ILR Welcome WBS Exchange Students, Tanya and Kirsty!!

Tanya  Bencheva and Kirsty Smith are third year undergraduate students, pursuing a degree in International Management at the Warwick  Business School in the UK.  They chose to supplement their degree with international experience and are at ILR this year, as a part of the WBS-ILR exchange program. So Welcome!

Tell me a little about yourself?

Tanya: I am originally from Bulgaria. I moved to the UK to pursue my degree in International Management at WBS. I have always wanted to travel.  I was very excited when I found out that I could pursue a year abroad, as a part of my program at WBS. I applied to a number of schools, however Cornell was definitely amongst my top choices and I am very excited to be here now!

Kirsty: I was born in London and grew up in Nottingham. I lived in the US for three years when I was very young. However, I don’t remember much…I definitely wanted to come back to experience the US for real at some point in my life. The exchange program between ILR and WBS is great, especially since I am interested in International Management. Initially, I was pursuing a degree in Management, however, I decided to switch to International Management so that I could avail the international experience opportunity.

How much focus and exposure is there on Labor studies at WBS?

Tanya: The labor oriented perspective at ILR is very refreshing. At WBS, we study Labor from the perspective of the corporate world…Nobody questions Capitalism, as WBS is a traditional business school. We do classes in HR and OB, but have very little exposure to the field of Industrial Labor Relations.

Kirsty: HR and OB are a part of our coursework at WBS. However, while at ILR, we are getting a specialist perspective on Labor. Moreover, our classes give us the American perspective, which is a new and interesting learning experience for me.

What do you enjoy about the US system of education?

Tanya:  The system in the US is very flexible. We have the time to sample courses and decide what really interests us. Moreover, the class size is much smaller and the professors are really interested in getting to know the students. Personally, this is very motivating for me.

Kirsty: The lectures at ILR are small and very interactive. The classroom experience is very personal and I really like that!  At WBS, we have seminars, which are like small discussion groups, but the lectures are usually very large and formal.

What are your other interests and involvements while at ILR and Cornell?

Tanya: I am a dancer and have taken up ballroom dancing this semester. I also have a part time job on campus.

Kirtsy: I signed up for a number of student clubs on campus. I have been shopping around, attending the meetings to decide which ones I want to stick with. So far, the Micro Finance club seems pretty interesting. I am also interested in playing intramural sports.