP made me feel supported and loved before I even set foot on the Forty Acres as a freshman. I came into college with a built-in group of best friends, phenomenal support system through the Texas Exes team, generous network of mentors, and the confidence to take such a large University by storm. My fellow scholars are a constant source of inspiration to me, and our deep sense of community gives us all a strong conviction that what starts here truly does change the world. I can’t say that I would be who I am today, or have accomplished what I have today, had it not been for this program.