Jo Jose, a student in Columbia’s M.S. in Technology Management (TMGT) program and president of the SPS Student Government (SPSSG), has built a true sense of home at Columbia. “Returning to New York, coming to Columbia and SPS has been a heartfelt, personal journey for me,” she shared.
Jo’s path to the TMGT program was anything but linear. Having lived in countless countries and worked at several Fortune 500 companies, including Estée Lauder and Starbucks, Jo’s decision to pivot to tech when pursuing her second master’s degree was shaped by her professional and personal experiences. “When I first came to Columbia, I was making this shift from consumer goods, brand innovation, and product management to a very broad, emerging industry,” she explained. “But what I’ve gotten out of it is so much more. Columbia has opened my eyes to avenues I wouldn’t have looked at before.”
Beyond her studies, Jo is a teaching assistant for the TMGT core course Essentials for Technology and Leadership and an intern at the Columbia Health Sexual Violence Response Office. “These roles have created new opportunities and paths that I hope to explore after graduation and throughout my career,” Jo said.
Above all, Jo sees SPSSG as the place where she has found a family at Columbia. As president, she works closely with fellow students and the broader local community, hosting holiday gatherings, strengthening support for international students, and leading an initiative that lowered internship credit requirements for SPS students, opening greater opportunity for students to take additional courses in their area of interest. Through this work, she has come to deeply value the role of a strong community and the types of environments she wants to be a part of in the future. “It’s something that I wouldn’t have ever considered before, but something that is really important to me in my job searches going forward.”
In the spring, Jo will be a faculty associate in both the SPS TMGT program and at Columbia Business School. She offered incoming students a simple piece of advice: “Don’t be afraid to pivot. Life doesn’t have to be linear. We can try something new and learn something new every day.” She hopes her own journey, where she will carry the many lessons she learned at Columbia, will encourage students to embrace uncertainty and pursue new experiences.
About the Program
The Master of Science in Technology Management at Columbia University prepares graduates to lead digital transformation, and align technology and business strategy with an ethical lens. Through experiential learning, industry partnerships, and Columbia-supported research, students gain fluency in digital platforms and emerging technologies, and learn to design human-centered solutions that drive innovation and sustainable impact.
The program is available for part-time or full-time enrollment online or on campus in NYC. Learn more about the program here.
