I really appreciate the opportunity that you're giving to me and many other students here at Wharton and other schools alike. I wanted to say in a video that I can work hard, I'm coachable, and I like to try to be creative with my approach to a problem or a challenge. Thank you so much. Below are some images that demonstrate what I've done with personal financial education. Thank you
By the thirteenth teacher’s “no,” I was embarrassed to keep asking. I spent nights making new documents regarding curriculum and event ideas, wondering if I should undersell the scale of the idea. Without an advisor, we couldn’t meet at school. I kept staying up to improve my pitch. My undereyes got darker, and the eye twitch I’d struggled with worsened.
To handle the stress, I ran from Merrick to Longos Gym in Garden City, where I trained MMA. I think clearly after running, so I would use the slow walk home to plan out what to do.
I realized the club was the people in it, not the fact that it was official under the school. After asking every single business on Merrick Avenue, Good Life Cafe, a location roughly a mile away from the school, said yes. I focused on a quote I learned from Alex Hormozi: “To succeed you just need to do so many reps that it would be unreasonable for you to fail.”
Finding a home for the club at Good Life Cafe.The people who made the club a community.
Across the school year, I rinsed and repeated that strategy to host more than fifty meetings. When summer came, I wanted to keep going. I called every college in New York, used AI to email every financial education organization that existed, and ran a half marathon to manage the stress of pushing forward.
Continuing financial education in the Merrick community.
After calling community centers in Asia and Europe, I realized I had roots in Nicaragua and finally got a yes from Empowerment International (ethan-wsg.site). I learned B2 Spanish in 30 days, but teaching required translating all the specific material and designing the workshops the night before. I woke up at 3 a.m. almost daily to do it. I stopped running because there was no time. I went from 170 to 190 pounds in two weeks, and by week three, I had a panic attack. To my surprise, Empowerment International was more than understanding: they gave me extra hours to prepare, and we ran it anyway.
Teaching personal finance in Nicaragua.Students sharing their own ideas.Learning and working together.The community behind the workshops.
PROJECT SHIELD
Helping others lead.
I also mentored club members to prepare and present financial education lessons of their own. These are some of the people who stepped up to teach.
A student I mentored presenting an insurance lesson.A student I mentored explaining banks and credit unions.A student I mentored presenting paycheck deductions.
How I organized Project Shield
The program brought together practical topics such as paying for college, buying a car, budgeting, and banking. I organized each workshop around learning objectives, activities, presentation practice, and feedback so that other students could help lead it.
Project Shield: program overview+
Course choices, an example workshop plan, and the event mentoring blueprint · 22 seconds
Proyecto Shield: Spanish overview+
The Spanish-language program overview and student presenters · 12 seconds
I’m hoping to work with Wall Street Guide to strengthen my fundamental research, learn from feedback, and turn that learning into work that is useful to others. In Nicaragua, I had to adapt the material to the people in front of me, ask for help, and keep improving. I want to bring that same approach to investing.
Researching FTAI’s aircraft-engine power initiative alongside Nigeria’s electricity sector helped me see how technology, infrastructure, and financial incentives connect. It also taught me to question my first answer and look for the constraint that actually matters. I hope to become a global fundamental investor who can follow those connections across industries and geographies.
Thank you for considering me. I’m ready to work hard, take coaching seriously, and contribute creatively.
