The MBA Student Voice

Game Day, the Best Section Ever, and Life Adjustments: Anderson Orientation Part II

When I was describing the second week of Orientation at UCLA Anderson to my father, he remarked that it sounded like a true total immersion, and wondered if other MBA programs had something as intense. Although I do not know the answer to that question, I do know that he hit the nail on the head when describing our orientation. The second week included our first real paper and final exam for Management 414, improv and public speaking, a simulated climb of Mt. Everest, a day of team-building on the Odyssey ropes course (see Connie’s blog about that amazing day here), our first (sort of) recruiting event with Bain & Co., and the Game Day Section Competition.

Classes start on Thursday and thus begins the quest to settle into official school life. As much as I have enjoyed Orientation, and am so appreciative of the clear effort Anderson puts into it to ensure that we have the most valuable experience possible, it is time to get into a routine. Bet before I get ahead of myself, I have to talk about Game Day!

It’s amazing to think that a mere two weeks ago, we all showed up on campus not knowing one another, because from the look of the solidarity and enthusiasm that abounded at this section competition, we’ve been good friends forever. Our class is divided into five sections, the group we will take 3 of our 5 classes with all fall quarter. Game Day was a chance for us to put our section and Anderson spirit on display and spend a day outside in the beautiful LA weather participating in some classic kickball, dodgeball, and wiffleball competitions.

We created class cheers, painted our bodies and faces, and my beloved Section B dressed up our fearless second year orientation leaders Sean and Nora as Thor with a Six-pack and a Renaissance-era Taco (respectively). A highlight of the day for me was tapping into my roots as the coach of our company softball team and playing with the championship Wiffleball team. Note to The Islanders: I can still play left field! Here are some photos of the day (my most sincere apologies to Sections A, C, D, and E, but I only have pics of my section):

Serious business school students prepare for a somber day of competition.

Odyssey Ropes Course at UCLA Anderson!

As Charlotte mentioned in the previous post, orientation has officially kicked off a couple weeks ago and then the bloggers disappeared off the face of the earth.  To be more specific, we clearly are enjoying our time too much socializing and studying (cough) to update our readers.  It sounds a bit blunt, but it's the honest truth.  On top of taking on a 2-unit course on the foundations of leadership--complete with a final exam--our schedules pretty much run from Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM.  And sometimes, we have to stay on campus until 7 PM (the horror!).  The Anderson admin really has tried to break up the week as much as possible, so we'll have one day of being absorbed in academia and another immersed in various physical activities.  One such physical activity that we were subject to is the Odyssey ropes course.  

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Finally a Bruin! The First Week at UCLA Anderson

We are one week into our 2 ½-week Orientation, and it already seems as though Labor Day was months ago! So much has happened in a mere week! On the morning of the first day, I put on a new dress and packed up a lunchbox and my new bag with all my school books. It was like a time warp to first grade! Except the part where I drove myself to school.

When we first got to the Anderson campus, the whole class piled into Korn Convocation Hall for a welcome from the administration. There, we learned there are actually 379 of us! That was a lot bigger than I expected. But only 28% of us are female, which is a lot fewer than I thought. We also learned a few of the statistics that show just how impressive the 379 of us are. Grades, GMATs, jobs, travel, awards…. We’ve got a lot going for us.

Soon it was time to break into our sections, the group of 76 people you have most of your classes with for the Fall Quarter.  Mine is a diverse group ranging in age from 23-34, hailing from all over the world, and from the looks of it, very good at Powerpoint. We also learned who the members of our “Learning Team” are, or the group of five people from within the section that you do all your group projects with. In this small group alone, I am joined by a student from Serbia and one from Pakistan!

We are actually taking a class during this time, Leadership Foundation I, with a professor teaching us every other day. It was hard to be immediately thrown into hard work (and homework!) after not being in school for so long. Here is the final product of one of the hardest tasks he made us do.

Yes, that is a Lego Man.

I’m kidding, it was actually really challenging and an example of one of the many tasks we did to engender and practice effective teamwork. For those of us used to doing things our own way in our previous professions, the new way of thinking is going to take some getting used to! I guess that’s why we have grades, right?

We also had Undergraduate T-shirt day, which proved useful as many people who had been told by mutual friends that they had to be sure to meet me were finally able to pick me out in my very subtle undergrad garb.

This also helped me pick out my fellow Dartmouth-ites. John Hertzer (above) and I agreed that the weather in Los Angeles had it over Hanover, New Hampshire’s at least 8 months of the year!

Of course not everyone took such a standard approach to Undergrad T-shirt day.

Prof. Goldstein seems oddly unfazed by Kenny Liao’s outfit. I sure hope Kenny went to Texas!

Above all, it’s been amazing to meet so many great new people that I am privileged to spend the next two years with. It is very refreshing that everyone is so open and friendly and eager to jump right in. How many business lunches where no one knew each other at the outset look like this by the end??

On tap: another week of Orientation, including the famed “Odyssey” which is a day on the high ropes course. Sure sounds a lot more fun than the Trust Fall!

-Charlotte Baxter

A Canadian's First Week in the US: In N Out Binge 1.0

After a brief hiatus to deal with the many joys of moving to a new country, I thought I would share my thoughts on the first 10 days of life here south of the border (how we Canadians refer to this charming country). It's funny, I've sat through two days of international orientation where I mostly jokingly poked fun at the fact that I'm considered an international student because of the similarities between Canadian and American culture. That said, prior to coming here, I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of adjustment, if in fact there would be much of any. With the exception of my personal belongings still being in transit from Vancouver, I can't imagine a smoother transition to a new home. Sure, I'm sleeping on an air mattress, I don't have a TV yet and I only got Internet at home a few days ago, but none of those factors have made the last 10 days any less awesome.

After a four day trip to the Sierra Nevadas (see pictures below) with a great group of classmates, most of my time has been taking care of bank accounts, putting off accounting assignments, eating excessively and drinking at any hour of the day. Kind of reminds me of my undergraduate days...I have a feeling that may change in the next few days. It seems like every day I'm meeting a dozen great new people, and it's definitely making me more excited about the next couple of years. Highlights from the first week and a half:

1. The people: I've been blown away by how welcoming, friendly and fun the class of 2013 is. I knew culture was a big factor why I picked UCLA Anderson, but I had no idea it would be this good of a fit.

2. Food: Since my cooking accessories haven't arrived yet, it's been much easier to justify eating out almost every meal. In N Out. Mexican food. More In N Out. Target has a food court here? Wild. 

3. Weather: 27 and sunny every day. I'm sticking with Celsius as long as I possibly can. Some locals have said it's been cool at times, but I find the weather perfect pretty much all the time.

4. Traffic: Sure the traffic sucks, but it gives me lots of time to catch up on podcasts and new bands. Glass is always half full.

5. Food Trucks: I have only been to one, but have been kiling time planning routes around where they will be next. Something tells me I won't have time for that a week from now.

A few pictures from my Pre-O trip to Mono Lake and Yosemite:

(The stunning Mono Lake, where we kayaked for a few hours)

(Awesome view of Yosemite Valley from a lookout point in the park)

(On our way up during our Mono Pass hike…not too shabby)

 

Until next time,

 

E

 

The Social Network

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.

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