I’d like to start this post by wishing everyone a happy holiday season. I’m especially happy this holiday season because finals are over. Not that I don’t like taking four three-hour exams in consecutive days, but…wait, yeah, I don’t like taking four three-hour exams in consecutive days.
All kidding aside, last week was finals week and it was an incredibly challenging experience. After I wrapped up my accounting exam, the final of all finals, I thought I’d want to run out of the room and be greeted by falling confetti and an overflowing bottle of champagne. Instead, I was so mentally exhausted from the week that all I wanted to do was sleep. To all of my classmates, I apologize for my zombie-like demeanor the rest of the day.
But honestly, now that I’m a week removed from finals, I can look back on the quarter and really appreciate how much I learned. The professors were fantastic, the material engaging, and the classmate collaborators inspiring. It was an unbelievably arduous and humbling quarter, but one that I can look back on quite fondly.
You know what else I can look back on fondly? The Anderson Breckenridge Ski Trip. Yep, once finals wrapped up, I, along with 100-plus of my classmates, left on a jet plane to (John) Denver and bused to Breckenridge, Colorado. There we skied (or boarded depending on your preference), hot tubbed, enjoyed a few adult beverages and were model guests at the Mountain Thunder Lodge. Jim Mora, Jr. would have been proud.
Sitting by the fire in Breck-not a bad way to recover from figuring out LIFO and FIFO!
But the fun didn’t end once we got back from Breckenridge. Some of us headed immediately to the San Francisco Bay Area for “Silicon Valley Days on the Job.” The High Tech Business Association and Entertainment Management Association hosted this trek and it was nothing short of amazing. In a three-day span I visited eight companies, including YouTube, Twitter, Pixar, Meebo, Yahoo!, Pandora, Ustream, and Revision3. Others made stops at Google, Visa, and eBay to name a few. I’m amazed at how much I learned in such a short time at each company. Even better, I met several fascinating people who hopefully will be great contacts down the road as I search for a summer internship and, later, a full-time job.
Pixar won these Oscars. Not me.
So winter break is underway, but it hasn’t been much of a break. I think that’s a theme here at the MBA Student Voice. But it’s better to be busy than bored, so I’ll take this hectic December. However, once the college football bowl season picks up, I'll probably revert back to my zombie-like state. Just fair warning.
-Willem
Follow me on twitter: @willsouthwood
