In the fall of 2019, the MSc students of TBS Paris from 18 different countries came together to learn, experience Parisian life/culture and create their network and relationships. They supported each other through interesting times, to times that were more challenging. They had to understand why every single Saturday was occupied and saturated with gilets jaunes protesting and creating turmoil in different neighborhoods of the city.
Coinciding these Saturday strikes, the students had another hurdle to jump from attending class due to the national transit strike that immobilized every city in France, more intensively in Paris, for over 2 months.
And now, they will end their year with a silent yet devastating pandemic that affected Paris like so many global metropolitan cities. Yet, the students persist: they continue their zoom classes, they continue to work on their group projects, they continue to support each other, and they continue to look for internships.
They came together again virtually and wanted to share their continued hope. They demonstrate their optimism, they are our next generation of leaders, they are our future.