“The strong scent of coconut filled the room,” wrote Los Medanos College Student Tenisha Manoharan, typing away at the keys as she started her University of California applications.

Her hairstyle is a defining feature since South Asians don’t normally have such voluptuous curls.

“I surprised many people because they didn’t expect someone like an Indian girl to have such curly hair… But I think that’s why I was able to have a unique story” said Manoharan as she sat comfortably making hand gestures with every word showcasing how excited she was to talk.

With applying to over 5 UC’s and multiple private universities, Manoharan had started somewhere before the opportunities.

“The wide tooth comb hurt as it went through my hair,” said Manoharan in her UC Point of Interest Questions, setting the scene for her childhood.

She is a first-generation immigrant from a family that immigrated from India. Her parents left with only the savings from their former jobs to allow them to be steady in their new life in America.

Her father had the mind of an entrepreneur which sparked Manoharan’s curiosity. With adventurous ideas at the age of 10, she started a small bracelet business to enter the pathway of what later would become her true business.

“I’ve always been a creative person and just came up with ideas,” she said, explaining that she had an obsession with entrepreneurship.

Manoharan persuaded her parents to let her get a stall at the local vendor market at her middle school for her small bracelet business. However, the event was poorly attended and she only made a few dollars.

“At the age of 10, I assumed because of that, that my entire life would be a failure because I couldn’t succeed as an entrepreneur at that moment,” she said, adding that she’s always struggled with rejection.

Despite the failure of her middle school business venture, she decided to pursue another business in high school.

“Over my first year of high school, it was all online, so I got the opportunity to…do whatever I wanted behind the Zoom screen,” said Manoharan.

She decided to start an e-commerce business which led to her beauty business. 3 months without a sale.

Manoharan then decided to test out of high school and graduate early at 16 after taking some college courses. Her everyday struggle with her unmanageable curls led to the idea for her now business, Ten’s Curls, during what would have been her junior year of high school. She created an all-natural hair care product for those who struggle with curls.

She decided to post her product on TikTok and ended up with more than 6,000 followers on the platform and over 100k views on viral videos selling her products across the U.S.

“My biggest challenge was time and energy. It took a lot of my time and effort to make my products, create TikToks, and manage the store” said Manoharan.

Eventually, she decided to put her business on hold and shift her focus on her education working towards a degree in business at LMC.

“At first, I had a very negative perception of community college. Like many, I viewed it as a lesser option, something for students who weren’t as academically capable or ambitious. I was initially quite ashamed to even admit that I was attending a community college,” she said.

However, Manoharan later realized the benefits of the community college experience.

“As I became more involved on campus and started taking advantage of the opportunities available to me, my perspective began to shift dramatically,” she said. “I realized that community college was so much more than just a passing period — it was a transformative experience that was shaping me in incredible ways.”

After joining student life as an ambassador, student government as treasurer, and competing and placing in State Future Business Leaders of America competitions she learned that going to community college was the best decision she had ever made.

“I realized that the stigma I had internalized was completely unfounded, and that community college was a game-changer for students like myself who were looking to get a strong academic foundation and explore their interests,” she said. “I had gone from being ashamed to being incredibly grateful for the opportunities LMC had provided me. It was a complete turnaround, and I’m so glad I gave community college a chance and didn’t let the negative perceptions hold me back.”

She hopes that with the skills she learns from community college, she can transfer to continue her higher educational journeys, grow her businesses, and one day become the entrepreneur she had dreamed of being. She currently is working on creating manufactured dolls that represent South Asian culture. With the dolls almost completed, she looks forward to selling them in the future.

As she sat at the keyboard typing the last few sentences of her transfer applications last semester, staring at the screen she hoped will reveal her future this semester she reflected on the application process.

“The process of transferring has been quite the journey and I’m still navigating it, learning and figuring things out. It’s a lot to process from your major reqs, general reqs, apps but I’ve been going with the flow,” said Monoharan.

Now, it’s a waiting game for the entrepreneur with years of experience already under her belt and a new business venture in the making.