Trust the Process: How Juliana Castro Turned Uncertainty into Direction
Juliana Castro portrait. Courtesy photo.
Juliana Castro, E’26, industrial engineering, completed three co-ops during her time at Northeastern. With a background in engineering and passion for making complex systems more accessible, she hopes to one day launch her own venture—built on the experience, perspective, and drive she developed along the way.
Juliana Castro graduated from Northeastern this year with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering. Born in the United States to Colombian parents, she moved to Colombia as a child, later lived in Brazil, and then relocated to Florida for high school. Raised across multiple countries and cultures, she grew up learning firsthand how language shapes belonging—a journey she captures in a phrase she often returns to: “English opened doors for me, but Spanish gave me home.” Her parents, both engineers, always encouraged her to pursue higher education, and Castro found herself drawn to the field early on. Growing up speaking four languages and developing an affinity for numbers, she was attracted to industrial engineering specifically because for the breadth it offered—a bridge between analytical thinking and real-world impact, and between business needs and human outcomes. The field, she felt, was the right place for someone who cares as much about people as they do about problems.
Castro discovered Northeastern somewhat by chance. While researching state schools in Florida, she stumbled across the university and was captivated by the Co-op Program—a natural fit for someone who learns best through hands-on experience. Once she applied, she was placed in the Honors Program, a recognition of her academic work that she appreciated. And after four international relocations, the prospect of moving to Boston on her own felt less like a leap and more like the next logical challenge—one she was ready for.
Co-op experiences
Castro completed three co-ops during her time at Northeastern. Her first was at Bain Capital, a global private investment firm. The role gave her a grounding in how businesses operate and are organized, and she credits it as the foundation she built her subsequent co-ops on. It also sharpened a skill she would carry across all three roles: translating between teams and competing priorities to keep work clear and actionable.
Her second co-op brought her to Rise Point, an edtech company in the midst of acquiring another firm. As an operations strategy co-op, Castro played a meaningful role in the rebranding and broader restructuring that came with that growth—work that put her alongside C-suite executives early in her career. What made the experience especially formative was the culture of the team: several colleagues were Northeastern alumni who had also gone through the co-op program themselves, and they extended Castro a level of autonomy and responsibility that pushed her to grow. She also found a mentor in her supervisor, a former Northeastern engineering student whose guidance gave her valuable perspective on her own academic and professional path. The role taught her to navigate ambiguity without losing clarity—another skill she would carry into every role that followed.
Castro and a colleague at Stax. Courtesy photo.
Her final co-op was at Stax, a market research and consulting firm based in New York City that specializes in commercial due diligence and value creation for private equity firms. As an associate consultant, Castro conducted market research, tracked key metrics, and presented findings to clients weighing potential acquisitions. She was often researching companies that had built themselves from the ground up, which gave her a window into how businesses are structured and how they scale. The experience sharpened her ability to take complex information and make it usable for decision-makers—a skill she sees as central to her work going forward.
Beyond coursework and co-ops, Castro also belonged to a few clubs on campus. In addition to a sorority, where she gained a network of support and friends, Castro also participated in CASE, a business consulting club. In this club, students form teams and develop solutions for their clients, often involving market research and creating deliverables while advising their clients. As a senior consultant on the team, her role was to help organize the rest of the team and provide guidance. She noted that “at the end of the day, we all work together as a team.” Through CASE, Castro gained strong communication skills, as well as knowledge in corporate etiquette from her interactions with stakeholders. Across campus and co-op, she has leaned into the same intersection: analytical thinking paired with people-centered communication.
Reflection and the future
One of the most memorable experiences of Castro’s time at Northeastern was a Dialogue of Civilization course she completed with Associate Teaching Professor Mohammad Dehghani. She describes it as a “cultural immersion beyond the classroom”—a trip to Istanbul that challenged her assumptions and deepened her sense of belonging across cultures. For Castro, immersing herself in unfamiliar environments has always been how she makes sense of the world, and this experience reinforced that instinct. She carried the same spirit into a study abroad semester in Milan, where she learned Italian and built friendships with people from across the globe—an experience she calls equally eye-opening and formative.
Castro with her group in Istanbul. Courtesy photo.
Looking back on her time at Northeastern, the biggest piece of advice Castro has for current students is to “trust the process.” She experienced this firsthand during her second co-op search, when a fast-moving job market left her feeling behind. She kept applying and stayed open to where things might lead—and near the end of the application period, a new position appeared that she applied for and landed. That role turned out to be one of the most pivotal experiences of her college career, deepening both her professional network and her sense of direction.
Castro has also been awarded a Fulbright scholarship, through which she will pursue a master’s in digital business and Innovation at IE University in Madrid beginning in September 2026. For her Fulbright project, she plans to adapt Spain’s ALIA platform—an open-source government AI tool—into a multilingual chatbot to help newcomers access essential services such as healthcare, housing, and schools, with clear explanations and cultural context. The project is a natural extension of her engineering background and her lifelong experience navigating new cultures and systems.
Going forward, Castro wants to bring together her love of people and her engineering background in work that makes complex systems more accessible. In the long term, she hopes to launch her own venture—but wants to build industry experience first, continuing to develop her understanding of business and markets. She credits Northeastern with shaping the entrepreneurial mindset that drives ambition. Whatever form her career takes, Castro’s instinct for connecting with people across cultures and her belief in the power of good process will push her toward work that creates better outcomes for the people it serves.