I spent that Thanksgiving evening working a double shift at a local restaurant, serving turkey dinners to other people’s families.
The turning point in my college experience came when I enrolled in Professor Wilson’s financial technology course during my junior year.
Unlike many professors who barely noticed the quiet, hard-working student in the back row, Professor Wilson saw something in me.
After I turned in a paper analyzing emerging trends in digital payment systems, she asked me to stay after class.
“This is graduate-level work, Harper,” she said, gesturing to my paper. “Have you considered focusing on financial technology for your career?”
That conversation marked the beginning of a mentorship that would change the trajectory of my life.
Professor Wilson became the supportive adult figure I had always craved. She recommended books, introduced me to industry contacts, and most importantly believed in my potential.
Under her guidance, I began to explore the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
This was in 2019 when Bitcoin was recovering from a crash but still not mainstream. I became fascinated by the potential of digital currencies and the underlying technology.
I spent countless hours in the library researching, learning to code, and developing my own theories about how to solve some of the security issues plaguing early cryptocurrency platforms.
By the end of my junior year, what had started as academic interest had evolved into a concrete business idea.
