Cover Story
From Friends to Business Partners
How a Chance Encounter at ACC Changed Two Lives Forever
It all started with a missing textbook and spilled apple juice during a class at Alvin Community College. This chance encounter eventually blossomed into a friendship and later a business partnership.
When Samantha Maddox showed up to her paralegal class without her book one day in 2016, she asked to look on with classmate Zoe Trang Ulrickson. Later, Ulrickson accidentally spilled apple juice all over the book and their work and went into a panic. Maddox sprung into “Mom-mode” and cleaned it up quickly.
“Luckily for me, that little incident didn’t hinder her from wanting to work with me again,” Ulrickson said. “She ended up sitting next to me for the rest of the semester. After that, we took every class together and have been actual best friends ever since. Our friendship changed my life, and I don’t think I would be the person I am today without her.”
“We bonded over food and our love for our paralegal professor,” Maddox said. “I consider Zoe an extension of my family, and my children love her.”
As their friendship grew, Ulrickson and Maddox decided to go into business together. They opened their boutique ZOMADD in downtown Alvin in August, 2021. The store features contemporary women’s clothing, shoes and accessories.
Their journey from friends to business partners started with a personal discovery, they said.
“Zoe and I got bored during the pandemic around October 2020 and started shopping at all the local boutiques as a way to just get out of the house,” Maddox said. “It became sort of a hobby, and we would take weekend trips boutique-ing.”
Making all of those trips inspired them, and they felt that the Alvin community could benefit from the same type of business.
“We’d often talk about how cool it would be to have our own boutique,” Ulrickson said. “Honestly, I think at first it was more of a joke than anything.”
But as they joked about starting a business, there was always a hint of realism to their discussion. “We saw a need in Alvin for something like ZOMADD,” Ulrickson said. Their original vision was to open an online shop to offer their boutique products, but they found a space in downtown Alvin on Gordon Street and fell in love with it.
“Alvin has been the core of our friendship, Samantha’s life, and realistically, it was a no brainer,” Ulrickson said. “We went from planning to have an online store, to signing a lease on a storefront in just ten short days. We had absolutely nothing besides a building and a dream. We quickly hit the ground running.”
While their friendship led them to become entrepreneurs, their educational paths diverged. Maddox finished her Associate’s Degree in Paralegal Studies and now works as a paralegal for the City of Alvin. Ulrickson is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations with a minor in Marketing.
ACC helped Maddox get into the workforce which helped pave the way for starting her own business, she said.
“The knowledge and skills I gained from my time at ACC allowed me to advance in both life and career settings,” Maddox said. “ACC also built the foundation of my friendship with Zoe, which ultimately lead to the creation of ZOMADD.”
Ulrickson said attending ACC was her first positive experience with higher education, and it gave her the confidence to pursue a degree and start her business.
“In all honesty, I didn’t believe I had what it would take to obtain a higher level of education beyond an Associate’s degree, let alone be successful at anything, ”she said. “After two years at ACC, I realized that I was capable of so much more than I had previously believed and decided to pursue a higher level of education. From then on, I have always pushed myself to be better and to do better, even when the feat seems tough.”
Exciting Career Opportunities
ACC is excited to offer two new programs to prepare students for careers in fast-growing industries: Cybersecurity and Logistics, Materials, and Supply Chain Management, both two year programs offering Associate of Applied Science degrees and certificates.
“As consumers, we’re wanting our products delivered to our doorstep overnight,” said Michael Fernandez, Instructor of Logistics, Materials, and Supply Chain Management. “The entire process has to do with supply chain, distribution, and creating and maintaining systems to enable quick delivery.”
With the convenience of online shopping and overnight shipping, comes the risk of cyber-attacks.
“We’re spending more time online, putting more of our information online, and even conducting business online,” said Mikel Chamblee, Instructor of Cybersecurity. “Today, nearly everything has some sort of online component or interaction. Cybersecurity refers to the methods, efforts, and tools used to protect that digital data, as well as networks and devices.”
While these two industries differ greatly within their day-to-day duties, one thing is certain: career opportunities are growing rapidly.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, both the logistics and cybersecurity industries are projected to grow 33% by 2030, much faster than the average for other occupations.
“Many large companies are moving their businesses to Texas,” said Fernandez. “Large new warehouses being built in our area directly translate to huge employment opportunities for our graduates.”
Currently, logistics workers are making an average of $54 an hour, while cybersecurity professionals are making an average of $57 an hour, according to Texas Wages and Employment Projections for the Texas Gulf Coast.
If you’re looking to start a new career in either Cybersecurity or Logistics, ACC can get you there.
A Dream Realized: Evan Geiger's Road to Becoming a Sports Broadcaster
Ever since he was a teenager, Evan Geiger knew. Whether it was in front of a camera or behind a microphone, Geiger wanted to talk about sports.
Baseball, basketball, football – it didn’t matter to the Alvin Community College Communications student.
“I’ve always been into sports. I’ve always known I wanted to work in sports,” said Geiger, of Rosharon. “When you see a game’s winning touchdown or the walk-off home run, electricity just courses through your veins.”
Finding a passion for a career has been an important goal for Geiger.
“My father told me to do something you love,” he said. “Your life will be a lot easier.”
Geiger enrolled in ACC’s Communications program at the onset of the COVID pandemic. While it has been difficult to move forward with his education, Geiger hasn’t let it stop him.
“Evan is a highly focused individual, the type of student every educator wishes for,” said Jason Nichols, ACC Communications Chair. “He knows what he wants to do for a career and he is on the path to get there.”
Geiger says his love for sports broadcasting differs from most fans. He watches every game and pays close attention to the style of the commentators.
“I watch it in a different way than other people,” Geiger said. “That’s just how I’ve always been.”
Hoping to learn more about broadcasting, Geiger volunteered to participate in the KACC 89.7 FM broadcast of Alvin ISD football games. He eventually started keeping statistics at the games and then began to speak about the stats during the broadcasts.
“By the fifth week, I was the third color commentator for the games,” he said.
Recently Geiger was hired by Texas Sports Radio Network, a radio and television network dedicated to regiona sports. Geiger said the experience has been enjoyable and has helped him find his broadcasting voice.
“Now I broadcast whole games by myself,” he said. “It just kind of happened, and it worked. It was amazing!”
Geiger is close to finishing his education at ACC and plans to transfer to the University of Houston to earn a Bachelor’s degree. Hopefully, just like at ACC, he’ll get an opportunity to be behind the mic at Cougar sporting events.
“I know the students can get involved,” he said. “I hope through that process I can diversify my experiences. I want to learn as much as I can so I can always have a job in the field.”
There are many life lessons and values that fans can learn in the world of sports. Geiger hopes he can highlight those aspects in his commentary. “There’s so much good in sports,” he said. “There’s so much passion. There are so many good things that come from it; leadership, character. A lot of this stuff translates into the real world.”
To hear more about Geiger’s story, you can listen to the ACC podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon, Spotify and YouTube.
High School Freshman to College Graduate:
Alexis Harper Takes Full Advantage of Dual Enrollment Courses
When Alexis Harper started taking classes at Danbury High School,she was already wondering if she was cut out for college, so, she decided to find out.
Harper enrolled at ACC through the Dual Enrollment program. “I started taking college classes my freshman year,” she said . “Then I continued to take Dual Enrollment classes throughout high school.”
In May, she received her Associate’s Degree before she even receives her high school diploma.
“I feel more prepared for a university after experiencing college in high school,” Harper said. Harper was highly motivated to complete her education. Student motivation is pivotal to finishing the Dual Degree program, said Sharmeal Archie, ACC Dual Enrollment Advisor.
“It has been a pleasure working with Alexis,” Archie said. “She is a great student, very ambitious and mature for her age.”
Most Dual Degree students begin theirjourney as freshmen, taking classes on their high school campus, at ACC and online. Advisors say it takes a lot of work and the students have to stay on task.
“Alexis takes full advantage of her opportunities and is very goal-oriented,” Archie said. “Her drive will take her very far in life.” Harper’s mother Annie Sralla said her daughter had been planning to take Dual Enrollment courses since seventh grade. “She has always been a very disciplined student and held herself to high standards, so I was not surprised by her desire to get a head start on college,” Sralla said. “I knew that she would be mature enough in ninth grade to be successful and be able to handle the extra responsibility the classes would require.”
Sralla said she could not be more proud of her daughter earning a college degree at the same time she’s finishing high school.
“It was difficult at times, and she had to make some sacrifices,” Sralla said. “She spent late nights doing homework after getting back from extracurricular activities, taking her computer on school trips to not miss deadlines, having to complete assignments while at church camp or spring break and using the summers to take classes she could not fit into her schedule during the school year. Ultimately her drive and determination have paid off.”
Participating in the program requires the completion of 60 hours of college coursework throughout the students’ time in high school.
The program is also helpful for parents andstudents looking to save money. The cost of two years of Dual Enrollment is much less than two years at a university.
“There is a significant financial benefit to taking Dual Enrollment classes,” Sralla said. “The cost per semester hour was nearly half of what it would have been if she would have taken these classes after high school.”
While the program helped Harper earn an Associate’s Degree, she also gained important skills that will prove invaluable as she pursues her education further.
“The highlight of my Dual Enrollment experience has been not only learning the material from my classes, but also learning how to study independently, how to use technology to my advantage, and how to make the most out of my time,” she said. “My persistence and ability to manage my time has led to me successfully completing college credit. I have made studying a priority and trained myself to do my best work 100 percent of the time.”