Director’s Corner: Updates on the MSA Program

I trust that everyone had a restful Thanksgiving break and that you are now ready for the “home stretch.” I find it hard to believe that we have the Fall 2009 semester almost behind us! I find it even harder to believe that we now have a group of MSA students getting ready to graduate in December.

Congratulations to those of you finishing your last of three semesters in the MSA program! I know it has been challenging but I am hopeful that you have also found it rewarding. I look forward to talking with you all in graduate exit interviews over the next week.

*****

Given that a group of you are graduating and many more will be graduating in May, I thought that I would take this opportunity to make you aware of an exciting new Council we are forming for the MSA program. We will roll out an MSA Young Alumni Council during the Spring 2010 semester. This is something we have considered for many years and that a May 2009 graduate worked on diligently both while here in her program and post graduation last summer. We are very excited about this Council and hope that most of our students will take advantage of this opportunity when they do graduate. The MSA Young Alumni Council is being formed by a group of recent alumni and will have their first meeting in conjunction with our Accounting Advisory Council in the Spring. Young alumni are extremely important to our program in so many ways.

• First, young alumni have the most knowledge about our current program content and how it met, or failed to meet, their needs in their first several years as they begin their careers. We will look to this Council to give us feedback regarding program content and to help us stay in touch with a rapidly changing profession.
• Second, young alumni are many times in a better position to understand the concerns and needs of current students and may help serve as mentors to these students during their program. As I am sure you know better than anyone, as a student you have many questions that would best be answered by someone fairly “new” in the field.
• Third, young professionals sometimes find it easier to “give back” to their institution through their time. Staying involved in a program helps the program stay current and helps further increase the value of your degree as time goes forward. We plan to have multiple committees so there should be something for everyone who would like to be involved.

Therefore, whether you are graduating in December 2009, May 2010, or December 2010 from the MSA program I hope that you will consider becoming a part of the MSA Young Alumni Council. This Council is truly being formed by young alumni and is primarily for young alumni and students.

I hope that you all have a wonderful last week of classes and make it through exams unscathed. I further hope that your Christmas break rejuvenates those of you returning in the Spring to continue your coursework. We look forward to welcoming those of you returning back on campus in January and we wish those of you graduating the very best of luck and hope that you stay in touch with us!

Warm Regards,
Yvonne Hinson
Director of Accountancy

Thanksgiving … and Black Friday!

After getting stressed out on the first two days of this week, I woke up a bit late on Wednesday morning. (For those of you who don’t know, the full-time MBA class of 2011 had back-to-back mid-term full-length exams on Monday and Tuesday.) First things first, I opened my university’s outlook mailbox and found: 14 unread emails. I frisked through the emails and to my surprise, none of them concerned any major deliverables and, 10 out of 14 had the word Thanksgiving. To my amazement, I was invited to four lunches and one dinner by five different families. That equals a lot of opportunities! After looking at the distance of each place from my house, I decided to go meet two different families for lunch and dinner.

At lunch, I was with the family of one of the physics professors, and he explained me the tradition of Thanksgiving. We ate a traditional meal and I thoroughly enjoyed eggplant lasagna and stuffing. For dessert I had baked apples and a delicious dish made from cranberries. For dinner, again had traditional thanksgiving food and well it was equally delicious. At dinner, I saw 50 First Dates, the one with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, with my hosts. We ate, laughed, talked and had fun. Both families made me feel like home and I enjoyed myself thoroughly. In short, I couldn’t have asked for more on such an auspicious day.

Black Friday was thrilling. Well, I didn’t wake up at 4 in the morning to be in one of the long queues, but yes I reached JCPenny at 8 am, early enough, to buy some clothes for the upcoming winter. It was surprising to see almost everything on 40-50% discount and it was challenging to fight the urge of spending.

Anyways, I still have 2 ½ days of break left and I think it’s time to run some long delayed errands.

~ Rahul Goyal

Happy Thanksgiving!

I’m so happy exams are halfway over! I didn’t realize how much I had learned in Econ until I took the exam. My roommate and I are going to visit my family in Atlanta for the Thanksgiving break. Most of the MA students are going home with friends as several live too far to go home for the short break. We’ve all bonded now through all the teamwork, tests and traveling we’ve done together! I can’t wait to eat fried turkey, a specialty of my favorite uncle. Friday morning we are going shopping for our holiday party dresses. SGA puts on a HUGE party every year and everyone looks forward to it. It’s the perfect event to unwind after our last final exams. Happy Holidays!

~ Lauren Collins

I am sitting in front of my fireplace, thinking warm thoughts about my life, my family, and the God who made it all possible. Keep this Spirit of thanks everyday Happy People.

~ Ahkesha Murray

Thankful … For a Break!

I see a light at the end of the tunnel!

And no, it isn’t the sun peaking out for the first time in a few days … I wish! As I re-caffeinate after my morning exams for Law & Ethics and Economics, I am beginning to feel there is an end in sight. An accounting project due tomorrow, two exams and an ALP project after the short Thanksgiving break and I can declare the first semester finished. Then, it’s just a week and a half of classes until I can retreat into the cocoon of home and family.

I can feel the energy around campus picking up as students, both undergraduate and graduate, ready for their voyages home or prepare their own homes for incoming relatives. I am luckily joining my family on a trek into the mountains to celebrate Thanksgiving with my Grandmother in West Virginia, and will then relax in Raleigh a few days before returning to school.

My family is so close and I am happy I can join them for the short holiday, but I will admit that I am looking forward to catching up on some sleep too. My break will likely be spent resting, connecting with my family, and studying for the rest of my finals and filling out applications; although, it will be nice to study on my own time instead of trying to fit it around an already busy schedule!

I have heard that next semester is a little lighter, but considering the case I’ve already looked through for my upcoming Marketing class, I’m wondering if someone wasn’t pulling my leg. The MA program is by no means easy, but I’m beginning to think I will be very well-prepared for a high-paced work environment when I leave!

But now, I must get back to work as my triple-shot coffee is finished and I can feel my brain cells jumping once more. One more day and I can mimic William Wallace’s shout of “Freedom!”

~ Jen Ratliff

Director’s Corner

In my last article I shared some ideas for coping with the workload in the MA program. Today, I would like to build on this and elaborate on the specific mechanisms we have in place to support you on the academic side of the house.

When you find you need additional help beyond the classroom, your first line of defense should be your instructors. All of your instructors are dedicated to your success and are happy to meet with you outside of class. Because many of your instructors are also teaching in the full-time MBA Program, I recommend that you schedule a time to meet with them. Furthermore, in addition to meeting with your instructors individually, most if not all are more than willing to schedule review sessions if you ask.

Another key support mechanism is your study team. We deliberately develop the study teams in a way that balances the skills within each team. You should never hesitate to ask a teammate for help. In fact, it is likely that being helped by a teammate benefits your teammate as much if not more than it benefits you. Without a doubt, the best way to master something is to teach it to someone else.

A third support mechanism is our Student Affairs team. As many of you already know, our Student Affairs team can advise you on all the resources that are available to support you. Whether the issue is as simple as finding a tutor to something as complex as getting advice on strategies to deal with a learning disability our Student Affairs team is equipped to direct you to the resources that are available. For example, Student Affairs maintains a list of tutors for each course in the MA Program. We also may be able to help with the cost of obtaining a tutor for students in financial need. Finally, while on the topic of tutors I should point out that I generally recommend you first utilize your instructors and study teams and rely on tutors as a last resort.

As you all now know, the MA Program is a rigorous and challenging program. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you are struggling, I encourage you to proactively take full advantage of the mechanisms that we have put in place to support you. And the earlier you seek help, the better positioned we are to assist you. Finally, I welcome your suggestions for additional services we can provide to better support you.

~Scott Shafer

Yes, Networking is a Form of Work

Yes, you can get sunburn in the middle of November. And naturally I did not get my face toasted by the sun holed up in my room pouring through my OB articles or crushing Excel for my next quant case. Those will be top of mind as I pull late nights from now until Wednesday.

For now, I want to emphasize the importance of stepping away from the coursework. Clearing your head is a necessary process, even if it creates a tighter rush to meet deadlines later down the road. This is an interesting time for Wake Forest sports as we transition from football season (hoping for better luck next year) into a promising basketball campaign. Friday night, I was invited to join several classmates to watch the men’s basketball team start their season against Oral Roberts. Great game and a win! 76-56

Saturday’s football game was less gratifying if the only criterion was the final score. This team has shown flashes of potential only to fall short so many times down the stretch.

What I have seen as the best opportunity from these events has been a time to connect with classmates and bond with members of my team in ways that would be inconceivable in our classroom setting. You get to hear about their backgrounds, current situations, and long-term objectives. You find common ground and you discover areas where bonds can be strengthened even further. It has been a terrific chance to work on networking.

There is more than just sports. I was able to assemble a team of evening students to compete in the first annual Schools of Business trivia contest last weekend at Waldo’s Wings. Hot wings, cold beer, and five rounds of trivia (with no questions dealing in accounting, OB, or quant)! Slowly but surely I will meet my goal of getting to know each of my 38 classmates on a personal level.

(Oh, our team finished 5th in the competition but we will be playing more trivia in coming weeks.)

There are going to be plenty of opportunities to spend more time with these folks over the next two years. We’re already planning on having colleagues make the “lengthy” trek to Greensboro to check out the restaurants offered by the neighboring city. The underlying message is that you must strike a balance between studies and socializing. Both will be an integral part of career development during the MBA or MA program and a major part of networking and upward mobility on the other side of graduate school.

Game on!

~ Paul Davis

Evening students mingling at semester-end event at Foothills Brewery downtown.

Happy Thoughts

Good Day world,

It is a beautiful Sunday afternoon and I am taking a break from my Quantitative Methods mid-term to give you some updates on life at Wake Forest.

As usual, I'll be brief, so don't blink or else you'll miss it (haha). Ready? Set ... Go!

• Veterans' Day just passed and we still had to come to class, but I wasn't sore over it. On this day I was particularly proud of my teammate Andy (Pip) Rinehart who is himself a war veteran and has quickly become one of the coolest people I know. He is a great asset to my team and one of the many reasons I am grateful I find myself at Wake. I'm not the only one who appreciates this man's merits, however. You can follow him as a contributor to BusinessWeek's MBA blog - click here and enjoy!

• Miracles and Blessings surround me daily (for instance, the fact that I'm feeling sane enough to take a break from my quant exam is a miracle - I promise you). I cannot attribute my most recent success to anything short of God's intervention and the good fortune to have awesome teammates. On Friday, November 6th Jasmine Smith (MD/MBA), Joy Fuller (MBA 2011) and I claimed 2nd place at Howard University's 14th Annual MBA Exclusive Case Competition, hosted by LMI Consulting! Yay God! This 2nd place is a step above Wake Forest's performance the prior year (we claimed 3rd place in 2008, and 1st place in 2007), so I like to think that we are working our way back up the ranks and I cannot wait to go back next year and bring home the win! Thank you Howard University & LMI for this opportunity and congratulations to the MIT Sloan-Kettering School of Business for their 1st place win and Rutgers University for taking home 3rd.

I don't know any other way to express how I feel other than "happy." I am challenged to grow on a daily basis, I'm always learning new ways to function in a team environment, I have brilliant classmates, and God continues to grant me his grace and mercy in marvelous ways.

I hope life is treating you well, world. I'll try to be back with more updates soon - there's always something!

Copious Peace & Blessings

~Ahkesha Murray