Growth Outside of Class

Salma Elboute ’22

"I feel like if your life is only centered around your academics and things you do in class you are not truly getting anything out of college or life. I feel like my extracurriculars allow me to explore what I care about and critically think about how I can apply my major or the things I learn in class to real jobs, etc."

Q: How has Lehigh prepared you to take on tomorrow’s challenges?

A: I think I credit Lehigh for exposing me to different students, staff and professors that taught me a lot and the importance of things like networking and problem solving, but I am in charge of developing the skills needed to deal with life. I think that if you leave all the power to a university you're not gonna get as much out of life. And so Lehigh has provided me with an amazing education and I now take what I found valuable to me and apply it in different parts of my life.

Q: What is a classroom or extracurricular activity at Lehigh that helped you determine what you want to pursue in the future?

A: My ENTP 101 class because the structure of the class was way different then other Lehigh Business classes I have taken. It exposed me to a lot of other classes and programs that I can get involved in that are related to ENTP. From that I started to get involved in the Baker Institute programming a lot more. I decided to Pitch at Eureka multiple times with a business idea I had. I also did the Lehigh Silicon Valley Internship, Lehigh Innovation Internship, and the LehighSiliconValley week-long program.

Q: You’ve done an amazing amount of internships over the past four years. Can you list a few, and talk about what you’ve learned from them - beyond the skills of the job?

A: Squire Patton Boggs was my first business-related internship and I learned I didn't want to become a finance lawyer. I found that sitting in one spot all day reading and writing paperwork for municipalities wasn't the right work environment for me. At the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center I learned that I didn't want to work with large sets of data. I found that doing one thing all day everyday was boring and not exciting at all. But, I did enjoy the startup environment because people actually seemed happy to come to work. At the Atlantic Theater Center - I worked in their business development department and I liked the environment and actually going out and talking to people face to face for my job. They were also super flexible and never micromanaged me which really made me feel like I was trusted and inturn I did my job better. I found that I need a job to believe in me and see that I can make an impact for me to really feel valuable at the company.

Q: You are a real advocate on campus. How have opportunities at Lehigh helped you to become this advocate and leader for things that are important to you?

A: I feel like if your life is only centered around your academics and things you do in class you are not truly getting anything out of college or life. I feel like my extracurriculars allow me to explore what I care about and critically think about how I can apply my major or the things I learn in class to real jobs etc.

Q: What is your favorite thing about Lehigh?

A: The people that I have met. I have friends from all over the world and other majors which is really important to me because I subconsciously and continuously sometimes learn from the experiences of the people around me. I love to travel, so when you open yourself up to listening and taking in lived perspectives from others not like you it teaches you to be a better person and how to navigate life in a way that many others can't.

Q: Where is your study spot of choice on campus?

A: Third Floor of Steps (when I need to really focus) or the Grind in FML.

 

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A Positive, Supportive Environment

Majors: Africana Studies and Women, Gender & Sexualities Studies (WGSS)
Hometown: Bronx, NY and Lomé, Togo