STUDENT LIFE
Senior Begins Her Entrepreneurial Journey Hannah Leto is a current senior attending Mount Dora Christian Academy. She has attended MDCA since preschool and even learned to walk in the early childhood center while her older sister, Emily, was in the four year old class! Hannah has always had a huge passion for art and creating things. “I have tried just about every medium you can think of, and I was constantly switching to find my favorite. Recently, I discovered macrame. Macrame was very popular in the 70s, and has recently made a huge comeback. I decided to try it out while in quarantine this year, and it quickly became a hobby of mine. I began creating as many different things as I could while attempting to teach myself different techniques. I soon discovered that my friends and family loved my work and asked to buy some things from me. Quickly, more and more people bought things from me, and I sold way more than I had anticipated.” That is when she decided to try to start a small business through Instagram and sell to mainly friends and family. “I never anticipated that it would grow as quickly as it has. Over the past six months, I have been a part of different art shows, partnered with amazing women-owned small businesses, and am even featured in two local shops. I am in love with what I do and hope to continue growing as a business.” The people that who inspired her the most are the community of womenowned businesses that have helped her throughout the process. “I did not know until recently how many awesome different local small businesses there truly were around me. It has been very inspiring to witness and learn from their journeys while creating my own. I believe that it has definitely made me stronger as a person, and especially as a woman.” Hannah shares that one of the hardest challenges for her in starting her business as a high school student has been time management. “Juggling the many struggles of senior year, such as submitting applications and applying for scholarships, all while running a small business, can definitely become crazy sometimes. I think that through this I have learned that even when there seems to be a million things pulling you in different directions, you have to take a second to step back and breathe.” After high school, Hannah plans to attend college on a volleyball scholarship and study graphic design. She also hopes to be able to continue to grow her business while in college.
9 | Imagine · Spring 2021
