Lionel Tarica, GB'15

After listening to Lionel Tarica, GB’15, list his degrees, internships, and experiences studying and working abroad, it’s hard to imagine anyone ever describing him as average.

But, he says, “people told me that I would be average all my life. That I would do some things, but I wouldn’t go very far in my studies or in life. I was so sick of having people tell me that I was average, that I wanted to try something different.”

That focus and drive led him to spend the last seven years completing an undergraduate business degree at Euromed Management in his home country of France; pursuing internships in auditing, management, public relations, and consulting; studying abroad in London; and enrolling in a graduate business program at NEOMA Business School in Normandy.

It was at NEOMA that he set his sights on his next chance to break expectations — spending a year in the MBA program at the University of Richmond. His advisor in France told him it wouldn’t be easy. He would have to have the best grades among the other applicants.

“I cut rugby, I cut parties, I cut down everything,” Tarica says. “I worked as hard as possible to get the best grades, and in the end it worked.”

Now in his second semester at Richmond, Tarica is making the most of his year abroad. A full course load keeps him busy, but he’s also taking every chance to see as much of the U.S. as possible. That means everything from traveling to Savannah, New York City, and Shenandoah National Park, to having dinner with his classmates right here in Richmond.

“I met some very good friends inside the MBA and it’s cool because they are welcoming and willing to show me their country, what it’s like, without trying to fake anything,” he says. “They even undervalue what they do and what they eat, where they go. People say, oh, you must miss your [French] wine and food and cheese. And honestly, I don’t because it’s just different. There is nothing to be missed, but only things to be discovered.”

As Tarica enters his final months in Richmond, and in school, he’s beginning to wonder just where these last several years of exploring and discovering will take him. While some may say his path lacks specific direction, Tarica sees yet another chance to go against the expected.

“It’s very funny because seven years later, I don’t know where I want to live, I don’t know what I want to do,” he says. “People tell me that my track is not coherent, that at some point I’ll reach a maximum, given that I’m no expert in anything. But I really don’t believe that. I keep on doing things that I really enjoy. I’m trying to figure out what will be the next adventure.”