The bleary red digits on the taxi’s clock seared their way into my travel-weary eyes. Half past one in the morning. I tried to blink away the unwelcome reminder while padding my temples, which had become beaded with moisture from the water-laden air. As we picked up speed and cleared the top of a bridge, I could see clearly above the cluttered rows of shacks for the first time. The neon lights of the city whipped my stare in all directions and a far eastern rhythm beckoned through the air. My gaze swam through a sea of skyscraper peaks, all flashing red lights and setting the skyline ablaze like a laser show.

Once we hit the main road, I dug my fingers in to the leather door paneling to keep from squealing and to steady myself against the rapid pace we had assumed.  After hearing my shoulder thud against the window on an unexpected turn, the driver grinned into his rearview and told me, in broken English, that between 2 A.M. and 5 A.M. were the only times the roads were free of bumper to bumper traffic. Since the driver was capitalizing on the open road like Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights, it was no time before we reached the heart of the city and to the Swissotel Nai Lert Park.

The car’s door was swept open as if by an unknown force, and multiple small Thai men, all dressed in neutral smocks, knee high white socks and elven shoes with curled toes attended to me as if I were the Queen of Sheba. One held the door as another swiftly grabbed my luggage. Flustered by the sudden wave of attention, I tried to regain my possessions and open the door myself, but as a result of the language barrier, my attempt yielded only ear-to-ear grins, shallow bows, and nodding heads. After setting foot inside the lobby and marveling at the fantastic array of exotic plants and décor, a wave of exhaustion finally hit. Bedraggled, I slunk over to the check in counter and just as I reached for my passport… “You must be SAVANNAH!”

Disturbed that someone had so cheerily exclaimed my name practically 10,000 miles away from my home, I quickly flipped around. Despite the relaxed tones and untucked shirts, there sat what I knew to be a group of seven Deloitte consulting professionals – the sole impetus for my trip to Bangkok, Thailand. They had so considerately waited up for my delayed arrival, brought on by an unexpected 24-hour layover in Japan.  Unphased that the clock hand was now creeping toward three in the morning, the merry band waved me over, kindly introducing themselves. I politely thanked them for waiting up for me and after aquatinting myself with each of the representatives, one from South Africa, a few from America, another from Germany, and two from Scandinavia, they sent me off to catch a little shut eye so I could be at my best for the big event: the Deloitte International Student Business Forum, 2013.

I snuck into my room as quietly as possible, trying not to wake the mess of flowing blonde hair spilling across the pillow in the first bed. My luggage was neatly placed next to my own welcoming resting place, I clicked on the lamp and started to rummage through articles of clothing, searching for my boxer shorts and oversized t-shirt. Tippy-toeing toward the bathroom, I gasped aloud when the tangle of white linens shot straight up in bed exclaiming,

“Oh THERE you are! I’m so glad you’ve made it safely, Savannah! It is Savannah, isn’t it? Oh this is just wonderful. How was your travel? I’m so sorry you were delayed! They’ve left you a little piece of chocolate on your pillow by the way – mine was quite good. Oh but you must be EXHAUSTED! Breakfast is at eight but it’s optional if you’d rather get a little more shuteye. Everything is in that folder of papers right there that they’ve left on your bed. There’s quite a nice little gift bag too….”

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure I caught your name,” I cut in, unsure when the fountain of information would cease. Eline was from Norway. At 24, every inch of her exuded the image of a strong, Scandinavian ice queen: beautiful, yet rugged from a life in a country with one of the harshest inhabited environments in the world. Her burst of excited energy was short-lived, and before I could pump her for more information, her eyelids fluttered closed once again.

In the morning, I descending the hotel’s grand staircase into the hustle and bustle of seventy other bright eyed, eager students from all around the globe. Sitting amongst them at breakfast, I felt right at home. To my right Buse from France munched her croissant, to my left Natalia from Poland forked into her sausage, and Nicolas from Belgium downed his third cup of coffee in one sitting just across the table. I looked down at my peanut butter and jelly toast and marveled at how despite our distinct differences, we were somehow all the same.

Capturing the excitement, education, and exertion that ensued in the following three days is beyond the grasp of my literary ability. The Holy Grail of all things “Undergrad Deloitte” to any one who courts the top-ranked business consulting company, the Deloitte International Student Business Forum (ISBF) is a four day program, held once each year at a select destination, focused on attracting the interest of upcoming top talent, promoting international collaboration, and providing a once-in-a-lifetime experiential opportunity to students who hope to learn about consulting and potentially enter the field.

Clad in our Deloitte paraphernalia we had been instructed to don, our entire ISBF party snaked down a long corridor and into a room, empty apart from a wooden floor, several white rectangular cloths, and multiple sets of markers. As the activity was quickly explained and undertaken, I was hastily introduced to my teammates and coaches to whom I had been assigned for the weekend. I struggled to gauge our group’s dynamic during our first task since I had missed the previous night’s reception and icebreaker activates due to my late arrival. But, in no time, we had constructed a billowing flag representative not only of the event and our group’s members, but also of the “hometown” we had been assigned. Los Angeles!

Interestingly enough, both Bangkok and Los Angeles result in the same English translation: “city of angels.” As the only native English speaker, I was promoted to be the unofficial voice of the group. After presenting our flag and creating a video inspiring teamwork, the entire ISBF clan was ushered off for a traditional waterside lunch and a grand tour of the city. By bus, by boat and by foot we went, romping through the dusty, sunbaked streets.  We wove through local markets, shunning the skewers of fried rodents and the curious looks of the natives, peddling their peculiar wares. After hours of inspecting gilded palaces, glass mosaics, grimy canals, and congested shops, we wearily returned to the Swissotel.

Now that we had experienced our fill of urban Bangkok, every ISBF student was itching for the case material. But, through Deloitte’s generous hospitality, we had a little more relaxing to do in the Thai paradise first. That evening, the seventy odd students attending the forum skipped downstairs and to the poolside for a regal buffet. The sky was dark blue and speckled with glowing stars as I pushed my way through the sumptuous greenery alongside the winding path. As I shifted a large tuft of elephant grass from my view, I gasped at the beauty of the dinner arrangements. Candlelight flickered from ever goblet, every ripple in the water, and every silver teaspoon.  Two rows of tables heaped with traditional Thai delicacies awaited the guests, creating a runway toward white linens that rested cleanly across the bamboo tables and chairs. We all talked eagerly with the interesting, diverse students and professionals we had the opportunity to meet and we all indulged in our final meal before the real “games began.”

After a few more educational delays the next morning, in which we learned strategies for working across cultures and the essentials of good project management, the case material was finally revealed. Each team would have exactly twenty-four hours to answer one question: Why host the 2020 Olympic games in Johannesburg, South Africa? It might sound simple, but simple it was not. Not when we had been given more than 5 pounds of hard copy supporting documentation and an additional flash drive with more of the same. Through the first working session we plowed through our plans to achieve the highest marks on the scoring rubric. After a quick break for coffee, my teammate Wynne and I headed downstairs to conduct a stakeholder interview.

Running back upstairs with the needs of our constituents fresh in our minds, Wynne and I relayed the information to the rest of our team before heading to a debriefing regarding our morning sessions.  In great contrast to the night prior, we swallowed our dinner whole and ran, coffee in hand, back to our conference room where we had plastered the walls and tables with pictures, diagrams, flipcharts and sticky notes. It wasn’t always smooth sailing as we continued along the stormy sea to a masterful presentation, but our team grew together, and by the time midnight hit, we had drawn the sails and battened down the hatches – our ship was in it to win it. Natalia exclaimed how she had so many good ideas that she wanted to share, but she found she could only express a little over half of her ideas when using her non-native language, so we took the time to really explore her thoughts. Hock, who had revealed in our working across cultures session that his biggest weakness was public speaking, had accepted our encouragement and started rehearsing a couple of the key points in our presentation to expound upon for the judges. At every stumbling block we learned and we overcame. At two in the morning, the six of us exchanged accomplished hugs and headed off to our separate rooms for a few hours of rest before the competition continued early the next morning.

Just hours later, our team was assembled again, drinking in the pungent aroma of Thai coffee. We were corralled to the ballroom just after breakfast where Deloitte had prepared yet another incredible session for all the ISBF students. All the way from London, Olympic rower Ben Hunt-Davis had come to share his experiences and wisdom regarding how to “think like an athlete.” He described how after several years of methodical training that did not yield desired results, Great Britain’s men’s rowing team made a pact. Every single action that they took, they would ask one question: Will it make the boat go faster?

Ben described the team’s journey and how difficult making the right choices as a result of this question sometimes became. Ben then flashed a picture up on the screen. There, five or six long-legged, broad shouldered men spilled over couches and chairs, all huddled around a brightly lit television screen. Through a window in the background, it was just possible to make out the shape of a large arena above which fireworks were throwing flaming colors into the black night sky. It was the night of the Sydney Olympic Opening Ceremonies, and the entire British rowing team had decided to forgo the exciting festivities after considering the pivotal question that had dictated their every move for the past four years of training – Will attending the Opening Ceremonies make the boat go faster?

The morning after the ceremony, the team woke early and prepared for the biggest day of their racing career. As they prepared to launch the boat, the team huddled together once more to discuss the racing strategy. Despite the dissent of many coaches and supporters, the crew agreed that traditional racing strategies would not suit their needs. The team planned to row as hard as possible from the first second of the race until they had crossed the finish line… They were determined that would make the boat go fastest.

And it did! After winning by more than half a boat length, Ben Hunt-Davis and the rest of the crew proudly stood atop the podium and received their gold medals. Ben’s message rang true not just to aspiring Olympic gold medalists, but also to every student, businessperson, aspiring consultant and goal-seeking individual in that room. It is a universal truth that to ensure victory, absolute dedication and incredible effort must be devoted to a cause.

With that inspiration, our own case-study crew continued along the course for which we had set sail with robust new energy. Working hard every minute until the 1:15 deadline, we handed in our deliverables and began to rehearse for our rapidly approaching presentation to the stakeholders and judges.

We walked into the room, confident and united. I engaged the panel, describing our plan for an Olympic games in which we would uplift the city, the nation, the continent, and also our entire world. Jenny whizzed through her cleverly planned logistics like a well-oiled machine and Nicolas fielded the stakeholders’ questions as if he had been planning for the Johannesburg Olympics his entire life. Pumped with adrenaline, satisfaction and nerves, we burst into the hallway, bellowing our signature “LOS ANGELES!” cheer together. We were proud of ourselves, regardless of the outcome. But, we still waited in anticipation as the judges conferred and four teams were selected to move on to the finalist presentations in front of the entire ISBF conference.

Less than thirty minutes later, we learned that our crew’s ship was still in the race! Team Los Angeles had made it to the final round of the Deloitte case competition. Our presentation was scheduled first, and the three other teams that remained were asked to leave the ballroom. Onita Lazaro, the hospitable and gracious coordinator for the entire conference, flashed me a smile as my high heels clicked towards the stairs beside the stage. I let the atmosphere flood my senses. Silence. Bright, yellow-tinted lights. Every pair of eyes focused right on me. My shaking hands grasped the microphone tightly. I was happy to have something to hold on to. Then I realized that I had much more than a microphone to count on for support. There was the rest of my team, standing ready for the final leg of the race.

Despite the extended presentation period in which we were asked to field more difficult questions, we again left the stage proud of our performance. The wooden doors muted the thundering applause as we left the ballroom for the next team’s presentation. We had given it our all, and all there was to do now was wait.

Divyesh Jevtani and Mike Weinstein, the talented Deloitte Multimedia Managers, pulled me into a side room and interviewed me about my ISBF experience. With the competitive events completed, the interview was my first opportunity to reflect on the enjoyment and immense personal growth I had experienced in just three days. The more I thought about their questions, the more I realized that the Deloitte International Student Business Forum had been the experience of a lifetime.

Feeling more thankful than ever, I skipped upstairs, dawned my cocktail dress, and quickly returned to the festival level for one final evening with my friends at the gala dinner and awards presentation. Once we had all snapped photographs, exchanged phone numbers and shared a few laughs, all the ISBF students were once more shepherded in to the ballroom.

In the hours we had been away the space had been extravagantly decorated. The stage had been replaced and colored spotlights now spun vivid colors across the dance floor and walls. Massive chandeliers glimmered from the lofted ceiling above delicate porcelain china and exotic floral centerpieces. We trouped in, each team seeking their designated table. Ben Hunt-Davis concluded the programming with one final speech in which he shocked the entire assembly by pulling his Olympic gold medal from his pocket and allowing it to be passed around the entire room.

Soon the sound of forks and knives clinking against plates echoed through the room as everyone relished the delectable meal that was served. Just when I thought the hollow in my stomach would never disappear regardless of how much I ate, David Courell pushed his chair back from the adjacent table and straightened his suit jacket. By the time he reached the front of the ballroom the room was already mute. David knew how to work a crowd. He relayed details of the arduous competition, the strengths and weaknesses of each remaining competitor, and the glory that could be bestowed upon only one team.

The competition was stiff, but in a photo finish, the gold medal went to… TEAM LOS ANGELES! It wasn’t twenty-four karat gold like Ben’s, but I sure felt like it was. The hard work had paid off and I was so proud of our team! Nicolas, Natalia, Wynne, Jennifer and Hock, as well as our coaches Karin Andersoon and Joerg Huelshorst were the best teammates I could have asked for, and I am so lucky I had the opportunity to learn from them and share my ISBF experience with them.

After accepting our medals and congratulating our fierce competitors, we were quick to celebrate our victory by breaking in the dance floor. I’m sure we were a sight to see, Deloitte practitioners and students alike twirling around in a strange mix of Columbian salsa, Indian traditional, Argentine tango, and American west coast swing. Before the night’s end, we all piled into the backs of traditional Thai tuk-tuks and headed downtown to a fifty-fifth story rooftop restaurant for the best view of Bangkok and one final hoorah before our extravagant journey came to a close.