By Nicolle Squillante dos Santos Founder of Educaree

I’m the daughter of a teacher who taught me the most important value in my life: serving others. I grew up watching her engage in volunteer work despite battling an unknown neurological illness.

When I was 13, my mother passed away. Though this was the most challenging experience I’ve ever faced, it was also the most pivotal. It forced me to question my purpose and what kind of legacy I would leave behind. It was this unexpected encounter with death that inspired me to create my life project, so that, like my mother, I could contribute to society and leave a meaningful legacy.

I believe that education is the most powerful tool for transforming society, which is why I chose to dedicate my life to it. When I was 15, I began making and selling truffles, and that’s when I fell in love with entrepreneurship. I realized that entrepreneurship was about solving problems, creating new opportunities, and serving others.

I dreamed of becoming a social entrepreneur in education, but I didn’t know how to get started. For three years, I sold chocolates at school, on the street, and at the market. I still remember the days when there were no customers, and I would keep my phone under the table, researching education instead.

When I was 18, I participated in a social entrepreneurship competition in my city, Startup Weekend Social Impact Santa Catarina. Our team won second place, and I earned a spot in a pre-incubator. When I finally felt supported enough to pursue my life project, I stopped selling chocolates and launched Educaree.

At that time, my family was going through severe financial struggles, to the point where our water and electricity were frequently cut off. To help make ends meet, I worked as a nanny— a job that wasn’t my dream, but one that brought me closer to my life plan.

Over the last five years, I’ve dedicated myself to building Educaree and turning it into my full-time job, so I could dedicate myself to my purpose.

This year, with Educaree more structured, I moved to São Paulo and decided to study Pedagogy at Instituto Singularidades, the most innovative education school in Brazil. I’m grateful to have received a 100% external scholarship.

In my first year, it took me three hours a day to get to college. But being able to study at the institution of my dreams, live my life project, and help other young people do the same is what keeps me motivated.

At Educaree, we work with young people who, like me, want to build their life project and overcome financial barriers to make an impact on others.

So far, we’ve held over 60 workshops, 12 free events and educational programs, and we’ve impacted more than 10,000 young people—most of them from public schools. We want to continue our work, achieve financial sustainability, and develop a scientifically-based educational method for life planning and socio-emotional learning, expanding our impact to millions of young people across Brazil.