Moore School alumna Valentina Sara Schneider (’17 MIB) said that she chose the Master of International Business double-degree program to broaden her understanding of international business and become more fully acquainted with American culture.

Schneider earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration and her second master’s degree in management from the University of Mannheim in Germany in 2016 and 2019, respectively. She said that her undergraduate professors highlighted that the learning experiences of the Moore School and University of Mannheim complement each other well and the status advantage of completing such a “selective” program is worthwhile.

“The Moore School offered, to me, the most interesting degree,” Schneider said. “International Business is important in any major and global organization, and I am interested in culture differences between people and diversity. I had lived in the U.S. before and was thus looking forward to being there for another year, especially in such a beautiful state as South Carolina.”

Stating that the MIB program taught her many applicable life skills and lessons about cultural differences, negotiation and political differences in business, Schneider said that the professors are what really made the program valuable to her.

“[The Moore School faculty] were very supportive and helpful during my academic career,” Schneider said. “I am sure they would have been equally helpful had I chosen to seek employment in their respective industries.”

Schneider said that, upon reflecting on her time at the Moore School, she thinks that “knowing the professor is often more important than the class they teach.”

Expanding one’s network is crucial to be successful in the business world, Schneider said, and each professor can add value to one’s growing network.

“They [professors] are all experts in what they teach you, but you can learn the content from them but also adopt their ways of thinking critically and keeping an open mind for new developments or ideas,” she added.

Now working toward her Ph.D. in organizational behavior at London Business School, Schneider noted that she utilizes the soft skills that she obtained at the Moore School daily. She said she uses skills such as working continuously throughout the week, preparing weekly assignments, independent and analytical thinking, putting on theoretical lenses for problems businesses face in today’s fast changing world and being able to cooperate on projects with other, like-minded researchers.

Schneider plans to become a professor at a well-recognized business school upon completing her doctoral degree. She said she hopes to teach the “business leaders of tomorrow about leadership.”

-Erin Mooney