Welcome to our Where are they now? alumni stories series, where we’re interviewing alumni, whose experiences have shaped their lives and careers over time.
In this post, we’re interviewing Sam Corban, a trimester exchange student from 2017 who went to Arizona State University in the USA. He is now a Global Sponsorship Manager living in London, United Kingdom.
What originally motivated you to apply for a global experience?
I always dreamed of going to the U.S. As I am from the Waikato, I never had that studying-away-from-home experience. My high school and uni were right next to each other, so I spent the majority of my life at the time going to school on the same road. I wanted to take the opportunity to finish my degree with a bang in the U.S. and step out of my comfort zone.
Did your experience shift how you see yourself or the world? If so, how?
100%, I would say going on this overseas experience (OE) was one of the greatest decisions of my life. It was a huge culture shock, and you actually realise how small you are in the grand scheme of things. Some people hate that, but I loved it. Coming from a small town where everyone knows everyone, it was great to get out of that mindset and see who you are and who you can meet being away from that environment.
It gave me a different perspective, that the world is what you can make of it. When I went, this was during Trump’s first term in office, and so many people in NZ would tell me to be careful, it’s not safe, people have guns, etc. So, I was going in expecting it to be the Wild Wild West, but I didn’t see any of that and had such a positive time meeting new people, seeing new places, and having the time of my life. It made me realise that you need to see the world for yourself to draw your own conclusions, that the world isn’t such a scary place, and it gave me so much confidence that I could “make it” outside of NZ.
Has your experience influenced your career path or professional choices?
Going on this OE was the first domino that led to where I am now. I literally went into software sales as a career because of this OE. I had a marketing lecturer tell this great story about her previous sales role selling air conditioning to commercial/government buildings (she convinced a government agency that it was a safety risk in their building if something went wrong with their current AC, I couldn’t believe it, the story was fantastic haha), and that it’s a lucrative and fulfilling job.
I floated the idea of getting into sales to my Canadian roommate, and he gave me another lecture that I needed to get into selling things that people actually need people for, aka software sales. Because I made so many Australian friends on the OE, who are now some of my closest friends to this day, it gave me an easy platform to move to Sydney after uni to get my first SaaS role for a high growth start-up. That led to another SaaS role in Auckland, and that helped me get my current role, as I now sell event packages to these SaaS companies like Amazon, Klarna, Bytedance, and Shopify for events all around the world in London, that’s a lot of dominos, but ASU was the first.
Did the experience help you develop skills that are useful in your current role?
Yes, meeting new people and building rapport with strangers is a big part of my role, as I have to sell to a range of different cultures and manage clients in person when I am at the events we put on. That social part of getting out of your comfort zone that I experienced on the OE helped build that confidence for my current and past roles. The stories you get to tell people don’t hurt either!
Did the experience influence later decisions such as travel, further study, or relocation?
Once I realised how big the world was and how small I was (try going to Vegas as a student, it will humble you!), it really motivated me to be even more ambitious, not think small, see the world, take it on, and just enjoy the different parts of it. Going back to the domino effect, it even gave me a couple of British friends in London, and now I am looking to get sponsored to stay here permanently.
What advice would you give to students considering a global experience?
If you can, do it, do it, do it! My only regret is that I didn’t do the full year there and only one semester. Pick a place that you have a few things you connect with, for me, it was the music and sporting side of America that I grew up with that really inspired me to get there.
What do you wish you’d known before going on your experience?
How fun it was going to be, and that I should have done the full year!
How would you describe the value of your experience beyond academic learning?
I couldn’t put a number on it, but I would say I had the absolute time of my life. Writing this, it’s funny to see how much that trip has influenced me socially and professionally, and I couldn’t recommend this enough. You won’t just have a bunch of amazing memories you’ll never forget; those little dominos could still be playing a big part in where your life goes even 10 years later!
If I hadn’t gone on my global experience, I wouldn’t have…
rushed the ASU field when they beat a top 5 nationally ranked team, seen NBA games for $5 USD, met my current best friends, or be in London still travelling nearly 10 years later!
Waikato Global Experiences Blog 