Coming from a high school in a priority education zone, I benefited from the equal opportunity program which opened many doors for me.
In high school, I didn't have much confidence in my abilities and thanks to my teachers who were very motivating and attentive, I finally entered a preparatory class. This training, which is both selective and very difficult in terms of workload, pushed me to redouble my efforts.
The preparatory class prepared us for the entrance exams of the grandes écoles of commerce. In fact, I entered Neoma Business School in 2019 and I will graduate from this school in 2023.
Our prep school teachers were very caring. We benefited from the equal opportunity program, in partnership with HEC, which helped us a lot to consolidate our knowledge through different internships for different subjects.
One of the internships that made the biggest impression on me was the one we had the chance to do at the British Council.
After a level test, we integrated different classes according to our results in order to benefit from personalized and accessible courses to all.
My level of English was quite good, but I didn't speak as confidently as I do today, but when you have to pass an admission exam, you have to know how to put your language skills forward.
The British Council gave me a lot of confidence in myself and my abilities. Through rich and diverse courses, a lot of oral interventions and the realization of a vlog that allowed us to express our creativity, I was able to improve my grammar, my vocabulary and especially my confidence in speaking.
The teachers were very attentive and gave us the best advice so that we could succeed in our exams.
I recently received a request from my former English teacher, Mr. Maxime Herbaut, who told me about an opportunity offered by the British Council, which I could not miss. We were invited to have lunch with the UK ambassador, Menna Rawlings, in her office in Paris to discuss diversity and inclusion. I felt fully concerned by this subject and I wanted to be able to share my experience as a French-Algerian and Muslim woman, a student in business school who is trying to impose herself in the working world. In my life, I have always been motivated by my will to ascend.
Because of my race and origins, I felt that I had to work sometimes more than others to succeed in my studies and my professional life.
This meeting with Ms. Menna Rawlings was an honor for me and a very enriching conversation. We each shared our experiences over a wonderful lunch. The listening and the understanding ware there. It was also an opportunity for us to highlight the great work of the teachers of the British Council who accompanied us.
During our internship and who remain in contact with us to follow our evolution and offer us great opportunities such as this one.
