College Experiences That Helped a Head of Growth at 3DNS Succeed

My first major decision was attending community college. I didn't know what I wanted to do, and my focus in high school was solely on baseball.

I decided to focus on getting good grades. My original goal was to transfer to Cal State Long Beach. However, my advisor suggested other options, including UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara, and even Berkeley.

This was surprising because I had a poor high school GPA and never took the SAT. I eventually earned a degree from Berkeley. This was partly thanks to the Puente program at community college, which was designed for Latinx and Hispanic students. Having a Spanish last name likely helped my eligibility.

I genuinely enjoyed my time there. Teachers and students alike seemed to like me. The English class, for example, used stories from Latinx writers and included field trips. We also had a college success class.

Additionally, I was part of an honor society in junior college. This allowed me to connect with other students aiming for UC schools, participate in various events, and apply for scholarships. These scholarships helped fund my college education.

After transferring to Berkeley, I found that being part of Greek life was a double-edged sword, with its share of ups and downs, good times, and regrets. However, it also placed me among ambitious individuals who knew how to balance their lifestyle with academics.

Within my fraternity, I had opportunities to manage people and budgets, taking on different leadership roles. I learned to influence young men, although I didn't fully realize it at the time, thinking I was just there to have a good time.

Reflecting now, I see how those experiences helped me develop skills I use daily. As head of growth, I manage international teams and coordinate partners, customers, and marketing personnel to execute projects like live streams.

I believe being involved in various organizations, like the Puente program and the Honor Society in community college, and later a larger organization at UC Berkeley, helped me become a better student. Living and growing with fellow students in a fraternity fostered mutual management and development.

I was also surrounded by highly driven individuals who have gone on to found startups, work in quantum computing, or become executive leaders in supply chain companies. Despite our youthful indiscretions, I was in the company of very accomplished people.

I learned from them and had opportunities to collaborate. You never know what skills you'll gain from these experiences, and they can either hinder or help you later on.

Looking back, I'm grateful for these involvements. They prepared me to be adaptable, capable of handling multiple tasks, and proficient in meeting deadlines.