Letting the chips fall...

Last Thursday, Professor Roni Michaely, first-year core finance professor, warned everyone in his classes about the impending final exam. "Under no circumstances should you go to New York City this weekend. Missing 15 hours of studying for the finance final is not an option," he said.

If I wasn't already freaked out over what is considered the hardest test in the core and probably the entire Johnson School, now I was. Why, you may ask? No fool would travel to New York with just a few more precious days to study before the test, right? Well, I guess if you're me you would. And not only did I go to New York City, I left right after class on Thursday (missing Friday's classes) and didn't come back until Sunday afternoon.

Perhaps the move was a bit crazy, but it came down to two once-in-a-lifetime opportunities converging on one weekend, both in the Big Apple. The first was a surprise invitation to interview for a Strategic Planning internship at the New York Times. That opportunity alone would've sent me to the city in a heartbeat. For anyone who cares at all about journalism, media, or the American Way, the Times is the ultimate. I mean, I can't think of a position in any company that I'd prefer over Strategic Planning with the New York Times. After spending Friday morning at their new building across from Port Authority, touring the news room and interviewing with multiple incredible people, I was even more sold on the position.

If that wasn't enough, this was also the weekend of the 10th anniversary celebration of the Park Leadership Fellows Program. Over 50% of all current and former Park Fellows convened at the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center for quite possibly the single nicest event I've ever attended (after my wedding, of course). With clear skies, the length of Manhattan and beyond was visible from the 65th floor. Talks by Dean Joe Thomas and Cornell University President David Skorton, as well as the fellowship's namesake Roy Park Jr. and the head of the fellowship's alumni association, Laura Chulak, made everyone keenly aware of being a part of something truly special.

At the end of the festivities, the bus ride home on Sunday was a bit nerve-racking. Time was running short. The moment we got home, I was off for Sage Hall to attend three review sessions and get started on the two practice final exams. Ditto for Monday morning. Eleven straight hours later, I was starting to put some things together. Of course, Monday night was filled with dreams of discounted cash flows, options, futures, and arbitrage. But where my typical dreamworld is often filled imaginary -- but somehow unsolvable -- problems, I actually dreamt of correct answers and connections made. Not to say it was a good omen. The test was a bear, to say the least. But even if I could go back and change my decision to go to New York, I wouldn't do it. It was an incredible weekend. Now, I'm letting the chips fall where they may.

Catching up...

So much has happened since last post -- the Net Impact Conference in Nashville, Jeff Immelt's visit to campus, the results of the Base of the Pyramid learning lab writing contest, choosing an immersion, and the beginning of my role as co-editor-in-chief of the Cornell Business Journal -- I don't know where to start.

Perhaps the most recent first: Last night, I put in my bid for my top choice immersion: Sustainable Global Enterprise. For those who don't know, the Johnson School is one of the up-and-comers in the B-School trend toward sustainability and teaching how to apply principles of social and environmental stewardship in the business world. The school has a Base of the Pyramid (BoP) Learning Lab (which refers to the base of the economic pyramid, aka the several billion of the world's poor that live on about a dollar a day) and is also home to the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise, chaired by Professor Stuart Hart, author of Capitalism at the Crossroads.

I came to the Johnson School for this immersion and the chance to study under professor Hart. Unfortunately, he is on sabbatical this year, so he'll only be teaching portions of the immersion curriculum. The rest will fall on the capable hands of Professor Mark Milstein. In Hart's absence, and through a bit of refocusing on my part, I will probably yet opt out of SGE in favor of a customized immersion. I'll still plan to take Milstein's class, but I'll couple that with finance, accounting, HR, Organizational Development, and the last two classes of the core, with an eye toward balancing out my skillset and further drilling down into the best functional areas for me.

I love working with people and helping effect change in organizations, so that's why the focus toward HR and OD.

...which leads me to GE (I hope). Last night, the Johnson School was fortunate to host a great number of folks from all different parts of the that company. Of particular interest to me were the HR managers and the growing cadre of individuals working in the Renewable Energy Leadership Program, which is a rotational program geared towards training the next crop of leaders in the field of wind, solar, and other renewable energy technologies. The people that I've met in both of these areas, which include mostly Johnson School alums, have been really impressive, but also down-to-earth and cool.

Let me preface this obvious affinity for GE by stating that I am not a big company kind of guy. Of course, I did write for BusinessWeek, which is owned by McGraw-Hill, but even that felt more like a small company to me. No one in my family has ever worked for a large company, my father sometimes says. But in coming to business school and getting a look at what some of the corporate goliaths do, and how they handle themselves in the world, I have gained a lot of respect for companies like GE. Not only do they hire the best people, but they aren't afraid to get into areas like renewables, which is admittedly still controversial in the eyes of both political extremes. And they've got the resources to back it up, which means you can be on the forefront of change there.

Which leads me to Immelt. "Now this is a professional." That's what I was thinking the entire time the man was on stage last night. He had Carl Quintanilla from CNBC moderating a panel discussion, which was simulcast to another five business schools around the country. And boy did he have us transfixed. He mixed humor with advice with optimism with hard business empiricism; someone aptly compared him to Bill Clinton, in his manner, his intellectual sharpness, and his control of the crowd. It was a great experience to hear him speak.

What's next on my list? Oh yeah -- some great news from yesterday on a personal note. Months ago, I entered a writing contest sponsored by the afforementioned BoP Learning Lab. Yesterday I found out I took third place and a $500 prize for my efforts. I had told my wife when I entered that, should I win, she'd be the beneficiary of a stay at an area bed and breakfast. I'm ecstatic to be able to make that a reality.

Speaking of writing... and editing, yesterday I had my first meeting with my co-editor of the Cornell Business Journal, Vivek Pai, and the outgoing editor-in-chief, Anne Sorock. I'm excited to make a splash with the paper, and also feel extremely fortunate to have an awesome teammate in Vivek. I hope he can find the time to make the CBJ as good as it can be, since he's currently managing the Herculean task of so many first-years: Investment banking recruiting. As of now, I've got nothing but high hopes.

Last topic: the Net Impact National Conference in Nashville (mentioned in an earlier post) was the best time I've had in a while, for it's mix of professional development/networking opportunities and social/fun opportunities. Nashville is a great city, with Honky Tonk pouring out of just about every bar you pass. And the opportunity to spend time with the 25 or so classmates from Johnson that attended was awesome. Other highlights of the conference include the opening keynote with Yvon Chouinard, the founder and head of Patagonia, and also a personal hero of mine. His book, Let My People Go Surfing, is a model for how to create a flexible, dynamic, and inclusive corporate culture, and his company is the living reflection of his philosophy. Another highlight was a panel called "strategic diversity and inclusion," with four of the brightest individuals I've heard in a long time, talking about the benefits of an inclusive and diverse workplace, and how to achieve it. The career fair was also great -- I connected with folks from all sorts of companies, from education to consulting to non-profit to consumer packaged goods. Next year the conference is in Philadelphia, and I'm already looking forward to it.

I think that about does it for this post. I'll try to keep them more consistent and shorter in the future, but rare is the day when I find the time. Which reminds me: that Christmas break seems so close but yet so far.

Perspective

I just heard from the administration that the admissions office sent the link to this and other student blogs to all prospective students. I'd been meaning to insert my email address somewhere in my blog, just in case anyone is interested in discussing any of the topics I've written about, asking questions, or just making conversation via email.

Feel free to contact me at jng28@cornell.edu for any of the above reasons. I'll be making another formal post soon.

First year frenzy

First, I must offer my most sincere apology to the gods of the blogosphere for not making a post in about two weeks.

Second, whew! This quarter (the second of the core) is tough! Finance is the hardest, most time-consuming, most frenzy-producing class I've ever taken. Strange thing is, I kinda like it. Strategy and statistics are demanding, too. Put together, along with the quickly escalating responsiblities of clubs and other activities, time is really of the essence.

So, here's my quick attempt at discussing balance. I've got a beautiful wife in Ithaca, who has been more supportive than I could ever have imagined. But even my queen of patience gets tired of seeing me get out of bed before the sun comes up every morning and zombie my way back home every night, drained and hungry. So, here I get to my point about balance: forget about it! The kind of balance achievable with weekends off in a regular job is just not possible in the first half of the first year of business school at Cornell. That's why it's the little things that start to matter most. This morning, for instance, I'm restraining my urge to get to Sage before the sun peaks over the trees, in favor of breakfast with my lady. It won't be long or ceremonious, but it's my understandably feeble attempt to keep my priorities in line.

I'll do my best to keep the finance case write-up and statistics deliverable, and the Net Impact conference in Nashville -- all of which will merge tomorrow -- out of my head. And I'll try to stop thinking about my complete change in career focus, from clean tech to media and organizational development. And the fact that I've decided to run the Cornell Business Journal... And I'll probably fail.

But it's a temporary failure. And that's, I guess, the point of this post. Though the frenzy of the first-year is tangibly real, it's not the way I'm choosing to live my life forever. And when it gets tough, or starts to seem that way, I remind myself of my personal values, which I spent this past weekend defining at an all-day Park Fellows Personal Mastery workshop. My #1 is my wife, who's also a talented singer/songwriter, a social worker, and the wisest person I've ever met. Shout out to Shannon!

New Quarter

I think I'd be remiss if I didn't make a brief post about the beginning of the second quarter of the semester. With Marketing, Accounting, and Economics out of the way, the heart of the first-year core is halfway done. Kind of hard to believe, I must say.

One observation about the way The Johnson School programs the first part of the year: they crowd so much into seven-week quarters that students constantly feel like they might not get it all done. But, at the same time, the administration has it wired into a controlled chaos. There is ample communication between the core professors, so when a marketing case was due, for instance, there was a seemingly magical let-up in Accounting. Of course, the scenario would change only slightly on the students' end the following week, just for a different course.

Now, we shift to Statistics, Strategy, and Finance. What a change in character among the professors from last quarter. Statistics is taught by Amr Farahat, a patient, brilliant professor and researcher. Strategy offers our first female professor -- the energetic, engaging, and obviously brilliant Vrinda Kadiyali. And Finance, the single most hyped, feared, and time-consuming course that most of us will probably ever take. I can say that it is already the most challenging and mind-bending bit of mental gymnastics I've ever attempted, and I'm barely a week into it. That course is taught by Professor Roni Michaely, tough love extraordinaire.

Overall, I must remark on the quality of the professors here so far. Almost without exception, I'd give them all above average grades, with three to four out of six downright dynamite.

Right now, my overarching strategy is to plow forward; seven weeks and Christmas break is still far away, but there is a growng light at the end of the tunnel.

Last day of First Quarter

I am writing now, a day after the end of finals and a day before hiking and camping in the mountains of Vermont. It's a great feeling to be finished, I must admit, though there is that nagging desire to know every last final grade before I take off later today. For now, I'll just be patient...

Yesterday, the Cornell community had the rare and precious opportunity to have an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Not bad timing, either, I must admit. We had finished our last final -- Economics -- in the morning, then walked over to Barton Hall to stand in the longest line in history.

In that huge steamy auditorium, just about everyone in the place was restless, talking and jostling for a good seat. But when the monks from Namgyal Monastery started in with their chanting, everyone was quiet.

When His Holiness finally came out, he said he thought he was entering an empty auditorium, since everyone was so quiet. But I guess we were just anxious for some words of wisdom. And that's what we got -- simple words of compassion, friendship, peace, and tolerance from the old Tibetan monk, sitting cross-legged on his chair, shoeless.

I had seen the Dalai Lama once before. When I studied abroad in India, Nepal, and Tibet, I lived just down the hill from his palace in Dharamsala, India for about a month. He was in meditation retreat for most of our time there, but he came out for one special audience to greet the newest Tibetan arrivals, who had just crossed the highest mountains in the world to escape to India and religious freedom.

This talk in Ithaca was even better. I think it was because of the stark contrast between what I've been learning and exposed to in business school -- the pervasive feeling that competitiveness is and must be a part of daily life -- and the simple message to treat each other well, that we're all brothers and sisters. Regardless, it was a special event that I won't soon forget.

Service Project

On Saturday, the entire Park Fellows first and second year class got together for our first of two annual days of service. The activity took place at Compos Mentis, a nonprofit farm that offers programming for people with mental health issues, about 15 minutes northwest of downtown Ithaca.

I was excited going in, just for the rare opportunity to be outdoors (too many of my recent days involve spending just about every daylight hour inside Sage Hall). And we were extremely lucky to have a beautiful early fall day. The temperature was about 70 degrees, with scattered clouds.

The farm, we were told, was in desperate need of some hands to weed around the abundant crops it produced, as well as help clearing out and cleaning an old garage that will soon be converted into either a kitchen or workspace. The chicken coop also needed a solid going-over.

I opted first for the weeding. It was a nice change to get down on my knees and really dig in the dirt and not worry about anything related to school. In the course of the day, I also sweeped out the old garage and managed to avoid the chicken coop.

We also got the opportunity to taste broccoli, carrots, beans, tomatoes, brussels sprouts, and other vegetables right off the plants.

After the day was done, I took a few tomatoes, which were generously offered to us by the folks at the farm, and ate them with the fresh basil (also grown on the farm) and some olive oil. It was a good way to celebrate the day, which was the first time in a good long while that I had gotten outside myself to do something just for others.


On another note, for those who read my last post about the Net Impact Conference, I have decided to go. I'm glad I made the decision finally and am excited about the opportunity to meet and network with lots of new people in Nashville next month.

To Net Impact or Not Net Impact?

Of all the aspects of the first year of business school, perhaps the most challenging is the beginning of the job search. The Johnson School really gets its students going early on with thinking about the summer internship, assessing industries, doing research, etc. This is all fine and good, on the one hand. After all, I don't think I would have reached out to the several individuals, nor started making inroads into new industries that I have, without the outside prodding. On the other hand, it's overwhelming. The core is challenging and stressful in a totally different way than other things in my life have been challenging and stressful. One friend said that he had never had to make so many compromises -- mostly of his time, but also of his energy, resources, and money. You really do have to constantly be assessing your next move and its impact on your future. In many ways, it's just like the business world.

Which leads me to my current dilemma. Should I attend the Net Impact National Conference in Nashville, Tennessee or not? Well, looked at in purely economic terms, I don't have $1000 to spend on a weekend of anything. There just isn't enough of the green stuff coming in. But that hasn't stopped me from looking closer at the matter. I've established some of my own direction in the job search, but I'm far from decided or settled on my future career. The list of attending companies at the conference is formidable, diverse, and really interesting to me.

Connections made at Net Impact have led a number of second-years that I know to their summer internships with organizations as diverse as GE and the National Park Service. Not to mention that the event is attended by scores of like-minded, socially conscious MBAs from around the country. It could very well be inspiring and instructive to see what those folks plan to do with their degree, and compare notes.

This is definitely going to be a tough decision, and one that will be a challenge either way. It's just one of the many compromises that are growing to define my year so far.

Mentors

I’ve complained a lot over the years (to my wife especially) about the lack of positive male role models in my life. Of course, my Dad’s a great and talented guy, and I respect his renaissance man skills and abilities. To give a sense of what the guy is like, he's spent time in the last two years doing all of the following: substitute teaching in Maryland, working in a golf pro shop, building and restoring frames for Picassos at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.c., and testing electronic voting machines for the 2008 election. All that while he's supposedly "retired."

But I’m talking about people closer to my age, that have had similar life experiences, or at least who see themselves and where they’re going in a similar way that I do. And although I didn't come to business school just to find that kind of influence, it seems to have found me.

The Park Leadership Fellows program requires that all first-year students have a second-year Park as their mentor. A graduate of the Air Force Academy and officer in that branch, my mentor, Kyle, has the kind of leadership experience that is rare at any age. And the fact that he commanded about 800 people and a fleet of high-performance military aircraft at the age of 24 puts him in a league without too much company. Like me, he’s married (in fact he just had his first child about two weeks ago). Also like me, he took the Sustainable Global Enterprise immersion.

Since his wife was pregnant and he couldn't travel to New York or some other urban locale for his internship this past summer, he took the lead on the business side of a joint project with the engineering school to develop a radically fuel efficient car. He's dedicated to continuing that project through this year. Kyle's career interests are varied; he's a many with many passions, all strong.

But at the bottom of it all, Kyle says he's most committed to saving the world. Coming from a strong, self-assured, military man, that's a powerful thing to hear, and something that has already helped me take my commitment to my future (and my family's and the world's, etc.) much more seriously.

I connected with my other mentor, Rishad, as part of the Johnson Career Management Center's Career Work Group program. Of course, they didn't pair us up for nothing; our interests align quite closely. Like me, Rishad worked in the media industry. He spent nine years, most recently as a freelance production manager in video and film production, in Los Angeles.

Rishad focused on environmental studies as an undergrad at Cornell and always kept his eye on the rapidly evolving clean technology space, even as he was managing the production of commercials for clients like Nike, GM, and Heineken, among many others. After a while, he grew to believe that his dream career change was fast becoming a "now or never" proposition.

So Rishad jumped in with both feet. And he's so far succeeded in the process of making his career leap. He completed the Sustainable Global Enterprise immersion, helping a venture capital firm assess opportunities for renewable energy in emerging markets second semester last year. He landed a great internship in the solar sector for the summer and is currently planning his next move.

Along his path so far, Rishad has learned a lot of lessons about the job search, and he's set on passing those lessons along to me, and the other guy in our group. He's already challenging me not just to take a job, but to pursue the best of what's out there.

It's obvious that there are great people at Cornell. But to have access to them, and to have them challenging me every day, is, well... overwhelming, to be honest! But I believe that learning and growth comes from constant challenge, and with such great role models, I know I'll be much more at the end of my time here than I was coming in.

Club Fair -- some not-so-tough decisions

Last Thursday, the Johnson School held its annual club fair. It's a madhouse environment in the Atrium where first-years get to grill second-year club officers about what they do and why we should be a part, and second-years try to gauge interest in their respective labors of love.

For me, Net Impact was a given. With my interest in sustainable business and entrepreneurship, it's the club to be in for career opportunities and events surrounding all things clean, green, and socially aware.

As an aspiring entrepreneur (I've started publicly declaring my intention to start a world-changing company), I was looking for what I could do build those skills, along with my leadership. So I decided to apply to be a consultant for the Big Red Incubator, a business incubator that Cornell runs as part of their "entrepreneurship triad," which also consists of venture fund Big Red Ventures and legal consulting service Big Red Legal. BRI consultants get the opportunity to solve real-world problems, and develop real-world marketing plans, for small companies from around the country. I'm considering (along with a number of other options) working for a start-up of some sort over the summer, and any consulting or other project I can do will definitely help me add value to their operations, no matter what they entail.

I've also joined the entrepreneurship and venture capital club, since I'm excited about their programming. They hold all sorts of events and workshops dedicated to helping business school students gain access the worlds of technology being developed in Cornell labs all over campus. And they organize a symposium of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, to spread the entrepreneurial spirit around the school.

My token fun club is the Rockin Outdoor club, because I think the key to enjoying a cold climate is having something outdoors that you love to do. I went to undergrad in Vermont, so I snowboarded my brains out (sometimes to the detriment of my schoolwork) all four years. But that's what made my time in Vermont so memorable and special. Fingers crossed that Greek Peak gets some solid snow this year.

There were so many more clubs on offer, but I had to go with what gave me energy, where I felt drawn and excited. So that's what I did. I've been to a few first meetings, and I've got a few more tomorrow. I'm ready to get out there and see what I can learn, and what I can add.

First week of classes -- Break-even and then some...

On Friday, we finished the first week of classes, and I feel much the wiser. With only seven weeks allotted per core class, you just have to hit the ground running. And that we have. In Economics, we're already just a couple days away from the first quiz on opportunity cost, the production possibilities curve, and division of labor. And in Accounting, the balance sheet has taken on a life of its own, expanding into expenses and revenues.

And aaaah, marketing... The one class I knew would be quant-free, the only class where a liberal arts/journalist/religion major would be free to take a deep breath and rela--- BREAK-EVEN ANALYSIS IS DUE WHEN? Professors Eisenstein and Stayman, after one quick lecture on the uses and merits of quantitative assessments in marketing, turned the entire first-year class loose on a 12-problem marketing math assignment that looked a lot like Greek to me on first inspection. And to make matters worse, it was due Thursday morning. That gave me about a day to get this beast tamed. Of course, I had plans for a leisurely Wednesday, free from anxiety; my first day off since moving to Ithaca three weeks ago. But that was not to be. My dreams were bothered by the dread of confronting problems I couldn't solve. And I woke up in the morning feeling anxious and overwhelmed. Before I knew it, the morning had started slipping by. It was almost 11 already. The dread was quickly building. I had finished the first three problems, but I couldn't figure out where to start number 4. I needed some guidance.

So, I did what I had to do. I took a shower, shaved, put on some decent clothes, and headed for Sage Hall. I got to the library and began an email dialogue with my core teammates, several of whom were having similar problems. We all agreed to meet in the Atrium at 12:30. That's where I found something hugely comforting -- probably about 15-20 teams were huddled around tables, working solutions to the same assignment. Quant jocks and poets alike were engaged in vigorous debate as to which formula to use on which problem, others explaining still-hazy concepts like cannibalization and net present value to their peers, who would explain what they could to the next overwhelmed countenance they encountered.

I had heard the PR spiel that the Johnson School was a collaborative place, but here was the proof. Everyone was working together on this assignment. And no one seemed to be simply piggybacking. They would listen to an explanation, ask questions, and work to synthesize and understand WHY. Maybe then, and only then, would they start their own calculations.

Five o'clock came, and associate dean, Cathy Dove, started encouraging us to break for the school-wide picnic at Stewart Park on the shore of Cayuga Lake. I made it down by around 6, exhausted but feeling exhilarated by what I'd just been through. In the midst of panic, near-meltdown, and some really hard work, I had learned a lot of the major math concepts I'll be using through the core in marketing and other classes.

Even though I was far from convinced that I'd gotten the right answer on every problem, that night I slept a heckuva lot easier.

Johnson Outdoor Experience

It's Sunday, and the action hasn't stopped yet. Friday morning, the vast majority of Johnson School students loaded onto four charter buses at 8:30, bound for Casowasco, a summer camp on the shore of Lake Wasco, one of the smaller of New York's Finger Lakes, about an hour north of Ithaca.

Since early in the spring, the Johnson Outdoor Experience (JOE, like the name) had already been touted as the best and most important orientation event. But as we arrived, our first-year faces showed sleepy and skeptical as a group of 25 or so second-years and Accelerated MBA students jumped and moshed their way onto the great front lawn chanting "JOE, JOE, JOE." Who created these monsters, we wondered? And were we going to join their ranks? If so, what would the indoctrination look like? Would we too be offered happy pills and matching t-shirts, and end this blue-skyed summer day as ranting buffoons? Luckily not. What actually happened was that the excitement and enthusiasm of these second-years began to rub off on us. Some first-years even talked in low tones about maybe taking on the role of JOE facilitator next year.

After a rousing rendition of the Cornell alma mater with dean Joe Thomas, we were split into groups consisting of about 10-15. I won't bore the reader with descriptions of the morning and early afternoon's teambuilding activities. Suffice it to say that, between crossing imaginary rivers of acid, falling into each other's arms, and narrowly avoiding the death grip of a giant imaginary spider's jaws, I got to know many of my teammates better, and even had a bit of fun in the process.

But for me, the best and most important parts of the weekend in the woods were the free times set aside just for talking, roasting marshmallows, swimming, and sharing a bunk or tent with new classmates. As promised in my first posting, I'm going to highlight as many interesting conversations and individuals as I can, in hopes of painting an eventual picture of the diversity of the class.

I spent much of the the evening discussing love, marriage, and business with two new Asian friends -- Satoshi from Japan and Yong Seuk from Korea. We discussed the difficulty of living in a new country and learning to function in a different language (I commiserated as much as I could with stories from my recent time in Argentina). I learned that the drinking culture common among businessmen in both of those countries stems from the introversion common among their people. Satoshi told me that meetings in Tokyo are often quiet affairs where executives and team members shy away from sharing their ideas. The real work often happens outside the office -- at the bar, when a few drinks helps them open up and trade ideas that would have seemed crazy a few hours earlier.

At breakfast, I discussed water management, the Indian IT sector, and other topics with an Accelerated MBA student named Priyanka. This young woman from Mumbai has just completed her one year masters in electrical engineering at Cornell. Along the way, she decided that an MBA would come in handy in her goal of helping NGOs improve infrastructure for transporting water and other resources in rural India, so she has just entered the one-year Accelerated MBA program. Two degrees from Cornell in two years is impressive, I thought. With her IT and NGO work experience, I figured she must be well above the average age of an MBA student; AMBA students tend to average about four years older than the two-year class. Not so. Priyanka is 24, and primed to take her learning back to make a difference in India.

At lunch and on the way home, I sat with a fellow first-year Park Fellow named Kevin. I learned a lot about his experience in the military -- he was stationed in Germany for three years, spending one of those in Iraq, mostly helping destroy stockpiles of Iraqi weapons built up by Saddam Hussein's regime. I also found out about Kevin's experience at West Point, where he used his negotiation skills and persistence to help West Point's color guard become a regular at Yankee Stadium, home of Kevin's favorite team. He even carried the flag during two games of the World Series. Kevin impressed the folks at West Point so much that he even was asked to join their admissions team after he ended his formal military service.

It would be impossible to relate all of the conversations I had over the weekend; indeed, these were only a few.

When I got home from the weekend on Saturday afternoon, I collapsed into bed for about an hour before getting dressed to the nines for the Park Leadership Fellows inaugural event. I got to meet the Park family -- our benefactors -- great and generous people who smiled on their class of 26 like watching their own child score the winning goal in a soccer game. And I got my first little dose of public speaking, where I shared the details of where I've been and where I hope to go. I kept my future aspirations humble -- I said I wanted to use my study of Sustainable Global Enterprise to start a world-changing company. Now I just have to get through the core...

First day of classes... and the (mostly unwarranted) panic the night before

Today was the first full day of classes -- Accounting, Economics, Finance, and Marketing. Sounds pretty standard for an MBA curriculum, right? Right. But yesterday, I still hadn't bought the books, nor had I confronted the reading and other preparation necessary for the first day of class. And what was this about having core classes start during orientation?

Tuesday morning (the day before class), I finally escaped from our two-day team simulation (more on that in another posting) long enough to buy the books -- there was, in the end, no more time left to do so. At the end of the simulation, more or less a 10-hour day of hardcore team work and narrowly averting driving my team, industrial engine producer Vroom Corp., into the ground, I started to panic at the idea of three chapters of finance to read, two articles for marketing, reading an annual report and a chapter for accounting; thankfully nothing for Professor Frank's class. This was going to be a lot of reading about a lot of stuff I don't know a lot about for one night...

Somewhere in the midst of the process of realizing what I needed to do, how little time I had, and the very real possibility of falling behind from the beginning, a calm came over me. It came through a welcome epiphany. In the five years since undergrad, I had somewhere along the line picked up a skill I didn't have when I graduated from Middlebury -- the ability to sit still, the ability to concentrate, the ability to beat a deadline. Thank you journalism!

After the aforementioned marathon team simulation, I loosened up with a little finance and marketing in the library until it closed at 7. Then I moved quietly downstairs in Sage to a breakout room and read some more. Then, around 8, I admired the crimson sunset on the walk home. I was already well over halfway done with my work. When I got home, I ate a leisurely dinner and chatted with my wife and her friend, who's in town visiting. Then I read some more before bed. I got up early and read for an hour or two before class this morning. And you know what? I got it all done.

And you know what else? I like my professors. I'm excited about becoming an economic naturalist. Accounting seems kinda interesting. I didn't wait to be cold-called in Finance; I actually raised my hand. And I think I'm going to understand this marketing thing after all. All in all, it was my best first day of school in a long time.

Intro Post

I'm a first-time blogger, so I'm excited to share my experiences with the world in a totally different way than ever before. One thing I'm really happy about: I finally have free reign to express myself as I like. At BusinessWeek, every piece I wrote was reviewed, critiqued, and edited by at least three people, and sometimes by as many as ten. I intend to use this blog forum to be as unedited and as honest as I can -- seems that's the only way to get anything really worthwhile out of this. I hope that anyone who reads my posts will get to know me, the Johnson School, and the Park Leadership Fellows program better.

As a recovering journalist, volunteer, and die-hard liberal arts undergrad, I sometimes feel like a sore thumb amidst the marketers, salespeople, and finance gurus with whom I now surround myself at the Johnson School. But I've found many kindred spirits here already. As I get going into the heart of the first year and really start connecting with people, one of my goals for this blog is to highlight as many of them as I can; I believe it's the people that really shape the business school experience.

As I get used to this new medium, I just ask that you bear with me. I'll work to get up to speed as fast as I can. With the core starting this week and my own personal anxiety growing, I know I'll have more than enough subject matter to practice with...

I grew up in York, PA and attended Middlebury College, majoring in Religious Studies. After graduation, I spent two years working as an AmeriCorps*VISTA for the San Diego Council on Literacy and then the International Rescue Committee. After traveling with my now-wife, Shannon, I moved to New York, where I joined BusinessWeek’s B-Schools Channel and later the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Channel. I recently spent five months in Argentina writing for BusinessWeek and volunteering for a microfinance organization. I’m now a Park Leadership Fellow and excited to share my experiences with you.