Winding Down

Three weeks left! By all rights, the downhill portion of the course; amazing how no one ever tells you how much effort goes into ensuring you don’t crash when you’re going downhill! Those little tiny rocks look just as dangerous as the boulders when you’re headed towards them at 100 mph.

The MAs are in the final module of our studies here at Wake Forest and I’m beginning to feel slightly nostalgic. We’re taking International Business, Strategic Management and Macroeconomics – what a way to finish! The discussions in each of the classes truly reflect how much we’ve grown and changed over the past 10 months, and it’s interesting to hear the debates that these former liberal arts students can get into!

Our Action Learning Project is winding down as well, although this current project with ISP Sports has brought every possible class we’ve taken together for Team 15. We’ve had to use all of our resources and know-how to figure out the solution that ISP presented us with – but we’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response from them, which to any consulting team always feels great. ISP has been a wonderful sponsor to work with as they are consistently supportive and welcoming to the MA team. They have facilitated our learning process outside of the classroom and given us wonderful insight into the business world we are all so anxious to enter.

Once again, the progress that we’ve made over the past few months is marked. Not only is it shown through our conversations in class, but with our professors, visiting speakers, interviews, and our families. In talking with Professor Shafer the other night at a team meeting, my team mentioned how much we felt we had gained from our program; in fact, far more than we thought we would entering the MA program at Wake.

The MAs are looking forward to our gala event with our mentors next Wednesday, where we will formally extend our thanks to the people who have helped us through the last few months and given us some true and heartfelt advice not only about our careers, but also surviving in the business world. My mentor with the Russell Agency has been such a wonderful gift to me and I think it’s one of the most valuable parts of the MA program. Wake is known for its alumni network and the welcoming atmosphere, but so often the skill and desire of its staff to meet every possible need of the student is overlooked.

So has it been stressful? Yes. But the experience in working with a team, gaining a fundamental knowledge of the business world, and building myself as a business person has been invaluable to me.

~ Jen Ratliff