Polished leather seats, a roaring engine and a top-notch sound sys tem, all packed into one iconic vehicle. The excitement of your first car is indescribable, especially when it’s a black 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee, the perfect vehicle to drive with the windows rolled down and the radio blasting at full volume.

Sophia Kotowski (10) manages to stay at the helm of many typical responsibilities such as sports, academics and a healthy social life, but with another priority that sets her apart from her peers: her own Jeep Grand Cherokee that she bought herself at 14 years old. Investments as large-scale as this are usually made in adulthood, butwhen it comes to personal finance, Kotowski is ahead of her time. The purchase of her car was a milestone that completely reshaped her scope of responsibilities.

“I knew in that moment, from here on out, I am responsible for so much more than I had been previously,” Kotowski said. “But it was almost a good thing for me. It made me understand the concept of money more than I already had understood it, and it was just a proud moment for myself.”

Buying your own car at such a young age isn’t an easy feat. Hours of work were poured into the investment, along with deliberate planning. Kotowski’s first source of income came from coaching and refereeing for volleyball games, before she started at Courtside Café, located at Legacy VTC.

“I finally started getting super consistent hours at Courtside Café, because we were in season, so we were open a lot more,” Kotowski said. “Once I started getting those hours, I ended up getting way ahead on my car payments, and now I have my car paid off until December.”

For busy students, athletes and employees like Kotowski, juggling priorities is a task in and of itself. Instead of breaking down or letting tasks slip through her fingers, she shifted her mindset to power through the intense workload.

“It was hard to keep up with all of it, but it forced me to really be disciplined,” Kotowski said. “Once I started being more and more disciplined, the stress lessened and lessened every single day, and then eventually I was able to catch up.”

Like many other fields, mentors make a significant difference in the process of learning and growth. Kotowski’s mom, Regan Hobbs, plays this role. Kotowski takes inspiration from her mom, who also practiced financial independence from a young age by paying for her own car.

“My mom was pretty much the only person, the biggest person, that helped along the way. She helped me understand what I was doing with all of it,” Kotowski said. “She helped me prepare for interviews, helped me write my resume and she helped me find places to get my car.”