COMMUNITY STORIES: TRINITY BROWN
People usually share the city they are from, but my county encapsulates how the culture of the DMV has a major impact on my life.
From the unique music of GoGo to the large African-American population, going to the Smithsonian Museums each field trip in elementary school, and going to church every Sunday morning, my culture has taught me the importance of community. I have learned how to help others and how critical education is to be the best version of myself.
I was drawn to this topic when I saw how much I wanted to help people financially. At first, I wanted to be a nurse. This short-lived desire ended because I was not the best at chemistry.
This is where I realized that being a business major was right for me. When I started college, I explored the different fields of business. I grew fond of accounting after hearing about the day-to-day life of the recruiters that came from PWC and KPMG. My analytical skill set led me to add Data Analytics & Information Systems as a minor.
My task includes creating bi-monthly sales reports for the student creators and analyzing this information to help the creators make informed financial decisions when making their items. This helps the creators account for the items they have sold.
I also manage the Student-Made Loyolas budget when we need to buy promotional items or things needed to benefit the creator's experience in our program. Lastly, create SKU numbers for these items, upload them on the website, and create announcements to get customers updated on the exciting things happening on campus.
As the website manager, it is important that I upload their products in time for a collection of a Pop-Up Shop. In the beginning, I had a hard time trying to manage the website with school work and other activities I was involved with.
With the help of the Student-Made Team, I was able to fulfill my commitment to the creators and get their products on the website quickly. This allowed the creators to feel confident and trust that I could get their items on the website as quickly as possible.
My faith being the centerpiece of my motivation has contributed to improvement in various areas of my role with Student-Made. A huge lesson that stands out to me is the parable of the talents that Jesus shares with us in the book of Matthew. He encourages us to invest the resources that we have in order to make an impact.
I have been able to reap the benefits of applying this parable to my life firsthand by seeing how applying my time and resources to others can truly help them achieve their goals with their businesses. Knowing the impact that I can have on others by applying Christ’s teachings to my life continues to motivate me each day to better myself in my role and be a positive light toward others.
With this education I want to continue to use my expertise to help others like I do with Student-Made. It is an amazing experience seeing creators go from selling 2 items to selling out their products!
In my professional career, I plan to work in public accounting, where I will continue to be a part of the bigger picture. I strive to deepen my knowledge in accounting and be a part of a network that I can gain helpful insight from.
