Why am I writing this MBA blog?

Panama-City, Panama

I am sitting in the Istmo Brew Pub in Panama-city, with a cold Samuel Adams, thinking: “Why am I sitting in the Istmo Brew Pub in Panama-city, with a cold Samuel Adams?” Well, the truth is that I’ve wanted to do it for quite a while now. Not necessarily in this great but small pub in the center of Panama’s vibrant capital, but I’ve had the urge to sit down and write about my MBA experience since the beginning of the second semester of my first year. But, as you know very well, the things that we want to do but don’t have to do oftentimes get postponed. My summer internship with Dell Inc. in Panama, a great experience in-and-of itself, has allowed me, among other things, the time to do some of those things that I wanted to do but never had the time (more on that in later posts).


OK, so now I have some time on my hands – why invest it in writing about my MBA? I have never written anything “public” in my life and it seems a little odd that the urge to write about this experience has popped-up from nowhere. Even though I don’t have a complete answer to my own question, I think I can say that this experience has been a unique one for me, but even more than that, it has been unique in general. Being the only Israeli MBA student in the McCombs School of Business (University of Texas at Austin) I feel that I can share my experiences and thoughts with all readers while contributing to the knowledge of Israeli MBA candidates about our program in Austin. Since the only Israeli candidate who was admitted to next year’s class has deferred until next year, it seems that my status will stay valid through-out my MBA studies.


Israel has always contributed a significant per-capita number of MBA students in US and European programs. Israelis, in general, are self-driven, entrepreneurial and business-oriented. In addition, many of us find it useful to travel the world and then go back to Israel after acquiring international experience and having a little time off our Israeli scene, which gets a little intense from time to time. Over the years, Israeli candidates have preferred the US coastal cities as their MBA destinations. It has to do with large Israeli communities in those cities, the perceived business opportunities that those cities offer and so forth. After going through my first year as an MBA student in Austin I feel that both the city of Austin and the MBA program at the University of Texas have A LOT to offer. This goes for everyone who’s looking for a great combination of a program with an entrepreneurial spirit that is strong in several areas of business administration, and a city that is everything one can look for: fun, open-minded, outdoors-oriented and includes both great business opportunities and a spirit for the arts (especially music), that makes it a great place to live in.


So, going-back to my own question, I feel that there is this undiscovered jewel, located in the heart of the largest state in the US and I would like to tell people about it. I hope you will enjoy reading about it….before trying-it-out for yourselves!