Emma Jacobson
You might call junior Emma Jacobson an academic pioneer.
The New York native arrived on campus seeking a career in hospitality, hoping to someday manage a large hotel chain perhaps. Then, as her scope of academic experience at BU widened, she found herself drawn to healthcare. Both fields involved compassion and care. Once she learned about the dual degree option, she blended the two seemingly disparate disciplines, the first time that combination had been recorded by Boston University’s registrar’s office.
“There are so many academic options at BU,” she says. “I didn’t even know I could do a dual degree and still graduate in four years.”
Not that it’s easy, she’s quick to note. Coming off a successful high school career and with a passion already burning inside, she envisioned big fish status. “I had to deal with the reality that there were a lot of people who were even more passionate than me, who had better grades than me, who had better experience in terms of internships and work. That made me take a step back. It was scary, but it made me realize I had something to work toward. It was like a friendly competition that really made me push myself.”
“People at BU are super passionate, smart, and experienced. I thought I would be a big fish in a small pond. But it made me realize I had something to work toward.”
Her next significant realization arrived by way of a semester abroad in India, where she worked at a luxury hotel in Mumbai. While it was a wonderful opportunity to test her career aspirations, Emma said, it brought an unexpected clarity. “The hotel industry is great and vital to tourism, but I just saw that my passion lay more in working with people who need help. I really wanted to make a difference on a larger scale.”
With faculty support and encouragement, she cast her academic net wider and began taking healthcare classes at the Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences.
“I had a really good relationship with the assistant dean of the hospitality school. He said, ‘if you love healthcare and that’s what you want to do, then go for it.’ Obviously his heart was in hospitality, but that didn’t stop him from telling me to pursue my dreams. That was really meaningful to me.”
The network of professors, advisors, and alumni connections at both schools has proved crucial, helping Emma network and line up internships and jobs on and off campus.
“BU has trained me to be a lot more independent, to push myself to do things outside of my comfort zone,” she says. “Going to India with people that I didn’t know for two months during the summer, that’s something that I probably would not have done if I wasn’t at BU. Aside from the academic rigor, I really learned how to push myself to work hard, and to see that hard work pays off.”
To read Emma’s full interview, please scroll below.
Q: When you first arrived on campus, what surprised or challenged you most academically?
A: I knew from the start I wanted to do hospitality and thought that made me special because a lot of students don’t know what they want to do. But once I got here, I realized that my passion wasn’t necessarily so unique. People at BU are super passionate, smart, and experienced, and that was definitely surprising to me. I thought I would be a big fish in a small pond. But I had to deal with the reality that there were a lot of students who were even more passionate than me, who had better grades than me, who had better experience in terms of internships and work. That made me take a step back. It was scary, but it made me realize I had something to work toward. It was like a friendly competition that really made me push myself.
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Q: Hospitality and healthcare? How did BU help you weave these two passions together?
A: I am the first student at BU to combine those degrees through the Dual Degree Program. When I first brought it up to my advisors, I was encouraged even though it wasn’t something that they’d heard of before. My advisors have been great at working with me to achieve my goals, trying to mix the classes and see the best course load for me, but also just checking in, saying, “How’s it going? What can I do for you?” And since I have access to both Sargent College and School of Hospitality Administration resources, I also have a lot of professors I can reach out to for advice and support.
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Q: Were there any interdisciplinary or collaborative experiences that stood out for you?
A: Inside the classroom, a lot of my hospitality courses focus on collaboration. They’re very small classes, maybe 20 students. There’s always a group project going on. Everyone knows each other’s names. It’s very interactive.
Outside the classroom, my latest internship is with a company called Arosa. It does home healthcare mainly for older adults. Instead of placing people in a senior living home, we send caregivers into the home. We also do Life Care Management, which is handling every aspect of someone’s life, whether that’s hiring someone to mow their lawn, taking them to doctor’s appointments, anything they might need.
I actually got that position by reaching out to a School of Hospitality Administration alum. She’s an SHA graduate and was a professor for a semester. When I saw that she started this new position, I thought there’s not that many people who go from hospitality to healthcare. But there’s so much need for the warmth and kindness that the hospitality community brings. The healthcare community in general is looking to hire more people from hospitality because we bring not only critical thinking, but also that sense of warmth and compassion that the senior living community just desperately needs, especially after COVID. A lot of people learned that medicine can only go so far.
Q: Can you describe a light bulb moment where you felt transformed by a particular class or intellectual experience?
A: I went to India the summer after my first year, and I interned at a five-star luxury hotel, the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai. I lived there for nine weeks. I was doing a rotational internship, so I worked in food and beverage, housekeeping, and the front office. That internship made me realize that I did not want to work in hotels specifically. It was a fantastic internship, and I’m so grateful for the experience. The hotel industry is great and vital to tourism, but I just saw that my passion lay more in working with people who need help. I really wanted to make a difference on a larger scale. After my internship, I started taking Sargent courses and it was so interesting to learn about diseases and global health. Right now, I’m taking a class on special events where I’m planning a wedding, but I’m also taking a class on nutrition. Having both of those mindsets at the same time is really cool.
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Q: Did you develop any meaningful relationships with faculty at BU?
A: I had a really good relationship with the previous assistant dean of the hospitality school, Brian Shockley. He pushed me to pursue my passions. He said, “if you love healthcare and that’s what you want to do, then go for it.” Obviously his heart was in hospitality, but that didn’t stop him from telling me to pursue my dreams. That was really meaningful to me, because it takes a lot for someone to say, if your passion isn’t here, go elsewhere, especially to a student who is in your program, especially being the assistant dean.
Q: How has BU changed you as a student and as a person?
A: BU has trained me to be a lot more independent, to push myself to do things outside of my comfort zone. Going to India with people I didn’t know for two months during the summer, that’s something that I probably would not have done if I wasn’t at BU. Aside from the academic rigor, I really learned how to push myself to work hard, and to see that hard work pays off.
