Meet The Connect Team: Ian Sears

My name is Ian Sears and I am a marketing intern here at Connect. I am from a small town north of Los Angeles. Making the move from LA to San Diego was nothing short of perfect for me. I have always said San Diego is what people around the world think LA is (or at least someone told me this and now I claim it as my own), San Diego is chill, laid back, with sun, beaches, and good surf. I live now in downtown San Diego, in the center of the city and I love it. 

I grew up with parents who highly valued good quality education. They would drive over an hour to take me to a preschool that met their standards, and chose my childhood neighborhood for its wonderful school district. They were adamant on my older brother and I going to schools that would offer us a well rounded education as a basis for a healthy and thoughtful life, as opposed to a step closer to a future career. When I was a junior in high school, my mom and I went on a handful of trips to various liberal art schools around the western part of the country. It was on this tour that I sat in on classes, met with counselors, and learned as much as I could about each school, but ultimately in the end, I chose simply for the weather. My mom forced me to apply to San Diego State because mothers know best. She knew I loved the beach, sports, and being active in general, and I have always been happiest in the sun. It was with this in mind that I made a last minute decision to head to San Diego State. I went to study film and after an incredible yet eye opening summer internship at Netflix, I shifted my studies to Philosophy. 

One afternoon, I found myself sitting in the Philosophy advisor’s office where the professor was telling me about various angles I could take to convince my parents to support this decision to switch into Philosophy. I kindly told him that it was my parents, friends, and family that had talked me into Philosophy, and I would have no trouble getting support. I know I am very lucky to have had this upbringing. I am doing my very best to further develop these instilled values of education and personal growth, leading me to Connect, an extension of my education. Connect is a company that promotes innovation and science through their programs. Connect’s communal knowledge and impact on the region grow each year and I am eager to be part of this work.

A little more about me, when I was younger, I found I could never sit still. I loved to be on my feet. Getting me to read a book was an endless uphill battle for my parents and they settled for putting on audiobooks for every road trip or long car ride to sports tournaments or family vacations. Since I moved away to College and especially through my love of bikes, I developed a passion for audiobooks. This has changed my life. To the annoyance of every one of my roommates and now my girlfriend, I play audiobooks out loud all day, in the shower, while cooking, or even working out. I love stories, I love to listen, as long as I can do it while I am moving. I have not willingly taken a phone call while sitting for as long as I can remember. Aside from this, I love the sea, I like to surf, or play almost any sport (at the moment it has been mostly soccer and tennis but I grew up playing a lot of baseball and basketball), and I am a sucker for pointy dogs. I love to paint and really enjoy ceramics. I picked up a passion for ceramics while taking art classes in college and then luckily having a badass aunt who let me borrow her pottery wheel. I am excited to learn about the innovation ecosystem and how all of the pieces fit together to make San Diego so great.