Alumna Audrey Ware (’19 international business, marketing, and French) was able to broaden her international business skillset and challenge herself after graduating from the Moore School by studying abroad in Oxford, England, through the Moore School-Honors College Oxford Scholars program.
The Oxford Scholars program is one of the most prestigious programs offered at the Moore School and awards two South Carolina Honors College international business students the chance to spend three terms studying at the University of Oxford. Along with being an Oxford Scholar, Ware is a McNair Scholar and was awarded in 2019 the Moore School’s Outstanding Senior Award for Academic Excellence in International Business.
With the chance to spend a fifth year studying as an Oxford Scholar, she said that it was an opportunity that she couldn’t pass up. Having the ability to study at the University of Oxford allowed Ware to clarify her goals while continuing to explore her interests and grow in an intellectually challenging environment.
“While at Oxford, I dove more deeply into psychology, economics and public health, courses which I had otherwise been unable to pursue at the University of South Carolina” because of the rigorous course load, Ware said. “I not only improved my advanced math, synthesis and writing skills but also further solidified my interest in behavioral economics.”
Having the ability to study different facets of business while attending the University of Oxford allowed Ware to develop her strong interest in behavioral economics and decision-making. She decided to continue pursuing her passion for business analytics and consumer psychology after she finished her fifth year at the University of Oxford in spring 2020.
“I am fascinated by the numbers and the insights behind our consumption decisions, and I decided to study market research and consumer behavior because it allowed me to explore my interests via the quantitative and qualitative methods,” she said.
In August 2020, she enrolled in a master’s program at the IE School of Human Sciences and Technology in Madrid, Spain.
“I chose to study in Madrid to continue improving my Spanish and also because of my specific master’s program: Market Research and Consumer Behavior, MRCB for short,” she said. “I was drawn to the unique coursework that tied in everything from the basics of neural pathways and memory to how to develop research designs and analyze and display data.
“I also appreciated how forward-thinking IE is when it comes to technology and hands-on learning, not to mention that most of my professors were active in their fields. It is also an incredibly relevant field that will allow me to develop my analytical capabilities through data analytics and visualization, coding and programs like SPSS [business analytics software].”
After graduating from IE and preparing for her career, Ware said that she wouldn’t be where she is today without the help from the Moore School. She said the Moore School provided her with the tools and opportunities to thrive beyond her undergraduate career.
“I am perhaps most grateful to have been part of the international business program, which amplified my learnings through its holistic approach,” she said. “I particularly appreciated the high expectations, interdisciplinary coursework and genuine support offered by the IB department and its staff. The IB major was an excellent complement to my marketing major as well as a perfect fit for me. I have always been fascinated by numerous subjects, and my IB professors challenged me to apply my love of history, anthropology, economics and psychology to think critically in diverse business contexts.”
Ware was able to take the skills and knowledge that she attained from the Moore School and apply them to her summer 2020 internship at McKinsey. During her internship, she learned about topics such as design thinking, cloud infrastructure, Tableau, project management and Python. She was also able to collaborate digitally with international colleagues based out of Europe, the Middle East and Africa to deliver projects and presentations. Ware began in fall 2021 a full-time position at McKinsey as a business analyst.
“I accepted my full-time offer at McKinsey for a multitude of reasons, but my primary reasons were personal fit and learning opportunities,” she said.
While she spent a year in Oxford and Madrid after she graduated, Ware traveled during her undergraduate years as well. She spent a summer in Quebec and a spring semester in the Washington, D.C., Semester Program where she interned for Global Communities, a non-profit organization. In 2018, she lived for eight months in Paris, during which she interned at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. She then spent fall 2018 of her senior year in Chile. Ware considers herself now trilingual; her time abroad helped develop her French and Spanish language skills.
“Since my freshman year at USC, I have studied at universities in six countries for year-long, semester and summer programs,” Ware said. “I always felt supported and encouraged throughout my time at the Moore School to pursue international opportunities.”
Ware said that she looks forward to learning more and growing both personally and professionally in the coming years.
“I want to be in an environment that engages me intellectually, where I can think critically and make a difference in people’s lives,” she said. “Hopefully, I will pursue something related to behavioral economics, possibly in the realm of public health or the environment.”
-Claire McGrath