Interviewed

In September I was contacted by Katie Mangan, a national correspondent of the Chronicle of Higher Education writing about “about how European business schools like IE are attracting growing numbers of international students, including Americans, to their MBA programs.”

The article titled Global Focus Draws Students to Europe for Business published on September 26, 2010 included what I shared with her.

I’m disappointed that the opening quote is: "As a selfish dean," says Pierre Tapie, of Paris's Essec Business School, "I was very happy to see how many people who were pushed out of the U.S. came here instead."

In context it might look like I am a victim too and let me say I am not and I do not feel “pushed out of the U.S.” My network is more intact in Northern California than it is abroad. It is very likely to consider that it is that group of people I’ll rely on for references, job networks, resources, support, etc. I was given a scholarship for the program I’d accepted at SCU. I would say they pulled and I pushed; my decision to attend a school abroad was based on so many factors about where I am today in my life and it was a different (and quick) opportunity that would change my life.

Anyway, here is my part and a link to the full article.
...At the Front Lines
Erin Byer, 26, enrolled at IE this year after working for four years at Habitat for Humanity in San Francisco. She hopes her M.B.A. will help her land a job in the community-development section of a bank, helping low-income people make better financial decisions.

Her decision to apply overseas followed a conversation with her parents, who had just written a letter of recommendation for a family friend who was applying to a European M.B.A. program.

Ms. Byer, who had been looking at programs in the Bay Area, decided to "get outside my comfort zone" and apply overseas herself.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to be able to see more of the world, jump into a completely foreign culture, meet, converse with, and learn from people from many diverse backgrounds," she wrote in an e-mail message. She says the Spanish program will put her "at the front lines of what it means to be in a global business market."

For the full article - https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox/12b53f90f7966114