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April 30, 2024

Alumni Volunteers: Community MVPs

Alumni from the Integrated Innovation Institute donate their time and expertise to support and strengthen iii’s community of innovators.

By Mary Kilcoyne mkilcoyn(through)andrew.cmu.edu

Within the nonprofit sphere, philanthropy wins the adoration, generating headline-making press releases and special announcements from leadership.

Yet, alumni’s invaluable donations of time and expertise deserve just as much admiration.

Alumni help day-to-day operations, supercharge events and academic courses, support the next generation of innovators, and instill pride within the community.

Not only can volunteering lead to personal fulfillment, but it also provides an opportunity to stay connected and to develop new skills.

As National Volunteer Appreciation Month closes, the Integrated Innovation Institute thanks its generous alumni for all the ways in which they continue to support the University, iii, and each other:

Assisting Admissions by interviewing applicants, guiding admitted students, and participating in Info Sessions as panelists
Holding virtual Office Hours during the academic year to meet 1:1 with students to help with professional development, networking, and transitioning into and out of CMU
Conducting mock interviews and providing students with feedback on performance
Participating as guest lecturers and panelists to share their career journeys and experience, teach workshops, and lead prototyping sessions
Sharing job opportunities and internships within their networks and championing fellow Tartans, as appropritate, for roles at their companies
Attending virtual and in-person events
Sponsoring IPD Capstone Projects

Volunteer Spotlight: Admissions Interviewers

Harshika Jain (MIIPS '19)
Senior Product Designer
McKinsey
LinkedIn

Harshika has shipped products for over 10 million users and, in collaboration with CMU’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute, published six research papers on tangible morphing artifacts and physical-digital toolkits for STEM education. An expert at building design systems, she is developing a RAG-based GenAI platform for McKinsey.

"Being involved with CMU helps me to establish myself professionally, to expand my network, and to support our community. More than the education, CMU was the place where I made close friends. When I was a student and trying to find mentorship or my next job, there were so many alumni who helped me. I want to pay it forward."

Ali Siddiqui (MSSM '10)
Engineering Leader & Entrepreneur
LinkedIn

Ali is a seasoned software engineer who has held leadership roles at major tech companies like Yahoo!, Amazon, Oracle, Microsoft, and Stripe. He left the corporate world to ride the entrepreneurship rollercoaster. Leveraging his experience and expertise, he is the co-founder of an AI-startup that will solve the headaches of running a business on multi-cloud.

"It's a privilege and honor to be part of the process and to help wherever and whenever I can. I’ve conducted over 2,000 interviews in my professional life so I felt equipped to help. Even with my breadth of experience, ‘admitted students’ are a category of people that I have not interviewed yet so I felt it will add to my experience and increase my horizons. Plus, it will help out a good cause and, hopefully, it will keep the bar high for CMU if I bring industry knowledge into the mix."

Taciano Moraes (MSSM '15)
Tech Operations Manager
Edoo
LinkedIn

Since CMU, Taciano has co-founded a profitable meditation app, developed products in AI and Blockchain while managing remote teams across four continents, was a guest professor for five years at the Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG) in Brazil, and ran Google Design Sprints in six states around Brazil for a nationwide innovation project.

"CMU catapulted my career, both in terms of knowledge and experience, as well as financially. Staying involved is not only a way to give back but also an opportunity to grow through the process of guiding students. Participating in these interviews transported me back to the exact moment I got my Admissions email. Remembering this moment filled me with gratitude for this full-circle opportunity to contribute to the future of a program that was once my greatest present."

John Soh (MIIPS '16)
Design Strategist
Capital One
LinkedIn

A 2x CMU alum, John earned a Bachelor of Architecture before his MIIPS degree. Post-grad, he ascended to lead industrial designer before pivoting into the digital realm. He sharpened his service design and strategy skills on Freddie Mac’s CX team and now works at his dream company. John mentors not only for iii but also for ADPList.org, a global mentorship community.