Duke Daytime MBA Student Blog

While I expected to learn about business in an emerging market, I did not expect the Global Academic Travel Experience (GATE) to South Africa to challenge my assumptions as deeply as it did. Over the course of two weeks, I encountered a country that was far more complex, dynamic, and hopeful than I had imagined.

We experienced unforgettable moments, from meeting business leaders at the forefront of climate innovation to standing inside a power plant that runs on imported trash and wandering through Arctic towns without a sunset.

Traveling to South Africa was a reset in how I viewed human connection, social cues, and unspoken norms. As an MBA student used to efficiency, deadlines, and data, I found myself slowing down to absorb the culture around me.

What started as a consulting project quickly turned into an immersive experience full of coffee, conversations, and a whole lot of Southern hospitality.

This opportunity was a pivotal experience to leverage my global professional background and test my career ambitions in an impactful, real-world context.

The highlight of our FCCP experience was undeniably the strong collaboration and mutual support that empowered us to tackle complex business challenges as a unified team.

I went to the class without knowing anything about improvisation. Now, I feel like a whole new person.

I cannot rave enough about the different ways to gain experience at Fuqua that are non-traditional and highly rewarding.