Hi! My name is Nadia Susanto, and I am a current Junior at Carnegie Mellon University. I am double majoring in Business Adminstration and Human-Computer Interaction. I am also double minoring in Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Societal Human Impacts of Future Technologies.
I do a lot on campus. I am Captain of the Women’s Golf Team @ CMU, President @ 180 Degrees Consulting, Director of Professional Development @ CMU President’s Cabinet, Pledge Instructor @ Alpha Kappa Psi.
This Summer I'll be working @ PwC as a M&A Deals Summer Associate. I'll also be working on my current startup idea - NoFores!
Despite being busy, in my free time I love playing poker, being on season 2 of Scotty Survivor, watching sports, and traveling!
Now if you want to listen to the defining moments that got me to where I am, here's my crazy story:
I didn’t have a normal childhood. Since I was 10, I was already traveling the world representing the United States in my age division for badminton. I would go on to 3 Pan American tournaments in Dominican Republic, Canada, and Guatemala in a span of 4 years. Even in middle school I had to skip many days, forcing me to become more responsible and independent.
Even though I never had time for regular fun things like play dates, playing badminton at a high level is something I will also look back upon as the activity that shaped me to who I am. When I first started, I was always the underdog. I would get bageled (meaning get 0 points on the opponent), and get teased on as an easy opponent. I continued to put blood, sweat, and tears, and eventually I was number one in the United States for badminton in my age group.
I was at the top, ready to dedicate myself to training for the Olympics. However, something was nudging me to go a different direction. Freshman year of high school came, and I tried out for the Girl’s Golf Team. I miraculously got into Varsity because Coach saw something in me, and I stuck with it ever since. I was again the underdog. I was shooting high 90s and even 100s as a Freshman, and girls were getting picked left and right committing to different colleges already. There was always a hint of doubt in my head if I made the right choice, but I reminded myself that I’ve been in this underdog position before. I worked my butt off the next few years, and in the end it helped me get to where I am today: Carnegie Mellon.
I credit my drive, determination, motivation, and overall confidence in myself because of what I had to endure through competitive sports. This led me to loving consulting and entrepreneurship.
I’ve definitely had a crazy journey so far filled with ups and downs, but one thing is for sure: I do not regret anything.