Gala!

No matter how old you are, when you are in school there will always be school dances. Gala, the MBA equivalent of prom was last night in the IMU's Alumni Hall. There was an open bar, gambling and a nice seated dinner and HOURS and HOURS of dancing. It was a lot of fun, but having just got back from Minneapolis, I felt like I wasn't able to get much done this weekend. Oh well, sometimes you just got to cut loose.

This is what a 1st year MBA looks like (just hours after being inducted into the program)

Schmoozing

What most people will tell you makes an MBA program is the network you acquire (there are a lot more factors, but this is right up there in developing rankings, etc) and tonight was my first exposure to Kelley’s recruiting network. I was pretty impressed to say the least, 40 companies there to speak to the incoming class who has only had 3 days of school. Just mindboggling! Most of us don’t have any experience in the fields we are planning on pursuing post-grad yet we have people here that want to meet us, so cool.

So the day started out with management and econ, then some researching down in the lounge. At about 3ish we headed home, watched an episode of Mad Men and then did some more schoolwork. We grabbed a quick bowl of soup and then headed to Bloomington’s Convention Center to meet the company representatives.

I was a little nervous, didn’t really think i was prepared to meet them, but it ended up being a great experience. I met with reps from Nestle, Best Buy and two from various marketing functions within Walmart. I learned a lot and think I can add a few to my list of companies to pursue.

Then I wrapped up the night with some thank you notes and some webinars on networking for my LPCD deliverable.

All of our classes tomorrow got bumped to friday to accommodate more Round Table meetings (8 more companies on my docket) and seminars for us to attend. should be another adventure in networking!

Free Day?

So yesterday was our first day of orientation without a seminar or class scheduled. Didn’t really feel like we had a free day though. We got up, studied like crazy until about noon then went out and got some sandwiches with some friends. Then it was back home for a few more minutes of studying before we headed to the art museum for a free tour scheduled by the MBA program.

The museum is gorgeous and has some magnificent pieces. I am looking forward to taking some study breaks there throughout the semester to clear my head.

Then armed with our free coffees from the museum’s coffee shop we went to the book store to try to redeem our points from our rewards cards and get some IU t-shirts. Well after an hour we left still t-shirtless.

Like a couple of whirling dervishes we set out for Walmart to stock up on groceries for the week and to get some ingredients for the breakfast get together we were throwing Saturday.

At home we got a few more minutes to study before heading off to the last orientation activity for the week, the international food fair. A bunch of the restaurants on 4th street that serve ethnic food participated, which is nice because I doubt with all of our studying we will be able to eat there often.

After hanging out with everyone for awhile it began to pour so we headed home to study some more before finally going to bed at one.

Join the Club

Today was another full day of MBA programing. The morning started out with back to back presentations on time and stress management. Stuff you guys all know I need help with ;) After a few takeaways…cheap massages offered by health services, SCORE! It was on to the club fair/expo. We had representatives from almost every club come and talk to our cohort and then they let us all out to talk to the reps at their tables in the atrium. It was craziness! Although I pretty much knew which organizations I wanted to join, I did learn about the Kelley International Perspectives scheduled for next year (China, Dubai/Egypt, Israel and Ireland) I am definitely interested in doing one! Just got to figure out which one.

Then it was time to come home and get caught up on some scheduling stuff for class. I got my outlook all set up for the next two weeks so I can tackle the work a little more effectively (hopefully)

When 4:30ish rolled around it was a mad dash to get all gussied up for our MBA induction ceremony at the union. It was an amazing event, I was getting misty at the end of it when the Dean remarked on us writing our new chapter. Just so pumped to be surrounded with so many bright and talented people, we have such a great class. I am really looking forward to seeing all of what class of 2011 accomplishes.

We all made our way to the Tudor room for a wonderful reception and cocktail hour…that lasted for a few. We actually shut the place down because we were having such a great time catching up with our classmates.

We walked Addie around our complex when we got home and I pounded out some finance problems. Now it is time for bed as i can hardly keep my eyes open.

After a week in Bloomington, moving into our apartment and going to my Jumpstart classes, today it really starts! At 9 am this morning I meet the rest of my MBA classmates as we begin our two week orientation into the Kelley MBA program. Wish me and the rest of the Class of 2011 luck!