By Emily Zeigfinger ’26
A few years ago, I thrifted a pair of Goodwill jeans that rotted in my closet because they just didn’t fit quite right. I watched a girl online embroider her own jeans, which then inspired me to do the same.
Meticulously, I cut out stars out of my Goodwill jeans and began to sew them onto a pair of flared jeans I loved. I didn’t trust myself with my very old sewing machine, so I put every stitch in hand. I won’t say how long it took, but you could probably guess that it was a long time.
For special occasions, I always pull out my flared jeans with special stars. Regardless of where I wear them, I always receive compliments. Since then, I have continued to embroider and sew different clothes to make them feel more like me.
My favorite of these projects was a sweater that I embroidered with “26” on the front and “senior” on the back. I came up with the idea myself, so it was completely unique and personalized. People asked me if I had gotten my sweater from the mall or online (and for all my DIY girls, that is the biggest bragging right ever).
A few weeks ago, I wore my star-studded jeans to a friend’s house. Her mom came to talk to me and noticed the jeans. She asked if I could make her a custom pair, and I was shocked and flattered. Her comment made me realize that with more practice, perhaps I could turn my embroidery into a business of my own.
I am not, by any means, the only Ursuline student to have this same revelation. From freshmen to seniors, it seems as if every girl has some unique passion that is kept under the surface. Sometimes, these passions don’t just remain as passions, but become a financial incentive for Ursuline girls.
For example, junior Caroline Cahalan shares the passion of embroidery with me. She started her business, Honey and Thread Stitching, this past summer, and she is excited to pick it up in the coming months once more.
“I’ve learned that promoting my business on Instagram is the quickest way to get orders,” she said. Cahalan also reflected on struggling to manage her business with school.
“My business is hard to balance on top of school so I have taken a break for a while, but in the beginning of the year I would usually do one sweatshirt throughout the week if I had free time,” she said. “I think I’ve learned a lot about how to successfully market a business by being consistent on social media and also how to accurately price the sweatshirts I sell!”
Another student who finds peace in being active is nationally and internationally ranked dancer Fion Hughes. For senior Hughes, dance is not just a passion, but also a business, as it has carried her to dance with companies around the world.
Hughes began dancing 10 years ago when she lived on an island in the Caribbean called St. Thomas. Since moving here, her opportunities have only grown larger, but there have definitely been setbacks.
“Balancing dance with school is really hard. I have taken the hardest classes I could at Ursuline, but it led me to a lot of all-nighters and sickness. Despite this, I don’t regret it because I got to try everything I wanted to and go almost as far as I wanted with all my passions,” said Hughes.
Hughes has definitely gotten to go far. She has danced in Utah, Portugal, and Boston with the Boston Ballet. In October, she participated in the Fonteyn Dance Competition in Brazil, where she was one of two representatives chosen from the United States.
Next year, this success and “business” will only continue, as she is going to University of Oklahoma for Ballet Performance. OU has one of the highest-ranked Ballet programs in the country and a competitive group of 90 students. Fion regularly posts dance pictures on her dance account, jumping and arabesque-ing on the competition floor.
Another senior who has grown through her passion is Kendall Norris-Holmes. When I was a sophomore, I remember hearing talk about Kendall’s passion for sports cars and photographing them, and through the years, her social media account “CarsByKendall” has grown exponentially.
“I started my business CarsByKendall early sophomore year, posting on TikTok and then moving to Instagram. I plan to keep doing it as long as it’s fulfilling what I want my future to look like, which is being surrounded by the car and the motorsports scene,” she added.
In one post, Norris-Holmes leans against a Lexus at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, grinning from ear-to-ear. In another, a bright green car speeds along the track at the Eagles Canyon Raceway near Fort Worth.
“I’ve received both positive and negative feedback on my social media platforms, but it’s my individuality that has made me most successful. Not only is it important to grow your network in your niche, but it’s also important to maintain these relationships. It’s how I’ve gotten so many opportunities and learned so many new things.”
Norris-Holmes has partnered with GT-R Festival, another influential car account, as well as Skip Barber Racing School and Xtreme Xperience. “I have been invited to document all of the exciting races and car events, being able to simultaneously build a portfolio and live a dream of mine,” she exclaimed.
Underclassmen are also getting on social media to bring more attention to their business. While I was complaining about how expensive prom nails would be, my friend showed me her gorgeous nail extensions and mentioned that Yvie Lampl, a freshman at Ursuline, was doing them for her.
Lampl was unsatisfied with salon nails, saying that “they made me feel confident and complete in my appearance, but I didn’t like the prices.” Since 7th grade, she has been doing her own nails and eventually began to do them for others too.
“Starting off, I was horrible and felt like I was just wasting away, but the more I persevered, I learned that everything takes time,” Lampl observed.
For her, the biggest challenge has not necessarily been balancing her school schedule with her business, but rather the school’s schedule—prom, homecoming, snowball, etc. During those times, people book Yvie back-to-back, and she can’t say yes to everyone, even though she would like to.
“I make sure to PLAN AHEAD, and I’m so happy that clients wear my art with pride,” she said. Yvie does nails from monochrome to funky polka dots and stripes. You can follow her at nails.by.yvie.10 on social media.
Lampl’s classmate Maria Charalambopoulos is also a new business owner under the name M4de By Maria on Instagram. Ever since I have known Maria, she has always been a creative, from making origami to doodles I keep in my room. Her new business specializes in signs for events such as birthdays and prom.
“I really enjoy being able to get the opinions of my customers and what they are looking for in a banner because I make sure to get a final design they are fully happy with,” Charalambopoulos added.
By coordinating with customers and making sure she isn’t overbooked, she has improved time management and creative freedom. Charalambopoulos is also a baker and is always willing to bake a cake for an event to pair with one of her signs.
Also in the food business is sophomore Breeds Hill, who makes expert charcuterie boards (you can find her at forestandpinecharcuterie).
Hill loves her business not just because she gets to manage her own time (although she agrees that’s a plus!), but also because she has learned skills she will continue to use forever.
“I’ve learned about communications, budgeting, and how to use Excel spreadsheets, which doesn’t seem like a big feat, but in the long run is actually a really good skill to have. It helped me know how to run a business, how to talk to customers, and how to interact with people,” she wrote. “It introduced me to finance—what I could be doing and what I need to be doing. I was able to alter some of the ingredients I use seasonally just based off the prices of each of the ingredients so that I could make maximum profit without sacrificing quality.”
The biggest challenge she shared with me was definitely those spreadsheets. “In the beginning Excel was so confusing and I hated it. Once I figured it out and kind of got my spreadsheet, sources, names, dates, profits and losses going, it started to make a lot more sense,” she laughed.
Lastly, on the subject of our recent prom, spray tans can be expensive and difficult to book. Sophomore Mia Devita set out to solve this with her spray tan business Glow by Mia, which just launched this spring.
After hearing from her sister in college that students were doing something similar at her campus, Devita got to work, setting up her business at home. She has three shades to choose from and charges $20 per person, which is an extremely low price compared to spray tans in the DFW area.
“I have to balance everything with time management, client communication, scheduling, pricing, etc. — running a real business from scratch has been a crash course in entrepreneurship. I’m proud to be bringing the best spray tans in DFW while doing it,” she wrote.
All businesses should start as something we are passionate about, and managing a hobby or business can be difficult. But from what these Ursuline students shared, whether it be about nail designs or motorsports, something that means a lot to you will be easy to keep up with, even if some days don’t go smoothly.
“Overall, it’s been a really meaningful experience that’s helped me discover something I truly enjoy, which is very fulfilling,” Maria Charalambopoulos agreed.
THE BEAR FACTS 