First off, I have to credit the incredible Fran Benjamin, the MCA President for the tag-line of this blog post.
As I sit here during my last school-related winter break and enjoy some quality holiday time with family and friends, I began reflecting on one of my favorite parts of my Anderson experience to date - all of the teams I've had a chance to join.
Over the past four quarters, I've been placed on teams, created teams, and applied to join teams. At Anderson, teamwork is emphasized as part of the academic and student life experience. It's truly one of the best ways you can learn about yourself and get challenged to grow as a person and a professional.
Below is a sampling of some of the amazing teams I've had a privilege to be on over the course of my experience to date:
Orientation for the Class of 2015
The Orientation Board (as the team is called) was formed towards the end of my first year at Anderson. The team was formed in two steps. First, the Orientation Co-Directors interview with the Co-Directors from the prior year. I was fortunate enough to fill that role with the lovely Shweta Kapoor this year.
Second, Shweta and I had to interview our classmates who were interested in participating in orientation and, along with input from Student Affairs, identify 10 section leaders (two for each of the five sections) and event co-directors (responsible for orientation's social activities).
Here's a photo of our team at the beginning of orientation, and then dressed up for the end of orientation party.
The Orientation Board is one special group of people. We had the privilege of sharing our Anderson experience and setting the stage for the Class of 2015 to take the school to bigger and better places. So far they are off to a great start!
Here's some holiday spirit from the orientation team with Elf Yourself Videos:
Orientation Co-Directors and Event Directors
Anderson Student Association (ASA) Cabinet
The ASA Cabinet is comprised of 11 individuals responsible for a variety of areas. After the President and Executive Vice President, we have people who cover international relations, academics, IT, etc.
As the VP of Social Events, I have the honor to sit on the cabinet. Each week we meet as a group to discuss various issues and opportunities to pursue and work on initiatives to improve the student experience. One example of an idea that was implemented this year is our "Anderson International Dinners". Started by Scott Cooper, ASA President and Veronica Andrade Indo, VP of International, the dinners are a way to encourage greater interaction between international and domestic students. Each dinner is hosted by a student who prepares food native to his or her country/state, and a mix of domestic and international students attend and get to know each other better.
Being on the ASA Cabinet, I had the chance to go to the John Wooden Global Leadership Awards this year. If you click on the link, you can learn more, but suffice it to say it was a phenomenal opportunity to learn about the incredible things two of my classmates do in their local communities. It was also an honor to hear the award's winner, Disney CEO Bob Iger, talk about what leadership means to him.
Below is a picture of most of the ASA Cabinet at the dinner.
Social Crew
As VP of Social Events, I get to work with a group of outgoing, hardworking, energetic individuals who all want to make sure the Anderson community has enough opportunities to play as hard as they work.
We organize tailgates at the Rose Bowl during football season, plan a Halloween party in the fall and Anderprom in the spring, and help host Anderson Afternoons every week on campus.
The group is comprised of 10 first-year socials (two from each section) and 6 second-years.
Below is a shot of 5 second-year socials (we were missing one this fall who was abroad in Hong Kong) celebrating the last tailgate of our social career.
Learning Team C-4, The "Bomb Squad"
When you start at Anderson as a first-year student, you are assigned to one section (A through E), and within each section you are assigned to a learning team. I was in Section C, on Learning Team 4, and thus we decided to nickname ourselves the "Bomb Squad".
Although we only worked as a learning team during our core classes in year one, the bonds we created have kept us close in year two. We've had a couple of different learning team outings to catch up and hang out.
Below is a photo of us pumpkin carving this year - note the C-4 pumpkin courtesy of David Ketelsen!
UCL-"A" Team
One of the joys of attending business school in Los Angeles is taking advantage of all the opportunities available in the area. Just a few weeks ago, a group of men decided to run the Malibu Spartan Sprint together. Thus was born the "UCL-A Team", an elite squad of... I can't remember the rest of the A-Team movie intro, but let's just say it's an awesome group of dudes who were ready to race.
After conquering the rain and mud that we faced over the obstacle course in Malibu, some of the group is even ready to up the ante and do a Super Spartan in Temeculah in January. Twice the distance, twice the obstacles, but at least Temeculah is in the heart of SoCal wine country and has great recovery options post race.
I'm extremely grateful for all the teams I've had a chance to be on so far, and if I could write an even longer blog post would have gone into the rest of them, such as the Dis-O Crew, but every blog post must come to an end.
I hope everyone who reads this enjoys some quality holiday time with the teams in your life (family, friends, work, school, etc.) and reflects on all the positive experiences you've shared together!
Until next time,
~Kyle Forrest, follow me on Twitter and follow UCLAMBA
