First Glimpse and Expectations of Northeastern’s Innovation program in San Francisco

I consider myself a globetrotter, or at least that’s what I aim to become. I’m originally from Cali, Colombia, born and raised in one of the happiest countries in the world, yet intrigued about different cultures, traditions, languages and people. That’s one of the reasons why I chose to study abroad in London during my first semester, then continue my studies in Boston, go back home to Colombia’s capital, Bogotá to pursue my third co-op, and last but definitely not least, finalize my studies with Northeastern University’s San Francisco innovation program. Yes! I’ve lived in 4 cities in the last 4 years and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

I would love to write about my past co-op and study abroad experiences as well as what is like to live in Colombia, but for now I wish to focus on what matters to me the most: My experience in San Francisco. Though I only arrived a few days ago and I haven’t been able to live the city as much, I’ve been keeping up with my classes remotely and I’m very excited to what’s about to come. Taking into account that this is my last semester of study, I expect it to be an opportunity to apply everything I’ve learned throughout my business career and come up with outstanding projects and ideas that can open new doors for my near future as a professional. Since I already covered all of my business required courses, the classes I’m taking here are simply open electives for me. Hence, I hope to apply all of that knowledge and reflect it into building valuable ideas that are strong in all of it’s different areas (finance, supply chain, marketing, strategy etc.)

I plan on networking as much as possible, attend to all of the networking events offered and take advantage of the research and market investigation stage of each classes’ projects. Though it seemed far away, it is now the time to make connections and look for job opportunities in the Bay Area. Plus, two of my past co-op experiences have been on digital marketing in tech based companies. Therefore, I would love to learn from the leaders of the industry in Silicon Valley and look for opportunities were I could keep learning and strengthening my skills in tech. Besides, San Francisco is a city that holds people from different places in the world, which will allow me to keep learning about different cultures, adapt to them and learn a lot from them.

Aside from my expectations, I have one specific goal I would like to achieve which is working on a class project that will be strong enough to be executed in the real world and become a future work opportunity and/or a good asset to add to my resume and impress hiring managers. I’m planning on finding team members who are taking my same courses so that we can all focus on one idea and apply what we learn in each class to one specific project. Though this is something that definitely seems achievable, it would be nice if the program points out the students that have a similar schedule before classes start. This way, students could start planning groups ahead- if they choose to and invest all of their efforts into one idea.

So far I’ve loved everything about San Francisco: it’s climate, it’s noble people, the opportunities and learnings I’m starting to perceive and the amazing program Northeastern is offering. The instructors have introduced us a set of outstanding entrepreneurs that have given us real life advices for entrepreneurs based on their own career experiences. I’m looking forward to a semester full of adventures, learnings and both personal and professional gains. I’m committed to learn from the well prepared instructors, my classmates, and the hands-on experience I gain while working on my projects. Plus, I’m also planning on exploring this wonderful city and it’s surroundings to make this semester even better!