Duke Daytime MBA Student Blog

I have become the unofficial headshot photographer for Fuqua. This journey has been one of the most fulfilling experiences I have had during my MBA.

Aruna is an impact-driven brand that creates lifelong freedom for victims of human trafficking through employment.

Reflecting on my background helped to enable me up for my personal mission in Diversity and Inclusion (D&I). My first opportunity in D&I came in the form of supporting our recruiting team by going back to Temple, my undergraduate alma mater, to identify candidates to join the company.

I began my business school search broadly, looking for a program that stood out. I had little doubt about making close friends in a tight-knit community. But could that collaborative, team-first mentality really make a difference when it counted?

Before embarking on business school and then the business world, I was terrified. I soon discovered there were nice people who genuinely cared and wanted a better world too.

I like to joke that my business school journey would make a perfect entry for, “How not to prepare for business school.” I chose Fuqua for many reasons, the most compelling of which is the Fuqua community. The turning point for me was attending the Women’s Leadership Weekend in November 2018

I had been researching business schools for a couple years, and after a while, all the top schools seemed the same. I needed something that would cut through the sound bites and similarities to know whether or not I, an openly gay individual, would belong.

My journey at Fuqua was not linear. I moved from Brazil to the United States specifically to join Fuqua. I’ve experienced all the feelings and struggles international students usually go through when pursuing their MBA.

As I was boarding my flight for a spring break ski trip in early March 2020, I thought our class had already been tested. And that had nothing on what was yet to come.

2020 is anything but boring. That’s what I always say to my friends and family. When we think we might finally have things figured out, there’s always something that takes us by surprise. And as an international student at Fuqua, I can say that has a special connotation.