|
by Galen Li, MBA '08
The visit to the University of Ghana was a definite highlight of our trip. While we expected little more than a brief presentation, a tour of the campus, and a Q&A session, we were absolutely blown away by the kindness and hospitality with which the school and its students embraced us.
As we filed into the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) Auditorium, the amount of thought and effort the students put into organizing our visit was immediately clear when we saw the huge MIT Sloan and UGBS banner as the backdrop on stage. Each one of us was handed a beautifully-presented program that outlined the interactive session that we were about to embark on. After a formal welcome from the UGBS Dean, we were graced by exciting presentations from three amazing UGBS alumni covering a variety of topics from finance to brand management to entrepreneurship. We also spent time presenting questions and answers between our schools to better get a sense of each other's MBA programs.
Throughout the course of the program, and especially at the subsequent dinner, I was deeply impressed by the hospitality, intelligence, and passion of each UGBS student. When the dinner was brought out to the buffet table, all of the UGBS students ushered the Sloanies ahead of them so that we could get our food first. Even after dinner, the students invited us to their homes to watch a soccer match with them. As we talked about the US election race, I often found that the UGBS students knew as much if not more than us, despite living half way around the world. The state of Ghana's developing economy fosters a sense of opportunity and purpose in the students that they can effect major societal change in the nation. What an inspiration it was to find a group of bright, young people here that were in school not to find a job or make money, but to make a difference.
Before I could leave UGBS, I had to jot down the names and email addresses of the humble hosts I met. These students not only opened up a business network for us, but also insisted upon opening their hearts to friendship. The students amazingly organized this event for us in just one week. With our incredible experience, I'm surprised MIT Sloan was the first US b-school to visit their campus, but we definitely shouldn't be the last.
|
