Life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved
Post by Alex Ohnona, Class of 2014
What a beautiful world we live in! Growing up in Paris, France, Babson College was an experience
abroad for me. As fulfilling as it felt, it wasn’t quite enough for me: I was hungry for change. After
thorough research and advising from the the Glavin Office, I joined the BRIC program. It is always hard to describe such experiences, you truly have to live it in order to understand; to sum it up, it is by
far the best thing I have done during my time in Babson. Getting back was great: all my friends
were there, everything was the same, but I had changed, I felt grown. Hunger struck me again; I
decided to do a winter session in Ghana, where I taught entrepreneurship and shared two magnificent
weeks in company of about fifty fantastic Babson students. A few breaths later, I graduated (May
2014).
Looking back to it, my study abroad programs are what I have to back at the most.
At this stage of my life, lots of questions were going through my head, and only one thing was
clear: I needed to discover. After a few weeks in the USA, I embarqued on a journey across South
America to meet others, to meet myself. The plan was simple: no plan, just live. It was six months
of backpacking with an itinerary looking something like that: Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador,
Peru (again), Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. This experience engraved unforgettable
encounters with people whose hospitality has touched me at my deepest point.
After Brazil, I headed back to Paris, France where I was able to spend some valuable time with my
family. All this time away from them has helped me realize how amazing it is to be together. After
three months, I left to India in order to start a new job. I am now here, feeling ready.