My Quest for Finance Success by Rishikesh

My Quest for Finance Success by Rishikesh - February 2024 Scholarship Essay

Throughout the past four years, I have developed multiple interests and been involved in various clubs, organizations, and communities that allowed me to hone in on Finance. I have strived to be a team player, leader, and an emotionally intelligent individual. Firstly, I started EconSimple, an online publication to spread financial literacy among teens. When this idea was conceived, I was involved in recruiting content creators through social media and tapping talents from high school business clubs. My responsibilities included content curation, managing deadlines, reinforcing expectations, and motivating writers. The goal was also to keep the EconSimple website a user-friendly interface and connect with its target teen readers in a simple and informative way. This idea emerged to be an overwhelming success and was a result of multiple iterations of ideas aiming to spread financial literacy. Throughout this experience, I learned how to manage individuals, work collaboratively with a team, market, and incorporate user feedback.

Furthermore, I was active in my school taking business-related courses to develop my business acumen and understand whether this is something I enjoy. In my Freshman year, I took an elective called Economics Today that sparked my first interest in personal finance and learning how to manage money. I then took AP Macro, AP Micro, AP Probability, and Statistics in my junior year to further my interest in Economics/Finance and Statistics. At the same time, I participated in clubs across my school such as Economics Club and FBLA where I gave presentations, won awards, and attracted members. Specifically, I was able to participate in FBLA Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia this past summer, after qualifying through rigorous tests and application analysis. Such experiences allowed me to network with different individuals with similar interests, learn from professionals, and continue to strengthen my interest in Finance.

Another activity I was involved with was the Temple Camp, being a Head Counselor this past summer. Such an activity gave me the perfect opportunity to showcase my leadership skills, making me realize I had a knack for being a Finance major in the modern workforce. I led 100+ campers and oversaw smooth operations and functioning of the camp, recruited 50+ committee leaders, coordinated events with temple trustees, organized meetings with the leads to understand their approach, guided them, and also held them accountable for their groups. I tactfully handled last-minute setbacks by quick thinking, brainstorming, and bringing the team together to give an enjoyable cultural experience for the campers. As a leader, it is important to know that a lot of times, things do not go as planned, so we have to adapt and problem-solve. This occurred when the Bhajans(cultural songs) teacher could not come the entire week of camp, and I had to step in to teach music. This commitment was challenging, but I succeeded in leading a successful camp and the campers had a wonderful time with my twist of entertainment with learning.

Such a variety of activities and personal experiences exposed me to diverse experiences that narrowed down my major and career goals. I was eight when my interest in business was ignited after watching Shark Tank, admiring stalwarts like Kevin O’Leary strike royalty deals and it exponentially increased as I started assisting my mother, a successful entrepreneur. I am currently involved in marketing initiatives on social media channels, maintaining her website, and brainstorming ideas with her to grow the business. I also developed an interest in Finance by watching my earnings grow in savings accounts/CDs and learned about investments in stocks and bonds with the help of my father. This sparked my interest in spreading financial knowledge among teens through EconSimple. My goal are to combine my two interests, Finance and Statistics, to work as a Sports Executive or General Manager for a professional team. My interest in the industry stemmed from my obsession with video games like NBA2k and Madden where I would try to strategically construct the best team, manage contracts, and evaluate developmental skill sets. I would love to explore Business Analytics with Finance to provide me with quantitative and analytical skills, enabling me to work with data to predict and perform financial projections.