Applied Skills: Engineering, Italian, and Landing the Job
By Virginia Corbo ’27
Over the month of February, I had the opportunity to participate in the Possible Tech Career Accelerator, where I was nominated by my Italian professor, Marie Bertola (Modern Languages and Literatures), and selected as one of 25 Santa Clara University students to participate in Cohort 17. This experience gave me a deeper understanding of the tech industry while helping me build practical skills to use while job searching. The program, managed by David Chase (Possible CEO) and Jackie Wu (Possible Ops Manager), brought together a wide range of useful tools, industry professionals, and insights into a 5 week experience, and they have done an amazing job at building such a strong program. Dylan Houle (Executive Director, Career & Professional Development Career Center) was instrumental in bringing this opportunity to SCU students.
Throughout the program, we learned directly from industry professionals where we got to ask questions in small groups about different career paths and how to navigate them. We were also taught how to ask level three questions to stand out and get the most out of a question. I was introduced to tools like Claude and Clay to support job searching and for organization, skills we don't always get exposure to in a traditional classroom. One of the most valuable parts of the experience was the strong network we built, connecting with both professionals and other motivated students at SCU and Seattle University.
What made this experience even more meaningful was realizing how much my Italian language skills shaped the way I approached it. Thanks to my knowledge of Italian language and culture, I have developed strong communication skills, cultural awareness, and the ability to think from different perspectives. These skills have directly informed how I navigate and network in interdisciplinary settings. As a Bioengineering student, I am used to focusing on technical problem-solving, but this experience showed me how important it is to also communicate ideas clearly and build genuine connections. Through the Possible program and the support of the Career Center, I was able to turn these skills into a real opportunity. I am excited to share that I will be working at Jabil, a global leader in engineering, supply chain, and manufacturing solutions as a Pharmaceutical Formulation Development Intern this summer! I look forward to the opportunity, and believe this experience reinforced that growth comes from being able to connect multidisciplinary areas like language, engineering, and professional development into a concrete job offer.