What does it mean to truly experience business in a global context? In this narrative reflection, Albert Odum, a Darden MBA Class of 2026 student, shares his story of spending a quarter abroad in Hong Kong through the HKUST exchange program. Moving beyond the classroom, the reflection explores how academic experiences, cultural immersion, and everyday moments in the city shaped his perspective on leadership, communication, and what it means to build a career with a global mindset. 

Prior to Darden, Albert advised the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority on transformational initiatives supporting national tax revenue performance. At Darden, he serves as Vice President of Finance for the Darden African Business Organization and the Darden Catholic Students Association, as well as the Treasurer of the Class of 2026 Section B cohort. With additional qualifications as a Project Management Professional (PMP) and CFA Level III candidate, Albert plans to pursue opportunities in digital infrastructure investment and portfolio management after graduation. In his own words:

One thing that drew me to study abroad for a quarter was the same thing that drew me to Darden: global exposure. The classroom has reshaped how I think as an aspiring business leader, but nothing beats experiencing business and culture first-hand: you see how decisions play out in real time and feel the weight of cultural context in ways a case study can’t fully capture. I wanted to take advantage of every opportunity Darden offered to experience business in different cultural and geographic contexts. That mindset took me to Argentina for a Darden Worldwide Course, and then to Hong Kong for an exchange program. 

I prioritized HKUST in Hong Kong because the city is both deeply Chinese and globally connected, which meant studying there would expose me to Chinese cultural values and institutional dynamics while still operating within a uniquely global environment.

Coming to Hong Kong, I intentionally avoided building a bucket list or holding any rigid expectations because I did not want to limit what the city could teach me on its own terms. I hoped to immerse myself deeply in the Chinese cultural and business landscapes, experience an academic environment different from Darden’s case-method culture, and build relationships that would shape my trajectory long after the quarter ended. 

The program structure and classroom experience at HKUST felt different from Darden in form, yet surprisingly similar in intent. While Darden trains students to think by putting them inside a case and requiring them to take and defend a position under pressure, learning at HKUST was similarly tied to real-world practice, with full-time MBA students, part-time students balancing demanding jobs, and working professionals all drawing from their industries in real time, giving the discussions a grounded, tactical quality. 

One difference I noticed immediately was how integrated the business school felt within the broader university. HKUST Lee Shau Kee Business School is embedded in the larger campus ecosystem, sharing the same buses, library, and sometimes even classrooms with students from other programs. That mattered more than I expected, making the experience feel less like an MBA bubble and more like being part of a wider academic community, creating more opportunities for organic relationships beyond the MBA track.

Learning at HKUST was tied to real-world practice, with full-time MBA students, part-time students balancing demanding jobs, and working professionals all drawing from their industries in real time, giving the discussions a grounded, tactical quality.

The smaller class sizes also made the experience more personal, allowing me to get to know my classmates quickly and more deeply. The schedule tested me in a different way, with weekday classes running from 7:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and weekend classes stretching from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., requiring endurance and sharper time management. 

One class that stood out for me was Transforming Business with AI, not simply because of its hands-on nature, but because of the way it shifted my understanding of what AI could mean for my career.  It offered experience applying AI across different business functions, and through lab sessions, we built, tested, and iterated models, including creating resources to train machine learning models in the cloud. For one assignment, I built a flexible AI agent to analyze my personal spending and generate intuitive reports. It was a small project, but it fundamentally changed my relationship with AI, shifting it from a distant trend to a tool I could deploy immediately to improve decision-making and communicate insights more clearly. This course gave me a practical foundation I can carry forward professionally, as I operate in environments where AI increasingly shapes workflows and competitive advantage.  

Outside the classroom, Hong Kong unfolded itself as a city that moves at two speeds simultaneously, frantic and unhurried, and somehow it still works. Living in Causeway Bay, I experienced this most viscerally during evening rush hours when thousands of people poured onto the MTR platform at once, threading through each other with calm precision. What struck me most was not just the efficiency but the absence of aggression, as though the sheer density of people required a mutual agreement to move with grace rather than force. In three months, I never witnessed a shouting match or physical altercation, which created a sense of safety so pervasive that I could walk home past midnight without the instinctive caution I usually carry in unfamiliar places. 

Food became one of my favorite ways to connect with Hong Kong, not just because of the variety but because eating there felt like cultural education. I tried something new almost every day, but my favorite ritual became grabbing egg puffs late at night after class, still warm and crispy, which turned into a small anchor of comfort after long evenings of study. I also appreciated how the city embedded culture into everyday spaces. One day, while commuting through an MTR station, I came across a Bruce Lee tribute exhibition, open to the public, and it reminded me that in Hong Kong, art and identity are woven into the fabric of daily life where millions of people pass through. 

What struck me most was how seamlessly Hong Kong blended its Chinese identity with global influences without ever seeming conflicted about it. English was everywhere, allowing me to navigate the city without speaking Cantonese and without feeling too limited. Global brands filled the shopping districts alongside century-old local businesses. I expected Western festivals and cultural moments like Halloween and Christmas to be largely confined to expatriate corners, but they were celebrated with remarkable enthusiasm across the city, not as borrowed traditions but as fully owned cultural moments. The HKUST MBA office even organized a “Christmas party on the bus”, a moving celebration that took us through the city’s most decorated areas.

From a business perspective, I came to understand why Hong Kong occupies such a strategic position, offering something no other city can replicate. Companies position themselves there for immediate access to mainland China while benefiting from the legal infrastructure of a global financial hub. A high-speed train from West Kowloon reaches Shenzhen in about 15 minutes and Guangzhou in less than an hour, making Hong Kong a critical part of China’s Greater Bay Area initiative. 

Coming from a tax background, I noticed how policy choices shape everyday life. Hong Kong has no consumption tax like VAT or GST, which means the sticker price is close to what you pay at checkout. That helped explain why Hong Kong is a destination for retail and tourism, especially for items like luxury goods, electronics, and cosmetics. One unexpected insight came from something as basic as paying for dinner. When a restaurant rejected my Visa card, they sent an escort to take me to the ATM to withdraw cash, revealing that, despite its global positioning, most SMEs prefer local payment systems like Octopus and AlipayHK over international payment rails, largely due to cost structure and network effects.   

My time in Hong Kong changed how I read people in both business and everyday life. Having spent most of my time in Western environments, I was accustomed to communication styles where a firm handshake, direct eye contact, and vocal tone signal confidence, courtesy, and competence. Being in Hong Kong and traveling to Mainland China, Thailand, and Macau, challenged that default and made me realize how culturally specific those signals are. I noticed less emphasis on presentation and more value placed on substance, results, and consistency over time. I left with a clear leadership takeaway: effective communication is not one-size-fits-all, and the best leaders adjust their style based on cultural context rather than expecting everyone to conform to a single standard. 

On a personal level, HKUST gave me relationships that made the city feel less foreign and more like home. In the company of friends from HKUST and other exchange schools, I began leaning into fitness and outdoor activities I would not have pursued on my own. We hiked Lantau Peak, Lamma Island, Dragon’s Back, and Braemar Hill for sunset, and I cycled for more than 30–kilometers from Hong Kong Island to the New Territories. I found that pushing my body in unfamiliar terrain strengthened my mindset and resilience.

Before Hong Kong, I saw Asia as a region to visit and learn from, not a place where I could imagine building a professional life, largely because the cultural distance felt too wide. After spending a quarter there, that view has fundamentally shifted, and I am genuinely open to building a life in the region. Hong Kong helped me appreciate cultural dynamics I used to understand only in theory and reshaped how I build relationships with people from the region. Looking ahead, I want to carry that openness forward as I close out my MBA at Darden, continue deepening the relationships I formed in Hong Kong, and actively explore opportunities where a global perspective is essential.