EDUCATIONAL JOURNEY

In high school, I was very intrigued in business classes. I took all the classes my school offered; finance, accounting, marketing, retailing, and was a member of Missouri DECA. My senior year I stepped up to the role of President for our Division 1 Platte County DECA Chapter, and was also the student manager of our student-lead school spirit store.

The summer of 2023, following my high school graduation, I was chosen to participate in a 2 week intensive entrepreneurship scholarship course. Not only did I get my entreprenuership credit out of the way, but I got real-world learning experience. We took public transportation and learned our way around the metro, had one-on-one conversations with business owners from all over the KC area, explored profits to non-profits, and overall really got to dive deeper into what running a business entails. I am so honored to have been a part of this educational program taught by UMKC professor himself, Professor Willams, who generously traded his summer to help us learn. The course also offered me the opportunity to move onto campus 3 weeks early, and it was a great first step to getting acclimated to the newness of college life. 

I was very fortunate during my time at UMKC to have been here for the partnership between our city and university. Not only is the Kansas City Chiefs organization phenomenal in itself, but it brought real world learning experience to our school. I applied for a mentorship opportunity through a program at the university called Professional Career Escalators, where if selected, got to be mentored by a professional in the department I was interested in. In May of 2024 I received an email, congratulating me on my place with this new mentorship. 

My mentor was Chris Stathos, who at the time was the Director of Partnerships for the Kansas City Chiefs. Chris welcomed me with open arms. I got to tour the training facility located in Kansas City, have a lunch with some of his fellow employees, and get exclusive access to some special events that were held throughout the year. Having Chris as a contact for potential future opportunities is something I am very grateful for.

Towards the end of the mentorship, I was invited by the Partnership Development and Design team for a full day of pre and post game shadowing. I was able to tour partnership suites, game day tailgate events, and sitting up in the Marketing penthouse to learn all things social media.

One of my goals for the 2025 year was to spend time learning how to use different design programs. I started by taking a beginner course on Udemy, focusing on the platform Affinity Designer.

After a spontaneous conversation with CEO, Mario Azar, I was offered an interview with the Marketing department for a Summer Intern position. Black & Veatch was at the top of my "Dream internships," list, so coming across Mario in my day-to-day life was huge for me. A casual conversation turned into an item crossed off on my aspiring marketer checklist! I am so eager to see what this summer holds.