S3 E8 - The Adulthood Rant Episode ft. The Ibk Global (MBA Student Edition)

Hey guys!

I'm back one more time before July wraps-up, and this time I'm back with a guest! Yay!

So I caught up with an old friend over brunch up about two weeks ago and decided that we needed to continue the conversation over a podcast episode. We had so much fun recounting how we met (during NYSC) and sharing how we've been full-blown thrust into Adulthood since then!

This guest is none other than Ibukun Joyce Aiyemo - Former Marketing Lead at Burger King, Nigeria & current MBA student at the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia. She is also popularly dubbed as The Ibk Global on Instagram.

She reminisces on building a successful marketing career with juggernauts like Domino's Pizza, Cold Stone Creamery, Pinkberry and Burger King back in Lagos, Nigeria. Also, her decision to uproot her life and chase an MBA dream in the United States, and how she navigates her way through the challenges of business school. From tough academic requirements to adapting to a foreign culture, then financial planning for an MBA, the harsh realities of job interviews, and the importance of creating relationships that matter.

We hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed recording!

With love from Lagos, New York City & Toronto,

Tolu & Ibk


P.S: I mighty forgot to introduce myself to our new listeners at the beginning of the episode. Frankly speaking, I'm the coolest person you'd ever meet and you can watch me prove that right (or wrong, haha) here. I hope you come back for another episode too. Enjoy!

Chapters

• 0:00 NY Intern Reconnecting and NYSE Reminiscing
• 6:20 Journey From Treasure to Successful Career
• 14:15 Job Opportunity at Burger King
• 22:21 Planning for MBA and Choosing US
• 30:21 Financing and Challenges of Business School
• 36:12 Navigating Challenges in Business School
• 44:14 Job Interviews and Relationships
• 52:27 Advice for MBA Students in the US' or 'Advice for Non-Us MBA Students

Transcript

NY Intern Reconnecting and NYSE Reminiscing

Speaker 1 0:22

Hi guys, welcome back to the non-immigrant student podcast. As you can tell, I'm so happy today. Happy Friday, guys. Today is July 28th and, yes, I'm back before the month is over. I know, I know, I'm, yes, around about plus for me. I know last episode I was like I only do once a month, but, guys, I'm back. Okay, that's enough.

Speaker 1 0:44

Have you been? How has your week been for me? I think this week, or one week where it was very walk filled. I wasn't even on Instagram for a long time this week. So that's that. I hope you have been fine yourself. I hope you listen to last episode.

Speaker 1 1:04

If you haven't, please go check it out. I was just seeing your album. I saw my travels, doing a recap and all of that. But today I came back because we have a guest. Yes, oh, my god, I was excited. I can't wait for her to introduce herself.

Speaker 1 1:25

Also, I should tell you, guys, I went to say football game for the first time in live match, and I won't post about your Instagram and every time I think about it I'm so excited because that's something I never thought I would do until I meet a man, a mighty good man, and then, all of a sudden, the opportunity, just came up my and ask now we're playing a friendly new jersey, just a state away from New York, and my friend told me about it and I went. Of course, yes, we paid through our noses for it, ish, but but was so good to go and I'm going very strongly on my succession series. I'm now in season 4, so if you're, if you're also watching it, I'm there with you, okay. So, yeah, don't forget to listen to previous episodes and support the show. There's a support link now in the notes and, yes, let's jump right into the episode. So, our beautiful guest, can you please introduce yourself? Okay? The?

Speaker 2 2:18

time has come. Yes, yes, hi everyone, I'm Ibukun Joyce Ayamud, the Ivy K global yes. I'm excited to be here. This is my first time on the podcast. I'm an avid listener thank you.

Speaker 1 2:35

Thank you, I was like Cornell actually since Nigeria.

Speaker 2 2:39

Yes, yes, thank you so much I be.

Speaker 1 2:44

K yes and she's rebranded to the I be K global. I can't get to bite. I love it so much, oh my god. So yeah, how was your? I also introduced you talk about how we met your journey. And an MBA student, I know, before you used to run. Well, I don't know the fight, but I know that you had faced off Burger King in Nigeria when you just came. But I mean the presence of the chief marketing officer, I mean she's a lot about it, I know, I know. I know, allow me to talk, but anyway, anyway, anyway, okay so, but how have you been? How's New York being? I know you just moved to.

Speaker 2 3:23

New York for your internship has that been yeah, I've been good to New York, new Jersey, that's my area for the summer. I've been here like ten, no nine weeks now and it's been amazing, to be honest, it's not really four weeks I was coming to New York every day. I know I'm new Jesse, like I couldn't get. I couldn't get enough of New York. But work has been good. Someone has been good, busy, you know it also figuring new things out, transitioning and all that. But it's been good so far that's what I can't.

Speaker 1 3:55

Well, it's good. I want to get into that when you mean you couldn't get enough of new York, because I've had it now, yes, once you get it, you're you're done, yeah, you're like over.

Speaker 1 4:10

But then there's some times again is like, oh my god, this is so beautiful, like where I live in New York, that's the Harlan River. But then when I go into those streets and the poop on the floor and the tram, like okay, I'm jolted back to you anyway. But yes, I'm gonna see how we met. I'm going to actually how we met. I'm gonna see my version. No, no, I like to say your version. Remember, then I'll corroborate. Oh my gosh, okay, yeah yeah, this is difficult.

Speaker 1 4:43

I know it was NYSE, I'm not sure if we got introduced.

Speaker 2 4:49

I'm not sure if we were in the same room. Yeah, we were saying that. Yeah, I don't know, have you gotten to the bussable? Because I just just know it was NYSE and maybe we had some mutual friends. Yeah, we said it's hockey. Yeah, you know, we just say hi when we see each other. Like you know, chit, chat and all that. But yeah, remember exactly even me too.

Speaker 1 5:08

I know we have a story that might have been bathroom, but yeah, but I know what I did at NYSE. Does not want that memory. So, by the way, nyse is from my birthday exactly. I wait. What does it stand for? Nigeria youth call, national youth service call. Yeah, that's true, that's correct. I think so. I think when the same platoon, I try, I try to think about when platoon 3, do you remember?

Speaker 2 5:31

I don't remember when platoon platoon.

Journey From Treasure to Successful Career

Speaker 1 5:34

Could you remind you of any other person from NYSE? Do you remind me names? Maybe you remember a bookard, big guy, a book, and then this other guy who was like you spend a lot of money, and then you were like I think you also very social, so I think that's why I cut up to you. I remember that. And then you said you were in the media of NYSE yeah, something like that.

Speaker 2 6:03

I think I remember we used to do these trainings in hot afternoons under the canopy. Yeah, I think that's how we met, yeah.

Speaker 1 6:11

And then also, by the way, we serve the legals, yeah, oh great, legals, all legals, yeah. And then also I remember running for not okay, running is not the word. I was treasure for a platoon, so I say help pull money together for for those our face. What's it called this music concept? And have music concept, what do?

Speaker 2 6:30

you call Mr Machua and NYSE or something and I still remember funny story.

Speaker 1 6:35

Okay, I don't remember she shared, but how it became treasure. So they asked who wants to be president? So I'm a reserve and wants to be vice. I said that's too much work. And I was treasure in my second year. Well, as in common, in the best anyway. So that's easy. I'm a trustworthy person. I can get everyone money together and just brush it blah, blah, blah. So I did that and they made us turn around to do it before they voted you. You know, yeah, trash, but anyway. But anyway, that's how it came treasure of our platoon. I think that's how we met and then, even after that I don't, I feel like we still kept in touch, even on Instagram yeah, I think Instagram when you were also preparing to go to go to school.

Speaker 2 7:15

Think I was asking you about GRE, or?

Speaker 1 7:17

something where you studied, yes, yes, and you used to encourage me to, from time to time on Instagram, telling me oh, I remember you told me oh, you did the first time, you did second time.

Speaker 2 7:26

I was like oh, you're racing for it.

Speaker 1 7:29

I remember feeling very supported from you, so I look at us now feels very full circle. I mean we finished and I say what 2019, 2018, 18, okay, yeah, 2018. I see you in five years and look at you. My bedroom just like that.

Speaker 2 7:46

That's why you should make good friends.

Speaker 1 7:48

Yes honestly, honestly, yes, so I'm really grateful for that. So now we're going to go way back. So who is the Ivy King global? So where did you grow up? Were you born? In Lagos. Which high school did you go to, or in recess did you go to before?

Speaker 2 8:07

NYC. I feel like every time people ask me the last one you haven't asked. Tell me about yourself.

Speaker 1 8:11

In law it's like just when you're recruiting for a job.

Speaker 2 8:14

I'm sorry to traumatize you, for that I think this is more friendly. Yeah, it's more like I want to actually get to know the real you.

Speaker 1 8:21

Most people just want to know like high-level, like what, what like why should I be your friend, exactly like that's every time like and talk about what you do tell me about yourself and they want to hear all your achievements but I think it's also important to recognize, like your background and we are coming from soon, okay, so I will start by answering that.

Speaker 2 8:42

Yeah, I grew up in Lagos, born to a family of five children, first of them and my parents, both of them actually pastors, so I was a pastor's child okay.

Speaker 2 8:55

So yeah, that was my childhood childhood was a lot of going to church Sundays, weekdays, meet, week service, saturdays as well. I would say I was brought up in the way of the Lord, which is which is actually great to acknowledge. I was a. I was an art student. I was very much into like social sciences, literature, governments, all those things. As a reminder, this are my thing, although I also feel like I had an like a science he bring me to April. I just didn't like know how to hone that and I guess I I just lean more towards like art and like wanted to be media TV.

Speaker 2 9:40

I went on to do my undergrad in Babcox, I did journalism what do you guys call yourselves in? Babcox Babcox was a lot, I think. Babcox, I started off a bit slow.

Speaker 1 9:58

I would say, like just knowing my full potential, I just put it in Lagos oh, okay, I mean, I grew up in Potacot so I'm more familiar with secondary schools there.

Speaker 2 10:11

But yeah, okay it was in Maguro unique hide. It wasn't a bad school. I was never. I wasn't a. I wasn't a boarding house. So when I got to Babcox was like my first time actually living with people in like other than my family members, you know. So that was great. That was great and just basically like got to hone my skills in Babcox. I ended up being graduating as VP for our student association and that was a great experience. I then started working. I worked with Domino's Pizza.

Speaker 1 10:44

You know, Colster no, please don't say like that. I don't like that. I don't like how you're seeing it, like it was just instinct, okay that was the beginning of my career.

Speaker 2 10:53

Yeah, I started my marketing career there, so I started off as an intern and then got promoted so that means you were where you posted there or no. So I had so because, okay, I missed this step after my after. Nyc. Before NYC, actually, I worked in the US oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Travel program yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, I worked and then, just like before, a month before I was coming back to Nigeria, my mom said I should go visit my uncle who actually works in like Domino's headquarters.

Speaker 2 11:21

Oh and so my uncle told me what are you going to do in good boxing, just like? Yeah, okay, like I'm going to. You know, connect you to the MD, okay, napa, baby.

Speaker 1 11:32

I love it you're not never gonna be my stuff.

Speaker 2 11:35

I for it, but yes what? I'm only going to give you his email oh, then you do the rest.

Speaker 1 11:41

Yeah, I was like, oh god, I respect that, so it's like you sell yourself, exactly. I sent him my resume.

Speaker 2 11:47

I came in for an interview with the marketing team. In fact, I was still giving like a low is shout salary like if I mentioned salary. Now, I'm sorry, but it's like how did you survive? On that you know as long as it was not less than 50k. It was less, but my intention I don't know, I might just humble you.

Speaker 1 12:08

I said I will never remember like they were actually giving us 19k.

Speaker 2 12:11

They are for 3k for NYC oh my god, see even a little that if you combine my normal salary with NYC, that is even past at 50k.

Speaker 1 12:22

Little to just say yeah, shall we not complain about not getting paid? Exactly, yeah, before it became 30k.

Speaker 2 12:29

So yeah, so yeah, that was basically my undergrad to post undergrad worked there for about three years and then I moved on to Burger King. I got an opportunity to work on the Burger King we are an intern for those three years.

Speaker 2 12:44

No, no, so I was an intern for just one year and then I got promoted. I was leaving just one brand before just managing the brand. Then I moved on to two other brands and then I moved on to three other brands, so Domino's Pizza, coastal and Creamy and Pinkberry, Do you know how cool that is?

Speaker 1 13:00

That's where we go. That's where we go. That's where legoshaas go, where we go. That's so cool.

Speaker 2 13:06

Yeah, so that was. It was actually a great experience, I would say definitely. You know there's good, there's bad, there's evil, but all in all, like you, my mom always say, like every experience is to prepare you for your next, you know. So, like, don't despise the little days or the days of beginning or that.

Speaker 1 13:24

So before you moved on to now, when getting why you try to go to grad school, what led you to Burger King? Because you know Burger King just came to Nigeria at the time, so were you involved in that project? So how?

Speaker 2 13:36

did Burger King happen? I was. It was okay, we had passed COVID, covid but all come out of COVID. And I was just in my house chilling one day and this is my this MD, who I had sold myself to back in the day two, three years before that sounds great.

Job Opportunity at Burger King

Speaker 1 13:51

Sold your skills, my skills.

Speaker 2 13:56

Oh, my God Sold my skills. I sold my skills too, you know.

Speaker 2 14:01

He messaged me out of the blue and he's like hey, do you know anyone who's looking for a job at Burger King, Thinking of bringing Burger King to Nigeria as marketing head? Wow, I was like, you know, I didn't. I didn't get I know someone. And so, apparently, at Domino's, Pink Bear and all that, they had let go some people right because of COVID and all that, so they were downsizing and so I said, yes, my, my ex boss would be perfect for this.

Speaker 1 14:27

I didn't even say myself how come your boss was downside than you were.

Speaker 2 14:32

Yes, so because there were like two people so there was like a brand manager and there was a assistant brand manager and then there was me. So what they did was they cut the brand manager and left the assistant brand manager and me. Why do you?

Speaker 1 14:44

think I mean, yes, computers maybe. Or do you think it was difficult to work with?

Speaker 2 14:49

I think it was no, I think it was a salary thing.

Speaker 1 14:51

I think it was cheaper to keep the dust is sad he already knows everything Ouch. Ouch, you know, I also heard that that might have happened even at my company's layoffs and all that Like if you're too expensive to keep, you take the heat, you take the heat really yeah.

Speaker 2 15:07

It was very sad. And you know she had got, she had got to. She was just about to give bed then I was like oh my God, I was feeling for her because she wouldn't be returning to any job. I think that also played a part to why they felt like yeah, like they keep her. Like she's still not even going to be there for three months.

Speaker 1 15:24

That's discrimination.

Speaker 2 15:25

It is.

Speaker 1 15:25

By pregnancy status. It is yeah, they call it protected status, like and she could, but you know it's Nigeria.

Speaker 2 15:30

Who you want to swear to. I do swear to Fah. Where do you want to go from? And you?

Speaker 1 15:33

start fighting them from, anyway, yeah.

Speaker 2 15:37

So I referred her, sent her a resume and everything, yeah. And he came back to me like in two weeks, that's how serious they take this kind of hiring. If he came back to me, he's like hey, how about your resume?

Speaker 1 15:47

Wow, I was like what he's giving God.

Speaker 2 15:51

He's giving what God cannot do, that doesn't exist. Are you serious? No, this is not out. Are you serious? Wow, he said yeah, just just clean up, raise me and send it to me. Let me send it to you.

Speaker 1 16:01

And by? Can I ask the nationality of this person?

Speaker 2 16:05

It was so. He's half American, half Lebanese.

Speaker 1 16:08

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I heard that's that whole business is owned by Lebanese people in Nigeria, wow.

Speaker 2 16:12

So I sent it to him and next thing he's like okay, I'll get back to you, go back to me. That's one and a half, three weeks ish. And he's like hey, I'm coming to Nigeria in a month, we'd love to see you. Let's have coffee.

Speaker 1 16:27

All of that Were you. Were you looking, anticipating the job? I you know I was scared.

Speaker 2 16:32

Yeah, I was like nah, like, maybe I'll be on the team. I couldn't possibly be the one leading this Like what do you mean? But he always told me, like, keep it, keep it, low key, keep it, low key. I'm still finalizing the deal. Yeah, that's the next thing I want to admit him. He's like, hey, the offers on the table. Yeah, I actually prepared the contract for me already. Wow. So he sent me the contract and I told him look, I have to think about this. Well, you found me. Which one is that?

Speaker 1 16:58

one, I guess.

Speaker 2 16:59

I guess I didn't negotiate. Oh my God, well, was it paid good, I mean, it was, it was okay, I mean now that you bring it to the US. Yeah, it's not the same, but in Nigeria.

Speaker 1 17:08

You know, I feel like In Nigeria standards I would have 150 is fair, but it's not in salary.

Speaker 2 17:15

Oh, definitely more than that. Okay, okay, girl. I mean, we're talking about breaking here Exactly. Definitely more than that, but obviously like if you converted like US rate, please, why?

Speaker 1 17:23

not do it in dollar. We're thinking about Naira days now In Naira days. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was.

Speaker 2 17:28

I was still like I should have you know. Someone told me like always, always negotiate, negotiate for more, because whatever they offered you like best deal, it's probably the best they can do they could.

Speaker 1 17:37

Yeah, it was the, literally the bar like the bar was on the ground.

Speaker 2 17:42

The ground but.

Speaker 1 17:43

I was so excited. I was so excited and I was also, you know, young. They probably knew you. Yes, you were. Yeah, do you want to share your age? I was 25, guys, exactly, and this was you at 23. I was 23 then. Oh my goodness.

Speaker 2 17:55

Right. So they were like they wanted someone young. They wanted someone who was, like you know, just ready to get in and all that. And I truly also just love the brand. The brand is a respectful brand. They do so many creative ads and all that yeah.

Speaker 1 18:07

I love Burger King ads. Burger King, it's called Guerrilla Marketing, right.

Speaker 2 18:11

Yeah, you know, they released something last year Still haven't forgotten.

Speaker 1 18:14

On International Women's Day. Oh yeah, they broke the attention. I loved it. There were more women than needed in the kitchen, even me. When I first read it, I said, okay, no, there's a reason. They can't do this at the expense of their brand. They won't do that. I opened the tweet and then saw the stats that I was saying like more men are in the kitchen now in Burger.

Speaker 1 18:33

King and they need more female staff, and it just makes me respect the brand to be able to do something like that at the expense of losing money, losing all the people in the left wing losing feminists Like that's all the competitors they had, exactly, so, yeah, yeah, so, as you're saying, they called you on to be a marketing, so I accepted the role.

Speaker 2 18:54

Everything and you know just like hit the ground running.

Speaker 1 18:57

Wow.

Speaker 2 18:57

And they planned for like maybe three to six months.

Speaker 1 19:00

So the store wasn't illegal yet, so they were literally building it while you were seeing all of that on social media.

Speaker 2 19:07

Like oh, it becomes an announced like it was building Wow, and so I saw the store come to life At 23. Literally, yeah.

Speaker 1 19:16

Oh, my, isn't your link of something? It is.

Speaker 2 19:19

Oh, that's not my link. That's those days where my mommy put rice. It is on my left hand, oh my God Suffering under the sauce. Under the sauce. Oh my God, waking up.

Speaker 1 19:29

Yeah, I remember actually doing those jogging with you in the morning.

Speaker 2 19:33

That song. They should listen to it. They'll make us jump, I think I remember doing that to you once.

Speaker 1 19:38

but yeah, who would have known? Yeah, Wow, wow, wow.

Speaker 2 19:41

I think every time I just remember that, wow, like you could be in, like I don't know, Sokoto's yesterday, and like next year you're like somewhere else. Yeah, that's crazy.

Speaker 1 19:50

It's really cool to think about. And what would you say was your biggest achievement on that role or least, I mean there were so many things or biggest lesson we sold out, like financially, like financial wise, definitely sold out.

Speaker 2 20:04

We did like 50% more than our, you know, anticipated. Yeah, protected sales and all that. I think it was just like giving the brand like a meaning in Nigeria and making people actually show up and show out.

Speaker 1 20:22

Yeah.

Speaker 2 20:22

I think that was. Yeah, I helped with building the website. I'd never done a website before, so website and also a content management system where, like you, can literally change the promos that people see on the app. Oh, I was doing that monthly and all that.

Speaker 1 20:35

So it was a very-.

Speaker 2 20:36

Also for promos, the app are different from what's in store, so like, you can basically put the same promos in store on the app and on the website. Oh, okay, right, and so when I was in Domino's it was like the IT team that was doing a separate thing. But then I got to Burger King. It was actually the marketing team in charge of that, so it's called a marketing website.

Speaker 2 20:53

So you know the building. That was also really interesting for me trying to like get people to adopt the app and the CEO of all the other apps in the world Exactly, did you have a team?

Speaker 1 21:03

Did you work with older people?

Speaker 2 21:05

So I worked with an agency. I didn't have my own in-house team because it was just the big KOT, but I led the agency and it was also interesting because I was always the youngest person in every room. Maybe when we called for agency pitches I had to tell people who were older than me know, or something like that. I did speak. Well, I had to manage budgets as well, all those things.

Speaker 1 21:29

Oh, that's a wealth of experience.

Planning for MBA and Choosing US

Speaker 2 21:30

I would say I got a lot of support too, because I well from trusted people, because at the same time, I couldn't like talk to everybody right. So from trusted people I got support. I learned, learned what not to do, what to do. Partnered with Coca-Cola as well. They were like our key beverage partners, and so it was really great like meeting different people, learning about a business, learning about, like you know, finance and all that. That's actually what got me interested in outflutting an MBA.

Speaker 1 22:00

Exactly, that's a good segue, yeah.

Speaker 2 22:03

I was like look there's so much. I don't like when they when they, when it comes to finance end of months or you know quarterlies and all that. I'm always trying to like figure out what's exactly. It's going on. Oh, it's going on in these. You know P&L or something like that Profit and lost it, man.

Speaker 1 22:20

Yeah, oh, I see, wow, wow, wow.

Speaker 2 22:22

There's just things that operations wise too you have to plan for. If you don't plan well I mean we were not doing very sophisticated things like projecting sales I'm focusing on there's a particular word for when you try to project your sales for the next month.

Speaker 1 22:39

It's like an ending no, no, I did finance to class.

Speaker 2 22:43

I can remember there's a word when you try to predict your sales. So, like you know, you can predict based on a couple of assumptions and criteria. You can predict that next year, by this time next year, you would have, like I don't know, 200 million sales. Yeah, Interesting.

Speaker 1 23:01

I also saw a video that she's here me taking her kids to eat burger and and you know, I don't know if Nigerians are really like is widely accepted. Maybe Lagos, you know, now Lagos is like very, yeah, very westernized, but even before it's not something I would buy on my own, but I remember even my dad has taken, like my younger siblings, to go there before. So then, knowing someone who was like part of that same, I feel like that's really cool. So, yeah, nice to meet you again. Yeah, I became okay. So, yes, why did you get an MBA? Why are you in the US? Oh gosh, what influenced that decision? How many schools did you get into? What was the process? See, I've said my process one too many times, my story one too many times on this podcast. If you're new here and listening, well, I guess you could go back to season one, but but let's let let's hear from IBK. What would you say?

Speaker 2 23:52

You know, everybody has that YMBO. They want to improve their skills. This one, that one, everybody has that. You know they want to just do better. They want to play on the international stage. All of that. I think it was a mix of both. The first was I felt like I was already at a stage where I kind of was ahead of my my, my peers by like, let's see by like five, 10 years anyway, and I didn't have like a boss, I was literally my boss, like well the MD was my boss.

Speaker 1 24:27

But that's, that's a whole hierarchy. Exactly, it's like a jump.

Speaker 2 24:30

And I felt like there were still some things that I was missing out on and I didn't want to cap myself Right. So it was. It was sweet and nice to know that, oh yeah, I'm leaving, working and everything Great, but I was thinking of in two, three years, like how would my skills have developed?

Speaker 1 24:46

Who is? People say that sometimes experiences and everything that you might still need the education to take a greater leap.

Speaker 2 24:53

And I was also thinking, you know a long time, where do I see myself? I see myself in Nigeria. I was like, yeah, I think I'm going to just attempt to, you know, apply. So I started like a year before I actually went. So I went in 2022. To where? To the US. I came to the US in 2022. So I started like a year before, but it was off and on and you know I was starting your MBA. You know I started the whole process of trying to get my MBA.

Speaker 1 25:19

Okay, so what did you come to the US for From applications Vacation?

Speaker 2 25:23

No, no, no, I'm saying in 2021,. I started so during that whole, when Burger King was just about to launch and everything, I started thinking, okay, you know what, after Burger King, I know I'm going to work here.

Speaker 1 25:34

But what would I do? Do okay, okay.

Speaker 2 25:36

So then I started researching MBAs. Okay, Well, I was actually researching masters initially, and then a friend of mine told me he's like why you doing masters? See, MBA is the way.

Speaker 1 25:46

The way. Now. This is the way to enter the market, Although I mean it comes with a lot of loans. I mean we'll talk about that, it comes with loans.

Speaker 2 25:52

What do you do for?

Speaker 1 25:53

your undergrad. I don't think we talked about what's called Massification. Massification, yeah. Journalism, okay. Media.

Speaker 2 25:57

Okay. So you know, I was like, yeah, I don't have that business background, economics and all that. So, yeah, okay, I think an MBA. Also, I was like thinking jackpot, Like what's my option?

Speaker 1 26:10

People always say people always ask me. Even people ask me then that, did you get a masters to live in Nigeria or to actually get a second degree?

Speaker 2 26:18

What's your answer?

Speaker 1 26:19

Yeah, I'm into the mix of both. It's a mix of both Because the truth is that my parents expected me to get a masters. My, my, my younger sister, had gone for her masters in UK, but then I was working at an oil company and I was like I must chop this oil.

Speaker 2 26:30

My older brother. We're going to die here and I will eat this money.

Speaker 1 26:33

But then the pandemic happened, yeah, and then I was like okay, maybe I should also go and then do my masters. So I guess the mix of both.

Speaker 2 26:41

I don't know. Yeah, definitely a mix of both, really. So I decided to start searching, you know, Okay. So the person like told me, look, I'm MBA, studying MBAs, and I started looking at the first thing was this like what are the top MBAs in the US? Should I do all that countries? Or that realized my friend was in Duke. So I was like, okay, you know what, I'm going to start applying to American schools. I applied to Duke.

Speaker 1 27:06

So you chose. Would you say you chose the country first or you chose the program first?

Speaker 2 27:10

Ooh, I definitely chose the country first, first, okay.

Speaker 1 27:13

Yeah, definitely. What do you recommend?

Speaker 2 27:15

I think?

Speaker 1 27:16

I think it's definitely. I'm asking because I also want to get an MBA. So was I Sometime like, but I think, oh, I want to go to Europe. But I'm like, should I choose the continent or country first, or which school actually offers like this program?

Speaker 2 27:29

And also like what kind of careers do recruiters that come to that school look for?

Speaker 1 27:35

Look for? Oh, I see. So what industries are the alumni in Exactly?

Speaker 2 27:39

Basically, yeah, I see so most like that is definitely something to look at when thinking about looking at countries and all that.

Speaker 1 27:48

So you chose US? Yeah, I chose.

Speaker 2 27:50

US. I was like you know, like, yeah, marketing the Amazons of this world, the Google, the Apple. You know, all these, all these companies. I'm like you know what, I'm going to come to the US, so I started applying. I did trying to remember the list of all the schools now it's not very blurry in my head. I definitely know. I did Duke and I think I eventually got rejected from Duke, which was just insane.

Speaker 1 28:13

Yeah, I got rejected from Stanford to my dream school, but yeah.

Speaker 2 28:17

I think I did Chicago, but I did.

Speaker 1 28:20

Chicago, which one Northwestern.

Speaker 2 28:22

No, no, there's Northwestern and then there's Chicago booth. Oh, okay, there's like two different ones. There's one in Atlanta, I don't know if I'm not remembering the name Georgia University no Southern Georgia. No.

Speaker 1 28:36

It's actually a very popular um Emory.

Speaker 2 28:39

Oh, you know.

Speaker 1 28:40

Emory, oh, e-m-o-r-y. Yes, oh, it's Atlanta. Yes, oh, okay, it's in Atlanta, yeah, I did Emory.

Speaker 2 28:47

I did this one in California University of California, davis, as well. Oh, so I got to UCD, oh, ucd, yeah, oh okay, okay, yeah, whichever one I was saying, I got into like 70% of the schools that I applied to, and so the book of my family okay yeah, darden is where I am for a year. Yes, yes, I was going to access.

Speaker 1 29:06

I was like wait, I think we're missing one.

Speaker 2 29:10

Darden University of Virginia. I actually so a lot of people. When I got Darden's offer, everyone was telling me that oh my God, darden is so hard to get.

Speaker 1 29:17

I was like really, and now you got into it, it was like it was simple yeah, no, that's not. No, please. No, we don't, don't undermine your accomplishments, yeah yeah, yeah, oh, nice Nice. And then did you write G-Mart or G-R-E?

Speaker 2 29:33

Not extreme, but you what?

Speaker 1 29:35

Wait, so you actually have the option to choose which one to write. Yes you can. So I mean, my five years is expiring. I wrote mine in 2019, to be five years in what 2024. So that's why I was like, should I go get it now or just later? But yes, so you remember what even birthed this podcast was. I asked you do you think that Vyce would again MBA?

Financing and Challenges of Business School

Speaker 2 29:59

And you said you didn't do it. I actually can't talk about that.

Speaker 1 30:00

Yeah, no, just talk about that, Because you said it depends. It really depends.

Speaker 2 30:04

But I feel like what you really wanted to say was no, it really depends and, honestly, when it's time to stick my foot down, I probably err on the side of no, it's not key and it's not important.

Speaker 1 30:17

What.

Speaker 2 30:17

Wow, it's a good thing.

Speaker 1 30:20

That's a really unpopular thing.

Speaker 2 30:21

It depends on how much you're willing to sacrifice into getting into the door of where that is you're going to. Right, it means that that lift needs to really be. When you compare the lift of like, imagine like you didn't to think about Google. Now Imagine you didn't go to Cornell and like weren't in the US that that already gave you a lift to get to Google.

Speaker 2 30:45

Now imagine someone coming from India Right In. I don't know what company wants it to dream of working in like a, like a Goldman Sachs or McKinsey yeah you need a serious lift, and so that Any country really, except you already have a good education and you've already. Maybe you're not like in like a fortune 500 company, but you have a good company.

Speaker 1 31:10

And I must say too, now that um um Cornell was trying to do some employer recruiting, I got to find that companies actually go to a lot of schools. I mean, they have their select schools, but there are some schools that you would call Non-target, but they still go there. So you just have to be the best in that place. You know, or one of the best, but yeah but they still go everywhere, so I wouldn't discourage anyone either way.

Speaker 2 31:33

But yeah, absolutely yeah. So that lifts is is really key and I feel like that's what's. That's what the NBA games.

Speaker 1 31:40

I'm not even going to doubt that and the pay I mean the pay is also good.

Speaker 2 31:44

But don't forget, you're coming out pay your loans as well, that's true but I heard like you're coming out 160 to 180 pay. Yeah well, the consulting, I guess I would say more like once if you're adding all of the companies that maybe 120 to about like 200.

Speaker 1 31:59

Yes, you want to 50, yeah, even 250. Which is which?

Speaker 2 32:03

is great. Yeah, I think another thing is, just like you know, lifestyle like how, how? You want to live within that because you know there's loans as well to pay except you have like a full.

Speaker 1 32:13

So how did you figure out your financing?

Speaker 2 32:16

Financing was who are we going to the deep?

Speaker 1 32:18

Yeah, I mean, you know how to no, no, no, we can.

Speaker 2 32:22

We can definitely go into it. Financing was. I just wanted to go by all means, and so I was like you know what? We're going to figure this out. I'd saved some money. So that's the first advice I'll give anybody like make sure you have some money saved, because most of these schools they will ask you for about $4,000 to $6,000, $7,000 acceptance fee, whatever really yeah, my sentence was $500. Or 1000. Yeah, it was 4k.

Speaker 1 32:47

I had to pay 4k.

Speaker 2 32:48

That's exclusive of your ticket of like of everything you need of Accommodation because you don't your lease doesn't start kicking in my movie and all that rent.

Speaker 1 32:59

Oh my god.

Speaker 2 33:00

Yeah, exactly, rent security deposit, all those things I basically went to the us with I. I think I went to the us. Going to the US has to take me like 10k in total.

Speaker 1 33:11

Yes, I would say, it was because that much, definitely because that much.

Speaker 2 33:15

Yeah, it definitely, you know. Um, so yeah, I'll say planning properly definitely was very important. So yeah, financing I and then at the embassy.

Speaker 1 33:28

Yes, because this day a lot of people have been going to visa issues.

Speaker 2 33:31

Actually, I was in a meeting yesterday trying to help people.

Speaker 1 33:34

Yeah, I feel hopeless at this one, like I can only do more interviews for you, but I can't control.

Speaker 2 33:41

Like what's going on? What happened? There's so much yeah.

Speaker 1 33:45

I don't even know what's going on either about where you asked who was going to finance. Did you get any form of scholarship? Financing was so I did get scholarship.

Speaker 2 33:52

The school gave me like some 5k over like the whole year.

Speaker 1 33:56

What's the whole year?

Speaker 2 33:57

So tuition is like, let's say, 100 or something. I think about 105,000 per year, so in total like 200 or something for two years.

Speaker 1 34:06

So that's like one year salary for when you come out or less, or more or more? Yeah and I'm sure it's much more as some other schools. Oh yeah, because I know a current was 70k per semester for MBA. So and that's four semesters, so that's 280k.

Speaker 2 34:19

So interesting yeah honestly I mean, think about it. You just like I think you got it. Is it really worth it? I mean, the other thing is the world is changing so fast. Principles that have guided like they are just high level principles now what's happening day to day is really like it's really what matters. Yeah, you know the trends and what's happening in the business is what, and that cannot be taught because that has not happened. Deep you know. So it's like you have to, but.

Speaker 1 34:48

I enjoyed the cases though, so I did. I did an immersion in business school for one semester. So, oh, my god, so I know when you see those suits like always acting like, like they always talk so fluffy, like there's oh, there's just so much air vacuum and everything they say, I'm like you guys. That guy just said trash.

Speaker 2 35:06

That guy just spat bullshit, but all of us are just like.

Speaker 1 35:10

Like I'm like okay, okay, I'm like okay sure.

Speaker 2 35:14

Oh my god, interesting business way, business school, you know. So I think I'll get into the classroom.

Speaker 1 35:20

Yes, oh, I'm going, we're gonna get into it. I'm about to go and ask. You was like I mean, you're still going back to school, right? You're currently on your summer internship, yeah, coming in you see, perform different backgrounds.

Speaker 2 35:31

Yeah, people from Top companies.

Speaker 1 35:33

Name the company, your class, people who are and during the country, be like while I was at, while I was at school, while I was a pizza. I'm like, oh my god, I'm always really my eyes in the class.

Navigating Challenges in Business School

Speaker 2 35:45

There's a business school language of talking. Yeah, I'm adding to what. Yeah, um another person. Girl, there's something.

Speaker 1 35:52

Back.

Speaker 2 35:55

I was just like, oh my god, to add, to add a colorful dimension to that. I like to push back on. Um, it becomes comments. Someone once told me that today I'll know what day?

Speaker 1 36:15

yeah, I mean is respect. They should add the other.

Speaker 2 36:20

But you know what I think it teaches you to when you get pushed back and walk to so that you will not be shocked. Yes, exactly America. Yeah, you know.

Speaker 1 36:27

I used to think people in America didn't say their thoughts and minds, but he is actually very bullish. Even though I was watching succession, they said that people in them, us that work here, were actually raised by wolves. The system is like built to teach you like actually the europeans might actually be softer that really even be even like in Emily and Paris.

Speaker 1 36:44

You can see that their work, life Balance is more like laid back work is not like the utmost priority in life, but here is so bullish, oh yeah. So now that makes sense. So yeah, you actually have to wear a thick skin.

Speaker 2 36:57

Yeah, that's one thing like in business school you have to do every day wake up. You are waking up to a new, different type of problem or classroom or like situation.

Speaker 1 37:06

It's gonna be happy to be so every time you're in class, did you always feel like I want to go back home?

Speaker 2 37:11

At some point you know, and. I was social, I thought I was open. When you meet people and you don't want things that my boyfriend always say tired, he will say you know, you're playing in top 1%.

Speaker 1 37:27

Exactly, that's right.

Speaker 2 37:28

You have to wake up and realize that that's even if you want to read all the books. Yeah, you cannot know. It's modern day, so you just have to stop playing on what is your own strength.

Speaker 1 37:37

Like they say, don't hate the game he's here, they say hit the player.

Speaker 2 37:40

I mean don't hit the game yeah so you can't really blame them.

Speaker 1 37:44

And I actually found out when you're actually outside of the classroom with those people. They're actually normal people, very normal. Look exactly, is exactly, is all a club and dance even at work. I'm telling you when we're outside everybody's like oh, I didn't know that. Oh, I'm not sure I should have read the document. I'll be there confessing my sins, Don't know it.

Speaker 2 38:14

Just something, just a slight side note, something I was saying that, oh my god, my presentation I'm supposed to cover my summer internship, yeah, I need to send them a pre read through this report about. I was like you know what they already don't. That's true. What do you? Be?

Speaker 1 38:27

fine, that's what I found and that's the same. I mean, I don't know if I should say this, but I noticed that I work with majorities of the race. I'm gonna say I work with my manager and my Manager. My, I'll say because, I mean, this is not racist, he's what they are white. Yeah, working with them, I realized that there's less stress than working with a minority. It's like there's just so much money to perform and, at the end of the day, you're not still.

Speaker 2 38:55

Yeah, you're not you're not the best.

Speaker 1 38:56

So you have to, exactly, so you don't have to learn to play that game where it's like oh, I'm smart by knowing to show it. You know when I show up is when I show up, yeah, so, and I'm really grateful that I'm having this experience, because I feel like now I'm putting in the same amount of work and getting the same effort with them, instead of having to put more effort and get the same.

Speaker 1 39:13

So I'm learning and I still and I still have the part of being that can put in more effort when it requires it. So, yeah, there's that. But would you say you, you saying you wake up every morning? Remember I had to send you an article that I wrote because I also struggled with my mental health. But, yeah, okay, maybe, yeah, you can. It's called is on my medium dancing with devil, and every wrote and wrote and wrote in. That was my experience with Cornell and being and school being very tough for me. So would you have any experience of Business school being really tough for you? How have you not given back business school?

Speaker 2 39:50

has been, you know, because you're learning so many different things Fresh from the start and you have to talk about it. There's also you also get code called in business school, like you literally come to class and they ask you become so? What do you think about? What happened in the case? How did you solve it? And you have to start doing math, you know. And first of all, there's the problem of the rigor, of the academic rigor. Yes, that's one, yeah, second one is also finding your community.

Speaker 1 40:16

Yeah, working in groups like your grades being dependent on other people. I hated that thing so much. Oh my god, it's just like.

Speaker 2 40:22

It's very difficult. And then there's also, you know, being away from your family, not having your support system around you as you probably would have had.

Speaker 1 40:30

Are there other Nigerians in your class?

Speaker 2 40:31

Yeah, there are A couple of Nigerians, but you know, it's it. Just you think that everybody would have been closer and everything, but with the whole stress of recruiting, as well, and competition.

Speaker 2 40:42

It's. It's just a whirlwind that if, looking back, I I then a lot of things I wish I did better, like Just a lot of things in the last one year. It's. It's ridiculous the number of things I would say I've learned. You just have to. You know, I was listening to this podcast by Andrew human and he was saying that how the brain changes from 25 and he says something drastic has to happen to you to Catalyze, like to force the change of your brain, like so maybe you've been putting like a difficult work, something like that, but your brain from 25 is not the same person it was when it was 24.

Speaker 1 41:18

Yeah, you know, so you might have the book who moved my cheese like when most your situations change, like you have to.

Speaker 2 41:24

You have to rise up to the equation.

Speaker 1 41:26

Yes, actually that's the word.

Speaker 2 41:28

You really do have to rise up, that's exactly what business school just taught me you know what like, even though you're crying and you have to like you know what went out with another problem.

Speaker 1 41:40

Oh, my god, tell me about class in my ears. Yes, I'm telling you that times I'll be like let me please cannot go back home, take me back.

Speaker 2 41:47

I'm gonna let that dress up, I don't want to do this again, and that's even how I go into supplements. You know, nobody told me that you needed vitamin D, or you didn't iron, or you you got deficient because there was no.

Speaker 1 41:59

So, actually, it was in this country so I found out I had deficient, because I was always either falling sick or feeling weak. I was always very tired. I couldn't do my assignments. Yes, I could, like I had to go see the doctor and they Recommend them into a nutritionist and they did a whole blood work. Yeah, it was in this country. So I found out all of. I mean, I used to know it when I had malaria, but nobody tells you go and take.

Speaker 2 42:23

So there's that whole health piece as well, like your old mental well-being and your physical well-being. Yeah, it's just a lot like holistically that you have to think about, for you to be in that mindset, to come here, succeed In business going to us.

Speaker 1 42:36

Interesting Wow.

Speaker 2 42:37

Wow, wow, wow, that's, that's deep though.

Speaker 1 42:40

So we've talked about your visa. Now, education struggles and cultural shocks, um, would you say. I mean, are there other cultural shocks you had, as I say, the education system.

Speaker 2 42:49

I would just say cultural shocks. It's like having to Be a different person every time.

Speaker 1 42:56

Yeah, yeah kind of I feel, and every day they tell you to be yourself.

Speaker 2 43:00

But then it's a part of you, yes, and it's like I might really be myself, right now, that's true, it's you have to morph into a different person every time and I think that's just kind of and the only culture shock I would say, because I've been in the years before the only culture shock I'll say is it's just having to kind of prove.

Speaker 1 43:18

You know that you're worth it.

Speaker 2 43:20

Yes, yes, of course you got in here, but even though Still, you know so that's no, that's deep.

Job Interviews and Relationships

Speaker 1 43:26

You're right, because I think back home too was just by grades yeah, or like there was nothing there, there were no other yet six To prove. Wow, that's deep, or my sister. So how else would you say you've coped? I know you have this support system in the name of Tyre. Shout out to you Shout out to you. Oh, I know you also talk about. You talk about struggling to make friends and building community. I'm a someone who is such an extrovert and I find that I have to believe because it's like the truth.

Speaker 1 43:54

Yeah, I would say, I have friends. Maybe some of them maybe fake or acquintances.

Speaker 2 43:59

Because the truth they also struggle with that.

Speaker 1 44:00

Oh my god, I'm not gonna mistakenly jab on her.

Speaker 1 44:04

But my people, who you look up to as friends. Sometimes they can't be there for you in that capacity and you have to take on the responsibility Of being there for your own self. And then there's god, thankfully, but like, and there was my mom. I remember a lot of times I spoke to and I told the mom the one time I told that that she, I was just quiet and she said, oh, do you want to come back? And I think when she asked her for two minutes, it felt like that should be yes, but I shook my head. I said no, I mean, after putting all this work halfway, we will rise up. Let me use your word Wait. I rose. I rose and she prayed for me because he was recruiting. Yes, let's make a buck recruiting. How was that for you?

Speaker 2 44:42

I was not last able to get a job in my cohort In that so much in Nigeria. Staff was also like one of the last two.

Speaker 1 44:48

Wow, do you want to share where you're working? Now? You're doing an internship, yeah.

Speaker 2 44:52

I can share. So I'm interning with bear. So coming from food to medicine as my consumer health Is definitely a big shift. But I mean people, people are still people. You're still solving for people at the end of the day. Yeah, true, um, I think you know recruiting. Initially I started off wanting to do consulting because I've gotten like a summer interview, you know, um opportunity and I was like you know, consulting is like wedding money and yeah, I guess wedding money is that, but they make you work for it.

Speaker 2 45:25

You know, the interviewing process for me was very, very, I would say, extremely tough, like mentally, socially, everything just having to be quick on your feet, having to calculate maths and all of those things, and they just felt like I was never good enough. You know, just doing that. So I think you really broke my self-esteem. That you know, even with marketing. So I that interviewed with a couple other Um companies, I did the amazon interview, I did oh no, I actually my amazon interviews and I don't know if I've told you this one offline, you know I got I?

Speaker 2 46:01

I got a call from amazon saying hey, you know, we really loved, your interview was great. But unfortunately we've come back on hiring the marketing team will let you know if you know demand opens up, but they were. That was in January, when they were laying on. Okay so they told me they were there two months.

Speaker 1 46:18

Well, it's good to know that you could. Now, you were you. I mean, yeah, you were, it was good. You know, they called me.

Speaker 2 46:25

They sent me emails.

Speaker 1 46:26

What team was it for? Do you know?

Speaker 2 46:28

Yes, it was senior marketing. So well, I'd interviewed with the. So I interviewed to the, which is confusing, and interviewed with um, an amazon ads guy, and then I interviewed with an amazon, echo.

Speaker 1 46:41

Oh, the Echo devices, that's the big device, and ads.

Speaker 2 46:44

So I wasn't really sure what's him I was going to be like, but that's the big deal.

Speaker 1 46:48

I enjoyed the interviews.

Speaker 2 46:49

They were great Wow. Senior at 25. Yeah it was it was.

Speaker 1 46:54

I removed my cap for you. Bow down to you, I advocate global.

Speaker 2 46:59

I still sometimes hope I'm good. I used to say that we should not come and get them.

Speaker 1 47:02

They say lie, we will not rise.

Speaker 2 47:05

We will not come for them. I get into it, I had to keep going. I did my other one with Bea as well. You know the funny thing, bea, when I was so hard broken at gutting, I got a rejection from McKenzie. I got a rejection from BCG. So I was like, oh my God, this one is the last one. Please. Oh, so I just like the day of my interview. I was tired, I was very weak emotionally.

Speaker 2 47:31

And just everything spiritually. I said to him I'm good to sleep. I caught that I cannot do this interview right now. I think I'm going to sleep for 30 minutes and wake up. He was like oh, you sleep, what if you forget you was praying?

Speaker 1 47:44

You were like oh, you sleep before you can. You know, preparing for an interview here to use a job Is a job for the job it's a job.

Speaker 2 47:51

I told myself, look, if they like anything, they want to do it. Then job sleeping.

Speaker 1 47:57

I'm not the type to sleep.

Speaker 2 47:58

I'm the type to be like became in a reviewing, but I just slept. I woke up and I got into the interview. The interview was three people on me, oh my God.

Speaker 1 48:08

At the same time.

Speaker 2 48:09

I'm the type who had the one, at least they would do one person that you hang up and you would do the next call.

Speaker 1 48:12

Yes, you would do the next person.

Speaker 2 48:14

That's true, three people on one person, three people on me, and they were all looking at me Was it virtual. And guess what? I didn't even really prepare. So they were asking me some questions and I was saying it on the fly oh my God. Well, look at you now. The guy reached and sent me an email. I sent them a thank you email.

Speaker 2 48:33

As you should, as you finish your interview, send them an email. Thank you emails. No response? No problemo. Message me the next two days, since we had an email hey, we'd love to talk to you, are you free next week? And I was like I was telling my friend that he said he wants to talk to me. He said everything. Okay, I didn't think of offer.

Speaker 1 48:52

I was just like wow, and I was going to enjoy the next week, so that means my phone number won't go.

Speaker 2 48:59

I told him okay, can we do teams? I set up the call, I went to Nigeria and, as I was in Nigeria, I went to visit Tyro. He planned this. So my birthday was actually the week before, so I was interviewing around my birthday period and I didn't have a birthday anything. So he had planned a dinner for me. He was like you know what?

Speaker 1 49:21

So the whole went.

Speaker 2 49:22

I took the call I think it was like 7.30 the dinner was, and then the guy called 6 PM, which was like 1 PM.

Speaker 1 49:29

Yeah, 5 PM in America.

Speaker 2 49:31

So I picked the call. It was on speaker. I was like I'm just going to tell you. I'm going to tell you about the best. I'm going to tell you about the best I thought he was like. I'm going to tell you about the best.

Speaker 1 49:45

I was like I'm going to tell you about the best, so that was like a double celebration.

Speaker 2 49:49

So we went to Alta. Tyro was in there. She was just going to offer. I was like, oh, I'm not, son.

Speaker 1 49:57

I'm like, where do you go to?

Speaker 2 49:58

I don't know if it was a major new restaurant, because it's actually a very big restaurant in Lagos, slow. There's another one that is close to slow. I forgot the name Gusto.

Speaker 1 50:13

It's also in, yeah, so what happened there? Essentially, Wait is it shiro, shiro is not even on the slow level. Really, I really like shiro, though I went for breakfast as slow and I went back for 30 December. I couldn't afford the lunch and the dinner, so we said let's get breakfast.

Speaker 2 50:39

Definitely boys. I mean just like maybe five people, five or six.

Speaker 1 50:42

But you know he was so glad to just pay Somebody even offered to drop 100.

Speaker 2 50:46

So it was a leap of faith that he said let's just go out to Godless. And then he came. Oh, he must have felt so happy.

Speaker 1 50:54

I cried too when I got the news that I got him to Google too, so I know what you mean. You're crying because, first of all.

Speaker 2 51:01

thank God you're here, but then also when you come now.

Speaker 1 51:05

You're always stressed. No, I was actually having a hard interview. I wish we don't have. I wish we had more time to really go into all of this, but then we'll be here forever, so you have to come back for your part too.

Speaker 2 51:16

I begin.

Speaker 1 51:18

Oh gosh, I can't know what I've talked about. The recruitment process. I mean, I was going to also go into dating, but at least like the rest of us, you know, on the streets, the streets, I was on this before we've been living in Lagos just like three months. Oh did you meet.

Speaker 2 51:31

Tyra in the US, in Lagos, I met him like three months before leaving Nigeria. Good for you. And so we were actually thinking, oh, I don't think we should date and all that. You're going to the US, you're going to have a different life. You know your track is different. I'm going to Canada, blah, blah, blah, blah all these things we just said you know we're talking about to go, because at this point, I like that, you know, because this is what people don't Like.

Advice for MBA Students in the US' or 'Advice for Non-Us MBA Students

Speaker 1 51:54

Even when we have I won't do a long distance relationship anymore- I'm serious, I can't be pushing anybody with fun, nobody's too, should be pushing me. It's really it's really not easy. It's really not easy. It is not easy to be honest, but yeah but having two committed people, I guess it works out. And now you're about to catch that trip. Yes, Go see LeBoo, but anyway, anyway, anyway, that's all. So just to wrap up the spirit of beginning to wrap up, I really enjoyed our conversation.

Speaker 2 52:26

Thank you so much for sharing.

Speaker 1 52:28

What's one final advice you give to anyone non-urugans students looking to come to the US for an MBA? I mean yes, you've told us don't get it, but it's been helpful.

Speaker 2 52:38

I would say, like the biggest thing is just investing in yourself in like different ways. Aside from education. Yes, like investing the quality of conversations you have, investing the quality of like information you seek out. Investing, you know, I mean the certifications, but there's also investing like the kind of human being you want to be, you know, like growth, wise, like be very very.

Speaker 2 53:04

Yeah, I really love to do that. Yeah, like someone says, be rootless in the future, that you deserve, or something like that, like be very adamant about it, like just be intentional. That's like the best thing I can say because, it's really not easy. There's so much dragging our attention here and there, right.

Speaker 1 53:21

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 53:22

Even the best friendships as well, like, yeah, best leadership, best mentors, like anything to just help yourself. Because even in Nigeria I would say that opportunity is true, that's so true.

Speaker 1 53:35

You know, I used to say that I wasn't going to come for a Masters because I knew other people who were eating blood money in Nigeria. They were spending $400K. Now they see the money. Sorry, that's pigeon, for where do you see?

Speaker 2 53:45

the money. There is money in Nigeria. And I would say even I that I came to Nigeria for MBA and I'm staying back here. Tyo, you know, was in America for his MBA and he went to Nigeria and I would say he still did well in Nigeria.

Speaker 1 53:59

So like, and actually, yeah, there's a thing about people who came here and go back home that do well, and I run a lot of the big businesses back then now, so hopefully that's us someday.

Speaker 2 54:08

Yeah, hopefully, because me I don't mind moving back, as long as I'm moving back in a good position In wealth as in stupidest money. I just want to be like.

Speaker 1 54:19

Yeah, people said that to them Because when I went home and I went to the Google because the officer said I was really reasoning it. It would be bad I didn't get to know where you went, and I was like they still give food, it's still nice, it still feels very good, but then even then they would be advising you don't do it. I was like it's not really bad to come back home and work here. But yeah, so that's the thing too. America is like you don't wear jet sports.

Speaker 1 54:45

It's like there's ways like the sky and the heavens, and there's some days it's a trend shift. So, yeah, but Call it a day up and all of us yeah. So for me I think that's spiritually as important as the future. I deserve Word Per, motivational per. Thank you so much. I'm going to play a little game to round off. I want to play so many games.

Speaker 1 55:11

But this conversation is short, I could do it, but I will do it short. So I'm going to ask you what we call certain things in Nigeria, in America that we used to call oh, no, so there are words we say in America.

Speaker 2 55:21

And it's said differently in Nigeria.

Speaker 1 55:23

So, for example, fries, what's it? Chips. Okay, so let me try another one.

Speaker 2 55:30

Serviettes Napkin.

Speaker 1 55:34

Yeah, yeah, yeah, and then take away pack.

Speaker 2 55:38

To-go box.

Speaker 1 55:40

I was supposed to say to-go box, yeah, in.

Speaker 2 55:43

Nigeria.

Speaker 1 55:43

I was supposed to say I remember when I first came here I was like please take it away. I was like fuck.

Speaker 2 55:50

Even cutlery. We say cutlery yeah, say silverware yes they don't say cutlery.

Speaker 1 55:56

And then in Nigeria we say cream, what do they say here? No cream for your body, cream, oh, lotion, yes, they say lotion, yes. And then okay, one last one.

Speaker 2 56:10

We say nylon bag, oh paper bags.

Speaker 1 56:14

Yeah, paper bags, that's true. And then, of course, the popular one we say boots, oh yeah, trunk. And another thing to we say blankets, and they say I'm not bad, I know what they say. Okay, okay, then one last game and this or that Netflix or Amazon Prime, netflix.

Speaker 2 56:39

It's sad, but Netflix, yeah, I know, and I feel like Netflix has Amazon Prime to be better.

Speaker 1 56:42

But Sometimes they don't have a lot, but what they have is good and they have a lot of the old movies that I always want to re-watch.

Speaker 2 56:48

Okay, true.

Speaker 1 56:51

So sometimes I would say Prime, but okay, netflix or Hulu, do you watch?

Speaker 2 56:54

Hulu Still Netflix, honestly, still Netflix, okay, okay, okay.

Speaker 1 57:00

Netflix is just like Let me manifest something over your life right now. Do you know?

Speaker 2 57:05

Bozo wants to join.

Speaker 1 57:06

Oh my God, did you ever look up to her? Of course I mean, I do See, I don't have it on my wall. She came to Google and she told us about being facing loyalty herself.

Speaker 2 57:16

She seems good.

Speaker 1 57:18

I mean, she was in California but we listened to her and then every time, and now that I see you, I remember her because she was marketing her for Apple, uber and now the Netflix, pepsi. Yeah, she did it a lot, manifesting it for you, my friend. My dear friend, okay, okay Beach or Mountain.

Speaker 2 57:36

Oh my God, this is a hard one.

Speaker 1 57:38

I mean is it, I'm not hiking with anybody, it could be both, you know. I'll say beach, walk from home or walking from the office.

Speaker 2 57:49

I'm walking from home. Walk from home. Yeah, I know that's so important.

Speaker 1 57:56

Because that commutes. Now finally, legos on New York. Oh, she's thinking Legos, okay, actually. No, it's very hard, I know Legos for the enjoyment, but there can be enjoyment in New York, but it commutes. For the fact that I have to be on the train when I was in Legos you can. So going with the drive-by Maybe.

Speaker 2 58:24

So what are we going to? New York? Yeah, I think New York for transportation. There are different ways to commute. You can either walk it or you can train.

Speaker 1 58:34

Or you can even bus it, that's true. So yeah, new York, wow, new.

Speaker 2 58:41

York wins this round, but okay, I would say, if you add Toronto then I'll add Toronto, of course, no Legos.

Speaker 1 58:47

New York, toronto. We have come to the end of this episode, I reckon. Thank you so much, thank you so much, I'm so glad, I'm so glad For coming on the Non-American Student and where can they find you?

Speaker 2 59:00

Okay, well, Instagram the IBC Global TikTok too, Although I'm not really consistent with TikTok. Tiktok Twitter is ibukunjoistcom on the score.

Speaker 1 59:11

LinkedIn. Linkedin ibukunjoistcom for AMO too Nice and AMO is spelled A-I. Yes, girl, we did it my mom. If you guys know what happened today you guys know what the hot squad do. She wanted the wrong address man, wow, but I'm happy.

Speaker 2 59:28

Thank God.

Speaker 1 59:30

And I'm so proud of Yann and hopefully, if I can, I will be at your MBA graduation you did it girl. I'm really happy for you. And yes, guys, this is us, your fellow Non-American students. If we can do it, you can do it. Yes yes, so see you in the next episode, guys. Bye.