Every year, Forbes Magazine releases their ‘30 under 30’ list: a collection of leading innovators and professionals under the age of 30. Past members of the illustrious list include famous actors and actresses, up and coming politicians and world renowned scientists. This year, joining the likes of actress Emma Watson and Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, is CHS alumnus Micah Green.

Green was named to the Forbes ‘30 under 30’ this December. The 600 finalists of the list are grouped into 20 different industries, and those who are selected are considered to be some of the most inspiring entrepreneurs and leaders under 30 years old. Green was selected for founding Maidbot, a robot that assists in cleaning hotels.

“Being named to ‘30 under 30’ is extremely humbling,” Green said. “It just proves that my team is shaking things up on a big scale.”

Green created the concept for Maidbot in Feb. 2015 after exploring hotel operating and maintenance during his time at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. At the school, students practice working several jobs that would be done as a hotel employee such as housekeeping and hotel operating. He did not begin designing the product until Sept. 2015. Between Feb. and Sept. 2015, Green spent time building relationships with potential investors of Maidbot.

“When I was working as a housekeeper, I was blown away by how traditional everything was—the issues around cost, injuries, inconsistencies,” Green said. “I really loved [the TV show] the Jetsons growing up and saw [their cleaning robot] Rosie as something that should be around, so I wanted to bring that into reality.”

Green’s business began to take off, and soon he found himself facing a difficult choice: pursuing his passion of entrepreneurship or continuing college. After much deliberation, he chose the former.

“It was definitely a little scary dropping out of college,” Green admitted. “I had no idea where I was going to end up when I started at Cornell but things were moving quickly, and I thought

‘What’s the worst that could happen?’”

Green also had the advantages of a few safety nets—Cornell has a generous policy for students who decide to take a personal leave.

According to Cornell’s Leaves of Absence policy, if a student chooses to take personal leave for reasons such as career experience in an internship or job, experience in community or political action, or for a special project, they are able to return to school within five years of their leave.

When it comes to such a big decision, however, the choice can sometimes affect more than just one person.

According to Green, dropping out of college was more of a concern for his parents than for himself, but he believes that it was worth it.

Green’s success with Maidbot and his venture into entrepreneurship has not gone unnoticed by CHS students.

This school year, seniors Emily Stein and Beth Wright founded the Entrepreneurship and Business Management course at CHS, which encourages students to tap into their own entrepreneurial ideas and turn them into reality.

According to Stein, she has reached out to Green to come and speak to the Entrepreneurship and Business Management class.

“Micah and the work he has done is inspiring,” Stein said. “It’s so great to see a Churchill alum named to Forbes ‘30 under 30.’”

Green’s journey to success hasn’t always been easy, but it has been worth it.

According to Green, the idea of starting a company was alluring, but it was tough to get things up and running. Still, it was the “greatest thing possible” to come up with an idea and turn that  “dream into reality.”