Manos Intern Immmersion in the International Startup relations culture

Where are you from?

I was born and raised in San Jose, CA.

What do you aspire to accomplish in the future?

I am currently studying Biomedical Engineering at San Jose State University(SJSU). My ultimate goal is to focus on Community Health and engage in revealing new ideas and products while attempting to construct attainable sources. I have witnessed a vast opportunity gap within various communities and want to work closely with community doctors and hospitals.

How did you hear about Manos Accelerator?

At San Jose State University we have a program called MESA(Mathematics Engineering Science and Achievement) Engineering Program (MEP). Sylvia is both an SJSU and MEP alumni who likes to come back to her community, representing Manos . Sylvia attended an Industry mixer event to explain the wonderful things Manos is accomplishing. I became interested and looked further to seek an internship and be given the opportunity to become a part of their mission.

What was your role at Manos?

As a bilingual student I have the privilege of communicating and staying in contact with the startups from various parts of Latin America. My main two roles are planning the first Manos LATAM event that brings in 20 startup participants from only Latin American countries and provide them with the Silicon Valley knowledge and experience. Another role I will be taking, together with another one of my friends (Maurilio), is preparing the Manos Angel Network.

How has Manos helped your grow personally and professionally?

Working with a team is important and Manos has helped me develop my communication skills. The thing that I value most from Manos is the fact that I am learning about entrepreneurial skills and the steps needed to become a successful startup. These are important things that we cannot learn in a classroom setting.

What did you take away from your experience at Manos?

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. As a new intern that is only in her first year at SJSU and has never worked with startups, there were a lot of terms and procedures that I was never aware of. Manos provided me with the greatest learning ambient because everyone was willing to help. It taught me that working in a community allows for more innovative accomplishments.

How has your internship with Manos prepared you for a future career?

I can now feel comfortable entering an unknown setting or workplace. Thanks to the various Skype calls and emails being sent in Spanish, I finally have confidence in my bilingual abilities. Manos has prepared me to form important networks that will help me soon achieve my goals.

What was one thing that you were exposed to at Manos that you would not have experienced anywhere else?

The various startups from Latin America are people I might not have met anywhere else outside of Manos. I saw such a drive within them that motivated me to put in the same amount of effort in my projects. I, together with the interns, will be attending Exponential Thinking for Entrepreneurs workshop at Google that I am excited for.

Share a memorable experience at Manos.

Everyday was a memorable experience at Manos because we made work fun. One thing we started doing is that every hour on the hour we would get on the floor and do sets of 10-15 pushups, sit-ups, or if we dared, planks. That adds up to 70- 105 a day. We tried our best to stay in shape this winter!

How did you change during your internship from your first day to your last day?

I gathered more confidence in my Spanish speaking and writing abilities. This internship was a very humbling experience because I was speaking and learning from very bright and talented people who were extremely knowledgeable.

What was your favorite part about being an intern?

Meeting such a diverse set of people who are experts in what they do and creating friendship with everyone. We were all open and willing to share stories. I enjoyed that a lot because it created a unity within Manos.

Describe your relationship with your bosses and the startups?

I am extremely grateful to be given the opportunity to work and learn from Sylvia and Jim. Jim is a very knowledgeable man who always shares awesome stories with us. Sylvia is a strong woman that I look up to because she has been able to accomplish so much. They both helped us (interns) strive for the best.

Where are you now? What are you doing now?

I will be entering my second semester at San Jose State University with a full course load. During this time I want to explore the diverse branches within Biomedical Engineering and gather various skill sets.