Our latest edition of the MSc Student Blog comes from Angela Huang, HBA 2014 & MSc CEMS 2015. Just last month Angela completed her first CEMS exchange term at HEC Paris. In this post Angela takes a look back at her time in France and how much she’s grown over just four short months.
I’d always wanted to go to France one day, especially after learning the language when I was around twelve years old. When I received the offer for an exchange to HEC Paris, I really felt that my dream had come true. It was just a matter of having the courage to pursue it, so I went with my intuition and said yes to France.
This was my first time in Europe and also my first time living in a different country by myself. Although I lived away from my family throughout my undergraduate program as I’m from Vancouver, I found that living by myself in a foreign place was a completely different experience. Being in France made me recognize and understand cultural differences, whether they be small ones such as eating lunch at 1 pm or 2 pm to bigger ones like education standards. An Ivey professor of mine once told me to dare to try something new, break away from habit, or, perhaps, take a route that I wouldn’t ordinarily. Frankly, I did not understand him at first. I thought his proposal was absurd. Why would I try a route that I would never usually take just to get lost? Another Ivey alumnus told me it was important to figure out my own story and to see what makes me unique. I agreed with what he had said, but I truthfully had no idea how to figure that out.
Now that I am at the end of my exchange, I understand what they meant. I was always too concentrated on work and my obligations; I forgot about my own story that I wanted to share. It was through this exchange experience that I realized other areas in life I cared about and what was unique about me. At the start of this exchange, I was by myself, knew no one on campus, and had only basic knowledge of French culture based on the research I could find online. I was nervous and did not want to be here just to continue a similar life to the one I had in Canada. I wanted to actually pursue my dream, so I took the different route. I attended more events, tried different lines on the Metro to explore Paris, forced myself to communicate in French as often as I could, took Finance courses, which I used to avoid whenever possible, took the time to relax as the French would over food, and introduced myself to new people I met at lunch.
After all these changes and multiple conversations with new friends, I realized that people were always interested in certain events in my life that I had always assumed to be ordinary.
It was then that I knew what made me “unique.” I’ve lived in four countries so far and six cities. Most of my summer internships have been abroad, and one of them was in India. I can sketch well and have a very sensitive sense of smell — friends have joked that I have a dog’s nose. I can speak four languages and am working towards a fifth. I’m finishing a Master’s before heading to law school; this always gets people asking, “Why would you want to study so much?” I know a tonne about various topics as diverse as desserts in Paris, lions, and hospitals in New York. The reasons that I know about these subjects are all different. I have been told that I am very efficient and a fast learner after explaining how I created a brochure about law and doing business in British Columbia in Mandarin and English in five days. I’m not afraid to fight for what’s right or to ask questions. Most importantly, I now dare.
I dare to dream and to pursue my dreams. I’ve also realized what I love! I love Ivey for its case method, the excellent professors, facilities, and wonderful alumni network and also HEC — the tightknit campus, the laidback culture, and their prestigious reputation. I love different cities for a variety of reasons, and each of them is home to me.
I’m looking forward to my next exchange at the National University of Singapore. I’m also looking forward to reuniting with the amazing friends I’ve met throughout this journey and to meeting more in the future!