Discovering My Passion at Princeton

April 7, 2020
Roberto Hasbun

Before coming to Princeton, I didn’t really know what entrepreneurship was. Surprisingly, the first club that reached out to me during the first-year activities fair was the Entrepreneurship Club. Since then I have discovered a passion for the field and have participated in many entrepreneurial opportunities offered by the University. 

I have been able to learn about entrepreneurship through the courses offered by the Keller Center. In a course called “Creativity, Innovation and Design,” I was able to propose a solution to a major problem affecting college students: time management. My group and I thought of implementing meditation breaks during lectures in order to help with concentration. Another great course is “Foundations of Entrepreneurship,” in which we have weekly guest lectures from leaders in the field. The founder and CEO of Giphy recently came to the class and it was incredible to learn how he began his own venture.

Outside of the classroom, the Keller Center offers opportunities during the summer. I got to travel to Tel Aviv as a marketing intern at a high-tech startup. Believe it or not, I was able to use my liberal arts education to write blog posts and redesign the startup’s website. I lived with a cohort of 20 Princeton students and learned a lot about the Israeli startup culture. What’s amazing is that this summer internship was fully funded by the University!

Other opportunities made available by Princeton was the Tigers Entrepreneurs Conference 2019 in San Francisco. It was an unbelievable experience because I was able to meet with alumni who founded their own startups, as well as visit companies like Google and Salesforce.

I am incredibly grateful to Princeton for letting me discover my passion for entrepreneurship and giving me the tools and skills necessary to pursue the field after I graduate. My message to prospective students is that, while Princeton is known for its liberal arts education, it also excels in entrepreneurship! If you are creative, have innovative ideas, or want to change the world, entrepreneurship might also be for you!