Juan Cuzme Rigo

Tell us a bit about yourself—how did you get to where you are today? Any highlights, personal or professional?

I am currently in London, but will soon be up in Durham to commence my studies of a Natural Science BSc, studying physics and philosophy. A highlight of my summer that came after INSEAD was finding out that I had been accepted into Durham. 

A personal highlight this summer was definitely the friends I made during the programme, as I have already booked flights to meet up with some of them in Amsterdam!

Any fun or quirky facts about you?

I am trilingual, I play the piano, I paint (mostly oil paint) and love art.

What motivated you to choose the INSEAD Summer School, and how do you think it will align with your future goals, even at this early stage?

My brother had gone two years prior and had told me it was such a fantastic experience. 

Initially, I was sceptical because it was the summer after I had finished my end-of-high school exams, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to study more, ahaha! However, upon reflecting on it, I soon realised that if I could get accepted into such a programme, it would be extremely beneficial to me, not only setting up my education in business quite early but also meeting people from all over the globe. 

It has taught me a solid foundation of skills that can be applied to anything I’m doing at the moment. For example, this week, I have been working on remodelling an apartment with a team, and I have been observing and analysing management skills that my boss uses with those that I learnt at INSEAD.

How was your experience at ISS? What did a typical day look like?

My experience was incredible, every day was always a good time, because the lectures and activities were all extremely engaging and fun. 

During breaks, you get a chance to interact with everyone, and it was great because you had the opportunity to speak to so many interesting people. After the learning of the day is over, having dinner all together was an experience that really brought me close to many people, and to wind down after the intensity of most days, it was great to either go on a run or play squash with friends.

Any memorable moments you’ll carry with you?

One of my most memorable takeaways from the programme was just the culture of INSEAD, which was properly introduced in Thibault Seguret’s ‘Give, Give, Get’, which was, for me, one of the most impactful lectures. Even just experiencing it for two weeks has changed my approach to many relationships. 

What stuck with me most was the culture of giving and caring, helping others and truly listening to their opinions or needs.

What were your impressions of campus life, your classmates, and the professors? How did you find living in Fontainebleau for two weeks?

Campus life was really fun; it was easy to get around, and everyone was really nice and willing to point you in the right direction. All of my classmates were incredibly smart, talented and eager to learn, which made the lectures much more interactive and engaging. 

Most people weren’t afraid to be wrong when asking questions, which I found brave and inspiring as they were all there to learn, and that then gave me the confidence to try to answer and be alright with being wrong. 

The town outside of campus was also good fun; there are bars that are always fun to go to with the people you will meet there (although they close too early).

Could you share a little about your application process and getting to Fontainebleau?

My application process went quite smoothly; I just remember being nervous when answering the questions on video as I was afraid I would mess up during the one-time recording.

Any advice or words of wisdom for someone thinking about joining ISS?

Don’t doubt whether it is going to be worth it, because it most certainly will be!