Things have been going a mile a minute and while I have a bit of free time (read: I'm forcing myself to take a break from the 100+ pages of marketing reading I have to do before I get started on accounting homework) I took some time to email a general update on school and my life to people who I've worked with, am close too, and generally think are great.
So- if you're interested in what the life of a first year MBA student looks like at the beginning - with all the insanity of class, recruitment worries, social interaction, school-involvement, and the inside scoop on NYU Stern then read on, my friends!
I'll admit that I was nervous about some of the potential students and faculty I would come across- many of you know that I'm more than a little passionate about social issues and will choose doing the "right" thing over what's best for my own pocket (be it through career choices, the way I vote, etc.). That said, B-school isn't really known for its promotion of contributing to the greater good of our world over the greater good of shareholder's equity. Most of this anxiety was thankfully allayed during NYU Stern Launch 2011 - Stern's completely revamped orientation program, premiered just for the class of 2013..
Launch 2011 centered around three primary themes: World, Business, City, & You. We had some pretty amazing speakers from NYU faculty including our own Dean Peter Henry, NYU President John Sexton, CNBC's Maria Bartiromo and Newark Mayor Cory Booker (who was absolutely the highlight in my eyes- I gotta admit, I nearly cried during his speech, he is an amazing & inspiring public speaker). Thankfully we didn't just sit and listen, but we interacted with our blocks (groups of about 60-65 students in our year that take most core classes together) and engaged in the topics with each other and faculty members. What impressed me the most was that NYU managed to infuse the themes of social responsibility and a more globally-aware vision for the future into almost every session, speech, and piece of material.
Launch was a great opportunity for me to get to know my school and get to know my classmates- but the true "launch" was the start of class. I won't lie, I felt like I went from 60-120mph. A two year program is great in that it doesn't take you out of your professional life for too long, but exhausting in that you have to pack tons of experiences into a very short time.
I won't lie, my classes challenge me. I've always been a hard worker and have always pushed to create the best results that I can create, and this stuff is really pushing ME too! A big part of the difficulty is adjusting to being a student again- keeping up with the reading and the assignments and the other obligations (looking back, I was a worldwide-mega-ultra ROCK STAR in high school because I did SO much that I'm sure I couldn't handle now). BUT I'm learning a ton and the real-world applications (and implications) make everything incredibly interesting. I find my eyes widening and little "oh!"s escaping my mouth as I learn new things about the world in which I was participating as a professional but never had the time to more fully investigate and understand. Funny tidbit- the other day I realized that as a sophomore in college I owned a cross-price elasticity of demand research project during an internship that had real implications on price point optimization- and I had no idea! So funny.
Another looming effort: Recruiting. Having never gone through a formal recruiting process (all of my jobs out of undergrad came from creative networking and frenzied independent research) I'm a little intimidated by all the corporate presentations, informationals, interviews, and really just finding an organization that can meet my professional curiosity and passions and whose corporate culture allows me to feel at home. I've already had one first-round interview with the consumer marketing team at a big Consumer Packaged Goods organization (second interview coming up in Atlanta at the National Black MBA Association's Annual Conference) and it's only just about to be October! I'm nervous, but I'm excited just the same.
One of Stern's biggest resources for students is its active and diverse group of student Clubs. These groups range from professionally-focused Clubs (i.e. Graduate Finance Assocation, Hedge Fund Club), and affinity groups (i.e. Latin American Business Association, Stern In Africa), to just-plain-fun Clubs (i.e. Stern Rugby Club & the Stern Cellar- a club that focuses on introducing Stern Students to wine & food tasting opportunities). Because our time is so short and the Executive Boards of these Clubs, primarily comprised of students, have so much work to do, new first year (MBA1) students are invited to apply to the boards of these Clubs, are interviewed and are appointed to boards by second year (MBA2) students.
The two Clubs that had the most impact on my decision to apply to & ultimately attend Stern are the Luxury & Retail Club (LARC- a professional club that educates students on news & opportunities in the luxury & retail sectors) and the Association of Hispanic & Black Business Students (AHBBS). I applied to the LARC board to help with their annual Think Social, Drink Local event and was elected to direct the Marketing & PR efforts- which means a lot of work promoting the Club, the school and some amazing local & sustainable designers & brands. I applied to the AHBBS Board but was conflicted- so many of the AVP (MBA1) positions appealed to me and I am truly in love with the organization's mission and membership. As a result I applied for the Executive AVP position- the Executive AVP supports the MBA2 President and VP, and helps lead initiatives for the Club..
And I got it! I'm so excited, I have so many ideas swimming around in my head for AHBBS and can't wait to start planning and implementing with my amazing fellow board members. I'm also excited to represent the Stern Community at recruiting and professional events focused on the Hispanic and Black communities.
What really throws a wrench in the class-recruiting-Clubs machine is my social calendar. I've never been in an environment with SO many charismatic, fun-loving and generally awesome people- my classmates are amazing and I have so much fun getting to know them and sharing more about who I am. With just over 390 students, birthdays every week, "networking" being a big part of the b-school experience, and all of my other commitments? Well.. let's just say I'm still trying to figure out this balancing act!
I know that was a lot to read- but I wanted to share everything before more time went by and more experiences pilled on! In short: I am so incredibly happy and grateful. I am ready to absorb these next two years, and excited to see what the future holds!