“SIMO IN VALPO”: Simona on-location in Valparaiso, Chile during the recent AGI.
Associate Dean and Professor Carlos Baradello — International and Executive Programs Director and head of our Academic Global Immersion Programs — recently passed along an email from Academic Global Immersion student Simona Khersonsky, announcing her exciting internship at Endeavor and her gratitude to Carlos and the AGI for introducing her to a wide range of Endeavor network members throughout South America:
Carlos,
Starting this week I am an official Endeavor intern!! I will be helping them with their 2011 summit event.
I just wanted to thank you for helping me make this opportunity a reality!! I really am grateful to you for my South American experience and the one back in the states.
Thank you for everything!! I will see you in a few weeks for your wife's empanadas.
Have a good spring break!
Simona
We asked Simona — a first year, full-time MBA student — if she’d be willing to give us a little more information on Endeavor, the Summit, and the role that Carlos and the AGI have played in her success. It turns out that Carlos, and the AGI Program, put Simona in direct contact with Endeavor, both throughout South America and here at home in San Francisco. Here’s what she had to say:“I’m soooo excited about my opportunity at Endeavor, and I'll be more than happy to answer your questions.”
First of all, what is Endeavor, and what is their Summit?
Endeavor is a global network of high-energy entrepreneurs working to put entrepreneurship on the map throughout the world, and literally working to put the word “entrepreneurship” into every language on earth. Their motto is: INNOVATION HAS NO BORDERS. IDEAS HAVE NO BOUNDARIES.
Their annual Summit brings together entrepreneurs, Endeavor members, and global investors. Check out their web page, and their youtube channel.
Why did you chose USF School of Business and Professional Studies?
I chose USF because of the focus on sustainability and entrepreneurship. Also, the location — great access to Silicon Valley and a tech spirit embodied in the city, which I hoped to find in the classroom, and so far I have.
What particular aspects of your work study and travel with Carlos and the AGI would you say made it possible for you to get this internship?
Carlos is a great professor and person. You really feel that he cares and wants you to succeed in life and in your career. This made traveling with him even more rewarding. All the people we met with during our AGI study trip were somehow connected to Carlos, and his wide network is full of intelligent and friendly people who are excited about communicating their ideas and sharing information.
We had the opportunity to meet with a lot of Endeavor mentors, entrepreneurs and employees in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. They were all so excited and passionate about their jobs, industry, country, the list goes on and on.
And it sounds cheezy, but it got me really excited and I wanted to somehow find a way to join their "community."
Why is the internship important to you?
Working for Endeavor is a great opportunity because they have such an amazing network, and simply the pure accessibility of information I will have at my fingertips is exciting.
More importantly, I really believe in Endeavor's mission — "High Impact Entrepreneurship."
This opportunity is more meaningful because through the AGI trip I was able to see in person how Endeavor impacts local communities.
How does it fit into your career plans?
I am still trying to figure out exactly what it is I want to do with my career. I have mainly worked in the for-profit world but I have never experienced such passion and energy as I did when talking with entrepreneurs and those working for many of the startups we had the opportunity to visit in South America. I caught the bug of wanting to feel those emotions.
Whether it means I want to start my own business, or simply work for a start-up, I'm not sure.
I know at Endeavor I will learn more about entrepreneurship and the networks needed to grow a business into a success, because they have access to both sides of the coin.
Anything else you think it would be good to mention?
This internship opportunity did not come to me in South America. Carlos held a panel discussion at USF for Chilean entrepreneurs just the week after we returned from South America. Someone from the Endeavor office happened to be speaking at that panel. Carlos invited the AGI students to attend, but I was only able to sit in on for about 15 minutes and did not have the chance to meet anyone.
I emailed Carlos about a contact at the Endeavor SF office and he made it happen. The rest as they say is history.
What does this have to do with empanadas?
Empanadas are an Argentine delicacy, and it’s well-known that Anna, Señora Baradello, is a renowned empanada maker. One of the high points of the Latin American AGI trips is the final review gathering which features Anna’s personal creations. Some people say that her influence may exceed Carlos’ in enrollment terms.
Professor Baradello serves empanadas at last year's AGI Latin
America Final Review Meeting.
