From Baseball to Business: San Diego Twins Succeed in College Together
Business Management Majors
Salas sisters, Business Management majors.
Starting college can be a difficult experience, but having someone who’s always on your side can help ensure you will succeed. This is true for Michelle and Melissa Salas, twin sisters who began their education at SDSU’s Fowler College of Business together in the Fall of 2018. According to Melissa, “being able to take this journey together allowed us to take flight with less turbulence than flying alone. We assisted each other in many ways: physically, emotionally, and mentally. This definitely shaped our academic path because having someone always there for you when you need it really does make a difference! Having that mutual support is really all that one needs.”
Growing up, Michelle and Melissa enjoyed playing baseball and boogie boarding at the beach. From an early age, they became video game enthusiasts and loved games that allowed co-op play, like Mario Brothers and Sonic the Hedgehog. One of their favorite hobbies was watching movies and they’d go to the movies almost every weekend! Their love for movies later transitioned to a passion for Marvel and DC comics alongside anime and manga. Although these sisters are similar personality wise, they have distinct physical characteristics that make it easy to tell them apart. Melissa, a fiction writer and comic book reader who likes to be the first to test new technology, has freckles on her nose and Michelle, a realist with a passion for digital paintings and photography, has freckles on her right cheek.
When applying to colleges, Michelle and Melissa knew that continuing their education together would be unlikely, but when they were both accepted to SDSU the decision was a no-brainer. Since they lived about 10 minutes away from campus, the Salas sisters remained roommates back home. Michelle described the experience as “incredibly fun. It’s like having a best friend with you 24/7. We fight all the time but if you don’t fight with your sibling, then that’s an indication something’s wrong!”
Choosing a major can be a daunting decision for many, but the Salas sisters were confident selecting Business Management and Administration because it provides a broad spectrum of skills and capabilities. Melissa knew that “with the acquisition of wisdom and knowledge being one of our goals, the best way of achieving it is by being global. That's exactly what the business realm offers. Meeting people and gaining cognition by overcoming challenges and creating strategies.”
Michelle and Melissa showing thier love for baseball at a young age.
Within their first semester at SDSU, the sisters began attending the same classes with the same professors. This decision wasn’t for fun like most people would think, but to maximize their academic success. After learning and studying with one another since pre-school, they knew their study system would continue to be beneficial in their higher education classes. The Salas sisters knew that having someone to study with in the same subject for the same test would increase their chances of improving their grades. Although the sisters studied together to benefit both of them, there was always an academic competition between the two. Melissa and Michelle each had subjects that the other succeeded in but more often than not, they earned the same grade.
When they weren’t studying for an incoming exam, the Salas sisters attended meetings for the Anime Club. Wanting to show that they were organized and timely, Melissa and Michelle often took the lead in group projects to prove that they were capable of being strong leaders.
As their education progressed, Michelle and Melissa grew even more confident in their decision to major in Business Management and Administration because they believed it was the one with the most potential for growth. Since the job hunt for university graduates can be competitive, choosing a major with growing horizons was what they decided to do to maximize their future career opportunities.
Reflecting on their early college days, the Salas sisters became fascinated with marketing after taking their first marketing class together. This class influenced their career choice and led them both to pursue marketing internships. They both were inspired to implement the knowledge they had gained at Fowler and through their internships to move forward with their careers.
Michelle begins her career as a Media and Digital Marketer at Fotex Labs and Melissa begins her career as an e-commerce Specialist at American Automative. They reflect on the best piece of advice they’ve received at SDSU which came from their human resources professor, “she gave us advice on the fastest way to escalate one’s career ladder. She guided us by saying that one mustn’t seek jobs that one is already a master at but a job that allows you to grow and learn,” said Melissa. Michelle shared the quote that stuck with her “continue that pattern, and you will expand your knowledge and rise along with it. That is one thing we will never forget. We take her advice to this day.”
