• Hometown: Arlington Heights, IL
• High School: John Hersey High School
• Class: 2026
• Major: Digital Commerce
• Current Place of Employment: Happiness Project, Co-Founder and CMO

Out of all the universities you looked at, what made you ultimately choose Miami?

I originally started my journey at Miami in 2016, straight out of high school. From my first visit, I knew this was going to be a fantastic place to continue my education. The entire community felt welcoming, the campus was beautiful, and sometimes, places just feel "right". Miami was that place for me.

How did you choose your major(s)? Were you decided from the beginning, or did you discover your interests here along the way?

I have a bit of a unique journey with Miami! I thought I was going to be a software engineer, but I also wanted to focus on business as well, with how reputable the business school is, so I originally was a double major in computer science and business analytics. I studied both of these from 2016 to 2020 right out of high school, and was only a semester or two from receiving my degree. However, my journey changed drastically after COVID.

With just a few classes to go, I decided to drop out of Miami to help my good friend with his small business that started as a school project, a clothing brand that spreads mental health awareness. Fortunately, we have continued to grow, and are proud to say we have raised over $300,000 for mental health charities. With this success, I had the pleasure of returning to Miami's regional campus to complete an online degree in Digital Commerce, which is exactly what I do for my company, Happiness Project, as Co-Founder and CMO!

What are your plans for after you graduate from Miami? What sort of career are you aiming for? What is your dream job?

My current job is my dream job, actually! I love the work I do for the Happiness Project, and when I decided to look back into Miami to complete my degree, as I was so close when I dropped out, I realized the Digital Commerce program could not have been a more perfect fit. As someone who has been in the ecommerce space for the past 5+ years, the program matches so much of what I do day-to-day, and I could not recommend it enough for anyone interested in pursuing that field. Whether it's digital marketing, media buying, or content creation, all the classes were extremely relevant to what is going on in such a fast-paced industry.

If you had an opportunity to talk to a student considering coming to Miami, what would you tell them?

This will be the best time of your life (so far!!!). As cliché as it sounds, finding the right balance is so important between friends, school, and extracurriculars. Don't overdue one area at the expense of the others!

Is there anything else you'd like to share about your Miami experience that we didn't cover? 

I would just like to give a special thank you to the Miami staff, all the professors in the Digital Commerce department, and the head of the department, Thomas Mays. I did not know what to expect returning to college after 5 years off, and I was a bit worried it would be a difficult process, but everyone above made it extremely easy for me to transition. They helped me figure out what I needed for my degree and what credits I had applicable from my prior 4 years, and after my initial call with Thomas Mays, when I was introduced to the Digital Commerce program, I knew 100% that is what I wanted to get my degree in!

Have you used what you learned in different subjects to solve a problem or come up with a new idea?

Yes! As mentioned above, so much of the digital commerce program is extremely relevant to my profession. As a CMO and co-founder for an ecommerce business, I am working in a ton of fields, from content marketing, paid media buying, Email/SMS marketing, website development+design, CRO, and just managing a small business in general, the coursework that I went through was not only applicable to all those fields I just listed, but I also was learning new things every class.

Have your experiences at Miami helped you develop an entrepreneurial mindset — like being resilient, adaptable, or willing to take risks?

Yes! I do not think that if I went to Miami those first 4 years from 2016 - 2020, I would have had the confidence to drop out and take a risk helping my friend to grow a fresh clothing brand from the ground into a real, full-time business. 

Have you used your knowledge or skills from Miami to positively impact your community or the world around you?

I like to think what I do for work positively impacts the community around the world! As stated, we are proud to say we have raised over $300,000 for mental health charities, and we have grown our social media audience to over 2 million, with much of our content not being about the clothes, but rather sharing mental health information and positive encouragement to those who need it most. We have also sold clothing to more than 75+ countries.