The first semester was often a period of information overload with multiple events happening at the same time. When I faced the challenge of managing my time and choosing which events to pick, I thought about what I want to get out of my MBA.
Throughout the semester there were many memorable experiences, but there are 3 major highlights.
Integrated Project
Integrated Project team hard at work
This is a team-based project that includes acquiring a brand and re-branding it to make it a successful product. The project runs throughout the semester and all subjects, including accounting, finance, marketing, and distribution, had to be addressed to make a successful final presentation. I learned and experienced more about team dynamics and team collaboration through this process that other schools do not offer. We all understood that we could not accomplish this project as individuals and we had to lean on each other to accomplish our project goals.
Boat Cruise and Winter Gala
On the fall boat cruise
Aside from all the team projects and studying, we also had official student council run events that included the ‘prom’ of graduate school. We all had fun dancing the night away and hanging out with friends! I have enjoyed getting to meet and know more of my classmates through these events.
West Coast Networking Club–Technology Trek
West Coast Networking Trek with classmates
Coming into this MBA program, I knew I wanted to work on the west coast. So I joined the West Coast Networking Club and visited technology companies through their Technology Trek. We visited companies such as Google, VMware, Cisco Systems, Accenture, IBM, and so forth. Actual visits to these companies really allowed me to visualize myself working there and I was able to get an “inside scoop” from managers who worked there. This was a unique opportunity to see more of the real world and introduce myself to technology companies.
Lastly, I wanted to mention that I have never been more challenged to push myself to the next level than I am in the MBA program. An MBA is a balancing act of career search, academics, clubs, interview preparations, networking, and fun. Throughout this process, I have appreciated the support I have received from my fellow classmates and friends. When we can help each other to succeed together, we see how everyone is in a win-win scenario. Without a doubt, I could not have survived my first semester without the help of very intelligent and insightful friends.
Masato Muso is a 1st Year General MBA, focusing on a marketing concentration.
If I ever got a tattoo, it’d say “fortes fortuna adiuvat." Fortune favors the bold.
A fortune. I don’t pursue goals, I pursue fortunes. And I don’t mean gold. I mean vast amounts of freedom – the freedom to scoff at forty hour work weeks, the freedom to teach unpaid at a community college, to master the Theremin, to write short comedies about my folks, to fly cross country in a hot air balloon. And to earn my keep, I’ll happily build and manage community social enterprises (for-profit entities with for-profit claws but a nonprofit soul, like Grameen Bank).
To favor. Different from a promise, because lady luck still calls the shots. But she can be wooed.
The bold. People may not like them or think they’re smart enough, but that’s neither here nor there because the bold are too busy not giving a crap. And the bold are always smiling, as if their magic eight ball actually works.
My ongoing pursuit towards boldness more or less began my first semester at Boston University School of Management. I cautiously pushed my comfort zone, sometimes sacrificing study time for networking events, clubs activities, and business competitions. I even took time during finals week to submit my pet project (a website that generated social gatherings to build community) to a startup competition.
By the second semester, I was itching to up the ante. My opportunity came in the form of the Startup Scramble. First, it was a commitment of two and half days. Second, there was a small fee. And third, I’d have to forfeit that weekend’s homework. The Old Phan nagged, but the Bold Phan ultimately put his foot down.
Scramble Day 1: Stephen Douglass (Scrambler founder and Master of Ceremonies) had us shed our shells by pitching our worst business ideas. He had also brought in speakers from Microsoft and Highland Capital. That day I met Rey Faustino, a Harvard Public Policy student by day and a social enterprise hero by night. I was instantly sold on Rey’s proposal: One Degree, the Yelp of social services.
Scramble Day 2: I attended three hour-long presentations on business entities, accounting, and web development, which inspired me to learn Dreamweaver. Rey and I brainstormed revenue models and market assumptions, machine-gunning our ideas onto whiteboard after whiteboard. We left after our admittedly crappy “dirty pitch”, but we were pumped about at our progress.
Scramble Day 3: Rey and I spent most of the day improving our dirty pitch, with the help of six mentors from local companies. We consumed many more whiteboards. The day ended with the ten teams pitching to a panel of four judges. Most of the presentations had evolved leaps and bounds. One Degree was announced the winner and Rey went home with a Microsoft Kinect trophy.
Fortes fortuna adiuvat. The Startup Scramble was a bold move for me, and I was rewarded handsomely. One Degree became the concentration for my semester-long entrepreneurial class. Now I’m upping the ante again by working with my new buddy Rey to enter One Degree into the Harvard Business Plan Competition and the $100K Mass Challenge. Next, I’m considering a move to San Francisco this summer to help launch the pilot across several schools. I’ve still got a way to go before hot air ballooning, but at least for now, I can postpone that tattoo.
Phan grew up in California where he earned his engineering degree (UCSD '06). In 2009, he kissed his surfboard and career goodbye and moved to Boston to be a PM for the EITC Antipoverty Campaign. Phan is now pursuing a MS/MBA, with a Public Nonprofit concentration, so that he can help nonprofits put on for-profit armor.
On a sunny Saturday morning in February, 60 BU MBA students eagerly made their way up to the 4th floor of SMG for what promised to be a very memorable day. These students ranged from 1st and 2nd year full-time students to part-time and IMBA students – all with a variety of experiences and backgrounds, and all eager to serve 15 non-profit organizations from our community. BU MBA Link Day is an opportunity for small- to medium-sized nonprofit organizations to access cutting edge managerial expertise. Launched in April 2001 by students in the BU MBA Public and Nonprofit Management concentration, this one-day consulting experience brings together nonprofits, MBA students, academics, and local professionals to analyze a specific problem facing an organization and provide practical strategic solutions.
Rebecca Onie of Health Leads giving the keynote address
We kicked off the day with Dean Freeman welcoming all of our participants, non-profit organizations and 18 professors – who served as mentors and subject matter experts with teams for the day. He also welcomed our keynote speaker: Rebecca Onie, founder of Health Leads (formerly Project HEALTH). Ms. Onie spoke of her organization and how they worked to get doctors the right tools to be able to help patients with not just medical issues on the surface but the root causes of diseases such as a lack of food on the table or child care at home. The line from her speech that struck me most though was: “vision does not change the world, execution does”. That is exactly what we were all here to do.
After the keynote, all the teams were off to get started. The hours flew by and the student teams worked throughout the day with their organizations to deliver workable solutions. Several teams created successful marketing plans for established organizations while others created presentation decks for fledgling groups so that they could articulate their vision and mission to prospective funders. All of the organizations valued the help they received and in the end 15 organizations left feeling better prepared than when they had arrived. We even had an organization offer one of our student participants a spot on their board right on the spot!
What I really liked about this day was that each of us helped make a difference in our community in single day. It can be easy to forget to remain connected since we are all busy students - but each of us was so eager to give up a Saturday to engage with our community. In fact, all student slots were filled in just 4 days – a new record – and a testament to the commitment of our students to remain active and give back.
Thank you to everyone who participated. This day was a success not only because we got a lot of great work done but also because we made a difference, in a single day. Get ready for Link Day 2013 – it will be here sooner than you think!
For more information on Link Day, please see this video.
Sonal is a first year MS-MBA student in the Public and Non-Profit Management Program. She is also the first year representative for Cohort C on the Graduate Student Council, a BU on Board Fellow with AmericaSCORES Boston and served as the Student Recruitment Chair for Link Day 2012. When not in class you can usually find her rushing to all sorts of meetings around campus.
This January, 22 intrepid MBA students found their way to Salvador, Brazil, to participate in the 6th annual SMG Brazil Field Seminar. Our group was led by Professor Kristen McCormack and her fearless Brazilian counterpart, Pedro Lins, (our “mom” and “dad”) and we were kept safe and generally on track by Gail Justino Miller from the Graduate Programs Office.
The group spent two weeks traveling around Brazil – from Salvador to the Campinas/Sao Paulo area, then on to Rio, with a stopover in breathtaking Paraty. The course was focused on the idea of “sustainable business” – where an enterprise strives to have little or no negative impact on the environment and community, while also being positioned for long-term business success. Obviously, this ideal is a work in progress for most companies, but the ones we visited across Brazil are making great strides in their unique approaches to this concept.
While Brazilian cultureis known for kicking back in Havaianas with a caipirinha in hand, we were moving constantly on the trip to fit as much as possible into our time there (though we didn’t entirely neglect the former). While the trip was certainly an academic undertaking, what we all brought back in our hearts were the peoplewe encountered. We were met with warmth and generosity at every turn, and were truly impressed with the commitment to sustainability we saw at all levels of the companies we visited – from interns and tour guides to the most senior executives. Mr. Andre, an inspiring Santander microcredit recipient, exhorted us all to use what we’ve been given, and “run the world the right way.” We returned to Boston with a renewed sense of purpose and headed back into the semester and our futures, determined to try and do just that.
It’s difficult to summarize two intense weeks in a short post. Each of our team members blogged from the road, so if you want more detail on any of our visits, please click through to the posts I’ve linked to above – or visit the home page of our blog here.
Emily is a part-time MBA student, concentrating in International Management and Marketing. Her day job is working at Cone Communications as a cause strategy and corporate responsibility consultant. You can follow her on Twitter @emilynichols.
While it has been a fun and wild ride, business school has turned out to be the perfect opportunity to have a baby. The more open schedule afforded by being a student has allowed our family of (now) three to spend extra day time together that would otherwise not likely happen. While there are times of studying that are interrupted by our lovely little daughter's needs, there are also times where we study together and play together (see pictures). My wife and I have enjoyed the process of learning to be parents and balancing family time with her part-time work schedule and my school schedule. As others in the BU MBA program have also had children before or since enrolling in the program, we have shared many stories together as well as the delight of the experience that only parents know. Here's to higher education as a family value!
Jordan is a 2nd year MBA candidate focusing on Entrepreneurship and Real Estate. He is interested in mentoring and community impact through his work. When not studying or working he can be found bicycling around Boston or with his wife, playing with their 4 month old daughter.
Emily is a part-time MBA student, concentrating in International Management and Marketing. Her day job is working at Cone Communications as a cause strategy and corporate responsibility consultant. You can follow her on Twitter @emilynichols.
