Scholarship Finalist - Sekna Beydoun

Sekna Beydoun is a student at the University of Michigan- Dearborn pursuing a degree in Marketing.

Prompt: Share a personal story of how you overcame a major life challenge or obstacle and what lessons you learned that prepared you for college and beyond. How will these experiences provide you with a unique perspective in pursuing a career in business?

From a young age, I saw my grandfather struggle with various ailments and had to spend a lot of time in the hospital. My parents had to work very hard just to get by. As the eldest child in the family, I had to work after school and school on weekdays. In addition to taking care of myself, I had to help my younger siblings and emotionally support my parents. This was a burden for me as a child, but I learned to be more responsible, understand, and empathize with people, and take on leadership roles even in difficult times. I have had many challenges growing up, but this did not prevent me from being a good student in high school. I knew that I had to study hard to live a better life than my parents. I had to be able to independently support myself and have the means to help them and my siblings if necessary. My undergraduate major is Marketing. I like to be creative, and Marketing has allowed me to do this while also learning the strategies and skills necessary to be successful in business. I am also a social media manager for a realtor, which allows me to practice my branding and outreach skills with actual customers. These challenges have prepared me for how to handle the challenges of running a business. I am used to working under stressful situations. I know how to take care of many things at once and how to get to know a person to help him. I know that a business career is not just numbers, but people. I also know that the path to success is not always smooth and that you have to be able to recover and adjust. I feel like I can learn what makes a business successful from my life challenges. I have lived and experienced real problems that allow me to be a strong leader with empathy for others. I am still on the path of a career in Marketing. I aim to become a marketing manager for a large company such as Macy’s in the future and then mentor young people from disadvantaged families. With the right support and education, I can turn my challenges into a business success.