Can you tell us more about yourself?
My name is Lorraine. Born and raised in France I also lived and worked in the US, UK, Hong Kong, and Australia. I have a Master of Science in Strategic Management from HEC Paris. I’ve been working for Veolia, which is a global leader in optimized resource management, for a period of more than five years. I am highly interested and invested in environmental conservation and have chosen to work in this field promoting sustainable development of communities and industries.
What prompted you to apply for an MBA?
I had a very international career between Washington, Hong Kong, and Paris. I wanted to increase the scope of my work and have a greater international reach at a higher level with more responsibilities and involvement in strategic decisions. So an MBA at Harvard was a way in which I could enhance my career, amping up the international reach all the while speeding up the process to top management positions in the environmental sector.
What did you find the most difficult in the application process?
The main difficulty I faced during my preparations for an MBA was time management. At the time of my preparations, I was the Chief Of Staff to the CEO of Veolia, managing a four million dollar project and involving close to fifteen thousand people. It was a very busy period. Since I wanted to get into Harvard, I had to put together 80 hours of work week plus GMAT and application preparations. In this respect, the MBA Center was really god-sent and they helped me with my preparations for the MBA.
Life at Harvard was one of the most brilliant times of my life. I was a part of many student bodies during my time there. With great teachers and high-quality courses, world-class facilities and a diverse student body, one is never short for things to learn while on campus. The campus environment is pretty famous throughout the world and people come from all over the country to be part of campus life for at least a day.
Even though the MBA is very popular and many people seem to find it the next logical step in their careers, many give up halfway through the preparations because of the difficulty of the process. Getting a 750 on the GMAT is a huge challenge, preparing five to eight applications when you have a full-time work is a challenge, people should not underestimate the preparation as it is almost like six months worth of part-time work and they will need to make a lot of sacrifices for it. It is important that people realize that it is a great commitment and sacrifice but you gain a lot out of it in the long run.
What I’d recommend is that people get the help of professionals while preparing for the MBA. Experts like Dr. Hubert Silly and his team at the MBA Center are pretty well known and have done great work through the years helping people get into their dream schools. I was fortunate enough to have had their help during the time I prepared for my MBA.