S2E2 - The International Student Experience at Tepper w/ Catarina Oberlander

Humans of Tepper

Welcome to another episode of Humans of Tepper with your hosts, Ben and Kara. Today, joining us is Catarina Oberlander, a full-time MBA candidate finishing up her first year at Tepper. Catarina did her first semester remotely in Brazil before moving to Pittsburgh to finish her second semester. For the last six years, Catarina has worked in the tech industry in Brazil, mostly as a data scientist. She also has some background in social and digital marketing. She always knew she wanted to pursue an MBA, and while working in Brazil, she always felt like she wanted to do something bigger and better.

She was looking for a program that would help her grow more in her industry and knew Tepper would be a perfect fit. What drew her to Tepper was the dual focus on analytics and leadership development. She also is a big fan of the food in Pittsburgh. Catarina talks to a lot of prospective students looking to study internationally. She always advises them to first look at their long-term goals and how attending business school will fit them. It’s important to look at the schools individually, their focuses, where their strengths and values lie and see if it aligns with those goals.

One thing that drew Catarina to Tepper was the smaller class sizes. Looking at the statistics of each school, surveying each school’s website, and reaching out to past or current students can give you a good idea of what the school is like. She knew from the very beginning that she wanted to get very involved with the clubs on campus. She is president of TWIP (Tepper Women in Business) and very involved in the Marketing Club. In terms of club events, Catarina highly recommends the leadership conference held by TWIB, which is a full-day event with a ton of alumni that come to speak. She’s also a big fan of the smaller, more intimate events.

All the clubs offer some form of internships, so it’s helpful to get a mentor or point of contact to help walk you through the more nuanced aspects of the school and get you on the track you want to be on. Catarina moved from Brazil with her husband and is also involved in the Tepper Partner’s Club, which is a great resource to anyone coming to Tepper both domestically and internationally to help connect your partner with others who have been in similar situations. They’re great for connecting you with almost any resource you need, even for simple things like finding a dentist, since the experience can be quite difficult for both partners.

What You Will Learn:

1. Background information on second-year MBA Catarina and Tepper will help hone her skillset to reach her future goals.
2. What coming to Tepper internationally is like and advice for prospective international students
3. A close look at several clubs available at Tepper and what each of them has to offer.