MDC Students Aspire To Help Others With MADE At The Citadel

Imagine an indie version of a corporate office. Now imagine if these corporate offices issued workshops to help people succeed in their own career path.

MADE at the Citadel is exactly that. It is a co-creative space meant for “Makers, Artists, Designers, and Entrepreneurs” to work, socialize and network with each other.

The two-story building looks particularly small from the outside, but if you get a tour, your perspective takes a complete 180 degrees turn for the better. The depth to this building feels like it is never ending.

Hallway after hallway, office after office, passing by botanical workshops, jewelry companies, art galleries, fashion designing offices, a theater, lounges with a billiards table, a library, III Points Festival’s headquarters, and even a radio station may just overwhelm you (in a good way).

Located in Little Haiti, MADE is a fairly new establishment that has been around for eight months.

Event Coordinator, Ashley Suarez-Burgos, is a sophisticated 24-year-old Miami Dade College graduate who has ambition running through her veins. Burgos attended North Campus as a film major where she found her calling after taking the Grants and Proposals class with one of her biggest influences/mentors, Agustin Gonzalez.

“The class completely changed what I wanted to do,” Burgos said, “I want to make workshops to teach kids on what’s missing in a creative curriculum.”

The Grants and Proposals class, a requirement in the program for the B.A.S. degree, helps students learn how to make their dreams a reality, whether it be a film, video game or business. The class teaches students how to raise money and market properly, along with how to make pitch decks, and press kits.

Burgos is thankful for the opportunities and knowledge MDC’s SEDT provided her.  

“It provides a creative aspect, legality, financial part, and realistic goals that let you walk out of the education system with no questions needed, they leave you ready for the real world,” Burgos said.

Johnny Lara, who currently studies at MDC, is a part of the team, working as an assistant director.

Elisa Gonzalez, the director of the venue, attended the InterAmerican Campus. At the time, it was a fairly small school and for that, she felt lucky.

“I was surrounded around the same 300 faces everyday,” Gonzalez said via phone interview, “The campus definitely taught me how to deal with any situation and any person, because of the variety of backgrounds and aspirations, and that’s what was the biggest benefit from going to Miami Dade.”

Gonzalez says the trick to succeeding is believing.

“Believe you’re capable of really doing anything that you want to do, in other words self confidence. Everyone is equipped with what they need to do what they want, and if everyone could believe that then that is the main step,” Gonzalez said.  

Together, these three entrepreneurs are making dreams come true with their most recent art showcase that took place at Art Basel, called Found In The River, featuring local artists from the Miami area.

MADE offers an array of packages for a monthly subscription fee which provides members with perks such as access to corporate conference rooms and gallery space. Package prices vary, with student memberships starting at $100 and private offices at $400.