For my capstone I chose to highlight Latine entrepreneurs in Philadelphia. I was able to reach out to around 5 different businesses to ask them for an interview. I recorded their stories and learned about their business. My goal was to share the places with others because they have played an important role in my community and directly impact our world’s economy. I grew up surrounded by these businesses and never realized the lack of attention they receive. I designed a website to showcase how special these places are. I took pictures of the shops and included them in the website alongside the best clips of the interviews. I cut down hour-long interviews into less than 10 minute clips.
The purpose of my capstone was to portray the strengths within my community and invite others to visit these shops. Most of the media I have been surrounded by has focused on highlighting the negatives and all of the obstacles the Latine community faces. I wanted my website to be different. I wanted to focus on our successes. In this capstone I met hardworking and humble business owners. I built connections and became a stronger filmmaker. I was able to merge my passion for my community with my film studies. In addition, I partnered up with another student who created a children’s book based on the interviews I acquired. Our goal was to inspire the next generation to become entrepreneurs. We wanted youth in our community to know that owning a business was attainable. This makes our message reach a broader audience, both adults and children.

WEBSITE:

https://sites.google.com/scienceleadership.org/latinxbusinessesphilly?usp=sharing