BizAcademy Reflection

Grace Petit is currently a student at Trinity University (Class of 20011).  She
participated in the Summer 2006 BizAcademy in New York and received a scholarship from the salesforce.com Foundation.  She shares her experience with the program and fills us in on what is keeping her busy now. 

My name is Grace Petit.  I was a member of the summer 2006 BizAcademy program in New York.  I was elected to be the CEO of the company, Capture the Moment.  The mission of our company was to produce beautiful, quality picture frames and candles to help our customers preserve life’s wonderful moments, whether through a memory or a picture.  As CEO of the company I had the opportunity to learn and appreciate some of the rewards and stresses that come with running a company.  I made sure to keep my employees on task while giving them the freedom and space for creativity in order to successfully do their jobs.  I was charged with the task of organizing the budget proposal as we sought out possible funders to receive loans from.  We dealt with the rush of marketing, production, and finance.

Being a member of BizAcademy was the perfect way to spend my summer.  I was challenged as well as given the opportunity to have fun while entering into the business world.  Upon completing BizAcademy I was given the opportunity to apply for a scholarship with the Salesforce.com Foundation.  The application, though long, caused me to really think about the effect I wanted to have on society.  With the experience of running my own company, and the passion I have for working with children, I decided that I wanted to open my own school.  In order to be able to properly serve the students that would attend my school, I needed to first complete college.

I was able to enroll at Trinity University in the fall of 2007 because of the scholarship I received from the Salesforce.com Foundation.  Without the financial assistance I received, I would have started school a semester late, using the time off to work and save.  The scholarship I received from Salesforce.com was able to cover my room and board as well as my books.  This level of assistance placed me at a level playing field with the rest of my peers.  I completed my first year at Trinity with honors.  I was inducted into the National Scholars Honor Society and the Pi Sigma Alpha, Political Science Honor Society.  I was given the opportunity to apply for another scholarship with the Salesforce.com Foundation during sophomore year.  The scholarship that I was awarded will be used as financial assistance during my junior year.