An Unexpected Lesson in Change. MBA student in Dubai

A year ago at around this time, I was relieved to know that, come August, I’d finally start my MBA. After almost two years of attending MBA fairs and meeting with alumni and recruiters from various institutions, I was faced with the predicament of choosing between three stellar programs: a two-year MBA at Indiana University’s Kelley Business School; a one-year MBA at Fundaà §Ãƒ £o Instituto de Administraà §Ãƒ £o (FIA) in Sao Paolo, Brazil; or a one-year MBA at Hult, in up to three cities of my choice. My fulfilling career in New York City had afforded me some incredible travel and leadership opportunities with lasting personal and professional impact. By all means, I had built a comfortable life there. However, as time passed I felt increasingly unsettled. My inner â€Å"zen† was being disrupted by an insatiable desire to experience new places, new cultures and new challenges abroad. As much as the thought of attending a top-20 U.S. MBA program, or living in Brazil – one of my favorite countries in the world – excited me, the idea of spending another year or two trapped in one place gave me reason for pause. After all, I am a lover of change and a travel enthusiast who has lived and worked outside of my home country since I was 18 years old. I couldn’t possibly ignore the massive appeal of Hult’s rotation option. Literally every detail my recruiter shared about the school appealed to my post-graduate desires. Its entrepreneurial spirit and collaborative environment meant that I’d have resources available to turn my ideas into action. Its practical approach to academics meant that I’d skip the more conventional, somewhat outdated, thesis model for the more practical Action Project, allowing me to work in a hands-on consulting role with an actual company. Most importantly, its vast database of alumni across dozens of cities around the world meant that I’d gain access to an elite network of dynamic professionals with global connections. With only 2% of all university students studying outside of their home country, and more than 90% of the world’s population never leaving their home country, this fact alone provided the grounds that I needed to choose Hult. By the time I arrived at Hult’s Dubai campus, I found myself thinking about my pending rotation every single day (and would get quietly excited about it at random moments throughout the week). I soon began forming friendships with people from Nigeria, India, Latin America, Iran, Europe, Russia, the U.S., and many other countries. As we became closer, the world began to seem smaller to me, and the interconnectedness of our cultures, economies and political landscapes became more apparent. Our shared appreciation for new experiences and the desire to work and live internationally were refreshing! For the first time, my thirst for change and enthusiasm about moving to another city took a back seat to the connections I’d made. The idea that we would all be going our separate ways by rotating to different campuses in just a few months began to sink in.   I found myself, for a moment, resenting the rotation concept and wanting us all to remain as-is: doe-eyed, bushy-tailed young professionals in search of a new direction, forming lasting connections and just having fun in the process†¦in Dubai! Now, here we are, eight months into the MBA and all heading along different paths. A few weeks ago, some people left Dubai temporarily, slated to return for graduation and hopeful that there will be jobs waiting for them somewhere, anywhere, in the world. Others left for good, with the intent to graduate on their rotation campus and find jobs back home or in their rotation cities. Others never left, either because they will rotate during the final module like me, or because they would rather stay put and do their best to make Dubai their new home. It has since dawned on me that this is what my recruiter didn’t tell me about Hult, and rightfully so. No one tells you that at Hult you’ll actually â€Å"graduate† three times. Whether you rotate or not, you’ll go through three separate periods of intense change – one as you transition into each rotation period and one during graduation. For some students, it’s been nothing more than a passing cloud in the sky of life. For others, it’s been an emotional time that has spawned moments of deep reflection, and perhaps some anxiety. While I am typically among the former, I found myself this time among the latter, at the behest of my emotions. Having survived several rounds of layoffs during the U.S. recession, and life away from my Caribbean home for more than a decade, I thought I had the change thing down pat. I never expected Hult’s rotation to have such a profound impact on me. So why did it? The MBA at its core attracts like-minded people: Type-A go-getters full of ideas about how the world should function from a business perspective and eager to fulfill unmet needs with their entrepreneurial plans. Hult is no different in this regard, but Hult students also share a mutual desire to physically transcend geographical boundaries and truly understand the world. I’ve spent the past eight months not just learning about culture, but actually seeing it play out in the classroom, in team meetings, at meals with friends and – and given Dubai’s 80%+ expat population – literally everywhere I go! I’ve never experienced anything like it. As much as New York may be a diverse city, everyone there is fighting to conform to and thrive in the American way of life, so there is an element of cultural understanding that, for me, was missing. As excited as I was to welcome rotating students to Dubai, and as much as I’m looking forward to heading to Shanghai in July, I couldn’t help but feel a little separation anxiety once the time came to part ways with the people whom I’d spent the last eight months observing, understanding and appreciating. But, as unexpectedly challenging as the transition was, it was an experience that was well worth having. As Ralph Waldo Emerson would put it, it’s a lesson that â€Å"must be lived to be understood.† Andrà ©a Skerritt is an MBA student at Hults Dubai campus. Prior to Hult, she had a seven-year career in Public Relations Marketing Communication  in New York. Andrà ©a has  a passion for travel, and a contagiously  optimistic outlook on life. As a  dual  native of Trinidad Tobago and St. Kitts Nevis, she is a Caribbean girl at heart with  New York City drive and  international  aspirations. Kickstart your career in a state-of-the-art innovation hub by studying at Hults Dubai business school. To find out more, take a look at our blog Hult Dubai students win regional in KPMG’s Ace the Case challenge Download a brochure or get in touch today to find out how Hult can help you to learn about the business world, the future, and yourself. Related posts Academics Beyond (narrow) business concepts: â€Å"Soft† skills turn out to be critical skills News Building success: Dual Degree students win at USASBE Community How going beyond business at Hult helped me launch my company Admissions Accepted Students Weekend: A weekend to remember Careers Career mapping: How to become an executive in the next 5 years 0 Thought leadership How to prepare for an uncertain future in a world of AI Instagram Hult Rotation offers you a chance to study in a truly global way. Our rotation program allows you to study and be immersed in some of the finest cities in the world. 📠¸: @jasminmanzano . Hult Rotation offers you a chance to study in a truly global way. Our rotation program allows you to study and be immersed in some of the finest cities in the world. 📠¸: @jasminmanzano . Each year, Hult seeks to enroll a talented and ambitious incoming class from all over the world. We look for diverse students with a wide range of experiences, perspectives, and interests—students who will thrive in our unique educational atmosphere. Are you ready for a truly global experience? 📠¸: @iambrunadiniz . Each year, Hult seeks to enroll a talented and ambitious incoming class from all over the world. We look for diverse students with a wide range of experiences, perspectives, and interests—students who will thrive in our unique educational atmosphere. Are you ready for a truly global experience? 📠¸: @iambrunadiniz . We’re excited to start 2020 on a ranking high! Hult is proud to have been placed #28 in Poets Quants 2020 rankings for Best Undergraduate Business Schools in the US. Taking a huge leap of 32 places from our 2019 position, we’re also very happy to have secured top positions in key categories like: life-changing experience, practicality of the degree, and global immersion. . With five global campuses, a student body of over 130 nationalities, and a learn-by-doing approach—Hult offers a student experience like no other. . We’re excited to start 2020 on a ranking high! Hult is proud to have been placed #28 in Poets Quants 2020 rankings for Best Undergraduate Business Schools in the US. Taking a huge leap of 32 places from our 2019 position, we’re also very happy to have secured top positions in key categories like: life-changing experience, practicality of the degree, and global immersion. . With five global campuses, a student body of over 130 nationalities, and a learn-by-doing approach—Hult offers a student experience like no other. . â€Å"I’m from an engineering background and needed a whole new skill set for the industry I wanted to switch to. I learned a lot about myself and how I deal with being out of my comfort zone. I learned both soft and hard skills, from how to work in very diverse teams to key accounting metrics and strategy. I was surprised by how weak I was at certain tasks in English or how strong I actually was in other areas. Hult gave me opportunities to try new things and meet people from places I never thought I would have friends. . My internship experiences gave me the chance to broaden my view of different cultures and different companies. I had the opportunity to work and live with people whose values differed from people in my home country. I thought that this would be difficult, but it gave me the chance to reflect on my own values and assess if they were a result of my home country environment or if they were intrinsically mine. . Diederick ter Kulve (@diederick.terkulve) Netherlands Masters in International Business . â€Å"I’m from an engineering background and needed a whole new skill set for the industry I wanted to switch to. I learned a lot about myself and how I deal with being out of my comfort zone. I learned both soft and hard skills, from how to work in very diverse teams to key accounting metrics and strategy. I was surprised by how weak I was at certain tasks in English or how strong I actually was in other areas. Hult gave me opportunities to try new things and meet people from places I never thought I would have friends. . My internship experiences gave me the chance to broaden my view of different cultures and different companies. I had the opportunity to work and live with people whose values differed from people in my home country. I thought that this would be difficult, but it gave me the chance to reflect on my own values and assess if they were a result of my home country environment or if they were intrinsically mine. . Diederick ter Kulve (@diederick.terkulve) Netherlands Masters in International Business . Say a big hello to our Bachelor of Business Administration program cover star, Elisa Orus Plana âÅ" ¨ . â€Å"I’m excited for the future—especially that I cant predict whats going to happen. Maybe Ill end up in Mexico working for a trading company or maybe in Africa, developing my own business. Everything is possible, and the options are constantly changing. I love the idea that Im never going to be stuck doing the same job until the end of my life if I dont want it to be like this. . Hult really supports me and my ambitions and truly believes that we deserve to be considered as professionals as well as students. Here, I get to express not just my opinions but all elements of myself. From my creative side with the Fashion Society to my finance and business sides in Trading Club and the Management Consulting Club. We get a different type of learning here. Not just essential knowledge and theory, but practical skills and mindset. The school is always evolving. We’re encouraged to innovate and to always look for new ways of doing traditional things. We learn how to be more confident and become aware of how we can impact our environment. The school aims to help you become a better version of yourself and to stand out from the crowd.â€Å" . Elisa Orus Plana French Bachelor of Business Administration Class of 2021 Say a big hello to our Bachelor of Business Administration program cover star, Elisa Orus Plana âÅ" ¨ . â€Å"I’m excited for the future—especially that I cant predict whats going to happen. Maybe Ill end up in Mexico working for a trading company or maybe in Africa, developing my own business. Everything is possible, and the options are constantly changing. I love the idea that Im never going to be stuck doing the same job until the end of my life if I dont want it to be like this. . Hult really supports me and my ambitions and truly believes that we deserve to be considered as professionals as well as students. Here, I get to express not just my opinions but all elements of myself. From my creative side with the Fashion Society to my finance and business sides in Trading Club and the Management Consulting Club. We get a different type of learning here. Not just essential knowledge and theory, but practical skills and mindset. The school is always evolving. We’re encouraged to innovate and to always look for new ways of doing traditional things. We learn how to be more confident and become aware of how we can impact our environment. The school aims to help you become a better version of yourself and to stand out from the crowd.â€Å" . Elisa Orus Plana French Bachelor of Business Administration Class of 2021"> During the final days of 2019, you probably reflected on what you’ve accomplished this year—and even this decade—and what you’d like to achieve in 2020. Let us know in the comments below. During the final days of 2019, you probably reflected on what you’ve accomplished this year—and even this decade—and what you’d like to achieve in 2020. Let us know in the comments below. â€Å"The first time we did group work on the program, I went head-to-head with a colleague. It taught me a lot about how I see people, how people see me, and how conflict can be resolved in a kind and productive way. The best feedback you get, when delivered constructively, is the most critical because it really feeds into how you lead. I’ve completely reversed my leadership style—the result is so much richer and more powerful when you lead from behind and lead with strength. . Studying in tandem with working, whilst challenging, gave me the perfect platform to directly apply learning concepts into my business environment, the competitive landscape, and the real-estate industry as a whole. When I started the program, I was very happy in my corporate role. But my courage and aspirations grew to the point that I took on a whole new direction. Having my career coach, Joanna, as a sounding board allowed me to really be strategic and get to know myself. She coached me thro ugh all the interviews, the research, and the questions. It went in parallel with what I was doing academically and after six months everything just clicked. . I went into the EMBA knowing I had nothing to lose and I’ve come out with everything. Great strength, global friends, amazing learning, mentors from professors, a job I love, and the knowledge that I can set my mind to achieve anything and with the right support and resources I’ll get there.† . Kashani Wijetunga British, New Zealand Sri Lankan Associate Director Senior Strategy Consultant CBRE EMBA Class of 2019 . â€Å"The first time we did group work on the program, I went head-to-head with a colleague. It taught me a lot about how I see people, how people see me, and how conflict can be resolved in a kind and productive way. The best feedback you get, when delivered constructively, is the most critical because it really feeds into how you lead. I’ve completely reversed my leadership style—the result is so much richer and more powerful when you lead from behind and lead with strength. . Studying in tandem with working, whilst challenging, gave me the perfect platform to directly apply learning concepts into my business environment, the competitive landscape, and the real-estate industry as a whole. When I started the program, I was very happy in my corporate role. But my courage and aspirations grew to the point that I took on a whole new direction. Having my career coach, Joanna, as a sounding board allowed me to really be strategic and get to know myself. She coached me thro ugh all the interviews, the research, and the questions. It went in parallel with what I was doing academically and after six months everything just clicked. . I went into the EMBA knowing I had nothing to lose and I’ve come out with everything. Great strength, global friends, amazing learning, mentors from professors, a job I love, and the knowledge that I can set my mind to achieve anything and with the right support and resources I’ll get there.† . Kashani Wijetunga British, New Zealand Sri Lankan Associate Director Senior Strategy Consultant CBRE EMBA Class of 2019 . â€Å"It was now or never. I knew that I’d have likely stayed in my neighborhood for years to come if I didn’t take this opportunity. I’d not lived or studied outside of the U.S. before. So I left my job as a global strategist at an advertising agency and moved halfway around the world. I’ve come back a more culturally aware, well-versed person. I’ve realized that everything is a learning experience and an opportunity for growth. Ill definitely carry this mindset with me into the future. Technology and social media allow us to be different people in several places at once. Im excited to see how I can establish myself in whatever city Ill be lucky enough to call home and still maintain deep connections with people all over the world. I’m inspired by my classmates every day. Hearing some of their life stories and how getting this degree fits into their greater mission has been very humbling. My biggest challenge has been finding the ‘right’ path for me. There have been rooms Ive felt like I shouldnt be in, but now Im proud to feel as though I truly belong, wherever I am.† . Dwayne Logan, Jnr. American MBA Class of 2019 . â€Å"It was now or never. I knew that I’d have likely stayed in my neighborhood for years to come if I didn’t take this opportunity. I’d not lived or studied outside of the U.S. before. So I left my job as a global strategist at an advertising agency and moved halfway around the world. I’ve come back a more culturally aware, well-versed person. I’ve realized that everything is a learning experience and an opportunity for growth. Ill definitely carry this mindset with me into the future. Technology and social media allow us to be different people in several places at once. Im excited to see how I can establish myself in whatever city Ill be lucky enough to call home and still maintain deep connections with people all over the world. I’m inspired by my classmates every day. Hearing some of their life stories and how getting this degree fits into their greater mission has been very humbling. My biggest challenge has been finding the ‘right’ path for me. There have been rooms Ive felt like I shouldnt be in, but now Im proud to feel as though I truly belong, wherever I am.† . Dwayne Logan, Jnr. American MBA Class of 2019 . Happy New Year, Hultians! . Happy New Year, Hultians! .