Peking University, March 1, 2022:  #Meet Our "Future Leaders" # is a featured series on stories of PKU Guanghua "Future Leaders" International Undergraduate Program students. It aims to introduce program students coming from Peking University and our partner schools all over the world and share their experiences and thoughts before and after studying at PKU.

Today, let's introduce one of our "Future Leaders" program students, Diego Garcia, a Mexican-French young man who is striving to discover and grow in this fast-changing world.


Diego is a Mexican and French undergraduate currently at Guanghua School of Management, Peking University. Born and raised in Mexico, he then went to France to study at ESSEC Business school with a Scholarship and became one of the university ambassadors. During his stay there, Diego caught a strong interest in Asia and the opportunities that it offers: driven by strong international ambitions, he decided to live a semester abroad in Singapore and started the "Future Leaders" International Double Degree Program in China. Previously, Diego has completed an internship at Thales in the strategy and the finance department. Given his strong interest in finance and strategic thinking, he is currently an M&A Intern at Euronext. With great international ambitions, he is fluent in three languages, and is currently learning Mandarin Chinese.

On a daily basis, Diego follows his own rules for personal happiness: to always learn from diverse backgrounds, to constantly absorb as much knowledge as possible, to make long-lasting friendships, and to enjoy the process of enriching his life.

Experiencing the mysterious

One of the accomplishments I am proud of, is to have had the ambition to create a small hedge fund and financial education group with some friends from university. This experience was initially created for value investing, and the goal was to scale it up as much as possible. While greatly driven by ambition and ideals, we expected to see the ending result in a non - realistic timeframe. The lack of experience led us to shift the short - term goals of our project: to teach ourselves about financial markets, while creating a growing network of young amateur investors sharing their opinion on what we find interesting on the market. As a student with ambition, I did not realize the work that had to be put in place, and realized we did not even know how to correctly start. Nevertheless, breaking up the big picture into smaller steps was one of the best decisions we took, and it was key for everyone to find their passion in the last couple of months. Today, I sit in an internship where I learn even more about the field that I am interested in, and I have a more precise idea of how I want to deal with the investing group in the future.


The latter constantly reminds me not to give up, and to keep pushing to learn from any opportunity that comes. As the Chinese philosopher 老子--LaoTzi famously quoted: "千里之行，始于足下" --the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I am confident my project is only a first step towards bigger goals or opportunities, and I am proud to embark on a journey that will bring so much learning.

To grow and explore

My time to relax and clear my mind is usually to discover new places with a few friends. I love going to museums and expositions, uncovering hidden local markets with tons of colors, talking to people with fascinating stories, and discovering foods from all around the world.


In order to keep in shape, I like to exercise by lifting weights: working out clears my mind, but also gives me the satisfaction of experiencing delayed gratification as I strive to push myself as much as possible. Although I started not long ago, exercising for health is also a great lesson to practice patience in my life, as results come slowly but will undoubtedly pay in the end.


Lastly, back at home in Mexico, I grew up in a musical environment where dancing was part of my daily leisure activities. Not only it is another way to express myself: sharing a fun time with friends where everyone is euphoric with the music is a magical sentiment for me. My passion for rhythm is in part the reason why I taught myself to play piano and enjoy most of my days swaying to any tune. I like to remember that it's also the little things that create happiness, especially during lockdown times!

"Future Leaders" Program and  long-lasting friendships

First, China's attractiveness in the current globalization demonstrates that it is the country of the future, and I wanted to learn from the development of this nation. Additionally, it represented a cultural challenge that I wanted to take! Second, the university's high educational standards, as well as meaningful courses oriented towards the digital future, were important motivators in my decision to apply. Finally, one of the aspects that attracted me the most to the "Future Leaders" Program is that it seeks to teach us how to create holistic solutions to problems, mostly through the discussion of our co-workers' diverse perspectives and backgrounds.


I would say that the comprehension and the effectiveness of both the students and academic community to this framework of online studies is one of the factors that impressed me. As a student that started this program at long-distance, I would have never imagined having as many integration events and as many recommendations from locals. Overall, we have such a caring environment for international students. Being part of such a competitive program was impressive at the beginning, but I soon realized that we are all part of a network that actually draws interest from our respective backgrounds, and to be honest, I am proud to say that we became a little family. In the difficult times of the pandemic, we thrived together and found solutions to be as close as possible.


PKU Guanghua "Future Leaders" Program


Partnering with 15 of the world's best business schools, the Guanghua School of Management has founded the "Future Leaders" International Undergraduate Double-Degree Program that gives students the opportunity to gain an understanding of their local markets while also immersing them in one of the fastest-growing and most dynamic economies in the world: China. This program will focus on admitting top students with outstanding leadership potential from Peking University and its partner institutions. After completing their first two years of study at the institution in their home country, students will live and study together with classmates of diverse backgrounds from all over the world, including students from China, for two more years as a single cohort at Peking University.

Source: PKU Guanghua School of Management