Contributed by Ashhad Jaffer, ELP 2024-2025 Cohort, Masters, Information
Opening Hook
Coming into this summer, I was desperate for an opportunity. As a first-year Data Science student with a non-traditional health background and zero technical coding experience, I felt incredibly late to the game—I didn’t even have my foot in the door yet. It was vital for me to learn since I was a complete beginner in the field I wanted to pursue.
I had always assumed I needed to land at a big-name corporation or established company to get that “real learning environment.” But my time in the Entrepreneur Leadership Program completely shifted my perspective. I discovered that I actually thrived in the early phases of an idea—growing a startup, experiencing early-stage success, and navigating the fast-paced environment where you’re essentially running a full sprint every day to survive. This was a completely different world from your typical big company culture.
I focused my search exclusively on startups—places where I could contribute to meaningful work and make the most impact. Soon enough, I received my first offer as an AI engineer for an AI consulting firm. Perfect! That’s all I needed, right? But with ELP’s extensive network and resources, I was soon blessed with two more opportunities, both in AI as well. At the time, I couldn’t refuse. I had been desperate for at least one opportunity, and now I had the chance for three? Along with summer classes? At least they were all remote…
The Setup: How I ended up with three Roles
Here’s how I ended up with three roles running simultaneously:
Helios Core – A typical 9-5 at an AI consulting startup that builds custom AI agents for small businesses and major corporations.
Probetruth – 20 hours a week at a UMich Flint-grown startup addressing deepfake detection with AI in media for the legal field.
UMich Engineering Research Lab – 20 hours a week as an RA focusing on contactless vital sign monitoring using time-of-flight cameras, implementing AI/ML for vital sign outputs.
None of these came from clicking a LinkedIn post—pure networking (and definitely some luck, considering how inexperienced I was). Having ELP expand my network and connect me with professionals in the fields I wanted to work in was vital for landing these opportunities.
When these offers started rolling in, I knew I wouldn’t get another chance to leverage these resources. So I ignored the rational part of my mind saying, “80-hour work week? With master’s level classes in the summer? Are you crazy?” and just went for it.
Week One: Reality Check
Incidentally, all three opportunities started in the same week. Okay, no problem—maybe there’d be some sort of warm-up period where I could get acclimated and take it slow. Like syllabus week, right?
Nope. Startups are fast. And unforgiving.
I jumped into production immediately at Helios Core, taking charge of customer-requested agents and heading workflows. Probetruth put me in charge of configuring the interface along with AI data training. And the Vital Signs lab suddenly started receiving interest from VCs, meaning our “research” turned into creating full products and demos—meeting with potential investors and rushing to meet their deadlines.
That entire first week was filled with failures. I was studying well into the night to make up for knowledge gaps, waking up early to prepare for simple stand-up calls, and was completely overloaded with no balance whatsoever. At every meeting and every 1-on-1, I could feel the disappointment from my supervisors. I kept thinking, “What am I doing here? I don’t belong here.”
But with every failure came growth. I developed a thicker skin and learned to take criticism head-on. Instead of taking it personally, I began seeing these internships not just as opportunities to contribute, but as yardsticks to measure my progress.
Time Management Strategies That Actually Worked
The biggest strategy wasn’t some fancy system—it was that I literally couldn’t procrastinate anymore. With my packed schedule, there was no buffer time. If something needed to get done by Wednesday, it had to get done by Wednesday. Period. No “I’ll do it tomorrow” because tomorrow was already booked solid.
But here’s what I learned the hard way: I had to prioritize the essentials OVER work. Sleep, daily exercise, family time—these weren’t luxuries I could skip. When I tried working 10+ hours straight every day, I was useless by the second week. Burnt out, making stupid mistakes, and honestly just not contributing quality work to any of the three roles.
So I flipped it. I protected those non-negotiables first—7 hours of sleep minimum, 30 minutes of exercise, dinner with family. Then I had to be laser-focused with my limited work time. No scrolling social media during “work hours.” No getting distracted by random tasks.
It sounds counterintuitive, but working fewer focused hours made me way more productive than those marathon 10+ hour days where I was spinning my wheels.
The Biggest Lessons Learned
First off—you’re going to fail. A lot. With a schedule like mine, it’s inevitable. I missed deadlines, bombed presentations, and had days where I felt completely lost in meetings. But here’s the thing: as a student, there’s no better time to fail and learn from it. Companies expect you to mess up and grow from it.
Don’t be afraid to take on opportunities that seem impossible; they may be just what you need. This is your opportunity to gain experience and be part of various organizations and settings. You can push your limits in ways that might not be sustainable later in your career.
But sacrifice is part of the path. If you’re serious about education and striving for excellence, you’re going to have to give up some things—whether that’s weekend plans, Netflix binges, or just the comfort of an easy schedule. That sacrifice is necessary and worthwhile for the exponential learning you gain.
The key is knowing what NOT to sacrifice. Sleep, exercise, relationships, mental health—these aren’t luxuries. They directly impact your long-term ability to work and develop professionally. When I was running on four hours of sleep, my code was garbage, and my ideas were trash.
The time balancing act is real. You can’t do everything perfectly, but you can do everything well enough while protecting what keeps you functioning long-term. I learned that saying “I need to sleep” or “I’m taking Sunday off” isn’t being lazy—it’s being strategic about sustainable performance.
Bottom line: take the crazy opportunities, expect to fail forward, embrace the necessary sacrifices, but don’t sacrifice your foundation in the process.