Nathalia from Brazil is travelling to Ohio University in the US to attend an Executive Seminar. In this article Nathalia explains why she chose to do this and what her expectations are. When she’s completed the seminar, we’ll hear from Nathalia again in a second article detailing her experience there.
Part 1 – What to expect from the Executive Seminar at Ohio University, Athens, OH
As an advertiser, I have always dreamed about coming to America for work, and to achieve that, I knew I needed to craft my career and resume accordingly. After all, where you study and who you know can make a difference when you start applying to your dream job abroad.
I’ve wanted to study in an American university for at least the past 5 years, since the time when I lived and worked in India and took the GMAT exam a couple of times. For me, going to school in the US meant networking with some of the best talents in my field, learning new concepts from very inspiring teachers, and improving my professional English skills. But one major point kept holding me back: tuition fees.
So when I won a partial scholarship from LAIOB (Latin America Institute of Business) to attend an executive Marketing seminar at Ohio University in Athens for two weeks, I didn’t think twice – I signed up for the challenge. It was a substantial investment of time and money in order to prepare to be one month travelling around the US and then studying at Ohio.
Some of the things that really excited me about this opportunity were: the chance to network with people that also work in Marketing, getting great career advice from experienced professors, learning new things or learning the classic concepts in a new way. This is also a chance to expand my vocabulary, connect to other students in Ohio and even travelling around with new colleagues. Many people asked me ‘what are you going to do in Ohio?’ as it is not the most popular destination among Brazilian students, and when I mentioned I was going to study Marketing, it would often be very unexpected. Ohio University was founded in 1804 and has been graduating international students since 1895, when the first Japanese alumnus received a degree.
In the Athens campus you’ll find green areas, soccer and beach volley fields, basketball and tennis courts, a complete gym and swimming pool where to relax after class. The staff and professors are very friendly and helpful, some of them have graduated from OU and now find themselves teaching here as well. If you join Ohio University for a two-week seminar, these are some of the things you can expect:
- Reaching everywhere in Athens by foot or in a short bus ride, since most things are at a walking distance;
- Having enough time to go to class, ask advice from your professors, study and work on your assignments and still grab a local craft beer at one of the pubs at the end of the day;
- Go through a practical, hands-on learning experience with many discussions, group assignments and dynamics;
- Travel around to locations nearby on your free weekend – Columbus is just 1h 20min away, there are a few Outlets reachable by bus, amusement parks, etc.
- Explore Court Street and the local flavors.
During July, students are having summer break from school and the campus is very chilled, you can get full attention from professors and the dorms are very well structured and silent. The winter seminar in January/February will probably resemble a complete American college experience – full campus with a frosty view.
To learn more about the program specifics, read part 2 of the Executive Seminar at Ohio University series.
Nathália Matychevicz is an advertiser, freelancer and tourist whenever she can spare some time.