A Letter from Sholanki Sarkar, 2014 MBA

Dear Friends,

I’m writing to you to describe my experience here at UIC Liautaud. I came from across the seas to the United States from my home country, India, for higher education. While working at IBM, I realized the need to understand business and management in more depth. My specific interest in UIC Liautaud was the opportunity to learn strategic management and product development in greater detail. So I chose UIC Liautaud among all the college admits I had received. My experience was amazing at UIC Liautaud and I feel every moment of my time was worth it. The college is situated in the heart of Chicago, which gives every student countless opportunities when it comes to getting relevant experience through internships. Being an international student, I found the standard of the education, projects, and assignments were at a global level and certainly not limited to only theoretical study. As my concentration was Marketing, I took the Interdisciplinary Product Development with Professor Spanjol, whom I think is one of the best professors I’ve had in my entire life. The best thing about my IPD experience was the real-time knowledge while working with companies like Dunkin’ Donuts and Morningstar. All the projects, course material, and certainly the classes themselves, helped me to not only get management knowledge but also to grow as an individual.

So some people assume that getting an internship or full-time opportunity is difficult as an international student. However, I think my UIC Liautaud experience made me confident and more eligible to get any job of my interest and passion.
I spent about a year working with a small marketing firm in Chicago as an intern, and I obtained a Product Marketing Manager position at Workiva, formerly Webfilings, even before my graduation.

I had a smooth experience throughout my study and education at UIC Liautaud. I would also like to mention that often students miss career and social events, but all these immensely helped me to build a strong network inside and outside UIC. The flexible classes, huge library, and extremely qualified professors have helped me to grow more. The career help was very laudable. Both Jeff and James helped me in resume building, job application tips, career events, and also in mock interviews.

So my intention of sharing my experience is to tell people that the quality and reputation of my MBA in Marketing is demonstrated to me every day, and as I reflect on my UIC Liautaud experience I have no regrets.
Proud to be UIC!