"My perspective of what I thought I wanted to do with my life has changed."

Paola Lopez '21 | Arts Entrepreneurship Major | Material Science Minor | Product Design Hometown | Nicaragua

As a material science engineer major, I have taken many extremely incredible courses at Lehigh. Most, if not all of them have been math or science classes, where I have been able to learn a lot about technical problem solving. Even though my engineering courses are great, I find value in taking courses completely different from the ones required for my major.

I applied for LehighSiliconValley because I wanted to be exposed to a course that was very different from the ones I usually take at Lehigh, one that involved a lot more interactive and first hand learning. From this course, I mainly hoped to learn through the actual trip experience. I also expected to be able to network with a lot of people that otherwise I would not have the opportunity to talk to. To say that the LSV program has delivered what I expected from it is an understatement. In the five days I have been here my perspective of what I thought I wanted to do with my life has changed. I have learned so much about possible career paths that now I want to pursue, as well as I have met the most amazing and extraordinarily successful people I have ever met. This program is an amazing opportunity, and I genuinely feel is the best program that Lehigh offers. From listening to Lehigh alumni and trustees talk about how there careers have developed, to visiting amazing companies such as Adobe and VMWare, my outlook about what it means to be successful has changed. Moreover, I have gained an entrepreneurial mindset that just wants to venture into the world, and I want to learn more about everything to help solve society’s problems. I can say that I have never felt more proud to be a Lehigh student than while at the LehighSiliconValley program.