The Past of an Entreprenuer<\/strong> <\/h1>\n\n\n\nEveryone has a past that has in some way shaped who they are as a person today. Some people had an easy high school career, just coasting through while figuring out where they wanted to go to college. Others had it a little rougher, trying to balance clubs with social life. No matter what end of the spectrum those individuals may have been on, they have a commonality: Their experiences during high school play a part in who they are in the present. Hello, my name is Jaydon Anderson, and this is a personal multimedia essay about how my high school career shaped me into being the person that I am as a freshman in college at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is key piece of this essay that I would like to shed light on, and that’s the “multimedia” aspect. This is unlike a typical piece of writing, because I carefully chose a handful of media that goes along with it. The photos and videos scattered throughout my typed words are there for the purpose of connecting visuals to words. The images reflect events in my past, that go hand and hand with my writing. Words alone can be powerful, but when paired with images or other media, they can truly make an impact on the audience. That is exactly what I intend to do with this essay, so this should be entertaining! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The title of this essay implies that I was at one point in my life an entrepreneur. This is true, as I still consider myself to be one today. But I’d like to deep dive a little more and really show you the picture I am trying to paint. During my senior year in high school, I was selected as one of twenty individuals to be part of a brand-new program called Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Silver Creek (CEO for short). I applied to this program as a junior, knowing very well that it’s exactly where I belonged. I had been an entrepreneur my whole life, building and selling computers at the age of 11 and by 13, running a lawn care business with my older brother and dad during COVID. By the age of 17, I was given a true shot to be a part of a group of kids my age who all wanted to learn more about how to be business owners. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThis here is the first ever professional image of the Silver Creek Area CEO class. I stand second to furthest on the right, wearing the white shirt. I find it difficult to put into words how much this photo means to me. At the time this photo was taken, most of these people were new to me. I had shaken their hands, but I knew very little of who they were as human beings. Little did any of us realize, this would be the start of the strongest friendships we had. None of us knew how to start of business of our own, let alone what we even wanted to start a business about. All of us were in the same boat. Even though this photo was meant to be professional, it still captures the true excitement I had to be a part of something new and great. I had formed an early bond with some of the members in this photo who are actually parts of my life here at SIUE. Third to the left in the back row is my best friend, Brenton Hunter. Little did I know, he would become my roommate here at college and join CODES with me. Marriam Barrientos, sixth to the right in the photo, is in almost every class I have, including CODES. This image reflects how those friendships were strengthened greatly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The cars in this video are all vehicles that belong to the seniors that make of the Silver Creek Area CEO, as well as our facilitator, Lauri Wager. This video was recorded at 6:30am at the Betty Anne’s Supermarket parking lot in Mascoutah. I was a senior in high school, and it’s not common for a student in my position to want to get up at 5:30 every morning to drive to another town. Most seniors want to kick back on their classes and show up at 8am at the earliest. Showing up early and on time became a daily habit for us CEO kids, and we learned to love it. This was my first out of over 60 sight tours in the year. I was given the opportunity to meet the owner, Craig Norrenberns.<\/strong> He later became a very supportive contributor to the CEO program. This video captures the willingness and discipline I learned in order to get up and show up for something larger than myself every morning. <\/p>\n\n\n\nGoing on site visits doesn’t sound like the most ideal, or fun thing to be doing as an activity at 6:30 in the morning– but being a part of a group of people who were like-minded and were eager to be a part of the community made it immensely more enjoyable. As a matter of fact, I learned to actually find interest in the businesses around me because of this opportunity. This image captures me with a dog at a local dog grooming establishment in my hometown, O ‘Fallon Illinois. The smile on my face shows that sometimes you can find joy in times that are meant to be challenging. To be able to find the things that can put a smile on my face in a field of adversity is something that I take pride in today, and I carry that trait with me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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This is one of many videos taken during the year for the program. It perfectly captures teamwork, as well as confidence to produce and put myself out there. The CEO program became increasingly about starting our own businesses as the year went on. It took me about 2 months to fully put together my first ever business. I called it EverThread Vintage. In the first semester, we started a class business where we hosted a public Pickle Ball Tournament at Mascoutah High School. The money we profited was then used to start each of our own individual business in the second semester. Before I could officially start my business, I had to get my name out there. It took many attempts; we failed numerous times. Still, we all came together, kept trying, and finished a short video to promote an event that we would use as a showroom for all our business booths. During this time, I also learned how to video edit. I was known as the tech-savvy member, so I was usually in charge of producing our promotion videos. I gradually learned to take a liking to it, and it something I actually do now for enjoyment of creating my own individual college content on TikTok. <\/p>\n\n\n\nFinally, Showday came and I was given the opportunity to show off the business that I created from scratch. I spent countless hours building my website, curating inventory, and setting up stands, and it all started to pay off. I learned how to stay disciplined in times where I am unmotivated, to show up for others when I don’t want to for myself, and I learned how to be a leader above all. Starting a business at a young age was one of the most difficult challenges I’ve ever had. During showday, I only made about 5 sales on my vintage clothing. That’s not a lot to get started, but it was something. I felt a sense of self accompishment being able to speak to grown adults about my business, and be able to sell it. I learned from this moment that if you’re passionate about what you do, you can really make a happy living for yourself. From this point forward, I knew that I would never choose a job that my heart doesn’t choose too. <\/p>\n\n\n\nMy personality has shifted greatly becuase of this high school experience. Sure, I learned the skills that it takes in order to be a business owner. I met countless role models who gave business advice, and eventually started my own business. But neither of those things are as important as the life skills that I carry with me now, and will continue to throughout my future. CEO set me up for many of the hardships that I go through as a college student, like being my own boss and making my own decisions constantly. The Silver Creek Area CEO program was immensely inspirational, and I hope the next generations of classes to come can get the same positive experience that I was given. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jaydon Anderson Professor Soderberg CODES 121 September 14, 2026 Reflect upon a part of your identity that is important to you. Choose images that explain why this makes you who you are. Tell stories that show how this aspect of identity defines you or times where it was tested or refined. The Past of an Entreprenuer Everyone has a past that has in some way shaped who they are as a person today. Some people had an easy high school career, just coasting through while figuring out where they wanted to go to college. Others had it a little rougher, trying to balance clubs with social life. No matter what end of the spectrum those individuals may have been on, they have a commonality: Their experiences during high school play a part in who they are in the present. Hello, my name is Jaydon Anderson, and this is a personal multimedia essay about how my high school career shaped me into being the person that I am as a freshman in college at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. There is key piece of this essay that I would like to shed light on, and that’s the “multimedia” aspect. This is unlike a typical piece of writing, because I carefully chose a handful of media that goes along with it. The photos and videos scattered throughout my typed words are there for the purpose of connecting visuals to words. The images reflect events in my past, that go hand and hand with my writing. Words alone can be powerful, but when paired with images or other media, they can truly make an impact on the audience. That is exactly what I intend to do with this essay, so this should be entertaining! The title of this essay implies that I was at one point in my life an entrepreneur. This is true, as I still consider myself to be one today. But I’d like to deep dive a little more and really show you the picture I am trying to paint. During my senior year in high school, I was selected as one of twenty individuals to be part of a brand-new program called Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Silver Creek (CEO for short). I applied to this program as a junior, knowing very well that it’s exactly where I belonged. I had been an entrepreneur my whole life, building and selling computers at the age of 11 and by 13, running a lawn care business with my older brother and dad during COVID. By the age of 17, I was given a true shot to be a part of a group of kids my age who all wanted to learn more about how to be business owners. This here is the first ever professional image of the Silver Creek Area CEO class. I stand second to furthest on the right, wearing the white shirt. I find it difficult to put into words how much this photo means to me. At the time this photo was taken, most of these people were new to me. I had shaken their hands, but I knew very little of who they were as human beings. Little did any of us realize, this would be the start of the strongest friendships we had. None of us knew how to start of business of our own, let alone what we even wanted to start a business about. All of us were in the same boat. Even though this photo was meant to be professional, it still captures the true excitement I had to be a part of something new and great. I had formed an early bond with some of the members in this photo who are actually parts of my life here at SIUE. Third to the left in the back row is my best friend, Brenton Hunter. Little did I know, he would become my roommate here at college and join CODES with me. Marriam Barrientos, sixth to the right in the photo, is in almost every class I have, including CODES. This image reflects how those friendships were strengthened greatly. The cars in this video are all vehicles that belong to the seniors that make of the Silver Creek Area CEO, as well as our facilitator, Lauri Wager. This video was recorded at 6:30am at the Betty Anne’s Supermarket parking lot in Mascoutah. I was a senior in high school, and it’s not common for a student in my position to want to get up at 5:30 every morning to drive to another town. Most seniors want to kick back on their classes and show up at 8am at the earliest. Showing up early and on time became a daily habit for us CEO kids, and we learned to love it. This was my first out of over 60 sight tours in the year. I was given the opportunity to meet the owner, Craig Norrenberns. He later became a very supportive contributor to the CEO program. This video captures the willingness and discipline I learned in order to get up and show up for something larger than myself every morning. Going on site visits doesn’t sound like the most ideal, or fun thing to be doing as an activity at 6:30 in the morning– but being a part of a group of people who were like-minded and were eager to be a part of the community made it immensely more enjoyable. As a matter of fact, I learned to actually find interest in the businesses around me because of this opportunity. This image captures me with a dog at a local dog grooming establishment in my hometown, O ‘Fallon Illinois. The smile on my face shows that sometimes you can find joy in times that are meant to be challenging. To be able to find the things that can put a smile on my face in a field of adversity is something that I take pride in today, and I carry that trait with me. This is one of many videos taken during the year for the program. It perfectly captures teamwork, as well as confidence to produce and put myself out there. The CEO program became increasingly about starting our own businesses as the year went on. It took me about 2 months to fully put together my first ever business. I called it EverThread Vintage. In the first semester, we started a class business where we hosted a public Pickle Ball Tournament at Mascoutah High School. The money we profited was then used to start each of our own individual business in the second semester. Before I could officially start my business, I had to get my name out there. It took many attempts; we failed numerous times. Still, we all came together, kept trying, and finished a short video to promote an event that we would use as a showroom for all our business booths. During this time, I also learned how to video edit. I was known as the tech-savvy member, so I was usually in charge of producing our promotion videos. I gradually learned to take a liking to it, and it something I actually do now for enjoyment of creating my own individual college content on TikTok. Finally, Showday came and I was given the opportunity to show off the business that I created from scratch. I spent countless hours building my website, curating inventory, and setting up stands, and it all started to pay off. I learned how to stay disciplined in times where I am unmotivated, to show up for others when I don’t want to for myself, and I learned how to be a leader above all. Starting a business at a young age was one of the most difficult challenges I’ve ever had. During showday, I only made about 5 sales on my vintage clothing. That’s not a lot to get started, but it was something. I felt a sense of self accompishment being able to speak to grown adults about my business, and be able to sell it. I learned from this moment that if you’re passionate about what you do, you can really make a happy living for yourself. From this point forward, I knew that I would never choose a job that my heart doesn’t choose too. My personality has shifted greatly becuase of this high school experience. Sure, I learned the skills that it takes in order to be a business owner. I met countless role models who gave business advice, and eventually started my own business. But neither of those things are as important as the life skills that I carry with me now, and will continue to throughout my future. CEO set me up for many of the hardships that I go through as a college student, like being my own boss and making my own decisions constantly. The Silver Creek Area CEO program was immensely inspirational, and I hope the next generations of classes to come can get the same positive experience that I was given. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":451,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_sb_is_suggestion_mode":false,"_sb_show_suggestion_boards":false,"_sb_show_comment_boards":false,"_sb_suggestion_history":"","_sb_update_block_changes":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-450","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/jaydon-anderson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/jaydon-anderson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/jaydon-anderson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/jaydon-anderson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/451"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/jaydon-anderson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=450"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/jaydon-anderson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":487,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/jaydon-anderson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/450\/revisions\/487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/jaydon-anderson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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