Greg Volynsky

I believe that High School is about the experiences.

I now know that I want to be an entrepreneur; however, just glancing through my resumé will reveal that I have been involved in projects and activities from various fields. I have participated in business competitions and written a business plan while being involved in two different research courses at the same time. I have been the treasurer of a charity club and the Head of Project Development of a student-run pharmaceutical company. 

I'll be the first to admit it: My freshmen year of high school, I had no idea what my 'calling' was. I applied to the science academy for two main reasons: I was generally interested in the sciences, and the science academy is known around BCA as the 'undecided' academy. Science can lead to a great variety of different careers and, regardless of one's career, is great to have a basic understanding of. 

Some people seem to know exactly what they want to do. They focus solely on that one subject; I am absolutely not one of those people. I guess that some people are lucky enough to be interested solely in one subject. I am interested in many topics, and, from my very first moment in BCA, I was presented with countless opportunities in very different fields. My approach was that I would seek those which seemed fun and interesting. 

I joined Nano-Structural Imaging lab because I wanted to learn more about a career in the scientific research. From this research, I learned a lot; I learned to be patient and diligent, and to carefully plan ahead. But most importantly, I gained the invaluable piece of knowledge that I do not want to pursue a career in this field. 

During Mechatronics research, I saw that, while I enjoyed virtually all my time in that lab, my approach was decidedly not that of an engineer. My approach was that of an entrepreneur, one who had an idea and tried to sell it the world. While I would saw and sand and paint, I would always focus on the bigger picture. I contacted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to ask their opinion like a manager might a potential client. The NOAA was interested in the idea, and I have won multiple prestigious awards with this project.

I’m on the board of a student-run pharmaceutical company called ProVita Pharmaceuticals, where I head a team of 4 to advance VitaClick, which aims to extend the life of epinephrine and make EpiPen cartridges replaceable. VitaClick has allowed me to lead the research and development of a long-term project. In a similar vein, I am currently involved in Nano-Structural Imaging Research, where I am investigating menthol's ability to act as an antihistamine.

Moving to a new house, I spent long hours assembling furniture using instructions difficult for even an engineer to understand. This experience led me to create ProVid Productions, a company that offers professional-quality assembly videos for furniture stores. I wrote  and a 30 page business plan for ProVid, which you can find under the Business Tab in the ProVid Productions section.

By remaining open to new ideas; by talking with teachers in very diverse fields; by taking courses, the names of some of which I didn't know; by taking diversified electives and projects; by being guided by impulse and intuition, not careful planning, I now know I want to be an entrepreneur.