Martina Kukin Toponarski grew up in Croatia and had already graduated from the University of Rijeka. But when she moved to the United States she decided to apply to UMass Boston because “I needed to build a network to get the most out of my experience.”

“The one class that really stands out was the internship capstone in economics that the Economics Department offers.” After successful interviews at the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s Research Division, Martina was awarded the internship. “It put me in the real world where I was able to put my academic knowledge to practice. The internship gave me an opportunity to familiarize myself with the tools that economists use in their research.”

After graduation, she accepted a full time position with the Boston Redevelopment Authority, showing how internships can lead to careers. Recently, in April of this year, Martina was promoted to manage one of the economic development initiatives for the biotechnology and life sciences industry sector at the BRA’s Economic Development division. She admits to some interesting dinner conversations at home, especially since her husband works in the biotech field, too!

In May, two years after graduation, Martina was invited back to campus to give a speech at the Economics Department Spring 2008 Honors Dinner where she talked about her experiences and answered questions from Economics students.

Most recently, Martina has decided to get a master’s degree and has applied to the Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies in Management at Harvard University, Extension School.