Such a Long Trip

Well ... it's certainly been awhile! I apologize for not posting for the last few months, but things just got crazy busy for awhile. By the time I was ready to write about something, ten more things had crept up and blogging got put on the back burner for awhile. Hopefully it doesn't get like that again!

So what's happened in the meantime? Thanksgiving, Christmas break (a whole month!), finals, and internship stuff. Last semester ended with a blowout party, which was nice. Finals went well, I got pretty good marks on all my exams and ended up with a decent GPA. Over break I did some networking for my internship, which was somewhat successful. All in all, not too bad.

As soon as I got back to school, things were back in full swing in no time! Three classes carried over from last mini (quant, finance and marketing) and three new ones began (macroeconomics, operations and information technology management). With the new classes comes reshuffled sections. Half of the teams from my old section joined half the teams from the other section. It took a few class sessions for everyone to get a feel for the others, but now the debates are lively.

Internship stuff is also happening. I had two interviews this week, two more next week, and one the week after. This, along with preparations for the Marketing Summit and Project Nicaragua's March trip have kept me super busy! It doesn't stop though, you've got to keep pushing forward as best you can. I still wouldn't trade this for anything!

Giving Something Back to the Community

By Lauren Collins

Some of my most memorable events take place outside the classroom and usually involve the comfort of my classmates.

On Martin Luther King Holiday, I joined four other Corporate Fellows (Najah Woodby, Nicholas Melvin, Alex Willis and Angelina Darrisaw) to volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters at a Read-In event organized to educated young children about Dr. King. We were each responsible for aiding two to three children in creating Valentine’s Day cards for the elderly, thank you cards for the troops, and leaving their personal mark in library books.

In doing so, we were able to share with these young scholars Dr. King’s messages of serving others and literacy through conversation, books and film.

I was fortunate enough to work with the sweetest two kids, Ellia and Alexander, who both loved to draw and were great conversationalists! It was a truly rewarding experience, and their father told me how important he felt it was for his daughter to see an African American young woman pursuing a graduate education.

The other fellows and I are privileged enough to be sponsored by local companies, so we want to continue to give back to this community in any way we can. Last fall, a few of the fellows volunteered at the Second Harvest Food Bank, organizing food for holiday distribution. There are dozens of volunteer opportunities here in Winston, and we are constantly searching for different opportunities to strengthen Wake’s connection with the greater Winston Salem community.

Welcome Back!

I hope you all had a wonderful and restful break and that you are now energized and ready for the spring semester. For second years, hopefully you are taking some interesting courses and networking like crazy. I know that many of you already have job offers and quite a few have accepted. Congratulations! For those of you still in the hunt, we are all here and ready to help you finish your MBA successfully and find a great job! Please do not hesitate to use every resource available (CMC, faculty, staff and your own network). We are here for you!

For first years, you have survived your first semester of MBA school (even though you didn’t think you would)! You are hopefully eager to get started with a new set of courses (Information Technology Management, Macroeconomics and Operations) and to delve back into some old favorites (Quant, Finance and Marketing)!

For all of you, there are many exciting things to look forward to this semester. One is the Carolina Connection MBA fair coming up on Feb. 16. Lori Sykes has sent you information about this. Everybody looking for an internship or job should attend. First years – you do not have class on this day, so I definitely encourage you to attend!

One of the most exciting events coming up is the Marketing Summit. As you know, this year it is sponsored by IBM. Roger Beahm and the executive committee (Emily Willard, Marty Wilson and Ashley Stafford) are planning an extraordinary weekend for all of us! I know that many of you are involved in the host of jobs required to pull off this event. Have fun with it and make sure to make lots of good contacts while other students and executives are on campus. The summit will be here before you know it – Feb. 4-6.

But that’s not the only great event we’re hosting! The Healthcare Club will be hosting our first-ever Healthcare Conference on March 19-20. The conference will feature a newly created competition format with guest judges from companies like St. Jude, Dixon Hughes and SAS, as well as guest speakers addressing various healthcare related issues. Some of our sponsors include Aetna, Health Benefit Associates, Moses Cone and Baptist Hospital systems. The event will also include local community involvement as well as a fund raising effort for a health related non-profit. We look forward to seeing you there. For more information or any questions please email Peppi at peppi.brownearmstrong@mba.wfu.edu.

Our third big event for the year will be the Elevator Competition, to be held on March 26-27. This is also a signature event for the Graduate Schools of Business and many of you will be needed to help manage the competition. The event features a traditional business plan competition as well as a social entrepreneurship competition. I hope to see many of you involved.

Many other extracurricular activities are being planned including special speakers, speaker panels, career-related events and Wake Forest events. This promises to be an exciting semester, full of possibilities and experiences. I know it will be challenging to balance schoolwork, job search and extracurricular activities at the same time, but I am confident that your experience at Wake Forest so far has helped you develop some of the organization, prioritization and time management skills which will enable you to develop a well-balanced experience.

Finally, take a look here at what one of your classmates is saying about his first-year MBA experience.

I hope you are all excited to be back. Hopefully, you had some fun, some relaxation, and some time to network and focus on your career plan. I hope you have a wonderful semester. Your Student Affairs, CMC staff, faculty and administration are here to help you achieve your academic and career goals. Please do not hesitate to utilize all of the resources at your disposal.

Sherry Moss

Looking for the Next Good Read...

For those interested in getting plugged into the community and expanding their literary horizons, I would recommend visiting the Friends of the Reynolda Manor Library annual meeting on Jan. 26 at 7 pm. After a brief business session, author Rachel Keener (right) will be reading and signing copies of "Killing Tree." I have heard great things about the book. It is always exciting to meet the individual behind a solid read! Keener, who graduated from Wake Law, lives in Winston-Salem.

The meeting will also include door prizes, including an advanced galley of Keener's new book, "The Memory Thief," which for now is only available to reviewers. (So far the new book has also gotten some positive reviews.)

Anyway, just thought this might be a great opportunity for business school students to take a break from the educational books (accounting, marketing, etc.) and venture out into the community.

Click here for more information. Read "Killing Tree" or met the author? We would welcome reviews in the comment section!

Safeway CEO to Speak at Wake Forest

For more information on Steve Burd and his presentation, click here.

The Spirit of Belief

Molly Nunn is a new addition to the Wake Forest Schools of Business student blog. She recently completed her first semester in the Evening MBA program.

*****

Happy New Year and Happy ‘Start to Another Semester! Since this is my first time writing for the Wake Forest Schools of Business blog, I would like to take a brief moment to discuss my background. I graduated from Wake Forest  as an undergrad in 2006, with a major in English and a minor in Journalism, I set out with the desire to find my “fit” in the working person’s world. Growing up and going to a very small high school - my graduating class had a staggering 23 people - I had the unique opportunity to get to know and spend time with my teachers. Because I so greatly admired them, I decided to try my hand at teaching.

So I found myself in middle school. Ah, the land of bliss … or rather the land of nervous twitches when a text arrives (“R U going to the movies l8r?”), 8^th grade girls all with matching Uggs and 7 Jeans (“Omg!”), and the curtain of oblivion starts to rise as the birds finally discover the bees (“will u b my gf?”) This became my world and as my teachers had inspired me, I hoped to instill in my students the same passion for learning and discovery that I had gained long ago.

I was given the rare and very special opportunity to work with middle schoolers who have learning and attention disorders. We work one-on-one and I teach my students social studies in ways that are geared towards their strengths, and then use those strengths to work on their weaknesses. Currently being in my fourth year of this position, I have truly gained a profound respect for those in the teaching profession and certainly those that work with children with various type of learning difficulties. It has been greatly fulfilling to me and it brings me such joy when former students return to my office to update me on their triumphs and simply their lives.

Although teaching has meant a great deal to me, I decided it was time to set new goals and ultimately change careers. Part of this motivation was a result of my personality and aspirations in other parts of my life. As a semi-professional distance runner whose grand goal is to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials, I have a great passion and determination for setting high goals for myself. When analyzing my current career and my hopes for my life’s work, I started researching graduate p rograms and schools that fit my personality and career goals. I was immediately drawn to business school.

Even though I am not the “typical” MBA student with a business background, there was something so very intriguing to me about this foreign world. I was drawn to its fast pace, to the goal-oriented people I met who also had high hopes and great passions for their future, and to the intellectual curiosities and challenges that business seemed to bring with it. I wanted in.

Researching schools was somewhat daunting because I was still unsure about many things, but all along the choice seemed clear; a Wake Forest MBA. Upon contacting the school, I received immediate responses and invitations to come and view what the school’s MBA programs were all about. From the admissions staff, to the facilities, to the efficiency in which events were run, and to the friendliness and willingness of professors, staff, and students to meet with me, I knew it was time to return “home” to Wake Forest. I was absolutely elated when I received the phone call that let me know I had been ACCEPTED!

Without looking back, I dove into my first semester. The line up; Financial Accounting with Bern Beatty (right), Quantitative Methods with Pat McMullen, and Organizational Behavior with Chet Miller. At first, accounting felt like I had just taken off face-first into the Arctic Ocean. ‘Wow!’ Getting back into the swing of things after a few years outside of school was … challenging. However, after a few weeks and getting to further know my wonderful classmates - we had the opportunity to get to know each other at a ‘Team Building’ Day during Orientation - I was good to go. And the rest of the semester fell into place.

Looking back on the first semester, I not only took a big sigh of relief but a sigh of gratitude. The experiences that I had, the classes, clubs, and organizations I have gotten involved in, and the people that I have been given the opportunity to know easily reached the status of “priceless” to me. Moving forward, I simply cannot wait to see what the future will bring not only for me, but also for each of the WFU MBA students. There is simply a wealth of opportunity just waiting and I find the challenges exciting. And in the spirit of belief that goals can be achieved, I wish everyone a very happy 2010.

Winter Break … A Student’s Look Back

Yes! yes! Yes! I was excited to get a break from a hectic academic schedule and lead a relaxed life for some time. For a long time I had planned to do few things I enjoy: movies, writing, music, friends, family and sleeping. Anyway, just to keep this short and to touch base with big highlights in a minimalistic way, I will cover a few points: 1) What have I been doing? 2) What do I plan on doing? 3) Life in general.

What have I been doing? Movies! I have seen quite a few. I have also been hanging out with friends, particularly in Old Winston Salem. I’m not counting three Parties and two dinners :). I have a couple of invitations for dinner lined up. I have also started working 10 hours a week with a professor and started a unpaid school time internship with a private equity firm.

What else do I plan on doing? I am continuing to look out for internships and finding time to watch more movies. I am planning to get back to some of my finance books (never too early to resume studying). I also completed an exciting trip to New York!

Life in general has been going great. My cooking is improving as I have tried some new dishes. Oh, it snowed and I went crazy. I had never seen snow before and it was so nice to see snow flakes falling from the sky. I did go out with roommates and had good fun. It just looks beautiful right now and I am in complete awe.