- Status: Student
- Current country: Gabon
Hi! My name is Cyriella and I am from Gabon. I’m 20 years old and I’m currently studying the 3rd year of the Bachelor in Management at TBS. I spent the 2 first years of the program at the TBS Barcelona campus and at the moment I’m finishing the program at the Toulouse headquarters.
Why did you choose TBS?
I wanted to be in a city with nice weather, that inspires me and where I felt like I could grow as a person, the school for me came second. I had not been to Barcelona before, spoke very little Spanish, and had no family or friends there but I still felt like Barcelona was where I was meant to be. I chose TBS mainly because of internationalism. Having studied in international schools, I wanted to keep that same aspect of my studies. Knowing that we would have students and teachers from all over the world was reassuring because I was looking for a multicultural environment where I was more or less familiar with the grading system and where I could feel comfortable, to minimize the culture shock.
What did attract you to the Bachelor in Management program?
I more or less already knew that I want to work in the hotel management field. I did not want to go to a Hotelier or Hospitality school because did not want to limit myself, just in case I changed my mind later on. The Bachelor in Management program gives an overall knowledge about different areas that make management for the first 2 years, we learn various of the different aspects of business and management: from economics to marketing, negotiation and more.
All this helps us students understand more about where our skills are and what we find interesting. Then in the 3rd-year we choose a specialization and gain deep knowledge and there is a focus only on that path. That was attractive to me because it gave me 2 years to analyze and think about which field of management I really enjoyed and wanted to become a professional in.
Which specialization are you doing?
I am currently doing Tourism and hospitality with Finance as my specialization, which is offered only in TBS Toulouse. My family and I have traveled a lot and we had the opportunity to stay in different types of accommodations and hotels. I have noticed that choosing the hotel and where we were going to stay was interesting to me and I paid close attention to it. I have realized that the comfort of the place we stayed in really affected the overall trip. I knew what kind of hotels I liked and what I did not like. I was curious to know how hotels were organized; what the customers see versus all the management that only the staff members see. I guess it is safe to say that it is curiosity that led me to choose this path. As for finance, my passion for it is actually pretty recent. This summer during my B2 internship, part of what I was doing was to do financial reporting to the agency’s manager. I enjoyed it and I also wanted to challenge myself with finance.
How do you see yourself in the future?
In the future, I see myself hopefully working in one of the big international hotel chains. The job positions that interest me are a hotel manager or working in the finance department of the hotel. Maybe being the director of finance or something along those lines. I see myself moving from country to country and continuing to explore the world while doing what I love.
Why would you recommend TBS?
I recommend TBS for many reasons. Firstly, it offers a wide range of programs: in your third year of specialization, there are so many things you could study. In your second year, you can do your second semester in a long list of universities that are all around the world. We can choose to learn Chinese, German, Spanish or French while doing our business studies, which I find to be very useful. The teachers really take time to make sure everyone is clear on what they are doing and the teaching still is very hands-on which prepares us for the professional world.
Why the campus in Barcelona is different from others?
The campus in Barcelona is very multicultural. The Trafalgar campus is just minutes away by walking from the city center so after the classes, we have very easy access to Plaça Catalunya, l’Arc de triumph, restaurants, coffee shops and so much near our campus. Same as the Bailén campus, it is a few metro stops away from the city center and lively places. The city dynamic, in general, is what makes the Barcelona campus unique.
If you could define TBS in 3 words, which would they be?
International, inclusive, businessmen/women!
