How I Became a 21-Year-Old Business Executive
At age 21, I have already graduated college twice, with both a BA and MBA from the University of San Diego, and started my first full-time job, as the director of business development at Hughes Marino, the largest commercial real estate company in San Diego, Cali., that specializes in tenant representation.
How did I do it? I didn’t take the usual route, and I never did anything the easy way. Here’s my story.
I’ve always prided myself on being different, whether it dropping out of preschool, refusing to wear make-up until my junior year of high school or never having a sip of alcohol. I graduated high school at age 18, but what made me different was how I chose to build on it. After about a month of college, I decided to graduate early. I knew I wanted to pursue my MBA, and I figured that I would be better off getting it sooner rather than later. I declared my major as business, mapped out my schedule for the next year and a half, and accepted the fact that I would not have much of a life.
I graduated from the University of San Diego at age 19 with a perfect 4.0 GPA—the highest academic average in the graduating class—and with a few years of work experience behind me. I was the only graduate too young to attend the graduation parties.
Immediately after getting my undergrad degree, I began the full-time Masters of Business Administration program, also at USD. This time will be different, I told myself. I’ll take the full two years to complete the program, have balance in my life, and focus on having fun.