NYIT Student Sheri Varghese Mathew is Net-Working It in Vancouver
Photos by NYIT student Miranda Cabiladas.
NYIT-Vancouver student Valentina Lameda interviews classmate Sheri Varghese Mathew about how moving to Canada from India has been a life-changing experience.
Sheri Varghese Mathew was working as an assistant accountant in Bahrain when he decided he wanted to work for himself. “I had been thinking of becoming an entrepreneur and felt pursuing an M.B.A. abroad would enhance my chances of being successful,” he says.
Mathew set his sights on NYIT-Vancouver. “[The school] has a great platform,” he says. “It allows me to network with a lot of different business people and has opened the door for many opportunities.”
But, he says, you have to put yourself out there. “If you have the opportunity to network, do it!” he advises. “The classroom is an ideal place to interact with other students and discuss—that is very valuable, but you also need to get out there and make other connections.”
Since arriving in Vancouver, Mathew has interacted much more with people outside of his circle. He is more confident in expressing his ideas and feels more creative. “Before coming here, I did not know I wanted to create my own startup, and now, that is something I really have in the back of my mind. I don’t want to be stuck in an office for eight hours [a day].”
Mathew is making sure to keep a well-balanced lifestyle. “I always try to exercise daily for a couple of hours,” he says. “You need to make time for yourself. I divide my time in three blocks: work, school, and my social life. It’s hard for an M.B.A. student to dedicate time to those three things, but it is a matter of organizing your time wisely.”
Mathew says he does not like to think too far into the future, but rather to focus on two-year plans. That’s his way of staying focused on his goals. One of his current projects is developing a new app with his friend for iOS and Android. “[The app] will be designed to help make people’s lives easier,” he says. “[For example], it will help people file taxes easily and learn the user’s likes so they won’t miss their favorite show.”
At the same time, he is planning to take full advantage of being in Vancouver and getting to know his classmates. “I have learned the importance of understanding people from different cultures,” he says. “There is also a lot of diversity, different people, and food [here]. In Canada, you have the opportunity to meet people from different countries. It is a life changing experience.”
