Black Tie, Dancing, Camaraderie, and…Jellyfish?

As the Winter Quarter draws to a close, Matt Tracey recaps one of the quarter's biggest events: Winter Formal. You can check out all of the glitz and glam of the evening on PhotoBooth's Facebook page.

Dana
***

Chicago Booth’s “Winter Formal” came with a bang three weeks ago...what an event. On the surface, it is what it sounds like: an elegant evening affair characterized by shiny black tuxedos, dashing cocktail dresses, food, drink, and photos galore. But Winter Formal, Booth-style, is so much more than that.

Socially, the Formal is rather unique in that it brings together so many people all at once. “Semi-formal” in the fall quarter, for example, involved only first-year students (that event was fantastic in its own right). Furthermore, our weekly bar events all over the city of Chicago involve both first-years and second-years, but total turnout—although strong—pales in comparison to the 800+ who eagerly attend the Formal. The end result of Winter Formal is a rich social experience that, beyond providing ample opportunity for friend-to-friend interaction, enables students to meet and talk with a number of new and different classmates as well as helps students experience nearly the whole Booth community in all its awesomeness. Connecting with so many peers at once reminds us that not only are our immediate friends and classmates so great in so many ways, but the entire Chicago Booth community is as well.

The Who/What/Where/Why/When
Who? Chicago Booth students. Roughly 800 of them, both first-years and second-years (and their significant others). What? Winter Formal. An epic social event that—in the twilight of winter quarter—gives students and their plus-ones a chance to unwind, share some quality time, dance, talk, look awesome in front of one another, and... Where? ...watch some dolphins and beluga whales chase each other around the Shedd Aquarium, a Chicago landmark that features—beyond the aforementioned dolphins and whales—a pretty sweet collection of aquatic life (including a rather unique jellyfish exhibit). This venue offered something for everyone. Those who wanted to eat could do so liberally at one of the many buffets; those who wanted to drink could find an open bar probably within 100 feet of wherever they found themselves at a given moment; those who wanted to dance could hit the dance floor for the Harlem Shake, Booth edition; and those who wanted to carry on a real conversation (yes, there were plenty of those as well) could meander off into one of the Aquarium’s many scenic corridors and park themselves on a bench. Why? Fun, obviously. That and friendship, camaraderie and celebration, all wrapped into one. When? Every year during winter quarter (February 23rd this year).

While a number of first-year students still are evaluating internship opportunities (depending primarily upon target industry), many attended Winter Formal having just emerged from the recruiting process. For those recently finished with recruiting, Winter Formal was an awesome reintroduction to the Booth social scene. For those students still pursuing internships (first-years) or full-time positions (second-years), Winter Formal served as a reinvigorating break from the process—and the perfect opportunity to share interview stories in a relaxed environment.

The Bottom Line
The sense of community amongst the students at Winter Formal was powerful, and the opportunity to celebrate life at Booth together pushed school spirit to a new high. The people make the Booth experience what it is. Check out some photos from the event here: Winter Formal 2013

Already looking forward to the next occasion for which I have to solicit help tying a real bow tie,
Matt Tracey

The Faces of Follies: A First Year’s Inside Look

With auditions this past week (and a fun karaoke event last week to get the Booth community excited), the Harper Center has been abuzz about Follies. With a multitude of ways for students to get involved, whether it's singing, writing, dancing, or producing, Follies is an excellent way to showcase the talent we have at Booth (and we have fun doing so!). Check out footage from last year's show on the Follies YouTube channel.

Dana
***

Follies. It’s an essential part of the business school experience. This is the annual extravaganza of musicals, skits, dance numbers, scripted videos and anything else that will entertain an audience of razor sharp tongue-in-cheek business school students. At Booth, the show is set for May 10th, which gives us all enough time to properly reflect on what makes us unique, and sometimes tragically funny, to an outsider looking in. This is one of the biggest events on campus that fully engages both the first- and second-year classes; for the second-years, it is a sort of farewell ode to the past 2 magnificent years, and for first-years, it is a milestone celebration of endurance. For everyone, it is the chance to prove to the people you rubbed shoulders with in crop circles or sort of met on the Metra that you have real talents (being a Powerpoint deck master doesn’t count).

I am a first-year who was lucky enough to get involved with Follies from the very beginning. I was first introduced to Follies during Admit Weekend, and being a big fan of musicals and improv, I knew this was something that I wanted to be a part of. As far as I know, Follies is the first student group to recruit for first-year co-chairs, and the first-year co-chairs were already actively involved in the planning and coordination of the show as early as the beginning of the winter quarter. The content of the show is written by a group of students, which collectively form the Creative Team, who meets biweekly to brainstorm ideas and performs scripts out loud. Over time, an overall theme emerges, and it always highlights an irony or dynamic within Booth that everyone recognizes. This year, the theme, or title of the show, is still kept under wraps, but rest assured that no matter what the theme is, hundreds of Boothies will unite for one hilarious night to poke fun at ourselves and our experiences.

Together, the team of 7 first- and second-year co-chairs manages not only the creative process but also the mountain of logistical, financial and marketing aspects of the show. We have some support from the Graduate Business Council and the Booth administration, but we need to make sure that we are getting sponsorships and driving ticket sales proactively. More importantly, we need to manage the sheer number of people involved in the show, from actors and dancers to the writers and technicians. I’m looking forward to being on the other side of the judging process during auditions when dozens of Boothies hoping for a break in Hollywood (that’s Plan D after banking, consulting and entrepreneurship) will give their best shot at Follies stardom. Since this is an entirely student-produced and student-funded show, spring quarter will be extremely busy with coordinating marketing and selling efforts and making sure that everything and everyone is set for the big day. After all, we have to uphold our high caliber reputation among the top-tier business schools not JUST in academics but also when it comes to bringing down the house with a well-timed musical parody.

Why are you here and not somewhere else? Be part of Chicago’s growing entrepreneurship and VC scene

Well into winter quarter, Career Treks continue to take place. This week, Liz Han shares her passion for venture capital through her experience on the Venture Capital Trek that took place a few weeks ago and her role as an associate for Hyde Park Angels.

Dana
***

Sand Hill Road. It’s one of the most famous streets in Silicon Valley and home to venerable venture capital firms such as Kleiner Perkins and Draper Fisher Jurvetson. It was also one of the places I visited a few weeks ago as part of the Venture Capital trek to the Bay Area organized by the Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Group (EVC) at Booth. Over the course of two days, nine students visited seven of the most well-known VC firms in the US, including KPCB, Sutter Hill Ventures, and Accel Partners.

In a whirlwind of 48 hours, we were fully immersed in the vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem that exists in the Bay Area. In nearly every office we visited, there were entrepreneurs meeting with partners and advisors in brainstorming and planning sessions. To hear experienced general partners and operators discuss start-ups they founded and scaled, and their investments in companies such as Facebook and Amazon, was inspiring to say the least. And all of this was made possible because of the long-standing relationships these VC firms have with students and alumni at Booth, which certainly makes me appreciate being an active member of Chicago Booth and EVC.

While I was awed by the concentration of talent and at times intense atmosphere in the Bay Area, the trek also made me more excited about the growing entrepreneurial community in Chicago and the opportunities to shape its growth. As a current Associate at Hyde Park Angels (HPA) and Hyde Park Venture Partners (HPVP), an angel group and VC firm that still maintain close ties to the school having been founded by Booth alumni / professors, I feel lucky to meet aspiring entrepreneurs on a regular basis to discuss their ideas, business plans, and companies. I found myself impressed by the depth and diversity of the start-ups I learn about and the passionate group of entrepreneurs I interact with through office hours, demo days, and events such as Technori Pitch. Through my experiences at HPA and HPVP, I have seen a rich variety of start-ups ranging from ecommerce to healthcare and everything in between. In fact, one of my favorite places is 1871, a large open working space that is the ideal spot for start-ups to develop and grow. The energy and buzz there is almost tangible, creating an environment in which start-ups in completely different sectors can collaborate and work side by side.

Perhaps there is no better reflection of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Midwest than that found in the microcosm of Chicago Booth. There is an active and open group of driven entrepreneurs that is supported by the Polsky Center and through programs such as the Entrepreneurial Internship Program (EIP) and the New Venture Challenge (NVC). This is a remarkable time to be at Booth and I, for one, am excited to be part of and shape the entrepreneurship and VC community at Booth and in Chicago.

Booth On-Campus Interview Week: The Superbowl of Recruiting

The Winter Quarter is such a busy time for first-year students because most are interviewing through the on-campus program for internships. This week, Matthew Richman gives a first-hand perspective of what the investment banking interview process is like.

Dana

***
We huddled together, nervously clutching our leather portfolios, adjusting ties and name tags, and spending one last minute going over the finer points of corporate valuation. Suddenly, with a pronounced “click,” a nearby door opened and a head poked out.

“Matthew? We’re ready for you.”

I bid farewell to my classmates and entered the interview room.

Over the past few weeks, this scene has repeated itself over and over again on the second floor of the Harper Center. Beginning in mid-January, hundreds of companies—recruiting for roles from consulting to banking, marketing to investment management—have traveled to Hyde Park to conduct interviews with Booth students. One of Booth’s strengths is the relationships that Career Services maintains with some of the most sought-after firms around the world, as well as smaller boutique firms and startups—and the affinity that alumni at these firms have for Booth job-seekers.

Moreover, the on-campus recruiting process means that Booth students can interview with a variety of firms, all in one place. I saw the benefits of this arrangement in my own recruiting for investment banking. The banks were the first firms to come to campus in January, and spent a week conducting first round (and often final round) interviews in the Harper Center’s dedicated interview suite.

Interviews were stressful. After a long four-month recruiting and networking process, it would come down to 30 minutes. Would the interviewer be the one person we didn’t meet at the firm? Would he or she be having a bad day? Would one misstep or interview flub flush months of hard work down the drain?

After the first rounds concluded each day at 4:30pm, many firms conducted final round interviews the same evening. We were often told to wait for a phone call inviting us to the next round. We milled about the Winter Garden, obsessively checking our phones. All of the sudden, the calls would begin. Being one of the less fortunate candidates was tough, but on the flipside, getting that call for the final round was exhilarating; even more so was the late-night follow up call, often on the way home, from potential future colleagues with good news about a summer offer.

To be prepared for these pressures, we had plenty of help from Career Services, and crucially, our fellow classmates. During winter break, students got together in groups to grill one another on case studies or accounting technical questions. I didn’t expect to spend my holiday break camped out at the Gleacher Center with classmates for hours each day, sweating the finer points of the financial statement impact of a $10 increase in depreciation expense—but it really paid off when it came time for interviews.

Second-year MBA students were critical in sharing insights from their interview experiences, and helped us with mock interviews informally or as part of Career Services’ Interview Training Program, where we got formal feedback and a video of our performance.

The bottom line is that Booth’s on-campus recruiting and interviewing provides students an incredible opportunity to be part of the one-stop interviewing shop for interesting companies. One can’t overstate the convenience and advantage that comes from being able to spend a week in the Harper Center being considered for many of the different positions for which we applied, with no more travel than the ten feet between interview rooms. After the first round was conducted on campus, some firms flew candidates to their offices for a final round. However, in my case, apart from visiting the firm in New York during Bank Week, the internship I ultimately secured didn’t require that I even leave Hyde Park, since the firm came to campus in October for recruiting and also conducted first and final rounds here.

Of course, in addition to on-campus recruiting, Booth students can apply for some of the thousands of job postings from companies that are interested in hiring Booth talent, but either lack the recruiting resources to come to campus or need to wait until later in the spring to assess their hiring needs.

When considering a business school, it is important to evaluate its on-campus recruiting capabilities to ensure that you’ll be best positioned for your ideal job. At Booth, there is something for everyone in terms of function and sector. While this stage of my career transition to investment banking has required a tremendous amount of hard work, Booth—with its amazing Career Services team, collegial students, and dedicated alumni—provided me all of the resources to successfully land an exciting internship with a firm that is a great fit for me.
Matt Richman Matthew Richman UPenn TCNJ booth

The Practice of Leadership in Business

Prospective students will often ask current students, "What is your favorite course at Booth?" It can be difficult to pick just one! This week, Elizabeth Bozek tells us a bit more about one of her favorite classes at Booth thus far, The Practice of Leadership in Business.

Dana

***

One of the questions prospective Chicago Booth students and those recently admitted to the MBA program often ask me is “What is your favorite class so far?” Although I have only been at school for about a quarter and a half, I already have a strong opinion. It may seem a bit funny for a student who is intending to concentrate in finance, but I have actually been enjoying a more qualitative class. The course that I am enjoying most is called The Practice of Leadership in Business, taught by Professor Linda Ginzel. On day one, Professor Ginzel was very upfront with the fact that this course would not be like most of the other classes at Chicago Booth. The class is intended to be abstract – discussions focus around ideas and methods – and there are no right answers or solutions to the topics we cover. Professor Ginzel warned us that it takes a very particular approach in this class to succeed, and that the goal of the course wasn’t so much to teach a particular subject, but to become wiser by turning insights into action for now and in the future.

Why am I taking this course? I wanted to learn about leadership development and experience a more practical aspect of becoming a leader. I also wanted to learn how different companies and organizations flourish under different types of leadership. I believed (and still do) that leaders are not necessarily born, but made. Other students chose to take this class because they were in the process of starting their own business or wanted to adapt their own leadership styles.

During this course, I am field testing leadership practices and drawing action implications from analyses. This is done by using a variety of resources such as classical readings, speeches, cases, and even contemporary films. I also have the opportunity to have direct contact with policymakers of major organizations and learn from their personal experiences. Many of the students in the class are second-years, part-time program participants and exchange students, so having the ability to converse and interact with a diverse group introduces me to ideas that were different from that of my immediate peer group.

The culmination of the course is to write your very own “This I Believe” essay following the guidelines set by the international organization of the same name. “This I Believe” engages a wide range of people in writing and sharing essays describing the core values that guide their daily lives. Some 100,000 of these essays, written by people from all walks of life, are archived online, heard on public radio, chronicled through books, and featured in weekly podcasts. The project originated from the popular 1950s radio series that was hosted by Edward R. Murrow. Self-knowledge is a key attribute of a successful leader, and as Professor Ginzel says, nothing is real until you write it down. The essay is intended to instill confidence in one’s leadership decisions well beyond their time at Chicago Booth. “This I Believe” is a written testament to each individual’s personal values and ethics, and will be a credo to rely on while motivating others, communicating with charisma and leading in times of crisis. The Practice of Leadership in Business is a great way to continue the self-reflection and preparation of leadership skills introduced initially at LEAD (Booth’s Leadership Development course). It also provides the opportunity to experiment with thoughts and behaviors before returning to the workforce full time. I am very pleased with this class so far, and would encourage any student interested in learning how to apply leadership concepts to their future business experiences to enroll.

Booth Career Trek Opportunities: Investment “Bank Week”

The second perspective on Bank Week is from Matthew Richman, a first-year student and member of the DSAC Communications team. Although it sounds like Matt had a very busy week attending events, he still had some time to enjoy New York and to get to spend time with classmates!

Dana
***

Matt Richman is a first year MBA student at Chicago Booth concentrating in finance and accounting. Prior to Booth, Matt founded and managed the federal government and defense contracting division of a company which provides foreign language services. He came to Booth to make a transition to investment banking, and is recruiting for a Summer Associate position.

For MBA students interested in investment banking, Chicago Booth provides top-notch opportunities. Because of Booth’s reputation and the relationships that Career Services builds with employers, our MBA program is a recruiting target for all investment banks, large and small. Booth Career Services and student groups organize a variety of career treks after finals are over. Booth students pursuing investment banking spend “Bank Week” in New York attending formal events and cocktail receptions, conducting informational interviews with bankers, and networking.

My experience during Bank Week was the culmination of all the networking I had done during the recruiting process. Beginning in September, Career Services and the student-run Investment Banking Group (IBG) organized about 50 events with many different investment banks. These events gave us an opportunity to get acquainted with all of the firms looking to recruit Booth students, and to begin the networking process.

During Bank Week, I began most days at 8am with a walk uptown for a breakfast networking reception hosted by one of the banks. Wanting to focus on the networking part and not the breakfast, I usually ducked into a deli on the way to pre-game with a bagel and lox. The days’ subsequent receptions and office visits were set up back-to-back, so I strategized with classmates who had lived in NYC previously to figure out the best way to hustle to the next event without being late or looking too undignified running through Midtown Manhattan. Bank Week evenings featured cocktail events and dinners hosted by individual firms.

After the formal portion of the week was over, I rounded out the trek with a couple of last minute meetings that I’d managed to schedule and happily, but exhaustedly, flew back to Chicago in time for the holidays—and to begin preparing for interviews.

One thing that prospective students may hear about Booth is that apart from the LEAD course, we don’t have a strict cohort system for our first year’s studies. While formally true, Booth’s flexibility provides us the ability to form our own cohorts. During investment banking recruiting, I’ve developed close friendships and camaraderie with many of my classmates, whether sharing good news or frustrations. You might think that students pursuing finance jobs would be competitive with one another, but I’ve found that most Booth students are well-versed in game theory, and have reasoned that the optimal outcome for each of us comes from cooperating. We often share emails or business cards from people we’ve met, information about each bank and its process, and pass on all manner of rumor, speculation, and innuendo to help each other strategize through the process.

Here are a couple of great (non-finance related) experiences with my classmates from Bank Week:

• Spending an evening off the grid with a few of my classmates at a Korean BBQ, chowing down on an experience called “Meat Mania.”
  
• Arriving to a Starbucks in Midtown to prepare for meetings I’d organized with bankers in the neighborhood, to find it filled with fellow Boothies camped out for the same purpose.
  
• Relaxing at the end of the week at a Booth Fusion happy hour event, where I ran into friends from the Banking Trek, the Retail Trek, and Investment Management Trek happening concurrently, and some alumni based in NY.

The success of my time in New York confirmed that Booth was the best choice for me for business school. Bank Week was the perfect mix of structure and flexibility. Booth provides access to top firms in finance through formal programming, but gives us enough room to customize the recruiting process to our own needs and goals. On top of that, I’m building a great network of colleagues and friends for the future.
Matt Richman Matthew Richman UPenn TCNJ Booth

A December Tradition on Wall Street

The Career Trek Series continues with double-feature coverage of Bank Week in New York City. The first post is from Felipe Marin, who provides us with an update of his investment banking recruiting experience.

Dana
***

As the deal flow and corporate meetings diminish around Wall Street and bankers prepare to enjoy the December festivities, Chicago Booth aspiring bankers flock to the Big Apple to participate in a long-standing tradition known as Bank Week. The week’s events are organized by Booth’s Investment Banking Group and more than twenty top Wall Street firms participate. By attending corporate presentations and personal meetings with bankers, Bank Week serves us the ultimate opportunity to showcase our interest and proficiency as potential bankers.

The fall quarter comes and goes, and somehow it seems to fly by faster than a thirty second time-lapsed photograph. At last, after a rigorous fall recruiting process and despite the intensity of final exams, future bankers must swiftly recoup and begin their pilgrimage to America’s finance epicenter. Essentially, Bank Week allows us to establish new relationships and fortify those that have been cultivated since early fall; it has served generations of Boothies as an effective conduit to catapult ourselves into the coveted interview list.

The truth is that the fall quarter investment banking recruiting process and Bank Week provide insight into the reality of what being a banker actually means. For as harsh as this may sound, this industry is quite intense and, therefore, appealing to many of us but certainly not to everyone. One must have a strong conviction, aptitude, and discipline to be successful in the recruiting process and, eventually, as a banker. After all, life on Wall Street will have many more intricacies than anything one could experience in an ephemeral week in New York City. Frankly, if the process were easy, obtaining an offer would not be nearly as rewarding as it will be after months of persevering.

I, of course, am biased. After all, I decided to come to Booth because I felt that this institution provides its students the best chances of success in investment banking recruiting, and I have not been disappointed. Bank Week has only reiterated what I deduced beforehand: banks know that Chicago Booth produces excellent bankers and they are not shy to display their excitement towards us. From CEOs to newly minted Associates, we were greeted with enthusiasm as we heard time and time again why we should choose to join their respective institutions.

Perhaps this might sound a bit masochist, but I actually enjoyed Bank Week’s frantic and energetic pace. Despite the busy schedule, the New York weather, and even how nerve-racking one-on-one informational chats with bankers can be, Bank Week has taken us one step closer to our professional dreams. Not surprisingly, Booth’s leadership has exceeded our expectations by organizing Bank Week. Someone once said that luck favors the well-prepared, and the administration at Booth seems to live by these words; we all embraced Bank Week and our level of preparation showed. But, it isn’t time to celebrate just yet. Investment banking interviews will take place in a couple of weeks and Wall Street will no longer be a distant dream. For now, it is time to continue our preparation for those challenging interviews and uphold the great Chicago Booth tradition of banking success.

A Quarter of Booth, Told in Photos

Rather than compose a traditional blog post, Chris Hauck has shared the story of his first quarter of Booth through photographs. I hope you'll have as much fun as I did following what seems to have been a very busy and exciting quarter!

Dana
***

In my initial blog, I wrote a long post about the constant challenges you face in business school. However, now that you are working on another round of applications and probably reading and writing constantly, I wanted to do something lighter and actually show you my first quarter in pictures. This is an abbreviated list, but for even more pictures and updates from my first quarter, you can visit the photo album on the Booth Experience Facebook page.

With that said, let me take you through a very busy first quarter:

Uniquely Chicago
Understanding my first quarter at Booth means knowing the city I have called home for the last five months. The city you get your degree in will have a big effect on your overall experience. Does this mean Chicago is perfect for your experience? No. Each person thrives in different settings. However, it has been perfect for me. Let me show you...

My first week in the city, I met some of my new friends and headed down to the pier where they have a fireworks show every week during summer. This was one of the first moments it really clicked for me that I was actually going to Booth and kicking off a new adventure.

In October we took a trip out to a Cider Farm. For the record, I had very low expectations, but acquiesced to my friends. After eating a big meal, watching pig racing, driving Go Karts, navigating a corn maze and playing with farm animals, I was happy to admit I had been wrong.

Chicago’s annual Color Run. I normally hate waking up before 9:00am on a Sunday, but this was worth it. This “race” (some people run it, some people dance it) – is a corlorful trip through Chicago culminating in a DJed dance party at the finish line.

There’s perks to being a student. We secured $10 tickets from the University to see Les Misérables at the Cadillac Theater in Downtown Chicago.

And this is the view from my roof. After a long day of studying or recruiting, there are few better ways to unwind than having a glass of wine with my roommies up here.

LEAD
For those of you not familiar with LEAD, it is Booth’s leadership class. While I don’t have any pictures of the classroom portion, an important part of LEAD is the Leadership Retreat that happens during orientation.

Unlike the other sections, I can’t get into many details with LEAD. You just have to experience it. But I will tell you this is a “victory” picture after a heated competition. Ok, so maybe no one else would describe it as heated. I am just way too competitive. I’m working on it. In fact, I will be the best at not being too competitive.

And no retreat would be complete without an end of the weekend social. This is my roomies and me in our themed costumes preparing to head to the event.

The Booth Experience
If you are reading this, it’s probably no surprise that Booth has a lot of unique social, business and academic events. Here’s a few of them.

This is the Booth formal held early in the quarter. It’s a chance to dress up and socialize with your new classmates.

Booth holds an annual Leadership Challenge involving students and many of our prestigious alumni. Like LEAD, I can’t give details about the event. But it was undoubtedly one of the quintessential moments of my first quarter and helped me to network and grow as a person.

Booth brought in the CEO of Burger King to discuss the evolving concept of intrapreneurship and how it has helped spur growth in their organization.

Socializing with Boothies
Business school is also a great opportunity to network and make lifelong friends. And it’s a very unique setting. Similar to college, you’ll find yourself feeling very close to people here after the first couple of months. Having a great community is a key part of business school and has been a wonderful part of my Booth experience.

This is my first night hanging out in Chicago with my new roomies. Finding new roommates, thought mechanisms provided by Booth, and coordinating your move to Chicago are the first big business school challenges.

Of course everyone gets dressed up for Halloween. Zombies, fairy tale characters and business bunnies everywhere.

We had an unofficial Canadian culture night with some of the people in the Canadian Business Club. We started off by eating poutine at a local Canadian restaurant. Afterwards we drank Molson beer and watched episodes of Corner Gas.

For Thanksgiving, we hosted a big potluck for everyone who wasn’t flying home to enjoy the holiday with their families. Here, I made everyone smile and take an embarrassing picture for the blog before I would give them any Pumpkin Pie. I can be kind of evil like that.

The Startup Trek
The Startup Trek is a Booth tradition organized by the Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Group, where students travel to various parts of San Francisco and Silicon Valley to meet with entrepreneurs running both brand new and relatively established startups. We also visited a firm that does legal work for starts ups and a VC firm. The following pictures are two of the highlight collages from specific days on the trek.

Day 2 Highlights:
Upper left: Sitting in the offices of Fenwick & West getting a lesson from a former University of Chicago MBA/JD on important structural considerations for new ventures.
Middle left: Riding the BART back to San Francisco at the end of the day to meet the rest of the group for dinner.
Lower left: Speaking with the CEO of Agile Diagnosis, a medical information startup run by multiple Boothies. It was also a winner of the New Venture Challenge, which helped them get into the prestigious Y Combinator.
Right rail: Group dinner at an Italian restaurant in the city with some executives from Tinyco.

Upper left: Talking with Booth graduate and Gen 110 co-founder inside of their offices in downtown San Francisco
Bottom left: Two trekkers checking directions between companies after leaving 42Floors
Upper right: Beautiful Christmas tree erected in the middle of the city we saw while walking to dinner
Bottom right: We joined a Booth alumni event for fine food and cocktails at the end of a fun day.

This was my first quarter. Obviously, this doesn’t include class or recruiting where you can’t walk around taking pictures. For even more pictures and updates from my first quarter, you can visit the photo album on the Booth Experience Facebook page.

Scotch, Depilatories, Viagra, Leather, and Hipster Glasses

The next few posts on The Booth Experience will be written by first-year students as part of the Career Trek Series. Career Treks at Chicago Booth usually take place during winter break and allow students to visit firms outside of the Chicago area. The treks are coordinated by student groups and expose students to some of the top firms around the world. The first Career Trek Series post is by Ying Liu, who recently attended the Marketing and Retail career treks.

Dana
***

What do the above items have in common? No, they’re not accessories featured in one of Rihanna’s music videos. They’re products made by just a selection of the companies which the Marketing and Retail career treks visited in NYC over winter break.

Career treks are self-funded student-led trips to major cities, typically held the first week of winter break, and last about 4 or 5 days. The treks are divided by careers and intended to give students additional exposure to companies outside of Chicago. Treks include (but are not limited to) careers in Investment Management, Investment Banking, Marketing, Retail, and Sales & Trading in locations such as New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, London, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Students recruiting for careers in these locations choose to attend to get a feel for the company culture, meet Booth alumni working at the firms, and evaluate overall fit.

Even though I’m primarily focused on recruiting for consulting, I’m particularly interested in marketing strategy so I attended these treks as a great way to learn about how marketing departments operate at some top NY-area companies. It was an amazing opportunity to go behind the scenes and hear about companies’ strategies, how they’re adapting to the consumer landscape, and most important to Booth’s marketing approach, how they’re thinking about and planning to use data to better understand their customers. It was also a great way to get outside of the consulting bubble and get to know some of my other classmates.

I got exactly what I was looking for and more in the 4 days we spent visiting 8 companies (American Express, Pfizer, Campbell’s, Warby Parker, Diageo, Coach, Reckitt Benckiser, Kantar). Students on the trek also had the option to visit companies like David Yurman, Quidsi, Interbrand, Kurt Salmon Associates, Macy’s, and Bonobos. I was surprised to learn that American Express encourages their Marketing Managers to rotate groups about every 18 months to allow for cross-fertilization while also allowing employees to try something new. Across the board, the established companies talked about international exchange/rotation opportunities for MBA graduates, indicating the increased global scope of the marketplace.

The most informative and interesting presentation about the role of the Associate Brand Manager (post-MBA entry-level) came from Campbell’s. They walked us through a case study of a recent product extension starting from opportunity identification all the way through to product development and marketing strategy. Representatives from each of the different functions involved in the development process came to speak about their roles; this included people from market research, consumer insights, product development, and package design. It was an interactive presentation and I walked away with a very clear understanding of how an Associate Brand Manager coordinates and makes decisions through the process.

It wasn’t all business on the trek: we were allowed to preview the spring collection at Coach (I see lots of coral as the weather warms up!) and given access to the Campbell’s company store where we stocked up on Pepperidge Farm cookies and Goldfish. The best part was when Diageo made us some yummy whiskey cocktails from their on-site bar and invited us to taste various Johnnie Walker labels at their exclusive SoHo House of Walker scotch education and tasting experience – one of their many grassroots marketing tactics.

All of the companies were very excited to discuss their businesses with us and to recruit new talent from Booth. For example, American Express told us that they see some of the highest retention and performance/promotion rates from Booth graduates. The week not only gave participating students a chance to get to know the companies, but for the companies, it also cemented the fact that Booth is a great source of marketing talent.

Student Managed Investment Fund

Booth students have an incredible number of resources to prepare them for their professional goals. In addition to coursework and Career Services, there are also opportunities to obtain practical experience through student groups. This week, Elizabeth Bozek, a first-year student and member of the DSAC Communications team, describes her involvement with the Student Managed Investment Fund, which falls under the Investment Management Group umbrella.

Dana
***

One of the many reasons students come back to business school is to change the direction of their careers; one of the best things about Booth is the many ways students can develop a new skill set with relevant experience to make that switch. I came to business school to make the transition to finance and chose Booth for the school’s resources both in and out of the classroom. One of the organizations I got involved with was SMIF, the Chicago Booth student managed investment fund, which operates within the Investment Management Group. The fund started in 2006 as an initial commitment of $1M from the Chicago Booth endowment and gives students the ability to perform equity research and choose stocks for a real investment portfolio.

First-year students are selected to participate in the fund and become analysts. In their second year, students can move on to be the Portfolio Managers of the fund after an evaluation of their stock analysis abilities and investment management knowledge. SMIF also has two Chicago Booth faculty advisors who offer oversight of the fund’s functional activities and approval for the new stock selections and exchanges. Once a year, the three-member SMIF Alumni Advisory Board offers recommendations and gives feedback on the performance, asset allocation, stock mixture, benchmarking against the Wilshire 5000 composite. During the school year, the Portfolio Managers sponsor a variety of stock pitching opportunities and host training sessions in the areas of industry analysis, financial modeling and putting together a persuasive stock pitch. Since SMIF proceedings compose at least one of more scholarships to Chicago Booth students, the fund does a great job in providing genuine experience to its members.

Though I am only one quarter through my first year at business school, I have already been able to dive deep within the analytics of the stock I am responsible for. SMIF is currently in the exciting process of re-evaluating last year’s stock picks and making decisions on how to alter this year’s portfolio. The second-year Portfolio Managers have been very helpful in answering my questions and preparing me to develop a position on whether buy, sell, or hold. My experience as a SMIF analyst has definitely helped prepare me for the internship opportunities I would like to pursue this summer. Working on SMIF has introduced me to Bloomberg, FactSet, Capital IQ, and other research tools not used in the foundation courses most students initially take. The PMs have been particularly helpful in walking me through the structure of a valuation and encouraging me to develop opinions and theses on equities in the portfolio. These skills are the core of any equity research or portfolio management internship or fulltime position. I encourage anyone who has a deep interest in the market or who wants to make a career change to finance to join the Investment Management Group and pursue involvement with SMIF. A list of our current holdings can be found here.

People Are Good At Many Things Yet Choose to Do One Thing

Liz Han has been an active member of DSAC from the very beginning of the school year, assisting us with the campus visit program. She's also very involved in the entrepreneurship and venture capital community at Booth; she was a SeedCon volunteer and approached me with the idea of blogging about the resources at Booth she's found most helpful thus far. First-year students have the opportunity to pursue their passions from Day 1, which Liz describes below.

Dana
***

As we progress in our lives and careers, we have to make critical decisions that impact where we live, what we do, and who we are. For many of you, applying to business school is one such decision. It certainly was for me.

I came to Booth to pursue venture capital and entrepreneurship. I felt inspired on my initial visit to Booth as a prospective student. Beyond the beauty of the Harper Center, I had conversations with students that illustrated to me the opportunities and support Booth provides students interested in venture capital and start-ups, ranging from classes such as Commercializing Innovation to labs including the PE / VC Lab to venture capital and start-up competitions.

Case in point, during Admit Weekend, I stopped by the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and met with Starr Marcello, Director of Operations for the Center. In an hour-long conversation, she shared with me a glimpse into the Chicago venture capital and entrepreneurial ecosystem, and provided me with resources and contacts in VC and start-ups. This is where my journey began.

Three months later, I was helping a healthcare technology start-up that had been born out of and won the New Venture Challenge in 2011. It was founded by a couple of Booth students who were passionate about helping healthcare professionals make better decisions from symptom to diagnosis. In working with them, I not only gained insight into how start-ups think and operate, but also worked towards developing a clinical decision support tool to help providers more effectively care for patients.

When school started, I joined the D4Lab, an entrepreneurship and design-focused fellowship program dedicated to solving issues in healthcare. The program enables my colleagues and I to combine the scientific method with design principles to tackle one of the biggest problems hospitals face today: the bottleneck of hospital admissions from the Emergency Department (ED). On a weekly basis, I work with an interdisciplinary group of fellows from the medical school and the law school among others to observe healthcare professionals in the ED and other departments at the University of Chicago Medical Center, identify specific, concrete challenges and ultimately develop a solution to improve the flow of patients from the ED into the hospital. In addition, I met with second-year students who had incredible experiences as Associates in Hyde Park Angels, an angel network started by Booth alumni in 2006 that takes on select Booth students as Associates every year to source, evaluate, and close investments in early stage start-ups. After two months during which I applied to the program, conducted a deal review and interviewed with current associates and managing directors, I am excited to be joining HPA as an Associate next quarter.

A venture capitalist shared the title quote with me in describing successful entrepreneurs, and I was struck by its simplicity and relevance. Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur or a management consultant, this quote applies to all of us. We have many options in terms of where to apply our time and skills and it’s up to each of us to choose. For me, it is to help build ideas into companies that will improve the way we live our lives. And it starts at Booth.

“Sleep”? What’s That?? Two Days in My Life. Uncut.

Life at Booth can be busy, exciting, and inspiring all at once. This week on The Booth Experience, first-year student Matt Tracey does an excellent job of providing a glimpse into two of his action-packed days.

Dana
***

I’m often asked what business school is like. As a prospective student and applicant, I routinely asked this question... I wanted details! This post is my attempt to provide details. All of them. I give you an unfiltered look at two highly representative days I’ve enjoyed here as a first-year at Booth: one during Orientation in September and one during regular classes in November.

First, some very quick background about me. Born/raised in Colorado. College at Vassar in New York. Worked in public infrastructure finance in California for about 4 years prior to Booth. Love macroeconomics...and Booth is the epicenter of all things macro. Post-MBA career interest: macro investing.

Let’s begin with Friday, September 7, the third day of first-year-student Orientation (a day that would prove quite characteristic of the Orientation experience!).
6:45am: Alarm sounds. About time to go work out. Sit up in bed. Nope, on second thought, no way I’m going anywhere. Last night with Booth friends was...umm...late.
7:30am: Wake up for real. Shower, throw down some eggs, and pack into the Millennium Park Plaza elevator along with a host of other eager first-years en route to the 8:20am Metra train down to Hyde Park.
8:50am: Walk into Harper Center in awe of the building’s energy; as I move about the bustling mass of students in the Winter Garden I hear echoes of conversations ranging from how awesome the dining hall’s chicken sandwiches are to how stimulating Erik Hurst’s Macroeconomics class is. (Do I really go here? Do I deserve to be here? Unreal.)
9:00am: Become reacquainted with just how much business school costs (yikes!) during a helpful presentation on financial aid. (Don’t worry, by this point I’m already convinced that Booth is worth every last penny...and then some.)
10:00am: Faculty panel. Booth professors present on courses and concentrations. At this point, I’ve never been so pumped to be here. Can’t wait for classes to start. Booth rocks. Best faculty on earth. (And they’re more than researchers—they’re unbelievable teachers too. I was pleasantly stunned by Alan Bester’s introductory statistics course. My friends think my newfound love of regression is a bit creepy.)
12 Noon: Grab food at Harper Center...informal lunch with faculty in the Winter Garden. Between professors and classmates, I’ve never been in a room with so much brain power…ever. I’m realizing that there is a lot more here than mere brains, however. People are surprisingly open…they really “let you in”. I like.
1:45pm-4:00pm: Miscellaneous orientation activities (academic advising, Chicago public transit primer, down time for socializing). Reconnect with an Admit Weekend friend who was a fighter pilot prior to Booth (...the amazing range of backgrounds at Booth is both humbling and mesmerizing, all at once).
4:00pm: Walk to the train (Metra). Scramble home. Throw on swimsuit. Hop on bus. Head to North Avenue Beach for football and beach volleyball with classmates. Glorious day! Who knew Chicago has beaches like this?! Where am I...Miami??
6:15pm: Bus back to apartment. Shower, slam down a PB&J and a protein shake, and head out to pregame at a friend’s apartment...ultimately en route to one of the most memorable social events during Orientation...neon party! That’s me in the skinny pink tie (...no, I didn’t own the tie before the event...but on the contrary I must confess that the sailboat shorts were not an ad hoc purchase).

8:00pm: What happens at neon party stays at neon party. Come here and you’ll find out.
2:45am: Ibuprofen and then sleep...at last.

Once classes started in late September, the fun only intensified—but changed form a bit. Perhaps my day on Wednesday, November 28 will paint a picture for you.
6:30am: Wake up, turn on CNBC, make/eat breakfast (green smoothie, eggs, quinoa with chipotle salsa).
7:30am: Make final revisions to “macro investing” pitch to be presented to my peers in the Investment Management Group later in the morning. Spend 15 minutes updating myself on the EU’s latest efforts to resolve the ongoing Greek debt crisis.
8:30am: Shower. Suit up. Do some last-minute online prep for my 10am informational interview with an investment-management professional. (Thrilled that I’ve found so many alums to speak with about my niche interest, “macro investing”.)
9:50am: Leave apartment—running behind. Jog-walk down Michigan Ave and over to La Salle St. to meet a corporate contact for an informal talk about my career goals.
10:00am: Informational interview. Love how generous Booth alums are with their time and insights.
10:50am: Scramble to Millennium Station for the 11:15am train to Hyde Park. Read The Economist on train. (Here’s to hoping that the French relax their labor-market rigidities...).
11:40am: Arrive at Harper Center. Run quick errand to mail folder, then bolt to the Investment Management Group meeting. Deliver macro presentation and listen to peers’ “stock pitches” for an hour and a half or so. My peers’ sharpness challenges me routinely...in a very motivating and non-threatening way. They’re awesome.
1:30pm: Grab lunch. Salad bar today: Asian chicken, green peas, artichoke hearts, beets, mushrooms, lentil salad, a pineapple slice and two strawberries (...no, that doesn’t all come in one premade dish; I’m weird).
1:50pm: Read my case assignment for Competitive Strategy (Nintendo). Interesting read. I have a ton of thoughts, but—if history is any guide—I know my thinking will be revolutionized come Friday’s class discussion...amazing things happen when you put about 60 tremendously insightful people in a room together and say “Go”.
4:30pm: Meet with Microeconomics study group (4 others) in Harper Center to work on our final paper; topic: U.S. labor-market dynamics.
5:30pm: Walk down the hall to listen to a Booth-sponsored talk on the current state of the economy, given by Raghuram Rajan (a Booth economics legend). Seems like every other day there’s a free talk featuring a prominent Booth thought-leader. We are so, so spoiled.
6:30pm: Work for another hour or so on group Microeconomics paper; group then parts ways. I’m actually momentarily caught up on schoolwork (keyword = momentarily), so I head off to Booth Wine Club tasting event.
7:30pm: Attend wine-tasting event in the downtown area. Awesome wines and cheeses, but sure to kill my productivity for the night.
9:30pm: Head home. Call my sisters for a quick hello on the way. Upon arrival at my apartment building, stop by a friend’s place for a 15-minute chat.
10:15pm: Catch up on emails (there are many, per the usual deluge). Read The Wall Street Journal until my brain no longer functions, then turn on Sportscenter for a few minutes before I become too useless even to follow the TV. Sleep.
2:15am: Pop out of bed, startled, as somehow I’ve miraculously remembered that I’d forgotten to respond to a time-sensitive, job-related email. (If it’s not one thing, it’s surely another!)

There you have it. The average day is about this packed with stuff. I’m always flying around doing something—but life is a very, very, very good, interesting, enlightening, and energizing type of “busy”. In fact, I’ve never been happier to be so busy. With three months in the books, I’ve realized not only how right I was about all the great things I came to believe about Booth during the application phase but also just how much richness exists here that cannot be conveyed and must, instead, be experienced firsthand. I realize, in writing this post, that there really isn’t anything about my life here that I don’t like. Occasionally I have trouble sleeping at night because I am so excited to get up and get going the next morning; other times, I’m so exhausted that I fall asleep in seconds.

Wishing you all happy holidays,
Matt Tracey

First experiences at Booth: my first campus visit, Random Walk, and my first quarter

It's hard to believe that this is the last week of classes for the fall quarter. Especially for the first-year students, the fall quarter has been packed with memories and exciting opportunities on the horizon. In the following post, Felipe Marin, a first-year student and Country Captain for Cuba, recounts the highlights of his first quarter at Booth and how the experience has been for him thus far.

Dana
***

It almost feels surreal, but the end of my first quarter at Booth is almost here and the experience has been all that I expected, and then some. I first thought about applying to business school in 2009, but multiple factors did not allow the goal to materialize until I began to study for the GMAT in mid-2011 – from then on, time seems to have flown and somehow I’m here, reliving the process through this blog.

My first visit to the Harper Center, and to Chicago, was only ten months ago, but as soon as I walked into the Winter Garden I knew that I had found the place where I wanted to be for the next two years.

At Booth, many of us participate in one of the twenty-five Random Walk trips that take place before orientation, and I would absolutely recommend this exciting adventure to all future members of the Booth family. I had the opportunity to visit Russia for Random Walk and I am convinced that I made friendships on that trip that will last well beyond my on-campus experience. Having heard many Soviet stories while growing up in Cuba, I had always wanted to visit the Kremlin, and I’m thankful that I was able to visit Moscow with classmates who were also interested in seeing the evolution of Russia’s new capitalist society.


Statue of Peter the Great and the Russian Random Walk team

Many exciting things have happened since our arrival on campus, but I’d have to admit that our orientation retreat to Wisconsin tops all other experiences thus far. It is difficult to summarize the retreat on a blog; more than being read, it has to be lived: the outdoor adventures, the games, and the group exercises all converge into a mélange of unforgettable memories. To be perfectly candid, I really did not have many expectations from a three day trip to the woods in Wisconsin, but there’s just something about high rope obstacle courses, improvisational acting lessons, and hanging out by a camp fire that makes people bond – even when the group is as big as 576 new Boothies.

Before coming to Chicago, many people familiar with the business school process told me that the first quarter would probably be somewhat overwhelming, and they did not exaggerate. Since I had been working as a Financial Analyst at a REIT for some years, I wanted to join Booth so that I could switch into a career in investment banking. The banking recruiting process begins three weeks into the quarter and it is all about adaptability: one has to juggle classes, group meetings, the endless array of bank presentations, and social events, which of course, happen quite regularly at Booth. Recently, I’ve learned the true meaning of the phrase drinking from fire hose, but we all get through it. As a matter of fact, not only do we get through it, but we also help each other in the process. I’ve gotten contact information of recruiters and bankers from many classmates, and I’m convinced that other Boothies have been helped in this regard as well. In the end, we know that more than competitors for the same jobs, we’re a family of 576 rooting for each other. I’ve even heard some former students say that they wish they could do this process again, so I’m enjoying it as much as I can because I’m sure that, at some point, I will miss it as well.

All in all, the quarter has flown by, but I am thankful to be part of a community that has been extremely supportive throughout this initial process. From a professional development perspective, I have to say that our Career Services office has impressed all of us – yes, I really mean all of us. My classmates and I feel that the school does everything within its power to prepare us not only for the interview process, but also for a career post Booth. As a true baseball enthusiast, I would like to summarize my Booth experience with words from Dean Kumar’s welcome speech: “Swing for the fences, Chicago Booth has your back” – he means it!

Golden Gargoyles: a crazier, glitzier version of the Golden Globes!

Golden Gargoyles is one outlet at Booth that allows students to express themselves creatively. Whether it's acting, directing, screen-writing, or dancing, Golden Gargoyles gives everyone the opportunity to showcase their talents and contribute to a fun event that signifies the official end of LEAD. In this week's TBE post, first-year student Ying Liu recounts all of the highlights of the evening and what it was like to star in her cohort's video. For photos of the event, check out Photobooth's Flickr album.

Dana
***

What an amazing evening! After 3 months, I’m still constantly surprised by the diversity and talent of Booth students. As a first-year student (I’m from Seattle and have a background in management consulting), I expected to meet lots of smart, driven, and talented people at the BusinessWeek #1-ranked business school (we just repeated this accolade for the 4th time in a row!), but as I found out at Golden Gargoyles, there's a lot more to us than our smarts.

So what is Golden Gargoyles? It’s Booth’s version of the Golden Globe Awards; the show is entirely produced, written, and performed by students to showcase the first years’ cohort films. Each of the 10 first year cohorts created a 6-minute video highlighting our first few months’ experience at school. This year’s films ranged from spoofs of TV shows and movies to music videos to musicals covering topics as wide as recruiting, FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), LEAD class, and case competitions. Prior to Golden Gargoyles, the first year class watched the videos and voted on the Viewer’s Choice award. The remaining category winners were selected by the “critics” (our second-year LEAD facilitators) and awards were presented at Golden Gargoyles on Saturday, November 17.

As typical of awards ceremonies, there were beautiful hosts dressed in sparkly gowns and skits and performances scattered throughout the evening. We saw acts by a live band, comedy skits, lots of singing, a full on dance performance by our local PSY (impersonator) to “Gangam Style”, and even an opera performance! These shows were all organized and performed by first- and second-year Booth students, which leads me back to my first comment of this post: I am constantly amazed at the wide array of talent and diversity present in our class. Everyone has a hidden talent. For example, I knew the opera singer taught Zumba classes in her spare time, but I didn’t realize she could also SING. The admissions team really does an amazing job of putting together a diverse group of people from around the world who probably bring every talent/skill you can think of to Chicago.

My favorite video of the night was the Walker cohort’s video, which was a spoof on “The Office”. The acting and editing team did a really great job of making the film look and feel like The Office. They took home both the Viewer’s Choice and the Best Film awards. Of course, my cohort's film, the Gargoyles' rendition of "The Little Mermaid", was pretty amazing as well, and having starred in our video, I kept getting comments all week leading up to Golden Gargoyles from people whose main question was, “how did you manage to fit inside a dryer?!”. We were nominated in the categories of “Best Musical” and “Best WTF Moment” (for the dryer scene).

Golden Gargoyles has been one of the best events of the year and I’m so glad to be a part of such a vibrant and talented community at Booth!

Getting Comfortable with Being Vulnerable

When Chris Hauck first approached me to be a DSAC Blogger, I immediately knew he would be a perfect fit for the team. Although it's only his first quarter at Booth, he is extremely involved and his photographs always capture the energy of the Booth community. In his introductory post, Chris truly lives up to expression "nothing ventured, nothing gained".

-Dana
***

I remember my hands sweating. My heart racing. Laying awake at night trying to quiet my mind as it raced to think of possible solutions to whatever hurdle was ahead. GMAT, applications, interviews – every step left me feeling exposed and forced me to examine every nuance of my life. And while getting into my dream school was a great feeling, it wasn’t the end of the process of opening myself up to critique and letting myself feel vulnerable. Every moment at Booth thus far has centered around stepping outside of my comfort zone and learning how to be a better person and professional than the day before.

For me, the first big adjustment was leaving California. I’ve spent my whole life there. I grew up in Sacramento and moved to Los Angeles to attend UCLA. I loved LA; the city was filled with great friends, great opportunities and so many beautiful people. It’s a wonderful place to be young and explore the world. I spent the next few years there doing recruitment and then transitioned into strategy for an agency that specialized in online marketing and digital products. But I was also a little too comfortable and I realized that growing as a person would mean leaving California and getting outside of my bubble. Selling everything, leaving all of my friends behind and moving halfway across the country was harder than it may sound. However, learning to live with two new roomates coming from divergent backgrounds and meeting new friends who were previously living all over the world has been a tremendous experience, even if I still find myself thinking longingly of LA weather every time I see snow falling outside my window. Still, I have loved growing as a person and adapting to Chicago, my new home.





When LEAD started, suddenly I had to become vulnerable again. LEAD is Booth’s leadership development program. It’s a fantastic class which will help you grow as a leader both personally and professionally. However, it’s not a theoretical class where you read about great leaders from history. It’s experiential. It involves receiving constant feedback from facilitators, peers, past coworkers and even having to watch yourself on video. I have rarely experienced so many moments as simultaneously exciting and frightening as receiving detailed feedback on every word, interaction and non-verbal cue I have exuded in real-life situations. However, it’s not just sitting in a chair that constitutes vulnerability. It was letting my defenses down and hearing that I don’t always listen well enough or seeing a video where I clearly touch my face too often as a physical crutch that was difficult, but these instances spurred real growth for me in a short amount of time. And receiving positive feedback on that growth and seeing it for myself as the class progressed was a transformational experience.





And then my classes began. I came to Booth with a strong background in marketing and strategy. While my job entailed doing regular analysis, none of it was very complex. One of my big motivations for coming to Booth was the school’s strong reputation for rigorous academics and its focus on analyzing data and questioning assumptions. As great as my professors have been, this isn’t like "The Matrix". They haven’t quite mastered a way to download advanced regressions and econometrics into my brain. So stepping foot in the classroom for the first time and actually learning these concepts was a challenge. It would have been easy for me to take marketing and strategy classes aligned with my work experience, but that isn’t why I came here. Committing to hours of studying and the highs and lows of significantly upgrading my quantitative skills meant leaving behind what was comfortable, and challenging myself to grow as a person each and every day. Fortunately, I’ve found that I am not alone in this process. I have great friends, study groups, peer groups, second years, faculty and school advisors there to push me and support me even on the days where I am exhausted trying to overcome another plateau.



It’s not easy. And it’s not something I will be finished with this quarter. Recruiting. Co-organizing the Reaching Out MBA conference for next fall. Interning in a new city and in a new industry this summer. Even submitting this blog to my peers for review and no doubt, some tough editing. Becoming vulnerable and stepping outside of your comfort zone is a quintessential part of the Booth experience. It’s how you grow as a person. It’s how you become a better professional. And it will continue well beyond school and into your career. But despite the challenges, it’s been an energizing and amazing experience. And it’s why I encourage you to make yourself vulnerable and learn to embrace this process as you finish your applications for all of your dream schools. Even as your hands are sweating, your heart is racing, and you are lying awake at night trying to quiet your mind as it races to think of possible solutions to whatever hurdle is ahead of you now. Take a risk and learn to be comfortable outside of your comfort zone.

My First Two Months at Booth

This week at The Booth Experience, we hear from Ashley Cleveland, a first-year student who is one of the newest members of the DSAC team. She's been up to a lot this quarter and has been an active part of the Booth community since Day 1.

Dana
***

It’s hard to believe that two months have passed since my arrival at Chicago Booth. Less than one year ago, I was a prospective student evaluating a handful of MBA programs, and asking the question, “Why should I attend Booth?” In the months to follow, after interacting with Booth students, alumni, and staff, the question eventually became, “Why wouldn’t I attend Booth?” Nearly six months after having made my decision, I couldn’t be happier. I’ll talk more about this later; but first, let me give you a little background information. Prior to coming to Booth, I worked as a sales representative for a leading office furniture manufacturer. I chose to return to school for my MBA based on my desire to further develop myself as a business leader. I chose Booth specifically due to its emphasis on creating an environment that challenged students to take risks and one that welcomed a diverse student body. The Booth students, alumni, and staff that I interacted with played a major role in my decision. They were not only welcoming, but also extremely helpful. I really valued this, along with the school’s reputation for excellence.

Since arriving here, I’ve met so many talented and friendly people from all walks of life through various on-campus happenings, such as the Pre-MBA Accounting course offered prior to orientation, orientation programs and events, my current courses, and student group activities. I can never walk too far down the hallways of the Harper Center without being greeted by a smile or a warm hello. This camaraderie is something that I attribute to Booth’s culture; it is not only lively, it is also warm and inviting. I’ve also enjoyed interacting with my professors. Specifically, I’ve liked learning more about evaluating companies through financial statements, as well as how to use tools that will be helpful in my role as a marketing intern over the summer.

The resources that Booth has to offer are phenomenal. I plan to concentrate in both Marketing Management and Entrepreneurship. This quarter, I have taken advantage of programming from the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship. From open house events to weekly coffee chats, the Polsky Center has provided me with numerous opportunities to connect with students who are passionate about entrepreneurship and the implementation of new business ideas. During a recent coffee chat at the Polsky Center, I connected with a student who is currently operating a print company aimed at college students. I not only learned about the business plan for the company, but also listened as others provided suggestions on how the student and his business partner, a fellow University of Chicago student, could improve operations and expand their client base.

The Kilts Center for Marketing is also a great resource for students like me who are passionate about marketing. From informative Q&A panels to mentorship opportunities, the Kilts Center has so much to offer students who want to expand their marketing knowledge and broaden their horizons. For example, I recently participated in a seminar for Nielsen marketing data. During this seminar, second year students provided an overview of the various uses of Nielsen data and provided personal examples of how they had used this data to arrive at important conclusions within their projects during their marketing internships. The seminar was not only attended by students interested in securing a marketing internship this summer; it was also attended by students with interests in other careers, such as consulting.

My professional interest in marketing has led me to become an active member of the Marketing Group. I’ve had the chance to network and learn from marketing professionals and second year students whose recent internships represented a wide range of companies. I am leading my first Trek for the Marketing Group in just one week. This Trek is a career exploration trip that allows members of the Marketing Group to interact with company representatives within Proctor and Gamble in Cincinnati, OH. This is a great opportunity for Booth students to network with leaders of one of the world's most successful consumer packaged goods companies. To sum it all up, Booth has so much to offer. I am so happy that I made the decision to attend Booth, and I wish you all the best as you continue to evaluate if Booth is right for you.