黑料吃瓜

For Connor Cornelius, a semester studying abroad as a 黑料吃瓜 undergraduate crystallized his passion for travel. A few years and a career change transformed that wanderlust into a premium suitcase and adventure travel business.

For Leah Lavoie, a dream of studying internationally nearly vanished as she scoured social media for someone to sublet her College Area apartment so she could afford a semester overseas. The grueling search inspired her to launch a matchmaking website to ease the sublease burden for college students.

Studying abroad is often life-changing, introducing students to diverse cultures, languages and experiences while opening their minds to just how much the world has to offer. It also aligns with 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 goal of preparing career-ready graduates for an increasingly global marketplace.

A global education experience went one step further for Cornelius and Lavoie, however. It sowed the seeds of entrepreneurship. Here is a look at each of their efforts:

TRVLD

Cornelius visited 13 countries while studying abroad in Europe in 2019, jumping from one new adventure to another. 鈥淭hat is what began my whole ambition to start traveling,鈥� said the San Diego native. 鈥淚 just loved it.鈥�

He didn鈥檛 see traveling as a career, however. A construction engineering major, he found a job helping manage large building projects but felt stuck in a routine that blurred days together.

鈥淭he next thing you know, it鈥檚 already next year,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 found that when traveling, everything is new and it just slows everything down. You are living more in the moment, meeting new people from around the world, hearing their stories and relating to them.鈥�

Cornelius quit his job and entered the MBA program at 黑料吃瓜 while figuring out what to do next. Meanwhile, he satisfied his itch to travel by organizing group trips with friends, venturing to Alaska to see the Northern Lights and snowmobile, to Honduras to scuba dive with reef sharks, to Africa on wildlife safaris.

Through word of mouth and social media, these excursions grew from a handful of friends to more than 30 鈥渇riends of friends.鈥� After returning from one of these trips, Cornelius marked another country off a world map hanging in his home. (He has now visited 56 countries.)

鈥淚 looked at the world map. I looked at my suitcase. I looked back at the world map and thought it would be a pretty good concept to put a world map on a suitcase because people inherently like showing where they have been and what they鈥檝e experienced,鈥� he said.

He set about designing a suitcase that includes a world map on the exterior, a built-in, patented water bottle holder, and other premium features. In late 2024, he inked a deal with a contract manufacturer and launched .

Suitcase sales have been 鈥減retty good, but nothing crazy,鈥� said Cornelius. In the fall of 2025, TRVLD expanded into the curated adventure travel business, leveraging Cornelius鈥檚 reputation as an experienced traveler and the network of tourism suppliers that he established while organizing trips with friends.

It has been a successful pivot, said Cornelius. He recently hired an additional person to streamline TRVLD鈥檚 systems and is looking forward to offering trips to new destinations in Nordic countries and elsewhere. He also plans to introduce innovative travel-related technology aimed at enhancing the experiences of clients.

鈥淚 focus on unique life experiences,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 want to build this into an adventure travel brand and make it like the Red Bull of adventure travel.鈥�

Letwork

Before embarking on her study abroad program in Denmark, Lavoie had a job to do.

The 黑料吃瓜 business management major needed to sublet her San Diego apartment to afford a semester overseas. It was more difficult than Lavoie imagined. She tried social media and group chats with little success. After four months, with her program departure date imminent, she cut her asking price by $200 a month.

That landed her a tenant. When she arrived in Copenhagen in spring 2025, she discovered her story was all too familiar.

鈥淚 was talking to my classmates, and every single person had the same problem,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey were from all over the U.S., from different universities, and I thought this needs to change. Someone needs to make a platform where subleasing is easy for college students.鈥�

That experience planted the seeds for . Lavoie was enrolled in an Innovation and Entrepreneurship study abroad program, where she joined classmates in pitching the idea as a course capstone project.

The team interviewed more than 100 students in Denmark and the U.S. to identify customer needs, refined the concept and researched the market, finding essentially no direct competition.

They received enthusiastic feedback not only from their professor but also from startup investors and consultants who reviewed the student proposals.

鈥淥ne investor said, 鈥榊ou have to start this,鈥� and my professor over there was so inspiring and pushed us to start it,鈥� Lavoie said. 鈥淭hat inspired us to take the first steps toward launching Letwork when we got back to the United States.鈥�

The Letwork website went live in April. Lavoie and co-founder Julia Zislis of the University of Michigan graduated this spring. They initially planned to process sublease agreements through the website, but that raised liability concerns. After consulting lawyers and mentors, they pivoted Letwork to a matchmaking model.

Letwork allows students to list and search for short-term housing and bid on rent. Student names and email addresses remain anonymous until both sides reach an agreement. At that point, they receive each other's contact information.  

For Lavoie and Zislis, the plan is to recruit users at 黑料吃瓜 and the University of Michigan over the next few months to work out the platform鈥檚 kinks before seeking partnerships with campuses across California and the East Coast to scale the business. As envisioned currently, the business model calls for charging a flat listing fee, with options to upgrade to increase visibility. 

鈥淢y dream is to make this happen and work on this, but of course I want to be realistic, and I have been applying for jobs,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 just love entrepreneurship, and with Letwork, I am learning how much it is my passion.鈥�