With the summer well on its way, the Anderson 14' bloggers decided you could benefit from our very different perspectives on common topics. This is intended to give you insight on topics we believe are relevant to any student starting an MBA in the fall. Please feel free to let us know if there is a theme you want to hear us talk about!
Can't wait to get started - Feeling anxious, happy, sad, depressed? We all deal with departing for our MBAs in different ways. Here is some insight as to what we are feeling pre-departure and how we are dealing with it.
Chris Varin: "I've just had almost 10 months travelling and I can't wait to become active and productive again. I'm restless and excited about starting although with a touch of nervousness. I'm trying to keep myself as busy as possible until I leave but my parents are telling me to relax as I'm sure to be kept occupied in LA as well."
Alejandra Rodriguez: "I am simply dying to move to Los Angeles! It has been so long since I took my first steps to do an MBA (about a year and a half ago) that excitement has built up immensely and I am boring everyone here with my “My classmates are so awesome” stories. I have already sent five bags full of my clothes and shoes to a relative who lives close to L.A. so half my life is already there but I’m stuck in Mexico with crappy leftover outfits! I have also had the fortune to connect with a lot of our classmates online and it feels odd to have so many online only friends. I’m looking forward to meeting them in person! My only sad feeling is that I will have to leave my mother, who I am so close with, and my two best friends who have been with me at every important moment in my life since I met them in college."
Dwight Asuncion: "Getting into business school (and public health school) has made me focus more. I’m focused on enjoying life as much as possible. I went to Israel for 1.5 weeks and Europe for 3 weeks. I’m planning some camping trips in August and I’m hoping to do a road trip before school starts. I’m also pursuing hobbies that I may not have as much time to devote to while I’m in school - grilling, cooking, and rock climbing. I’m also focused on preparing for school by saving money, reviewing for the course waiver exams, contacting professors I can do research with, moving, etc. School will start in a couple of weeks and all in all, I’m happy but a touch nervous."
Kyle Forrest: "The first thing I couldn’t wait to get started - summer vacation for the first time in years! MBA Student Affairs does a great job of spacing out the various things we need to take care of during the summer, so I’m focusing on some trips I have planned (Costa Rica, Pre-Orientation Rafting, family time, etc.) and getting excited for my move to LA in August and beginning to meet everyone!"
Ann Ching: "I’m really happy to be reuniting in LA with my Sig-O and our dogs (he has been living there the whole time I’ve been in Hawaii). I’m a bit anxious about meeting a lot of new people, and about fitting in, given that I’m from a nontraditional background for business school. However, so far everyone seems very friendly! It’s a little sad to leave my Hawaii friends and my co-workers, but I’m seeing as much of the islands as I can before school starts and I hope to visit again soon."
Ayushman Jain: I can’t really put my excitement into words here, but you might get a sense of it when I say my heart skips a beat everytime I see an email from UCLA Anderson or Parker CMC. We’ve received a bunch of very useful info as a series of weekly mails to help us get through the summer more productively by motivating us to analyze our strengths and weeknesses academically (since most of us have been out of school for years now) as well as getting our resumes and career stories ready by the time we reach LA. Phew, so much to do and so little time. Yet, I’ll only call myself happy busy! Can’t wait to be “crazy happy busy” already! :D
Ashley Mallinson: With all that has been going on from wrapping up my major projects at work (I still have one week of work left), the fantastic Anderson happy hours, engagement parties (I got engaged in April) and going away parties, I have barely had time to book my movers. I am at once, excited and sanded. beyond thrilled to be moving to Los Angeles. I have heart-wrenching pangs of sadness every time I think about leaving New York behind along with the job that I love and the friends that are like a 2nd family to me. That said, I know that the best is yet to come. I can't wait for the next 2 years at Anderson to become the best yet!
-Anderson 14' bloggers
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