The MBA Student Voice

Challenge for Charity (C4C) Casino Night

What do raising money for charity, playing Blackjack with your professors and bidding on various awesome auction items (such as a signed shirt from David Hasselhoff!) have in common? The answer is Challenge for Charity (C4C) Casino Night. C4C, Anderson's student run charity organization helped setup casino night with a silent auction to raise funds and compete against other business schools on the West Coast in one of the largest fundraising activity of its kind, that culminates with Stanford weekend.

All proceeds from the auction go to charity. This year's theme was Venice Carnival style mask party. Students got to play blackjack with their professors as dealers, while some tried their luck at craps and poker. All the while our in house DJ blasted the best tunes for the dance floor. Even though the chips had no monetary value, students enjoyed playing to win big and get more tickets for the raffle draw. There was even a photo-booth style picture taking opportunity complete with props. All in all it was a great night of mingling for full-time, fully employed and executive MBA students.  

Pictures from the event say it all.

 

Anderson Ski Trip 2014

Hello folks! This week I am going to talk about one of the major excursions you take as an Anderson full time student. Right after finals and before wrapping up the first quarter of business school, both first and second year students will hop on flights to go skiing together. There is no better way to de-stress from the exams and feel proud of all the accomplishments in the last few weeks, from classes to recruiting to leadership positions in professional clubs. This year the group picked Utah as the destination and stayed at the Canyons resort for four days. To top it off the High Tech Business Association (HTBA) organized a day on the job trip to the local office of Adobe where students got to interact with Anderson alumnus currently working there and learn firsthand what working for a next generation high tech firm is like on a daily basis.

Skiing conditions were optimal for two of those days but that did not stop the crew from having fun. We organized cowboy themed parties to pub crawling in the nearby town to seeing the Christmas lights in Salt Lake City. It was a great way to experience winter weather (which people can sometimes miss living in Southern California) while hanging out with some of the best people. If location is a major concern for you when choosing a business school, Los Angeles offers warm sunny days while still being a short flight away from some of the best skiing locations in the nation.

Canyons Resort.

Getting ready to hit the slopes.

Anderson Black and Scholes Surf Club

One of the many benefits of moving to Los Angeles for school is access to the beach, even in winter. I was able to join the Anderson Surf Club on their kickoff event at Manhattan Beach and learn from experts how to surf (with zero surfing experience myself). The group met up on a beautiful Sunday morning with perfect conditions for beginner surfing, 3-5 feet waves.

My first attempts at paddling and standing was not very successful but after trying for some time I was able to get a handle of things, albeit mostly in shallow water near the shore. However, it was a super fun getting tossed up in the air and rolling around in the waves, an experience one must go through to become a surfer. Afterwards people got together for food and drinks on the beach and spent the rest of the Sunday tossing frisbees and playing beach volleyball. Just another reason why I am glad I chose UCLA Anderson School of Management!

The members of Anderson Surf Club.

 

Los Angeles Startup & Non-Profit Scene

This past Friday I volunteered at Entrepreneur Impact Day (EID). The event was organized outside of UCLA but I was able to participate through Entrepreneurs Association (EA) on campus. It was a first in LA where startups and non-profits got together to solve some of the most challenging problems the non-profits are facing. I was assigned as program manager on the Los Angeles River Revitalization Corporation or LA River Corp. for short. Their main focus is to turn 51 miles of the LA River into a public space with parks, trails, bridges, etc. and make it a landmark for the city. Currently their challenge is awareness and fundraising. Employees from two startups, MuckerLab and PicPlayPost were on hand to help them with both these challenges. By the end of the full day event, the team came up with a pitch deck for the initial fundraising and strategies to improve project awareness in the general public.

After just three weeks of school I was able to attend this event through my network at Anderson School of Management. Since my long term goal is entrepreneurship, hopefully in the social impact space, it was amazing to be able to participate in EID. I made some great contacts and am looking forward to more such events in the future. Thanks to the organizers of the event for putting together an amazing opportunity for all LA residents.

The event was hosted at the beautiful Bel-Air Bay Club

Pre-Orientation Trip: Santa Cruz Island - Joint Post By Zafeer Khan & Britney Sussman

With orientation just a week away groups of Anderson students went on various excursions across the State from Yosemite to the Sierra Nevadas to Santa Cruz Island. I was lucky to be able to join fellow blogger Britney Sussman (see her comments below), along with eight other Anderson students for a two-day camping trip to the wonderful Santa Cruz Island. After a 1-hour ferry ride, we arrived at Scorpion Bay with pristine blue water and dramatic kelp forests. There was plenty of wildlife to spot from sea lions to foxes to whales (pictures below). Kit Hansen (Anderson ’15) answered all our questions regarding life at b-school so a special thanks to him. And thanks to our UCLA undergraduate guides, Spencer and Kaitlyn, for organizing action-packed days of hiking and snorkeling, as well as feeding us the best camping food ever.

 

The BS POV – I wasn’t able to attend A-Days, the official preview weekend for admitted students held back in March. Therefore this pre-orientation camping trip was my first opportunity to interact with my new classmates. I’ll admit that I was a little nervous heading into the excursion. What if we didn’t click right away? Would camping with complete strangers on a deserted island for three days be awkward? Would we bond over the lack of showers? Luckily my worries were squashed before we even boarded the ferry to Santa Cruz Island. Within the first hour, I realized that I was among an exceptional group of people. As Zafeer mentioned, there were only 10 incoming first-years on the trip, but I was immediately stuck by each person’s diversity, intelligence, passion, and all-around coolness. Our group had flocked from far corners of the earth: Chile, Japan, Bangladesh, Canada, New York, Atlanta, etc. Each had accomplished serious career milestones and had distinct visions for how he or she wanted to impact the future. It was great to share stories while we trekked all over the island, and despite all of our differences, there existed a special like-mindedness. The trip further confirmed why Anderson felt like such a good fit; it’s the people it attracts. And if the people make the place, this is going to be a great two years!

ANDERSON 16 – watch out, here we come!

Living in Los Angeles

Three weeks into living in Los Angeles and I am already making new friends! I have been to the Sundowners events, Parker Q&A session on campus and a weekend beers on the beach social. I have met a ton of second year students, who have imparted great advice on life at Anderson. I was able to learn more about life during  the first quarter, which can get pretty hectic with classes, recruiting and clubs / associations. It’s always reassuring to learn tips and tricks on surviving the fall quarter. A few of the advice I have heard

- Don’t try to make it out to every social gathering, it can get pretty busy and no one will judge you for not showing up to every single event

- While the Parker Career Center has already told you to spend the summer researching different industries and hone in on one, it does pay off in the end. Stretching yourself thin by exploring a wide variety of industries and companies will just mean less time spent on the area that you actually want to be in

- While grades and classes are important, also as much important is networking with companies that you are interested in and making contacts that can help you land the internship / full time job. Proper time management in both these areas is the key to success

- If you are interested in non-traditional roles like startups, plan on doing an academic internship. Even if you don’t get paid, it might help with securing a paid internship during the summer

- Finally, get ready for the journey of a lifetime and enjoy every second. Everyone around you is on the same boat as you, don’t think you are the only one stressed about classes / job interviews. At the end of the day, the culture of shared success at Anderson and the lifelong contacts you will build here is what matters

On a different note, my fellow classmates Asher Kurland, Bryan Whitmer and I share a love for the outdoors and ended up hiking Inspiration Point in Pacific Palisades. People living in Brentwood / Westwood area, it is really close, about 15 minutes’ drive. The trail has many options which can go for hours but you can do the simple ascent to the top and back down in an hour or so. Here is a selfie of us at the top viewpoint with the city on our back.

Networking

This week I wanted to share some thoughts and insight on networking. I believe to pursue a specific career path it is extremely important to know the right people and get the correct advice. I moved into LA last week and this Wednesday was the first Sundowners event I attended with my fellow classmates and current students. It was a great opportunity to talk with students currently in their summer internships and learn firsthand about their experiences working in different industries. Since I am hoping to pursue a career in entrepreneurship / tech startup, I was able to gain some valuable feedback from some students in that field. One student landed his internship at a startup by responding to an email from the Real Estate Student Association while another student met with the founders of the company that he works at, during a networking event at Anderson, and secured an interview that led to the internship. The Parker Career Management Center coupled with the student organizations will pretty much open up all opportunity to find the right gig for each student.

The pre-orientation deliverable to update my resume and get feedback has also helped me think about the conversations I would be having with potential employers when I present my skill sets. In addition, it has got me started thinking about my plan B. If my primary target industry doesn’t work out, which companies will I be looking at and how will I present myself to them? Thinking about my career choice earlier than later will save me from rushing through at the last minute and provide ample time to polish my resume and pitch, when I not overwhelmed with classes and assignments.

The Big Move

This week I will be making my big move to Los Angeles so wanted to share my insights on moving logistics. When it comes to finding an auto transporter, reading reviews is very important. I put my phone number on a booking website and companies started reaching out, most of them pointing to a particular auto transporter review website. After checking out the website it seemed to be carefully monitored by all these companies and I doubted I would find honest reviews. Yahoo, Google and Yelp however gave a good balance of reviews for most auto transporters and the reviews for one company were usually consistent across the different websites. In addition to reading online reviews I talked to people who had moved their cars in the past and heard firsthand about their experiences. I ended up choosing my company based on the experiences of two of my close friends. I am yet to receive my car in LA but hoping it will be a smooth experience.

Moving furniture is pretty much the same deal, reading the reviews online and if possible talking to people about companies they have used in the past. One thing I did learn was that the companies base their shipping estimate on cubic feet. So when they quote you a certain price based on the inventory list, keep in mind that price might go up on moving day i.e. how much stuff you actually take with you. I underestimated the number of boxes I would need by almost half and that ended up increasing the total cost quite a bit. So always make sure you check the cost per cubic feet instead of just item list when comparing prices between companies.

On a general note, I have always gone with a slightly more expensive company if their reviews were better instead of finding the cheapest one. I felt I would be paying for damages and lost items by getting the cheapest option and in the end the total cost would go up anyway.

My next blog will be from California, can’t wait to begin the next chapter of my life and start my Anderson adventure.

Here is a picture of my farewell party from last weekend. See you soon LA!

Apartment Hunting in LA

This week I wanted to share my experience from finding an apartment in LA. A lot of incoming students are looking for a place and I hope some of my insights will be helpful. It started over two weeks ago when I called a few places from Craigslist and pretty much everyone told me to call them back closer to the move in date. I needed a place starting Aug 1^st so booked my flight to LA for 3 days to look for a place around the end of June.

I flew in on a Sunday but did not get to utilize much of that day to look at places since most leasing offices are closed on the weekends (note to out-of-towners), but I did get to pick and order my glasses from Warby Parker (shout out to LA for having a physical store). Before I flew in I setup a few appointments for apartment viewing for Monday and Tuesday through Craigslist and Zillow. I started off near campus checking out the places in Westwood. Out of the 7 or so places I visited, I only liked one. So in the afternoon I drove through every single street between Wilshire Blvd and Sunset Blvd in Brentwood, calling the numbers in front of the buildings. I was able to check out a few places but unfortunately they were all outside of my 1 bedroom price range. This was turning out to be a harrowing experience, what I was prepared to pay mentally was not matching with the kind of place I wanted to rent.

California Dreaming!

My name is Zafeer Khan and I am one of the Class of 2016 bloggers looking forward to sharing my journey over the next two years. I was born and raised in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a small country in South Asia surrounded by India in the North and West, Myanmar in the East and the Bay of Bengal in the South. Bangladesh is a commonwealth nation so I ended up studying under the British system of education and had to take my Ordinary Level and Advanced Level exams out of high school (by the way, no relation to Ordinary Wizarding Level (O.W.L) exams, Harry Potter fans!).

I came to the US in 2004 to pursue my undergraduate studies at Georgia Institute of Technology. After graduating with a degree in Computer Science I decided I did not want to code for the rest of my life but stay in the tech industry and learn the business side of things, so I got into Technology Consulting. I worked in strategy consulting providing advice and assessment to top technology companies as well as worked in systems implementation helping both private and public sector clients upgrade their legacy business processes. I have been doing consulting for the past six years for both a small and large consulting firm, raking in tons of experience that eventually helped me secure a spot at a top business school - Anderson.

Anderson was my first choice due to its location in California and proximity to the tech startup industry. Plus, over 300 days of sunshine is not a bad deal either. My post-MBA plan (contrary to my application essay) is to get into the startup space. But that’s the beauty of business school and Anderson, you get to choose what really interests you. Check out some of the career switches through the Parker Career Management Center.

Over the next several weeks I will share more about my moving experience from Atlanta, GA to Los Angeles, CA, getting ready for school, participating in pre-orientation trips and much more.

By way of introduction here is a picture of me and my sister near Carmel, CA during our California road trip down Pacific Highway 1.

Here is a picture of me whitewater rafting in TN last weekend. I am the guy posing instead of paddling.