A Passion for Teaching
"You should be teaching! You are just great at explaining to us, way better than our professor" shouted my fellow economics and business colleagues in enthusiasm after explaining some economics concepts about elasticity and market demand before our final exam during our second semester in the American University in Cairo (AUC). Is this when it all started? Of course not, my passion for teaching started way before when I was at the preparatory school. Back then, I was one of the top students in our school. What made me unique among my colleagues was not my grades nor my academic performance since a lot of other students shared me these qualities, but rather my teaching abilities. Colleagues used to come to me to explain to them difficult lessons or lessons that they missed. I used to explain to them statistics, Arabic and English lessons as I was really good at social sciences, unlike other science lessons such as physics and chemistry which I didn't like it all. After explaining these lessons to them, I could see the spark in their eyes and their gratitude and this made me feel a glow of contentment, and is when it all started.
It is all about "Economics"
It didn't take me long to figure out that I love social sciences and more specifically economics. It all started with economics when I used to read about Egypt's economy every day in the local newspapers since I was only twelve years old. It wasn't normal for a teenager to read about the Egyptian economy in the newspapers while all my friends were always interested in reading about their favorite football teams and players. Years later, I moved to my high school where I decided to study economics of Egypt as an elective course during my final high school year. I studied about basic economic concepts and definitions and I felt in love with the subject immediately and therefore I decided to study hard to get a high score in Thanawaya Amma (National High School Certificate) that would enable me to join the faculty of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University. Once I sat my target, I started to work on achieving it. I studied really hard and got a score of 98% in the two-year certificate. A score that grant me a ranking as one of the top scorers in this certificate on the national level and this was the turning point in my life.
This score did not only give me the opportunity to join the faculty of Economics at Cairo University, but it also gave me the opportunity to apply for a merit-based scholarship that is given to the top 20 students nationwide to join the American University in Egypt (AUC). I wouldn't have been able to join the AUC on my own since it's the most expensive university in Egypt while I come from a middle class family and a public school with no tuition fees. It was hard for me to both accept and reject the opportunity at this time. It's obvious why it was hard to turn down such an opportunity, but it was also hard to join such a university in which all the programs are taught and studied in English while I studied all my life time in Arabic schools. However, I decided to accept the challenge and I joined the AUC as an Economics student in September 2006 and began my journey.
A Change in Routes
"Okay, then you can have a bachelor degree in business administration with a concentration in finance and a minor in economics" said my favorite economic professor after our conversation. We were talking about the AUC economics' department professors and we agreed that the best and most impactful professors were those who have an academic knowledge about economics mixed with real business life experience. It was not only this conversation that made me change my major from economics to business administration, but rather a number of factors that I took into considerations.
Firstly, and most importantly, it was very important for me to taste the corporate and business life because ,as previously stated, I believe that the best professors are those who can have a mix of both academic knowledge and real life experience especially in a very dynamic topic such as economics and finance. Secondly, having a graduate study path in Egypt right after my undergraduate study meant that I'm giving up any hope in living a decent life as the financial benefits of having such a path in Egypt are minimal compared to working for even a national mid-sized company. Given these factors, I decided to change my major to business administration with a concentration in finance and a minor in economics. I wanted to taste the real "business world", so I applied for several internships during my undergraduate years, and had a part-time management consulting job in a prominent Egyptian management consulting company during my last semester. I was sure that being in the consulting field is a step that would lead me to my old dream, being a professor. I believed so because as a consultant, I was in the position where I can have people, the clients, waiting to hear my opinion and analysis. People who trust that I am here to solve their organizational problems and teach them how to overcome these problems in the future. People who are elder than me and more experienced than I am but can set and listen to me while I'm giving them trainings about business planning. That's exactly why I enjoy and love my consulting career that I started two and half years ago during my undergraduate study and till now.
A Comeback
As much as I love working in management consulting, as much as I feel that I have learnt through hands-on experience that the "business world" is not the place for me and I should get back to pursue my old dream. I decided to be back to the teaching dream and that's why I began to look for a renowned university that can give me the global exposure along with the professional academic qualification to pursue this dream. That's why I chose to apply for this scholarship at CBS. I believe such a program would enable me to come back to my country to teach generations of Egyptians who attend public universities in Egypt about Economics and Finance. I see myself in five years as an assistant professor of Economics and Finance in Cairo University as well as a visiting professor in a number of other Egyptian universities located all over the governorates of Egypt. Also, I believe that I'll also continue in working as a freelance consultant so that I can advise a number of SMEs in Egypt on how to grow and prosper. I plan to use the knowledge that I will get from joining the master's program in CBS to educate the students of Egypt how to uplift the Egyptian economy to face the challenges it currently faces after thirty years of political and economic depressions. Would appreciate if you can give me the opportunity to take my dream a step ahead by accepting me in Copenhagen Businessshouted my fellow economics and business colleagues in enthusiasm after explaining some economics concepts about elasticity and market demand before our final exam during our second semester in the American University in Cairo (AUC). I
---------- You actually need not to be so descriptive :)
...,exclaimed my fellow students in the economic and business class when I explained some economic concepts and theories about elasticity and market demand in the class in hope preparing for our final exam.
