(Photo: Admitted Student Reception in Sao Paulo)
My Portuguese is laughable.* It’s really bad; actually non-existent.* Immersion is key for learning a new language, and after four days in Brazil, I wish I could have absorbed more.
My colleague, Joanne Legler, and I, had the privilege of traveling to Brazil last week, and we could not have left more captivated with the city of Sao Paulo, and by our encounters with the Chicago Booth community. My first trip to Brazil proved to be an incredible experience – the culture, the language, the beauty…but most importantly, I loved the overwhelming Chicago Booth presence and energy! And I discovered as a female to NEVER say obrigado (major cultural FAIL), but instead, obrigada.*
The primary purpose of our trip to Sao Paulo was to host our interview days for Round Two applicants. Over the course of our four day trip, we teamed up with over 20 Booth alumni who facilitated the interviews,* joined us at our corporate visits, attended a reception for new admits on Thursday night, and who spent brunch with us on Sunday.
Saturday was driven completely by our alumni who spent the day interviewing and getting to know our applicants. We know that candidates sometimes arrive for their interviews a bit nervous, but we found that they left smiling and confident after lunch and casual conversations with alumni. It was a great day for applicants to get to know each other as well* –* they chatted about becoming roommates if accepted, and whispered “good luck” in Portuguese as their new friends were up next for their interview.* We observed an energy that can only happen when you put a group of intellectually curious, authentic, and down-to-earth people in the same room – an amazing representation of the day to day at Chicago Booth.*
Between navigating Sao Paulo traffic for various corporate visits with prospective students, hosting an event for our Round One admits, and connecting with our past students, there was limited room for digging deep into the Brazilian culture.* We were lucky enough to have the wonderful partner of one of our alumni show us around so we could experience the unique aspects of Sao Paulo. Having her as a local resource proved to be a priceless window into the Brazilian culture that we were so thrilled to experience during a busy work week.* Having the opportunity to spend our Sunday with her, her friends, and three Booth alumni was the icing on the cake for our visit.*
Obrigada, obrigada, obrigada!* Thank you, thank you, thank you, Brazil!* Thanks to our alumni for being such warm* Booth ambassadors. Thank you to our admitted students, whose contagious positive energy will be welcome here in the fall. Thank you to our interviewees who displayed an incredible amount of enthusiasm for joining Chicago Booth.* Thank you to the prospective students we met along the way for your insightful questions and time taken to get to know us better.** We look forward to the possibilities of having you one day part of the Chicago Booth community -* an environment that attracts like-minded people who are intrinsically curious, value others, and challenge themselves to step outside their comfort zone.*
Ciao, ciao.
Danielle
More...
My Portuguese is laughable.* It’s really bad; actually non-existent.* Immersion is key for learning a new language, and after four days in Brazil, I wish I could have absorbed more.
My colleague, Joanne Legler, and I, had the privilege of traveling to Brazil last week, and we could not have left more captivated with the city of Sao Paulo, and by our encounters with the Chicago Booth community. My first trip to Brazil proved to be an incredible experience – the culture, the language, the beauty…but most importantly, I loved the overwhelming Chicago Booth presence and energy! And I discovered as a female to NEVER say obrigado (major cultural FAIL), but instead, obrigada.*
The primary purpose of our trip to Sao Paulo was to host our interview days for Round Two applicants. Over the course of our four day trip, we teamed up with over 20 Booth alumni who facilitated the interviews,* joined us at our corporate visits, attended a reception for new admits on Thursday night, and who spent brunch with us on Sunday.
Saturday was driven completely by our alumni who spent the day interviewing and getting to know our applicants. We know that candidates sometimes arrive for their interviews a bit nervous, but we found that they left smiling and confident after lunch and casual conversations with alumni. It was a great day for applicants to get to know each other as well* –* they chatted about becoming roommates if accepted, and whispered “good luck” in Portuguese as their new friends were up next for their interview.* We observed an energy that can only happen when you put a group of intellectually curious, authentic, and down-to-earth people in the same room – an amazing representation of the day to day at Chicago Booth.*
Between navigating Sao Paulo traffic for various corporate visits with prospective students, hosting an event for our Round One admits, and connecting with our past students, there was limited room for digging deep into the Brazilian culture.* We were lucky enough to have the wonderful partner of one of our alumni show us around so we could experience the unique aspects of Sao Paulo. Having her as a local resource proved to be a priceless window into the Brazilian culture that we were so thrilled to experience during a busy work week.* Having the opportunity to spend our Sunday with her, her friends, and three Booth alumni was the icing on the cake for our visit.*
Obrigada, obrigada, obrigada!* Thank you, thank you, thank you, Brazil!* Thanks to our alumni for being such warm* Booth ambassadors. Thank you to our admitted students, whose contagious positive energy will be welcome here in the fall. Thank you to our interviewees who displayed an incredible amount of enthusiasm for joining Chicago Booth.* Thank you to the prospective students we met along the way for your insightful questions and time taken to get to know us better.** We look forward to the possibilities of having you one day part of the Chicago Booth community -* an environment that attracts like-minded people who are intrinsically curious, value others, and challenge themselves to step outside their comfort zone.*
Ciao, ciao.
Danielle
More...