I was born in Ghana, West Africa, but moved to the United States when I was ten years old. I grew up and went to school in Houston, Texas.
My long-term professional goal is to work as a consultant specialising in global systems of productivity and development. I pursued an undergraduate degree in engineering and spent the first years of my career working in food processing where I learned a great deal about system productivity and process management.
Throughout my engineering work, the role I found I added the most value was project managing as an internal consultant. I think project management is a good fit for me largely because of my appreciation for the importance of relationship building. In this role, I learned the intricacies of business operations and the importance of being able to see how any given process fits into the bigger picture of a company’s operations.
My time as a project manager is what inspired me to pursue an international MBA. I wanted to broaden my understanding of business on a global scale, and I wanted to be able to pair that with my detail-oriented project management experience to move toward a career in consulting focused on systems productivity. As such, I was thrilled to be accepted to AMBS. I knew working on live consultancy projects with international practitioners would help me gain the perspective and knowledge I was looking for.
Moving to Manchester during lockdown
Coming to Manchester has been a unique experience during these first few months. It’s my first time in the UK, yet we’ve been on lockdown since I arrived. Although I have not been able to explore the city the way I would have liked to, I take lots of walks to explore my neighbourhood and make sure I’m not stuck behind my computer all day. I love the walkability of the city centre compared to what I’m used to back home in the car-centric city of Houston. I also love all the history there is to see while walking around some of the old neighborhoods like Castlefield.
I’m lucky to have my partner here with me throughout my studies, and she’s made the adjustment to life in a new country much easier. But I am looking forward to being able to spend more time getting to know the others in my cohort. I’m grateful to AMBS for all the effort they’ve put into making sure we can safely return to in-person learning as soon as it is permitted, as well as the ways in which they have encouraged safe, socially distant socialisation within the cohort.
My first months on the MBA
As one would expect from such a competitive school as AMBS, the coursework is intense. We began our first live consultancy project just a few weeks into the start of the programme, which dropped us right into the “learn by doing” approach that AMBS adopts. For this project, we were broken up into teams and paired with a not-for-profit organisation to which we would provide support on a project of their choosing. My team was paired with a local print media organisation that asked us to develop a marketing strategy for one of their magazines. Given the rapid digitalization of the media industry, marketing a print magazine certainly presented us with a challenge and has required a great deal of creativity and innovative thinking.
I am grateful for the way this programme allows me to work with colleagues from all over the world. Our cohort comprises students from 32 different countries, all of which offer different styles and perspectives for approaching problem solving and business strategy. My not-for-profit consultancy project group consists of students from Chile, the UK, Belarus, and India. In my Operationalizing and Communicating Value course, I worked on a project with another diverse group including students from Indonesia, Nigeria, Ireland, Japan, and India.
I am learning a great deal from my peers, as each of us brings unique experiences and background knowledge to the programme. And an additional benefit to such a multicultural cohort is the extensive global network we can build by the time we graduate.
How I see the MBA helping me in future endeavours
As I mentioned previously, a benefit of this programme is the international network of peers I am able to develop throughout this course. But beyond that, I was drawn to this programme because of its emphasis on experiential learning through live consultancy projects. After graduation, it is my goal to work for a consulting firm and eventually specialise in projects pertaining to global systems of productivity and development. Given my background as an engineer and project manager, the hands-on consultancy projects offer me an invaluable link to the world of consulting.
The course also offers a high degree of flexibility, and I can design my MBA experience in a way that best suits my future goals. For example, for the next stage of the programme I plan to take an elective in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management alongside International Business Strategy, while participating in a sourced internship in Ghana’s informal sector. The freedom to set up my summer like this allows me to continue my professional development while gaining experience of undertaking a productivity and development-focused consultancy project.
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