Growing our Community Together with our Students and Alumni

When you put like-minded people together who are eager to connect, learn, push each other and grow together, you get the GLOBIS community. It continues to astound us in how inclusive and encouraging they are and we are all here for it. As we believe that great people know great people, we are always excited when our very own community introduces new candidates to us.

Did you know that as an alumnus or current student you can do the same and introduce a friend and help grow the GLOBIS Community? Kia Sta. Ana from our 2019 Full-time MBA cohort did just by introducing Samantha Labrador to our 2021 Full-time MBA program. Read about their experiences below.

1. Why did you decide to do an MBA? Before coming to Japan, I worked in many marketing jobs, most notably as an Account Manager in a marketing agency back in the Philippines. During that time, I managed many different client brands; however, I always wondered what it would be like if the roles were reversed? To do that, I needed to refresh my knowledge and gain a bigger picture of how to do business to advance my career, expand my network, and gain international experience.
2. Why GLOBIS? I chose GLOBIS for several reasons. First, the one-year MBA program, the generous scholarships, the marketing in the Philippines (I attended many events where GLOBIS participated), GLOBIS highly values adapting to the Technovate era. I am currently working in a Japanese company that wants to globalize, so the experience made me think back to my MBA classes. These classes helped me realize that I am not in the company to just maintain the current status quo but to make it better.
3. What did you enjoy the most during your time at GLOBIS? Two words: the people. It wasn’t until I came to Japan that I met so many people from different countries. From my class alone, I had classmates from Andorra, Honduras, Romania, Russia, and many more, and I wouldn’t have known anyone from those countries had I not taken an MBA. Everyone was so smart, nice, and had different perspectives, and I truly learned from everyone.
4. What made you recommend GLOBIS to your network? I have lots of friends who either: (1) are thinking of starting a business in the near future, (2) want to upgrade their career or (3) want to take a break from work to refresh and learn something new before going back into the workplace.
5. Why do you think they chose GLOBIS? I believe they chose GLOBIS for the same reasons I did: it was a one-year English MBA program with generous scholarships. On top of this, I believe they saw my social media posts and stories and realized how memorable the experience was for me. I posted not just about the fun we had outside school, but also the activities we had in the classroom and the numerous occasions we did study sessions. I believe those posts spoke for themselves on how the program was legitimately challenging, yet enjoyable.
6. What advice would you give to someone thinking of doing an MBA, especially in light of COVID-19? Know your “why” and be very aware of the challenges that come with it. If you want to do an MBA in Japan and work in Japan right after, you should start job-hunting early and try to learn some Japanese. After graduating, show companies that you are needed, and that you bring value as a foreigner. Japan’s population is aging and the birth rate is low, so they need foreigners to survive. Thus, differentiate yourself by doing an MBA. The best time is now because you are investing in new knowledge while the whole world stops.

1. Why did you decide to do an MBA? New business needs were increasing at my company and I was getting assigned newer and unfamiliar roles. I started feeling a gap in terms of skills, but even more so in confidence. To bridge these gaps, I thought an MBA could give me the boost in professional growth I needed.
2. Why GLOBIS? I took Innovation Through Virtual Teams as my first Pre-MBA course, and the lectures, class discussions, and study sessions all gave me insights and practical advice I could directly apply to my job. My studies felt meaningful and the school offered scholarship opportunities, so I was keen to jump into the Full-time MBA program.
3. Did your conversation with Kia contribute to your decision? What would you say were the main points that helped you to make your decision? Kia was always enthusiastic about her experiences at GLOBIS and that alone spoke louder than words for me. The fact that she could talk about her GLOBIS community and MBA classes with lots of positive energy every time we met made me feel that I would be walking into a good experience myself.
4. Is there anything that you think makes GLOBIS unique? My expectations for an MBA were more on building business knowledge and skills, but I was surprised at how well-integrated the kokorozashi (personal mission) aspect is in our curriculum. I feel that our teachers truly care about our development as individuals and future leaders, so it’s a nice and empowering atmosphere to have on our MBA journey.
5. What do you enjoy the most during your time at GLOBIS? I’ve loved getting to know my classmates. I could learn a lot from the different knowledge and perspectives everyone brought to class discussions, and I could also laugh a lot from our nomikai/e-nomikai bonding. Even though we are all currently studying online, I still feel that we are building our GLOBIS family and are all supportive of each other.
6. Would you recommend GLOBIS to your network? Absolutely. A lot of people are interested in coming to Japan but don’t really see it as a place to study or work because of several barriers. At GLOBIS though, the environment is very international and the student support for everything from visa applications to internship opportunities has been fantastic.
7. What advice would you give to someone thinking of doing an MBA, especially in light of COVID-19? What I’ve enjoyed, despite the pandemic situation, is being able to learn new skills and meet new people through this MBA. The lectures are insightful and you can even pick up so many things outside the case studies through your classmates who come from diverse backgrounds and specialties.