Business students share perspectives on Mexico City trip

Business+students+share+perspectives+on+Mexico+City+trip

Nina Doody

On November 5 the Girls’ Business and Entrepreneurship Program (GBEP) set out for Mexico City, accompanied by Sandra Bush, the director of the program, and Jake Guadnola, Director of Upper School for Girls. The goal was to travel internationally to gain an understanding how business is done in other countries and discover the similarities and differences of US and Mexican businesses.

The group included three seniors, Lina BA, Josephine Kim and Minyi Jiang; five juniors, Alexandra Bessler, Abby Givens, Nina Doody, Raven Chen and Jennifer Wang; and three sophomores, Terah Gruber, Sue Wu and Angelina Zhang.

Participants shared their experiences by responding to these three questions: What did you find most inspiring about the trip? Which meeting did you find the most beneficial and why? And what was one thing that took you by surprise?

What did you find most inspiring about the trip?

Angelina: “In Pichardo Asset Management, we met with four impressive women and men, and they shared a lot of experiences with us. I was really impressed that they all love their country and they are willing through their company to help developing their country.”

Terah: “Hearing all the career changes.

Sue: “Their background stories, and the thing that they think is the most valuable in their life they shared with us.”

Alexandra: “The fact that we met with so many inspirational women in the workforce.”

Abby: “I found most inspiring two of the women that we met, Beatriz and Lorena. Both had incredible stories and professional careers. They were passionate and intelligent in their fields, and made me much more interested in their areas of expertise.”

Raven: “I was really inspired by different women’s talks during the trip and their strength and bravery.

Jennifer: “There are many women we met who were strong figures and encouraged us to be the same as them.”

Lina: “The fact that we got to learn about business on a more global scope makes me now think of business in so many different ways. It opens up more perspectives and questions. I found myself very interested in how the informal economy of Mexico runs and how Mexico trades with other countries. On a less ‘business’ note, the fact that people seemed very collectivist to me made me realize how similar the culture of this country is to other countries I have been such as Morocco.”

Josephine: “Everyone’s passion for their job and dedication to their company.

Minyi: “Women in politics and business finding their own ways to make a change.”

 

Which meeting did you find the most beneficial and why?

Angelina: “The meeting at 3M was the most beneficial one for me. We saw many innovations and learned many experiences from them.”

Terah: “3M was most beneficial because we learned all about them and about their specific products or programs they are doing, like the tooth gel.”

Sue: “The last meeting. She is a really strong woman, and her background really impressed me a lot.”

Alexandra: “I found the meeting with La Reforma to be most beneficial because I learned the most about the structure of the Mexican government.”

Abby: “I found most the meetings we had with Lorena and Beatriz (I can’t choose between them!) the most beneficial. Political science, economics, trade, and Mexican politics were touched on by both of these incredible women. Their professions are most interesting to me, so they are the ones that I feel most benefited me in my attempt to discover what I want to do in my professional career.”

Raven: “I found it most beneficial meeting the only Mexican pollster because I was really inspired by her strength, her professionalism and her confidence.”

Jennifer: “I found the Citibank one to be the most beneficial one because the four women were all different and held different positions, so hearing their stories was really interesting. Also, they gave many life lessons to us, which would be helpful for our future careers.”

Lina: “The meeting I thought was the most beneficial was the one we had with Ms. Lorena Becerra at La Reforma. I did not know the importance of polls and surveys in today’s society. It is the base of all research which is brought in a complex system. I found myself learning a lot and inspecting a lot more the legitimacy of information used today.”

Josephine: “The meeting at La Reforma because I learned about ethics in journalism, which is a field that I am interested in pursuing.

Minyi: “The one where we met with the only female poster because she is so inspirational.”

 

What was one thing that took you by surprise?

Angelina: “Mexican food is super good!”

Terah: “Mexico City is huge.”

Sue: “Mexico is so cool!”

Alexandra: “La Reforma is the only non-governmentally funded media source.”

Abby: “I was surprised by the strength and passion of every person we met with. They all had so much knowledge and were kind enough to share that through giving advice to us. That is something else that took me by surprise: how much advice in terms of career and life as a whole we received from the professionals we met.”

Raven: “I was really surprised that informal economy takes such a big part in Mexico’s economy.”

Jennifer: “I was surprised to see the executives in 3M, and they really patiently answered our questions, and it’s nice to hear that they think our questions are valuable and insightful.”

Lina: “I did not expect some of the strong opinions by Ms. Pichardo at Pichardo Asset Management. But it was fun and entertaining to hear different points of view.”

Josephine: “How much people valued interpersonal relationships in their business relationships.”

Minyi: “Tuna [prickly pear] water is pretty sweet.”

For more information on the trip, including perspectives of Ms. Bush and Mr. Guadnola, visit the article on Annie Wright’s web site here.