When asked to describe herself, Ang Sanchez doesn’t hesitate to say “entrepreneurial.” A closer look at this enterprising Keystone College student reveals that’s the perfect one-word answer.
“Ever since I was young, I was always selling something,” said Ang, a sophomore criminal justice major from Orlando, Fla. “I love coming up with a new business idea and then seeing it through. It really motivates me.”
As a high school student in 2020, Ang was doing what she does best: operating her own thriving snack business to earn some extra money. But, COVID-19 and resulting in-person contact restrictions deeply curtailed her business plans and her profits.
“The pandemic really impacted my sales and I knew I needed to come up with another idea pretty quickly so I began to think about what I wanted to do next,” she recalled. “I began to dream about developing my own clothing line and what it would take to get something like that off the ground.”
Known by the nickname “Skrilla” to her family and friends after the urban slang term which means money, Ang soon developed a recreational clothing line by the same name.
“I developed my brand, Skrilla, a little at a time by trial and error,” she said. “My mission in life is to motivate young people and tell them it’s never too early to pursue their dreams. I developed my own design and my own brand which conveys that message.”
Fast forward to 2022. After enrolling as a student-athlete at Keystone, Ang continued to develop and market her clothing line. In addition to being a star guard on the women’s basketball team, she also began working at the Steak n’ Shake restaurant at the Keystone Commons on campus.
She discussed her ideas with Eric Shotto, who manages the facility for Keystone’s dining and food service partner, Sodexo. It didn’t take long for Eric to realize the quality of Ang’s work and to see that there was a place for it on the shelves of Keystone’s gift shop, located in the College Green Eatery & Marketplace.
Eric and the team at Sodexo, including Ang’s basketball teammate, Riley Berry, and Sodexo supervisor Sunshine Allen, helped her bring her Keystone Skrilla line of clothing to campus. Right now, the selection features t-shirts and hoodies but more items are in the works. The Skrilla/Keystone line began selling in the bookstore in late November and nearly sold out in just a few days.
“Our customers really responded to her design,” said Eric. “It’s fresh and creative and it really says, ‘Keystone’ in a new and innovative way. Ang is really talented and she has a lot of energy and vision.”
Ang is quick to return the compliment.
“Getting this off the ground was a total team effort,” she said. “Everyone pitched in and helped out a lot. I’m really thankful for their efforts.”
Now, Ang is ready to take the Skrilla brand to the next level. In addition to expanding her Keystone products, she’s already thinking about the future.
“One day I hope to have my own storefront, and then, a number of storefronts. I’m telling young people to believe in themselves, that anything is possible, because that’s what I really believe about myself.”
To learn more about Ang and her clothing line, visit www.yncskrilla.com or, check out her Instagram handle: yncskrilla. Incidentally, it’s fitting that “ync” stands for “young and in charge.” That’s certainly true for Ang and her big dreams.
