Although time is gold at this point during her international MBA program, Megan Staggs took some time off to share some insights about her IE experience and what it means to be an Aspen International MBA Case Competition participant.
Being from the “Music City”, this American-Brazilian student came to IE not only to win the IE Idol contest and blow fellow IEers away with her voice that people are now comparing to a female version of Elvis, but also to gain access to Latin America through the IE network.
Besides having a voice that earned her gigs in Carnegie Hall, Megan accumulated years of professional experience working as an internal consultant for an automotive group before coming to IE. She really enjoyed the pre-program sessions during which she was able to learn some Spanish and already lay the foundations of friendship with future professors and classmates.
The one thing she has been most excited about is the teamwork opportunities at IE. While learning that some stereotypes are more precise than others, Megan feels that the long nights spend with her teams so far have made her a different person, being surrounded by high-profile students and human beings day in and day out.
Right now Megan and her team are anxiously awaiting an answer from the Aspen International MBA Case Competition. After having analyzed 2 weeks’ worth of reading material in three days, staying in the competition when many teams dropped out, Megan and her team members are hoping to have submitted a solution that is as golden as Megan’s voice. If so, they would receive the biggest slice of the almost $40,000 prize purse, and therefore beat over 1000 students from 25 business schools in the world.
Although cases at IE are not as comprehensive as the one used in the Aspen Case Competition, Megan feels that in general the case method used at IE has allowed her to approach different ways of thinking that are most appropriate in certain situations. When asked about the first words that come to her mind when thinking about IE, she responded with: excitement, teamwork and the anticipation of the unknown. She loves that at IE, one will always find a person that is smarter than oneself which promotes wisdom and diminishes the fear of change.
Megan, all the best to you, fingers are crossed and thanks so much for your insights.
About the author