Rossmary Caballero
What were you doing before you came to Warwick?
After achieving my first degree in Finance and International Relations in Colombia, I had gained a couple of years work experience in international trade. I came over to the UK in 2007, principally to study English. I also completed a one-year internship at Pearson Education UK.
Why did you decide to study for an MSc?
I definitely wanted to develop my career. All of my roles up until then had been as an assistant, but I wanted to jump over to the other side and make the move to management. Taking an MSc seemed the ideal way to build the skills and confidence I needed to do this, as well as develop my English language skills further. So why choose WMG?
Well, I wanted to stay in the UK for a start, as I was really enjoying life in this country. I actually didn’t know anything about Warwick at the time but once I started researching the top universities, it was right up there with the best. So I went to an open day and was immediately impressed, particularly by the staff. They seemed to genuinely care about students and helping them to be the best they can be. After spending so much time in and around London, I loved the green and spacious campus too. I felt at home straight away!
What did you think of WMG and the MSc programme?
First of all, I learned quickly that the staff understand the needs of international students: people whose first language isn’t English. Through every module of the course, the teaching staff were patient and supportive with me and all of my fellow students. That gave us all the confidence to express ourselves and contribute as much as we could. As for the course itself, it challenged my perceptions and behaviour constantly. It changed the way I think.
How exactly did it do that?
The course is not just about learning things; it’s about putting them into practice and seeing how they work in the real business world. You learn from experience and develop the ability to think outside the box. For example, in each module we had to run an imaginary business, taking roles within the organisation. Working through issues this way, you find the answers to problems yourself. This in itself was a great experience.
Anything else?
We were constantly encouraged to discuss things openly – to put our view across without any fear or worry that we might say the wrong thing! This was particularly interesting as I was sharing ideas with people from other cultures right across the world, so there were lots of different perspectives. The teachers also encouraged us to write blogs to explore further what we were learning. These blogs generated a valuable flow of information and ideas amongst the students. I would say that all of this together not only developed my knowledge but my confidence too. I became a new person!
Did you enjoy the modules themselves?
They were all very challenging in their own way but yes, extremely rewarding too. It is difficult to pick individual ones out, but I especially enjoyed ‘Organisations, People and Performance’ and ‘Management of Change’, which were the electives modules that I chose. One of the core modules – ‘Leadership and Excellence’ was particularly interesting and helped me to understand how leaders think and how their decisions are underpinned by a strong vision, mission and values.
What have you done since you left WMG?
First of all, I organised a holiday in Egypt and Israel for myself and five friends that I had made at Warwick. Within a couple of weeks of that, I was offered a job as a Data Analyst at TUI Travel. I had worked part-time in their call centre during the summer, so they already knew me. It’s an interesting role and I can definitely say that what I learned at WMG is helping me in my day-to-day work.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Away from the academic aspects of the programme, I have to say that my year at Warwick was great fun. I also met 20 people who are now good friends and will be for the rest of my life.
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