#hesspotlight

Where will you be next year? Grafton, MA

What will you be doing? Working for Harvard's Campus Services financial reporting systems

Where will you be next year? In between Canada and the U.S.

What will you be doing? Two main focuses:  1) Start up the sustainable business in the decorating industry, that I developed in my HES Eco-entrepreneurship class, in Saskatoon, SK, Canada.  2) Take on a management role with the family construction business in both  Northern and Southern California.

Where will you be living next year, and what will you be doing?

Vancouver, British Columbia - Currently I work as the managing partner of a boutique law firm in Vancouver, British Columbia. Having completed my ALM in Psychology, I will be pursuing a career in Sports Psychology in collaboration with my law practice. I am in the process of incorporating a company by the name of "Clutch State Training" that will focus on mental performance training for elite athletes. We will be utilizing virtual reality technology, mindfulness practices, and cognitive reframing to help athletes easily trigger a "flow state" (also known as "clutch state" in athletes) so that they can achieve success in high pressured athletic competition. This is a passion of mine, having previously worked briefly in the NBA before pursuing my post-secondary education, and I would not be able to pursue this career had I not completed my degree at the Harvard Extension School.

What advice do you have for Harvard HES students, now that you have graduated?

Use this opportunity to achieve your dreams as your HES experience can open up doors far and wide. I embraced the fact that Harvard gave me a chance, as busy working professional, to gain quality education at a pace that was sustainable while balancing a busy career and helping raise 3 children. I was very interested in Sports Psychology and all of my professors encouraged me to focus on my interest throughout my ALM degree. Don't be afraid to ask for guidance - one of my professors, upon learning about my interest in sports psychology, connected me with a classmate who was a scout for the Boston Celtics, and that was the first time my dream felt real. Take the time to get to know your classmates whether virtual or on campus. They come from a diverse background and everyone was willing to help each other out. For example, I am in the process of helping a classmate try and gain funding for to make her capstone project a reality and we will be meeting in person in Vancouver, BC next week to start the process. Another classmate has also connected me with an editor at Psychology Today to see if they are interested in me authoring articles on the topic of Sports Psychology.

In what ways has your Harvard Extension degree impacted your career?

Where will you be living next year, and what will you be doing?

Cambridge, MA - I completed two novels during my time in the Creative Writing and Literature program, and after much editing and review, am now querying those novels. It is a long road to publication, and one with plenty of rejection and no guarantees. Write, revise, and improve! And so, while agents read my current manuscripts, I'm writing the third novel. Alongside writing, there is also the practicality of full-time employment, for I will continue working as a program manager. Even if my books are published, they might not pay the bills, which is a reality that many novelists face. My stance is this: I must approach my writing as a professional in both time and effort, because the goal is professional-level success, but a deep love for storytelling must always be the foundation. It helps that I intentionally hold a job outside my field of study, which saves word-smithing energy for creative projects.

What advice do you have for Harvard HES students, now that you have graduated?

If you are studying creative writing, you have an enormous opportunity to build working relationships with other writers. Pay attention during workshops and reach out to people. You might become lifelong beta readers in critiquing one another's work.

In what ways has your Harvard Extension degree impacted your career?

Where will you be living next year, and what will you be doing?

Romania - I'm looking forward to engage into a range of diverse activities that can help to build a better community using new technologies (Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and other data driven approach), becoming a consultant and research new opportunities that aligns with the interests and goals of development for my current area of residence (like European research programs).

What advice do you have for Harvard HES students, now that you have graduated?

A major advice that I can give to current students is not to hurry and dive deep into material and experience they go through as degree candidates, both in terms of knowledge and communications with professors and fellow students.

In what ways has your Harvard Extension degree impacted your career?

Where will you be living next year, and what will you be doing?

San Francisco, CA - Upon graduation I'll continue my current path as the Founder & CEO of CrankChart. Our SaaS based platform leverages the combine powers of Conversational AI and Behavioral Sciences to nudge business decision makers and data professionals into better communication (and alignment) - with the goal of high impact decisions from analytics. With data driven decisions quickly becoming the sine qua non, the vision is to make high impact data driven decisions turnkey for enterprises of all scale. We're relocating from New York to San Francisco with the goal of expansion, in the quest for pole position.

What advice do you have for Harvard HES students, now that you have graduated?

My advice is to be clear on what you want. As a non-traditional educational path, clarity is your biggest asset. From my personal experience, having a clear objective really helped to shape the overall experience. More specifically, as an accomplished innovator I needed access to resources and great minds that only Harvard could deliver. Upon arriving to Cambridge, I was able to connect with amazing professors who were all too eager to help validate various hypotheses, goals etc. This provided the necessary motivation to start and complete the ALM in Software Engineering degree. Harvard provides a broad range of resources and opportunities. But to access either, you will need to be proactive and excited about the prospects of getting as much as possible from the learning experience. Finally, it's worth mentioning that Harvard professors generally enjoy working with HES students. From their vantage point, we bring a wide range of experiences, open minds and a youthful eagerness to learn. Ride that wave!

In what ways has your Harvard Extension degree impacted your career?

Where will you be living next year, and what will you be doing?

Denver, CO - I'm currently finding the right place to practice my trade - sustainability, tactical and strategic.

What advice do you have for Harvard HES students, now that you have graduated?

Persevere. Having Harvard on your resume is an attention getter.

In what ways has your Harvard Extension degree impacted your career?

Where will you be living next year, and what will you be doing?

New York, NY - I am starting my MSc in Mathematics at NYU Courant. I will be in NY for the next year and half. After that I will apply to PHD programs in Mathematics

What advice do you have for Harvard HES students, now that you have graduated?

Have your goal in mind all the time. My goal has always been to pursue an academic career in mathematics. I took pretty much all the Math classes that HES offered plus 6 graduate level classes at the college through the special student program. The ALB program opened the doors to many great graduate programs that I would have never thought I would be able to attend.

In what ways has your Harvard Extension degree impacted your career?