Everything that Josue does has a purpose. As a child, Josue knew that he wanted to be involved in business. In the upcoming school year, Josue will be a junior at the University of Michigan-Dearborn studying marketing. Along with his classes, Josue is also involved with Engaged Scholars, Talent Gateway, and the National Society for Leadership and Success. Faith, determination, and vision help Josue in his journey in becoming an entrepreneur and being able to pursue his passions!

Josue, in his own words

“When I first came to campus I absolutely had no clue what to do. I initially chose to start with Engaged Scholars which is a scholarship community for students in economically disadvantaged backgrounds. There we hosted 4 committees: Program engagement, fundraising and recognition, metropolitan impact, and academic and professional development. Throughout my few years at this university, I’ve been involved in each and every one of them. And I’ve moved on to become a part of Talent Gateway serving as a Talent Ambassador. I’ve also started a new organization called Culture: The Musicians Club. And I’m also an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship member.

The Engaged Scholarship program is a scholarship program designed for students who are very proficient in the top of their tier from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. We include the Opportunity Impact scholarship, the Detroit Promise scholarship, the Wade McRee, and HAIL scholarships and we allow students to get engaged through our 4 committees. Program Engagement, which is all about planning events. Fundraising and Recognition which is in the title. Academic and Professional Development. And Metropolitan Impact which is all about volunteering for the community.

My favorite experience at UM-Dearborn is Program Engagement. It’s very direct in the sense that we plan events and get to engage with our Engaged Scholars community and the University of Michigan in general. I’ve worked with planning the events since my freshman year and it has helped me gain confidence with skills regarding presentation that I have today.”

Working with Talent Gateway “One of the most impactful experiences to date has been working with Talent Gateway as a Talent Ambassador. I’ve not only worked with a group of people who are also students but graduate, undergrad, diverse, different experiences, different backgrounds. But I’ve also managed to help the Gateway take on a more personalized approach, more social media interaction, and things like that. The Talent Gateway is all about academic, personal, and professional development in regards to career readiness. Talent Gateway has pushed me towards being my best self. It has helped me to step out of my comfort zone, present to classes up to 60 people at times. Public speaking dealing with engaged diverse audiences has helped me understand how to communicate with different sets of people.”

Conquering Challenges “One of the biggest challenges is public speaking. I’m sure many of us have trouble with that.  Once you go into an event that you have to speak to over 10 people, the nerves start coming. One of the most important things with a challenge in general, is to seek a mentor. People who have been where you are and have experience ahead of you so that you know where to be, where you want to be. And I’ve talked to some of our academic advisors, some of the advisors in student life. I’ve communicated with my boss at Talent Gateway. Overall, I’ve learned from experiences around within my communities.”