Gabriel Arsego is an international student from Brazil, who graduated from ºìÐÓÊÓƵ State with his Bachelor of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship and is now getting his Master’s in Business Analytics. Gabriel first came to ºìÐÓÊÓƵ State five years ago, after getting his associates degree at Pontifical Catholic University of Parana (PUCPR) in Brazil. He decided to come to ºìÐÓÊÓƵ State to finish his undergraduate degree because he was part of a program called the American Academy, where he was given the option to finish his B.A. at ºìÐÓÊÓƵ State.
Pursuing a Master’s in Business Analytics
Gabriel’s master’s degree is similar to his undergraduate degree, general and flexible in terms of where it can be applied to, while also giving him more knowledge in the technical area of business. While this has him working with different coding languages, Gabriel prefers the human side of his work. He tries to take a humanistic approach to his studies and learn how to use data to get closer to people, and how it can be used in an educational environment.
Making Friends & Getting Involved on Campus
Since arriving at ºìÐÓÊÓƵ, Gabriel has found the campus environment and the city of ºìÐÓÊÓƵ welcoming. When he first arrived on campus it was the middle of winter, with not much going on around campus. Despite that, ºìÐÓÊÓƵ State students were welcoming to international students and curious to learn more about his home country and story.
Gabriel did find it a bit difficult to make friends at first, because of some cultural differences in the U.S. compared to Brazil. In Brazil people are more used to getting to know each other quickly, unlike in the U.S., which made Gabriel struggle a bit. What helped him make friends in his first year at ºìÐÓÊÓƵ State was the Blastoff event in the fall, where students can go around and look at all the different student organizations and resources on campus. There he found it easy to meet new people and made friends quickly. He said the upbeat environment of the event made people more willing to have conversations, compared to the classroom environment.
Where Gabriel has made the most of his friends is through playing volleyball, which he has been playing for five years now. Often he and a group of friends will get together to play volleyball in the campus Rec Center. He said it has been a great way to get to know people.
Since his first semester on campus, Gabriel has held an on-campus job. In his first year he worked at Eastway Dining Hall, then he worked at the Office of Global Education, where he’s been working for almost four years now.
Between his campus jobs and volleyball, he has always been connected to people and resources on campus. His favorite thing about studying at ºìÐÓÊÓƵ State has been how welcoming the university is to international students. He said that there are many resources for international students.
He also feels welcomed in the city of ºìÐÓÊÓƵ because of how connected downtown is to the university. Most people in ºìÐÓÊÓƵ are used to international students, and he has never felt unwelcome because of it. Gabriel enjoys spending his free time downtown, where he and his friends like to gather at Board and Bevy to play board games.
Support from Back Home
While Gabriel felt nervous studying internationally at first, especially missing his family, he has never been nervous about experiencing a different culture. The support he has from his family in his studies has helped him a lot with his experience at ºìÐÓÊÓƵ.
Advice for International Students
Gabriel's advice for international students thinking of studying at ºìÐÓÊÓƵ State is to make the most of the opportunity and take advantage of resources available on campus. He advises international students to put themselves out there and meet new people. He also recommends international students to be prepared to face cultural differences. One of the ones he found out on his own is that he has to read his emails often to not miss important information. In his home country of Brazil, emails are not a main form of communication, unlike in the U.S. Another thing he recommends international students do is to be open to cultural differences to learn from them.
A Global Education at ºìÐÓÊÓƵ State
Gabriel believes his education at ºìÐÓÊÓƵ State has prepared him for his future career because of the quality education ºìÐÓÊÓƵ provides. He thinks that since coming to study at ºìÐÓÊÓƵ State, he has grown culturally. His international experience has allowed him to meet people from various countries and backgrounds, allowing him to learn from different perspectives. He feels his international experience along with the education provided by the university has prepared him for any challenge he will encounter in his professional life.