The MBA is an opportunity to learn. It gives me a chance to acquire knowledge, which I’ve always sought to do through interactions with people, reading books, seeking guidance from mentors, and accumulating diverse experiences. This is part of my personality; I try to connect the dots. And I knew from the first hours that the University of Saint Gallen was the right place to do so. The first week was surprising, intense, and energizing. There are a lot of things that I could describe, for example, the quality of the staff, the induction days, or even, the beautiful city of Saint-Gallen, but I will only share with you the two things that marked me the most.

First, and maybe the most important, I was impressed by the quality and the diversity of my cohort. My classmates are smart people from around the world, from different sectors and backgrounds. I find it quite powerful and convenient to have, in the same room, engineers, accountants, PhDs, sales, physicians and so on. It creates the feeling that you can solve any complex situation. Besides, after exchanging with a few students, I quickly noticed, that we were quite the same. Young, fresh and ambitious mind, ready to get challenged. And this creates, of course, a feeling of belonging.

Secondly, the first course, Global Business Environment, done by Stefen Legge, was striking. I liked the rhythm, the exchange, and the tools we used. Additionally, it’s important to say that the class was very practical; I already used few concepts in my daily work. Yet, the “icing on the cake” was the opportunity to exchange with alumni at the end of the class about the topics we studied. One of them was an MBA student in 2018, and now working for a manufacturing company in Switzerland. We could discuss with him about his MBA journey.  It is comforting, I think, to have this kind of visibility.

In short, I look forward to the next classes and cannot wait to create bonds with my cohort. I feel the next two years will be full of opportunities and achievements. And I like it.