Hispanic Heritage Month, from September 15th – October 15th, celebrates the contributions of Hispanic-Americans who have influenced American culture for centuries. In celebration, the Booth Experience Team is highlighting students Juan Pagan, ’21, and Alexandra Salgado, ’21, as they share their unique experiences.This year, we are celebrating Latinx Heritage Month at UChicago with a series of events and festivities.
My HABSA Community
When I was exploring schools to pursue an MBA, a perfectly-timed trip to Chicago for Booth’s Diversity Day solidified my decision. I met both students and alumni who shared my background and experiences, and groups such as the Hispanic American Business Student Association (HABSA), who were eager to support me in my business school journey. As I reflect on my identity and significance for my Booth experience during this Hispanic Heritage Month, I can best summarize it in one word: community.
“Tell Your Story” is a regular series that features one of our Booth community members. In his or her own words, the contributor details their path to Booth and other interesting personal highlights. Enjoy our first edition!
Where are you originally from? And what did you do priorto Booth? I’m originally from the bustling Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and moved to Sydney, Australia by myself 11 years ago to pursue higher education and widen my horizons. In 2011, I went to the States for an exchange, then backpacked and traveled across the US for 3 months (visited 14 States) – loved this country so now I’m back for a while! Prior to Booth, I worked in Investments and Wealth Management in Sydney. Besides my full-time job, I co-founded a web/apps development company and we served clients from 8 different countries.
In September of 2017, I received an email from Booth inviting me to Diversity Day. Similar to most overly-eager MBA prospects, I registered the same day. I visited Chicago for the first time with an interest in learning more about Booth and seeing if the school and city were places I could see myself for two years. Luckily for me, Diversity Day developed into an important turning point in my journey towards business school and Booth.
We’re thrilled to welcome our newest classmates to Chicago Booth! The Class of 2021 started their first day of Orientation today at the Harper Center, filling the Winter Garden with 590+ excited new Boothies. Deputy Dean Stacey Kole was so excited, she couldn’t help taking a selfie with everyone (check it out on here). Looking forward to our second year and to meeting all of these amazing first-year students. Congrats again, and welcome to the Booth family!
While technically the summer internship is a part of the first-year experience, I saw it as a way to kickstart my second year at Booth. Picking up where my first year timeline left off, read along to hear about how my second year has progressed and what I’m planning to do after graduation.
