Career

My Second-year at OSU has made me grow a lot professionally. I have become much more involved on campus and have joined organizations that have expanded my knowledge of the workforce, of what is happening on campus, and about events going on around the world.

This summer I will be interning at Cisco Systems as a Business Analyst, and will gain real-work experience that I will use anywhere I go after the experience. This internship will help shape my career path because even though I cannot say where I see myself working or what I will be doing in the next 5 to 10 years, this internship will open my eyes to new opportunities.

At some point in my career path, however, I do plan on working with a company that allows me to work with Central and South American countries and with South Korea because my language skills have only been growing and have expanded my interest in working with various countries and cultures to create innovative technology and create a more diverse and inclusive society.

Artifacts

  • Fall 2015
    • Spanish and Portuguese Department Ecuador Event: I went to the S&P IA Event my first year as well, and I enjoyed it a lot because I was able to hear about all the research various faculty members were working on; and listening to them was thought-provoking and inspiring. Because of my experience my first year, I chose to go to the event again this academic year. It was very different last semester but just as interesting. Representatives from the Ecuadorian government working in the US came to speak to the students about Ecuador and its progress as a country. This event had an impact on me because of my desire to work with South America in my career path to bolster innovation in different countries and be an ambassador for diversity.
      Ecuador_event   
       Landivar
    • Cisco Systems LinkedIn Workshop: A representative from Cisco came to speak to our SHPE (Society of Hispanic Engineers) Chapter about Cisco and about the importance of LinkedIn. The event had a huge impact on me because it ignited an interest in the company. I learned that I might really enjoy working for Cisco, and it made me decide to apply to one of the company’s internships. This Summer I will actually be interning at Cisco’s Headquarters in San Jose, so this workshop meant a lot to me.
    • SHPE National Conference: The Conference was very impactful for me because of the variety of employees that went to speak about their company. The conference made me grow professionally so I could get accustomed to speaking with company representatives and helped me narrow down what kinds of companies I’d be interested in working for.
      shpe_conf
  • Spring 2016
    • NKFR’s North Korean Refugee TEDTalks: This past year I’ve wanted to learn more about North Korea and more about what the world is doing in relations to the country and how North Korean citizens are living, so I joined NKFR (North Korea Future Research Organization). We watched 2 TEDTalks during one of the meetings to listen to two North Korean defectors speak about their experiences and struggles living in North Korea and escaping. The talks were just heart-wrenching and eye-opening and really inspired me to become a more active part of sharing knowledge related to North Korea with others. Sharing accurate information is the first step to fixing the problem, and I believe the perspective of society as a whole should change to help the citizens of the country; and these talks really inspired me to do my best to help in whatever way I can.
      joseph-kim NorthK_tedtalk
    • SHPE’s STEM Challenge: This year I was able to create one of the activities that minority middle and high school students would participate in. The STEM Challenge is made to introduce STEM fields to students so that they may be inspired to possibly study such a field. My activity was more Industrial Engineering oriented, a Willy Wonka assembly line. This event was just incredible because it was great seeing younger students get excited for STEM fields. Through this event I believe that we’re able to inspire kids to follow their dreams and not “settle” for something that they don’t truly love.
      stem
    • Performance Practices for the Language Festival: I’ve always been interested in dance but never put myself out there to do something related to it. This semester my Korean class will be participating in the East Asian Language Festival, and part of the class will be having a dance performance while the other will be singing. At first I was very hesitant to join any sort of performance, but I decided to put myself out there and do something to break my shyness; and I am so glad I did so. The practices have been really fun, and I feel as though I’ve become more willing to try things that would make me uncomfortable at first. Although I have yet to perform in front of a crowd, I know I will be able to overcome that obstacle. I’ve gotten to know great people and make friends with students that I would have otherwise not met, so I am grateful to have been a part of this experience.
      bingbing

About Me

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My name is Alejandro Nunez, and I was born and raised in Miami, Florida, and am half Colombian and half Venezuelan. I’m majoring in Industrial and Systems Engineering and minoring in Korean. My main reasons for coming to Ohio State were the Engineering Program and the Study Abroad Program–specifically to South Korea.  Also, reasons for joining the International Affairs Scholars Program include my interest in East Asian affairs and my passion for spreading diversity and inclusion.

Year in Review

This year has made me evolve immensely. I’ve gained much more confidence in myself to follow a path I really enjoy, and I’ve broken out of my shell. I’ve been much more active in on campus extra-curriculars and have met so many people because of them. I’ve gained experience interviewing for internships and will be able to work for Cisco Systems over the Summer, I’ve become more of a leader this year and have gained 2 club e-board positions, and I’ve followed interests that I would’ve been nervous to try last year. Although I have felt much more overwhelmed this year compared to last year, I’ve become much better at time management and stress relief. I know that I can only grow more personally and professionally after this semester is over, and I am prepared for what next year has in store for me.

G.O.A.L.S.

G: Diversity has been a part of me since youth. I’ve traveled to a variety of different countries and have always enjoyed learning about new cultures. Growing up and learning two languages has given me a different perspective and a broader outlook on life. Last Summer I was able to study abroad in Seoul, South Korea at Yonsei University where I immersed myself in a very unfamiliar culture. I had taken 2 semesters of Korean by that point but still did not feel comfortable at all with the language. The experience, however, was eye-opening and very exciting. Getting out of my comfort zone of being able to communicate freely wherever I went was definitely scary and overwhelming, but it was an experience I truly appreciate. I do plan on connecting my career path with my interest in South and North Korean relations, so this study abroad experience was a stepping stone to reach my goal.

southk

O: For now I have decided to not conduct research at OSU because I do not feel as though it is and experience for me, but I will be performing a dance at the East Asian Language Festival toward the end of April, an experience I haven’t had here at OSU yet. Knowing that I have to perform in front of people makes me extremely nervous, but I am glad I’ve decided to get out of my comfort zone. I’ve met more diverse people through this endeavor, and definitely found something that I enjoy and that I will definitely continue through the rest of my time here.

 A: I am very committed to three extra-curriculars right now on campus: Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), North Korea Future Research Organization (NKFR), and Residence Hall Advisory Council (RHAC). I have had great experiences through all 3 organizations, having been part of SHPE’s outreach committee this year to inspire middle school and high school minority students to spark interests in STEM fields through our outreach events, have discussions and professor events through NKFR to share ideas and opinions with students that are interested in topics concerning North Korea, and help on campus organizations and residence halls with funding for their events through RHAC’s finance committee. All 3 organizations have been very important to me this year, and I will be joining them next year, as well.

L:  I was part of SHPE’s outreach committee and was able to create an assembly line activity for middle and high school students through SHPE’s STEM Challenge. Next year I will be SHPE’s Sponsorship Chair to connect with company representatives to come visit our SHPE chapter and create events that will benefit the future careers of our members. Next year I will also be NKFR’s Treasurer and as a member of its e-board, I will also assist in organizing our events for next year and grow our organization to have more members. I will also continue being part of RHAC’s finance committee next year because of how fulfilling it was to help fund campus events.

S: Volunteering has also been very important to me through my student organizations, having volunteered in outreach through SHPE and being a volunteer at the engineering event called Make-a-thon. I also volunteered in NKFR’s movie nights and Naengmyun night to spread more knowledge of North and South Korean culture to possibly spark different interests in other students to research topics concerning East Asia.
hottuk naengmyun