Healthy Fit Goddess is going abroad

It's Friday Favorites time and my ultimate favorite this week is that I made a huge life decision which will affect all of you, my readers, in the coming months. I'm attending INSEAD business school to pursue my MBA!! I'll be at the Fontainebleau, France (near Paris) campus starting in August and then planning to switch to the Singapore campus in January until I graduate in July 2015. I'm so excited for this opportunity and I can't wait to share my travels and attempts to stay healthy with you while I'm gone.

I started the business application process three years ago when I took the GMAT because I didn't think government work was exactly what I wanted to do. When I left my job last October to launch Nuclear Undone, I finally took the plunge to also apply to business schools so I could really gain the skills necessary to run a successful business and grow. My dream had always been to attend the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and so I worked on that application first. Meanwhile, I started researching other schools and realized that some international programs sounded pretty awesome and would provide me with an MBA in just a year (instead of 2 years like U.S. programs).

So I also applied to IE Business School and INSEAD, both of which I received admission to. The more I learned about the INSEAD program, the more I was convinced that it was the right school for me. I want to do international work and the multiple regions that I would get to experience also have growing nuclear energy sectors. (IE is in Spain which is not a growing nuclear energy sector.)

My interviews for INSEAD were with alumni in Chicago, one of which works for the nuclear power sector, and we had great conversations. I learned from them that the intense year in school would change my outlook and that I would also make lifelong friends around the world. In addition, I realized that I know three people from Purdue (my alma mater) that are currently at INSEAD, both the France and Singapore campuses, and loving it. I asked them for advice and eventually decided that if I get in, I'm going. I was so excited to get that acceptance email and even more ecstatic to hear that I was granted the Forte Foundation Fellowship. I have a scholarship and also the support of female business leaders with the Forte Foundation and I'm so honored to be a fellow.

I was waiting to hear back from UChicago until I made my final decision and I found out yesterday that I was put on the wait list. This of course made my decision to attend INSEAD really easy but it was also disappointing to hear. UChicago is one of the best universities in the world (not just the MBA program) and also the birthplace of nuclear energy. But INSEAD is a better program for what I want to do post-MBA…grow my business internationally. Plus, it's going to be lots of fun to travel and meet people from all over the world.

So what happens to Healthy Fit Goddess? I'm going to keep blogging as normal until the end of summer (if it ever even comes in Chicago) and then I'll update the header with the one above. I'll still blog about health, fitness, food, and beauty but with a travel twist. I've always shared my travels on here so now it's just going to be a lot more of it! I'll take you from the French countryside in Fontainebleau, through historic European cities, to the bustling streets of Singapore, and the exquisite beaches of Southeast Asia. I'm so excited for this journey and I hope that you tag along!