So, as you can tell from my 6 weeks of absence, the Core keep us busy! Since my last post we have done a LOT. Midterms are done (I made it through without too many scars), we've gone through Academy Intensive Week 1 (which I'll expound upon here shortly), and we're back in the mix of things preparing for the pending 1st Year Case Competition.
Midterms: Though the midterm season is definitely brutal; the school does attempt to alleviate some of the pain by spreading out most of the exams over the course of about 4 weeks. They then try to add to the pain by piling on the other deliverables/homework assignments/team projects/etc. all due within those same 3-4 weeks. What you get is a bunch of stressed out MBA's that learn how to survive and even thrive under stressful conditions. It also teaches us a lot about time management and prioritization (definitely important subject matters post-MBA). The worst for me was Finance, though I think I've started to understand better what went wrong and how I can improve for the final exam. My best performance I think was on my Econ test. All in all I'm tracking for a decent grade and learning most of what I'll need for my electives next semester and beyond.
Academy Intensive Week 1: At Kelley all students join what is called an Academy. These academies are something like a mix of a professional club and Major that are function and industry specific. This program of using the academies to complement our MBA and chosen major is unique to Kelley and really sets us apart for long-term success. There are 8 (and a half) Academies for students to choose from in 3 broad business areas. The finance academies are Corporate Finance, Investment Banking, and Investment Management; the management academies are Supply Chain and Global Management, Consulting, and Entrepreneurship management; and the Marketing Academies are Business Marketing and the Consumer Marketing Academy (of which I am a member). During my two years as a Kelley MBA student and a member of the Consumer Marketing Academy (CMA), I will have 3 Academy Intensive Weeks (Academy Week) with the CMA. Academy Week 1 consisted of company presentations of 6 companies in 5 days in 4 states. Kraft Foods (Oscar Mayer) visited us in Bloomington, we then traveled to Chicago for company presentations at MillerCoors and JewelOsco (Supervalu), over to Benton Harbor to visit with Whirlpool, down to Indianapolis for an event with Eli Lilly, and then lastly on to Cincinnati to visit with P&G. I learned a lot about many industries and how consumer marketing is similar (and different) across categories.
As this was meant to be posted long ago, I'm going to cut it off here and try to get another update out there soon. Wow - School really does take a lot of your time!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
3-weeks down...
So, Wow...not sure what to say about life as an MBA so far, but I'll see if I can sum it up for you.
Awesome and Busy. I don't think you can fully realize the truth of both of those statements until you, yourself, are actually in b-school. But, for good measure, I'll take a crack at explaining my view on it.
Awesome: Everything that has been going on here is quite simply that, Awesome. The school has gone to great lengths to challenge us and provide us with a lot of good times. I, personally, love both sides of that equation. We are working on a lot of case studies, joining clubs, studying for quizes/exams (yes, we have one of each already), etc. But, we're also out networking with recruiters that are on campus, meeting and hanging out with our fellow classmates (and the second year students) too. This makes for what will be discussed in the 'busy' section, but it also makes for a great time. Everyone here is smart, open-minded, and fun to hang out with. We go out to the bars (or other social venues) a couple times a week usually and we always have a great time. We also, so far, get a long great when it comes to working on our team assignments. Really - I couldn't have asked for a better experience thus far.
Busy: At Kelley, we have 3 class sessions per day which go for a little more than 4 hours in total. This will go on for a total of 15 weeks, which means that we're almost 20% the way through the Core. It also means that we've had 36 class sessions in the last 3 weeks. For those 36 sessions we've had to read likely over 1000 pages in the form of case studies, text books, online articles, and other assigned readings (The Goal anyone?). I'm averaging about 5-6 hours of sleep each night (staying at the school until after 2 most weekday nights). I'm now a part of the Student Admissions Committee (we do building tours, info sessions, lunches, class visits, etc. with prospective students), the social rep for my cohort (group of ~80 students that I have class with throughout the Core), have been invited to join the Marketing Case Competion team heading to the Elite Eight Brand Management competition in Minnesota this November (they got 3rd last year and we're hungry for a win this time), and am on the flag football team. Why do I do this to myself? Because I told myself a long time ago that I'd try to take advantage of ALL that b-school has to offer; and thus far, I think I'm doing a good job of it.
I love it here, I'm challenged every day, I'm sleeping a lot less than would be optimal, and I'm having the best time of my life!
Awesome and Busy. I don't think you can fully realize the truth of both of those statements until you, yourself, are actually in b-school. But, for good measure, I'll take a crack at explaining my view on it.
Awesome: Everything that has been going on here is quite simply that, Awesome. The school has gone to great lengths to challenge us and provide us with a lot of good times. I, personally, love both sides of that equation. We are working on a lot of case studies, joining clubs, studying for quizes/exams (yes, we have one of each already), etc. But, we're also out networking with recruiters that are on campus, meeting and hanging out with our fellow classmates (and the second year students) too. This makes for what will be discussed in the 'busy' section, but it also makes for a great time. Everyone here is smart, open-minded, and fun to hang out with. We go out to the bars (or other social venues) a couple times a week usually and we always have a great time. We also, so far, get a long great when it comes to working on our team assignments. Really - I couldn't have asked for a better experience thus far.
Busy: At Kelley, we have 3 class sessions per day which go for a little more than 4 hours in total. This will go on for a total of 15 weeks, which means that we're almost 20% the way through the Core. It also means that we've had 36 class sessions in the last 3 weeks. For those 36 sessions we've had to read likely over 1000 pages in the form of case studies, text books, online articles, and other assigned readings (The Goal anyone?). I'm averaging about 5-6 hours of sleep each night (staying at the school until after 2 most weekday nights). I'm now a part of the Student Admissions Committee (we do building tours, info sessions, lunches, class visits, etc. with prospective students), the social rep for my cohort (group of ~80 students that I have class with throughout the Core), have been invited to join the Marketing Case Competion team heading to the Elite Eight Brand Management competition in Minnesota this November (they got 3rd last year and we're hungry for a win this time), and am on the flag football team. Why do I do this to myself? Because I told myself a long time ago that I'd try to take advantage of ALL that b-school has to offer; and thus far, I think I'm doing a good job of it.
I love it here, I'm challenged every day, I'm sleeping a lot less than would be optimal, and I'm having the best time of my life!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Orientation; Check! Week 1; Check!
Alright; so it has been a while, but all is well.
Jump Start:
Jump Start is the pre-orientation Finance/Accounting/Excel classes that are meant to help provide us with a 'jump start' before real classes start. While, that all may be true (and I did learn/relearn some good stuff), the real benefit is meeting everyone! It was a great time to get out there and get to know as many of my new classmates before classes meet and we are all too busy to do much. There was a social event every night hosted/planned for us by some of the 2nd year students and, oh yeah, there was class during the day. I highly recommend going to this if you're heading to Kelley (or the 'math camp' type of thing that almost every other top school has too). It's great fun and it really does give you a leg up (a jump start) once classes kick off.
Orientation:
Wow! I used to be a part of the orientation program at Purdue (Boiler Gold Rush!); which was a TON of fun and a TON of work and it lasted for about 5-6 days. The orientation for us b-schoolers was virtually 2-weeks long...I don't even want to know what all went into this. It started out with some diversity/cultural difference trainings; we've all been through it before (and will again), but it is what it is; nothing more and nothing less. Then we went off to Bradford woods for a half-day team building exercise. This was actually quite fun and culminated in building a car (made from a plastic cup; straws, lifesavers, and a paper cup). Wednesday began with some class-like discussion about a case we had to read ahead of time to understand how classes will be going forward and the start of our case competition. The case was about Timberland's attempt to valuate their Social Responsibility expenditures (donations/benefit hours/etc.) Quite fun, but due (partially) to some bad advice we didn't do as hot as we'd have liked. Live and learn I guess! So, next time it is on! After that we then had a lot of meetings about the various clubs and organizations and opportunities that we will have to be picking/running for in the coming weeks. There was a lot of talk about Ethics and the Kelley Code [of conduct] and that sort of thing. We were inducted into the MBA class with a nice reception that followed some fun speakers (an alumnus and the Dean). Lastly (and likely most importantly), we were given a LOT of homework near the end of orientation. We had about 200 pages of reading to do before the first days of class (or at least if felt that way). I had a lot of fun but am glad to be in class now.
Week #1:
As mentioned, there was a lot of reading for this first week. We had to prepare (read; run numbers; discuss; answer questions about) 5 different cases last week (3 for Econ alone!). I love this stuff! It's fun to get competing ideas out there about what's happening in a given situation for a given company or industry. We are also learning a lot about the various tools (that even I did know existed) in Excel. I'm glad the week is over, but I've got to get back to the books! I have another 50-75 pages to read for tomorrow and some pivot tables to play with!
Oh the joy of being in b-school!
Jump Start:
Jump Start is the pre-orientation Finance/Accounting/Excel classes that are meant to help provide us with a 'jump start' before real classes start. While, that all may be true (and I did learn/relearn some good stuff), the real benefit is meeting everyone! It was a great time to get out there and get to know as many of my new classmates before classes meet and we are all too busy to do much. There was a social event every night hosted/planned for us by some of the 2nd year students and, oh yeah, there was class during the day. I highly recommend going to this if you're heading to Kelley (or the 'math camp' type of thing that almost every other top school has too). It's great fun and it really does give you a leg up (a jump start) once classes kick off.
Orientation:
Wow! I used to be a part of the orientation program at Purdue (Boiler Gold Rush!); which was a TON of fun and a TON of work and it lasted for about 5-6 days. The orientation for us b-schoolers was virtually 2-weeks long...I don't even want to know what all went into this. It started out with some diversity/cultural difference trainings; we've all been through it before (and will again), but it is what it is; nothing more and nothing less. Then we went off to Bradford woods for a half-day team building exercise. This was actually quite fun and culminated in building a car (made from a plastic cup; straws, lifesavers, and a paper cup). Wednesday began with some class-like discussion about a case we had to read ahead of time to understand how classes will be going forward and the start of our case competition. The case was about Timberland's attempt to valuate their Social Responsibility expenditures (donations/benefit hours/etc.) Quite fun, but due (partially) to some bad advice we didn't do as hot as we'd have liked. Live and learn I guess! So, next time it is on! After that we then had a lot of meetings about the various clubs and organizations and opportunities that we will have to be picking/running for in the coming weeks. There was a lot of talk about Ethics and the Kelley Code [of conduct] and that sort of thing. We were inducted into the MBA class with a nice reception that followed some fun speakers (an alumnus and the Dean). Lastly (and likely most importantly), we were given a LOT of homework near the end of orientation. We had about 200 pages of reading to do before the first days of class (or at least if felt that way). I had a lot of fun but am glad to be in class now.
Week #1:
As mentioned, there was a lot of reading for this first week. We had to prepare (read; run numbers; discuss; answer questions about) 5 different cases last week (3 for Econ alone!). I love this stuff! It's fun to get competing ideas out there about what's happening in a given situation for a given company or industry. We are also learning a lot about the various tools (that even I did know existed) in Excel. I'm glad the week is over, but I've got to get back to the books! I have another 50-75 pages to read for tomorrow and some pivot tables to play with!
Oh the joy of being in b-school!
Friday, August 7, 2009
Wishing I had more than two weeks off, but loving every minute!
So, let me start this by saying that I have been spending my time between leaving my job and beginning my MBA as efficiently as possible. I've done quite a bit in a short amount of time; a little too much in a little too little time to be honest.
After leaving work I had a great weekend with a few friends (Ann and Phil); we went to the Arlington Park horse races among other things. I then spent a day getting some stuff ready to move to Bloomington, a day of seeing some other friends (Megan and Pov from the burbs and an out of towner, Sean) along with some shopping at Ikea (Amazing prices and a LOT of stuff, btw). Then I had to go down to my mom's to borrow her van to help with my move and saw another friend before actually getting my stuff the next day. Moved to Bloomington Friday/Saturday and then up to Indy for what should have been the beginning of a short vacation with another friend, Angi. We were meant to fly to Hilton Head on Sunday night, but got bumped thrice and didn't actually fly out until Monday night (got to the place around midnight a full 24 hours after we were supposed to arrive). We spent that day relaxing on the beach and checking out the area (Salty Dog Cafe anyone?). Flew home Wednesday after sitting on the Laguardia Tarmac for an hour and a half and then 40 more minutes in Indy awaiting a plane to leave our gate (anyone ever heard of the idea of rerouting us to another gate?). Then the next day (yesterday) I drove back to Chicagoland for dinner with a friend last night, a comedy show tonight, and the Jimmy Buffett Concert tomorrow (really excited about it!). Ultimately I'm glad to have been able to do all of this and spend a lot of time with a lot of my friends, but Wow - that's a lot in a little bit of time. I've officially driven well over 1000 miles in the last 2 weeks, been on four flights (and bumped from three flights in the process), moved into a new apartment (though that process is no where near complete), and still have a bit more ahead of me. Looking back I feel that I may have been better off taking an extra week to settle the move and have all of this fun, but it is what it is and I'm loving every minute!
Jump Start begins on Monday. I'll have Finance from 8:30 to 11:30 and Basic Excel from 12:30 to 3:30 (I know - it's silly, but I'm used to 2003 and will be using 2007 exclusively from now on - I don't even know where the sort button is!) on Monday and Tuesday. I'll then have Accounting on Wednesday through Friday from 12:30 to 3:30. I'll hopefully be supplementing the class times with finishing up getting the apartment in order and hanging out with my new b-school friends and pre-reading some of the other text books. Orientation then begins on the following Monday and goes all week and the week following. I don't know what all it will entail, but I'm excited to meet everyone and to get into the thick of it. I think it will be great to meet my cohort and my team (5-7 people I think) that I'll be spending so much of my time with over the next few months during the Core. The Core actually begins on Monday the 31st, so it's weird - I feel like classes don't start for a long time but really between Jump Start and Orientation, I'll be going strong for the next 3 weeks before going to class #1...crazy!
After leaving work I had a great weekend with a few friends (Ann and Phil); we went to the Arlington Park horse races among other things. I then spent a day getting some stuff ready to move to Bloomington, a day of seeing some other friends (Megan and Pov from the burbs and an out of towner, Sean) along with some shopping at Ikea (Amazing prices and a LOT of stuff, btw). Then I had to go down to my mom's to borrow her van to help with my move and saw another friend before actually getting my stuff the next day. Moved to Bloomington Friday/Saturday and then up to Indy for what should have been the beginning of a short vacation with another friend, Angi. We were meant to fly to Hilton Head on Sunday night, but got bumped thrice and didn't actually fly out until Monday night (got to the place around midnight a full 24 hours after we were supposed to arrive). We spent that day relaxing on the beach and checking out the area (Salty Dog Cafe anyone?). Flew home Wednesday after sitting on the Laguardia Tarmac for an hour and a half and then 40 more minutes in Indy awaiting a plane to leave our gate (anyone ever heard of the idea of rerouting us to another gate?). Then the next day (yesterday) I drove back to Chicagoland for dinner with a friend last night, a comedy show tonight, and the Jimmy Buffett Concert tomorrow (really excited about it!). Ultimately I'm glad to have been able to do all of this and spend a lot of time with a lot of my friends, but Wow - that's a lot in a little bit of time. I've officially driven well over 1000 miles in the last 2 weeks, been on four flights (and bumped from three flights in the process), moved into a new apartment (though that process is no where near complete), and still have a bit more ahead of me. Looking back I feel that I may have been better off taking an extra week to settle the move and have all of this fun, but it is what it is and I'm loving every minute!
Jump Start begins on Monday. I'll have Finance from 8:30 to 11:30 and Basic Excel from 12:30 to 3:30 (I know - it's silly, but I'm used to 2003 and will be using 2007 exclusively from now on - I don't even know where the sort button is!) on Monday and Tuesday. I'll then have Accounting on Wednesday through Friday from 12:30 to 3:30. I'll hopefully be supplementing the class times with finishing up getting the apartment in order and hanging out with my new b-school friends and pre-reading some of the other text books. Orientation then begins on the following Monday and goes all week and the week following. I don't know what all it will entail, but I'm excited to meet everyone and to get into the thick of it. I think it will be great to meet my cohort and my team (5-7 people I think) that I'll be spending so much of my time with over the next few months during the Core. The Core actually begins on Monday the 31st, so it's weird - I feel like classes don't start for a long time but really between Jump Start and Orientation, I'll be going strong for the next 3 weeks before going to class #1...crazy!
Monday, July 27, 2009
The dichotomy of leaving for b-school
Friday was my last day as an employee of Recycled Paper Greetings. I'm trying to let that sink in a bit, but the feeling is odd. It's an interesting dichotomy that I've got going on: On the one hand I think 'oh my God; I'm leaving this all behind' on the other hand 'Oh my God; I'm heading towards a great place that will be both exciting and full of opportunity'
Unemployed: Well, what can I say - it's not a great feeling. But, should it be - not under normal circumstances, no, however my circumstances are anything but normal. I have (let me rephrase; had) a great thing at RPG. I had a lot of cool coworkers, a great boss, fun projects to work on and a steady workload, great social life outside of work with friends and family all in/around Chicago. Oh yeah, and a paycheck. So, now for the next few weeks I've got none of that. Not that I won't be staying in touch with my coworkers and my boss (truly friends), but its just peculiar to leave that all behind ON PURPOSE.
BUT, I'm NOT leaving IT (work, friends, etc.); I'm taking a big step in improving myself and my career. I'm going to be starting as a first year MBA student in just about 2 weeks at the Kelley School of Business. Now let me let THAT sink in...THAT feels good. Not odd, not peculiar, not particularly scary (though everything is a risk), but GOOD. I've been aiming for this point in my life for a long time. I'm quite confident that this time in my life is going to be some of the best years of my life; definitely some of the most exciting. I'll have the opportunity to entrench myself into the program's offerings. Everything from clubs, leadership opportunities, leading experts/professors, the chance to travel (or study) abroad, etc. will be at my finger tips. And I plan to experience it all.
For these reasons the hand that is excited (rather than thinking about leaving another good thing behind) wins out. It's not that I'm leaving something good; its that I'm heading towards new opportunities and experiences. I'll have plenty of time to work again (and make money), but for now, the time is to learn and grow and experience new and exciting things during my time as an MBA student.
Unemployed: Well, what can I say - it's not a great feeling. But, should it be - not under normal circumstances, no, however my circumstances are anything but normal. I have (let me rephrase; had) a great thing at RPG. I had a lot of cool coworkers, a great boss, fun projects to work on and a steady workload, great social life outside of work with friends and family all in/around Chicago. Oh yeah, and a paycheck. So, now for the next few weeks I've got none of that. Not that I won't be staying in touch with my coworkers and my boss (truly friends), but its just peculiar to leave that all behind ON PURPOSE.
BUT, I'm NOT leaving IT (work, friends, etc.); I'm taking a big step in improving myself and my career. I'm going to be starting as a first year MBA student in just about 2 weeks at the Kelley School of Business. Now let me let THAT sink in...THAT feels good. Not odd, not peculiar, not particularly scary (though everything is a risk), but GOOD. I've been aiming for this point in my life for a long time. I'm quite confident that this time in my life is going to be some of the best years of my life; definitely some of the most exciting. I'll have the opportunity to entrench myself into the program's offerings. Everything from clubs, leadership opportunities, leading experts/professors, the chance to travel (or study) abroad, etc. will be at my finger tips. And I plan to experience it all.
For these reasons the hand that is excited (rather than thinking about leaving another good thing behind) wins out. It's not that I'm leaving something good; its that I'm heading towards new opportunities and experiences. I'll have plenty of time to work again (and make money), but for now, the time is to learn and grow and experience new and exciting things during my time as an MBA student.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Well, there isn't too much news yet, but I figured it would be good to give some updates.
Proctor and Gamble: The P&G brand camp fell through for me, but no worries; I am not discouraged. There were only about 40 applicants chosen, so the chances were always quite thin. Besides, my interviewer stated that she would still like to speak to me about internship opportunities once recruiting for that begins.
Tuition: I still have no idea how much my tuition bill will be - btw, I move in two weeks and classes (Jump Start) starts about a week after that! It's a little worrisome that this is the case, but I also know they're working on it and it's not the school's fault. The state of Indiana waited until about 8PM on the final day of the fiscal year to pass their budget...Come On! 4 hours to spare...Of course their constituents (including Indiana University) is behind with their own budgeting. I just hope to hear something soon.
Work: I'm about to enter my last week of work at Recycled Paper Greetings. This experience is a bit troubling in some regards and extremely exciting in others. On the one hand I'm worried about leaving a paycheck, voluntarily, in the middle of a recession no less to go back to school - oh, and pay some huge dollar figure in tuition (which, as has been mentioned; I don't know the figure yet!). Also, I have greatly enjoyed my time at RPG - I like the work, I like the people, and I like what is going on there in general. There's been a lot of change in my time there, but I thrive on change so that has just been a lot of fun! One of the hardest parts is dumping a lot of my work on the rest of my team - we weren't able to secure a replacement, so I've been going through the transitional motions with others on my team. Seems sort of unfair as they still have their own job to work on, but I guess that happens - I know they'll find someone soon - I just hope its in time for that person to take on some of the new initiatives I'll be launching in my final week (I know right - why am I working on NEW projects at this time!?) On the other hand I have been planning on (and working towards) this moment for a long time. I have known since Sophomore year of college that this was merely an inevitability, so it's nice to see it all come to fruition...the hard work has paid off and I now get to experience two of what I expect to be some of the greatest years of my life. Also, getting ready for this time - move and leaving work - has its benefits. A few friends hosted a going away party for me this weekend which was a ton of fun, and this last week will consist of a department lunch and two happy-hours! Sounds like fun to me!
Moving: as mentioned I'm moving to Bloomington in about 2 weeks and couldn't be more excited. The place my roommate and I secured sounds great - two floors (plus basement), W/D in unit, yard (for grilling), bonus room, larger bedrooms, and in the heart of campus (directly between the b-school and downtown; I'll spend the majority of my time between those two places so having this location is great!
So, I think with that, I'll sign off - have a great week everyone; you know I'll be trying to myself.
Proctor and Gamble: The P&G brand camp fell through for me, but no worries; I am not discouraged. There were only about 40 applicants chosen, so the chances were always quite thin. Besides, my interviewer stated that she would still like to speak to me about internship opportunities once recruiting for that begins.
Tuition: I still have no idea how much my tuition bill will be - btw, I move in two weeks and classes (Jump Start) starts about a week after that! It's a little worrisome that this is the case, but I also know they're working on it and it's not the school's fault. The state of Indiana waited until about 8PM on the final day of the fiscal year to pass their budget...Come On! 4 hours to spare...Of course their constituents (including Indiana University) is behind with their own budgeting. I just hope to hear something soon.
Work: I'm about to enter my last week of work at Recycled Paper Greetings. This experience is a bit troubling in some regards and extremely exciting in others. On the one hand I'm worried about leaving a paycheck, voluntarily, in the middle of a recession no less to go back to school - oh, and pay some huge dollar figure in tuition (which, as has been mentioned; I don't know the figure yet!). Also, I have greatly enjoyed my time at RPG - I like the work, I like the people, and I like what is going on there in general. There's been a lot of change in my time there, but I thrive on change so that has just been a lot of fun! One of the hardest parts is dumping a lot of my work on the rest of my team - we weren't able to secure a replacement, so I've been going through the transitional motions with others on my team. Seems sort of unfair as they still have their own job to work on, but I guess that happens - I know they'll find someone soon - I just hope its in time for that person to take on some of the new initiatives I'll be launching in my final week (I know right - why am I working on NEW projects at this time!?) On the other hand I have been planning on (and working towards) this moment for a long time. I have known since Sophomore year of college that this was merely an inevitability, so it's nice to see it all come to fruition...the hard work has paid off and I now get to experience two of what I expect to be some of the greatest years of my life. Also, getting ready for this time - move and leaving work - has its benefits. A few friends hosted a going away party for me this weekend which was a ton of fun, and this last week will consist of a department lunch and two happy-hours! Sounds like fun to me!
Moving: as mentioned I'm moving to Bloomington in about 2 weeks and couldn't be more excited. The place my roommate and I secured sounds great - two floors (plus basement), W/D in unit, yard (for grilling), bonus room, larger bedrooms, and in the heart of campus (directly between the b-school and downtown; I'll spend the majority of my time between those two places so having this location is great!
So, I think with that, I'll sign off - have a great week everyone; you know I'll be trying to myself.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
My First Post (and hopefully not last)
Hello blogging world.
I'm going to be perfectly honest here; I have no idea if I'll stick with this or not, but I would like to. I have a little brother that has kept up his blog since early high-school through his freshman year and I've always been told that it's good to keep a journal - maybe that's how I'll treat this...my first attempt at recording my experiences. So, here we go:
A little about myself:
I have moved around my entire life (9 states, 16 cities, 20+ 'places of residence' and counting). I've known for a long time that I would ultimately pursue an MBA and now that time has come. I will be joining the MBA class of 2011 at the Kelley School of Business (Indiana University). I attended Purdue University for undergrad and studied Management and Marketing then; my studies at Kelley will be a extension of that (I'll likely major in Marketing and Strategic Management and join the Consumer Marketing Academy), as well as putting myself out there for Networking, Networking, Networking!
My ultimate goal is to gain a position in brand management at a large CPG firm. I've worked in Marketing Research for the past few years in both the Automotive and Greeting Card industries. I'm hopeful that I can utilize this experience (marketing related, and heavily analytical) to position myself for success as an ABM (Associate Brand Manager) in the CPG industry.
Proctor and Gamble hosts a Pre-MBA marketing summer camp for incoming first years. This is put on as a way to introduce new students to the Company, offer a chance for some early networking, and they even give you an internship interview at the end of the week. As that is coming up really quick and I've yet to hear anything I'm starting to lose a bit of hope (which is fine), but I still have to ask - how cool would that be!? Not many people get to start their MBA program with an internship interview (and/or offer) wrapped up.
I have 2 weeks left of work (crazy, I know!) and am getting really excited to start as a 'first year' with Jump Start on Aug 10. I move to Bloomington in about 3 weeks and have about a week to get settled and get my bearings straight around the town.
Wish me luck and have a wonderful rest of the summer - I'll do my best to keep this updated with my adventures in b-school.
I'm going to be perfectly honest here; I have no idea if I'll stick with this or not, but I would like to. I have a little brother that has kept up his blog since early high-school through his freshman year and I've always been told that it's good to keep a journal - maybe that's how I'll treat this...my first attempt at recording my experiences. So, here we go:
A little about myself:
I have moved around my entire life (9 states, 16 cities, 20+ 'places of residence' and counting). I've known for a long time that I would ultimately pursue an MBA and now that time has come. I will be joining the MBA class of 2011 at the Kelley School of Business (Indiana University). I attended Purdue University for undergrad and studied Management and Marketing then; my studies at Kelley will be a extension of that (I'll likely major in Marketing and Strategic Management and join the Consumer Marketing Academy), as well as putting myself out there for Networking, Networking, Networking!
My ultimate goal is to gain a position in brand management at a large CPG firm. I've worked in Marketing Research for the past few years in both the Automotive and Greeting Card industries. I'm hopeful that I can utilize this experience (marketing related, and heavily analytical) to position myself for success as an ABM (Associate Brand Manager) in the CPG industry.
Proctor and Gamble hosts a Pre-MBA marketing summer camp for incoming first years. This is put on as a way to introduce new students to the Company, offer a chance for some early networking, and they even give you an internship interview at the end of the week. As that is coming up really quick and I've yet to hear anything I'm starting to lose a bit of hope (which is fine), but I still have to ask - how cool would that be!? Not many people get to start their MBA program with an internship interview (and/or offer) wrapped up.
I have 2 weeks left of work (crazy, I know!) and am getting really excited to start as a 'first year' with Jump Start on Aug 10. I move to Bloomington in about 3 weeks and have about a week to get settled and get my bearings straight around the town.
Wish me luck and have a wonderful rest of the summer - I'll do my best to keep this updated with my adventures in b-school.
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