Since I was young, I wished that one day I will be able to assist my father running our family business. It is a local accounting and taxation firm founded by my grandfather more than forty years ago. After my grandfather passed away, the business was passed down to my father. As the company is meaningful to my family, managing this company becomes both my dream and duty; however, my bachelor’s degree is not an accounting or taxation degree.

I graduated Business Administration in Management Information Systems (MIS) from Chulalongkorn University. My focus is on Information Systems, especially for the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software because I believe that all companies can increase their work efficiency if they use suitable systems. During the undergraduate program, I attended many activities, such as a student volunteer for the educational fair and also a participant of the business plan contest. I had a chance to do an internship as a business and technology consulting trainee at Freewill Solutions Co., Ltd. I have gained a lot of experiences during that time.

After I graduated, I worked as an SAP functional consultant at I AM Consulting Co., Ltd., the biggest local consulting firm in Thailand, for three years. Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing (SAP) is the world famous ERP System. Since SAP is very large systems including many modules, my responsibilities are gathering customers’ business requirements, analyzing how SAP can serve those requirements, then implementing and configuring the system according to their business requirements in the area of financial accounting. I participated in several full-cycle ERP implementations of the government universities, private companies, and non-profit organization. I learned how to work as a team and many other skills from this job, such as consulting skills, presentation skills, problem solving skills, and also different working procedures for various types of business. This job gave me a chance to learn how real business works.

In my view, I had gained several years of work experiences, but it is not much enough to take care of the family’s business. I should find another degree, which I will enjoy learning and also benefit my family business. Finally, I chose Master of Business Administration.

As more companies and freelance are emerged, the business competition is very intense. MBA classes will teach various subjects, such as financial, human resources management, information systems and marketing, so that I could applied the knowledge I gain for my future career. For example, I could use marketing tools to attract more customers or create good attitudes to the company among customers. In the real business world, business people need more than business knowledge. As MBA program of George Mason is a part-time curriculum, I will meet a lot of professionals from different occupations. This program allows me to have strong business connections and share some ideas with classmates.

Studying abroad is the first choice that come into my mind because I would like to differentiate and create more value for myself. If I continued my master in Thailand, everything would be the same as I encountered in my bachelor’s degree. I want to experience new things, for both educational and life aspects. I hope the teaching method will provide more chance to develop my critical thinking skill and help me become more proficient and professional. With these things, it will prepare me to be ready for managing my family’s business.

Consequently, I would like to study in the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at George Mason University. There are many reasons why I chose GMU;

First, this program is ranked in the Top100 MBA in the United States. As this program is a part-time curriculum, my classmates would have high-experienced in their field, so that we could share great aspects in classrooms. Moreover, the diversity of this universities allows me to meet more people from different countries. In addition, this university also locates near Washington D.C., so it may provide higher chance for future careers.

Graduation does not show that you will be successful in your life, but our life after graduation does. The United States provides 1-year Optional Practical Training (OPT) for international Students, so I planned to find a job after I graduate my master’s degree. I would like to know how Americans works in order to improve my skills and that is the main reason why I came here. After that, I will go back to Thailand to assist my father and develop the business plan for our family’s business.