I can’t believe it’s almost over!

I have to admit, I have mixed feelings about my last 10 months in Ireland and mostly about the MBA. I’ve had amazing experiences and of course others that I wouldn’t want a repeat of. The silver lining here is the lessons and memories. What I’m certain of though is that I am not the same person that landed in Dublin, August of last year. I am definitely a much more sophisticated version of myself.

I was fortunate to be awarded the Mwangi MBA Scholarship which is awarded to one Kenyan woman in business. The scholarship is in honour of Ms Catherine Mwangi (former Kenyan ambassador to Ireland) who lost her son – an only child – in a terrorist attack. To turn something so tragic into something that changes people’s lives is amazing. It wasn’t easy jumping through the hoops to get the scholarship but definitely well worth it. I am glad that I took on the challenge and will forever be grateful for the opportunity because it has been life-changing.

These are my highlights for the last 10 months so far, I’ll let you decide if they’re good or bad:

  1. Irish weather

No amount of research could prepare you for the weather in Ireland. You’d think that after climbing numerous mountains I’d understand what extreme weather meant. There are days where it felt like there were all four seasons in one day. My Irish classmates talk about four seasons. Maybe they meant the hotel. I know what I have experienced is rain, wind and clouds with a little sprinkle of sunshine once in a while. I am yet to experience summer despite the fact that this is the end of June. However, it would be unfair not to mention how much I enjoyed the beautiful colours of fall. Irish weather has taught me to always be prepared.

  1. Groups

I have been in nine (maybe more) groups since I started this journey. At the beginning, nothing prepares you for this especially if you land in a group of six. It is a crash course on the fine art of managing people. I love how it breaks the tendency of working in silos and experiencing first hand how effective team work really is.

3. Diversity

Prior to the MBA I had lived and worked in India and Nigeria. Additionally, I had done a bit of travel and therefore thought that I had this thing called diversity figured out. I quickly discovered that there was more to learn. The MBA class is filled with people from so many walks of life; a paediatrician, vets, engineers, an architect, business owners and as if that’s not enough, throw in seven other nationalities. My favourite part was watching people struggle to pronounce my preferred name ‘Shitandi’!

 4. Proby

Living on campus has its perks. You can wake up twenty minutes before a class and still make it to that class on time. Quick and easy commutes mean you don’t have to fight the elements to get to class. Best of all, the random lunches and dinners with classmates who live on campus. I have enjoyed delicious Indian dinners without paying a cent thanks to my very talented Indian housemates. A special mention to Carmela for the most glorious soup I have ever tasted in my life. Some of those meals shall never be forgotten.

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Proby Family

5. International trips

I’m still pinching myself because it’s hard to believe that in such a short amount of time I’ve travelled so much while doing an MBA. South America has never featured in my wildest dreams. The trip to Chile and Argentina was breath-taking. Apart from the profound lessons learnt during company visits, time spent with classmates allowed me to get to know people better. I spent time visiting vineyards, drinking very good wine, wandering around Santiago and Buenos Aires and best of all, I set my eyes on the Andes mountains. A few weeks ago, we spent a week in Lisbon working on consulting projects. Our group worked with an impressive start-up where we helped them put together a strategy to enter the Irish market. It was very satisfying seeing a happy client. Apart from the work, we enjoyed sightseeing and amazing seafood. Interestingly, I was one of the few people who didn’t like the famous custard tarts that Lisbon is known for.

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Wine tasting in Mendoza, Argentina

 6. Running in Blackrock Park

Sunrise in Ireland is both dramatic and beautiful especially in Blackrock park. Running in the park was my therapy during stressful times when there was so much to do and during dark cold winter days. I still don’t believe I went out for runs in 1-degree centigrade weather. There are probably more beautiful places in Ireland, but Blackrock park is my special place.

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Sunrise, Blackrock Park

 Milka Omukuba, Full Time MBA 2018-2019