By Woraba Dansua Abban, MAM2026
I still can’t believe it’s been five months already! I walk into my first LBS lecture, looking forward to mingling with classmates from 24 different countries while contributing to the community experience. Looking back, I see how much this term shaped my understanding of community and learning.
“Home Away from Home”
From the very first day, my goal was to fully engage in roles that would help me build new relationships and enjoy the diverse community at LBS. I took on multiple responsibilities: serving as a Student Ambassador, Community Vice President of the Africa Business Club, and Incoming Students Officer within the LBS Student Association.
I cherish the opportunity to create lasting memories for the African community by organising movie and game nights at various points throughout the term. Additionally, I have had the amazing chance to help new students feel welcome by showing them around campus and sharing my admissions journey.
Some of my most unforgettable moments include the fall festival, where I tried bowling for the first time; attending “The Mousetrap” play with a classmate; my first experience trying Chinese food in Chinatown; a fun trip outside central London to play badminton with a group of classmates; and an LBS filming experience within the Black History Month. Each of these experiences made me feel more at home and truly highlighted the incredible diversity at LBS.
“The Academic Climb”
Transitioning from a business background, I knew that learning topics across machine learning, data visualisation and coding would be a steep learning curve. My initial excitement at the start of each new course got mingled with moments of uncertainty. However, these days of “brute force learning” quickly gave way to “aha” moments that helped me better appreciate the concepts.
I particularly admired the infectious passion the professors brought to every class, especially as they shared real-world examples that brought the concepts to life. While I enjoyed the chance to shine through the management courses, I learned a vital lesson: accurate understanding is rooted in my ability to practice and produce new results. This realisation hit me when I successfully trained machine learning models to predict house prices in London and built my first Tableau dashboard for a student rental guide, achievements I could hardly have envisioned just months earlier.
LBS pushes you to your limits, but you never face it alone. I am deeply grateful to my term 1 study group members, who not only taught me technical concepts but also immersed me in their diverse cultures from five different countries. Our shared perspectives didn’t just shape my grades; they defined my entire learning experience.
“The Journey Continues”
As I approach the next term, I carry forward not only the technical skills I have recently acquired but also the confidence to thrive in this new environment and tackle any challenges that may arise. I can’t wait to see what the coming months have in store.