Learningis a passion and it takes one to embrace life long learning.
Indeed Stanley, the Deputy General Manager of Aventis Business School and also the top student from Arcadia MBA embodies such values. An aspiring learner who is self motivated, he has been through the Australian, British and American educational systems. At the recent graduation, Stanley is the top student with a score of 3.97, the highest from the combination of 3 cohorts.
Stanley completed his Bachelors of Accounting from the University of London at the age of 21. He then pursued his degree in business administration, a part time degree for the University of Western Sydney. Following that was a 2 year Masters in the University of Melbourne. He embarked on Arcadia’s MBA and completed his MBA at age 32, 3 weeks before his birthday. His family has been supportive of his studies.
“The highest return of the MBA is the investment in oneself, the friendships forged and the intrinsic knowledge gained. Doing the MBA course, requires great discipline and commitment. Coupled with a combination of luck and determination, MBA enriches and expands one’s mind. Our classmates have diverse views with different thinking process. If the issue is right, we challenge ourselves on how to improve the situation. If the issue is wrong, we reflect on problem solving. We provide appropriate recommendations to the issues faced. I can compare MBA to reading the Money and World pages of Straits Times daily. By reading, I am able to look beyond the facts, react to them, identify the trends and turn them into an opportunity.” shared Stanley.
At Aventis, students are able to interact, exchange ideas with their peers and professors. This encourages collaborative thinking and forges the team spirit and friendships. The first batch of students were senior personnel who were invited to participate in the program. There were 29 students for the first cohort.
Stanley was instrumental in bringing in the Arcadia MBA to Singapore. He conceptualised and witnessed the growth of the program. Some of the challenged faced by the program was reconciliation of expectations. This was the first time the program was launched in Asia. There was the adjustment of operating the American educational system in the local environment. Being a student and staff at Aventis, Stanley also had to manage the expectations of his classmates that he was not accorded any special privileges. He has a colleague managing the coordination of the program and daily operations.
“I recalled our first module of International Finance; we only had three hours of sleep for four consecutive days working on a term project. There was another occasion when my classmate had 19 cups of espresso in his attempt to stay awake completing another project. Being new to the program, there was slight discomfort in doing things differently and understanding our professors’ expectation. We learnt to embrace the system. Six has of had our internal promotion after completing the MBA. The Arcadia MAB is an excellent American degree that is hard to come by. There is collaborative learning and immense engagement and spontaneity in class,” concluded Stanley.
About Arcadia University, Pennsylvania
Founded in1853, Arcadia University is a top-ranked University in Pennsylvania (USA) and anational leader in study abroad and international education. Arcadia Universityresides on a beautiful campus distinguished by historic buildings, including GreyTowers Castle, a U.S. National Historic landmark officially recognized by theUnited States government for its historical significance. U.S. News & WorldReport 2011 rates Arcadia as a Tier 1 American University and ranks it amongstthe Top 30 Master’s Universities in the North. It is lauded in several othercategories such as having one of the Top Study Aboard programs in America, as a’Top-and Upcoming School’.
An MBA candidate is never 100% student, even if she’s pursuing her degree full time. The easiest way to reenter the professional world is to never completely leave it. Keep up with former colleagues, stay active in trade organizations-or become a member of new ones-and maintain a robust social media presence. Blog, tweet, and post your way to personal brand recognition.
