As the University of San Diego enters another semester of virtual learning, the Student International Business Council has continued to provide its members with real-world experience using commerce to facilitate positive change through virtual projects. Virtual learning has been a challenge for members, and maintaining a connection with their peers outside of the virtual classroom has become even more of a strain. The Student International Business Council has successfully built a virtual community for students to connect and collaborate with business leaders all over the world. Our project leaders play a key role in maintaining this community and leading their peers to successfully completing their project prompts. In this blog, you will get some insight into what it is like to lead a virtual team from current SIBC project leaders for the Spring 2021 semester.
Secco Wine Club
“ Being a project leader for the Secco Wine Club has been a rewarding and educating experience. I chose Secco because it was an opportunity to become acquainted with market research and also to continue to involve myself in Italian culture, as I had studied abroad in Rome the previous semester. When I first started leading the market research team for Secco last semester, I was unsure where to begin such a daunting project. Throughout the weeks and with guidance from SIBC advisors, my team and I developed a framework of the topics we wanted to research and discuss further with the leaders of Secco.
We identified market segments, through a process of elimination, and with a market selection matrix, Secco could target its low-carb and low-sugar KETO wine. It was enjoyable to have weekly discussions with team members on the insights they discovered on these target markets and why they were ideal for Secco. Presenting our findings last semester was an exciting experience. The culmination of months’ work compiled in a twenty-minute presentation proved to pay off when Secco’s leaders showed their interest and gratitude over the insights and recommendations we provided for them.
In this semester, I felt more prepared as I had a greater understanding of the project leader role and was accustomed to the virtual setting. My team and I have the goal to present how to market to the market segments identified past semester. My goal is to finish what we began the previous semester, give researched and analytical recommendations on how Secco can target its brand-new product. This is an opportunity to further elaborate on what we had already established and also become more creative in our messaging.
The position of project leader reinforced the importance of time management, taught me how to delegate tasks based on team member’s strengths, and professionally communicate with business leaders and entrepreneurs. I look forward to the Secco project completion and what awaits the next academic year.”
- Ricardo Cardoza 22’
Tamarindo Foundation
“My experience being a Co-Project leader for the SIBC has been an incredible one so far. I have had the incredible privilege to be a part of a project that is close to my heart. I am half Salvadorian, so working for the Tamarindo Foundation has allowed me to feel I am helping other women like my mother and learning more about the Salvadorian culture. Working in a virtual setting has been a wonderful experience as our workshops have allowed us to connect with others where we would not be able to physically be. The goals I want to achieve within my role as a Co-Project leader are to be able to learn, help others, and collaborate with students who have a passion for non-profits. What I have learned so far working with the Tamarindo Foundation is about how to empower women to start their own businesses and create growth in their community. I wanted to join SIBC because I took International Business with Dr. Daspro and I fell in love with the class, so I thought the club would allow me to work on projects related to that. I chose the Tamarindo Foundation because the organization was a non-profit and is aligned with the work I want to do in the future, which is to have have my own non-profit one day. “
- Ariadne Sambrano 22’
Naturway
“Working with Naturway has been the first time I've led a team. My experience with the team of 10 has been absolutely fantastic! I'm so grateful to have been a part of a team wherein we're not just members working together on a project, but rather close friends who genuinely enjoyed collaborating throughout the semester. Although virtual, my team & I were still given the opportunity to gain professional experience and this allowed me to further develop and improve my leadership capabilities.
On this year-long project, we identified market segments that would be attracted to Naturway, a tours company located in Lisbon, Portugal. It was a challenging project considering the toll COVID-19 had taken on the tours & travels industry. Nonetheless, this project compelled us to think outside the box, thus, unleashing each of our creativity. Over the past academic year, we've gained valuable insights into the tourism industry and have presented to our clients the key data we gathered via external interviews and research.
Overall, being on this project has been a remarkable experience for me. It not only was a channel to help me recognize and improve on my leadership and organizational capabilities but also enabled me to push my boundaries. Lastly, I've truly appreciated getting to know the members of this team!”
- Yashve Kalati 22’
JLab Audio
“ I first got involved with SIBC last spring, when an older member of my fraternity mentioned that it would be a great opportunity for me to gain some real hands-on experience going into the summer before my junior year. As it turns out, he was elected the project leader for a project with Adobe, and after joining the team myself, I learned we would be helping to streamline their executive onboarding process. As the semester went along, I really enjoyed the research we did as well as getting to work with different team members from different grades and organizations along the way. By the time our final presentation rolled around and I was able to experience how rewarding it was to create and present a quality final project to a company like Adobe, I knew I wanted to come back to SIBC and lead a project in the future.
Due to the craziness of COVID, I decided to focus on school and my other commitments during the fall semester, but instead set my sights on leading during spring semester. When the projects finally came out, I wanted to work with a company that offered products or services I was interested in, and JLab Audio, which sells personal audio devices such as earbuds, microphones, and headphones, really stood out. After researching the company and finding out it was fast-growing and had a partnership with MLS, I became even more intrigued. Once the teams had been assembled, we learned that were being tasked with understanding the audio space in both France and Italy and identifying and recommending potential distributors for JLab's goals for future expansion into those two countries.
So far, I've learned a lot about the different types of distributors there are, the audio space as a whole in France, Italy, and other European countries, and how to effectively lead and communicate to a team. I am super grateful to have had this experience with SIBC so far and cannot wait for our final presentation in a couple of weeks!”
- Sam Stiker 22’
Adobe
“Thus far, I have had an enriching yet challenging experience leading this SIBC project. This is my first semester as a project leader, and I continue to learn many things about my leadership style and working with teammates in a virtual setting. Being a sole project leader while trying to organize the project and scope of work as a whole has been a challenge for me, but I am learning things about myself and how to improve my project management skills. As a result, I am very grateful for this beneficial experience. Working in a virtual setting is difficult compared to being in person, however the same goes for my classes and part-time job. Since many employers are planning on adopting a hybrid working environment post-pandemic, it is necessary to learn how to manage a project team in a virtual environment.
As a project leader, I would love to inspire my teammates and help them gain relevant business skills while boosting confidence. Additionally, I would like to improve my leadership and professional skills while learning about the tech industry. I also became a project leader because I enjoy holding leadership roles, and would love to hold a significant leadership position in my future career. My goal is to inspire people and aid them in developing their personal and professional skills. In addition to this, I am passionate about consulting and would like to pursue a career in international consulting. What I do in SIBC is what I would like to do as a career, and SIBC helped me realize that.
I chose Adobe because it is a high profile tech company, and I believe that working on this project would provide a huge resume booster while giving me relevant professional experience. In addition, I wanted experience in management consulting prior to graduating in order to stick out from the crowd once I start to apply to full time positions. A human resources project is particularly interesting to me, and I want to expand my knowledge about different industries since it will help with my future career. So far, I have learned about hiring operations and new hire gift practices of numerous companies in the tech industry.
I have worked on different projects in previous semesters, and presenting to clients has been an amazing experience. I was able to travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina in January 2020 to present the Animana project to our client in person. I struggled with public speaking so this was a challenge for me, therefore it was an enriching experience. I have also worked on TL Fab and Tamarindo, which consisted of 2 different workshops, and they have been beneficial experiences as well. I enjoy presenting to and speaking with clients since I can learn something new from each client interaction. Overall, being a part of SIBC and being a project leader has been an incredible experience and I am looking forward to presenting to Adobe.”
- Salma Youssef 22’
