One University of Tampa student set to graduate next week recently found out he was accepted to the Thunderbird School of Global Management, the number one international business school in the world.
Javier Cumerma was shocked when he got the news.
“I was so pessimistic about [getting in] that when I saw the acceptance email that said ‘Thunderbird congratulations’ I thought, ‘what are they congratulating me for, sending an application but not getting in?’” he said.
Cumerma, an international business and finance double major with a concentration in economics, believes it is his experience abroad that impressed Thunderbird.
“My application was only different because I worked in an international environment as an undergraduate,” he said.
“Whenever I had a break I was always working. I was always doing something related to my degree.”
Cumerma worked for Max Worldwide, an apparel manufacturer.
He spent one winter break in Europe, recruiting studios for the company in Brussels, Amsterdam and Paris.
Over one summer break, he worked in New York doing quality control functions and designing an international label for one of the products.
In addition to Cumerma’s international business experience, he has also helped his father’s business grow.
Cumerma developed a formal business strategy and worked on advertising for his father’s meat store.
Cumerma says he would like to work as a corporate sustainability manager, a job he said is currently growing.
“A job like this,” Cumerma said, “focuses on giving back to community instead of the big corporate image, which is stealing money from people.”
Only a small percentage of Thunderbird’s student population is from America. All of the classes have a global perspective.
“Every class is international. Sustainability is sustainability around the world,” Cumerma said.
“While [at UT] you could take a multinational finance class, over there every class is multinational.”
While Cumerma is excited that he got in to such a high-ranked school, he is still weighing his options.
He’s waiting to hear back from seven other programs he applied to, including three in the Philadelphia area, where his brother and sister both live.
Should Cumerma attend Thunderbird, he will pursue two Master’s degrees.
The masters in global management would take a year and a half to complete. Then he would be required to work outside of Thunderbird for a year.
After completing work, he would automatically be eligible to return for his masters of business administration.
Cumerma said his parents were “so happy” to learn of his acceptance to Thunderbird.
Previously, though, Cumerma’s parents might not have been thrilled about him going to Arizona (where Thunderbird is located).
Four years ago, they didn’t want him to attend New York University because they thought it was too far from their Palm Beach home.
“They’re a lot more open minded now that [my brother] traveled. He went to France to do his masters” Cumerma said.
“So now I’m allowed to leave Florida. Now New York is not far. France is far.”
Throughout his UT career, Cumerma has made a point of applying his international experiences to his studies.
“Every time I go to class I’m thinking about his company and I’m thinking about the companies I’ve worked for and how to apply it,” he said.
Cumerma thanks professor Koutroumanis, who he said helped provide him with recommendations.
Cumerma said he will make his decision about where to attend school by the end of May.