I like to think of myself as a calculated risk taker. It's about making a decision that might end badly, but might also end up turning out stupendously. For me, nothing is really a challenge unless there is some risk involved to spice it up.

One of the biggest risks I've ever made was the decision to travel to Mexico for two months over the summer of 2014. I'd been to México before, but only in safe little alcoves made for gringos like myself. Were I to go there with the Amigos de Las Americas program I wouldn't be in one of these "safe-zones". I'd be in the heart of Oaxaca with just one other English speaker in the whole community. It was terrifying at first. I was a mediocre Spanish speaker at best, and was unable to speak in most capacities to many of the townspeople. It was very difficult for me, usually quite a loquacious person, to have to rely on my partner to communicate my thoughts. By the third week, I was conversing with many of the locals with imperfect, but comprehensible Spanish. Another near stumbling block was the choice of a community based initiative to pursue. The local government (autoridades) and the local youth had conflicting ideas. We had to guide the local authorities away from traditional, unsustainable projects and get them to consider the ideas of the local youth. It was a huge risk to go against the autoridades, especially as the past two groups to work with Mazaltepec had worked on their ideas. However, it ended up being a tremendous success, as the youth wanted to attract children back to the public library. This led to the creation of a ludoteca, an area in a library for children to play board games. It was this kind of community enriching project that my partner and I wanted to accomplish.

I am incredibly excited for the opportunity that Babson offers to improve my skills. Babsons courses, especially the foundations of management and entrepreneurship program, cater to exactly my kind of approach to problem solving in a way that other schools don’t. It's very important, in my opinion, for this kind of program to be executed in the first year as it allows for the skills taught to be applied throughout the whole college experience. I would love to immerse myself in an environment where my risk taking mentality can be fostered into a means of achieving goals in the business world and beyond.