What are the memories you have from EIA? To answer this question, Justin Sung, a Cognitive Science student at UC Berkeley created a video with his colleagues. 

Passionate about filmmaking, Justin Sung holds various positions on campus related to film and editing. “I love being able to capture people’s emotions and moments and share it with them so that they have a chance to look back on those times and reminisce. Film is such a powerful medium, and I don’t think that will be changing anytime soon.”

We at EIA asked the UC Berkeley student a few questions. Read the full interview and don’t miss the chance to watch this inspiring video created by Justin Sung.

What were you expecting when you joined EIA?

Before the program, all I had in mind was a general overview of forming an international team and creating a startup, so I didn’t know exactly what to expect—that was such a great feeling, though! Actually, because of that, my experience was very exciting, as every day was a new learning experience.

What was the most valuable takeaway from the summer program?

The most valuable takeaway I received from EIA was a deeper understanding of my working relationship with others. 

I found that my work mindset is very similar to my school mindset, though it should have been different when approaching EIA and creating a company. Instead of asking what other people wanted me to do, I took ownership of my work by telling my CEO what I could do to help and delegated if I needed help from others.

What was the impact of the EIA program in your professional/academic path?

EIA helped set me up to become more successful not only later on in my career but also in my academics. Since going back to UC Berkeley, I go to each class with the mindset of learning and willingness to question and discuss what is being said. 

When working on group projects, I make sure that there is clear communication and that if we see differences in thinking, we explore that conflict and find a way to resolve it. 

Justin Shung working with his team at EIA

I am still exploring the route of possibly becoming an entrepreneur or working within a startup. Now I am comfortable taking this path because of my solid foundation in leadership and innovation thanks to EIA.

Any piece of advice for future participants?

I thought that our initial startup idea was pretty solid and didn’t believe that we would pivot anything drastically, however, I was wrong. We ended up having to start from the very beginning after the first week or so and re-evaluate what kind of startup would be successful while still being something that we could all be on board with. Even though we had to catch up to many of the other groups since starting over, I am really happy with the way our startup turned out and the way we presented it. 

My main advice to people who want to apply to EIA is that it doesn’t matter what age you are or what your background is; I truly believe everyone can get something valuable out of EIA. Going into the program, I didn’t know anything about entrepreneurship and was the only one of my major from UC Berkeley at the program. Even so, I still got so many valuable skills from web design to interpersonal skills. 

If you want a chance to meet people from around the world and learn from and be mentored by people at the top of their profession, you should absolutely apply to EIA.

Inspired by Justin Sung? Find out more stories from EIA participants and take the next step in your career!