By Mary Whitfill, editor-in-chief
Seven years after being hired to lead Northeastern, and a year after launching the university’s Empower campaign, President Joseph E. Aoun is hiring his first co-op.
The Northeastern global officer position, or GO, will send students around the world to meet with alumni and parents, shadow employers and students, scout potential sites for satellite campuses and report back to Aoun.
“I would mostly just be excited for the opportunity to connect with people all over the world who have the same love for Northeastern that I do and have the same goal of seeing it improve and expand,” junior political science and international affairs major Lina Lopez Lalinde, who applied for the position, said. “If I can make even just one key connection abroad that will benefit and impact future huskies, I would be delighted.”
The GO position, a paid international co-op, was announced on Thursday at Empower: Washington D.C. in Carnegie Library at Mt. Vernon Square.
“I am going to recruit the first global officer at the university,” Aoun said. “He or she would be a student that is going to explore the world for six months. This person is going to work with me directly and be my first co-op, my first co-op ever.”
While the job’s official website says the job description will vary slightly based on the chosen candidate’s strengths, the co-op will have access to the EverTrue app, an application for donor research and alumni researching to assist with the workings of the Empower. Northeastern’s $1 billion comprehensive campaign, Empower, was launched in May of last year with the intention of raising $500 million through philanthropic donations and $500 million in industry and government partnerships.
Andrew Horowitz, a junior chemical engineering major, went on the Empower trip to Hong Kong in May and will apply for the GO position.
“I was able to network with alumni, see a lot of what goes on behind the scenes and experience what goes on on that side of the school,” Horowitz said. “It just seems like something I’m interested in going into. I’m interested in something on the business side of engineering and seeing all of the different parts of the world that Northeastern is a part of seems great.”
Last academic year, the campaign secured $71.9 million in fundraising, according to Northeastern News.
“Being able to hire new professors and expand the resources to the students and what is available to them will really help students get that much more out of the school,” Horowitz
said of the importance of Empower.
“The co-op program makes us unique, but attracting the
top researchers and getting other facilities will really help make Northeastern the best.”
In addition to expanding research resources, Horowitz thinks co-op is one of the most
important programs to put money towards.
“After speaking with alumni in Hong Kong and seeing how much co-op helped them made me realize how important it was,” he said. “Hearing 50-, 60-year-olds say ‘I wouldn’t be here
without co-op’ made me realize that it’s invaluable.”
Submission deadline for applications is Nov. 3 and finalists will be announced Nov. 12. All students who are eligible to go on co-op during any of the next three cycles can apply at
northeastern.edu/go.
“This person will look for opportunities for Northeastern, the students, and to also see how we can further our impact worldwide,” Aoun said. “If you are interested, all you have to do is think about how you are going to impact the world and impact Northeastern. This lucky person is going to write the next chapter of what Northeastern can do globally.”
