I needed a place to grow professionally
I'm originally from Israel. I spent my education and professional years in the United States, in New York. I worked with a company that was a strategic advisor for governments in emerging markets. I had worked for 3 years after my Bachelor's degree and I felt that this was the time for me to move on. I had a great job in a great environment, but I felt that I needed a place to really grow professionally, and I knew than an MBA would provide me with the overall skills I needed. If you want to be a manager, a top director, then you need a little bit of everything, and that's what you get here: a bit of everything and lots of transferable skills. The uniqueness of an MBA is that is teaches you how to transfer your skills and explore different directions that you might not have previously considered.
I was looking for something new
Being in the heart of Europe, you have access to many countries, many backgrounds, many people, and many experiences. Having already had the North American experience, I decided that this was a good opportunity to really broaden my horizons and get to enhance my knowledge and experience here at HEC. I thought that France was a better option than Britain, for example, because I was looking for something new, something different than an English-speaking environment. Even though the HEC MBA Program is in English, you are also exposed to European culture, which adds a lot.
I want my work to benefit disadvantaged communities
I want to work with emerging countries. I'm a business woman, and I want to do business; but, at the end of the day, I want my work to benefit disadvantaged communities. There are plenty of people in our class who came here unsure of what they wanted to do: you may know what you want to do, or you may not be sure what you want to do, but this is the perfect environment to find out. You come here and you see a lot of really talented professional people who are at a place in their lives where they are deciding exactly what they want to do and how they want to do it, and this is a nurturing environment to do that. The MBA helps you to refocus your life toward where you want to go.
We work together to make the most out of our experience
I'm part of the MBA Council, which is really here to support the students. We welcome the students when a new intake comes in: if they have any questions, or if they need anything (help getting acquainted with the area or figuring out the academic schedule) we're here for them. This term, we even went and picked up students at the airport! We really try to welcome them right when they land in France. The first weekend, we had a big dinner together, so that people could start getting to know each other. All throughout the first week, we plan get togethers and parties at our famous piano bar. People get acquainted, and together we adapt to the rhythm of the MBA program. Before you start a lot of the program-related tasks and activities, you need to get to know each other, to learn to trust and rely on each other. We work together to make the most out of our experience here and ensure the high quality of the program for future students.