Deirdre Hatfield, MBA ’10

I graduated!

Whew… I don’t know where the last few months went since I last updated but I think it is time!

  

 

  

 

Since I last wrote, MIT Sloan hosted the 3^rdannual Sports Analytics Conference. This year’s conference, held the first Saturday in March, was a smashing success that only continued to grow from the past years. Again, working with Jessica Gelman of the New England Patriots and Daryl Morey of the Houston Rockets was a pleasure and a great experience. I mainly oversaw the launch of the Research Paper Track and the Coaching Analytics Panel. I had the distinct pleasure of working with Ric Bucher of ESPN, former NBA star Brent Barry, statistician Nate Silver, Buck Showalter, former NBA star and coach Avery Johnson, and head coach and football innovator Kevin Kelley of Pulaski Academy. It really was a tremendous experience that was worth the months and months of planning that went into it. The Sports Conference has been one of the highlights of my time here at Sloan and I will surely miss it. Speaking of the conference though, it will be held on March 4 and 5 of 2011 and again there will be a Research Paper Track so get your submissions ready: http://sloansportsconference.com/uploadfiles/pdf/2011_Call_for_Papers.pdf

 

  

Staying on the sports topic… I ran the Boston Marathon on April 19th and just recently finished the San Francisco Marathon on July 25^th. Both of them were incredible and unique experiences. Boston was tough because it has a lot of downhill and everyone’s quadriceps muscles are so shot by mile 23 or 24 that walking is sometimes forced… San Francisco was a tough marathon as evidenced in this Wall Street Journal article: http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748703283004575363214110587160.html It was extremely hilly and some of the hills were very steep but I was prepared extremely well and ended up finishing in 4:06:41 which was in the top 20% of women so I think I did pretty well. After the marathon I was able to explore San Franciscoand discover for myself what a fantastic city it is. One thing I was surprised about was the weather. The temperatures did not go much over 65 the entire time I was there and hovered around 55-60 on a daily basis. I certainly wasn’t complaining seeing that it has been about 90 everyday this summer. I really had a good time and stayed with a 2011 Sloanie, Sung You, who made a good time into an absolutely fantastic time. My next marathon will be on December 4 in Memphis, TN!

 

  

I will definitely miss school. I easily had two of the best years of my life at Sloan and truly loved my classmates and MIT Sloan faculty and staff. I will miss random nights at the Hong Kong in Harvard Square, BHP, trips and treks, classes, and the everyday laughs I shared in the hallways at Sloan. I know I have made lasting friendships and that despite the fact that we are scattered across the globe, I will continue to call, e-mail, and Facebook everyone in my class and at school. Graduation occurred on June 4th and was preceded by MBA Convocation on June 3^rd. Christiana Obiaya was our class speaker and she did a fantastic job of summing up our experience and getting the festivities off to a good start. I had a tough time with graduation though because, while it was fun and good times were had by all, I am really, really sad that it is over. Thank you to MIT Sloan for such an incredible time. Class of 2011, good luck being second-years and enjoy it because it flies by! Class of 2012, WELCOME and enjoy! Work hard, core will be challenging but totally worth it. You certainly have the support of everyone at school as well as alumni. And to all class years, stay in touch and reach out! I guess I am officially alumni now (when did this happen?) but will always be me, accessible, friendly, and willing to give back to a school that gave me so much. (Deirdre.hatfield@yahoo.com or look me up on Facebook)! That’s it for now, I will continue to update on occasion! J

 

 

Last Semester!

The last semester here at Sloan has begin for me. I am taking classes in Negotiation, Consumer Behavior, Marketing Strategy, Finance, and Game Theory. In addition to my classes I have been heavily involved outside of class planning AdMIT Weekend and the 4th Annual MIT Sloan Sports Conference. 

I cannot believe that AdMIT Weekend for the class of 2012 is already here, it does not seem like two years ago when I came to MIT excited to learn about what the next two years of my life would hold. 

I also just got back a few weeks ago from South Africa. I had an incredible time there with my team exploring the South African healthcare market and traveling the country. If you want to read more about our adventures: http://clickdiagnostics.wordpress.com/

Marathon training is coming along well. I ran 17.5 miles from Natick to Boston on Saturday and wasn't even sore the next day. My teammates on the American Liver Foundation's Run for Research Team are incredible and I have had such a good time. To read more about my challenging runs visit my website: http://go.liverfoundation.org/site/TR/RunforResearch/RunforResearch?px=1514001&pg=personal&fr_id=1650

That's it for now, enjoy the pics and stay tuned - I will be writing more soon to tell you more about how the sports conference went and how my last semester at Sloan is shaping up. 

Thanks for reading! Good luck to those applying for admission :-)

Happy Holidays

The first-years have now finished the core and us second-years only have one semester left. I am always amazed at how fast this experience has gone by. They say that time flies when you are having fun so I guess that is true in this case as well. The end of December and January is a big travel period for many Sloanies. I am currently sitting in the airport in Ft. Myers catching a plane back to Boston for a week and then heading to South Africa for almost a month on January 1st for what promises to be a life-changing experience. 

My marathon training is in full swing - you can check out my training blog (and donate if you feel so inclined) here: http://go.liverfoundation.org/site/TR/RunforResearch/RunforResearch?px=1514001&pg=personal&fr_id=1650 I ran 8 miles yesterday and have a team 12-mile run this Saturday. What that means is that I need to watch what I eat on Christmas which is not an easy thing to do. The Boston Marathon is known as one of the hardest marathons so my training will definitely be kicking up a notch but I embrace any challenges that come with it as long as I stay healthy. The cool thing about my running group is that we actually run on the official course most Saturdays. The not cool thing is that I have to get up at 6 in the morning for these runs. The good news is that it is all for a great cause (who doesn't value a healthy liver?) and will be a lifelong accomplishment and fulfillment of a dream for me. There are also many Sloanies that somehow find time to run so I never lack a training partner... in fact, marathons are, as I have discovered, quite contagious. I even know of a classmate who is running a 100-mile ultra-marathon. Now that is dedication. 

Classes wrapped up for the fall and overall I feel like I learned a lot. Business Law was probably my biggest surprise. John Akula is a really good teacher and made what sounded like a dry subject quite fascinating. I also took a couple of good marketing classes by Dr. Prelec - one on the qualitative aspects of marketing and one on the quantitative aspects. I learned to use and analyze conjoint analysis pretty well and found the research very interesting. 

Ambassadors has wrapped up until Spring, I met a lot of prospective Sloanies and I love being a part of their (your) experience when visiting MIT. To me, what makes MIT so special is the friendliness of the students and staff. I have truly had the time of my life here and will be sad to graduate. I say that with the caveat that I am tremendously excited about the future and cannot wait to get my career started... but that should speak to how much fun I have had here and how much I have learned. I will hopefully see a lot of you in the Spring as well, as I will be chairing AdMIT Weekend. 

My flight is boarding so I have to go. Take care for now, Happy Holidays and safe travels!!! As always, any questions, feel free to reach out! (deirdreh@mit.edu)

p.s. My South Africa trip can be followed here: http://clickdiagnostics.wordpress.com/

 

Where is this year going?

Whew... these past few weeks have been crazy. I ran my half-marathon on November 15 and it was an incredible experience. The 13.1 miles actually flew by despite the numerous hills (mountains?) that I was climbing and descending. I finished in a time of 1:55:24 which I was very happy with, however, nobody warned me about the recovery process. The first day was fine, but then then soreness descended and I spent the last week gingerly lowering myself into chairs and making odd noises that I'm sure had my classmates looking twice... doesn't matter though, well worth it. As soon  as I crossed the finish line I mumbled something about the next race... running is really addictive for me. I came home and signed up for two more races and of course I will be running the Boston Marathon in the spring!

All that running requires a lot of fuel so I'm always scavenging for a good meal. I didn't have to look far though, MIT Sloan puts on a Thanksgiving Dinner for the class every year complete with everything that makes Thanksgiving so good. Everything I go to here in business school always reminds me of how incredibly diverse my class is. I was standing in line for the food and overheard one of my friends asking what gravy and stuffing were... it made me realize how many assumptions I make about people understanding my culture and how it feels when someone doesn't understand it. Speaking of learning, I attended the Southeast Asian C-function the other night and it was really fun. I also "modeled" an outfit in the fashion show at the beginning of the night. The whole C-function was great and I'm constantly impressed with my classmates!

The first-years are almost done with core and I am not sure how I feel about it. JK. I'm so incredibly proud of my pilot team and so happy for all of the first-years I know who will now be able to experience the best fun that business school has to offer. At the same time... my stories about how wonderful it is after the core will have to end. Oh well... I'm already getting kind of sad that I'm nearing the end of my third semester at Sloan. However, that means that January is coming and in January...

I'm going to South Africa! We are working on writing the business plan for our project host and cannot wait to go there and implement it. I love my team and our host, ClickDiagnostics, is really great. ClickDiagnostics was a product of the MIT Media Lab and focuses on mobile diagnostics in rural settings. There will be many more updates coming and I will also be blogging for that. Learning about the regions that we will be working in has been fascinating and I cannot wait to actually go there and make things happen!

Sports Conference work has been coming along as well - (www.sloansportsconference.com/2010/) - Adam Silver, Bill Simmons, Mark Cuban, and Michael Lewis are all confirmed. It's hard not to get excited about the conference on March 6, 2010. There is also a research paper track this year for the first time... if you know anyone that is enthusiastic about sports and the analytic side of the business, pass along the info!

Ok, that's it for now, much more coming later... Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Fall 2009 - Life as a second-year

My second year of business school is now well underway. So far, I would say I probably have never been this busy in my entire life but in a completely satisfying and "great" kind of busy. In undergrad I was balancing my major with being a student-athlete and that was busy... then during core I was getting used to the new genre of classes I was taking with my extracurricular projects, but now I really think I am the busiest I have ever been. Let me begin...

I am currently taking a class in business law that is fascinating. It is taught by John Akula, a professor who is not only brilliant and experienced, but entertaining and personable. I'm also taking a Data Modeling class and a marketing class. However, the highlight of my semester so far has been my G-Lab Africa class. G-lab (Global Entrepreneurship Lab) Africa is, this year, focusing on Global Health Delivery. Specifically, my team and I will be working with a company in Africa for the rest of the fall semester and then we will go on-site in Johannesburg, South Africa in January for a 3-4 week internship. The issue of global health delivery means a lot to me and I cannot wait to contribute my team's business skills to enhancing the way of life in Africa. Look out for more posts as we get closer to January. I fully intend to document the trip both in written form and on video!

As another travel and work opportunity, I am thinking about doing China Lab in the spring semester. China Lab allows a group of students at MIT Sloan to work with a company in China for the first half of the spring semester and then do a 2 week on-site internship during SIP and Spring Break. This is an incredible opportunity to work with growing companies in China. 

I am continuing to work for Titleist, one of my summer internship companies. I feel especially lucky to be working in an area that I have so much passion for. The sports and retail industries have a lot of interesting facets to them and I have certainly been able to experience them in my internships. I am also working with the EMS (Entertainment, Media, and Sports) Club this fall as VP of Special Projects. (www.sloanems.org/meet-the-team.html) I am overseeing the SportsLab program that is now in it's second year. This year, we were able to secure projects with a hospitality development company, Converse, and the Boston Bruins. The SportsLabs offer a rare opportunity to work with companies inside this industry prior to recruiting season. I also helped run the MIT Sloan Golf Tournament this past Saturday at Stow Acres CC in Stow, MA. Though it rained all the way up to the tournament and then towards the end, we were lucky enough to get it in. It was a tremendously good time and offered a chance for students to get out, enjoy a day on the golf course, and have some fun with their fellow classmates. 

Planning for the 2010 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics is fully underway. As students, we are lucky enough to work with Jessica Gelman of the New England Patriots and Daryl Morey of the Houston Rockets. This conference has taken off since it's inception 3 years ago. I was a panel-lead for the conference last year securing panelists for the Careers in Sports and Talent Identification Panels. This year, I will be working to help the team pull off the best conference yet. Stay tuned, as we get closer. The conference will be held on March 6, 2010 and promises to amazing. (www.sloansportsconference.com/2010)

Speaking of sports, the Red Sox are in the playoffs and I know it is that time of year again. GO SOX!!! Seriously, how many Red Sox - Angels contests can we have in the ALDS???

I have been continuing with my half-marathon and marathon training. I will be running my half-marathon on November 15 in Newton, MA. I really cannot wait. I have been working so hard at training smart and eating well, I cannot wait to see the results. I am shooting for a time well under two hours. In the spring, I am going to run the Boston Marathon... this is something I have always wanted to do and decided to just do it this year. Right now my long-runs are around 10 miles for the half-marathon. I will probably run in December, take it light while I am in Africa in January, and then train all out for the almost 3 months leading up to the Boston Marathon. I know it won't be easy balancing training with all of the other stuff that I am doing but the challenge is well worth it. 

My pilot core team is doing great. They will be having their first set of midterms in the coming week. I have done my best at giving them the advice that I wish I had known a year ago. Speaking of which... how has it already been a year? It is crazy how fast time flies in business school. I attribute it to how much fun I am having working on projects and classes that really mean something to me. It really is exciting. :) 

Finally, I will be working with the Ambassador's Program throughout the fall semester so if you come for a campus visit, you might run into me. Until then, have a great fall and enjoy the leaves!!!

Deirdre

Summer 2009

Hey everyone! It has been awhile since my last posting so I've got quite a bit to talk about. 

I just finished up my summer internship at Converse working in the strategy group. It was a really fun summer filled with lots of Chuck Taylors and hard work. It was really fun getting to see how such a successful company runs. While at Converse, my boss was a Sloan Alum - just goes to show it is a small world! 

Since I wrote last, I have decided to do Team in Training for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and will be running my first half marathon in November down in Florida. Check back often for updates on my training progress. It is my ultimate goal to be able to run the Boston Marathon in the spring but we will see how that goes! 

I am extremely excited about the upcoming school year. I will be a pilot for a core team in the Class of 2011 and cannot wait to meet all of you. There are lots of fun activities planned so it should be a blast.

In about 2 weeks I will be moving and so things are pretty hectic in the meantime. However, in honor of how hectic it will be for first-years, I decided to put together my top five tips for incoming Sloanies. Whether this advice is worth anything or not, I couldn't tell you, but it covers things that I kin of wish I knew before I started last year. So here goes...

1. Any question about anything, ask a second-year: we have been through everything that you will be going through and, at the very least, can refer you to someone in our class who can specifically answer your question. We all want to get to know you just as much as you want to know us.

2. The core semester is all about priorities. Don't cancel things you love - embrace them. Take the time out of your day to make sure your spouse/partner is included and spend the quality time together that makes relationships great. If training for marathons is your thing (who would do that?) then do it. Maybe there won't be as many relaxing Sunday afternoons as you used to have but make the most of the time that you do have.

3. Focus on the team and the friends you make. If you are like me, you come into school hardwired to make A's... it's business school and... yes... reluctantly I admit it... grades just don't mean what they did in undergrad. Make friends, hang out with them, form long-lasting bonds. These people will be fellow alumni for the rest of your life!

4. Take the time to do something different. I will be going to Africa in January to work with companies in global healthcare delivery. I had the option of going other places but I decided to go where I knew I was unlikely to go in the near future... Whether it is going to Africa or volunteering at a food bank... go do something you have never done before. 

5. Finally, relax, life will be hectic for the next two years but enjoy them. Everyone I heard from who just graduated was very sad that their time at Sloan was over. Core can seem daunting... not at the beginning but towards the middle and the end. Stick with it, everyone makes it through. Don't forget to enjoy the small things in life.

As always, if you ever have questions, feel free to e-mail me: deirdreh@mit.edu. Also, comment on my posts, that way if there is specific content you want to hear about I can write about it. That's it for now, I will try to write more often now that summer is winding down. Thanks so much, have a great August!!! 

Summer is coming!

The second AdMIT weekend has come and gone. I met many members of the class of 2011 and was very impressed with what a great group of people they are. The activities kicked off on Thursday evening with a Women’s welcome reception and a pub gathering before we all headed to the South Asian C-Function. On Friday, the AdMITs had an action packed day but despite this I was very happy to see that many of them made it out to Red Velvet at the Suite. For anyone who has never been, Red Velvet is a great way to spend a Friday night. Great people, music, drinks, lighting, and dancing are just some of the features. Red Velvet is a creation of one of my classmates, Josh van Aalst, who brought extensive DJ experience and a load of talent to Sloan. If you haven’t come out yet, I hope to see you this Friday at the Suite!

School is, of course, winding down for the summer now and finals are coming up. This semester has been tremendous not only in the classroom but outside of class as well. One class in particular has been more than I ever thought any class could be. It is 15.846: Branding with Professor Mark Ritson. Since no words will ever do it justice, I will just say that it is one of those few classes that you don’t want to be over at the end of the semester. Prof. Ritson is not only extremely knowledgeable but he is one of the most charismatic people I have ever seen teach. He will be teaching Marketing in the fall so for those of you in the class of 2011, keep him in mind!

As always, life at Sloan has been very busy and exciting. Over the past month since my last posting, I have participated in the Sloan Service Spectacular, gone to the Brazilian, Texas, and South Asian C-Functions, and participated in a marketing case competition at Babson’s Olin School of Management. My good friend and classmate Calvin Cheung actually won the competition with a great presentation that the company executives really liked. I finished second but that really wasn’t what mattered. The whole experience was a great learning opportunity as we were on teams with MBAs from other schools and we had about 4 hours to put together our recommendations and then present them to the company executives.

The next two weeks will be filled with studying and finalizing projects. Speaking of projects, I just gave a presentation this morning in my pricing class on what iTunes and the digital music industry could do to capture market share in the age of piracy. It was a very interesting project where we actually ended up disproving our hypothesis, but then again, if we knew the answers ahead of time we wouldn’t have done it in the first place.

This Sunday will be the annual Sloan Olympics. Come out for lots of laughs because I have signed up for pretty much every event. I will let you know later how well I can run 1600 Meters after a bat-spin-relay! In any case, Sunday is also Mother’s Day so don’t forget to tell your mom you love her.

I will be a pilot this fall so I cannot wait to greet the class of 2011 and welcome them to campus in the fall. As always, if anyone has any questions about anything feel free to e-mail me: deirdreh@mit.edu. Finally, I will continue posting over the summer and I will update everyone on my summer internship as it progresses and any other summer activities so check back often. Happy Spring! J

April 2009

The last time I wrote my blog was a little over a month ago and I thought spring was just around the corner. Well, it was true and it wasn't true. While it is officially spring, it is still a bit chilly outside. That's fine though because over Spring Break my friends and I went skiing in California to squeeze in those last few runs of the season. Below is a picture of us at the top of Mammoth Mountain

As we arrived in the resort, it was snowing heavily and by the time we went out for our first day of skiing, we had received 15 inches of the softest snow that I have ever skied. Not only that but the 

resort was practically empty and we never had to wait in line for the lift. I would write about the magnificent views as well but I'll let the picture speak for itself!

After Spring Break was over we came home and it was time to go back to school. My H2 (second semester) classes have been amazing so far. I am taking Pricing, Branding, and Negotiation. The first week of negotiation was eye opening for me... but I like to think that I will be savvy by the end of the course. My pricing class is excellent as is my branding class. In fact, the class on branding, being taught by Prof. Mark Ritson, is one of the best classes I have ever taken. Ritson is riveting but it is the fact that he brings real-world experience to the classroom that makes the learning experience that much more valuable. 

I promised I would let you know how our student-taught class in communications went and the answer is that it was excellent. I am very proud of my team because we not only were well prepared but also presented it quite well. Our presentation was on business dinner etiquette and, as one can imagine, we had a lot of fun sorting through materials to include in our class. I also learned a lot myself. For example, I did not know that you are always supposed to enter and exit a chair at the table from the right side. This makes sense, because when people get up to leave it is that much more awkward if you bump into the person seated next to you. So keep that in mind the next time you go out. :)

This past Saturday I went back to Boston University to watch the NCAA Hockey National Championship game at Agganis Arena. I am ashamed to say it but I had written the game off because, with one minute to go, BU was down 3-1. They had pulled the goalie and nothing seemed to be working and then all of the sudden BU scored two goals to tie it up and head to OT. Though the Terriers were playing in Washington D.C. there was a strong contingent of students at the arena and the place erupted. In OT BU went on to win and it was a long but fun night! I was very proud to be a Terrier alum.

Back at MIT, many events are just around the corner. I am still keeping up with my exercise bet and though I was sick for quite awhile before Spring Break, have averaged just over 4 miles/day since December. This time of year is fantastic for running in Boston. A springtime run along the Charles River when it is 65 degrees outside is one of the most beautiful sights around. If it is a relatively calm day you will see many people out sailing and rowing. 

I cannot believe that I only have 5 more weeks left in my first year of the MBA program. Time has never flown this quickly for me. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was in orientation and meeting everyone for the first time. As the Round II acceptance deadline has now passed I just want to pass along a giant CONGRATULATIONS to the Class of 2011. I cannot wait to meet you and welcome you to campus in August. 

In the meantime, go enjoy the beautiful weather! Ciao!

 

March... Spring is Here!

So finally the weather is showing signs of spring… every year I wait for those days where 55 degrees feels like summer time and everyone goes out for a run on the Charles River or a walk down Newbury Street. I cannot wait until it is warm enough to golf again… I am itching to get out and play. Depending on where I am for the summer I am going to decide if I want to get back into the competitive swing of things (no pun intended) and qualify for the U.S. Women’s Amateur or the Public Links… we will see… Today, I ran all the way down past my old school (BU) and then back around to MIT.  As to my running challenge, I was a bit sick over the past few weeks but I am still averaging over 4 miles/day and I am now in my third month… still on track to average 3+ miles/day for an entire year!

My run was a nice little break during SIP week here at Sloan. SIP, or Sloan Innovation Period, is a time for students to take a break from the daily grind of classes and take some informative workshops. This week, I took classes on Leadership, the Global Crisis, Design Innovation, and Investment Management. My workshop on the global crisis was taught by Simon Johnson and was very interesting. For those of you who don’t know who Simon Johnson is (shame on you… jk) he keeps a blog: http://baselinescenario.com

Once classes are over for the week we will have another week for spring break. This year, Calvin and his girlfriend Jen, Petros and I are all flying out to Las Vegas for some fun and then going to Mammoth to get some good skiing in.  It should be a blast and when we get back I will have to post some pictures.

Over the past month I have been settling into my second semester here at Sloan. It is amazing to me how fast the time has flown since our days of orientation. Luckily for me, I have been doing a better job of managing how many projects I sign up for this semester. On March 7, we held the 3^rd annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference here at MIT. The conference was an incredible success and all of the hard work that my organizing team put in paid off tremendously. We worked with Daryl Morey, a Sloan Alum and current GM of the Houston Rockets, and Jessica Gelman from the Patriots to put this show together.

My panels were on “Careers in Sports” and “Talent Identification” and featured notable speakers from Nike Sparq, Chelsea Football, the New England Patriots, the Memphis Grizzlies, Teamwork Consulting, Citizen’s Sports, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Football Outsiders, Octagon Sports, and 4040 Sports. It was a great experience to listen to what these speakers had to say on the emerging uses of analytics in their fields. Though our conference was dubbed “dorkapalooza,” it was a fantastic event that brought together some of the best minds in sports. Among other notables at the conference were Ray Allen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Cuban, and many representatives from ESPN. Overall, it was a very rewarding experience and I cannot wait until we can start planning for next year.  Anybody interested in checking out the conference further can look here: http://www.sloansportsconference.com/2009

The first half of the semester (H1) has just finished up here at Sloan and I am now done with macroeconomics. In the second half I will be taking classes in Pricing, Negotiation, Branding, and of course, my classes that span the entire semester, Communications and Strategy. In communications, aside from presenting a lot, my team and I are actually going to be responsible for teaching an entire class period… I’ll let you know how that goes. For now, I am out to go pack for spring break… Bye!

February 2009

Happy New Year everyone! Hopefully it is not too late to be saying that... Today is registration day when we all go over and sign a piece of paper and call it a day. Ok, not really... Today I am actually going over to the TD Banknorth Garden with my Sloan team to present our final results in a project we did for the Boston Bruins. Amanda, Ramy, Roterdan, and I took a look at the historical ticket sales data and were able to build a model to better predict future ticket sales. It was a very fun project and very educational too. 

My break has been pretty interesting. After getting back from my trip to Florida for Christmas, I did an IAP externship doing market research for a potential sports startup. I had to make a lot of phone calls and do some extensive internet research. I am going to present my findings for that on Tuesday. This was a great opportunity for me to get some hands on work experience over the break. I know that many of my classmates also participated in externships across many fields from medicine to technology and finance.

I also participated in a New York Times Case Competition. My team and I examined ways that the paper could ensure its future success by focusing on minority populations in the coming years. It was interesting trying to come up with creative ways of approaching segmented advertising and adapting content to mobile devices.  

Last Friday I went skiing with some other Sloanies at Nashoba Valley. It was a blast! It is crazy how one only needs to drive 45 minutes out of Boston and be at a little ski resort. We skied all day and were thoroughly exhausted by the time we got home. 

Speaking of sports, we are fresh off the Super Bowl. What a great game. With the Pats out I wasn't rooting for anyone in particular but I have to admit it was a fantastic game. Petros, my boyfriend, and I watched it with several of our really good friends from Sloan. Good food, great friends, and a good game made for a pretty nice evening.

School is starting up on February 3. Yay for core being over, but I bet the workload is going to be just as intense. I will be taking classes in strategy, finance, macro-economics, pricing, communications, and negotiation. I will also be sticking to my exercise goals as well. I have a bet with a friend where I need to run an average of 3 miles a day or better for a year. It started in the beginning of December. I am 2 months in and have done quite well so far. Over January I ran 115 miles and biked another 120. 

Interviewing is in full swing here also so it is not unusual for me to run into my classmates in their full dress attire these days. I have an interview coming up on Wednesday so I guess I better go get ready for that! Check back soon, I will be writing fairly frequently.