International Students Share Their Carlson School Stories

This year, the University of Minnesota celebrates 150 years since its first international students arrived on campus in 1874. As the University honors this historic anniversary, the Carlson School community reflects on the impact of international students within the business school.

The Carlson School, which opened in 1919, welcomed its first international student almost right away. University records show that the business school had a student from France between 1919 and 1920.

Today, there are more than 5,200 international students at the University, with more than 500 enrolled at the Carlson School. Here are a few of their stories:

Prakhar Sharma, Full-Time MBA student

Prakhar Sharma, ’25 MBA, had been working an IT job in his home country of India for more than six years. While he liked working at Oracle, he felt it was time for a change.

“I wanted to upskill myself,” Sharma says. “I wanted to do something more exciting, something different.” So, he decided to pursue an MBA.

He applied to schools both in India and abroad—but the Carlson School was his top choice.

“Given the kind of connection that Carlson had and the companies that come for recruitment on campus, it had a very strong profile and strong appeal to me,” Sharma says. “I also got a good scholarship, which played a factor.”

Since arriving in Minneapolis in August 2023, Sharma has only felt affirmed about his decision to pursue his MBA at the Carlson School.

“I would say it’s a very inclusive community. All the people that I’ve met so far have been wonderful,” he says.

Sharma appreciates that while the classes are challenging, the professors facilitate a supportive environment.

“What definitely stands out is the way the professors teach here,” he says. “It’s more conversational. In general, it is very supportive.”

Diego Condo, junior, Management Information Systems major

For Diego Condo, ’26 BSB, strong education—including study abroad—is a family priority.

Growing up in Costa Rica, Condo attended an “American school,” where he took classes in English, learned a bit about U.S. history, and had teachers from both Costa Rica and the United States. Additionally, his parents both obtained graduate degrees in Boston, and his sister is an alum of the University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts.

“My parents are super big on education and wanted to open as many doors for us as possible,” Condo says.

He applied to colleges in Costa Rica, Canada, and the United States. Getting a UMN Global Excellence Scholarship was among the reasons he chose to study at the Carlson School. “A bunch of things ended up aligning for me to come here, and now that I’m here, it’s been a blast,” he says.

One of the best parts of Condo’s Carlson School experience has been meeting friends. He now lives with a classmate who he met while taking I-Core classes.

“I’ve made the effort to put myself out there and just talk to people, and because of that I’ve made a lot of friends from different backgrounds, different majors,” Condo says.

He adds that he appreciates the academic rigor of the school.

“It’s taught me discipline and accountability,” he says. “I’m an academic overachiever, and if one wants to academically overachieve, at least at Carlson, they really have to be disciplined and put in the work.”

Mei Yee Chew, Full-Time MBA student

When Mei Yee Chew, ’25 MBA, left Malaysia to study at the Carlson School, it was a two-fold opportunity—to pivot her career and to reconnect with her brothers.

Chew had previously pursued a career in education. She first left Malaysia in 2007 to get her undergraduate degree in Arkansas, taught for a couple of years in Kansas City, and then got a master’s degree in international education from Columbia University in New York. From there, she moved back home, working for eight years at Teach for Malaysia, a nonprofit that promotes education equity in the country.

“Then, I kind of reached a plateau in my career, and that’s how I landed on the MBA,” Chew says. And she wanted to study in Minneapolis, where her two brothers live.

“We all left home after high school and studied in different places,” she says. “We hadn’t lived in the same proximity for 20 years, so this was an opportunity to come together as a family.”

With her interests in education and social justice work, Chew initially debated whether she’d enjoy an MBA program. But she views her Carlson School experience as a way to expand her skills, and she’s already seen how the degree can apply to a future career. Her classes and MBA internship helped her decide she’d like to work in human resources and leadership development.

“The beauty of the MBA is that it can be really flexible,” Chew says. “You’re starting with the core classes, but then there’s a ton of electives you can take. You can really sort of craft the journey that you want. Come in with an open mind, see what doors open, and see what piques your interest.”