My Year in Liverpool: A Master's That Was Much More Than a Degree

I decided to study in the UK looking for something very specific: I wanted to specialize in Operations and Supply Chain Management at a university with real prestige in the field, not just on paper. Liverpool offered me that, plus the chance to live an experience I could hardly have replicated in Mexico: stepping out of my comfort zone, learning in a multicultural environment, and testing myself in a completely different setting from what I was used to.

I use a wheelchair, so before traveling I had a lot of doubts about what daily life would be like: transportation, accessibility at the university, around the city, in my own flat. The truth is the UK pleasantly surprised me. It's not a perfect country when it comes to accessibility, but it does have a much more developed culture around it than I expected: adapted public transport, buildings designed with everyone in mind, and above all, a much more natural attitude from people toward disability. That didn't make the challenge any smaller for me compared to my classmates, but it gave me the confidence that it was possible.

Academically, the program was demanding. The university's rigour pushed me to levels of analysis and discipline I hadn't had to apply before: heavy readings, constant teamwork, evaluations that rewarded critical thinking over memorisation. Adjusting to that pace was hard at first, but it turned out to be one of the most formative parts of the whole experience. Today I can say that rigour prepared me to later take on complex programs in my professional career.

But if I had to pick the most enriching part of the year, it was without a doubt living alongside classmates from dozens of different nationalities. Sharing classrooms, projects, and even meals with people from India, Nigeria, China, and Eastern Europe opened up a perspective you can't learn from any book: understanding how people think, negotiate, and solve problems when they come from completely different realities than mine. That cultural mix, more than any class, was what transformed me the most.

If there's something I wish I'd known before arriving, it's that adapting isn't just logistical, it's emotional too. Arriving without your usual support network, in a different climate, with a much more self-directed academic dynamic, takes time to process. No one fully explains that before you leave; you assume the hard part will be figuring out the wheelchair or the language, when in reality the biggest challenge ends up being the loneliness of the first few months, before you build a new community.

Two years later, I'm certain it was all worth it. I came back with a master's degree, yes, but above all with a more resilient, more open version of myself, and a much broader view of the world.

- Rodrigo