Weekly Report 1: Year 2, Here We Go!

Last year, at this time, I was standing before my ISM journey, full of doubt and curiosity about what the year ahead would hold. This time around, I have the same intention of building a foundation for myself in the career of international business, but a sense of confidence and assuredness has replaced the self-doubt from last year. 

As an ISM 2 student, I am excited to share my experiences with the newer ISM 1 students. In addition, I am looking forward to helping organize meet-ups with professionals and resume-building activities during the Professional Symposium. It is fascinating to be on this side of the classroom, acting as a student mentor and a leadership figure instead of being the one who is constantly confused and asking questions. 

In terms of my personal career development, I have decided to stay in the realm of business, especially because of how much I enjoyed delving into management consulting last year. I am still confident that I would like to go into a career in management consulting, but I would like to focus more on language and culture aspects of business. That is why I have decided to focus on the role of language and cultural sensitivity in applying the commonly accepted business strategy principles to different parts of the world. 

Since I do not have any more Spanish classes to take, I would like to have my Spanish teacher be my mentor so I can act as a teacher’s assistant and improve the language learning process. At the same time, I will continue cultivating the relationship I built with a few consultants last year to continue getting better with the business case studies. Along the way, my research will be focused on intersecting these two interests of mine by researching the impact of cultural differences on business management. 

Looking forward, I cannot wait to dive into true research, the symposium, and work with my mentor. I hope to gain a better understanding of international business and to become a reliable leader and student-mentor to the ISM ones. I’m looking forward to all of the opportunities that will come our way over the course of the next few months.