Post-Graduation: An IMHI Reflection

By Gabriella de la Torre, MBA in Hospitality Management, Mexico & USA, 2012-2014 2nd Year 

It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.” - R.E.M.

The first half of July, filled with final presentations and teary goodbyes has whizzed past, ultimately culminating in the IMHI graduation ceremony to celebrate our achievement. Now after dancing the night away at the Automobile Club de France, showing family around Paris and moving out and on, there is some peace and quiet to reflect on the significance of the past two years at ESSEC.

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A World of Challenges

For myself and for many of my classmates, IMHI represented a great challenge in a variety of respects: Difficult schoolwork and short (sometimes seemingly impossible) deadlines, tough team dynamics, a new environment faraway from home. The program challenged each of us in a different way, many times shaking us at our very core. More than learning what was written in the countless textbooks we were required to read, what this challenge provoked was a greater understanding of ourselves, of how to learn, of how to work, of how to perform with others. For many, the past two years were marked by periods of extreme stress, but ultimately (as evidenced by the rows of caps and gowns that lined the library of the Automobile Club de France on July 9th) we all came out on top. We all fought and made it through the IMHI labyrinth, each of us using the skills and talents that define us as individuals.

A World of Exposure

The IMHI program opened our eyes to a vast, new world: New subjects and trends characterizing the hospitality industry, different languages and cultures represented by the program’s students, unknown cities and professional missions undertaken in apprenticeships and internships alike. The entire experience was a journey of discovery, which again helped reveal more about our strengths, our weaknesses and how to best join forces with those around us in order to achieve a common goal.

A World of Friendship

What would IMHI be without the fellow classmates with whom we shared each experience? In addition to learning, studying and working, some tremendously deep and powerful friendships were created over the years spent at ESSEC. These friends, many of whom will travel to the far corners of the globe to pursue their diverse careers, will maintain a special place in our hearts with the hope of one day being reunited by the passion for hospitality that brought us all to IMHI one or two years ago. Besides learning from the professors and courses provided throughout the duration of the program, many of us discovered a great deal from those who sat beside us in the classrooms of the Galion.

A World of Growth

The people we were entering and exiting IMHI are two different characters. Influenced by new spheres of the industry, diverse work experiences and a variety of professors, we have each grown in our own unique ways. Thanks to the challenges, exposure and friendships that have characterized these past two years.

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And now looking back at the world that we once new, a world of challenges, exposure, friendship and growth, we close the chapter of a truly unique experience in our lives. Taking all of the things we have learned, the places we have been and the people we have met, we come out on the other side of this experience changed and ready for the challenges, exposure, friendship and growth that await us in our future careers. It’s the end of the IMHI world as we know it, but with the past two years under our belt, there’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll be fine.