If you had met me a few years ago, you might have seen someone who had it all figured out. A strong career in tech. A global background. A clear trajectory in the corporate world.

But what you wouldn’t have seen were the questions I was starting to ask myself: Am I building something meaningful? Am I becoming the person I want to be? That tension between stability and purpose is what ultimately led me to Fuqua’s Weekend Executive MBA program.

A Global Path and Growing Questions

I was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and raised between different cities, cultures, and expectations. From an early age, I was drawn to leadership — captaining teams, organizing events, bringing people together. My path, like many, followed what made sense: study, build a career, grow professionally.

And I did.

I moved across countries, built a life in the United States, graduated at the top of my class, and worked my way into leadership roles at a global company. On paper, everything was moving forward.

But life has a way of forcing reflection.

Over the years, I experienced moments that challenged me deeply — loneliness, mental health struggles, career uncertainty, and the pressure of building a life far from home. Those moments changed me. They made me slow down, reconnect with my values, and start asking better questions: What do I actually want to build? Who do I want to become? What kind of life am I designing?

Assessing What Matters

Fuqua came into my life at a moment when I was ready to start something new. The Weekend Executive MBA had always been a dream, and I had to be very intentional. It allowed me to continue working, building businesses, investing in relationships, and taking risks in real time.

In class, I’d learn about strategy, leadership, and operations — whether through frameworks like breaking down complex problems into first principles or pressure-testing assumptions before acting. In one session on leadership under uncertainty, we discussed how clarity of communication becomes a leader’s most valuable tool when direction isn’t obvious. The following week, I applied that directly in my own work — aligning stakeholders across a new venture by simplifying the vision and over-communicating priorities. What could have been weeks of misalignment turned into immediate traction.

Outside of class, I’d attempt to apply these skills immediately — launching ventures, navigating uncertainty, and building something from the ground up. That real-time feedback loop has been one of the most powerful parts of the experience.

A good story to share with everyone about how my entrepreneurship life started. My classmate (now co-founder) and I were sitting in the back of a class. I wanted to learn how he became successful in multiple ventures. He walked me through his entire business ventures and set up, from his first company back when he finished medical school to his most recent venture. At the end, he asked: “By the way, a friend and I are launching a new company from an idea we have been thinking about for over 15 years. Would you be interested in joining us?”

That right there showed me the impact of Fuqua: the people.

There’s something unique about being surrounded by individuals who are equally ambitious and deeply human. People who are building companies, leading teams, raising families, all while showing up fully for each other.

The environment changes you. It challenges how you think about leadership, a deep sense of responsibility, not as individual success, but as collective impact.

Designing My Next Chapter

Today, my life looks very different than it did before my journey at Fuqua. I’m stepping into entrepreneurship. I’m building alongside people I trust. I’m prioritizing my health, my faith, and my family in ways I never did before. And for the first time, I feel aligned.

Not because everything is figured out, it is messier and more complicated in many ways — but it feels like I’m finally asking the right questions. If you’re considering an MBA, especially at Fuqua, my advice is simple: Don’t just think about what you want to do next. Think about who you want to become. Because if you approach this experience the right way, it won’t just change your career. It will change you.