Back in Town

It is difficult for me to imagine following a dream in “the real world” since nobody wants to work a 9-5. I came to USC to break the cycle of working manual labor jobs in my family and community. I plan to work in consulting for the foreseeable future and want to help make a difference in the Latino community. I am a strong believer that education is the best way to break the cycle of poverty. Be it a formal education by going to college or an informal education by seeking a mentor, education is key to success. Ideally, I would like to mentor kids in underserved communities and offer scholarships for education and transportation. Far too many children are forced to start working young and don’t pursue education because it is not a priority when rent is due next week and your family is struggling to make ends meet. It is hard to dream big when you don’t even know what is out there in the world. The first time I heard of investment banking, consulting, and private equity was at USC. Ther...

I hate ads. I used to just buy whatever “premium” account I needed to avoid watching them but it has become ridiculous. There's now so many streaming services and subscriptions I need to buy just to get rid of some stupid ads. This had led me down a rabbit hole of technology to limit the amount of ads I see on a daily basis and take control of my viewing experience. The most basic solution are ad-blockers. There are a couple ad-blocking solutions for desktops/laptops that can perfectly block YouTube ads but they have limited success for websites. As ad-blockers have become more prevalent, websites have started detecting them and requiring them to be disabled to view content. Many website are more ads than content and have a terrible viewing experience. Although there are solutions like Adguard, which is a DNS level ad-blocker, they are more involved to set up and do not block EVERY ad on streaming services or websites. To truly remove the ads and stop paying subscriptions to view c...

The book I chose to read in my last blog post was The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World by Wade David. The only way I can describe it is amazing. Exploring ancient cultures, societies, and ideologies brings new perspectives to Western ideologies and allows you to fully acknowledge the greatness of humans throughout history. From the Polynesian Wayfinders to the Penan people, we can learn important lessons and apply them to our current life. It was disheartening and saddening to hear the theory of “accidental drift” or Heyerdahl’s theory that Polynesia was settled from South America. The fact that they discounted the ingenuity and resourcefulness of Polynesians, stripping them of their greatest accomplishment. Yet, hearing about the different resources they used to navigate the ocean is incredible. You wouldn’t think that the shape/size of clouds, the color of the sunset, the halo’s around the moonlight, and animal movement could be used to accurately predict w...

To: Clark Hansen, CEO of AMDP From: Alexis Zamora, Research & Development Analyst at AMDP Date: March 10th, 2023 Subject: Intriguing Investment Opportunity in Burt’s Bees As part of the Research and Development Department, it is my responsibility to figure out which companies are good investments for AMDP. After extensive research, we should heavily consider Burt’s Bees, an American personal care company that focuses on being Earth-friendly. I will start by listing AMDP’s investment standards. I will then explain Burt’s Bees background and sustainable practices. Next, I will give two expert opinions. Last, I will give my final recommendation. AMDP Standards To ensure we invest in companies that align with our values, we have come up with a set of standards. The following information describes the criteria needed for investments. Triple Bottom Line The triple bottom line proposes that businesses should not only focus on economic performance but also on social and environmental imp...

  I will be reading the book The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World by Wade David . A major reason I chose this is because of the short page count, but it does seem like a good read. I can never find myself reading a long book as I always get busy/distracted and forget about it and never finish. I hope to learn interesting history from the book to apply to my life and thoughts. I have just ordered the book, so I have not begun reading it as I am waiting for the Amazon package. Going entirely on the description, The Wayfinders seems like it will be genuinely interesting. I find history to be interesting, especially topics I am not familiar with. Cultures from around the world, both old and new, are always fascinating and I am sure this book will present them in a beautiful way. I look forward to reading the book!

Burt’s Bees As part of the Research and Development Department to figure out which companies are a good investment for AMPD. After extensive research, I can recommend Burt’s Bees, a American personal care company that focuses on being Earth-friendly. I will be analyzing the AMPD standards for Burt’s Bees, which include the Triple Bottom Line, Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Enterprise and its Carbon Footprint. I will take a further look at Burt’s Bees Background, how old it is, success and my recommendation.  AMDP Standards Triple Bottom Line: It proposes that businesses should not only focus on economic performance but also on social and environmental impacts.It can be broken down into “three Ps”: profit, people, and the planet (Miller). Profit: Refers to the financial performance of a business, including revenue, profits, and return on investment. People: Encompasses the social impact of a businees on its stakeholders, including employees, customers and communities. Pl...