The MBA Student Voice

Settling into 2012

Winter quarter is well under way, and it is safe to say that we are now entering the "meat" of the quarter.  Most of us have completed what I like to call the "courtship" period of any new quarter - the introductory period when students attend various electives before locking down a schedule.  One thing that this "courtship" period has shown me is the extent to which my classmates seek to customize their classroom learning over this 20 month journey.  UCLA Anderson provides its MBAs with a flexible curriculum (12 electives), which provides us substantial freedom to organize our academic experiences around our specific needs and interests.  It's encouraging to see my peers take that freedom seriously.

Given the amount of time I spent recruiting last quarter, it's tempting for me to think that getting a dream job is the main objective of coming to b-school.  But with the recruiting season behind me, I have realized that I truly enjoy having more time and space to savor the academic component of b-school learning.  If all goes according to plan, I won't have to miss any more class due to job interviews.  That said, I must say that my professors last quarter were incredibly supportive of my recruiting efforts.  I appreciate the fact that the faculty and career services staff are on the same page when it comes to supporting their students' career aspirations.

As for my classes on deck for the winter quarter?  Thinking On Your Feet, Marketing Strategy & Planning, and Motivating Management.  I am also doing a Fall/Winter AMR Field Study with four of my most stellar classmates working on a marketing plan for a client seeking to launch a plus-sized women's clothing line.  More detail to come in my next post.  Should be a fun quarter.

- Jesse Ferlianto '12

Me and 2 of my stellar Applied Management Research (AMR) teammates

UCLA Anderson takes over the Golden Gate

…well I may be slightly exaggerating but on Saturday, August 6^th, we grabbed our bikes and did our best.

Adam, Andy, Brian, Danny, Daphne, Simon and I met at the Golden Gate Bridge Visitor Center 9:30am. The meeting point: Adam’s Napa Wine Country Cycling Jersey!

We had a few route options but most of us rode between 25 and 45 miles that day. Everyone started at the south-east entrance of the Golden Gate. The fog was in; the air was amazingly fresh.

Click here to see our intended route

Usually cyclists get to use the west side walkway of the bridge during weekends, but because of construction we had the fun of sharing the east walkway with a plethora of tourists who, as usual, were unpredictable in their stopping and walking patterns.

We made our way over the bridge in a matter of minutes riding into Sausalito. Nine miles in, we approached our first turning-point: whoever wanted to could turn back and take the Ferry back to Pier 1. 

No one turned back and we headed up our first hill. This was my first hill – ever! Figures it would be a group from Anderson that pushed me to give it a try. Up to this point in my life, I’ve done my best to stick to non-elevated terrain... Making our way up was slightly painful yet definitely awesome. We all made it to the top, continued down and through more of the North Bay.

Feeling the symbolism, we stopped to capture the moment on Paradise Dr.

We had an awesome Saturday morning, each leaving with a solid workout under our belts and great memories:

 “Right after we crossed the GG Bridge, we got caught in the mix of the bike race that was going on that day. Flying down the steep and narrow Sausalito hill dodging scores of racers (and cars) was quite a rush! I also really enjoyed getting to know everyone who joined us on the trip. I hope we make this a regular event!” - Brian, c/o 2010

 “It was great to learn that the alumni community cuts across the full-time, FEMBA, and EMBA programs. All Anderson grads are one family.” - Danny, c/o 2013

 “Going downhill with about 30 other riders into Sausalito – that was mayhem. I also really liked Lakespur. That looked like a really cool town and I had never been through it before.” - Andy, c/o 2011

 “We got to Tiberon, Daphne and I missed the 12:45 ferry and they didn't run another one until 3:00pm so we decided to bite the bullet and bike back which was 45 miles in total. Long day, but good none the less.” – Adam, c/o 2009

 “The 20-mile ride turned out to be an unexpected 40ish-mile adventure (as Adam and I took the wrong turn and in the end biked all the way back to SF).” - Daphne, c/o 2012 

After riding 45 miles, Adam and Daphne are smiling!

 

UCLA Anderson at Forte MBA Women's Conference

In 2012 the Forte MBA Women's Conference is set to be held in the Los Angeles area, but this June the Forte Foundation held its Annual MBA Women’s Conference in New York. Nine UCLA women from both the FEMBA and full-time program represented the school. Most of us flew in on Thursday evening and met that night for dinner in a cute Mexican restaurant in Soho. We had diverse backgrounds – marketing, media, PR, aerospace engineering, education, economic and pharmaceutical consulting, automotive, HR and software – yet we all shared a bond through Anderson.

Over the next two days, while surrounded by other students from top business schools, we represented Anderson and interacted with key executives, asking questions and networking with 400+ women who attended the event.

On Friday, we were coached by Jodi Glickman on perfecting our 30 second pitch, sat in on industry panels and attended a Company Expo. We listened to Uta Werner (CSO at Xerox) and Kristin Peck (Executive VP, Worldwide Business Dev. & Innovation at Pfizer) share their professional and personal stories in a panel moderated by Pattie Sellers, Fortune magazine’s Editor-at-Large. On Saturday, we followed our interests attending discussions on topics ranging from Career Acceleration to Entrepreneurship.

Many of us stayed a few extra days to enjoy the East Coast vibe of New York. 

 

London Calling...

Fellow blogeteer Jesse Ferlianto reminded me today that it has been a long time since I've contributed to the blog, so you can thank him for the fact that I'm going to tell you all about how I spent the US Thanksgiving holiday. 

Last weekend, while most of you were enjoying the turkey and the NFL, a motley collection of 21 UCLA Anderson students went to London for the 7th annual career trek there.  This year, I organized it alongside three classmates of mine.  The trip is in conjunction with five other US MBA programs and is cut across three verticals: finance, consulting, and the newly-created sports / entertainment.  Across all of the schools, we were approximately 80 students.

The trek was a success all ways around!  Personally, I was on the sports / entertainment verticals, and the companies were extremely receptive to us being there.  We got to meet some very senior people from a variety of exciting firms, including the NBA, NFL, IMG, ESPN, Harrah's, Disney, Paramount, Fox, and NBC Universal.  Above all else, I learned that while they all work for US-based companies, they have loads of opportunities to expand their business in Europe - in many cases, moreso than their US-based colleagues, who are facing a fragmented saturation of the American sports market. 

I'm also really happy that the finance and consulting verticals came out really well, too.  On the finance vertical, we saw Prudential M&G (the asset management arm of the UK's largest insurance company), Aerium Finance, and State Street for asset management; Carlyle and Providence Equity for private equity; and Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Nomura, Credit Suisse, and Citi in investment banking.  The feedback I got was that the companies were all stellar, and within the finance industry there was a decent amount of variety as well. 

On the consulting vertical, we saw McKinsey, Bain, and BCG, as well as Deloitte, E&Y, PWC, A.T. Kearney, Roland Berger, and Gallup.  This was the longest vertical of them all: the first meeting was at 12noon on Wednesday, and the last meeting on Friday afternoon!  But the feedback I got was that it was worth it, especially given the breadth of the companies and divsions that we visited. 

I'm also very proud of how we at Anderson did in terms of setting up meetings.  We arranged all of the sports / entertainment vertical - the Anderson alums there were nothing short of fantastic for us - as well as 2-3 headliners in both of the other verticals (McKinsey, Deloitte, Prudential M&G, Providence Equity, Credit Suisse, and Aerium Finance).  Big kudos to Abhijit, Pete, and Vivek for helping me make this trip happen.

More than anything, I think we showed a lot of multinational companies that, contrary to popular belief, Anderson students are willing to seek out job opportunities outside of LA. We came prepared, had great questions, and were extremely professional as much as possible. 

One thing that US MBA programs are known for are these sort of career treks, where you get to visit a variety of companies in different verticals.  Anderson frankly has been lagging other schools in this endeavour, but hopefully as the London trip continues to expand, we will be able to catch up.  Organizing the trip is extremely rewarding because it gives you direct contact with all of the people that you want to keep up with anyway -- so now you have delivered something for them, which differentiates you from the rest of the crowd.

Bottom line: these are the trips that are so critical to the MBA experience, and this one in particular is one that you should keep in mind for next year should you get the chance to join us here in Westwood. 

Reach out to me off-line if you want more details!

-- Sreesha

Incubating new ideas...

Team, I need your help!

A few weeks ago, I told you about my classmate who started edilex, a company offering professional grade business contract templates to legal professionals and business people over the web.  (My regular readers probably did this already, but if you haven't, check it out at www.edilex.com).

Well, this quarter, I'm taking a class called Business Plan Development, which is exactly what it says on the tin.  My classmates who registered for the course came with some fascinating business ideas.  The final project for the class is a fully fleshed out business plan for a new business, plus a presentation to a panel of venture capitalists.  Many Andersonians use this class as a stepping stone to launching their business!

I'm working with one of my classmates who is looking to launch a sari rentals business.  The idea is similar to tuxedos: rather than buy something that you are only going to wear a couple of times at most, you can rent them, look fabulous, then return them back at a fraction of the cost and without the hassle of having to deal with them.

The business is still at concept stage, so you can give us a major boost by filling out the survey at this link and giving us your views and opinions.  It will take you about 10 minutes, so I greatly encourage all of you to do this - men and women, South Asians and non-South Asians.  Oh and feel free to pass this is on to anyone who might help!

http://ucla.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_5w2zmymvkHKnPE0

Thank you all in advance!  And your reward for this is that I will entertain you after the jump.

* * * * * * * * * *

Some random thoughts on the week that was:

* Our beloved Capitals are undefeated (8-0-0) when Boyd Gordon is in the lineup.  Is this just a coincidence? Or (as I believe) does he provide a consistent level of grit and faceoff expertise (the proverbial "little things), eat up valuable PK minutes, and is showcasing what made Jaromir Jagr once say that he would be a great player?

* Have to feel tough for Owen Hargreaves, who now appears to have suffered an anxiety attack during the match with Wolves on Saturday.  Oddly, I would believe that - this was his first appearance on the pitch in over two years, and there haven't been that many reports of him on the training ground.  Before his string of injuries he was a regular for England; here's hoping that he can finally get his career jump-started again.

* The top four teams in college football heading into this weekend were Oregon, Auburn, TCU, and Boise State - that's two teams not from one of the major conferences.  Could this be the beginning of the end of the dreaded BCS?  My view: not at all - the BCS is the greatest invention in the history of NCAA Football because anytime a college football fan hears "BCS", he immediately will stop watching any other sport and start talking NCAA Football - regardless of the time of year.  Instant newsmaker.  Genius.

More great ideas soon!

-- Sreesha

2 weeks in and yet another fun-filled weekend

This has been an especially busy weekend full of fun events and a lot of studying!  On to the sharing...

After a Young Hollywood part in Hollywood after class on Thursday I spent the better part of friday morning meeting with my learning team to do homework on campus. I met other classmates and some Adcoms for our first Social Media Ambassadors meeting and then loads more studying.  After my brain was filled to the brim with Debits, Credits, and Journal Entries, I went with a few other Anderpeeps (Anderson peeps) to Knott's Scary Farm.  While we realized that we may have been a tad older than the average audience, the rides were still fun at night and the costumes were definitely impressive.  

On to Saturday, it was a gorgeous day, but sadly filled with lots more studying.   I even had to cancel on plans to see The Social Network.  Such is the life of a first quarter MBA student.  I did make time to go to Section G's first get together where I got to finally spend some time with both 1st and 2nd year LGBT students.  When I got home I got to really relax with a couple episodes of 30 rock on Netflix.

It's now Sunday and I got up early to head to Santa Monica Pier where a bunch of Anderson students were volunteering at the Special Olympics Pier del Sol event.  I ran a booth which was a variation of whack-a-mole and we gave tons of prizes to awesome kids.  I'm in-between a couple things right now, but shortly I've got to run back to campus to meet with a team and prep for the Reaching Out Case Competition.  The case looks like a lot of fun and I'm excited to work with my team on it.

Matt Camp

'Your friendly neighborhood Camper'

A Warm Summer Day in Anaheim

Many people assume that I want to be in the sports business because I'm an obsessive sports fan that never made it as an athlete.  That's not entirely accurate: I definitely am an obsessive sports fan that never made it as an athlete, but I'm not trying to be in sports to recreate a dream that never happened.

What appeals to me about the industry is the connection with fans on an imperceptible level, a bond that unites us with a bunch of strangers who toil for an impersonal company we have no direct connection to.  Sports is one of the few markets where the end consumer actually drives the business.

We at the Sports Business Association got to see this first-hand last week when our colleagues from USC Marshall invited us to a behind-the-scenes day with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  We started with a tour of Angel Stadium by Clyde Wright, who pitched for over 10 seasons in the big leagues, primarily in Anaheim.  You could tell by his enthusiasm that Clyde had that he loved the ballpark and being a representative of the team - both on and off the field. 

Then, we spent an hour with team president Dennis Kuhl, who gave us his insights on the club, the business, baseball, and the industry.  Most interesting to me was his dedication to every detail of the fan experience.  He wanted his stadium to be the cleanest in the majors - and by my count, it was impeccable. One of his objectives was to build the brand of the club behind three logos: the name "ANGELS", the large "A" logo, and the colour red.  Every employee was dressed in all three on them in some capacity.

We wrapped up the session with Mr. Kuhl, then headed into the main part of the stadium for some Tennessee BBQ at Clyde's, which was named after our erstwhile tour guide.  Finally, we soaked in the fruit of the hard work put in by Mr. Kuhl, Mr. Wright, and the Angels organization: a big crowd out to see the Angels take on Oakland, a midweek game between two teams already out of contention.  The lower bowl was full, the upper deck was 40-50% there.  

That's what it is all about.

-- Sreesha

 

2nd Year @ UCLA Anderson is Off and Running!

Geez, how time flies! So, I decided to look back at my old posts and made myself laugh because of all the discussion on finding an internship. Now it all seems like ages ago. Just to update you all, I had an awesome internship in the Bay Area this past summer, working for a well-known tech company in the investor relations department. I had a blast, because I got to work on many projects and collaborate with several executives. My first year at Anderson really prepared me for the internship, including how to approach a problem, prepare a well-thought/crisp presentation, and present to a room full of people with calm and poise. Things went so well that I got an offer at the company - woohoo! But, like any good pragmatist, I am planning to go through the full-time recruiting process to see what other options are out there. I must say, this year's recruiting turnout is tremendous - I've already lost count of the number of companies recruiting here. Perhaps the recession really IS over or at the least improved.

From my previous blogs you saw a taste of the frenetic 1st year life: jam-packed core courses, internship recruiting up to your neck, networking events, and the delicate art of finding time to breathe through all of this madness. And, while you're wondering how you could ever survive the demanding schedule, you are loving every minute of it (or most minutes) because you are busy in a fun way - making new friends and learning something new every day.  But, that's all over now - sigh.

So you might now be wondering what the second year is like. First, I must mention that during my first year, the second-years seemed like wise sages. They had this calm, cool demeanor. Nothing phased them, not their master's thesis or class grades. They were like James Dean on a motorcycle, man. Simply awesome. So now that I'm a 2nd year, do I feel too cool for school? Well, the fact that I just said "too cool for school" automatically makes me not cool. But I must say that I have calmed down a little from my first year. I do actually feel a bit wiser, I think because I've learned to go with the flow - enjoy rather than fear any new experience that comes along. Because believe me, at MBA school you will be operating outside of your comfort zone on many occasions. I've also decided to make the most of my time here from a non-academic point of view. I previously took guitar and dance lessons and plan to continue with the guitar and also learn drawing, archery, rock climbing, and strength training, to name a few. The sky's the limit. 

So with good ol' optimism and excitement, I am ready to face my 2nd and last year at UCLA Anderson School of Management. The master's thesis (aka Applied Management Research Program) is going to be tough, but I'm sure it will be another great experience. I have to keep telling myself to savor every moment because I know it will be over in a flash. Here I go..........

In the desert is a Mirage -- and a Paris, a New York, a Mandalay Bay...

Many people have asked me this summer, what’s it like to live in Las Vegas?  I’ve struggled to find a way to describe it.  I think I would explain it like this. 

 

Living in Las Vegas and being employed in the industry in Las Vegas is a completely different experience to being a customer here. 

 

Things that happen in other industries happen here, too, but in an entirely different environment.  I met a colleague for a coffee at Starbucks at 10 AM – just as you would if you worked at, say, Dunder-Mifflin – but in the line are families with young kids just getting their day started, drunk partiers taking a breather from the perpetual nightlife, and lingerie-clad go-go dancers whose shift just ended.

 

(Yes, they are kind of everywhere. Like I said, surreal.)

 

(No, we didn’t pick our table based on where they were sitting; it was just coincidence that those were the only available seats.)

 

(No, I really wouldn’t call it an “added bonus” or “perk”.  Certainly not if you are Mrs. V. and you are reading this post!)  

 

Another surreal sight: if I drive a couple of blocks west of the Strip, such as on my drive home from the Harrah’s gym across the street from the Palms, the streets become homogenous; I can’t tell one from the other and invariably drive past the one that I need to go on because the sign is shielded by the sun.

 

But you know what?  I’m really enjoying living in Las Vegas.  It has all of the amenities of a big city bar public transportation, but it still feels very small – especially as a resident.  

 

Like New York, almost all of the Vegas nightlife is within walking distance or a short taxi ride; unlike New York, when you want a relaxed meal and time to decompress, you only have to drive a couple of blocks away.

 

Sure, all of the restaurants are imported from other places; but that does mean that the best restaurants of Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York are here, too, not to mention every major celebrity chef bar Gordon Ramsey. 

 

Even the heat is bearable.  I walked from my office to a meeting in another casino 15 minutes away, in a full suit, when the temperature outside was 120 deg F / 43 deg C – and felt far more comfortable than the 15-minute walk I did in a full suit to work in the summer in New York. 

 

The sad thing, though, is that I’m already halfway through the internship, so the surreal experience will soon be at an end.

 

Or at least on hold.  Touch wood!

 

-- Sreesha

One Quarter Down, Five to Go

It's been yet another hiatus for me between Thanksgiving, finals, and winter break.  So, I figured I'd tackle an end of quarter recap.  The best way for me to try and do that is to address the questions friends and family ask me most: “How was your first quarter?  Did you have fun?”  Deep down, I know it was a great time and a hell of a ride, but I really have to think about it to make sure.  That’s because school can be overwhelming at times.  Five classes that you’re somewhat unfamiliar with over the course of ten weeks makes for an intense quarter.  It consumes you to some extent.  It’s all you and your friends talk about.  For instance, I consider myself a student of comedy.  I interned at Late Night and The Daily Show in college.  I like to think I know what’s funny.  At one point, though, I’m fairly certain the only jokes I, along with my fellow students, was cracking were statistics related.  Is p-value really that funny?  After some decompressing time, I’m pretty sure it’s not, but at the time…HILARIOUS!  And if we’re making class related jokes, that means we’ve learned something, right?  I’m going to say yes.  Definitely, yes.

 

But such feelings appear to be the norm at Anderson.  It’s really the nature of the beast.  We start classes later than most programs and there’s a lot of material to pack into such a short period of time, especially since we’re on the quarter system.  It’s basically like a rite of passage.  The second years assure you that you’ll get through it, you doubt them, you take four grueling finals in four days, and then realize they were right and don’t understand why you didn’t trust them in the first place.  I have no doubt some first year will question my wisdom next year and I’ll just smile and crack a p-value joke and he or she will laugh uproariously.

 

Admittedly, I just painted a somewhat bleak picture.  So, how can I say business school has been enjoyable?  Well, that’s because while I may have underestimated just how time consuming the program would be, all the rumors about the social and networking opportunities I heard so much about are most definitely true.  For all the work we do, there’s always a chance to blow off steam afterwards, be it a karaoke night with your section, the school ski trip to Breckenridge after finals, or a winter break jaunt to Israel.  And over the course of these experiences, I really can’t fathom the number of friends I’ve made.  When I left New York for my Los Angeles to begin this new quarter, two of my classmates offered to pick me up from the airport.  I didn’t even ask.  Do people really just offer to do that out of the goodness of their heart?  Am I that fun to be in a car with?  Maybe I’ve been living in New York too long (plus no one has a car here), but that’s a first and second for me.  I kept an attentive eye on my wallet just in case.

 

In the meantime, things are not going to slow down one bit.  After taking five classes in a quarter, we are only required to take three in the winter.  Those courses are Marketing Management II, Corporate Finance, and Operations Technology Management.  In addition, I’m taking an elective Feature Film Marketing class at UCLA’s Producer’s Program, and I also scored an MBA Spring Internship at Fox Filmed Entertainment.  Needless to say, I’m expecting to be frantic and frazzled for the next couple of months, but when it’s all said and done, and you ask me how it was, I have no doubt I’ll pause, take a deep breath, and say, “Fantastic.”  See you after my next hiatus