Bright lights flicker on, illuminating every corner of the Hilton San Francisco Grand Ballroom. Standing onstage, senior Sammie Liu gazes out at the audience of hundreds of people, each waiting to hear her and her partner’s pitch for their business, Closet Cycle. She breathes in deeply, cherishing this moment at the Startup World Cup Finale, one that has finally come after months of constantly drilling their presentation and preparing to showcase their hard work.

The opportunity to pitch at this event was a culmination of Sammie’s persistence in combining two subjects she loves: fashion and business. Sammie started managing a business in her senior year by joining Incubator 2 and collaborating on Closet Cycle, an app where users can exchange clothing items. Despite not taking the prerequisite class Incubator 1, she jumped eagerly at the opportunity to join the pre-existing business founded by fellow classmate senior Sophie Pellet.

“A lot of the time people go into business because they think it’s easy,” Sammie said. “But for me, I’ve had really high goals for my future since I was younger, and a lot of it came from my parents also doing business. I saw that they wouldn’t stop until they got to this certain point, and I adopted that mindset of, ‘You have to have ambition.’ ‘You have to be able to strive to want more and push yourself to go outside of your comfort zone and experiment.’”

Sammie credits her first introduction to fashion to her fourth grade teacher, who assigned a project that led Sammie to a nonprofit where she sewed capes for hospitalized kids in need. This experience not only ignited her passion for sewing, but it also led her to realize the effect clothing could have on empowering children her age.

“Being able to see these capes that I made on kids that were my age and see how happy they were, I knew I wanted to keep making that impact through fashion because that’s what I had fun with,” Sammie said. “I was forced to do a lot of things when I was younger and I didn’t enjoy a lot of it, but this I really did like so then I knew I was gonna keep doing it.”

Eager to expand her interests to the school community, Sammie founded the Fashion Business Club. Close friend and club officer senior Kimaya Mehta admires how Sammie utilizes fashion, her form of self-expression, to empower both herself and others.

“Outside of school, Sammie always puts together great outfits and is really intentional with what she wears, and that’s her way of presenting herself,” Kimaya said. “Her excitement for the intersection between fashion and business is easily seen through what she does for the club and with her Incubator business.”

Throughout her fashion and business journey, Sammie’s public speaking skills have grown greatly. From Model UN to DECA to Incubator, the environments she has been exposed to shape the future she wants for herself.

“Personality-wise I’ve grown to be more decisive and confident,” Sammie said. “I’ve always been introverted, but I’ve grown more extroverted. I’ve gotten to the point where I can speak about things and not be as nervous as I was before. My interests have also grown and I know more specifically the area of industry that I want to go into and make an impact on.”

Close friend senior MacEnzie Blue first got to know Sammie in sophomore year. She applauds Sammie for her dedication and drive for her interests.

“Sammie knows what she wants to do in life, and I really admire that because she’s very determined,” MacEnzie said. “When she wants something, she’ll really go for it. She also definitely loves fashion and business, and she puts in a lot of time into what she loves.”

In both of these disciplines, Sammie aims to showcase her own individuality and communicate to others what it is she values. Through intentional choices and constant perseverance, she can present her most authentic self through the products she puts out.

“Fashion is a way to express yourself because there are so many different styles, and being able to choose and put together outfits and show people them in itself is a form of individualization,” Sammie said. “In business, too, you can do whatever you want. If you have a vision and you’re able to bring it to life, it’s based on the effort you put in. If you’re willing to put in the time, you’re gonna be able to do it.”