Igor Malaquias, a business administration major with a concentration in finance and minoring in accounting is an international student from Vila Velha, Espirito Santo, Brazil. He currently resides in Exeter, N.H., outside of attending Bluffton University.
In Brazil, Malaquias was employed with a small company where he helped the owner manage the business. It was this experience that led him to go in the direction of a business career in the future. Malaquias made the choice to move to the United States three years ago after finding interest in the United States and the opportunities it has to offer towards his goal in the business profession.
“Life was okay back in Brazil,” Malaquias said. “It is a good country to have fun, but to succeed in life it takes a lot more.”
Some of the main differences that Malaquias has noticed between Brazil and the United States are that there is more structure, foundation and resources to reach your future goals. Some other more obvious differences were the weather, the distance it takes to go shopping somewhere and the distance to go get food or groceries, but he stated those were easily adaptable.
Senior, business administration major Igor Malaquias. Photo taken by Sarah Heydinger
“What I enjoyed most about the United States was the personal space and how people respect each other,” Malaquias said.
Malaquias began attending Bluffton University as a junior. The previous two years before coming to Bluffton University he was living in Bethlehem, Pa., and pursuing his major at Northampton Community College. However, he wanted to continue his education further to receive a bachelor’s degree.
“The people, the size of the school, and the willingness to help students prepare and succeed in their future were factors that attracted me to Bluffton University,” Malaquias said.
Malaquias holds similar core values as Bluffton’s own core values of community, respect, discovery and service. He said his core values are honesty, discipline, resilience, kindness, respect, trust, integrity and staying focused.
Outside of classes, Malaquias stays involved on campus through his commitment as a student-athlete on Bluffton University’s Men’s Soccer team along with participating as a member of the Investment Club. Staying true to his values has helped shape him into the person, student and athlete that he is to this day.
“The biggest advice to give to current students is to learn how to manage your time as quick as possible and to avoid procrastination,” Malaquias said. “It is amazing how easily it is to lose track of the time we have available and then to spend it on things that are not very important to then notice that we are struggling to get homework done right before it is due.”
Just as many students learn at the end of their education, Malaquias believes that getting study work done at a decent time is better than trying to cram it all before the due date.
Malaquias plans to graduate in the spring of 2020 from Bluffton and then hopes to begin an internship in Boston with a financial company that will help build his experience in the business field and give him a closer idea of what direction he will want to take with his business occupation.
