The MBA Student Voice

C4C Sports Weekend

The photos you've all been waiting for... C4C sports weekend! For those of you who missed earlier blog posts, Challenge 4 Charity is a non-profit organization that nine West Coast business schools participate in. Over the course of the year, students volunteer and fundraise for charities to earn points. Said points make you eligible to participate in the final event of the year, sports weekend at Stanford. 

It's an unbelievable weekend, which words can barely describe. It's a chance to show true school spirit, support your classmates while they compete in sports, and meet people from other schools in a casual environment. 

Without further ado... a picture journey through the weekend. 

UCLA Anderson brings 200+ attendees every year to C4C weekend. It's consistently the most people out of any program. How do we get so many people? Well not ony do we field teams for every sport imaginable, but we also bring far and away the most fans to support all those teams. 

Here's a picture of the Challenge Race team, which as part of the Challenge Race had to compete in the Tug-of-War. 

One great thing about MBA programs is the diverse background of individuals. On the left is UCLA Anderson's own Reggie Hall, who played college football. On the right is Stanford's Anthony Gonzalez, who just so happened to play a few years in the NFL. The talent on the flag football field made it an exciting sport to watch!

Dodgeball. One of the fiercest, most competitive sports all weekend. No lie. Emotions run high when the difference between winning and losing might be getting grazed by a ball. However, this photo is of the CHAMPIONSHIP WINNING dodgeball team. They kept their cool under fire. 

Yet another CHAMPIONSHIP WINNING team, Hadas and Lily dominated ladies doubles table tennis. It's handy that Anderson has a ping pong table in the student lounge for impromptu practices all year round. 

The swim team competed in a variety of individual and team events, but perhaps the most challenging one was the Investment Banker relay. Each member had to swim in a full suit, then take it off, have the next team member put it on, and then repeat until everyone was done. It's not easy taking a wet suit off and on!

Tennis was another sport where Anderson had a chance to shine. Here's a great shot of the outgoing Anderson Tennis Club President serving against USC. 

Beach volleyball was another sport where a lot of talent was on display. The Anderson team, shown above, featured a former D-1 national championship player. Being West Coast business schools, a lot of teams had talent that spends their weekends on the beach practicing and playing against a high level of competition. 

One of the biggest highlights of the weekend is the cheer competition. Here's a glimpse of the team practicing a throw. The schedule for the weekend is set up so that the cheer and the Men's A Basketball playoffs don't conflict with any other sports, so that the maximum number of fans can watch and support their teams. 

On Saturday night, the weekend closes out with Battle of the Bands. Anderson's band brought the house down! As you can see in the second photo, over 1000 people from all 9 schools participate and enjoy the weekend. 

All in all, it was one of the most memorable weekends I've had at Anderson to date. I got to compete in softball and beach volleyball, support my friends competing in other sports, and build stronger bonds of friendship with everyone in attendance. 

I've already got next year's weekend marked on my calendar!

Until next time, 

~Kyle Forrest, follow me on Twitter and follow UCLAMBA

 

My typical day

People ask me what my typical day is like. But I'm not exactly sure there is one. All I can say for certain is that each day is very busy and comes with its own set of unique challenges and opportunities. So much happens between Monday and Thursday that I'm thankful I made it to the weekend.

So what's my typical day like? I won't venture a guess as to what a typical day in Fall or Winter Quarter was like - they're eons ago now. Every day is different like I said. Let's take a recent Wednesday as an example. View this photo I was basically busy from 8:30-7 at night. Another Wednesday was different. View this photo I had ample time to work out, relax, and do some schoolwork.

And even if each day is long, it's all worth it. Everything that I do is for my professional development or for fun and bonding with classmates. I just try to take each day as it comes. It's been a rewarding experience so far.

 

~Dwight Asuncion, MBA/MPH '15

A little bit of the everyday Part 2

Bus pass!

Many of you coming for A-Days will see several students' apartments in Brentwood, West LA, and Santa Monica. If you're scared of the commute from any of these places because of the dreaded LA traffic (and yes, it can be as bad as you've heard), don't be. You'll probably be near a bus stop for the Big Blue Bus.

 

I've started taking the bus more this quarter and I've really enjoyed my experience so far. Yes, door-to-door takes longer, but I'm able to relax, read on my phone or read for school, and not worry about traffic. And as a student, you're able to buy the BruinGO! Flash Pass which gives you unlimited rides on the Big Blue Bus or Culver City Bus during a quarter. Or you're able to pay for a ride $0.50 (vs. $1 as a non-student) each way Just something to think about and look into next year.

 

Working out

In my last post, I forgot to mention the pools! Probably because the ones I know about are all outdoor, and it's been too cold. But it's been warming up lately, and I intend on taking full advantage of them. North pool's right next to Anderson, the SAC only a stone's throw away. Sunset Canyon is a bit of a hike, but well worth it. Olympic size pool and beautiful. I love that area.

 

Over and out for now

 

Dwight Asuncion '15

A little bit of the everyday Part 1

If some of my fellow bloggers have commented that they have fallen off the face of the earth, I certainly have! Been a pretty long time.

Ayushman's, Melanie's, Kyle's, Alejandra's, and Chris' posts have all touched upon the many highlights at Anderson, so I'll just write about some of the everyday.

 

Working out

As a university, UCLA has the best combination of world-class academics and athletics. They have great facilities for both student-athletes and other students. Many of you will work out at The Wooden Center, which is centrally located on campus, and Drake Stadium, the track-and-field stadium. Anderson is close to both these facilities; even better, your parking is even closer. Typically, students end up at Lot 7, some at Lot 4. See here for a map. Notice Drake Stadium and the Wooden Center to the left and to right of Lot 7, respectively. I keep some work out clothes and shoes in the trunk of my car. You can also leave some in either your locker or in the changing room (Anderson has a changing room, so you don't have to wear your suit all day for interviews).

 

E-Reader

I highly recommend buying an e-reader before coming to campus. A lot of courses at Anderson are case-based and have e-readers. Carrying an iPad around is much better than lugging around lots of paper in the form of a physical reader or having to organize your cases in a binder, at least for me. And if you're worried about the cost of an iPad, know that e-readers are routinely $20 cheaper than purchasing a physical reader; Kindle and Nook books are also less expensive.

 

That's it for now. I'll post a little more soon.

 

~Dwight Asuncion '15 (I guess I'm actually gonna graduate with you guys rather than the cohort I started with)

 

2/3 Through Year 1, 1/3 Through the MBA!

With the winter quarter having wrapped up and spring quarter just beginning, it's hard to believe... I'm 2/3 of the way done with my first-year! All that remains between me and my summer internship are the 10 weeks of Spring Quarter (which will be action packed). On top of that, I'm 1/3 of the way done with my entire Anderson MBA experience! That is even more mind-blowing...

With that in mind, I'm dedicating this blog post to some activities that took place over the end of Winter Quarter and Spring Break. 

Academics Wrap-Up

The one required core class for Winter Quarter is Operations and Technology Management. Above you can see the wheel of knowledge that you move around throughout the quarter. While the class is challenging, as its the first time many of us have been exposed to operations in a granular fashion, I certainly learned a lot. Especially after learning about Queuing Theory - now everytime I see a long line I just want to fix it!