A 2005 graduate, Ahluwalia was originally attracted to the program by its accreditation through The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, and to the affordable cost of living in Springfield.
“The cultural diversity, the international students who brought in varied experiences that I could learn from, and the dedicated professors, led to a very rich learning experience,” Ahluwalia said.
The World Bank is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries, typically making low-interest loans and interest-free credits and grants to poor countries to encourage the development of infrastructure. Ahluwalia leads a team of 15 staff members who support banking, asset management, borrowings and pension operations teams at the bank’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Ahluwalia calls the field of finance ‘dynamic,’ and has been able to directly apply what she learned in her Missouri State MBA program to her work with the World Bank Treasury.
“In addition to what I learned in various finance classes, which is directly related to my job, many of the projects I worked on for classes integrated knowledge from various subjects,” Ahluwalia said. “This has proved to be very helpful in my position where I need to coordinate with and support various teams. Some of the people management skills I learned in my organizational behavior class come in handy.”
While an MBA student at MSU, Ahluwalia regularly benefitted from the accessibility of her professors.
“All of my professors were always available to provide clarification on topics beyond the contents of their classes,” she said. “My finance professors were always available for additional guidance whenever I had any doubts on anything related to the field. Had it not been for Dr. Kent Ragan’s unconditional support and guidance during my Chartered Financial Analyst program, I’m convinced I would not have been able to clear all three levels on my first attempt.”
Ahluwalia’s most vivid memories of her program at Missouri State are of her time as a graduate assistant in the finance department. “It gave me an opportunity to work closely with all the finance professors,” she said. “I got to learn so much more than what was covered in the curriculum.”
