Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Congratulations Class of 2009!
Congratulations to all of the Class of 2009 graduates!! Pictured above is me with my handsome partner-in-crime, Mr. Bryan Barnett, Class of 2009 who is now gainfully employed by Integra Realty Resources in Atlanta. And here is the rest of it. Read more!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Like, Totally Outrageous
Ahh, the prom. One of American life's great milestones. If you missed it the first time, or if your memories are the type that you'd rather forget, MBA school is a way to let you relive that glorious event without some of the setbacks. The GBA (Graduate Business Association) sponsored an 80s Prom as our spring social. Amidst slap bracelets, fun dip, and period clothing, we danced the night away to Rick Springfield, Michael Jackson, and classic Madonna. The gorgeous couple pictured is Tom Morgan, Class of 2010, and one of my lovely roommates, Miss Emily Breen.
Read more!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
A Lesson in Humility
Last Tuesday I had an interview with Aflac for an MBA marketing position. I thought everything went great. I wore my most conservative black skirt suit, recited my well-rehearsed answers to behavioral interview questions, avoided my verbal ticks (that I’m now conscious of, thanks to mock interviews). I thought the whole thing went swimmingly. I left feeling exhilarated and confident. I had it in the bag. Or so I thought.
I liken waiting to hear back from Aflac to waiting for a phone call after a seemingly great first date. You thought that the date went great, but apparently he thought otherwise and he never called. I want to be the psycho girl who calls and asks why, but I am trying to accept the fact that maybe they’re just not that into me.
Because I have a healthy self-image, the rejection hasn’t affected me too much. I wanted that internship. I wanted it badly. But you know, if they don’t want me, I don’t want them. No hard feelings. I was so overconfident that last weekend when I was walking around downtown I popped into one of my favorite Athens stores, Helix, just to browse and found these adorable note-cards with ducks on them that were strikingly similar to the Aflac duck. I bought a set of them smugly thinking, “Ooh, I’ll send these as thank-you notes after my second round interviews.” I am going to give them to a good friend who actually made it to the second round.
My search continues. My confidence, while still high, is probably at a more appropriate level. In the long run, it’s a good thing that I wasn’t called back. Aflac was my first interview so if I’d made it to the second round and eventually received an offer, my perception of job hunting would likely be skewed, thus setting me up for disappointment later. Rejection builds character. Read more!
I liken waiting to hear back from Aflac to waiting for a phone call after a seemingly great first date. You thought that the date went great, but apparently he thought otherwise and he never called. I want to be the psycho girl who calls and asks why, but I am trying to accept the fact that maybe they’re just not that into me.
Because I have a healthy self-image, the rejection hasn’t affected me too much. I wanted that internship. I wanted it badly. But you know, if they don’t want me, I don’t want them. No hard feelings. I was so overconfident that last weekend when I was walking around downtown I popped into one of my favorite Athens stores, Helix, just to browse and found these adorable note-cards with ducks on them that were strikingly similar to the Aflac duck. I bought a set of them smugly thinking, “Ooh, I’ll send these as thank-you notes after my second round interviews.” I am going to give them to a good friend who actually made it to the second round.
My search continues. My confidence, while still high, is probably at a more appropriate level. In the long run, it’s a good thing that I wasn’t called back. Aflac was my first interview so if I’d made it to the second round and eventually received an offer, my perception of job hunting would likely be skewed, thus setting me up for disappointment later. Rejection builds character. Read more!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Flashback
Having earned my undergraduate degree from UGA, I have a sense of sentimentalism and almost déjà vu being back on campus for my MBA. But even more than that is the amusing dynamic I’ve noticed as a part of a full-time program. My friends, it’s high school all over again.
Obviously not in the curriculum and course load, but certainly in the social sense, the experience is a retro one. Starting out as a first-year this August, I felt like a high school freshman. I was excited and nervous and didn’t really know what was going on. No matter what the most put-together, outwardly confident people projected or claimed, they were in the same boat as I.
If first-years are freshman, then second-years are of course the seniors. The 11-month students are somewhere in between. Don’t be put-off if high school was hell. It’s like Disney Channel high school. The seniors help the newbies find their classes, and go out of their way to be nice to them. The second-year students are a great asset for learning the right courses to take, how to handle assignments, etc. They’re also the starting point of your MBA network.
. The classroom dynamic has a high school feeling to it too. We all have our close-knit groups of friends and our unofficially assigned seats. We have the students that know the answer to every question, the students who think they know the answer to every question, and that one student who brings the whole class to sharply inhale when he’s called on – you never know what will come out of his mouth.
In a class of 56 it’s only natural to have groups within the aggregate, but I have to say that, as a class unit, we are a collegial one. Maybe it’s the high school cheerleader in me but I truly have a unique fondness for these classmates of mine. Even the ones who aren’t my favorite, I can see in them the value they are adding to my experience here.
To me, the social aspect of this graduate program is the most important. Yes, the courses are great and I’m learning a lot, but there are so many ways to learn accounting, financial statement analysis, economics, etc., besides attending a full-time MBA program. It’s the human interaction that I value so much, be it with professors or classmates or other staff members. In such a technologically advanced environment, where people type more than they talk to one another, the value of any face-to-face experience is growing exponentially . Read more!
Obviously not in the curriculum and course load, but certainly in the social sense, the experience is a retro one. Starting out as a first-year this August, I felt like a high school freshman. I was excited and nervous and didn’t really know what was going on. No matter what the most put-together, outwardly confident people projected or claimed, they were in the same boat as I.
If first-years are freshman, then second-years are of course the seniors. The 11-month students are somewhere in between. Don’t be put-off if high school was hell. It’s like Disney Channel high school. The seniors help the newbies find their classes, and go out of their way to be nice to them. The second-year students are a great asset for learning the right courses to take, how to handle assignments, etc. They’re also the starting point of your MBA network.
. The classroom dynamic has a high school feeling to it too. We all have our close-knit groups of friends and our unofficially assigned seats. We have the students that know the answer to every question, the students who think they know the answer to every question, and that one student who brings the whole class to sharply inhale when he’s called on – you never know what will come out of his mouth.
In a class of 56 it’s only natural to have groups within the aggregate, but I have to say that, as a class unit, we are a collegial one. Maybe it’s the high school cheerleader in me but I truly have a unique fondness for these classmates of mine. Even the ones who aren’t my favorite, I can see in them the value they are adding to my experience here.
To me, the social aspect of this graduate program is the most important. Yes, the courses are great and I’m learning a lot, but there are so many ways to learn accounting, financial statement analysis, economics, etc., besides attending a full-time MBA program. It’s the human interaction that I value so much, be it with professors or classmates or other staff members. In such a technologically advanced environment, where people type more than they talk to one another, the value of any face-to-face experience is growing exponentially . Read more!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Out With the Old, In With the New
After a much-needed but shamefully unproductive break, I am back to the grind. Classes started on Thursday the 8th. There are no Friday MBA classes, so essentially, I had a one-day week, which is at once difficult and a breeze; one day is really easy to rationalize skipping, but it also gently eases students back into school mode.
As a kickoff to internship season, the Career Management Center (CMC) hosted an internship reception in Atlanta on the Friday after classes started. Our CMC staff arranged for recruiters from more than ten different companies to come to the Terry Executive Center in Atlanta to talk with us. By ‘us’ I mean the 56-person first year MBA class. There were reps from great companies like Chick-fil-A, Turner Broadcasting, Carter’s, and Unum, just to name a few.
Two of my favorite classmates, Meredith and Erin, and I carpooled, not only to save on gas and boredom, but to ensure that none of us chickened out. Admittedly we’re all very sociable and outgoing young women. Meredith is the consummate hostess and is always planning a non-school related gathering of some sort. Erin was a wedding planner in her past life – her career practically hinged on her ability to sell and charm. I too am rarely at a loss for words and am typically at ease in most social settings. But for some reason, faced with an official “networking” function, all three of us clam up.
From talking with classmates and other friends, I have learned that this is the norm. Only a select few actually like networking, even those who are really good at it. But practice definitely makes perfect and having one semester of MBA school under my belt has undoubtedly made a big difference for me. My palms still got clammy but I’ve mastered the discreet hand-in-pocket move to temporarily alleviate the problem prior to offering a firm handshake.
I am eager and excited about both the semester and the internship search. I know neither will be easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. Read more!
As a kickoff to internship season, the Career Management Center (CMC) hosted an internship reception in Atlanta on the Friday after classes started. Our CMC staff arranged for recruiters from more than ten different companies to come to the Terry Executive Center in Atlanta to talk with us. By ‘us’ I mean the 56-person first year MBA class. There were reps from great companies like Chick-fil-A, Turner Broadcasting, Carter’s, and Unum, just to name a few.
Two of my favorite classmates, Meredith and Erin, and I carpooled, not only to save on gas and boredom, but to ensure that none of us chickened out. Admittedly we’re all very sociable and outgoing young women. Meredith is the consummate hostess and is always planning a non-school related gathering of some sort. Erin was a wedding planner in her past life – her career practically hinged on her ability to sell and charm. I too am rarely at a loss for words and am typically at ease in most social settings. But for some reason, faced with an official “networking” function, all three of us clam up.
From talking with classmates and other friends, I have learned that this is the norm. Only a select few actually like networking, even those who are really good at it. But practice definitely makes perfect and having one semester of MBA school under my belt has undoubtedly made a big difference for me. My palms still got clammy but I’ve mastered the discreet hand-in-pocket move to temporarily alleviate the problem prior to offering a firm handshake.
I am eager and excited about both the semester and the internship search. I know neither will be easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. Read more!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Holiday Formal
Or as I liked to call it, the MBA prom. The 1st year ladies and I gathered at my house for some pre-prom primping. We clean up pretty well don't you think?? Read more!
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