What I Learned Scooping Italian Gelato
A Sweet Learning Experience
I took an extended summer job at a small gelato shop in the heart of Coconut Grove. While I only intended to fulfill the job for a few months, I ended up working with the company for nearly a year. The learning experience was also more than I expected. During my relatively short time with the store, I went from simply scooping out gelato to busy crowds to training new hires to balancing the register and closing the shop on my own. I learned to work with a team and I learned some valuable lessons in customer service. I learned to break out of my shell and understand the power of a friendly face and a welcoming attitude. I learned a lot about time management and how to balance work and school. Some nights would end past midnight, so being ahead of deadlines and planning around the work time commitments was crucial to maintaining both responsibilities.
The job not only helped my personal growth but sharpened my leadership skills at school. I served as treasurer for the Student Government at school, keeping track of fundraisers and expenses.
Student Government
Treasurer position
Serving as the Treasurer of the Student Council at MCA Academy for three years has been a pivotal experience that has strengthened my leadership, financial responsibility, and organizational skills. In this role, I have been responsible for managing the council’s budget, ensuring funds are allocated efficiently for school events, fundraisers, and student activities. This position has required me to maintain accurate financial records, collaborate with fellow student leaders, and communicate budgetary needs to school administrators. Through these responsibilities, I have developed a keen understanding of financial planning and decision-making, which will serve me well in both academic and professional settings.
Beyond handling finances, my role as treasurer has also allowed me to enhance my problem-solving and teamwork abilities. I have worked closely with other council members to organize events that foster school spirit and community engagement while ensuring financial sustainability. Whether it was budgeting for a charity fundraiser or negotiating costs for school pizza Fridays, I learned to think critically and adapt to changing circumstances. Additionally, presenting financial updates at council meetings has improved my public speaking and ability to articulate complex information in a clear and concise manner.
My experience as treasurer has not only deepened my appreciation for leadership but has also reinforced my commitment to responsibility and service. Balancing financial accountability with student engagement has taught me the importance of ethical decision-making and transparency—values I will carry into college and beyond. This position has shaped me into a more detail-oriented, proactive, and resourceful individual, prepared to take on challenges in both academic and extracurricular pursuits. As I move forward, I am excited to apply these skills in future leadership opportunities and continue making a positive impact in my community.
Service at Sea
Sailing with Mr. F & Cleaning up the Bay
At the start of my middle school experience, I was introduced to a whole new school and set of teachers, one being an Argentine-born sailor. In the 6th grade, my math teacher not only taught me the foundation of algebra that I would use throughout high school, but he also taught me the importance that the ocean has on our body and community. Every Friday, right after school, he would take me and my friends out on his sailboat and explain to us the importance of a clean ocean. By taking us out on his boat, he showed us the issue the whole planet struggles with: pollution. During our fun adventures out on the water, we would make sure to bring multiple contractor-grade XL-size garbage bags, to fill up with all the trash we would find floating in the water and mangroves. By doing this, we were able to clean over 15 pounds of garbage, hurting our local ecosystem, every Friday.
When the end of my 6th-grade year of school began to end, news broke out about my math teacher leaving the school. At that point, I was heartbroken; the math teacher I had for only one year was going to be leaving, and I would have to be taught by someone else. The school system had put him under an immense amount of stress that was both mentally and physically killing him, forcing him to leave his position at the school and move on somewhere else.
However, before leaving, he had sparked something inside of me. Almost like how a seed is planted in the ground, the love for the ocean, wind, and music was planted in my soul. In the next coming years of my life, I began to yearn for the ocean and feel the freedom I had felt alongside my math teacher. This eagerness would grow to become what I love doing most in my life, sailing and listening/playing music,
Although at first, I was sad, I have grown up since then and realized the importance that leaving the school system was to my math teacher. The last lesson he taught me was to not give up on my dreams and that there is always good, even if it seems bad. By leaving, he was able to follow his dreams of sailing and giving the experience of sailing to as many people as possible. He has now sailed multiple times from Tampa down to the Florida Keys on an 18-foot catamaran sailboat and continues to give more people the experience of sailing Biscayne Bay, just like I did every Friday.