Vishal Jagrup, MBA Class of 2020: My Summer Internship with L’Oréal.

Your origin-story

My name is Vishal Jagrup. I am the son of two Trinidadian immigrants and was born in Brooklyn, New York, but grew up mostly on Staten Island. Staten is a unique place known for being the hometown of the Wu-Tang Clan and the cast of the Jersey Shore (I’d like to think I am more Wu-Tang Tang Clan than Jersey Shore).

I worked a variety of jobs in my youth including McDonald’s cook, gas station cashier, and call center worker. I think these experiences helped shape my current work ethic and humility as a professional.

Education

I have a Bachelors of Science in Economics and Finance from the College of Staten Island.

Work history

Following my undergrad degree, I spent 4 years working in Supply Chain for Xerox. Then at the end of my fourth year of the company, I decided that I wanted to do something different, I wanted to challenge myself in a way I hadn’t been challenged before, and most of all I wanted to perform a type of service. I then resigned to join the United States Peace Corps, where I was sent to Burkina Faso to start my service. In Burkina I worked in the Community Economic Development sector, working on mostly agricultural projects where I launched soybean and honey production projects to help improve food security and strengthen women's employment/empowerment in my region. My service then ended early and abruptly because of civil unrest happening in Burkina, all Peace Corps volunteers were evacuated from the country with only a 24hrs notice. I then spent around 6 months working with the America Red Cross in New York City, before leaving for State College, PA to pursue my MBA at Penn State.

The specific reason you went to get your MBA… what was your goal?

My main goal in pursuing my MBA was to strengthen my academic knowledge of Supply Chain, as I had worked in this area during my career but did not have much experience studying it during my undergrad. I also wanted to build a strong personal and professional network through a residential MBA program.

What sort of internship were you looking for through your MBA program?

I wanted to work in a fast-paced company where I could learn a ton and work with a product that people could get really excited about.

To read the rest of Vishal's story, please click on the link below: