NAWMBA update

After a day full of flying on Thursday, 9 of us first years arrived in Anaheim with no incidents. We piled into a taxi van and went straight to the Disneyland hotel, which has to be one of the greatest places to have a conference…Mickeys in the carpet!? Love it! It’s like the wink to where we are even when we are in conference rooms. We checked in really quick and got ready for the various receptions.

First we headed to the IU reception and it was really nice, very intimate and a great spread. We got the chance to chat with Maggy Siegel, the COO of Dylan’s Candy Bar and a Kelley alum. We also we are able to meet some really nice girls from University of Utah.

Then it was off to the kick-off reception. They had many of the planning committee members speak. It was a nice time but we were all exhausted. We talked with some students for Kansas and then headed back to our room to hit the sack, we are on EST still!

This morning we all got up super early, 4:30, and couldn’t go back to sleep. After trying to rest for about an hour and half we went down to the gym, before getting into our suits and hitting the sessions. We had a great student breakfast where the CMO from Meredith publishing spoke. Then I headed to the Campbell’s presentation before catching Maggy’s and a sample of Dylan’s newest candy which will be unvailed next week! It was delicious! Then it was lunch on the patio, a requirement when in So Cal, before I hit the career fair.

I am trying to recharge my batteries a little and get some school work done before we hit the park and the reception they are having there later.

Is it really only Tuesday?

It seems like the week has flown by, but I guess when you have “official” class 4 days a week, 2 days down is halfway through. Today was Econ, Finance and Ops and the cases we had weren’t discussion heavy. I think it is the calm before the storm though, I know week 4 (where the *%^$ hits the fan is coming!)

After class I had an informational interview with a second year that interned at Jewel-Osco. He had an amazing intern experience and it was really interesting to hear about what they had him work on. Then I came home to have to deal with the apartment’s maintenance guy painting our ceilings. Then I had another informational interview with a category manager at Jewel to get a little different perspective on their culture and structure. Super informative!

Then it was back to school, for the 2nd session of the Diversity Conference Training. Another informative presentation that once again scared me beyond belief about the conference in October. Hope I am able to prepare and get in gear by then.

Then back home for dinner, some Mad Men, a run and lots and lots of ACCTG and Finance. Watch out Weds here we come!

**In other news…I have made the Student Admissions Council! I am over the moon, really excited to be the point of contact for prospective Kelley students and tell them about what makes us special**

TGITh (Thank God It's Thursday!)

So week 2 is coming to a close, we have a powerpoint information session scheduled for all day tomorrow, but our real classes are done for the week.

We had a 2.5 hour management block first thing in the morning, where I got to be scribe (take notes of who is participating) While the scribe role alleviates some of the stress of participating, it is hard to keep track of everyone’s comments. It did help a little in learning people in my cohort’s names.

And with a 2 week build-up…we finally had marketing! I was really excited to have my first graduate level class of it especially since I am transitioning into the field. The class went really well, and although I know the information we covered was really basic today, I was on top of all the material.

Then after the quickest lunch ever, my team had our first Core recap session. We each were responsible for 2 classes and had to explain the material and go through any issues our teammates had. It was a great review, I learned more by having my teammate explain the journaling and t-accounts than trying to teach myself (again!) I led the finance section too, so helped reinforce my background.

With an hour or so before I had some presentations, I came home and let Addie out (where she attacked our neighbor’s dog!) and had a snack before heading back to campus. First up, was the Diversity Conference Information Session to help us prepare for all the MBA conferences coming up within the next few months. It was really informative and the second years offered up some great advice. Then it was off to the Kelley Marketing Club (KWC) where we got to meet the leadership team and find out about some of the events being held. I am looking forward to helping lead a trek out to Minneapolis to visit Target and General Mills. So we’ll see.

There is no homework due for tomorrow, I think we are going to just take it easy and maybe knock out an episode or two of Mad Men (can I call that research!?) Then maybe I will try to go to bed early, or at least before 1. TGITh!

Twelve Hour Days

Day 2 of the program and I am already putting in twelve hour days! Got to school around 8 am for my core classes.

Today was critical thinking, quantitative analysis and accounting. I loved critical thinking, Professor Metzger is a riot and really does make you question your logic…and it was only our first session! I am really looking forward to the rest of the semester. Quantitative analysis was a lot of housekeeping, but that should be expected when you have a class so heavily dependent on tools, need to make sure everyone is on the same page. And accounting was accounting, going to be hard to get excited about that class.

Then it was time for lunch down in the lounge, which was basically me eating a peanut butter sandwich while I read up on CPG and retail happenings. Once all the crumbs were gone it was onto econ reading and case prep before a team meeting to work on the econ assignment. An hour later, I had some answers written up and a very confusing supply curve. We’ll see how we faired tomorrow.

After the team dispersed, I hung around in the breakout room and worked on my Friday accounting homework. Need to get it out of the way so i can focus on Round Table research and the Thursday night football game! Had only one problem left before I had the 1st Kelley Women meeting.

The meeting was really informative and talked about opportunities for leadership in the organization. I have already applied for a co-chair position, will find out sometime next week if I get it! I love the organization, it is such a champion for women in the workplace. We also talked about the upcoming National Association of Women MBA conference I am attending in Disneyland at the end of October. Kelley is hosting the event and it should be a great opportunity to network.

Finally left the Godfrey Center at 8:30, not bad for my second day! Once back here at the house I put in another couple hours finishing accounting homework, recopying last night’s speaker notes and researching half of my Round Table companies. Now its time to hit the sack so I can do it all over again tomorrow!