Inside Michigan Ross: Being An International MBA Student In The U.S.

Michigan Game Day In the Big House

Such meetings were a whole new concept for me, even if they were more natural for my American friends culturally. It was also a bit scary for me. As an international student, I prefer organically developing relationships and I was not well-versed on general chit-chat topics such as (American) football. I was stressed that it might be hard to engage the company representatives and continue the conversation with them.

I remember my first company event, where there were 80-100 students and 10 company representatives in a large room. After the event, the students formed “networking circles” around the company employees to ask their questions and connect with them to continue the conversation. That moment, I realized how important the culture of an institution is! Before coming to Ross, I knew the community is full of kind people who are supportive and respectful to each other. Here, I had a chance to observe this dynamic so clearly! 

My Diwali Dance Group for the 2020 Celebration Event

Throughout recruitment season, I never experienced anything awkward like somebody trying to dominate the conversation and acting like nobody else exists in the circle. On the contrary, everybody asked one question, and maybe one follow-up, and left the floor to their friends. Since many of us attended the same networking events, we got to know each other as the Class of 2021. We soon were able to refer to each other’s strengths while talking to the company representative if the topic was related to the interest area of our friend. This really changed the environment of networking events, which made the conversations smoother for internationals. Since many company representatives were Ross alumni steeped in the culture, we had respectful and kind interactions. Knowing and internalizing the Michigan Ross culture helped both sides (students and recruiters) feel much better throughout the networking period.

LEARNING FROM EACH OTHER

Having representatives from 33 countries in our MBA class enables us to experience many different cultures. In addition to all academic and action-based learning experiences, I will remember most vividly our cultural events. For example, I danced in the Diwali flash mob in 2020. It was my first Diwali and I learned more about the Indian traditions from our friends from the Ross community, Rish and Vani Sood. We also discovered a lot of similarities across cultures during our conversations over the all-day-long Brazilian barbecues with amazing picanha and brigadeiro. Although the Turkish community is not very wide in Michigan Ross, we turned that into an advantage by being a part of all other more populated communities in our class that made us have a deeper understanding about multiple cultures.

Ozan Erdem explaining the ingredients of Ashure

Speaking of food, my favorite event at Michigan Ross is “Food, Friends, and Culture”. This event is hosted every month by a cultural student club such as the Hispanic Business Student Association or the Africa Business Club. I have been touched by many stories my classmates told during this event about their culture, family, and life. For example, I learned my Taiwanese classmates had been through a national exam which is a make-or-break for their life just like we had in Turkey. Many times, I realized although we are from different countries, we had many similarities. 

Learning each other’s culture also enriches us and makes our bonds stronger. Following the speeches of our classmates, we all learned about the traditional dishes of that culture and taste them together. While we are enjoying the traditional food, the club hosts a trivia challenge which includes the facts about that culture and their traditions. The event closes with a hands-on activity such as learning African dance moves or how to make origami. I love this event because it expands my knowledge about many cultures in an accelerated way and gives me the opportunity to get to know my classmates much more deeply. 

Football 101 session for international students

“Taste of Ross” also brings MBAs together. In this event, all student clubs celebrate their culture by serving international dishes of their ethnicity and heritage. The event takes place in Burns Park in Ann Arbor and seems like a food festival from a distance. However, it’s much more than that. While tasting many types of foods and beverages, the students ask questions about the roots of the food and learn about the traditions through the discussion around the culinary culture. For example, I am a member of the European Business Student Association. We had Spanish and Turkish food on our table. One of the Turkish dishes we served was Ashure, which is a traditional dessert served only once in a year in Turkey. Turkish people share bowls of ashure with their neighbors, family, and friends as an offering of peace and love. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to share it with my classmates and they loved learning the backstory of it.

LEARNING AMERICAN CULTURE

As an international student, I loved learning about American culture and history. For instance, Ann Arbor is one of the best college towns to experience football culture, thanks to the chance to watch games live in “Big House”. During the international orientation, the school organized a Football 101 for the international students where we learned about the basics of football and game day traditions, including details such as which songs to sing (and when) and what colors to wear during the games. It was amazing to know these upfront to adapt the culture and enjoy each and every game from the beginning. 

Besides football, I learned other American traditions through many events. They included Halloween, where my whole section dressed up in a group costume; MBA games, where I  played cornhole for the first time; and a Friendsgiving my section organized, where we gathered to eat traditional American dishes right before Thanksgiving. I was also touched when our classmates, John Daniels and Allie Taikowsk, invited us to celebrate Fourth of July together. It was our first Fourth of July in the U.S. and we loved to learn the celebration traditions. In each event, I felt thankful to be in such an inclusive community. I always felt the openness of my American classmates to help us on any topic and to get adjusted to the new culture here. 

Celebrating christmas with a classical ugly sweater party with my section

As we are approaching the holiday season, I would like to share that I’m so glad and thankful that I decided to pursue my MBA in the U.S. and especially at Ross because I am surrounded by kind, supportive, and smart people who made Ann Arbor my second home. Now, I’m looking forward to moving to Seattle (which will become my third home) after graduation with at least 20 people from the Ross community from all over the world. So, forever, go Blue! 

My name is Ebrar Erdem and I am a second-year MBA student at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. I was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey. I’ve previously lived in Wisconsin, Germany, and the UK for short periods during my undergraduate years at Bogazici University, where I studied Chemical Engineering. I knew that I always wanted to have my MBA in a diverse and dynamic environment to develop myself further. This is what brought me to Ann Arbor in July 2019. Before coming to Ross, I worked for five years at GlaxoSmithKline in various roles and organizations from MENA to Emerging Markets organizations. This summer, I had a fantastic experience in Amazon Web Services as a Sr. Program Manager Intern. Aside from work, I am a sailing captain, an advanced SCUBA diver, and an amateur artist who plays the drums and works on oil paintings. You can follow me on my LinkedIn and Instagram to hear updates about MBA life at Ross.

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