MDH Global Swede 2020 awarded in digital ceremony
The MDH student Victoria Sverdrup Oehler was awarded the prestigious Global Swede diploma during Thursday’s ceremony with the Minister for Foreign Trade and Nordic Affairs, Anna Hallberg. Thereby Victoria is officially the MDH Global Swede 2020.
Each participating university gets to nominate one student to receive the Global Swede diploma and for the first time in the ten years the ceremony has been held, it was digital. Victoria was nominated partly thanks to her being “a determined, pragmatic person with a can-do attitude” and having “raised the level of discussions by incorporating her own background into her views and widened the other students’ perspectives” as it says in the motivation.
Before the ceremony, an excited MDH Global Swede took the time to answer some questions so that we can get to know her better.
Who is our Global Swede 2020, please tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
My name is Victoria Sverdrup, I'm a 26 years old Mexican student about to graduate from the Master’s program in International Marketing from Mälardalen University. I studied International Business in Mexico and graduated at 21, afterwards I had the opportunity to work for two major companies (Ab In-Bev and Tequila Patron) which helped me develop my professional experience and led me to take the next step in my academic life. Since as long as I can remember my dream was to study abroad so I would be able to learn about other cultures and languages, and this program gave me the chance to fulfill my dream, this has been an amazing and invaluable experience.
How are your thoughts on being an MDH Global Swede and how would you like to make the most of it?
I feel really honored and I believe the best way of showing it is by sharing my experience with others from the academic to the personal point of view. I believe that this year helped me grow in so many different aspects and I would love to share my thoughts and learnings with anyone who’s looking for the same challenge as I did a year ago.
Where do you picture yourself in 10 years?
I see myself as a happy successful business woman with a solid academic career. I really enjoy working on projects, so I see myself as a leader who helps the people that surrounds her. I would like to be the person that someone goes to for advice and also to be able to say that I have accomplished all the goals I have set for myself right now.
Do you have any tips/comments to your current or future fellow students?
Enjoy every step of the journey. For me this year went by really fast, but it is not just the time studying, is the preparation, leaving home, starting a life in a new country, getting to know new people who will become friends, close friends even. So I would say, try not to stress so much about getting there and enjoy every step of the process, it will make it easier.
Facts about Global Swede:
Global Swede is part of the work done by the government’s and the Swedish Institute to build long-term relationships with international students in Sweden. The purpose is to create multicultural networks across borders intended to contribute to Swedish foreign trade and benefit the work of reaching future solutions.