- Status: Student
- Current country: Lebanon
Hello! My name is Elias and I am a student of the Bachelor in Management at TBS in Barcelona. By having Lebanese parents owning two enterprises outside of Lebanon (in the Dominican Republic), I was introduced to the world of business from a very young age. I’ve always been a very extroverted outgoing individual with pronounced interests in sales and marketing, so much so that when I was just 16 years old I founded my own media company working as a photographer, videographer, and community manager, because yes: I also love the arts.
Knowing myself and identifying my strengths I knew I had to go to a university that would fit my profile. This is where TBS comes in. When applying I knew I wanted to go to Europe and I got accepted to various universities across the continent but somehow something of TBS spoke to me: Was it the fact that TBS is a world-renowned business school? Was it that I would get my degree way before my friends from high school (in 3 years)? Or maybe was the hands-on approach and close proximity I would have with the professors? Until today I still can’t pinpoint which one spoke to me the most but I am sure I made the right decision.
Graduating in 3 years for me was a no-brainer and the possibility of studying in any of the 3 different TBS campuses was music to my ears. Furthermore, being able to continue practicing different languages, such as French and Mandarin in my case, was great news. Lastly, I felt that being in an internship every year was just beneficial to me since one of the things that recruiters ask for the most is experience. For all of these reasons, I chose TBS Bachelor in Management overall.
I’ve loved my experience at TBS! At first, I was super frightened as any freshman would be: new school, new courses, new friends, new professors, etc. But as time went by I’ve met some wonderful people from all over the world, I’ve made great friendships and have learned so much from the different professors’ experiences. In my first year, I represented TBS as an Ambassador in every event arranged by the school and loved every second of it.
Right now I am in Barcelona. If I would have to describe Barcelona in one sentence it would be Its the best city for student life. You want to go hiking in the morning and spend your afternoons at the beach? You can definitely do that here. Are you a self-proclaimed foodie like me and you love trying new and unique plates from all around the world? Barcelona has a vast selection of international restaurants and various different price points which are worth trying out. Do you want to tour around Spain and even Europe? Barcelona’s location enables you to visit cool places like Andorra by bus in one day for just a couple of euros. Can you meet people from all over the world? Well, you already know how this goes, yes! Something that I also appreciate is that in comparison with other big European cities, living in Barcelona isn’t that expensive and that is a huge pro when it comes to a student budget.
I’ve done various internships even before entering TBS and my experience has been great. Being involved in different workplaces and different positions really gives you a taste of how the real-grown-up life looks like and being exposed to this at an early stage of your professional life can only bring you benefits.
As a matter of fact, in my first year, I founded another company, this time with a good friend I made in TBS. Its called Rave BCN and it is a clothing and lifestyle brand dedicated to producing different, unique, and quality garments in limited quantities in order to ensure that in every drop Rave owners can rest assured that they are one of the few people in the world with that piece making them stand out wherever they are. Rave BCN is now a registered brand in the EU, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and the USA. We have done 2 successful launches and right now we are working on the third one. Our Instagram is @ravebcn and our website www.ravebcn.com be sure to check us out!
After TBS I do want to be employed for another company for a while in order to continue learning and then do my masters as well. As in my distant future I see myself managing Rave BCN and Elias AK Photo & Film along with many other entrepreneurial ventures that I have yet to build. I see myself continuing to invest in the different markets and getting into real estate as well.
COVID-19 was definitely a shocker for all of us, however, despite the situation I believe that all of this helps us be more resilient and flexible to change. Whilst taking online classes is not my favorite, I believe we made the best out of the situation in order to continue learning. Slowly everything will go back to normal, and we will be able to enjoy everything as it once was.
So, are you ready to join TBS?
