Ramona Pergel - a prestigious international award thanks to her selfless determination to help others.
An inspirational student was shortlisted for a prestigious international award thanks to her selfless determination to help others.
Ramona Pergel, 34, was one of four talented finalists shortlisted for the Independent Student of the Year Award by the Association of MBAs (Master of Business Administration).
The MBA Student of the Year is a coveted accolade in the business education environment. It celebrates exceptional MBAs that are outstanding advocates for business education and drivers of positive change, using their degrees to achieve this.
Ramona was shortlisted from more than 150 nominations worldwide but narrowly missed out on the award, which was presented to Husameldin Elnasri from Lancaster Business School, at a glittering gala dinner in London last night (Wednesday 17 October 2012).
Ramona, who is originally from Romania, studies at the University of Sheffield's International Faculty at CITY College in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Now in the final stages of completing her dissertation in the area of General Management, Ramona is not only a first class student and kind-hearted volunteer, but also has a successful career at global energy giant E.ON.
Over the past three years she has helped disadvantaged communities affected by disasters to develop education and cultural projects, provide medical care, support socially vulnerable people, and encourage volunteering activities through her role as E.ON's Corporate Social Responsibility Ambassador.
Ramona's selfless hard work has made a life-changing impact on thousands of people, many of whom are children. She is also an avid volunteer at a charity foundation which supports children with Downs Syndrome.
"Being shortlisted for the award came as a complete shock," said Ramona.
"It was a wonderful surprise and I feel as though it is a wonderful acknowledgment of my work and also a way of repaying the professors and mentors for all their efforts.
"I strongly believe that academia has a lot to offer the business world, not only by identifying solutions to current issues by reflecting recent research, but also by discovering new ways of thinking other than the conventional manner of taking decisions that we are used to.
"I aspire to try and help as many people improve their quality of life as possible, both in my private and professional life, as I believe this is what defines us as humans."
Ramona has maintained a successful career whilst studying after being accepted onto the Global E.ON Group Executive Talent Pool – an exclusive programme which is designed for talented individuals who demonstrate huge potential and ambition to succeed. Earlier this year she was named as one of the '100 most powerful business women in Romania'.
Ramona added: "Being named as one of the top 100 most powerful women in Romania was a wonderful achievement and I feel privileged and extremely honoured. The recognition made me realise that all the hard work and sacrifices I have made are not in vain and I hope I can become an example of the fact that women can also make it to the top and be appreciated from a professional point of view.
"While it is by no means an easy programme, the innovative way in which the University of Sheffield's MBA modules are constructed made it manageable for me to pull-off having a full time job at the same time.
"The MBA offered me the opportunity to build relationships, both at a business and personal level. Participating in the Executive MBA has been an extraordinary experience. I would like to thank the academic and administrative staff of CITY College for their dedication, especially Dr Leslie Szamosi and Dr Alexandros Psychogios who influenced me immensely with their extremely high professional teaching and their personal support."
Thomas Rhodes, Acting Head of the University's International Relations Office, said: "On behalf of the whole University, I would like to congratulate Ramona for this tremendous achievement. We are extremely proud of the Executive MBA programme delivered by our International Faculty and of Ramona for all that she has achieved in her academic and professional life and through the work that she has undertaken to benefit the lives of others."
Notes for editors
The Association of MBAs
The Association is the advocate for the MBA, committed to its recognition and reputation as the leading international business qualification. Recognising achievement through the MBA Student of the Year Award, is an important part of our advocacy role.
The Association seeks highly-skilled and highly-motivated MBAs who are on the path of becoming the leaders of tomorrow for the most sought-after accolade in the business education arena for the MBA Student of the Year.
http://www.mbaworld.com/
International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
CITY College is the International Faculty of the University of Sheffield and is located in Thessaloniki, Greece. Bridging the UK with the South East and Eastern Europe, CITY College offers students the unique opportunity to study for a world class British degree in their region.
CITY College was founded in 1989 in Thessaloniki. Since then it has established itself as one of the best educational institutions across South East Europe. Its lively academic community comprises students and highly qualified faculty members from more than 15 countries. This unique mixture enhances the overall CITY College/Sheffield learning experience in a truly unique international environment.
Today CITY College consists of three academic departments and one division:
The Department of Business Administration & Economics
The Department of Computer Science
The Department of Psychology
The Division of Humanities and Social Sciences
http://www.shef.ac.uk/faculty/international
The University of Sheffield
With nearly 25,000 students from 125 countries, the University of Sheffield is one of the UK’s leading and largest universities. A member of the Russell Group, it has a reputation for world-class teaching and research excellence across a wide range of disciplines.
The University of Sheffield has been named University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards for its exceptional performance in research, teaching, access and business performance. In addition, the University has won four Queen’s Anniversary Prizes (1998, 2000, 2002, 2007). These prestigious awards recognise outstanding contributions by universities and colleges to the United Kingdom’s intellectual, economic, cultural and social life. Sheffield also boasts five Nobel Prize winners among former staff and students and many of its alumni have gone on to hold positions of great responsibility and influence around the world.
The University’s research partners and clients include Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Unilever, Boots, AstraZeneca, GSK, ICI, Slazenger, and many more household names, as well as UK and overseas government agencies and charitable foundations.
The University has well-established partnerships with a number of universities and major corporations, both in the UK and abroad. Its partnership with Leeds and York Universities in the White Rose Consortium has a combined research power greater than that of either Oxford or Cambridge.
For further information, please visit www.sheffield.ac.uk
Amy Pullan
Media Relations Officer
The University of Sheffield
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Amy Pullan 10/18/2012 |
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