Just three months after completing the UC Berkeley Extension professional certificate in Project Management, Marcos Bento successfully began working as a corporate strategy analyst at EDP, a worldwide renewable-energy company based in Brazil.

In this role, he focused on corporate restructuring; process improvement; and defining, monitoring and reporting the company's key performance indicators to senior management.

Bento credits the program in helping him land that position. "The program gives the opportunity to improve and deepen the knowledge in your area of interest," he says. "Outside of class, I studied and lived with a lot of bright people who gave me a lot of insights. This definitely eased in getting the job I wanted. My European friends also say that IDP was a great differentiation on their job applications, especially helpful in these difficult times. If you are, or intend to be, an entrepreneur, this program opens a lot of doors."

Outside of the classroom, Bento fondly remembers the friendships created and exploring the sights in the San Francisco Bay Area. "The time spent at UC Berkeley Extension was the time of my life," Bento recalls, "not only because of the classes and instructors but also because of the atmosphere of the city and the Bay Area, as well as meeting friends who share the same values and personal and professional goals."

Today, Marcos is working as a Deal Flow Coordinator at Boston Harbor Angels in New York City and is an M.B.A. candidate at Babson College.