Although I don't recall having to pull an all-nighter in business school, last week I surely came close to it, functioning the next day on just two hours of sleep! Why do this to myself, you may ask. I had a speech to deliver for my Oral Communications course, a midterm exam for Macroeconomics, and a paper due for my Negotiations class - all on the same day! I suppose I am pretty used to working under pressure to get things done, but really these last two weeks have been a true endurance test! Allow me to share some of the bigger ticket items:
Thursday, 9/20 - New York City
I served as a volunteer at an event being sponsored by The Toigo Foundation at NASDAQ in Times Square. The event was for young professionals who are interested in pursuing their MBA and in particular, want to either continue or switch to a career in the financial services sector. The event also served as a reminder of just how small the MBA world can be. At the event I reconnected with a Sorority sister of mine, a former college classmate, and some Toigo alumni...all who also knew each other in some way or another.
Friday, 9/21 - New York City
Johnson is not alone amongst business schools that suffer from a low female to male ratio, but the school is attempting to ramp up its efforts to recruit women. On this day I participated in a focus group with Johnson alumnae (both recent and more professionally advanced), current students, faculty, staff, and corporate partners. Together this diverse group of women and one man examined the current situation and discussed opportunities to overcome this challenge. I am really looking forward to seeing some of our ideas come to fruition! As President of the Women's Management Council and as a female candidate for the MBA at the Johnson School, I feel it is my duty to actively work toward increasing the number of women here.
Friday night :) thru Sunday afternoon - Atlantic City (woohoo!)
Some college girlfriends and I had been planning this trip since mid summer as a little reunion so you can understand that despite the fact I had so many deliverables for school the next week, I could not miss this weekend with my girls. Life is not about assignments and deadlines, afterall, and it is necessary to continually develop and maintain those relationships with the people in your life. It was my first time to the AC and though it's no Vegas, I'm a fan and will likely make the trek again some day. I have to recoup the $30 I lost on the Wheel of Fortune slots afterall!
Hell Week...
Well, you know some of it from above but after returning from Atlantic City I had to hustle to get it all done. By Wednesday at 2:05 when I turned in my Macro exam I was ready for the weekend...and really looking forward to my Intro to Wines course at 2:55 where we try 6-7 different wines each class! To my dismay, we didn't taste any wines that day and instead had a course on responsible drinking led by the Cornell University Police Department. I have to admit that despite my initial pouting, I was happy for this lecture and hope the message reached at least some people in the audience. Not that Cornell has a huge drinking problem and driving while drunk is also not a cause for concern here either but I think it is important for anyone who chooses to drink be reminded of the possible repurcussions of their abuse of alcohol. Two weeks ago, I got a call from home...one of those calls you don't ever hope to get. My grandmother had been killed in a car accident. The driver of the other car involved in the collision was drunk. My inability to travel to Mexico for my grandmother's funeral and grieve with the rest of my family is a harsh reminder of the sacrifices I have to make to follow my dream and the sometimes unfortunate truth about being stuck in this silo called business school is that the real world keeps moving. No matter the situation, it is never a wise decision to get behind the wheel of a car if you are drunk.
I hate to end on a downer note, so I will share just one more bit of news. This year, the Johnson School launched a new series of events taking place after classes on Thursday afternoons that will serve as a sort of happy hour for students, faculty, staff, and families. Recently, the Student Council held a contest to name this series which I entered. I am happy to report that I am one of the winners of the contest! The weekly "Sage Socials" will be hosted by various school clubs, and departments. What's my prize? Bragging rights until the end of time...or at least until someone comes up with a better name :)
Cheers!
