A Year of Personal and Professional Growth: My Global MBA Journey at Michigan Ross

As a foreign student who relocated to the other side of the globe, it proved to be both eye-opening and challenging, especially upon arriving in Ann Arbor during the winter, which is completely different from my tropical home country, Thailand.

Since I started my journey at Ross as a Global MBA student, I've had the privilege of traveling, meeting, and working with individuals from diverse backgrounds — an opportunity I never imagined I would encounter if I hadn't chosen this path. Here are two experiences that I want to share that highlight how the Global MBA has offered me these opportunities along my journey.

MAP project in Tokyo

I never would have thought that I'd be traveling back to Asia during my time here. However, during the past summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Tokyo for my Multidisciplinary Action Project, where we helped a Japanese company develop a go-to-market strategy for entry into the U.S. market. Our team comprised six members with diverse cultural backgrounds from India, Japan, and Thailand. In the initial week of our project, we traveled to the client's headquarters in Tokyo to kick off our engagement with the management team. We fully presumed the role of consultants, drafting the scope and engagement letter and interviewing industry experts.

We were quite impressed by the level of importance placed on us and the management's consistent support and warm welcome. All resources and personnel were dedicated to our project, with important people in the organization sitting down with us in a meeting room for the whole week, answering our questions, and discussing the company's direction. Having this chance to engage in such a high-impact project was a rare opportunity that drove us to do our best. Following a productive week with the client, we managed to wind down our trip and explore Tokyo to enjoy its rich food and culture, with our Japanese teammates leading the way.

Exploring Argentina

During my fall break, I traveled to Argentina with my Global MBA colleagues and staff on an excursion course. I had zero knowledge of Latin America and Argentina, besides knowing they're really good at soccer. We got on a 16-hour flight from Detroit and landed in Buenos Aires at noon, kicking off the trip with a bus tour of the city. Despite news of the financial crisis, the city appeared vibrant and rich in culture, as shown by the local people and city architecture. This experience was quite different from what I expected based on what we learned in economics class.

Throughout the excursion, we delved into discussions about topics like economics, politics, and entrepreneurship with professors and speakers from Torcuato Di Tella University. Given the upcoming presidential election in a week, this sparked my interest even more as it was really a significant turning point for Argentina. We had the opportunity to meet with companies like Mercado Libre Argentina and the government entity of Buenos Aires, revealing how businesses have managed to survive in the face of the country's long-standing challenges. The program also treated us to horse riding in the outback of Buenos Aires, local wine tasting, and a one-of-a-kind Argentinian tango show. To cap off my experience, I spent the last five days of the trip traveling to Patagonia. I came back with a better knowledge of Argentina and an unforgettable experience. I would say that going on this excursion was one of the best decisions I ever made during my time at the Ross School of Business.