Finance the Future: International Business Student Lynch Ainsley Gonzales Sariola
Lynch Ainsley Gonzales Sariola was born to a Filipino family in Rome, where she grew up. Lynch is currently pursuing a B.A. in International Business with a minor in Entrepreneurship. She is Vice President of the Business Society, Chief of Staff of Student Government, and a member of the Asian Culture Club.
Lynch Ainsley Gonzales Sariola
What made you decide to pursue a B.A. in International Business with a minor in Entrepreneurship?
I have always wanted to be a businesswoman. My parents inspired me to pursue a bachelor’s degree in International Business. They started their business back in 2015 in the Philippines, and I want to be an entrepreneur like them. This is my idea for the future, I want to be in the field of business.
You’re Vice President of the Business Society and Chief of Staff of Student Government. Tell us about your role and the projects you’re currently working on.
Being the Vice President of the Business Society gave me the chance to improve my leadership and organizational skills, and also helped increase my confidence. We are currently developing an entrepreneurship project in the metaverse. We came up with this idea after a workshop organized in November by the Institute for Entrepreneurship. We liked it so much that we wanted to propose it to students. We want to teach students how to create a digital world and operate in a digital environment. That is our aim. It is a work in progress of course, but this is our current idea.
We’re also working on another project inspired by “Shark Tank,” an American business reality television series. We want to do an event in which three JCU Trustees act as judges and students are given a chance to pitch their ideas and compete for a prize. We already spoke with Professor Silvia Pulino, who is the Business Society’s advisor and the Director of the Frank J. Guarini School of Business.
Other projects that we’re working on include the marketing task force for a company in Tuscany, with Professor Alessandro Feri, and ENACTUS, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring students to improve the world through entrepreneurial action.
As Chief of Staff of Student Government, I liaise between the JCU administration and the student senate. I interface with representatives of different academic departments at JCU in order to provide feedback on course offerings. We send out surveys to see what areas students would be interested in, and we communicate this to the faculty so that new courses can be considered for the coming semesters.
You’re also part of the Asian Culture Club. How are extracurricular activities enriching your experience at JCU?
I’m the treasurer of the Asian Culture Club, and I can say that the extracurricular activities have helped me a lot here at JCU. They were a way for me to practice my English and meet new people. I feel like I really fit in with the JCU community thanks to the extracurricular positions that I hold at the University.
What are your plans for the future?
I don’t know what I want to do yet, but what I know for sure is that I want to go abroad. I want to focus on either accounting, finance, or management, and go to New Zealand or Australia to pursue my career. I would like to start working after graduation, but I don’t know what the future holds. The important thing is that I am open to new opportunities and willing to accept new challenges.
