CATÓLICA-LISBON student considered one of the 100 best students of 2022 in the USA
João Pires Coelho, Double Degree in Business Administration student at Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, of Universidade Católica Portuguesa, was considered one of the 100 best and brightest business students in the USA, by Poets&Quants for Undergraduates. The internationally recognised platform annually celebrates the achievements of 100 university graduates, nominated by the top 50 USA Business Schools in the "100 Best & Brightest Business Majors" list.
The student was selected by the Knauss School of Business, University of San Diego, institution where he is attending the International Business and Supply Chain Management programme, as part of the Double Degree programme, for his academic achievement, extracurricular leadership, innate potential and overall commitment to promoting "business for good".
For the student, being considered one of the Best & Brightest, represents "an unbelievable distinction. It represents the recognition of 4 years of hard work, during periods of great instability, with classes alternating multiple times between online and face-to-face or even in completely different time zones. It also represents the recognition of the quality of an innovative program, an undergraduate double degree, which combines the best of the European education system at CATÓLICA-LISBON with the best of the American system at the Knauss School of Business. This distinction is the culmination of the dream I had in choosing a college and choosing CATÓLICA-LISBON for the Double Degree program and the dream of coming to study in the United States".
The student had already been recognized by the University of San Diego, in 2020 and 2021, by joining the Dean's List, a list recognized by the Dean with the best students of the institution, with First Honors, for his outstanding track record by maintaining a GPA above 3.65. In 2021, he co-founded YAC Consulting, a consulting firm in Portugal.
João Pires Coelho believes that "one of the best pieces of advice one can receive in college is that hard work really pays off and that mistakes and failures are part of and fundamental to our development. Failing a project or a midterm is not the end of the world. We always hear throughout college, especially at CATÓLICA-LISBON, in the Entrepreneurship course, that failing is part of life, to err is human, but sometimes we don't realize that each mistake is a lesson and an opportunity to improve. It is fundamental to have the mindset that failure is normal, that nobody is perfect, and that every time something doesn't go according to what we expected, it is fundamental to overcome that problem and think about how not to make the same mistake in the future. Another fundamental piece of advice is based on the phrase we hear the most at CATÓLICA-LISBON: "there are no free lunches". Without hard work and dedication, the desired goals cannot be achieved, and there is a limit to what we can do without making an effort. This famous quote from CATÓLICA-LISBON will stay with us forever because it becomes true every time you move forward in life".
Read Poets&Quants for Undergraduates' full interview with the student here.