Case Studies

Take a moment to explore my achievements throughout my educational and internship experience

Strategy

Vision

NATIVE Design - How do we foster connection among guests?

The Problem

When providing industry-disrupting experiences to high-end customers, they expect to be offered something they can't get elsewhere. How do we blend client expectations with the tenets of our program - connection, fun, relaxation, and growth?

The Solution

Based on our team's own experience while creating this program, I helped designed an experience that allowed people to express their creativity, celebrate their uniqueness, and feel special.

The Outcome

This experience has not been deployed anywhere else in the ultra-luxury hospitality sector.

Coffee Co - How do we keep our product sanitary?

The Problem

In-room coffee machines are problematic for many reasons, and remain difficult to keep clean and running well. How can CoffeeCo address hotel pain points while also providing customers with a better in-room coffee experience?

The Solution

I worked with the CoffeeCo team create a product that allows for a consistent, higher-quality coffee experience for hotel guests, all while requiring no machine, pods, or maintenance. The product also does not get sent to the landfill after its use. My idea for a certain zero-mess brewing method was selected by the US lead for CoffeeCo.

The Outcome

Hospitality customers reduce cost by not needing a machine, gain customer trust through reducing touchpoints that are classically regarded as being unhygienic, and waste is reduced by a coffee pod alternative.

Promly - How can we re-imagine the teen social media experience?

The Problem

Social media needs our attention to maximize its revenue. We also know that excess social media use is harmful. How do we engage our users while also encouraging them to reduce the consumption of social media?

The Solution

I helped design app features geared at giving users guidance in structuring their free time, with the goal of making creating something in real life (in addition to personal development) as easy as consuming social media.

The Outcome

Promly launched two age-specific applications packed with comprehensive mental health resources and a suite of ideas for users to shift their energy into creating a beautiful life. This could not have been achieved without Jen Libby (CEO), her leadership team, and her summer intern cohort.

HB 28 & 233 - How does New Mexico address climate change?

The Problem

New Mexico, being composed of many climates but dealing with widespread water scarcity, must address special considerations unique to its area. How does New Mexico maximize its carbon reduction while minimizing cost?

The Solution

I created a sustainable cost abatement curve from researching international best practices for presentation to Rep. Stansbury, with special consideration to New Mexico's water resources and energy demands.

The Outcome

Rep. Stansbury used my research to inform her when writing HB 233, which passed and was signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in 2020.

Operations

Project Management

NATIVE Design - Sourcing Marble

The Problem

High-end marble can cost hundreds of dollars per square meter, with the most expensive costing over $1000 per square meter.

The Goal

Source ~100 square meters of high-end white, medium-vein marble for less than $10,000. The budget includes honing and cutting costs.

The Solution

I looked for sellers on three continents that offered high-quality stone, had good reviews, and whose all-in price for the needed quantity was within budget.

The Outcome

We identified an international seller within four hours, ordered samples, and were pleased with the results. I coordinated with the seller to order the needed amount, with the total purchase cost being about 40% that of going through suppliers in the project's state.

Bloom Success Consulting - Systematizing client college search

The Problem

The college process can be overwhelming, with various deadlines, scholarship considerations, and college offerings all converging on the applicant.

The Goal

Create an applicant tracking system for high schoolers where the entire college process can be recorded and referred to.

The Solution

I modernized a document format I used for my own process to better fit the needs of clients with developing organizational skills. I did this by creating sections dedicated to helping the client ascertain college criteria and indicators of fit, which could then be referred back to as the client started choosing and applying to colleges.

The Outcome

One client in my first application cycle wanted to study at an international university, but did not know where to start. He identified his top choice by focusing on what he wanted from a school, rather than the name. Bloom Success Consulting then worked with him to improve his statement of purpose and nail the interview, with the client being accepted by his top choice (a private university in Spain).

Romero Succees Coaches - Collaborating with thought leaders to create resources about executive functioning

The Problem

College students feel stressed, overwhelmed, and are beholden to social media. By teaching students about executive functioning, we can provide a launching pad for them to learn skills and seek resources that improve their academic performance and quality of life.

The Goal

Work with Professor Umanath to create one-page handouts about executive functioning topics aimed at Claremont McKenna College students.

The Solution

We created educational materiaal about specific cognitive processes and mental skills that help students plan, monitor, and successfully execute their goals.

The Outcome

This literature became available to approximately 1,600 students in the past 12 months, with incoming Romero Success Coaches having additional resources to continue their own education and help guide their clients in dealing with executive functioning-related issues.

Mgrublian Center for Human Rights - Identifying essential documents

The Problem

Two professors are writing a book about an often-overlooked Nazi war criminal, and need as many primary sources about this person and his posse within a specific timeframe between 1943-1945.

The Goal

Identify every single source of material in the British Archive System (Kew Gardens, The National Archives, etc.) related to our 18 people of interest and sort them into chronologically-arranged dossiers.

The Solution

My team started the search wide and narrowed the documents down in waves. We began by assessing archives our professors requested by identifying archival sections with potentially valuable source material. We first tagged any archive section that mentioned a relevant person, event, location, or timeframe. Next, we went in cycles of discarding documents that did not have the right combination of person, place, and time. By conducting a binary sorting system (useful/discard) for our first document assessment cycle, we saved time and could focus on the relevant materials in the subsequent cycles.

The Outcome

Our research is being used by world-leading professors to advance the body of knowledge about the Holocaust available to the public, with a book forthcoming in the near future.

Teamwork

Leadership

NATIVE Design and Development - Lighting master plan

Being 18 years old and having minimal work experience, I had a lot to prove to a team of accomplished professionals. I had a blast working with the lead project manager by creating and delivering our project’s finalized lighting plan.

Teamwork

A 20,000+ square-foot property needed to have every single light source inventoried, with every fixture change tracked and cross-referenced to the lighting solutions the principal ordered.

In other words, my project manager and I were tasked with completing a 500-piece puzzle which was spread across a space longer than a city block, with only half of the pieces available for us to see.

The Solution

We created a document from the property’s blueprints and overlayed color-coded markings to designate lights we triaged - green for completed lights, yellow for confirmed lighting changes in progress, and red for everything else.

Once we went through each room and marked every single light source, we paired purchased lights without any room assignment to points triaged as “red.” Finally, we worked with the principal to finalize a budget for any remaining changes that had to be made, which my project manager and I used to spec and pace the final lights.

The Outcome

We delivered a completed project plan for a six-figure lighting workstream, which sped up project progress by six weeks.

Heidi Loewen Fine Art - Bringing the gallery into the digital age

Heidi Loewen is one of the most interesting ceramicists alive today. I had the honor of doing program management at her gallery, Heidi Loewen Fine Art.

Leadership

I realized that the gallery’s digital strategy and infrastructure could greatly benefit from an update. I brought this up with gallery leadership and over a period of six months, we worked to implement changes across the board.

The Solution

I spearheaded a comprehensive technology update for the gallery, encompassing hardware, software, website, and marketing overhauls. We looked at different marketing automation and marketing email platforms, computer systems, and the options for updating the gallery’s website - both format and hosting platforms. I also consulted with Ms. Loewen on advertising materials.

The Outcome

We decided to remain with our marketing automation system but update our computers and work with a specialist in SEO to increase gallery website traffic. New marketing material was created with recently-completed art pieces, which we then sent out to be published in magazines and on handouts.

Thomistic Institute at the Claremont Colleges - Bringing thought leaders to campus

One of my peers bemoaned the lack of a certain philosophical school within the Claremont Colleges offerings - namely, medieval philosophy - so we went about addressing this perceived intellectual gap.

Teamwork

My friend and I worked together to found and develop The Thomistic Institute at the Claremont Colleges (TI5C).

The Solution

We formed a partnership with The Thomistic Institute (TI) in Washington D.C, an academic institution that funds lectures, events, and retreats on various topics related to faith, reason, and culture. We work within TI’s network of scholars to invite lecturers to our college, where we host them for dinner and an event open to the entire Claremont College community.

The Outcome

In our first semester, we hosted three professors who offered talks about feminism, free will, and happiness. This new intellectual offering attracted about 100 students, professors, and community members and remains available to a student population of about 7,000. TI5C’s attendance appear to be doubling in its second semster.

Bloom Success Consulting - Motivational Interviewing

Being 18 years old and having minimal work experience, I had a lot to prove to a team of accomplished professionals. I had a blast working with the lead project manager by creating and delivering our project’s finalized lighting plan.

Leadership

A student came to me seeking assistance with the personal statement of the Common App. He was unsure of which direction to take his personal statement, but he already identified his ideal school list.

The Solution

By using a motivational interviewing approach, I started asking the student about his life and personality. Once I understood some of his passions, motivations, strengths, and personal experiences, I

I did not provide a single answer to the student during the entire exercise. Rather, I opened up space and provided structure for the student to identify what drove him in a certain direction, identify skills and experiences conducive to that end, and then help him put it all together in 650 words.

The Outcome

Given the autonomy and enablement to arrive at his own conclusions, my student grew in confidence and ability to structure his storytelling in a captivating, useful way.

  • I'm not too picky about the industry or sector as long as I can engage my strategy skills to make something better or new. I've been able to do this by designing both hotel spaces and applications, so I leverage the portability of many of my skills and my passion for learning things quickly

  • I've had the blessing of working with absolutely incredible, world-class teams. These work experiences shine for me because the challenges were met by smart, supportive people, which made my work experiences very fun.

  • Not to be trite, but I want to contribute my talents, experiences, and background to a team of smart, driven people working towards making the world a better place.

    Whether this ends up being research at a think tank, improving companies at a consulting firm, or doing something completely different elsewhere, I want to go home from a day's work and feel satisfied that what I'm building will positively impact the experience of someone on the other side of the city, country, or planet.