Student Profile: Jeff Hughes

Jeff Hughes (second to right) with Sarah Wiley and Business Owner Oscar Flores

Program and year:  MBA '11
Hometown:  Columbus, GA
Number of visits to Nicaragua:  This was my first visit.

Which seminars did you teach? 

Break-Even Analysis, and Motivating and Retaining Employees

Favorite Project Nicaragua memory: 

Visiting the market where Oscar Flores sells his shoes and seeing how commerce worked firsthand for the people who live in Managua.

What was your greatest learning moment on this trip? 
Hearing the seminar participants discuss the cultural differences between the United States and Nicaragua as I led the case discussion we prepared about employee motivation techniques.

What surprised you the most about Nicaragua and your experience visiting the country? 

The ingenuity among the entrepreneurs we met was amazing, their resourcefulness and desire to improve the lives of their families and community was inspiring.

How has Project Nicaragua affected your business school experience?

My trip to Nicaragua has reaffirmed I made the right decision in coming back to business school.  It has been a wonderful experience using the things I have learned in school to help others.