“Perfect.” It’s a word we use in our everyday vocabulary, yet its definition is interpreted differently all over the world. Some say it doesn’t exist, some say to keep working until you reach it. Some say David Beckham is perfect, but some insist it is Brad Pitt. Some people live for perfection and some die trying to get there.

Though most say the word without giving it much thought, Delta Phi Epsilon’s vice president of academic affairs at The University of Florida wanted to dig deeper for a more meaningful definition.

Alexa Carlin

Alexa Carlin, a junior majoring in business administration and minoring in mass communications and entrepreneurship is the CEO and founder at Hello Perfect, a company created to instill confidence in the lives of young adults and change society’s definition of perfection.

“The only problem in our society right now is we make ‘perfect’ seem unattainable when really, you have already attained it,” Carlin said. “The challenge in life is not about becoming perfect. The challenge is believing that you are perfect just the way you are.”

Carlin designs jewelry for the humanitarian fashion brand OmniPeace,— which aims to break the cycle of poverty through peace and education — and sells it via her Hello Perfect website.

“I want Hello Perfect to become a worldwide movement that changes the fashion and beauty industry by redefining the word ‘perfect,’” Carlin said.

Carlin first discovered OmniPeace in high school when a T-shirt caught her eye. On the shirt’s label, she read the brand’s goal was to end poverty by the year 2025 by building a new school every year, and purchasing it meant she’d be supporting a school’s construction. Intrigued by the brand’s powerful goal, Carlin emailed the company expressing her idea to design jewelry for the company, since it only manufactured T-shirts, bags and hats at the time.

It wasn’t until four months later that she heard back from the company. Eventually, Carlin was then licensed to design jewelry for the company, but she said it took an entire year to finalize everything because of the many steps that go into product design.

“Being able to design for such a well-known company that celebrities promote is mind-blowing,” Carlin said. “The fact that they chose an 18-year-old to design their jewelry shows that you can literally do anything you put your mind to.”

Since her start at UF, Carlin has been intensely dedicated to both the OmniPeace and Hello Perfect companies. She created the Hello Perfect website during the Summer B term of her freshman year. The website has become an outlet to express her views on the concept of “perfection” as well as a sales platform.

Although Carlin doesn’t leave much room in her schedule, she doesn’t mind being constantly busy with the things she passionate about. Basically a one-woman team, she does the designing, packaging, web design, marketing and advertising for Hello Perfect. Last year, she even added necklaces to her OmniPeace jewelry designs.

“Even if I have hours of studying, I always make sure to set aside time for Hello Perfect every day,” Carlin said. “Just like school is, my business is a top priority.”

This entrepreneur’s hard work is reflected in the sales of her jewelry, as she has sold her designs to 10 different countries. To date, OmniPeace has raised close to half a million dollars for charities and built five schools in Africa, with a sixth on the way.

“My business has expanded over the past year by gaining customers from all over,” Carlin said. “My first contract with OmniPeace stated that my license territory was the United States. Soon my territory expanded to the rest of the world!”

Carlin went to New York this month for the Teen Vogue Fashion University event to learn from top designers and editors in the fashion industry. She will also be studying fashion abroad in London next semester and plans to do a part-time internship while she is there.

Carlin plans to get college campuses more involved with her company by finding Hello Perfect brand ambassadors on different campuses. She also wants to interview celebrities to find out what their definition of the word “perfect” is. Carlin, who believes the power of confidence is limitless, said her goal is to one day appear on “The Ellen Degeneres Show.”

“I’ve been given this amazing opportunity that has ignited my passion to fulfill my dream,” Carlin said. “From high school to now, I have gained confidence in myself that has enabled me to see the world in a completely different light.”

Julianne Wilson is a Writer for The Odyssey at Florida. She is a Zeta Tau Alpha and a junior studying journalism. You may contact her at julwilson1@gmail.com.

This article is from The Odyssey, a fraternity and sorority weekly newspaper that produces a unique paper on campuses across the United States. Check out the Odyssey at www.TheOdysseyOnline.com

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