I am a British student, born in London, and I am so incredibly grateful for this amazing opportunity to be a student in the USA.
I come from a family of 6, with 3 brothers, and I am the oldest. I love being the oldest and looking after my younger siblings. Moving from the UK to the US has been a huge move for me, and it was difficult to leave my family. However, I am hoping I can show my younger brothers just how much opportunity there is out there in the world. I am the first in the family to take the leap and live in another country!
I used to work in Finance and I felt a lot of pressure to work within that industry when I left university, however I did not enjoy the role or the industry. I learned a lot but I was not happy. However, whilst working in Finance, I launched my own company with a friend, and that entrepreneurial journey opened my eyes to life outside of Finance! Despite the Finance industry offering security and a well-trodden career path, I took the big step to leave that industry, and pursue my passion of entrepreneurship. Taking the MBA in Los Angeles was my dream, and I am so happy to be here. My MBA goals are to grow as an entrepreneur and to launch my company in California, and also to give back to the community that I now live in. I am passionate about mentorship and to give back, I have set up a mentorship program at my Business School to connect undergraduates with graduate students to act as mentors, in order to help them with the next steps in their career.
Despite receiving some financial aid from USC, I am really struggling with the costs of tuition and living in the US and I am finding the high cost of living here in Los Angeles very stressful. I hope that I am creating future value in the company that I am focussed on growing, but at the moment I have no income and increasing expenses. I am very motivated to make the most of this incredible opportunity, and hopefully create opportunities for others by launching our company in the US in the future. However, the cost of being here is my biggest challenge that I am facing.
I would be so grateful for any kind of financial aid at all.
Thank you so much.