Recent CGS Graduate Had the Summer Experience of a Lifetime
Alex Kopaliani CGS’25 had an unforgettable summer internship at RedBull, and he attributes that success to the power of networking.
By Adriana Rivera
This summer, recent CGS graduate Alex Kopaliani interned for RedBull’s Regional Sports Marketing Team in Dubai, UAE, covering the Middle East and North Africa.
A Princeton, New Jersey native, Kopaliani (CGS ‘25, QST ‘27) is currently pursuing a major in Business Administration with a concentration in finance. He’s felt drawn to the business world since high school, citing an interest in creativity and the hands-on work environment often found in that field.
“I love socializing and connecting with people, and I feel like business is probably the best avenue to do so,” he said.
Kopaliani’s process for landing this RedBull internship actually started with the CGS gap semester, right after high school graduation in 2023. While some of his peers worked, took classes, or spent time at home, Kopaliani traveled the world. He went all over Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, but it was a chance encounter with his cousin’s friend at a shopping mall in Dubai that landed him a connection with RedBull’s Regional Sports Marketing Manager, Beqa Goletiani.
After a few semesters studying at BU, Kopaliani decided to reach out. “We communicated for a while, went through the interview process. Because we met in person, he really liked my motivation, saw I was a good fit for the company, and gave me the position,” Kopaliani said.
From the end of May to the beginning of July, Kopaliani worked on-site in Dubai with RedBull’s regional sports marketing team. He was immersed in a global hub of business and trade, working with a team that oversaw several countries within the Middle East, North Africa, and the Indian sub-continent.
The day-to-day at the RedBull office was different from traditional workspaces that Kopaliani was used to. Employees would come in 30 to 40 minutes late, but they’d also stay late working. The office space was open, geared towards fostering an environment of thinking and creativity. And, of course, everyone received a free RedBull beverage upon entry.
There was also a very specific team dynamic and culture around the workspace that Kopaliani found unique. “When RedBull hires its employees, they’re looking for a very certain type of person, and I felt like everybody in the office shared that type,” he said, referring to a shared motivation and hard-working spirit within the office environment. “It felt like an energy where everyone was all in-sync with their thinking.”
Kopaliani’s most memorable experience this summer was the onboarding process of Afghan cricket superstar, Rashid Khan, whom Kopaliani said is considered to be like the Lionel Messi of cricket.
“We were there for about five to six hours onboarding him onto RedBull,” he said. They introduced him to the RedBull family, and discussed the terms of the agreement, such as wearing RedBull apparel, representing the brand, et cetera.
Working directly with world-class athletes and a world-class marketing team taught Kopaliani his biggest lesson of the internship: no matter how crazy an idea might be, anything is possible.
“I saw someone pitch a crazy idea, and in my head I was like ‘that’s impossible,’ but within two weeks [RedBull] had an entire team already drafting the business plan,” he said. “These people get some of the craziest ideas you can think of, they make it realistic and they make it happen. Learning how to do that was probably one of the most insightful [experiences] I got from the internship.”
For students looking to get on the same path as Kopaliani, he said the most important thing is to not be afraid to start.
“My biggest fear was that I would have these great ideas but I didn’t know how to start or who to talk to about it,” he said. “The best thing you can do is start networking. Meet your friends, their parents, their friends’ coworkers.”
At the end of the day, it’s all about networking—it can make or break your chances at unforgettable, priceless experiences like Kopaliani’s this past summer.
“You want to meet as many people as you can and then when you have an idea, go ahead and talk to someone who’s kind of in that field so they can guide you. Trust me, you can start whatever you want to do,” he said.