UG Student Emanuel Rodriguez Selected for Research Program at Harvard Business School

What led to your decision to pursue your degree at Rutgers-Camden School of Business?
As a high school student, I participated in many Rutgers programs, such as the BizEd, Rutgers Future Scholars, and RU Student Executive programs (RUSE). While attending these programs, I saw that the business school professors were amazing mentors that I could look up to and easily learn from. As a result, I chose to go to RSBC because I wanted to be in an environment where I could learn effectively

What has been your biggest motivation during your college career?
The friends I have met through college and networking are my biggest motivators. They always motivate me to do the best that I can and give me more perspectives.

Tell us about your involvement with the Rutgers-Camden community:
I participated in the Rutgers University Student Executive (RUSE) Program for the last 5 years. I have placed in the top three twice. I am a Rutgers Ambassador, through which I have given out dozens of tours to new students. I am the treasurer of the Women Students Association (WSA). Also, I am part of two honors societies: “Omicron Delta Kappa – The National Leadership Honors Society” and “Beta Alpha Psi – International Honors Society for Financial Information.” Further, I am a research assistant for Dr. Holmes. I am in the Honors College. I was part of the BizEd program, where I taught workshops to high school students through the business school. Lastly, I have been part of Rutgers Future Scholars almost my whole life.

Tell us about any groups/volunteer work/activities outside of campus that you are involved with and find valuable.
I participated in the PhD Project Annual Conference in 2021. Through the Wharton’s IDDEAS Scholars Program, I presented research in front of Wharton’s faculty.

After a competitive review process, Emanuel was selected to participate in the PRIMO Program (Program for Research in Markets and Organizations) at the Harvard Business School. Through the 10-week summer research training program, undergraduate students are partnered with Harvard Business School faculty to conduct research. In the program, Emanual conducted research on companies who are using alternative data, such as phone and social media, to give credit scores.

Do you have any advice for balancing school, work, extracurricular activities, and other commitments?
Always explore and try new things, such as hobbies, clubs, and events. When you commit to an extracurricular, make sure you are passionate about it because it will make the extracurricular activity fun and not feel like a chore. Don’t feel scared to drop a course, a class, a hobby, or any other extracurricular activity if it feels unfun and overwhelming.

If you have completed an internship, please share your experience(s). What were some valuable takeaways from the experience?
I have interned at the U.S. Department of Labor – VETS. I got the internship during the second semester of college at an internship fair. Because I worked along with recruiting, I greatly improved my professional writing and interviewing skills.

Did you learn something in class and have the opportunity to use it at work or internship? How did it help the organization?
Through taking Excel, SQL, and R courses, I became comfortable using them at my internships. My Excel skills allowed me to easily create budgets and reports. My SQL and R skills helped me perform research at Harvard.

Are there any challenges that you have overcome during your college career, that you are comfortable sharing, that impacted your journey?
My biggest challenge was being comfortable with saying no and slowing down when I needed to do so. During my first two years, I took 6-7 courses, interned, volunteered, and worked. These decisions felt overwhelming and stressful to manage. Once I got the ability to tell people no and turn down opportunities, it greatly improved my mental state.

What’s next for you? Are there any professional or personal goals that you’d like to share?
After graduation, my goal is to apply to PhD programs in accounting.

Please highlight memorable or meaningful experiences you’ve had with faculty, staff, advisors, students/student groups or other members of the Rutgers community.
Dr. Justin Deng, Assistant Professor of accounting, has greatly helped my pursuit in learning more about accounting research by providing me with programs and resources. Also, he gave me valuable advice that has helped me start my honors thesis.