Starting at JIBS to change the world

04 Jun 2009 | Posted By: Maria Markenroth

Hey everyone!

My name is Brenna Shelsta, I’m from Denver Colorado in the USA. I  will be attending JIBS this coming August. There are so many  preparations and things to get done before I can begin school in  Sweden in 2 and half months. But before I get into talking about all my preparations let me tell you a little about myself and why I’ve chosen  JIBS.

I’ve grown up in Colorado, I’m the 4th out of 5 kids, and I have an AMAZING family. I graduated from high school in 2006, and I was planning on heading to university right after I graduated. But with only a month and half left of high school I decided to postpone university. Instead I joined an amazing organization called Up with People. Up with People is an international organization that takes 80-100 international students ages 18-29, around the world for 6 months doing community service projects, living with host families and performing a dynamic show with music and dance, and at the same time it gives you a global education, along with opportunities to improve your professional working skills.

During my 6 months as a student in Up with People I participated in a couple internships where I got to work with my staff members, I learned about the business side of a non profit organization. After my  6 month tour was finished, I was offered a position on staff to come back on the tour to travel as the Business Administrator. I happily accepted, and was immediately put in charge of all the merchandise and finances for a year while we traveled around the world, along with helping lead our 100 students. It was the most exciting and challenging thing that I’ve done thus far in my life.

Me and baby Jet Lou

While working for Up with People I spent a month in Thailand. 2 out of the 4 weeks there I spent working in an orphanage, spending time with newborn to 3 year old babies. There were about 20 babies in this age group alone… then there were hundreds of other kids in other age groups through out the orphanage. These 2 weeks changed me completely.  It was so heart breaking to see all these kids, many of them had lost their parents due to HIV, and some of the children themselves were HIV positive. There was one little boy in particular that really touched
me, his name is Jet Lou and he has Down Syndrome.

Me and Taylor

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to study until I met Jet Lou, but after only knowing him for a day I was changed forever. You see my youngest brother Taylor also has Down Syndrome, and it got me thinking about how drastically different these boys lives would be based purely on where they were born. I started thinking how my brother Taylor would never get the same opportunities that I have, just because he was born with Down syndrome. And how this little baby Jet Lou would never come close to the opportunities that Taylor has been given, just because of  where he was born. Because Taylor was born in a country where he has access to some of the best schools, technology, and therapy he will have a very high quality of life. And on top of all that that he has a family that loves and cares for him. Jet Lou on the other hand is left in an orphanage with basically no therapy, no schooling, and no family, and in all honesty may not ever get adopted. So Jet Lou will be able to stay in the orphanage until he is 18, and then after that who knows what will happen to him. This is what breaks my heart.

I’ve always known that things would be different based on where you were born, but when I actually got to see with my own eyes how different it really could be, how if my brother was born in another country into another family his life would be COMPLETELY different.

So you see this is why I chose JIBS, I will be studying international economics and policy, in hopes that I can learn why and how someones life can be so different purely based on where you were born or raised. I want to learn more about why things are the way are in the world. I think learning about the global economy and economies in  different nations is a great place to start. And what better place to
study global economy than at an international business school, in a country other than my own!

I have the desire and drive to start school at JIBS in August, so now comes the tricky part… Visas, scholarships, loans, preparing to live in another country for 3 years, and just trying to make it all happen. Maybe that doesn’t seem that difficult…. but making all that happen in 2 and half months, now that’s the challenge!

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