I am happy to say that I consider myself an alumnus of the American International School. I sometimes think back to 1968 when I attended as a 7-year old in grade 2 or 3 for a 6-7 month period - it has been so long that I can’t even remember what grade I was in!



At that time, the American School was located next to the Romanian national television station which today serves as the headquarters for the FullBright commission, maintaining long-standing US roots.

 

AISB then and now


 

WM: You attended the American School of Bucharest (ASB), as it was known back then, in 1968 – what grade were you in and how long did you attend for? How was the school back then? Do you have any special memories that you want to share?

RF: I am happy to say that I consider myself an alumni of the American International School. I sometimes think back to 1968 when I attended as a 7-year old in grade 2 or 3 for a 6-7 month period - it has been so long that I can’t even remember what grade I was in! At that time, the American School was located next to the Romanian national television station which today serves as the headquarters for the FullBright commission, maintaining longstanding US roots. As mentioned, I attended ASB for about 6 or 7 months with few memories of school life, but do recall several events from my experience in Romania. It was a very small school at the time, nothing near to the size nor the number of students attending AISB today, and certainly without the facilitiesthat the school has to offer,such as the big basketball courts and the gym stadium! It was small and most, if not all of the students attending were children of diplomats. I remember running out in the playground, going up and down the stairs to get to class, and attentive teachers, who numbered perhaps a 12 at that time. Only recently during an AISB event, an elderly lady came up to me and asked, “Are you Radu Florescu?,” and when I responded, “Yes I am,” she said: “I was your teacher in1968 when you were a little boy.” I was thinking, ‘how on earth she recognized me from 1968, now' – I imagine there must be some physical attribute that gave me away –'but how she recognized me I’ll never know.’ One particular incident from AISB that I do remember from 1968 – the Japanese ambassador’s son to Romania had a crush on my younger sister and as expected with older brothers, I tended to tease my sister more often than not. Feeling the need to protect my sister from my teasing, the ambassador’s son decided to give me a karate chop to the neck to discourage me from behaving badly. The impact was immediate and after that I stopped teasing my sister... at least for a few weeks. Romania back thenwas a very different place –arguably it is often referred to by some as the golden age of Ceausescu. There are many other fond memories of Romania, and looking back as a kid with not a worry in the world I still believe it was a fantastic place to be at that time.

WM: Do you still keep in touch with anyone from your grade from back then?

 

RF: No. Unfortunately back in 1968, the American school students were mostly diplomat kids. I imagine all those same diplomats and their kids are scattered across the globe or probably retired now. As such, and despite my Facebook account, I have not kept in touch with anybody except for my recent encounter with my former teacher – it’s good to be rekindling our relationship. I certainly hope that this will strengthen my alumni status moving forward.

WM: Are you still involved with AISB now? How so? If so, what do you think makes AISB one of the best schools in Romania?

RF: Am I still involved inAISB? Not officially. I have 3 boys, two who attended AISB and have now moved on. Even so, I am still involved through the school's various community events and ourfirm's support with AISB'smedia and PR relations.

Perhaps my involvement was higher during the time my boys were attending school, however, I do try to stay active in the ongoing activities that the school promotes in the local community. It’s great to see that AISB is still very involved with the local community which in manyways reflects the spirit of theschool. I also know that many AISB parents are active in the community through organizations such as the United Way,

AISEC, Hospice of Hope, and other charitable organizations. The strength of AISB can be attributed to the diversity of the students – students fromdifferent countries – Roma- nians, Americans, British, Israeli, etc., and coupled with this diversity are culture and language, that all contribute to the strength of the AISB curriculum and in many ways,reflects American culture aswell. We should not forget that the United States is a country of cultural diversity,different backgrounds, and different thinking, which all underscore the values
of American society today. Looking at AISB today, the main attraction is not about being «American», it’s about the opportunity to learn within a student bodythrough the eyes of different individuals, different perspec- tives, and ideas – that’s what makes it such a special place and such a great place– a true mirror reflection ofAmerica.

WM: You completed your university studies at Boston College. How did you choose this university and your major? What were the main 3 points that drove you in that direction?

RF: I chose Boston College because my father was a professor there and I had free tuition. It was that simple. That being said, I was required to be accepted like any other student applicant and I think they made it even tougher on me as free tuition was no small perk in those days – just like any scholarship. So I had to jump through the all the hoops, had to pass the grades and work hard beforeI was finally accepted. Why I particularly chose business studies – I attended BC's Carroll School of Business Management – I was always interested in Finance and Marketing.

From my early days as a kid, I was interested in business. I started little businesses: yard services, cutting lawns, and raking leaves. I used
to organize ski trips for my class in high school, to help supplement my non-existent income which enabled me to buy pizzas, cokes, junk food, etc. in little Cohasset, Massachusetts. I always had a passion for business and possessed an entrepreneurial spirit.

I was never afraid to try something new and Finance and Marketing just seemedlike the right fit for me. Isuppose I was just lucky
– in life sometimes there are people who are lucky, and there are people who are smart. I think I’ve been luckier than I’ve been smart. When I graduated from the business school, I was recruited by Wall Street.

You have to remember that this was 1983 when the WallStreet boom was taking offand 'Wall Street' the movie, Gordon Gecko, and hyped
up images of New York were at their height. Looking back, I was probably in the right place at the right time, with the right background and the right degree. Boston College was a reputable school and recruiters who visited us on campus said “Hey, we’re interested in having people like you in our firm”. Back then, even if we didn’t like where we worked, we had theoption to easily switch firmsas Wall Street was thriving – it was nothing like today, where Wall Street has been hit hard. This was a big attraction for young people with limited or no experience who were graduating from business schools.


 

The process was quick and in the course of 8 years, I ended up working for 5 firms including Merryl Lynch,E.F. Hutton, Dean Witter, and other big Wall Street companies, many of them now defunct. However, that was 1983 and the boom of the 80s in which I was living.

What are the 3 main points that drove me during my early beginnings?

1. Having an entrepreneurial spirit;
 

2. being in the right place at the right time, I think that had a lot to do with it; and
 

3. maintaining a sense of adventure – wanting to try something new.

 

Having lived most of my life in Boston, New York was a bit foreign to me. But I was never afraid to try somethingdifferent, much like myreturn to Romania. At that time, Romania remained somewhat of a mystery as 7 months schooling in 1968 could hardly be considered enough time to really know the country. Although Romania was not my home and remained an unfamiliar place, in 1990 I was drawn to that same sense of adventure. I can assure you I was not disappointed.

 

WM: How did you start your career? You mentioned that gardening was yourfirst business. When wasthat and how did you transition from gardening to advertising? How did you know you wanted to pursue a career in advertising?

RF: I did mention thatgardening was my first career– being 14 years old, I don’t know if I want to say it was a career, rather, I think it was a step into the business world. The gardening business consisted of getting together with a few friends and going from house to house in our community and knocking on doors asking: “Hey, do you want us to mow your lawns orrake your leaves?” depending on the season. And little by little we were able to convince elderly ladies, or people who didn’t have kids, or people who didn’t have time to do house chores, and it was our way of making money. It was that simple.

I continued that tradition and secured summer jobs while I was at university. I workedin oil refineries in the middleof nowhere on the Louisiana- Texas border, I worked as a waiter, at gas stations... all sorts of summer jobs that raised my budget while I attended school.

I made a point of supporting myself. I never asked my parents for support once I left high school and it’s a commitment I maintained. I made my own money, I paid for my own school – I was already lucky enough that I didn’t have to pay the tuition, which left just room and board, so I felt that my father had already contributed his share to my education. But I thought it was important to make my own mark and pursue my goals on my own. I think it’s an important life lesson.

I’m not saying this applies to everyone, but I think it’s important to stand on your own two feet, to do things independently, and use your own wits to make things happen.

I think that’s a very, very important life lesson, and it’s something that I try to do with my own kids as well. They work during the summer, they make their own money and learn about the responsibility of taking care of themselves. My kids have it easy too. School is something I pay for. Even though I am not a professor and can't secure free tuition, I have a simple deal with my kids – they pay for room and board and I take care of the rest. It is not about giving breaks, but arguably, with tuition as prohibitively high as it is today, extraordinarily high,
it is a fair deal. I don't know many summer jobs that can cover that cost. So they make their own spending money to chip in – and they do it.

My eldest worked in a fish market cutting up fish onesummer, he worked as a waiter another summer, etc. and that’s how it works. I think it teaches discipline, I think it teaches focus, and a sense of responsibility. There’s nothing, I think, more pleasing, or satisfying, than earning your own money and saying. “Hey, I did this on myown,” and I think that’s an important life lesson.

I mentioned that I started my career in Wall Street. Wall Street is where I worked for about 8 years. I was involved in the trading desk, workedon the trading floor – thatplace you see in the movies with all the guys screaming and yelling. Those were fas- cinating times, and New York really was the place to be in the 80s. It was a fast-paced life, we had events and par- ties (too many parties), and we would work long days. It was a little like in the movies, but it was a fascinating experience and I learned quite a bit. One lesson I learned was: there’s no such thing as gain without risk. It was one of the lessons that stuck with me even today: “no risk-it, no biscuit” was the expression at the time. I continued my career in Wall Street until the events of ’89 took place.

Now to advertising, how I got into advertising.

I didn’t go out and say: “Iwant to be an advertising executive.” My career in advertising really was a product of my activities which began here in Romania. When the events of '89 took place, and being of Romanian descent, I took an active interest in what was taking place in Romania. My father had always been close to Romania – from an academic perspective, and tried to keep the channels open between the US andRomania despite the difficul- ties of the Ceausescu regime.

Throughout, my father kept us up to date about Romania and I was very much aware of my Romanian roots. I was always curious about Roma- nia, I had a 100% Romanian name, so I couldn’t escape that, and I came to Romania in May 1990 just to take a look.

At that time, Romania was quite chaotic, it was right after the revolution, people wandered the streets, there was no sense of direction, people didn’t know what they wanted to do, etc. Nonethe- less, the idea of getting in- volved in communication was intriguing: I had arrived from New York and had bought myself a New York Times and I was walking down Magheru Boulevard just looking around. There were barely any cars back then, a bunch of Dacias and that’s it, nothing else.

As I was walking up and down Magheru, people were coming up to me and asking me if they could take a piece of my newspaper. They said“have you read your news- paper?” and I said “well, I’m reading it.” “Do you mind if I take this article” and literally they’d just rip out a piece of the paper and take it with them. By the time I got from Piata Universitatii to Piata Romana, I didn’t have a newspaper left – I think that only thing left in my hand was a Macy’s ad. It then dawned upon me – one area of busi- ness that could be interesting was communication because there had been such a depri- vation of information for so long, why not do something that would open Romania up to the outside world. One ofthe first projects we tried toput together was a joint ven- ture between USA Today andTineretul Liber. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for a host of reasons.

Looking back, I just think that Romania was not ready to have an independent news- paper in 1991. But it was an interesting experience nonetheless and little by little we became involved with television.

Then it came to setting up the office and I had to hire people. I couldn’t findanyone with advertising or communication experience so through my father’s connections, I went to the academy and I talked to a few professors and I asked them: “Who are your best students?” and they gave me names of their best students. I interviewed them and even- tually hired a few. And that’s how I started.

We were two or three people at that time and without going into the entire history of the organization, we grew to 9 companies and employ 250 people – one of the biggest communication groups in Romania.

Our business interests range from post-production to cable television, to advertising, to public relations. That’s the story in short. In a sense, I didn’t know I wanted to pursue an advertising career, I think advertising followed me and I got caught up and carried away with it. I have no regrets. I loved what I did and I still enjoy what I do today. It’s evolved: our business has changed dramatically – now we talk about digital, we
talk about a lot of differentthings, but even though I am mostly known as the Saatchi & Saatchi guy, I am active in many other companies
as well. Centrade Group is the holding company that manages and controls all of our operations. It’s been a fascinating ride.

WM: What you do now in terms of the internationalism and diversity associated with your work?

RF: I’m an internationalist and consider myself diverse. I am American-born, a French citizen, and I live in Romania. I think that is the definition ofdiversity itself. I think it makes life more interesting. We livein a world that’s so differentfrom when I was growing up, especially from my days at ASB.

Growing up in America in the 60›s and 70›s, everyone wanted to be American and being American meant having American names, playing American sports and everything else that comes with that. That’s no longer the case anymore in America.

More and more want to be international, they want to travel, and there is a trend and a desire to learn more and to speak more languages. Traditionally, or at least from what I have seen, Americans are not very good at languages. Because the world is getting smaller and because we have, at the touch of ourfinger, access to unlimitedinformation, at a level and speed that is mind boggling, it has changed the world for young people (and old). I think that access to readily available information at thetip of your fingers presents so many opportunities which in many ways makes life more exciting. If I wasstarting off my career today,I’m not sure I would go into traditional advertising anymore. I’d probably still do something related to digital communication, but I’m not sure it would be advertising per se.

I look at my kids. They don’t watch television anymore or do anything else that I did as a kid. They look at their computer, they want convenience, and they want to be entertained on their own terms. They are interested in content on their computer, they download what they want to watch, watch it when they want to see it; they don’t buy into advertising, unfortunately.

They’re always telling me:

“Dad, you’re in a dead business,” they’re probably right, yeah, and they have everything in the world at thetouch of their finger. Well, Ithink it’s just great.

When I look at the opportunities of today, I think it’s important to mention how important it is to have information available, but even more important what you do with that information. This is the challenge we, including all the future graduates of AISB, face. How are you going to make a career, how are you going to make a life, how are you going to plan everything moving forward when you have so much information to decipher?


 

WM: Most students at AISB pursue business majors in university. What is your opinion about that? If you were to do it all over again now, in present time, what major/career would you go for?

RF: Great that they’re pursuing business majors. I am the son of teachers; and believe there should be more teachers. Many young people don’t want to go into teach- ing because it doesn’t pay, but it is a very rewarding career in other ways. I love to and I do teach from time totime. While I don’t teach officially, I give lectures, speeches, and especially enjoy doing so with young people. Many students want to go intobusiness, that’s fine. Peopleshould go into a career that interests them and because they believe they will enjoy it, not because they think they’re going to make more money.

 

Many individuals may findthemselves in careers that make lots of money but at the same time hate their jobs. These individuals are not necessarily the happiest people and I have always believed that success is neverdefined by how much moneyyou make. Success in life is a balance: it’s a balance of your career, your family life, and your own happiness.

If you’re happy at your job and miserable with your family and everything else, I would hardly call that success. I think that as a'balanţa', a Libra, I am a big believer in 'equilibrium'. There has to be a balance in every- thing we do – putting aside the daily stress at the work place or with family. Peopleare confronted with differentchallenges and we all need to address them in our own way. But striking the right balance is the most important thing.

If it has to be business, so be it. When one choses a career,business takes on differentmeaning. Business can be engineering, architectural, investment bank, industry, advertising etc., there are somany different types of businesses.

But there are other careers that are equally interesting, equally rewarding andfinancially attractive, thatpeople should explore. With the access to the internet we have the possibility to learn so much so fast.

Everything you want to know provides more opportunities than when I was a kid. I think a business career is great, but there are lots of other things to do and you should keep your options open. There are lots of good business schools obviously, but being an arts & science student doesn't mean you cannot enter business at a later stage of your life.

If I were to do it all over again, would I do the same thing?

Yes, I have no regrets. I maintain the same interest in my business as I did 25 years ago.

It is a business that is evolving and changing, making it as interesting as it was in the 1990s. I wouldn’t change anything. Like all businesses, we have had our highs and lows. You know, life is about ups and downs. However, that’s what makes people better and stronger. Change is the best thing that can happen in anyone’s career.

Most people are afraid about losing their job. I think that sometimes having the experi- ence of losing your job is probably the best thing that can happen to you.

I’ll give you an example: when I was in Wall Street Iwas on the trading floor and I was working for arguably the biggest trading firm in
the commodity market. They were feared and respected. Most of the competition spent their time watching what Iwas doing on the trading floorknowing my orders would af- fect the market – one way or the other. I had 8 phones on my head – they were actually taped to my head and arms. Over time I thought I was doing very well and naively thought I was a superstar.

One day I got a call from my boss, he said “Hey, Radu,can you come up and see me when the trading hours end?” and I said “No prob- lem.” Many things were going through my head and I believed I was going to get a raise, promotion, etc.

After meeting him, my boss basically told me that unless I got my act together I was going to be out of a job in the next couple of weeks. I was in complete shock and I couldn’t believe what had happened. In my mind, I thought I was doing extremely well.

How did I react? I refocused, reenergized and recalibrated and after much hard (much harder) work, I ended up being the number one trader in the group. It was no doubt the best thing that could have happened to me.

So for those of you who are looking for compliments on how good you are and how great everything is, be open to criticism because it’s the best way – sometimes the only way – to change. Thank God, I have never gottenfired, but I have had myshares of failures. I still be- lieve that failure is the best way to learn how to improve and one of the best examples from history is Winston Churchill – one of my favor- ite historical characters. He was successful because he’d failed so many times.



We tend to learn more from our failures than from most of our successes. I think this is a very strong message to carry to the students.

 

WM: Within our Alumni Association, we’ve noticed that a lot of the Romanian students come back home after their university studies – do you think there is any explanation for this trend?

 

RF: I don’t know about that. I always understood thatmany of these kids go off touniversity and don’t want to come back. Unfortunately, I think the statistics would probably point out that the population of Romania is in decline. Listen, Romania has a lot of opportunity. There is tremendous potential. We talk about this all the time.

The question for Romania is really “Will it continue to be a great opportunity as we move into the future?”In other words, “Is it only toremain a great country with great opportunity, with great potential?”

So for those students thatare going off to university and come back, I salute them. This is their country, this is where they grew up, and this can be their future. A future molded by those who take charge and who initiate action for change. I believe that many things still need to be changed in Romania. It’s certainly not going to be us old guys to make those changes moving forward. It’s going to be the young generation. I would launch a challenge to those university students coming back to work to make a change.

I know many that attend top universities like Oxford, Harvard etc. don’t just attend only to come back with a diploma to brag about. It’s not the diploma; it’s the person.

Unfortunately I have seen too many cases of students who return and all they do is boast about their credentials. Don’t get me wrong, I think these kids have great potential, but when I look in terms of what they do locally with their degree... unimpressive.

It’s what you do with that diploma, not what you paste on the wall, your CV, or on your desk. I think this is something we should remind them about.

WM: You are involved in very many associations and you are a supporter of so many educational programs. Why so? What is the importance of giving and responsible world citizenship, both for you and also the community? How does your involvement in service to the community help you overcome daily challenges, both personal and professional?

RF: First of all, I am from Massachusetts and I am a big supporter of the community programs – that’s number one. But most importantly, I think it’s so important to give back to your community.

Life is not always fair. Some people are in situations through no fault of their own. In life we are often not always provided the same opportunities. I consider myself unbelievably lucky.

I grew up in the suburbs of Boston – one of the most beautiful places to grow up in. I attended university and I was able to leverage my background and experience to get a job and to work in Romania.

Not everyone in this world is that lucky. I told you about being smart and lucky; I’ve been lucky. I think that there are many who are smart and simply unlucky. I was taught how important it is to reach out to those people who are not as fortunate, and help. These people are as much part of our society as anyone else.

Those who think it’s about the'them' and the 'us' are wrong. It’s about 'WE'.

My involvement in United Way, ASSEBUS, Junior Achievement Romania, and other organizations is my way of reaching out to the community.

I am the son of two educators and I am a big believer in education. My father always told me that “manners makethman” and by that he meant that education makes man.

That’s what it’s all about. People with the same background, same education, it doesn’t matter if rich or poor, big or small, should be given same opportunities as everyone else without discrimination.

WM: Surely you do have some time to yourself from time to time. What do you do in those rare moments?

RF: I have a hectic schedule and I have very little free time. The little free time I have, I use to read. I read history, biographies, and the New York Times when I get a break at my computer.


In other cases, I do like to play tennis and do sports. It helps keep my energy level up after a long day. The only free time where I can actually sit idle and think is when I’m on a plane. That is the only time I don’t have phones or computers; all I have are my notes and a book. That’s the time when I relax andreflect and it is actually a verygood place to do it. No one will bother you. Looking at my schedule, I am probably doing too many things. Sometimes I get the feeling that I have to withdraw from something because I don’t feel I’m doing things to the level that is expected, at least from my standard, and that’s not good.

Authenticity is a word that I think should be repeated again and again. What does that mean?

It is about being genuine. No gaminess, just saying what you mean with straight answers and being truthful.

A small example from my business dealings is when someone says to me, “Hey, I really want to meet with youto discuss xxx,” and I say,“Meet me at 10 on Monday,”and then they respond “Callme on Monday morning to confirm,” and I say, “No. You either confirm now or there’s no meeting. I don’t work that way”.

That’s what I call being gamey.

I think we have to be conscious about the things we take for granted and when we accept the absurd, it is not only not normal – it is dangerous.

Accountability is another important word and not trans- lated in Romanian – being responsible for your actions and taking a stand for what you believe in.

Taking charge, taking responsibility is important. I have much more respect for someone who says, “Youknow what, it’s my respon- sibility and I didn’t do what I was supposed to do and I’ve let everyone down”.

In my entire history in Romania, I have never ever dis- missed someone for making a mistake, unless they make the same mistake twenty times. However, I have dismissed people from hiding their mis- takes. I think that is another important message.

WM: What advice would you give current AISB students who are trying to decide what career path to choose? Is there anything you could share with them that might help them identify the right university studies for them, and furthermore, the actual career they will pursue? What about those who have chosen something they arenot satisfied with? Whatadvice would you give them?

RF: You are all too young to really know what you want to do in your career. For those who do, 'palaria jos' [hats off].

My general advice is not to worry about it. You have your high school behind you. College is still ahead and will probably be the best years (most fun) of your lives.

During the next four years in college you will get a better sense of what you want to do with your careers and lives.

I know many people who did arts and science and went into business on Wall Street. Today, many literature students are Wall Street bankers. At university they were studying Bacon, Shakespeare, and Hawthorne, they just didn’t know yet what they wanted to do.

Get what you can out of your education. If you like history, or if you like English, focus on that. Don't waste time on topics you don’t enjoy. You will just be unhappy and waste your tuition. If you are interested in Wall Street anddon’t know why, fine, takesome courses, and pursue other subjects as well.

Choose the course you that you are interested in and an area where you want to learn; that’s what college or uni- versity is about. It’s not just about getting the right degree for the right job. I see many articles tell you to “get this degree because it’s the best paying job,” or applicants looking for the best diplomasto secure the best job offers.Fine, but why do you want to go into a career that pays well and makes you unhappy? You can do very well in careers and enjoy your job at the same time.

My eldest son is a history and international studies major. He is not going to get a job in business and frankly is not interested in business. He is pursuing something he is passionate about. He is very focused on arms reduction and conflict resolution. Very specific, very focused. He made this choice after looking at renewable en- ergy, after working at a NGO in Kathmandu for six months and working for Senators in the USA.

He continues to discover the world; he continues to dis-cover different things aboutsurroundings. Rather than jump into a career that he didn’t really know or under- stand, he took an informed decision about where he wanted to go and for that I am very happy for him.

The main message is that you have another four years to think about what you want to do and maybe another two years if you decide to pursue your masters or a graduate program. You have time.

Life has changed. We used to jump out of college right into jobs or grad school. Many young people now take ayear off after high school. My nephew took a year off. Hewas at the American School in the Czech Republic and he is now entering Harvardas a freshman. The year off benefited him and he is nowprobably better prepared to enter university.

My second son is at the University of Exeter; he did not want to wait, but he is very focused. He is an AISB alum- nus too. He has always beenfocused on finance and eco- nomics and he is now reading both topics. He knows exactly what he wants to do; he’s applying to internships withall the big investment firms in the US and the UK for thesummer. Different strokes for different folks I suppose.

My third son is going to graduate from high school in the US and wants to pursue science studies. He loves chemistry, biology and math. Is chemistry a career? I have no idea. That’s what he likes and I am very happy. He is the only Florescu I know who is any good at science; we were all terrible at science. He loves it, he’s good at it and he’s a top student. So why not!?

In terms of choosing universities, I would visit and research as many as possible. Don’t be swayed by universities just because they are Ivy League, top 10 or top 50.

As far as I am concerned, the top 50 or top 100 universities are equally good. The curriculum is the same. Thedifference comes mostly fromthe quality of the teachers. There are some excellent teachers at lesser-known universities, and teaching at big-name schools do not make them great teachers. Teaching is a profession; it’s something that is learned and mastered.

Don’t just look at the Harvard Universities of the world, lookat schools that offer programsyou are interested in and that you think you’ll enjoy. You’ll be spending the next four years there so make it the place you want to be. Think about the weather, too . It’s a life experience. My university days were fantastic. When I graduated from university it was probably one of the saddest days ever in my life. But you move on. So make it count. These four years count more than you realize.

If you’re not satisfied withyour decision, you can always change it. I make 100 decisions in a day, 99 of them wrong. What do I do? I just change the decision and make amends. It’s the same in university and the same in life. You can always change. If you move forward knowing you’re making a wrong decision, it’s not going to get better and in the end, you’ll have no one else to blame but yourself.





Read the entire WORLD Magazine Winter 2014 edition here.