The Magic of Berkeley

Editor's note: This is a guest post written by Berkeley Haas Global Access Program student Thiago Santos Medeiros, who also earned his Bachelor of Engineering degree from Faculdade de Engenharia Industrial (FEI) and an Executive MBA from Insper. His post has been edited for clarity. For a version in Portuguese: veja a versão em Portugues.

Words cannot explain what you get from your experience with the Berkeley Haas Global Access Program.

Even after doing “a lot” of research, attending information sessions, networking with former students and a prior visit to the Berkeley campus, once classes began I ended up being even more impressed than I’d hoped.

After some reflection, I realize that an important part of the magic here at UC Berkeley is people’s attitudes of inclusion and acceptance.

No matter who you are, what you believe or your current level of knowledge, people respect each other and want to learn from those they meet. It's simply a win-win relationship between you, faculty and students. No matter if you are a graduate or undergraduate student, this program has the potential to be the right fit for you. If you want to change your status quo, push yourself, meet new people, learn about business or even more about yourself, this is absolutely the right place.

After some reflection, I realize that an important part of the magic here at UC Berkeley is people’s attitudes of inclusion and acceptance.

You have classes not only about Finance, Design Thinking, Tech & Innovation, but also a specific class focused on your personal growth: Thriving at Haas and Beyond. During this class, you are pushed to think broadly and deeply about your career; define your short, medium, and long-term goals using a variety of tools; and ultimately work to develop your best you. However, for some people like me, the highlight of the entire experience occurs outside of class hours. 

Among myriad constant activities (impossible to list all of them here), you also have one-on-one coaching sessions as part of the Thriving at Haas and Beyond class. Maybe some undergraduate students don't realize at first the power of this particular personalized resource. Heidi Weller, who developed and delivers the career and coaching program, is an incredible coach and can help you to identify and pursue the right career direction. Following my initial one-on-one discussion with her, I tried to book time with her as much as possible until I realized it would be selfish not to share with my classmates how much they could benefit from her help. I then spread the word in different ways to my classmates, and even though her schedule is now always full, I am proud to have helped and contributed to my colleagues’ own career development.

If you want to change your status quo, push yourself, meet new people, learn about business or even more about yourself, this is absolutely the right place.

I am one of the growing number of fortunate students who will be here for the entire academic year instead of just one semester, and I look forward to discovering what the spring semester has in store for me. If you are trying to decide if this is the right program for you, I'd like to give you one last piece of advice: Take a look at the Defining Principles of the Berkeley Haas School of Business, and if you identify with at least one of them, go for it! You’ll be grateful for your experience! 

Berkeley Haas Defining Leadership Principles:

• Beyond Yourself
• Question the Status Quo
• Confidence Without Attitude
• Students Always

Interested in learning more? Read about the Berkeley Haas Global Access Program for international students.