The MBA Student Voice

Spring Quarter Resolutions

Today's the first day of our Spring quarter, and after a week of recruiting trips, vacations, and general relaxation, it feels good to be back at school. For a couple reasons, I'm more excited about this quarter than I've been about previous quarters. First off, for us 1st years 3rd quarter means having real freedom and choice in our class schedule. With only two core courses this quarter, there's plenty of room for electives, and it's empowering to start tailoring our educational paths to fit our interests and career choices. (I'm especially thrilled about Law & Management of Nonprofit Organizations with Professor Guerin- this sort of course is exactly why I wanted to come to business school.)

Fewer core courses also means my workload will be more interesting, and therefore more manageable, this quarter. For a humanities major like me, it was a huge transition to be back in school learning 4 different kinds of math all at once (accounting, finance, statistics & economics.) Fall quarter was hard. But now, with a foundation in these subjects and a better grasp on how to balance the conflicting priorities of academics, recruiting, clubs, and socializing, I feel ready to take advantage of all the opportunities here going forward.

To make sure I stay on track, I'm making some resolutions for the spring quarter. Most of them are boring and all about scheduling.  But one of them is to be a much better and more consistent blogger.  It can be tricky for us bloggers here- the events and activities that you readers would most like to hear about often end up taking a lot of our free time and energy, making it hard to find a free moment to spare to describe recruiting, final exams, etc.  But whenever I can find a couple spare minutes I will try to share a little bit about my experiences in the run up to the end of my first year here at Anderson.

Welcome back everyone!

 

- Tara

ALMA and LMSA present “A Fireside Chat with Gil Vasquez & Chris Arranaga”

It was a great night of building networks and making connections as students, alumni, and other professionals came together for “A Fireside Chat with Gil Vasquez & Chris Arranaga.” Prior to the chat, which took place on March 10, 2011 at UCLA Anderson, participants struck up conversations and became acquainted as they enjoyed appetizers and beverages provided by E&J Gallo Winery. Special guests included members of ALPFA, NSHMBA, and the Riordan Programs.

The evening officially began with a call to order and an introduction to our moderator and UCLA Anderson assistant professor of finance, Marc Martos-Vila. Professor Martos-Vila then introduced our panelists, Gil Vasquez and Chris Arranaga.  Mr. Vasquez is the Managing Partner of Vasquez & Co. LLP, which focuses on audit, accounting, tax, and consulting services.  Mr. Arranaga is the founder of Gorilla Marketing, which focuses on promotional advertising. Professor Martos-Vila posed several questions to Mr. Vasquez and Mr. Arranaga, and their answers showed humor, great insights, and many lessons learned. The audience members asked their own questions during the Q&A session following the moderated chat.

It was an enjoyable night to gather as friends and fellow professionals, and it was a great opportunity to learn from two successful Latino businessmen. Both ALMA and LMSA will continue to work together to organize similar events in the future.  Stay tuned!

Food Festival Continues to Grow

It's been a while since the blogeteers have posted, so let me give you a bit of a fill-in as to what's happening:

* The International Business Association is busy planning the International Food Festival, where we transform Alumni Plaza into a street market atmosphere with students running food stalls from a variety of different cultures.  I'm a step removed from the planning this year versus last year, but there are already more tables lined up than last year - which means more cultures represented, more food, and more fun! The festivities will be on April 8.

* Jason Arnott has made an instant impact on the Capitals.  On the ice, he gives the Caps something that they haven't had since Sergei Federov retired: a second line that draws defenses away from Alex Ovechkin's line.  Off the ice, he's been an instant mentor to Alex Semin, and has been a vocal leader in the dressing room.  Great move.

* Dennis Wideman doesn't have Mike Green's Norris Trophy ability, but can fill in very nicely while Green is on injured reserve.

* If the Football Association really wanted to incease the development of English players in the Premiership, they should turn the Carling Cup into a competition for English players only.  This doesn't violate the EU's labour laws because the clubs can still employ anyone from the EU for their other competitions.  Plus, it would give a deeper meaning the Carling Cup, which in my eyes struggles for relevancy compared to the more coveted FA Cup.

* Air Canada's threats to pull their sponsorship of the NHL if the league doesn't address head shots more carefully is hollow given how much Air Canada gets from hockey, but it brings up another point: as the NHL gains more national prominence, the league will be under a microscope for situations that even five years ago would not have been newsworthy.

* There seems to be more of my classmates staying in Los Angeles this Spring Break than I was expecting.  I don't know if that is a function of the economy -- feels like more people have jobs at this point than last year's graduating class -- or of higher oil prices due to the situation in North Africa, but I was rather surprised.

* Of course, it could just be that the point of a Spring Break trip is to go to a warm, sunny place with lots of beaches and girls in bikinis, and Los Angeles already fits the bill. 

See you on the other side of the break!

-- Sreesha

3rd Annual Los Angeles Diversity Mixer

This year, ALMA was proud to collaborate with the Riordan Programs Alumni Association, NSHMBA, and ALPFA on the third annual Los Angeles Diversity Mixer (LADM).  The event attracted over 300 guests and provided an excellent venue for diversity recruiting and networking.  ALMA looks forward to continuing its partnership with these groups and forming closer ties with other, diverse professional and community organizations.