The following essay was written by Thomas Holben, a finalist for the 2018 SuretyBonds.com Small Business Scholarship.
One Drop at a Time
In a powerful commencement speech at California State University Maritime Academy’s graduation, Dr. Rick Rigsby said, “How you do anything is how you do everything.” This means that how someone does one thing precisely shows how that person does other things in life. If someone takes the approach of doing something that is seemingly less important than other things or tasks without much effort, his or her true character can be revealed through this. As an example, if you are a mailman, be the best mailman you can be. I live my life with this compelling quote in mind, which serves as a reminder to constantly live as the best man I can be.
Seeing my entrepreneurial father’s success as an alumni from the University of Arizona, has peaked my interest in attending the University of Arizona. Yet, my desire to follow the path of my father goes far beyond monetary achievements. Raised by a single mother, hearing stories of my father’s struggles financially as a child, which lead to my father working and taking out student loans to pay for college himself, serves as motivation for me because I am greatly appreciative of all my parents help, but I strive to be successful as a result of my own hard work and determination. I do not want to rely on my parents’ success and call it my own. I strive to do something momentous that impacts society in a unique way.
Yearning to do something that will positively impact the lives of others and the world led me and three friends to formulate an idea that is now an Limited Liability Company backed by a provisional patent. My friends and I came up with Drip Drop Water Solutions, LLC. in a social venture class after discussing the issue of wasting water. This led to our idea of a using temperature sensing values that do not allow water to come out of a shower head until the water has reached the user’s desired temperature. After competing with other ventures from our high school, our venture was voted to compete with twenty-five other high school ventures from around the country. Through our countless hours of hard work and collaboration, our team was blessed to win two thousand five hundred dollars from a national competition in which we used to pay for our provisional patent.
At the University of Arizona, I hope to make an impactful difference in the world by continuing to pursue Drip Drop Water Solutions, LLC. through connections and the help of others at the Eller Business College. Aside from my venture, I strive to impact people everyday based upon how I treat the seemingly trivial things in life. I genuinely believe that an attitude of sincere caring for how someone treats everything he or she does is contagious and can contribute to an environment of like minded people.
Thomas will attend the University of Arizona in the fall, pursuing degrees in finance and entrepreneurship.
