LSE and my degree in MSc Management have played a key role in my professional career and personal development, and I always look at those days with gratitude and nostalgia. From my early days in consulting to my current entrepreneurial path developing a menswear brand, joining the school benefited me in three areas: opened doors, granted access to a powerful network, and helped discover new passions and interests.
Opening doors
There is no doubt that LSE opened a few doors in my life, particularly in the early part of my career when I landed a job at Bain & Company. The school’s brand, the quality of learnings and the many recruiting events make it an obvious sourcing platform for the best employers a student can desire. The school allows students to easily pursue careers with lots of opportunities and learning potentials, careers that would be otherwise difficult or impossible to start. This ability to open doors has continued through my life thanks to the credibility that the LSE brand gives to anyone’s academic background.
The LSE network
Another equally important benefit is the power of LSE’s network. My time at LSE has helped me to garner some of my most valuable friendships, with ambitious and interesting people from every corner of the planet, and every walk of life. Several of my current dearest friends are former LSE students that I met during my Masters. Besides treasuring these relationships on a personal level, the network turned out to be very helpful on a business level. My LSE friends were some of the first to support my vision of creating the first direct to consumer brand with a true made in Italy proposition, using the internet channel. They became early investors in my brand and have remained long term advisors. Additionally, many of my other investors were connections via the LSE network. It is fair to say that my brand would have had a much harder time finding funding if I had not gone to the school.
Discovery and exploration
Lastly, the programme and the school were instrumental in helping me discover and explore other interests. In my LSE days, I become president of the Italian Society, which gave me the opportunity to meet many successful public figures of my country, from politicians to entrepreneurs, re-linking me to my roots. I also was an active member of other student societies which helped me better explore other passions and interests, from global politics to entrepreneurship. Lastly, LSE’s many public events with international keynote speakers have always motivated me to higher achievement in my life.
LSE will always be a dear place in my life. Countless memories, from the interesting lectures and challenging debates, to spending time with my colleagues at the student union, and living in London for the first time in my life. I highly recommend the experience.