A Discovery Trail to Happiness
Anggie Asencio
B.B.A. Finance and International Business
Recent Graduate 2018
Queens College, CUNY
Exposure to the arts and other cultures in New
York City through my classmates and friends
while I attended Art and Design High School allowed
me the opportunity to learn about other cultures
and made me realize my interest in travelling.
During my junior year of high school, I was attracted to
having an art related career but it changed over time. During
those years, I went on a weeklong trip to Italy and France with
high school classmates and I was thrilled to be traveling. Once
I graduated, I embarked on a new journey in college to
pursue a different career path. However, I did not outgrow
my creative side.
Born and raised in Queens, NY, I attended Queens College
to remain close to my family but also to learn more about
my community. I have met classmates with different
backgrounds and while we all have different stories to share,
our economic background is similar. Curious about the
differences yet similarities with each other led me to my
career choice: Economics and Finance.
My interest in both majors came from my curiosity in
wanting to understand better how people of different economic
status make decisions and the different methods of enhancing
their monetary status. In addition to Economics and Finance,
I added International Business to my studies because I
wanted to learn how entrepreneurs use their knowledge of
finance and economics to expand their business overseas
adapting to a different language and culture.
During my college years, I met individuals whom have
been honest with me and made me aware of the initiative I
Anggie visits the leaning tower of
Pisa in Italy. (February 2013).
On June 2018, Anggie and 13 summer interns volunteered
at the World Food Peace Prize. Anggie had the opportunity to
meet the President of the Foundation, Ambassador Quinn
(Former U.S. Ambassador of Cambodia).
need to take to be the leader I aspire to be. This awareness pushed
me to get out of my comfort zone and become active in college
and in my community. I attended business and leadership
club meetings, interacted with alumni and interned at Queens
Community House and the Museum of the Moving Image.
Interning in non-profits made me feel closer to my community,
however, I felt I was not executing my educational skills. I
researched online and asked career advisors what would be
the best way to pursue an internship where I could use my degree
and skills at the same time. In the fall of 2017, I learned about
and applied for the HACU National Internship Program for
summer 2018. I received news of my acceptance to the program
six months after I applied. With this opportunity, I was selected
to intern at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Foreign
Agricultural Services Agency, in Washington D.C. At first, leaving
my family and living in a new city seemed daunting, but my
parents supported me in my career ambitions and encouraged
me to gain as much work experience as possible.
My experience has been amazing. Learning
about international development, food assistance
programs, and trade policies, allowed me to create
marketing plans for expansion of current projects
using my college acquired skills and my creative
skills. The experience HACU has allowed me to
have has ignited a passion to pursue a master’s
degree in international relations.
I look forward to developing new skills and
finding my niche in a work setting. I strive to succeed,
be siempre humilde (Always humble) and give
back to my community. This is my mantra in finding
my path. One day, I will provide advice and
resources to the new generation of Latinos in finding
their niche of happiness.
College Beat
LS
Anggie with her parents Cristobal and
Ana on graduation day. (May 2018).
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