Women are naturally sentimental by nature, which may explain why my feelings come first when I think of my school. Pride in belonging to the great community of ISCAE graduates. Nostalgia for reliving those unforgettable moments, the hardest as well as the happiest. Gratitude, because I owe ISCAE for its education, its training, its guidance, its challenges, and its motivation. So, a thousand thanks to ISCAE.

I can only be grateful to ISCAE as an institution: a community of high-quality people, both among the faculty and the student body. It is, in itself, a microcosm of Moroccan professional and social life, where I learned and honed my knowledge, skills, and interpersonal abilities, both in Morocco and abroad (notably through an exchange program at Université Laval in Quebec). As a young leader in the making, I took part in student life through several associations. ISCAE was the ideal setting for my personal growth, combining care with rigor and excellence. This education later opened many doors for me.

WHY ISCAE? Joining the first Business School in Morocco was my ambition and the first step toward a successful professional career. ISCAE has always been a school open to its environment, able to give its graduates the ability to adapt, change, and find balance in a constantly evolving environment. ISCAE's Regular Program (now called the Grande École Program) recruits the elite of Moroccan students to provide them with training that is more practical than theoretical. These graduates, highly sought after by major national and multinational companies, today form the backbone of the Moroccan economy. Having graduated from ISCAE's Regular Program in June 2001, I had my pick of job opportunities. I ultimately decided to join an international audit and consulting firm, which gave me the opportunity to join ISCAE's Chartered Accountancy Program. As soon as I obtained my chartered accountancy diploma in November 2004, I embarked on my entrepreneurial journey by founding my own consulting firm. This experience of starting a business made me realize the depth and multidisciplinary nature (finance, marketing, human resources management, etc.) of the education I received at ISCAE, which covers the range of skills an entrepreneur might need to run a business. Ten years later, I felt the need to take a new leap and pursue research in management sciences. Almost naturally, I found myself applying for admission to the Doctoral School of ISCAE Group. This young doctoral school is writing a new chapter in the history of management science research in Morocco. Having gone through all three programs (Regular, Chartered Accountancy, and Doctoral) and looking back after 18 years, I realize that the guiding principle of this school was, and always will be, "excellence." Reflecting on this experience, I am overwhelmed with a strong sense of belonging and pride, and I realize that ISCAE has met a major challenge: training responsible citizens, which goes beyond simply training managers.

While business schools are supposed to train tomorrow's "elite," my experience tells me that ISCAE is much more than a training school — it's a school of life. It doesn't just train tomorrow's elite; it shapes today's citizens. It's true that students aren't handed ready-made answers, but they are given opportunities and the freedom to choose, analyze, and act. When I joined ISCAE, I became involved in several student associations, and from my second year onward, I took on the presidency of the Arts Office. In my view, joining a student association is an essential part of one's education, as it's a deeply enriching human and managerial experience. In short, getting into ISCAE is an achievement in itself, but that's no reason to rest on one's laurels: success is a journey, not a destination!