My name is Antonio de Leo. I have put together this website to highlight some of my accomplishments and share my goals and aspirations.
The value I see in a college is that of a facilitator in developing and expanding my interests.
Interest brings context into what I learn: transforming information into knowledge and eventually into wisdom. I am looking for a college experience that fills me with questions more than answers and stimulates my curiosity. One where an engaged community surrounds me. One where I may find guidance and resources in the areas of entrepreneurship, problem solving, and innovation.
I consider myself a maker, a do-it-yourself kind of person. I have designed and built autonomous and remote controlled robots, drones, airplanes and boats, and many types of electronic devices.
I enjoy researching how to do stuff and adapting what I learn to my own needs.
Below are sample projects (tap videos to unmute):
A jet engine bicycle with 8kg of thrust. It was fun riding it around Washington DC seeing people's reaction to the unusual bicycle.
A remote controlled ultralight air propelled boat carved out of wall insulation styrofoam board, gliding the reflecting pond in front of the US Capitol building.
A jet engine longboard with a 2kg thrust. Kids around the neighbourhoud enjoyed riding it.
An air quality monitor soaring the skies around the US Capitol building complexes streaming live data to the Internet. The project was recognized by the Optical Society of America with a notable achievement award at the DC STEM fair, giving me the opportunity to spend a day at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and obtained 1st place at the 2013 Earth Month Science Fair.
An obstacle avoiding robot, which I published on Instructables and has been featured in an issue of PC Welt Magazine (PC World - Germany)
Just pass by my heart, and it will light up for you.
I spend a lot of my free time figuring out how to make money: from trading stocks and mining bitcoins to drop shipping and running my very own business importing and distributing trellis-netting solutions for the US agricultural sector. To get the business running, I had to learn and follow business incorporation procedures, research business accounting and taxation aspects, establish a front-office call center, develop product warehousing and shipping logistics, and create online marketing and direct sales solutions. What a thrill it was seeing my first online sale and my first 5-star customer review - so much work - but so worth it!
I maintain a virtual office in Jacksonville, Florida and a warehouse distribution center in Laredo Texas, which delivers both to customers and to Amazon for storage through Amazon's fulfillment centers and for sales and shipping through Amazon Marketplace.
The core company business is to develop inbound marketing techniques for attracting customers to trellis-netting products via content marketing, social media outlets, and search engine optimization (SEO). My strategy has been to create a network of satellite sites, blog articles, and social media content focused on crop support; provide useful content to farmers, and suggesting the use of the company's trellis netting offerings.
Last summer I traveled to China to visit factories and meet with potential net suppliers in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Ningbo, Zhenjiang, Taizhou, Shijiazhuang, and Baoding.
Habitat for Humanity
Martha's Table
Martha's Table
Martha's Table
Martha's Table
Capitol Hill Power Plant
I am an active community member. I teach tennis and robotics in after school programs, and volunteer at food shelters and help build houses for those in need, through local charities and international non-profit organizations.
