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The Spring 2020 Stax/Northeastern University cooperative has not been your typical experiential learning program for our two co-ops. Under a new normal due to Covid – unique, memorable, different could easily categorize their six months with us. As their time with us comes to a close, this week we highlight Max Bizanek.
What is your major/background/hobbies/interests at Northeastern?
I am a fourth-year, chemical engineering major and business minor, planning (hopefully) to graduate in May 2021. Outside of class, I love to travel and I’m a new dog dad of a Havanese puppy named Theo.
What drew your interest to the Stax co-op position? How did you hear of Stax?
Prior to
Stax, I worked at two biotech start-ups and had been exposed to a lot of strategic decision making within internal operations of companies and wanted my next co-op to be involved in decision making at a larger scale. I found
Stax after I viewed the co-op on the Northeastern database while looking at consulting positions and after reading the description and researching the firm I thought it would be a co-op where I would be exposed to new industries, work, and mindset.
What were you hoping to gain through the NE co-op experience?
I chose Northeastern because of the co-op program and wanted to be able to experience a job before fully graduating to see if I wanted to do it as a career long-term. I also liked the fact that I could get college experiences that were different than only doing school for 4 years straight.
What are your responsibilities at Stax as part of your co-op experience?
As a co-op, you’re really given a wide array of tasks and responsibilities. I think it really depends on the project needs, but I’m almost always heavily involved in primary research and outreach to support the client’s asks and needs. I’m also exposed to and involved in web-survey work, crafting slides in deliverables, and sourcing contacts for the project’s outreach efforts.
What have you learned so far while at Stax?
I’ve been exposed to so much in my 6 months at
Stax that I can’t begin to think about how much I’ve learned. Before my co-op, I didn’t even know that private equity existed and now I’ve worked with companies that make everything from software that collects consumer data for craft breweries to companies that source and hire temporary legal staff for law firms.
What is your most memorable experience at Stax pre- and post-Covid?
My favorite memory pre-Covid is the offsite in Miami, it was an awesome experience and a great way to meet everyone from all our offices. I think it was really interesting working with private equity during and after Covid-19 because we were able to be involved with firms responsible for a variety of industries, all trying to understand how to make informed decisions during an unprecedented crisis.
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