The 2017 M2i Graduation Ceremony

The M2i offers the students an opportunity to collaborate and be creative in various events which rely on teamwork. Despite stress, hard work and deadlines, it helps to build ties of friendship and gives students team management skills that are required in the workplace.
Our last project to organise for the semester was the Graduation Ceremony, led by our colleagues Semeh Bejaoui and Dylan Zereni. Each student had tasks in various divisions (logistics, communication, creation, decoration and preparations), and the fun part was the 1920s vibes as we chose « The Great Gatsby » as a theme for the party.

We had a chat with 4 students among the graduates who had come together from the 2016/2017 promotion:

• Radia Dahmani, Business Developer at the online recruitment agency Qapa.
• Darya Makeeva, Inside Sales Service Manager at the digital customer management provider Dimelo.
• Rachida Ouartialous, International Business Developer at online specialised conciergerie service We Stay in Paris.
• Svetlana Sukhorukova, Strategic Marketing Assistant at the global supplier of fragrances, and cosmetic bases Symrise AG.

The first questions were for Radia and Darya, as they enjoyed meeting up in the same place that had first brought them together:

How does it feel to come back to university to celebrate your graduation?
Radia: It feels both strange and surprising. It’s a good ceremony in which I can meet my former classmates again and meet other people. I am happy to be here tonight and celebrate my graduation with you.
Darya: It’s a great ceremony and I’m happy to see my friends back again. When it started I said: “where’s Radia ?!” because actually, Radia is not just a person. To me, she made this promotion. She was our queen.

What has the M2i brought to you in the workplace?
Radia: The first thing is teamwork. Before coming to the M2i, I wasn’t really able to work in a team. During the M2i, what was really important and exclusive was the obligation of working together as we had projects to bring to fruition. There was a team spirit that we could develop together.

At work, do you use the language skills you developed in the M2i?
Darya: My languages were English / Russian and I am a native Russian speaker. Unfortunately, I don’t have the opportunity to use Russian at work but I use English all the time as I work with EU countries. There will certainly be an opportunity when you girls will use your languages but I advise you to do one thing: if you can learn German, go for it! It’s really empowering and I am telling you this from experience.
Radia: I didn’t have the opportunity to use English in my actual job but in my future job, I will. Although I work in an international company, I’m only working at the French department and all my customers are French, so I only use French. I miss it and this is why I’m changing my job.

After spending some time talking to teachers and to the guests, we then had an interesting conversation with Rachida. We talked to her far away from the crowd as the time of fun, music and friendliness was just beginning:

What did you like the most about the M2i program and why?
Rachida: I loved to prepare all the events of the semester. It was really great to work with the team and contact all the recruiters and professionals in order to get them to all come together at the one event. The whole organisation and teamwork was what I liked the most. We had all those people coming from companies to tell us about what they learned at work. This is why it’s different from other Master’s programs.

What advice do you give to students?
Rachida: My advice is to give all you can give for what you want to accomplish, but still have a life! I know this Master’s program is really intense and that you have many things to do at once, but you have to live. So just live your life and enjoy what you do in the M2i. Be happy with what you’re doing.

It was very interesting to take advantage of such a friendly event to learn from the graduates who once were our “godmothers” and “godfathers”. At the end of the ceremony, we talked with Svetlana, who talked to us about her internship, and we leave her the final word.

“I had a hard time finding a suitable internship on time, but patience is key. My advice for you is to be optimistic and choose what makes you happy. I found a job that changed my life for the better.”
Svetlana Sukhorukova, Strategic Marketing Assistant, Symrise AG.