One may ask, 'Kayla, why the sewer and drain cleaning business? It is a hard, laborious job that has strict emergency hours. The customers want you when they want you, and they want things done neat and clean.' Well, it is not a clean business, and things do not always go as the customer wants, but someone has to do it – that is what my dad always says.

My father started his sewer and drain cleaning business the same year of my birth. "The Business" and I grew up together sharing all the milestones of life. In many ways The Business is a part of me. I know its little details and can naturally run it on my own right now if I wanted.

My mom quit her job as a nurse to be the official partner, dispatcher and secretary. As she was changing my diapers and feeding me a bottle she was also dispatching calls, instructing the employees and paying the bills. Essentially she ran The Business and still does to this day.

I admire her dedication and cooperation, and hope to imitate it someday. As a child I listened to my parents conversations regarding The Business. It was hard not to when The Business hours are 24 hours, 7 days a week. I memorized the proper way to answer the phone, how to deal with customers and the different types of problems a serviceman encounters such as a main drain clog or a blocked toilet. My parents are a team that rely on one another to get the work accomplished in the best possible manner. I admire their workmanship and abilities to solve problems. As they raised me to be an intelligent young adult, they raised The Business to be successful. Someday I would love to take over the 18-year-old business that my parents created and established.

As owner of the sewer and drain cleaning business I would try to incorporate a way to make sewer and septic systems safe for the environment. Sewer and septic systems that leak into groundwater cause pathogens and nitrates to pollute the water. Pathogens are bacteria that can make people sick if they swim in or drink the water, it also kills fish, shellfish and other marine mammals. Too much nitrates such as nitrogen and phosphorus in water can cause an over abundant amount of algae and plants to grow in the water. These plants cause oxygen to deplete in the water and the fish and other marine animals to die. By taking environmental science classes at Emerson College I can learn how to find solutions to septic system pollution problems.

Another benefit from my college studies at Emerson is the advertising skills I will receive. One may ask how is advertising going to help me with blocked sinks and toilets. Well, it has everything to do with it. Emerson College specializes in communication. This is very important to running a business. I will learn how to sell our service to prospective customers.

What I mean is, that an effective ad in the phone books, television, billboards, newspapers, etc. is the biggest way to receive business. If people see an ad that catches their eye, that is going to make them call. I want people to remember that ad, so the impression lasts on their mind. So when the next time they need to have their toilet augured, they will call my company.

Running my dad's business would be a breakthrough. I will be the first woman in my family to graduate college, and what would be a better way to thank it for producing the money for my tuition, than by operating it. It is my dream to keep the family business going and improving it with up-to-date equipment used for sewer and drain cleaning tasks. I hope that I will be able to run the business as effectively and successfully as my parent's team.