The 2nd Year Begins!

What an amazing, crazy, busy, relaxing, unexpected three and a half months it has been. I find myself back on campus for the start of my second, and final, year of the MBA program at Wake Forest University. I've had a full slate of classes, met some of the first years, and begun the madness that is sure to be the remaining two semesters.

*****

China
In a word, China was absolutely amazing! The trip started with us being deplaned due to the smell of smoke and further delays, meaning our arrival was much later than anticipated. First stop was Beijing and all the sites and attractions it has to offer. Highlights were definitely the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. Xi'an and the terra cotta Warriors was next, followed by the World Expo in Shanghai. The trip capped off with a few magical days in Hong Kong. We saw tons of cool sites, met amazing people and learned a ton about doing business in China. If you have the means, I can't recommend it enough.

The Internship
Again, awesome. My number one choice sent me to Chicago for the summer. Anyone who's ever been to Chi-town knows how awesome it is during the summer and I can assure you, it lived up to its hype ten fold! My internship saw me getting lots of exposure to parts of the business I never expected, traveling to many different cities and learning from great people. It reaffirmed why I wanted to work there in the first place and I remain committed to making that work.

The Second Year
So now, the second year has begun. I don't know why, but I had the impression the second year was easier than the first. WRONG! It seems like there is more work, less structure, and much more responsibility. It's one thing to work on three group projects simultaneously when you're in one group for all three; it's quite another to have three separate groups. On top of that, we are now the head dogs in terms of clubs and organizations. No more learning from the older class on what it takes to lead a student club, now it's up to us to keep things moving forward and motivate and include the new first years. It'll be quite a challenge, but one I'm sure we're all up for!

Here's to a great second year!

~ Justin Berthelot is a second year in the full-time MBA program.