Me, Liwen Tsai, and Judy Hsu, all incoming first years, class of 2013! Location: the Grove in mid-Wilshire area.
As I mentioned in a previous post, orientation didn't even officially kick in yet. But I find myself being swept up in a flurry of social events over the last several weeks. There have been unofficial get-togethers probably almost every other day, and already the pressures of time management and keeping commitments are building (and could there be a more important skill to have as a b-school student than time management?).
I've been here in Los Angeles so I was able to attend a few casual happy hours as soon as I found out I was accepted to Anderson. It was defintely easier to connect with new admits during those events because the groups were kept small & tidy. As time went on and more and more admits started to migrate to the west coast, the events kept snowballing and growing in size--culminating in a 150 students strong outing last week in Santa Monica. This inevitably leads to quick five-and ten-minute meet & greets with a random sampling of new admits and the one thing that I quickly realized was how diverse the student body is. Sure, there is your bevy of corporate finance folks and accountants, but I've also had the pleasure of meeting TV writers, food truck owners, teachers, and political campaigners. You know how we always read about business schools wanting to "round out" their student bodies and we scoff at such remarks? Well, I found out first-hand that there is truth to those statements.
Just yesterday a second year, Claire Pomeroy, organized a beach day for incoming students at Santa Monica beach. I was finshing my move so I couldn't stay long, but was able to snap some photos of the scenery.
Click on!
Liwen Tsai, texting away.
Yael Davidowitz-Neu, happy to be soaking up the CA sun!
Though I'm an LA-native, as you can see from my pallor (aka "sickly pastiness") in the first picture, I don't get out to the beach very often.
Orientation starts the day after Labor Day (gainful UNemployment ends very soon for us) and I, along with fellow bloggers, will be taking pictures and documenting all the team-building activities and leadership excercises. At first I was wondering if three-weeks (yes, it really is three weeks long, M-F, 8 AM to 5 PM) of orientating is really necessary, but now I'm excited to start and meet my fellow classmates in an academic setting (and no, I'm not drinking the b-school Kool-Aid, thank you very much).
