Meet Sarina Haryanto: A Terp With Purpose

Welcome to Terps with Purpose, a web series from the Center for Social Value Creation featuring undergraduates, MBA students and alumni working to create social, environmental and economic prosperity through their careers. Follow along with us this summer to learn more about their career journeys and the impact they have had along the way.

Introducing the second featured Terp with Purpose: Sarina Haryanto.

A rising senior at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Sarina is pursuing a degree in Supply Chain Management and a minor in Sustainability Studies. This summer, Sarina is exploring a different kind of supply chain through her Design Project Internship at the University of Maryland Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (AIE).

To get to where she is today, Sarina took an alternative path to find an internship that truly aligns with her values. Since freshman year, she has participated in a multitude of enriching experiences that have ultimately allowed her to narrow down where and how she wants to make a difference in the world.

One of these experiences was the Smith School’s Social Innovation Fellows (SIF) program, which Sarina describes as “the highlight of my college career.” Inspired by her time in SIF, Sarina began to actively seek opportunities that matched with her strengths and interests. This led to a Supply Chain Internship at Cava, where she appreciated learning about sustainable sourcing of ingredients and improving processes for the Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant. During her time at Cava, the experience of working on a variety of projects sparked her interest in learning about a different kind of supply chain.

“I became interested in something called the supply chain of education - of knowledge, of how people learn. I wanted to be a part of that,” Sarina said.

This past spring semester, before she even found an opportunity relating to the education supply chain, Sarina got involved with AIE on campus through a two-credit course they offered titled “Introduction to Peer Innovation Coaching,” where she was able to work with and guide student teams in the classroom as they experimented with the design thinking process.

“My experience and training as a Peer Innovation Coach definitely helped me, as we were working on design thinking and guiding students through the process. After that class I felt more prepared and confident doing that,” Sarina explained.

This preparation would not go to waste, as Sarina has since joined the AIE team for the summer, where she designs projects and coaches younger students on various topics dealing with innovation. “I talk to strangers, I get different perspectives. I find it meaningful. I feel like I’m able to understand people that way,” Sarina said.

It has been at this position that Sarina has found her most meaningful experience thus far in her still-young career. “I couldn’t have asked for a better internship this summer. Innovation+Music in June and Innovation+Sustainability in July were amazing projects where I applied design thinking to fields that really fascinate me.”

Thanks to her hard work, Sarina is beginning to discover where her purpose and profession intersect. Luckily, Sarina was willing to share a few tips to help other undergraduates at the Smith School and beyond do the same.

1. Be curious and find what you love. “Making an effort to research - reading, watching videos, or connecting with students at school and learning about their experiences - helps so much,” Sarina says.
2. Be intentional and identify your skill set. “That can also help you become more confident. I’ve learned that it’s more important to be specifically wrong rather than vaguely right when I consider developing a new skill or trying something new.”
3. Be engaged and practice empathy. Creating social and environmental prosperity can happen outside of work too. Sarina knows this first-hand, as she has participated in a variety of enriching traveling, volunteering, and more. There is no shortage of opportunities to act on what the world needs and make it a better place.

The average person probably doesn’t think about education when talking about supply chain management. Sarina isn’t the average person, and she is proving that as she redefines her career through meaningful teaching experiences that pursue her passion and benefit society.

To learn more about the work the Robert H. Smith School of Business is doing that relates to social, environmental and economic prosperity, check out the Center for Social Value Creation.

- Sam Harris, Marketing and Information Systems, Class of 2018