Duke Daytime MBA Student Blog

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.

When I was a prospective student, I remember reading marketing materials about Fuqua. Now that I have graduated, I have seen how the elements of that content have been brought to life.

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.

This was not the spring and summer my classmates and I envisioned. As MBAA Vice President for Student Life, I was excited to get started with several projects on campus that appeared to be on hold.

As an alumnus, the question I get asked most by prospective MBA students is whether attending Duke, in medium-sized Durham, North Carolina, will put them at a disadvantage.

At the very beginning, I was afraid of not being able to adjust. How would I live without the restaurant and entertainment offerings that only big cities have?

Eight miles separate Duke from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Battle for Tobacco Road, as it’s known, is one of the greatest rivalries in college sports

Serving on the cabinet of the Design & Innovation Club is one of my favorite extra-curricular activities at Fuqua. Guiding my classmates through design thinking workshops is extremely rewarding, and has given me the chance to hone my own design skills as well