 Hi, my name is Ashley Bassnay. I am the CEO and creator of Handmade Haven, LLC, and I am a 2013 graduate of the Elizabeth City State University. So Handmade Haven is a business that I have created. I am a home designer, so I do a lot of remodeling homes. I'm also a carpenter, so I do a lot of furniture projects within my business, and that has now allowed me to be a 2023 PNC's Entrepreneurship Fellow for ECSU. So I started my journey at ECSU in 2009, ended up graduating in 2013, and definitely feel like the college prepared me for corporate life, which in turn has helped me create my own business. One of the things I always remember being taught at ECSU was the power of networking. I was always able to just meet different people who led me to be able to, you know, gain internships that ultimately led to me getting a job in the engineering career. You know, being in STEM, there were a lot of, you know, professors and teachers just, you know, pushing us to apply for internships, you know, attend these networking events. We have these events for you guys, take advantage, and I was able to do that, and that really helped me to be successful in the corporate role. I think my biggest inspiration for creating Handmade Haven was just wanting to pursue a passion that I had found. Engineering, I loved engineering at the time, but it wasn't really something I was necessarily passionate about it. I pursued it because I knew it was a great field. It would be something I could make good money, have the ability and things like that, but it wasn't something I was truly passionate about. So my motivation was, you know, just to be able to create a life where I can truly love what I do. My advice to young entrepreneurs would be that you can do corporate America and have your own business. I was able to make that work for me where my engineering career actually funded the business, and when it was time I was able to transition into that. And it was a good transition. I didn't have to struggle as much. So if you're struggling between the two, you can make both work for you. Being in the corporate world actually prepared me very well for now being a business owner. So what's on the horizon? I feel like that's always a popular question. Hopefully TV, my dream is to have my own TV show where I'm hosting for, you know, remodeling homes and things of that nature. So Fingers Cross that comes to pass. I think my dream remodeling project would probably be to do a home makeover for a celebrity. I always said I would love to do something for Serena Williams. So I don't know, maybe one day our paths will cross somehow and I'll get that chance.