An interview with alumnus: Luís Eduardo Bomentre
When did you graduate from School of the Nations?
I graduated in June, 2005. I studied at School of the Nations for nine years.
What college did you attend? What was your major?
My major was Production Engineering. I was accepted by three universities - Unesp, Ufscar, and USP. I chose Universidade de São Paulo (USP).
Tell us more about your academic and professional journeys.
When I graduated from School of the Nations, I decided to take preparatory classes through the second semester of 2005 to prepare myself for the end-of-the-year college entrance exams. My plans worked, and I got accepted to the universities I wanted. I moved to São Paulo, and there I stayed. The only moment I left in all these years was when I went to work in France. While I was in college, I applied to one of my universities’ exchange programs, and I was invited to France where I studied Aeronautical Engineering. I also interned at Michelin, in the production engineering area. Once I returned home, a friend of mine invited me to intern at an investment fund called DLJ. Although I had no idea about how investment funds worked, I was curious about the financial market. I ended up enjoying the area, and this has been my career for eight years. Today, I work in an investment group called M. Safra & Co. where I make investments in the stock market.
What are your best memories from your time at School of the Nations?
My best memories were certainly the people, my friends, the teachers, and the staff. To this day I am very close to my entire EdN class. I lived with two of my EdN classmates for ten years here in São Paulo. My class was a big class. Nonetheless, the bonds we formed are strong. When I arrived at school, the amount of foreigners and languages I heard was very striking - I was only ten years old, and it opened up my eyes in an incredible way. During my time there, I studied with Pakistanis, Poles, Nigerians, Canadians... This cultural exchange was priceless!
Do you believe studying at School of the Nations developed positive impacts to your personal and professional lives?
No doubt! The academic part was very good. It prepared me for college entrance exams and college, but the most important was the cultural exchange I mentioned above. The interaction I had with foreign students with different beliefs and customs was fundamental in building up my character, which is reflected in all aspects of my life. The school taught me to respect others and to see the world from different points of views. This is certainly one of the trademarks EdN students have compared to others.
Any advice or message to our students?
Get out of your comfort zone! Enjoy everything School of the Nations has to offer, especially the multicultural environment. Be curious! Go study in another city, another country - get to know more people, more cultures. Try everything you can, and learn new languages. Never stop learning and exploring the diversity of the world. Leaving school is just the beginning.