Interview with Tunis Business School English Radio

(May 2014)
15 juillet 2014, 18:36
1. Can You introduce yourself?
Ahmed Hadhri, a senior student majoring in marketing. I am an active AIESEC member since
2011; I’m currently an account manager in AIESEC in Tunisia and a bench marking manager at
Arab Inspire association. I have 2 diplomas in music and I play with Oud. I played Karate for
many years but football is my favorite sport. I love connecting with nature, volunteering, reading,
and traveling. I love beauty and art, making friends, learning something new and love working for
a cause. I am a person who dreams with open eyes, a person who tries to enjoy his life as much
as possible, a person who is looking for new experiences, a person who is concerned about his
personal growth and who is also very concerned about his relationships with people around him.

2. Can you define your achievements so far and try to explain them to us?

Well, it is true that I was part of the team that won the INJAZ national competition and that
represented Tunisian Qatar in 2012 with a mobile application project. It is true that I was on the
top of the team that represented Tunisia and my university at the Hult Prize competition in
London in 2013 with a social enterprise project that aims to reduce food insecurity in urban slums.
It is true that I was invited for one time at Shems Fm, 3 times at RTCI and 2 times at Express FM.
It is true that I made a touching speech about my experience in INJAZ at the “Arabic Institute of
company chiefs” in front of an audience who was plenty of Businessmen and Business women. It
is true that I was a facilitator in an AIESEC conference and I was part of the team that was
qualified to the finals of the Arab Mobile App challenge in Tunis with an idea of mobile application
for entrepreneurs. And it is true that I wrote an interesting article called « the 9 most important
things we should learn in school » which was published by a Tunisian online Business
magazine…
http://www.businessflood.com/9-most-important-things-we-should-learn-in-school/
But these are not achievements. My personal achievements are to be able to manage time
between my studies and these extra-curriculum activities. My achievement is my ability to find
and do what I love to do, to work hard to achieve my goals, to take risks, to learn from my
mistakes, to admit that I was wrong, to apologize, to dream big in an environment where most
people don’t dream, to make some people love my ideas and to take the initiative.
My achievements are also my ability to inspire some people to dream, to think, to feel that that
they can do something,my ability to help others as much as I can, to transfer my convictions and
emotions to some of my listeners, to gain the trust of some people, my ability to leave a good
reputation within the teams that I worked with and to suggest solutions to the problems that my
community faces.
However, the best things that I could possibly achieve were my ability to accept criticism and
failure, my ability to think out of the box, to say No, to stand out from the crowd when it is
needed,to stick to my principles, to transform frustration into a desire of change, to make some
people see me as a future successful person, to make a reputation that made others recommend
me and to make my friends and of my professors proud of me.
But even though« achieved » something during my life as a student, I still lack a lot of skills!

3. What made you choose to be in the business field?

What made me move to TBS is not my interest in the Business field in itself, but my interest to
study Business in English which is my favorite language. I believed that studying it in English, will
bring me a lot of opportunities and will allow me to be employed everywhere.

My father was the first one who pushed me to choose TBS! Thank GOD for that decision because
I don’t think that I was able to do what I did without him pushing me to do it.

4. What makes You unique?

In fact, what makes me unique is not one thing or two. It is actually a combination of:

1. Vision: I am person who holds a vision, a person who dreams of a better Tunisia and of a
better world, of a better education system, of a better tourism, of better human relationships, of a
better society, of a better life…and a person who knows the steps that lead there.

2. Desire for change:While most of the people around us are desperate to change something
in our community, to change the way we queue in front of a bus station, the way we deal with
people…I still haven’t given up!

3. Empathy: I am that person who does not want to order an additional meal in the restaurant
because there are people who have yet to order a meal. I am that person who does not want to
apply for a competition that he participated in, in order to let other people live the same
experience as he did. I am also a person who shares other people’s feelings and emotions and
try to be in other people’s shoes.

4. Creativity: I am a person who always tries to be creative, who always wants to make a
difference, to bring new ideas and to do something that was not done before. I’m not always
succeeding in doing it, but at least I’m trying.

5. Integrity: I am a person who demonstrates moral and ethical principles in his life. I choose
my actions based on values rather than personal gain.

5. What is it that you think has made you successful?

My ability to distinguish myself from others through my ideas and my involvement, goals setting,
hard work, creativity, perseverance, learning, enthusiasm, loving what I do, interpersonal skills
and of course other people’s help.

6. How do you maintain your success?

By always looking for more success, by focusing on my strengths, by learning from my mistakes
and from my failures, by being grateful to GOD and to others, by accepting criticism and by
helping others achieve their goals.

7. Can you name a leader who has made an impact on you?

Well, three leaders have inspired me so far. First, Nelson Mandela with his perseverance and
huge struggle for a cause, Steve Jobs with his innovation and his magnificent ability to inspire
people, and third professor Muhammad Yunus with his wisdom and his will to change the
situation of poor people all over the world.

8. How do you deal with challenging situations?

Well, it depends on the situation but generally I try to be calm and to manage my stress as much
as possible, I try to remind myself that “what does not kill me makes me stronger”, to think of an
optimal solution before taking action, take risks, ask for help and assume the responsibility of my
decisions.

9. What’s the best advice someone has given you?

To always rely on myself at first

10. What’s the best advice you can give to TBSers?

I don’t know if I am allowed to give advice to my colleagues, but I can share with them something:
Follow your passions, engage yourselves in clubs and associations and leave a good reputation,
set goals , dream big, feed your minds with reading, and do something for your community and
for your country. If you are not satisfied with the way we study,try to change it. If you are not
satisfied with some behaviors of our community, work to change it. If you are not satisfied with the
mentality of our environment, don’t wait for someone else to change it. Let’s work together fora
better Tunisia!
“United we stand, divided we fall”

11. What are your future plans or projects?

Continuing to do what I love to do,start my own company or launch an NGO, live more
international experiences and struggling to make a positive impact on society whatever position I
might hold.