Global Experience

Program Overview

The Global Alumni Mentorship Program offered through Fisher’s Alumni Undergraduate Mentorship Program pairs students with Fisher alumni via an application process. I was paired with a mentor during the Autumn semester of 2020 and will continue to engage with my mentor throughout the Spring and future. We connect monthly, virtually.

This program aims to provide students with opportunities to learn from professionals in a career that students are interested in pursuing. Alumnae aim to mentor a student and provide a perspective that the student may be lacking.

There are major benefits to being a part of this program, those include:

  • Development of interpersonal relationships with distinguished industry professionals
  • Further expansion of my professional network
  • Gaining a new perspective from a distinguished career professional

There are a variety of topics that both my mentor and I kept our conversations around to cater the conversation towards how he grew from his global experiences and what experiences might interest me as a Finance major. Those topics include:

  • Study abroad
  • Navigating/managing an international project team
  • Acquiring firms abroad and complicating factors and compliance issues
  • Negotiations and politics that can affect project approval

I have had mentors in the past. A mentor relationship can be created in your work environment or by reaching out to professionals on LinkedIn. In my undergraduate career, I have noticed that many people are very willing to help students. My advice to students is to create connections and grow relationships as a student, since people are very willing to pass on their wisdom to the next generation of professionals.

Pre-Program Reflection

I was introduced to this program by the Global Option Program Manager within the Office of Global Business. Since COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the study abroad industry, I was given the opportunity to join this program to supplement my global education. Although I was unable to complete my “in-person” study abroad component in Paris through Fisher Global Consulting, I still believe that this mentorship program was a valuable experience. Through an application process that asked about my background, career aspirations, and hobbies, I was paired with an alumnus that shared qualities similar to me. Although it is not necessary for the mentor to have similar hobbies or the same background as you, having similarities can help make the conversation between a mentor and mentee more fluid. This program has exposed me to individuals that have had global experiences so that one day I will be able to have experiences of my own to share to OSU mentees.

I have had mentors throughout my undergrad, most notably my pairing with an alumnus through the Honors Finance Program. My professors identified everyone’s career aspirations within my 26-student cohort and scoured their network to find a match for each student. Since I have had a mentor, I was prepared to participate in this program. Prior to meeting my mentor, I learned about his background and career journey and brainstormed questions that would invoke deep conversation. My topics were centered around leadership and management, business ethics, and globalization in the workplace. Through this program, I learned topics that I never would have been taught in a classroom.

Since all our conversations occurred over Zoom, it is easy for someone to be anxious about growing a relationship virtually. I can say from personal experience that it gets easier. When you can relate to someone and have meaningful conversations, this anxiety seeps away.

Before I met with my mentor, I created a list of objectives/goals that I wanted to meet through this program. Some of those include:

  • Meet an individual that I would be able to engage in relaxed conversation
  • Have a 2-sided relationship, my mentor learns about me and my goals and I learn about them
  • Have a potential resource within the industry that I am aligned with to guide me
  • Ignite my passion for working with global professionals and living abroad

While on Program Reflection

What an incredibly rewarding experience. I have had experience reaching out to individuals through my network to learn about people’s careers, but it is hard connecting and forming a relationship with someone that does not have any similarities with you. Being paired with someone through Fisher who was engaging and willing to have thought-provoking conversations with me is an experience that I will never forget.

In our first meeting we set a precedent for how we wanted to engage in our future meetings. We began by introducing ourselves to one another, while my mentor gave a high-level overview about his background. I did the same and talked about what I was trying to get out of this program. From here, we set up a meeting schedule that kept the conversation around his experiences in finance, consulting, and working abroad and with global teams. Those topics were as follows:

  • Study abroad
  • Navigating managing an international project team
  • Acquiring firms abroad and complicating factors and compliance issues
  • Negotiations and politics that can affect project approval

While on the program, I had previously made an agenda with questions so our conversations would never remain stagnant, but as you will learn, questions will undoubtedly come up in conversation, without having to be prepared beforehand. For me, this is one of the determinants of whether a mentor and mentee relationship is growing. If the conversation is fluid and questions arise from conversation, that is an indicator of a good relationship. Some questions around topics that I had prepared were:

  • Leadership and Management
    • What was a challenging moment during your project that questioned whether you were able to take on a leadership role abroad?
    • How did you cater to different management styles around the world?
    • What were some of your values that did not waver when managing global teams?
  • Business Ethics
    • What was your experience working with a culture where its ethics did not align with your own?
    • What were some ethical dilemmas you faced when working abroad?
    • How did you prepare for cultural interactions to not be disrespectful with those you were working with?
  • Globalization
    • How did you navigate your work with countries that had political tensions with the US?
    • What was your experience like living abroad?
    • What steps did you take as a US citizen before traveling abroad?

After Program Reflection

Participating in the Global Alumni Mentorship Program was a great experience. Throughout my undergrad, I have had the opportunity to meet distinguished industry professionals through the Honors Finance Program and Undergraduate Finance Association (of which I am on the executive board in charge of gathering professionals to speak to students in my club). I have developed relationships with mentors that I know will continue to push me to be my very best come me entering my career. Although in my previous mentor relationships I did not have a globally focused goal that I wanted to achieve, I am happy to have had conversations that encompassed global experiences through this program.

The top 3 takeaways I had from this experience that I will apply to the future are:

  • It is okay to take the “road less followed,” when deciding the career path for you.
  • TRAVEL! Traveling can be a liberating experience and although money will replenish, your time will not.
  • Prioritize working with individuals that are different than you. Working with diverse mindsets and people across the globe can enhance a project like no other.

I want to dive a little deeper into each of these bullets above. I think its important for me and my fellow students to understand that taking the “road less followed” is not a bad thing. There is a stigma that success comes from working at a large firm post-graduation, albeit this is the path that I am taking. But this step is not for everyone. At OSU, students live within a competitive environment, which is especially apparent within Fisher. There is a constant push to get an internship, get a job, or have a plan, but it is important to slow down and prioritize what you want to do with your life. Through my mentor’s experiences, he told me that although there is a sense of pride from working at a large firm, there is absolutely no shame in working at a smaller firm that better encompasses your values and what you want to accomplish.

The second bullet has become apparent considering the pandemic we are living in. Growing up, my family traveled to India almost every year to visit family. Going there has always been such a rewarding experience that I will never take for granted again. A lesson that my mentor taught me was to never forget to invest time in yourself and to consider traveling as a way to do it. It can be a liberating experience and coming across the paths of people from a variety of backgrounds can really open someone’s eyes.

Finally, I have always been someone to champion diversity in the workplace, whether it be in an office or educational setting. I think it is extremely important to not close yourself off to working with people that have different backgrounds than you. When working on projects in an international setting, my mentor has said that working with clashing cultures can be difficult but is ultimately rewarding when the final project is something that could not have been created without a diverse team.

For students to have a rewarding mentor experience like my own, here are a few tips that I would like to pass on:

  • It is hard as a first- or second-year to get a grasp of what career you would like to pursue after college. In order to gain some perspective, starting a program like this, where you can engage in conversations with career professionals is a great investment of your time.
  • Start a program like this early rather than later and if not this program, continue to reach out to professionals via LinkedIn or your network to learn about people’s careers, since people are always willing to pass down their wisdom to students.