Michael Germain, MBA 2008

Michael Germain came to Florida State University thinking he’d get financial skills to support his dream businesses. He discovered a fondness for finance and now plans to make that his business.

“You think when you get your bachelor’s degree you know something,” Germain said. “I was surprised how much is left to learn.”

Since landing a spot in FSU’s full-time MBA class, Germain has been absorbing all he can. He moved to the front row in managerial economics, so he wouldn’t miss a point. His investments class led to a new hobby, virtual trading in his limited free time.

“It’s just exciting to buy options and watch them grow, he said. “I’ve learned I’m very competitive and pragmatic.”

Germain also has political aspirations. He secured a post on FSU’s Congress of Graduate Students, which decides how to allocate money generated from student fees to support graduate students.

A native of Haiti, Germain moved to the United States at age 14. He said an MBA should provide him the business skills to help revive his homeland someday.

“My country has a lot of money challenges,” he said. “We’re not even promoting our own goods well.”

Germain said getting an MBA is practical for whatever career route he takes.

“You can do so much with it,” he said.

Hometown: Petit Goave, Haiti, and Orlando, Florida
Undergraduate degrees: Associate’s degree in economics, Valencia Community College; bachelor’s degree in project management, DeVry University
Post-MBA plans: Finance job; eventually politics