Interview with Anita Patel Jusnes, a former IB student at Berg

Tell us about yourself

My name is Anita Patel Jusnes. I’m 36 years old, married and have two kids. I met my husband when we both attended IB at Berg. Even though I am born and raised in Norway, my parents are Indian. I’ve never lived abroad for very long, but I feel like a world citizen. After IB, I went to the University of Oslo to get my master’s degree in pharmaceutics.  I am also working on a master’s degree in business management from BI. For the past twelve years I have put these skills to use through working in a pharmaceutical company called GlaxoSmithKline. However, I just started working for a Norwegian company called Pronova Biopharma.

I’m currently part of a programme started by NHO called Global Future (http://www.nho.no/globalfuture/). This is a new programme for people with leadership ambition and minority background. It’s an 18-month long process where I have my own mentor etc. I am very excited about it. The newspaper Dagsavisen did a case on this back in October, where I had my picture taken along with Councilman for education in Oslo, Torger Ødegård, and Olaf Stene from NHO. (A facsimile can be found at the bottom of the article)

·         When did you go to Berg, and what are your fondest memories from that time?

My Berg-career was from 1989-1991. Even though it was hectic at the time, I look back at the experience with no regrets.  I remember I got to choose my own six subjects. There was little time for being idle, and just before my graduation, we had an exam on May 17. I remember the teachers very well, and the student community was great. Those of us who went to IB were quite international, and all classes were taught in English, except for Norwegian A1, of course.

·         How has IB shaped you as a human being?

Well, I met my husband here, so that’s the obvious answer to the question. With my international background, I felt that going to IB was very natural. I mentioned earlier that I felt like a world citizen, and IB helped me develop that side of myself. Even though the people from my graduation class currently are spread all over the world, we actually managed to gather for a 15-year reunion last summer. I didn’t think about it at the time, but the network of people I met then has been great to have after I became a career professional. As a serendipitous fact, I incidentally just started working with an old co-student in my current job.

·         Has your experience from IB been useful in later studies and professional career?

IB, and particularly chemistry class definitely laid the foundation for my subsequent academic career. The knowledge and skills I picked up from chemistry class made the first year at pharmaceutical at UiO seem easy. Also, us having had Theory of Knowledge in IB enabled us to bypass the otherwise obligatory preparatory philosophy courses at University.

Even though I chose the sciences, I still have very fond memories from Norwegian and English. I love to analyze literature, and there was a discipline to it that made me feel great respect for that art. I also enjoyed CAS quite a lot, and I think that was particularly useful for growing as human beings.

·         Anita, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us about this. Finally, what would you say to all the young people who are considering coming to Berg and IB?

Without a doubt, I can wholeheartedly recommend it. Today’s society has become very globalised and it will only continue. IB is a great course as a foundation for building a career. As a student now, there are so many choices to be made, and so many options on the table. In my opinion, IB will prepare you well for whatever you decide to do. In my experience, getting out of the comfort zone and learning to interact and cooperate from people with different backgrounds will be incredibly valuable later in life.