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In an effort to consolidate and streamline our blogs, we will be merging The MBA Student Voice blog into The MBA Insider's Blog, where you can read informative posts geared for prospective MBA applicants, written by UCLA Anderson Admissions staff, MBA students, and guest contributors. 

We are in the process of transferring past posts over from this blog to The MBA Insider's Blog -- in the interim, you can still access all archival posts on this site. 

 

Thank you!

-- UCLA Anderson MBA Admissions Team

Guest Blog: Social Life at Anderson

Today's guest blog comes from David Wang, Section E social chair and my fellow section-mate. Read on to learn about his transformative experience at Anderson and his tips for how to make the most of the only two years you'll have at business school!

 

Name: David Wang

Hometown: Columbus, OH
Undergrad Institution: Cornell University
Pre-Business School: Cancer Research
Summer Internship: Product Manager at Renovate America (Clean Energy)
Post-Anderson (industry): Tech

Whenever I’m asked about business school, I always describe it as being more work but also way more fun than I expected. What you will quickly learn about the MBA experience is that it’s absolutely what you make of it. That is true not only for academics and recruiting, but also your social life. One of the biggest regrets I hear from graduates, and even students finishing up their first year is that they wish they invested more time into going out to social events and getting to know the people in their class.

As a natural introvert, I knew this would be a challenge, so I put myself in a position where I would be forced to mingle – I ran for section social chair. This turned out to be the single best decision of my Anderson career. Was it a lot of work? Yes. Was I obligated to turn up on many occasions when I’d rather be in bed watching Netflix? You bet. But looking back, the benefits far outweigh everything else. From happy hours, football tailgates, section dinners, skydiving, bubble soccer, fundraisers, to a mind-blowing Vegas weekend for graduating second years, I got a chance to meet virtually every other student in the program (my future network). This was also a great opportunity to work on my leadership, teamwork, planning, and organizing skills within a diverse and amazing class.

You don’t necessarily have to run for social chair to have an incredible time. Rather, realize that building relationships within the Anderson community is an integral part of the MBA experience. As each of you prepares to embark on this life-changing journey, I hope you make up your minds right now to say yes more often than no, and to prioritize your social life amidst a hectic schedule. It may turn out to be the best decision you make in business school.

Bankers Just Wanna Have Fun

 

I felt compelled to pop on here for a moment and pow wow about the event I attended tonight, an annual tradition of roasting the second-year Investment Banking Anderson Career Team (ACT) coaches who were instrumental in helping us secure our summer internships. It’s no secret that ACT, a completely voluntary and primarily student-led program, is one of the most distinctive aspects of the Anderson experience, and as we approach the end of the quarter, and what is the end of business school for our coaches, we first-years wanted to show our appreciation the only way we know how—by roasting them. 

 

We booked out the entire second floor of a Mexican restaurant in Santa Monica and toasted one another with incredibly strong margaritas, taking one last chance to catch up before we all head off to our internships or full-time jobs. The Roast, put together and delivered by a few of my classmates, had everyone roaring with laughter as we saw slide after slide highlighting each ACT coach. It’s crazy to think that just a few months ago, we were all in “networking” mode with our coaches, but now we were handed the reins to make fun of them. I might regret saying this at this time next year, but I’m actually looking forward to getting roasted by the bankers of 2018 (insert not-so-subtle plug to explore a career in investment banking because you'd miss out on all this fun otherwise - seriously though, if you're even thinking or wondering about it, please hit me up). 

 

It's just now starting to hit me that I only have two more weeks left until my internship starts. My first year at Anderson is coming to a close, and I'm overwhelmed by the number of amazing relationships I've built with so many talented classmates. The best part is that I know the incoming class will be fantastic as well, and I look forward to building those connections throughout my second year. 

Millennials, Innovation, and the Future of Consulting

I recently had the opportunity to attend one of Dean Olian's Distinguished Speaker Series events this Monday with Jim Moffatt '87, the CEO of Global Consulting at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited. Jim joined Deloitte in 1987 after graduating from Anderson, became a partner in 1994, and has been a leader in Deloitte's global scaling initiatives, while focusing on the Energy and Life Sciences / Healthcare practice in particular. My classmate and outgoing president of Anderson's Strategy & Operations Management Association (SOMA) Amirali Ghasemipour had the honor of introducing Jim to a packed Korn Hall audience. The talk left several deep impressions on me, and challenged many of my assumptions:

Go Where the Innovation Goes: We all have preset notions of management consultants' time tested routines- walking in with sharp suits, collecting data, and then implementing a framework analysis and delivering an impressive set of slide decks for their clients- yet Jim's description of the practice could not be any more radically different. A key point he made, for instance, was that management consulting is inherently about adapting as quickly as possible to shifts in technology, industry trends, and client preferences- Deloitte intends to go where the innovation goes (as its recent history of technology and digital agency firms clearly demonstrates); no matter what function or industry you are in, for example, you have to learn to speak the language and understand the underlying concepts of the 21st century technological revolution. Jim made an important point about being cognizant not to surround yourself with people who tell you what you want to hear; that's a recipe for stagnant complacency and lost value, and a surefire way to get left behind. 

Driven By Purpose: Moreover, as someone deeply passionate about human capital and organizational transformation, I especially gravitated towards Jim's comments and overall outlook on the millennial workforce. It's rubbish, he maintained, to assume millennial are any less committed to their organizations as the generation before. In fact, as he pointed out- when he joined Deloitte out of business school, he too planned on being there for only two years. The key, ultimately, to empowering a millennial workforce is to align their work with a meaningful purpose or call to action. It's not enough to expect to be able to retain your top talent just by handing over a paycheck every other week- there has to be a greater social, economic, or technological impact for it to be appealing. In addition, millennials want "cool", exciting jobs- it's one of the reasons Jim cites for why Deloitte specifically looks to enter into innovative fields like machine learning and digital strategy.

Make The Important Things A Priority:  One of the biggest internal conflicts I've experienced- and I know many of my classmates have likewise experienced- in deciding whether to enter management consulting is the ability to balance your work and personal life. We've all heard the stories of consultants spending endless nights living in hotel rooms and on flights, but we don't often get to hear the other perspective of how people make it work. I had the opportunity to have lunch with Jim, Dean Olian, and a group of Anderson professors and students afterwards, where more intimate questions about work/life balance were posed. Jim spoke about how he would block off time on Fridays and Saturdays to coach his kids' baseball and soccer teams; it was his way of staying connected with his family. In the end, it's about blocking off time for the things that are most important. When Jim plans his week, he clearly blocks off the time he spends with his family first, and works around that to construct his busy schedule.

I'll be the incoming president of SOMA next year, and really hope to be able to bring more speakers and industry leaders like Jim on campus next year.

Student Spotlight: Kyle Briscoe

This post is a part of the Student Spotlight series where we highlight a current Anderson student and learn about his/her experience at Anderson. We will also get to hear about the student's favorite Anderson memories and advice for current and prospective MBA students.

Kyle Briscoe grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, where he lived a somewhat stereotypical Texas life: assisting on the family ranch and running his own lawn care business for six years. He then attended Yale University, where he majored in Architecture with a concentration in design and conducted independent research in sustainability. While studying architecture, he became fascinated with the technology tools he used to create models and manage projects. His interest in technology led him to co-found a cloud computing startup, called Cloud Spectator, which provides IaaS cloud performance benchmarking and consulting for enterprises and cloud providers. Though he left the startup, it still continues today. Kyle then took his newly discovered interest in marketing strategy to the Stanford University Office of Undergraduate Admission, where he spent four years as an Assistant Director of Admissions, creating an integrated marketing communications strategy and comprehensive digital marketing strategy. He is now a first-year student at UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he is completing the Marketing track and the Easton Technology Leadership Certificate. He chose Anderson because of its collaborative environment and strong technology management curriculum. Kyle will complete his summer internship at Microsoft working as a Product Marketing Manager for Windows 10 & Windows devices.

 

What is your favorite club?

I have really enjoyed being a part of the Design For America chapter at Anderson. DFA is a national organization with chapters at 29 universities throughout the country. Each chapter consists of student teams who use design thinking (with educational resources provided by DFA) to solve local societal problems. In the past, our chapter of DFA has tackled education of youth with special learning needs and how to clean the atria of the Anderson complex without using expensive scaffolding. For the latter project, we got to fly drones inside Anderson. This year, we have also partnered with Gensler’s consulting team to create solutions for the workplace of the future. I have really enjoyed being a part of DFA because we have had excellent speakers lead workshops on design thinking throughout the year. As someone who is recruiting for technology product management, I have found exercising my design thinking skills to be very valuable to my professional development. My involvement with DFA came up in two different internship interviews as well. I am also very excited to be working with Gensler on reimagining the workplace of the future. Our project with Gensler will last about 10 weeks and will give us the chance to receive feedback and mentoring from design consulting experts that work with the most respected companies in the world. DFA provides us with a completely hands-on learning experience outside of the classroom. Next year, I will serve as the VP of External Affairs and continue identifying more case competition and speaker opportunities for the club.

 

Tell us about a case competition you have been involved in.

Early in my first year at Anderson, I competed with an all-star team in the Amazon Case Competition, a case competition sponsored by the High Tech Business Association (HTBA) for Anderson students. We had many teams compete (I believe over 100 students in total!). While I have been involved in multiple case competitions this year, this one stands out to me because it was a great learning experience. I was unsure of differences between a product marketing manager (PMM) and a product manager (PM), which are two common MBA roles in the technology industry, before this competition. Participating helped me to truly understand the role of a PM. Our task was to act as the product manager for the Amazon Fire TV and to add new features to the product that would expand its market share in the TV set top device market. While our team did not win the competition (which included some awesome gadget prizes and a guaranteed interview with Amazon), we had a lot of fun coming up with our product features and learning more about Amazon’s culture. I did eventually get an interview with Amazon, and I think this case competition helped me a great deal in understanding Amazon’s unique culture and approach to work. Another great aspect of this case competition is that it was a very quick 24-hour competition. Some of the competitions in which I have participated have lasted for weeks and can really become a time suck when you’re trying to balance classes, social activities, and recruiting. For the Amazon competition, we got to hunker down as a team, order some Chinese food, and work into the night with lots of laughter and fun. It was a great way to strengthen bonds with my new classmates.

 

Describe your Anderson experience in one sentence.

Anderson has been pleasantly challenging, has transformed me for the better, and has opened many doors that I never imagined would be possible (one word: Microsoft).

 

What has been your favorite thing about Anderson?

Let’s not sugar coat things—business school is hard. You will have to juggle many demands for your time between academics, student clubs, social activities, and recruiting. You will also be surrounded by some exceptionally bright and driven people who may have expertise in things you’ve never heard of. Though there will be times when you will question why you’re spending tons of money to put yourself through such a rigorous experience, at Anderson you can always fall back on your section for support. We share success and we do not compete against each other. My awesome section has kept me sane and made this experience fun and light-hearted as much as possible. We have our own chat group and help each other laugh and commiserate over that torturous problem set or case reading. We also celebrate each other in many ways. Whenever a section member wins a case competition or is elected to a new role, we celebrate it. Whenever someone has a birthday, we buy them breakfast using our section funds. At least twice a month, someone in our section hosts a potluck dinner at their apartment for up to 20 students and their family members. Even when things are super busy, these dinners are always well attended and give us a chance to catch up outside of school or happy hours. I couldn’t ask for a better section to provide me strength, courage, and patience throughout this MBA experience. The best section at Anderson is Section C—or Section Chill as we call ourselves—and I hope that you are only so lucky to be as close to your section as I am.

Student Spotlight: Katherine Ozmeral

This post is a part of the Student Spotlight series where we highlight a current Anderson student and learn about their experience at Anderson. We will also get hear about their favorite Anderson memories and get their advice for current and prospective MBA students.

Today we are featuring Kathrine Ozmeral '17.

 

Tell us a little bit about your background.

I majored in Finance & Economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Following school I started working at an insurance company where I sampled different areas finance: including investments, accounting, business strategy, and internal audit. Looking to transition into the retail industry in a marketing or merchandising capacity I decided to start preparing my MBA applications. While doing so, I moved to Thailand where I taught English & volunteered for the year leading up to my start at Anderson. Now that I'm here, I'm hoping to combine my passion for retail with my "social good" attitude.

 

What has been your favorite thing about Anderson so far?

The people. I was really sensitive to culture when looking for an MBA program - my undergraduate business school was very congenial; however, my first job had a very competitive culture which didn't fit my personality.  At Anderson, I've noticed that "Share Success" isn't just a saying, but a notion that every student lives and breathes. When interviewing for internships, I didn't have a shortage of alumni, second years, and even fellow first years sharing helpful tips and performing mock interviews with me. You spend a lot of time with your fellow classmates, so it's important that you enjoy their company!

 

Measuring People The Right Way: The 2016 T-Mobile Tech & People Strategy Case Competition

Over the past few months, I have been helping my classmates Daniel Yokomizo '16, Chase Gharrity '16, Britney Sussman '16, and Lauren Yang '17 organize the 2016 T-Mobile Case Tech and People Strategy Case Competition. The planning and organization of this case competition was a team effort through and through- it was co-sponsored by Anderson's HTBA (High Tech Business Assocation), MCA (Management Consulting Association), and SOMA (Strategy and Operations Management Association). It was also facilitated by the Human Resources Round table (HARRT) at UCLA, which is a network of human resources executives from some of the top companies in Southern California. HARRT at UCLA played a significant role in helping connect T-Mobile with Anderson. 

This was the first human capital case competition held at Anderson- our goal was to bring human capital topics to the general Anderson student population, and emphasize how linked human resources is to overall business strategy. I'll be interning at Hewlett Packard Enterprise this summer within HR, hopefully focusing on workforce planning, and the case competition was a great way for me to share my enthusiasm and passion for human capital. The best part of the day was not only seeing teams collaborate, compete, and genuinely enjoy spending time with each other, but also listening to all the fresh new perspectives and ideas that were generated from their presentations. 

The case prompt revolved around quantifying metrics around T-Mobile's quality of hire to ensure that it had the proper workforce, talent pool, and skills inventory to deliver the products and innovations that its customers had come to expect from the "Uncarrier". 13 teams and over 55 students ultimately participated in the competition, with a wide variety of participants coming from both the full-time and fully-employed (FEMBA) programs.

Our very own Class of 2017 team of Zoe Cai, Lizeth Chiprez, Lucia Ehimika, Ahmar Reza, and Lucerna Huayanay (pictured to the left with T-Mobile judges) took home 1st place with their creative idea for "MOJO" metrics relating to an employee's cultural fit, alignment to business objectives, and overall performance. They got a nice little check of $2,500, first-round interviews for summer internships, and an invitation to join HARRT at their Day of Learning, where they'll get to present their ideas in front of an audience of senior HR executives. 

One thing I would want to emphasize is the tremendous support we've gotten from our own student body to make this happen- all the Anderson club leaders as well as the Parker Career Management Center happily distributed our fliers and spread the word about signups, and several of our classmates volunteered with logistics, social media, etc. on the day of the event. We also have tremendous 2nd years within human capital / HR- they've really led the way in terms of turning something that was a pipe dream into a reality. It has made want to pay it forward next year as an ACT coach, given how much they have helped me every step along the way here at Anderson.

I do have one regret from the event- not competing with a team of my own. The quality of presentations was extremely high, and sitting there listening to them definitely got my competitive juices flowing! If you're reading and passionate about human capital and winning, I'm looking for teammates for the 2017 T-Mobile Case Competition!

 

You can do anything you want!

“You’re doing...banking? Investment banking??” is a question I had fielded a countless number of times throughout the past three months. I wasn’t surprised; after all, I had come to Anderson with a background in entertainment and was initially recruiting for HR management. It seemed like (and let’s be honest, probably was) a complete 180 from what I had thought I wanted to do and what made sense for my background. 

 

But the beauty of Anderson was that such a pivot was possible. I remember sitting in what was the sixth week of my accounting class, learning about operating and capital leases, and finding all of it incredibly fascinating. This realization prompted me to look into careers in finance, and after finally understanding what investment bankers actually do, I knew that this was the career path I wanted to pursue. 

 

And though I joined the investment banking recruiting process mid-way through the fall quarter, I leveraged the resources and alumni network at Anderson (and gave up any semblance of a life) to secure a Summer Associate offer:

• 2nd-year ACT coaches were absolutely critical in helping me navigate all aspects of the recruiting process
• Advisors at Parker Career Management Center helped me finesse my story and provided incredible guidance on interviews, especially the behavioral component
• Anderson alumni in the industry took the time out of their busy workdays to meet with me for informationals
• Classmates followed my journey through the week of interviews and cheered me on, from first rounds to superdays to offers; they truly shared in my success and I am so grateful for their support and encouragement along the way

 

Now the burning question that everyone asks is, “What do you do with all your free time?” To be honest, I haven’t really had that much of it. Stress levels are definitely lower, but now my time is occupied by my classes and extracurricular commitments. People always say business school feels like you’re drinking from a fire hose, and it’s funny but it’s true. There is always something to do, and not enough time to do it. For the time being though, I am enjoying focusing on academics — my intermediate accounting class Corporate Financial Reporting with Professor Eric Sussman is amazing but also takes a lot of work! — and cheering on my classmates as they proceed through interviews and start to receive offers. 

 

Recently, I've had the opportunity to meet some members of the Class of 2018 (if any of you new admits are reading this - CONGRATULATIONS!), and it's exciting to know that they will soon be going through a similar journey of discovering their passions, deciding to pursue them, and committing to every facet of the business school experience. 

 

2017 bankers thank our lovely Parker advisors Regina Regazzi and Britta Schort for all their hard work

 

 

The Three Themes of Your First Year At Anderson

It's been essentially five months since I last posted, and yet it feels like that time passed in the blink of an eye. What have I been up to in that time?

1. The Recruiting Grind: There's no way to sugarcoat it- the task of securing a summer internship is no joke. I was lucky enough to find mine very early on in the process, but I definitely had more than my fair share of "what am I doing with my life" moments as I switched back and forth between management consulting, social impact, and human resources recruiting paths. But Anderson supports you the entire way: the Parker Career Management Center really prepares 1st years well for the rigors of the recruiting process. 2nd-years act as your career coaches and interview prep team leaders, and are generally available for advice, informational sessions, and venting. The best aspect of Anderson here is that almost everyone is looking to change at least some aspect of their career, so there is a feeling of mutual commiseration- everyone is in the same boat as you and can completely empathize along the way.

2. A Complete Business School Education: Learning at Anderson is like drinking water from a firehose. There's so many ways to learn- classes, Easton Technology workshops, academic internships, case competitions. Unlike a lot of other MBA programs where students will begin to specialize very early on, I've really come to appreciate the fact that Anderson prepares you to be successful in whichever function- marketing, finance, operations, etc.- the situation demands. In one case competition team, I was in charge of producing the financial valuations and sensitivity analysis for a potential startup, while in another learning team project identifying bottlenecks for an organization's operational process. No one is pigeon-holed as "the marketing guy" or "the finance girl"; this "generalist" curriculum really helped me during my recruiting process, especially during case interviews that required you to quickly synthesize aspects of finance, strategy, and organizational behavior to see the bigger picture. 

 

(Our case competition team after submitting our presentation to the judges)

(the same team nice and happy after placing 2nd in the Deloitte Case Competition)

3. Great Classmates, Even Better Humans: This is by far the best part of Anderson. I love the people I go to school with. It's going to sound cheesy and corny until you actually come and experience it yourself. People work hard, play hard definitely, especially at the 90s party- but more importantly they work together, play together. As someone who has a good deal of experience working to build strong classroom and organizational (school) culture, I know it when I see it: Anderson's people are its competitive edge.  

(Anderson 1st-years at the Star Wars premiere following fall final exams)

Giving

Today is Giving Tuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back. Inspired by the commercialization of the week after Thanksgiving (in the vein of Black Friday and Cyber Monday), Giving Tuesday asks us to donate to causes we care about, using our privilege to help organizations in need of financial support.

For me, UCLA is - and always will be - one of the causes that I care about most. Many arguments against giving to universities seem valid. For example, we pay for the service of education (it is not free), and we often spend a decade repaying debt. I argue that we must give back to the schools that made us who we are today.

As an Anderson student, I delivered a presentation arguing for giving back to one’s alma mater. Our professor made a quip in the beginning of the year about those pesky student telemarketers from university alumni associations asking for money he didn’t want to give, and the class heartily agreed. As the co-chair of the UCLA Young Alumni Development Council at the time, and an active philanthropic advocate, I took that as a challenge. 

I argue that giving back to our alma maters protects the value of an institution and concretizes a culture of paying it forward. By giving, we ensure that our degrees retain their value. And the generosity of alumni before us makes our institutions great for generations of students to come. Apparently, my classmates and professor were convinced (I was voted “Best in Room” and got an A+ on my “Take A Stand 2,” for those familiar).

I give to UCLA, and I give to Anderson, but “giving” extends far beyond donating financially. On this Giving Tuesday, in addition to donating to nonprofits, I supported a fellow alum’s crowdfunding campaign. I used my network to find a freelancer for a friend. I sent a few friendly emails to former colleagues. And I edited resumes for undergrad mentees. I also reflected on the power of the UCLA Anderson network as a power for giving of good. UCLA Anderson engenders a culture of giving - a culture that I experienced as a student, and now again as an alum.

Today is also World AIDS Day. In addition to supporting education, for over 10 years, I have committed much of my activism and philanthropy to the battle against HIV/AIDS. While in college, I helped raised over $1M for research and education to help end pediatric AIDS around the world. After graduation, I worked for an NGO in Tanzania on the ground as an HIV/AIDS educator and community organizer. Since then, I have worked with numerous organizations, most notably an arts camp for HIV+ youth.

Anderson students, alumni and Sig-O's volunteer at Camp Hollywood HEART in Malibu, CA in August, 2015.

This summer, I volunteered for the camp once again (click here to read my 2013 post about camp). In launching a new program for this year’s camp focused on college readiness and career preparedness, I reached out to the UCLA Anderson network for help.

I was truly touched (though I suppose not thoroughly surprised) by the outpouring of interest from fellow alumni - over 10 responses in the first 12 hours. Most from individuals I had never met. Ultimately, five fellow alumni, several Anderson Sig-O’s, and a current student all joined me in the mountains of Malibu to launch our new program and give back to the community. I witnessed, first-hand, our shared passion for giving.

Thank you, Anderson family, for giving. Giving Tuesday is just one day, but the Anderson culture of giving lasts all year.

Days on the job!

UCLA Anderson students storm New York's Times Square

Anderson has been keeping us busy: between on-campus company presentations, homework assignments, midterms and our upcoming finals we had to squeeze in a week for days on the job (DOJ). For the uninitiated, DOJ week is when all first-years take a week off school to visit various companies we are interested in working for. A lot of folks travel all across the country to visit potential employers, and some even travel to international locations such as Hong Kong, Singapore and London.

My trip began in New York on Monday when I flew in with six other Anderson students. We had a few hours to get settled in before our early start the next day so we made sure to visit the very famous Halal Guys food truck for a late-night dinner.

During the trip we were graciously hosted by several New York banks, the likes of which included Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merill Lynch, Citigroup and many more. We spent our days shuttling on the subway between one bank to the next while sneaking in lunches and taking in all that New York had to offer. In two days, we covered 15 banks and we were tired and exhausted — but that didn't stop any of us from sending out our thank you notes to everyone we met. On the final leg of our New York trip, we got a special invite for an alumni mixer at the Yale Club, where we reconnected with some of the alumni who took the time to meet with us.

We used Wednesday as our travel day to travel to San Francisco. After checking into our hotel briefly explored the city for the few precious hours we had to ourselves. The next day we kept our momentum from New York and visited a host of banks in downtown San Francisco. Here, too, we met at prestigious banks such as Credit Suisse, Qatalyst, Deutsche Bank, Barclays and Piper Jaffray. Again we were welcomed with open arms at all these banks and at each event we had Parker representatives present to provide us with some much-needed support.

It's worth mentioning how much Parker cares about our career prospects and the lengths they go to to ensure we sustain and nurture these relationships that have been years in the making and will serve future students for years to come.

Overall, our DOJ trip was a great success and we covered about 30 banks over a span of five days. This experience could not have been possible without my fellow students who handled the logistics of the entire trip, and without the support demonstrated by our alumni who make an effort to support and hire Anderson students. I gained insights into the inner workings of various banks, got a feel for the team I could be working with and even bonded with other students who might be working alongside me during my summer internship.

 

Anderson has been keeping us busy: between on-campus company presentations, homework assignments, midterms and our upcoming finals we had to squeeze in a week for days on the job (DOJ). For the uninitiated, DOJ week is when all first-years take a week off school to visit various companies we are interested in working for. A lot of folks travel all across the country to visit potential employers, and some even travel to international locations such as Hong Kong, Singapore and London.

My trip began in New York on Monday when I flew in with six other Anderson students. We had a few hours to get settled in before our early start the next day so we made sure to visit the very famous Halal Guys food truck for a late-night dinner.

During the trip we were graciously hosted by several New York banks, the likes of which included Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merill Lynch, Citigroup and many more. We spent our days shuttling on the subway between one bank to the next while sneaking in lunches and taking in all that New York had to offer. In two days, we covered 15 banks and we were tired and exhausted — but that didn't stop any of us from sending out our thank you notes to everyone we met. On the final leg of our New York trip, we got a special invite for an alumni mixer at the Yale Club, where we reconnected with some of the alumni who took the time to meet with us.

We used Wednesday as our travel day to travel to San Francisco. After checking into our hotel briefly explored the city for the few precious hours we had to ourselves. The next day we kept our momentum from New York and visited a host of banks in downtown San Francisco. Here, too, we met at prestigious banks such as Credit Suisse, Qatalyst, Deutsche Bank, Barclays and Piper Jaffray. Again we were welcomed with open arms at all these banks and at each event we had Parker representatives present to provide us with some much-needed support.

It's worth mentioning how much Parker cares about our career prospects and the lengths they go to to ensure we sustain and nurture these relationships that have been years in the making and will serve future students for years to come.

Overall, our DOJ trip was a great success and we covered about 30 banks over a span of five days. This experience could not have been possible without my fellow students who handled the logistics of the entire trip, and without the support demonstrated by our alumni who make an effort to support and hire Anderson students. I gained insights into the inner workings of various banks, got a feel for the team I could be working with and even bonded with other students who might be working alongside me during my summer internship.