Yanyce Long

As the daughter of two full-time working parents, I have spent much of my academic career in virtual school and my free time between home and church. The small rural town of Minneola that I have grown up in can feel confined with limited connections to the outside world due to my age, lack of transportation, and access to financial means. Early on, I knew I needed to find my way to escape and experience the world, even if it was only mentally.
Since the age of 9, I’ve consistently changed the design of my room seasonally. I enjoyed repurposing old shoe boxes, glass bottles, and unwanted clothing or furniture into new art pieces to match my decor. I would use movie themes as inspiration and make my room resemble the places I felt most drawn to from the films I watched. This process of changing my room improved my mood drastically, and suddenly, my life didn’t seem mundane as I unknowingly began creating sustainable art.
At 15, I attempted to launch my own online business by selling my drawings on clothing merchandise. Unfortunately, I had no knowledge of how supply/demand or marketing worked. After all the hard work I put in, I only sold one item to a friend, whom I believed took pity on me seven months after I launched my business. Although my first attempt did not go as well as I wanted it to, I learned a lot, even if I only had a hard-earned $4 profit.
Andy Warhol famously said, “Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art.” To reach my goal, I will have to expand my knowledge of entrepreneurship and art.
I believe that I will be able to do this by attending my dream school, Rollins College. I plan to attend Rollins College in the Fall of 2022. A Business degree from Rollins can help me accomplish my goal of creating an eco-friendly interior design firm and being an African American business owner. I want to share my passion with others. I want future clients to have the same feeling I get when I change my room’s décor, as I combine my love of making eco-friendly art and procreating bespoke spaces to match their moods and desires. My creations will allow individuals to enjoy sustainable spaces that won’t impact natural resources for homes, corporate offices, restaurants, hotels, and real estate companies.
Using the valuable resources that Rollins has to offer, I can establish a legacy and provide valuable contributions to the planet and humanity’s mental well-being through sustainability art, business, and interior design.