Graduate Student Blog
Ethics Across Questrom
"Business ethics is at the core of the Questrom School. It is our Mission to 'prepare innovative and ethical leaders who understand the impact of business on society and create value for the world.'"
Last week the second year full-time MBA students experienced a week long Ethics intensive. During this course, they not only learned the fundamentals of ethical decision making, but met with CEO's of local organizations and worked on a Social Change Project that would have a sustainable impact for the community. The biggest take away of the week: You can make a difference in a short period of time if you put you mind to it!
Some examples of Social Change Projects:
- "Practice Mindfulness"- teaching students & faculty to be present
- "From Surviving to Thriving" - support refugees who have been victims of trauma or torture to get the resources they need to restart their lives
- "Burn Calories, Not Electricity"- campaign to show how making small changes can impact your health and sustainability
Students of Questrom: Full Time MS-MBA Edition
Name Nathan Levy, MS Information Systems, MBA 2016Background:
I was born and raised in Tucson, AZ where I lived with my parents and two younger sisters. Afterwards, I headed for the rocky mountains where I earned my bachelor's degree in international business from the University of Denver. Most recently, prior to coming to Questrom, I served as an acquisitions manager for a privately held investment company which specializes in venture capital and real estate.
Why did you chose BU? Many business schools have the same feel. Most of their students are looking to get jobs in the consulting or finance field after graduation. Although I was aiming for a job in one of those two industries as well, I did not want to be surrounded solely by other people just like me. Questrom provided me a business school option where I could meet students with different professional interests other than mine. Now I am great friends with people who are going into the health sector community, public and non profit community, tech community, and many more. Networking is more robust at Questrom whether you are interacting with your peers or the faculty. Also, Boston is a great city to live in.
What are you involved in at BU? Both years on the Questrom Graduate Council, the student government organization, and most recently as the elected president of the graduate student body. Last year, Cohort Cup champion as a part of cohort C. I played in the MBA Soccer World Cup with our travel soccer team and am a teammate on about five intramural sports teams each year. I also serve on the student advisory board for the full time MBA program, serve on a non-profit board for BU onboard, and attend club events hosted by Questrom clubs. I also played a minor acting role in a recent BU commercial, which is the start of my undeniable path to fame and fortune in front of the camera.
Why do you love it here? The aforementioned diverse community that Questrom offers has been an amazing opportunity to meet people from all over the world and from a wide spectrum of industries. The support I receive from peers, faculty, and administration give me great confidence graduating from Boston University. Never have I been bored at BU, always have I been challenged, and the friends that I gained over the last year and a half I will have forever.
Favorite memory? Drinking champagne from the Cohort Cup champion's trophy.
To view more student profiles click here
To set up a meeting with a current student email connect@bu.edu.
Racing to the Top
With Module 2 Finals coming to an end, first year (full-time) MBA's are getting ready to take on the Strategy Simulation Challenge aka "StratSim". "StratSim" is a simulation of the automobile industry, where each Cohort is divided into two parallel industries, made up of five firms. Over a series of ten decision periods ("years"), each team will have to integrate the skills and knowledge from their Mod2 Finance, Operations, and Marketing classes in order to build a successful company and beat out the competition. In real terms, you get graded to play video games with three of your friends for a week :)
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| Cohort C Celebrating the end of the first semester! (2014) |
A Prescription for Better Healthcare
A few weeks ago, a team of MBA students kicked off the third annual Health and Life Sciences Conference at Questrom School of Business to discuss “A Prescription for Better Healthcare”. This year focused on the provision of high-value services to patients across the continuum of healthcare. The event sold out with just under 300 attendees and featured 40 speakers throughout the day.
It was a great opportunity for students to gain insight from industry leaders like the President of Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Peter Slavin, and President and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Andrew Dreyfus. The event was also full of networking opportunities with company sponsors, breakout panels to discuss topics like healthcare quality, and a lightning round featuring early-stage companies to highlight their healthcare innovations.
The event is completely student driven and a great way for Questrom students to engage in the healthcare community. We’re excited what is in store for the HLSC in years to come.
#MBAConnect
Over 70 prospective students gathered this past Friday and Saturday for MBA Connect weekend! The Graduate Admissions team welcomed individuals interested in both the full-time and part-time programs, to share more about what makes Questrom such a great community. In order to provide the full picture of life as a Questrom MBA student, a mix of current students, faculty, and alumni joined the various events across the two days, which included:
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Strategy and Innovation mock class and case discussion
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Student life panel with 2nd year MBA students
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Conversation with Dean Ken Freeman
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Lunch with current students, advisors, and faculty
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Career workshop and alumni panel
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Receptions for current and prospective students to mingle and unwind
Highlights from the weekend included Dean Freeman reminding all that the two most important words in business are “thank you;” an unfiltered student panel discussion around academic work, school/life balance, jobs and internships, and club activities; and many different opportunities for visitors to connect with individual students and future classmates. Everyone seemed to have a fun time, and we hope to see you next year!
Networking doesn’t have to just about finding a job
Each semester there are a number of events that are meant to bring students together and facilitate networking so you can get to know your classmates. The full-time program has the Cohort Cup, a friendly competition that pits students against each other in a series of fun events.
The Professional Evening MBA (PEMBA) program has their PEMBA Wine and Cheese Series events. These events bring students together to hear from business leaders from diverse sectors.
The Graduate Programs Office plans events that are meant to bring students from all programs together to foster a sense of community across the entire school. Recently they planned a flag football tournament that mixed people from all programs on each of the teams.
Health Sector Management Mixer
This week students from the BU Health Sector Management (HSM) club attended a mixer at the Field House in Central Square. Also in attendance were students from similar clubs at MIT Sloan School of Management and Harvard Business School. Everyone had a great time getting to know other business students interested in the healthcare industry and expanding their professional networks with neighbor schools.
With such a large healthcare community in Boston, it was great to get together with like minded individuals and learn about what they are doing. There was a lot of excitement around the BU, HBS and Sloan communities about this event. After last night there is a strong interest in continuing this relationship moving forwards. We are excited to continue to build a bond between the schools moving forwards for years to come!
Pulling it all together
Case competitions are a great way to take the knowledge that you are gaining in the class room and put it all to the test. They are meant to challenge students to think like executives. Recently at team of 5 Questrom students travelled to Nashville, TN to compete in the National Human Capital Case Competition hosted at Vanderbilt University. At the competition the students used their many skills, including knowledge of business strategy, organizational behavior and finance to solve a complex human capital project. It was also a great excuse to network with employers and students from schools across the country.
Taking midterms during the day, solving mysteries at night
What better way to celebrate the end of the first round of midterms than channeling your inner child and going ghost hunting! This past weekend six Mathematical Finance, MS students decided to throwback to their childhood and celebrate Halloween dressed up as the Scooby Doo squad. And as we all know, no squad is complete without a villain. Thanks Izzy for being the spookiest villain of the night!
The MSMF Perspective
It’s November and just like that we are 2 months into the MSMF program. The program kicked off with an orientation aimed at readying the students for the semester ahead, culminating in an enjoyable duck boat tour of Boston and drinks at the popular Bleacher Bar which gave the new international students a first-hand look at Fenway Park.
Pictured: Boston Duck Tours
Pictured: Bleacher Bar on Fenway Park
By Week 2, the start of classes and thus the semester was truly underway. The students take 4 classes per semester and each class follows a similar structure of fortnightly homework assignments, a midterm, and a final exam. Assignments have spanned from the deeply theoretical in Stochastic Methods to the vastly practical in C++ and Statistics.
Pictured: MSMF Class in Questrom Atrium
But of course school is not all about academics! Work-life balance is certainly important and the administrative MSMF staff at BU have been second to none in this area. Events ranging from a ping pong tournament, multiple socials at popular social establishments, a flag football tournament, an incredible evening boat cruise on the Spirit of Boston, and Thirsty Thursday’s at Cornwalls are just to name a few with many more to come! The mingling between the various graduate programs at Questrom provides a fantastic platform to make new friends and experience cultures and perspectives from all over the globe. One will never be bored or run out of new and exciting things to experience in a school and city as diverse and energetic as Questrom and Boston.
We now move into the second half of the fall semester, bringing along with it new coursework, those things we all love called finals, and the serenity of snow. Stay tuned and Happy Halloween!