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The MBA program at Charlton College of Business provided Hsuanchen with practical, hands-on experience for future career success.
International student Hsuanchen Huang will graduate this spring with her MBA from Charlton College of Business, having focused on business analytics, supply chain management, and information systems.
Hsuanchen's hometown is New Taipei City, Taiwan; she completed her undergraduate studies at the National University of Kaohsiung in Taiwan.
Global opportunities
"As an international student, I have had more opportunities to meet people from around the world, and I've learned how to collaborate with people who are from different parts of the world," Hsuanchen said. "I have been able to learn about their cultures and broaden my horizons."
She began her graduate studies at Charlton through UMassD's Navitas Global Student Success Program, a one-semester program that prepares international students for university studies in the U.S.
"Navitas provided me with a pathway to connect with the American model of higher education," Hsuanchen said. "The faculty were willing to help students, whether for academics or university engagement. The most helpful part was that all the courses had teaching assistants. If we had any questions or any confusion about the course, they helped us figure out the problems.
"Navitas also holds various multicultural activities, like a trip to Salem, a Fashion Show, apple picking, and a Holi Festival party—and these have been wonderful experiences."
Sharing her success with other international students, Hsuanchen has served as a class leader for the Navitas program. She has also been responsible for marketing for Charlton's MBA Association and has served as a volunteer for SouthCoast Serves.
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Business education with a practical focus
When she was looking for an MBA program with experiential opportunities, Hsuanchen decided that UMassD was the right choice for her.
"I realized that UMassD had more practical courses that I can use in my future career, instead of only theoretical concepts. The most interesting parts of my graduate work have been learning how to do data analysis based on machine learning, creating data visualizations, and studying the configuration of cloud computing and servers."
Preparation for career success
Charlton has offered Hsuanchen a solid preparation for career success, both in the classroom and beyond, with many business-related workshops and guest-speaker events.
"I have utilized these resources to help build the future direction for my career," Hsuanchen said. "When professors are available for their office hours, I visit them—whether for academic problems or just a quick talk. This helps me build my network, and I can learn more things as a business student."
Following graduation, Hsuanchen has a two-part plan for her career.
"One plan is to find a full-time job or internship for a data-related job such as data analyst or data manager in the U.S., to obtain firsthand experience. However, it is not easy for international students to find a job here. So my second plan is to go back to Taiwan, where I will focus on the field of cloud computing, such as with Amazon Web Services."