Five strangers representing five different countries meet in a classroom—South Korea, Turkey, United States, China, and Jamaica. It sounds like the beginning to a tremendous punch line, but for Chris Malabver, who is from Jamaica, it was the beginning of his greatest learning experience as an Illinois MBA student. “We were made to work in a cooperative environment irrespective of language, cultural, or personal differences,” said Chris. “We learned very quickly how to communicate with people with different perspectives to accomplish an important task under demanding time constraints.”

Despite the vast cultural and professional differences among the students of the Illinois MBA, Chris was surprised to discover that everyone has experienced common challenges in the workplace. This realization has underscored the value of an MBA for Chris: “Together we are tackling these common challenges through our studies. I view this shared struggle as the catalyst for growing into dynamic business managers.”

This past summer, Chris completed an internship at Scotia-Capital, which is the corporate and investment banking arm of the Bank of Nova Scotia. This internship was the perfect opportunity for Chris, as he would like to transition from his previous experience in commercial banking to become an investment banker. Specifically, he interned with the department that conducts analyses of credit risk and optimal capital structure for Fortune 500 companies.

The internship provided Chris with the added benefit of living just steps from Navy Pier and the beaches of Lake Michigan: “I always hear about the temperamental weather of Chicago, but the summers are phenomenal here.” Having had the opportunity to live in both Urbana-Champaign and Chicago has also fed into Chris’s avid interest in sports. Chris has enjoyed attending various sporting events with other loud and enthusiastic sports fans, urging the Fighting Illini to victory.