Introduction
Studying is like a toolkit: it is not absolutely necessary and not the right choice for everyone. It is worth nothing if you just look at it. But it can be invaluable when you utilize it correctly, when you try to build something, when you tackle complex problems. Similarly an MBA degree: just a toolkit, but it could be worth literally millions or billions if utilized efficiently.


Suriname
In 1994 I finished high school with the highest grade average of my school. To my own surprise I ended up not doing too bad on some of the toughest physics tests and got selected to represent Suriname at the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) in Beijing, China. The IPhO not only put me in the spotlights to a certain extent, but it also broadened my horizon and gave me an enormous boost to perform. I was thrilled to be among some of the brightest high school students of the world, some of them who are most probably future Nobel Prize winners. Even ten years after the event, during a random conversation in a pub in London, the IPhO became a topic of conversation with a more senior colleague, which resulted in a very good friendship.

Delft
In Delft I was finally doing what I liked most: studying Chemical Engineering, an interesting combination of mathematics, physics, and chemistry. I finished the first year with distinction and got a perfect 10 for three of my major courses, unparalleled by anyone. As a reward, a professor gave me some special Belgian beers. Although I did not like beer, I drank it with some of my newly made Dutch friends. Beer never tasted that good before.
But life as a student in the Netherlands was pretty tough. As a Surinamese citizen I was not eligible for any scholarship, so I needed to find a way to finance my studies. I took a job as a cash register in a Chinese supermarket, working 20-25 hours per week, sometimes even 40 hours per week, on top of regular classes and exams. Although my grades remained good, my average dropped. Personally disappointing for someone who always excelled academically, but I had to find a balance between financing my studies and studying.
In my third year in Delft, I realized that I had outstanding academic credentials, but below average leadership and communication skills, i.e. I was a typical “nerd”. Determined to pro-actively work on these weaknesses, I joined Studiname, the Surinamese student body in the Netherlands. My extracurricular experience in Studiname had a lasting impact on me, even until today. I made some of my best friends during this period and the experience was as close as it could get to real life: the conflicts, the challenges, the victories, the celebrations, the hard work, the rewards, but above all: the tremendous learning experience!

 London, Paramaribo, Pittsburgh, Milan
But the Netherlands and Suriname were too small for my ambitions. I wanted to see the world, play with the best and have a very international experience. Without money it seemed difficult to travel, but with outstanding study results and strong resume I applied to some of the most sought-after internships. What I was hoping for was true: people recognize talent and results. What I think caught people’s attention was the combination of good study results, a healthy involvement in extracurricular activities and especially my drive, energy and “hunger” to succeed. For some internships only 4 out of c. 300 students were selected. Other firms such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan recruited European-wide rather than on a country by country basis. These firms usually did not care about what you studied, but who you are and what you bring to their firm: they wanted the best people. Competition was huge, but so were the rewards: a well-paid internship at a prestigious firm, with some of the best training and learning experience you can get.
Most people who travel a lot know this: the more you travel, the more you want to travel more. It is like a never ending addiction. This same addiction led me to do internships in consulting at Monitor Group (London), in chemical engineering at Suralco/Alcoa (Paramaribo) and Bayer Corporation (Pittsburgh), in investment banking at Goldman Sachs (London) and in R&D at Unilever (Milan).

Investment Banking in London
After receiving my degree in Chemical Engineering, I considered various alternatives and decided to accept an offer in Investment Banking (Mergers & Acquisitions) at JPMorgan in London. Chemical Engineering was a lot of fun and I would study any field in engineering if I could do it again, but I was too “hungry” to work on a chemical plant for 10-15 years before I could crunch my brain with issues that are on top of CEOs’ and CFOs’ agendas. In the 3 years at JPMorgan I had the chance to work with many exciting, bright and talented people and learned a tremendous amount on various M&A transactions, including advising Royal Ahold on its M&A strategy and some large deals such as the acquisition of Toys “R” Us by Bain Capital for $7 billion.
Investment banking, especially M&A, is – as many people know – one of the toughest places to work: 80-100 hour weeks are common rather than exception; for those that have a hard time imagining what a week like that looks like: it meant that I was usually home after midnight every day. However, people are extremely smart, you really have a very, very, steep learning curve and you get to meet very senior and influential people of the business world. Despite the tough conditions, investment banking jobs have been some of the most sought after jobs in the past decades. It is hard work, but the learning experience and the upside are equally rewarding.

Back to (Business) School
Things were going pretty well at JPMorgan, but I decided to leave and do my MBA. Although I developed an excellent skill-set in corporate finance and M&A transactions, I believed that it was insufficient to become an outstanding “general manager” and a leader. It is essential that I developed skills that would enable me to understand other important aspects of business and life: management, strategy, marketing, logistics, social and ethical issues. An MBA from Wharton would provide me with outstanding general management skills and a global network of valuable contacts.
People do an MBA for various reasons. I am doing my MBA primarily to achieve two goals: 1) to get knowledge, to broaden my horizons and 2) to get to know people. The knowledge I get in the class rooms: courses range from accounting, finance, marketing, strategy to organizational and leadership. In my opinion, I get to build a network and get to know people mostly during the extra-curricular activities in one of the 100+ student clubs that Wharton has. I took leading roles in the Comedy Club and the Europa Club and actively participate in events of the Latin America club, the Wine Club, the Culinary Club and the Sailing Club, just to name a few.

My First Year at Wharton
I have almost finished my first year of my MBA at the Wharton School. Wharton is one of the best, of not the best, business school in the world. Obviously I am biased, but Wharton’s reputation is also confirmed by the achievements of Wharton alumni and the business school rankings. Wharton consistently ranked as no. 1 in the past 4 years in The Financial Times rankings and as no. 2 in the latest Business Week ranking. It is a phenomenal school, with some of the most recognized and accomplished professors in the world. It is pretty common that your professor appears on CNN or CNBC, or is quoted in The Wall Street Journal or The Financial Times. Or that he or she is the author of a textbook that is considered the “bible” by those in the same academic field.
Business school is only partly about the quality of the professors and their courses. Equally important are your class mates. Each year about 800 students start their MBA, which are divided into a cohort of about 65 people: these are the people you spend most of your time with in class discussions. Each student is expected to read and prepare the cases before class. Unlike in the Netherlands, the class is not a lecture and you rarely write something down: it is more of a class discussion tackling a difficult (business) problem. The professor is merely like a conductor in an orchestra, leading the discussion. It is therefore mostly your class mates that you really learn from. Although Wharton is a university in the US, the professors come from all over the world: in my first year I had professors from New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, India, China, the UK and the US. Wharton simply tries to attract the best professors out there, regardless of their origin.
Equally diverse is the MBA student population: my 799 other class mates come from 69 countries (so including Suriname there are 70 countries). Of these 800 students, about 45% is an international student. They have an average GMAT score of 713 (which means the top 5%) and have on average almost 6 years work experience. We have consultants, investment bankers, engineers, marketers, entrepreneurs, navy seals, test pilots, Peace Corps volunteers, doctors, movie producers and accomplished sportsmen. They are diverse in almost every dimension, but all have one thing in common: they have a huge drive to get “to the next level” and before Wharton, they were already very successful and had a big impact on their environments. It is like de-ja-vu of the International Physics Olympiad: I just feel so honored to be among this talented group of people, to have been selected to do my MBA here. The admissions process for a Wharton MBA, like all top business schools, is tough and the admissions committee only selects about 15-20% of all applicants. Most people, including myself, sometimes feel like a “mistake” in the admissions process when you hear the experiences and achievements of your fellow students.

Some of my favorite activities outside classes include drumming in Whalasa Bateria, Wharton’s own samba band. When I was a kid, I did play the guitar, but drumming in an ensemble of 25 people is different. Two of my most memorable moments were doing standup comedy in Wharton’s Comedy Club, where I stood in front of an audience of 200 people and the Wharton International Culture Show (WICS). WICS is a two-and-a-half hour cultural show, mostly song and dance: 23 performances done by about 300 Wharton students. Besides two performances, I was asked to be the host (MC) of the show and had to stand in front of 500 people in the first show and 900 people in the second show (because the event is usually sold out, the show is held two times). One thing I am not worried about anymore: speaking in front of large audiences.
Another passion common among MBA students is exploring new countries. I have so far remained quiet compared to my fellow students, but in the past year, students organized trips to India, Peru, Japan, Costa Rica and Mexico, just to name a few. This summer more than a quarter of the 800 students will participate in a GIP, the Global Immersion Program: a four week study trip. There is the Greater China GIP, the South-East Asia GIP, the Latin America GIP and the Africa GIP. I decided to participate in the Africa GIP and we will visit Ghana (Accra), Kenya (Nairobi) and South Africa (Johannesburg and Cape Town).

Some Thoughts
I just hope that by reading part of my story, there will be people out there that will realize that even if you come from a small unknown country and even if you do not have any money, you can play at the highest levels. If you deliver results, if you have the drive, the energy and the passion, you can get to places you dreamed of as a kid. I think life is all about continuous learning. You have never “made it in life”, there is always a next level, a next challenge: never stop learning or trying. Also, you should not be afraid to fail. A professor recently said: if you fail and you learned, it was an investment, if you failed and did not learn anything, it was a waste of time and a big loss.

Vernon Tjon-Soei-Len
vtjon@wharton.upenn.edu