About Brad: Brad Schierhorn (’23) is first-year full time MBA student at UCLA Anderson. Prior to business school, he worked in asset management at an affordable housing investment firm in Boston. At Anderson, he seeks to develop his real estate and finance skills to pursue a career in acquisitions. Brad is a huge sports fan and loves to spend as much time outside as possible.
As you’ve probably learned by reading other blog posts, there is no shortage of things to do throughout your MBA experience. As we are already in Spring quarter and almost done with our first year, I can attest that it goes by fast, so make sure to enjoy it! Here are my top five experiences thus far at Anderson.
Orientation week
This is the time to meet your classmates! One of my favorite aspects of Anderson is meeting people from different backgrounds, countries, and industries. Throughout orientation week, you will take your first class (Leadership Foundations), attend several seminars about life at Anderson, and have social events each night. This was a whirlwind of a week, but one of my favorites as there was no shortage of things to do. This year, there was one happy hour on Monday on campus and then the Onboarding Committee set up happy hours two nights where each section was assigned a local establishment in Sawtelle/Santa Monica to meet at. Make sure to take advantage of this time to meet people as the Fall and Winter get much busier as you take more classes and begin recruiting.
Tailgating at the Rose Bowl
One reason why I wanted to come to Anderson was to get the big school experience and attend big time football and basketball games. Although a bit of a trek from West LA (30 miles or so), I highly recommend getting out to the Rose Bowl for some football games. Make sure to get there early for some awesome tailgating! The Rose Bowl is right next to a golf course where thousands of UCLA fans enjoy food, drinks, and lawn games before the football game. The tailgating atmosphere is amazing and the weather is tough to beat. Carpool with a group of friends or join one of the Anderson tailgates and I’ll see you out there next year!
UT Case Competition
Throughout your time at Anderson, you will have the opportunity to participate in case competitions. These can be on campus, virtual, or you might even get to travel. I was fortunate enough to compete in the UT McCombs National Real Estate Challenge with five of my classmates last November. We were given a prompt on a Thursday, had to submit our slide deck on Sunday, and then presented to a panel of judges the following Thursday with 19 other MBA programs. Although that week was stressful, it was absolutely one of my favorite experiences at Anderson. Within our group, we really bonded over that week and it was a blast to compete with other schools. After the competition was over, we chose to stay an extra night and enjoy a night out in Austin. I highly recommend participating in case competitions if you get the chance!
Ski trip
One of the big Anderson traditions is to go on a ski trip after Fall quarter. This is organized by students on the board of Challenge for Charity (C4C) each year and is usually in early-mid December. This year’s destination was Whistler and we had an absolute blast. The planning team did an awesome job of organizing transportation to/from the Vancouver airport, picking a hotel within walking distance of everything, and setting up a great social schedule throughout the week. Theme nights included onesies, 80s, and Canadian tuxedos. To top it all off, I don’t think it stopped snowing the four days we were there.
Days at the beach
This is more of an ongoing experience as I don’t have one particular day in mind. As most students live in West LA, the beaches are pretty easy to access. My favorite is Manhattan Beach, but Will Rogers and Santa Monica are also great and closer for most of us. Whether you like to surf, play beach games, or just relax and enjoy some sun, there’s something for everyone at the beach. My favorite activities are volleyball and body surfing. I haven’t tried real surfing yet, but maybe my classmate Gus Avarello ’23 will show me the ropes sometime! The weather here is amazing and I try to enjoy as much time at the beach as possible.
Student Blogger: Brad Schierhorn '23
Undergrad: Dartmouth College ’16
Pre-MBA: VP, R4 Capital
Leadership@Anderson: First-Year Director, Admissions Ambassador Corps; Director of Admissions & Academic Affairs, Association for Real Estate at Anderson
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