Greetings from the Starbucks on the 40th floor of the Columbia Center in Seattle, WA. My name is Gregory Paige, and I'm honored to contribute to the MBA Student Voice blog as a proud member of UCLA Anderson's class of 2014. Please bear with me as I utilize this first post to share some introductory details. I promise we'll get to the fun stuff soon enough.
I was born in Philadelphia, PA and grew up in the area, attending the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey before heading down south to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for my undergraduate studies. Upon graduation I continued my southward journey, driving twelve hours to Miami to begin what would be a six-year career in account management at advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Fifteen months ago, I moved out west to help the agency expand its now flourishing Santa Monica office. Leaving CP+B was bittersweet to say the least, but I'm extremely excited and equally humbled to begin the Anderson chapter of my life.
I must admit, however, that I've enjoyed these past few weeks of "funemployment." I recently returned to Philly (for the first time in a long time) to see family and friends. Naturally, I acted like a complete tourist despite growing up in the area. Cheesesteaks, the Liberty Bell... the whole nine. Next stop: Seattle, where my parents and brother currently reside. I've been particularly observant here because Seattle is a potential summer internship destination. So far, so good. When the sun is shining, I'm not sure there's a more beautiful city in the country.
When I return to LA this week, I'll have approximately six days to meet up with my future roommates (Reggie Hall '14 and Michael Leyva '14), find a house and move into said house. Good times. I'll have to unpack quickly, too. Six days later, my brother Michael and I embark on a long overdue trip to Japan. Keep an eye out for a post or two on that adventure.
I'm looking foward to sharing my stories and experiences with y'all over the next couple months and beyond. My road to business school has been long and windy, and it's amazing how much I've learned before even stepping foot in a classroom.
There are 48 days left until the start of orientation at Anderson. Let's make them count.
- Gregory Paige
(Follow me on Twitter: @gregorypaige)
