Prospective Students

Vanessa Kitova ’21 knew early in her MIT career that she wanted to join GEL. “As soon as you start walking the MIT halls as a bright-eyed first year, you will encounter the smiling faces on GEL posters,” she says. “The reason I wanted to join was because of the enthusiasm of the GEL students and alumni I met. People’s eyes don’t light up like that when they talk about organic chemistry.”

Once she became a GEL student, Vanessa understood what the excitement was all about. She thrived in the Engineering Leadership Lab, where she collaborated with classmates to tackle projects that tested their communication, negotiation, and problem-solving skills just as much as their technical knowledge. She recalls, “One of the most important things I learned was how to make sound decisions in the face of uncertainty. This is critical in modern life and fast-paced work environments—how to evaluate your options, how to make a choice, when to change your mind. I rely on these lessons all the time in my current job and in my personal life.”

Following graduation, Vanessa volunteered as an MIT tennis coach while working on Business Analytics at Bristol Myers Squibb—and she would wholeheartedly recommend GEL to her players. “I always tell people you will use the things you learn in GEL more than what you learn in your major, no matter what you end up doing. It’s rewarding, it’s fun, and you’ll develop skills and emotional intelligence you can’t get anywhere else.”