DAY ONE
Ah... the feelings of going back to school. Excitement, anticipation, nerves, and of course the long stares into one's closet wondering, "What am I going to wear!?" I experienced all of these feelings, including the hope that my closet was stocked with enough business casual outfits to get me through the week, on Monday morning of August 1st. I arrived on campus around noon, met up with a friend I'd met at Boot Camp, toured Gregory Gym (wow - that pool!!), and hung out at the Student Services Building (SSB) with my new classmates. We were treated to a great welcome by our director, Tina Mabley, and then we headed back to business school (GSB) to meet our cohorts, or divided groups of ~65 students I would be sharing my core classes with. First impression: I love my cohort! I loved hearing all of the backgrounds and aspirations of my classmates. I felt proud of my decision to return to McCombs - I was in great company.
That night was the opening banquet at DRK Royal Memorial Stadium. (I went through the same closet experience as before, only this time wondering if I had enough business professional attire.) I was glad to bring my boyfriend so he could see what I would be experiencing through the program. We networked, enjoyed the stadium, and listened to some encouraging speeches. Eric Hirst (Associate Dean) told us to take risks in business school, Erin Mulligan Nelson (McCombs alumn and CMO of Bazaarvoice) spoke of McCombs as a launchpad to change the world and encouraged us to find our purpose and be strategic and open. Then Cindy Benton (Director of Student Services) and the UT undergraduate alum led the "Eyes of Texas." What a fun evening!
DAY TWO
We spent the morning listening to presentations on the MBA program overview and briefings from faculty members from each business disciplines about their areas of concentration. Personally, I was most excited when Dr. Srinivisan spoke about marketing - she was one of my favorite professors in undergrad - but all of the faculty members were engaging and compelling. They were also quite funny as each professor plugged why their concentration was the best. Next we attended an all-MBA-program lunch at the AT&T Conference Center, complete with a speech from UT's President Powers. I like that McCombs integrates students in all programs and encourages networking and camaraderie. After lunch we heard from career services and then played an icebreaker game to find our study groups. My group is comprised of five people with different backgrounds, focuses, countries of origin, and interests - a great mix! Then the day ended with another first - homework for Wednesday!
DAY THREE
The schedule said "Executive Challenge" from 7:30am - 7:00pm. The staff didn't waste any time getting us right into school-mode! My group of nine had to launch a new business, run the company through five quarters, and pitch the business to VC's at the end of the day. I will say that even though we were a bit confused at first, we got into the swing of things pretty quickly, developed strategies, and ended up doing pretty well. (I hope this is representative of the next two years!) While we didn't ultimately win, it was still an energizing and exciting challenge.
DAY FOUR
The dress code - more business casual! Luckily I haven't run out of clothes yet. The morning was filled with something called "Diversity Theater." Like most of my classmates, I saw this on the schedule and thought "Really? This is going to be so boring." However, it was one of the most memorable parts of the week - complete with performances, engaging dialogue, and more empathetic views about diversity. Hats off to the Orientation team on this one - it was really a remarkable program. That afternoon we had the option to attend up to four different career panels, complete with people working in those arenas talking about their professions. I attended consulting, marketing, cleantech, and entrepreneurship. Honestly, I liked elements of every session, although if I had to guess I think entrepreneurship and marketing are still my preferred arenas. We'll see in two years! We ended the day with an alumni/student happy hour. At this point, I was exhausted, excited, and happy all at once.
DAY FIVE
McCombs Outdoor Adventure Day! Finally, the dress code was shorts & my cohort t-shirt. The day was spent at McKinney Roughs Nature Park with activities including rafting, icebreakers, and good-old-Texas-BBQ. I truly enjoyed getting to meet even more new people while also realizing how many people I had already met. It is amazing how quickly your network (and friendships) develop within one week of Orientation.
THOUGHTS
Some pieces of advice for incoming students:
- Be prepared to answer the following questions: where are you from, where did you go to undergrad, what did you do before now, what do you hope to do upon graduation, and what is one interesting thing about yourself. We had to answer these publicly in our cohorts, and I've been answering them nonstop all week.
- Get your wardrobe ready before Orientation. Don't waste valuable time standing in front of your closet regretting the fact you didn't go shopping sooner.
- Talk to everyone you can. Don't worry about the need to "prove yourself" or "make a good impression. " We are all in the same boat and are genuinely interested in meeting people. Be a good listener.
- Go to every event with an open mind. Like I said, Diversity Theater was one of my favorites! Go to as many career panels as possible even if you think you don't want to go into that field. Be open-minded and curious.
- Befriend as many people from other countries as possible. For me, meeting my classmates from China, Japan, and India has been one of the highlights of my experience thus far. Volunteer to help them in any way possible. To my international classmates, I have immense respect for your courage and fortitude to come to a new country! (Yay for your first margaritas!!)
If I can sum up Orientation week in one thought, I would say that it confirmed my decision to come McCombs, and I am more excited than ever for this MBA journey.
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