Getting Situated

I’ve been in Cambridge for three weeks now, but, while the Sloan MBA experience is in full swing, classes still haven’t begun!

It began with a rafting trip to Maine. ~80 members of the class of ’11 set off on a weekend trip. The trip was a blast, and it provided a great opportunity to get to know some of our new classmates.

Then we began an optional ‘pre-term’ week the next morning after returning. People benefited different amounts from the material depending on their past experience, but, again, we were able to continue meeting our classmates. And, without fail, students and significant others gather each night at various bars and restaurants. We even find time for some athletics. The Sloan basketball group is looking pretty good :)

Orientation took place this week and provided the first congregation of our class in its entirety. Our orientation began at the Marriott ballroom, where several members of the MIT community, including Susan Hockfield, MIT President, and David Schmittlein, MIT Sloan Dean, welcomed us. We then learned our (much anticipated) ~60 person cohorts (oceans in Sloan speak) and 6-7 person core teams. Our first semester “core” courses are set. We share the same schedule with our entire ocean, and will undertake each group project with our core team. I happened to draw the perfect combination of the Pacific Ocean and the Pelican Team! ;)

The rest of orientation week included some great interactive discussions with various members of Sloan. One of my favorites was with Sloan Professor Simon Johnson, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund and co-founder of http://baselinescenario.com. We also spent a day off campus to undertake some team building activities with our newly formed core teams. It was a great time and began to prove my initial inclination of the Pacific Pelicans’ excellence!

 

Image courtesy of Flickr user John's Images

The real work begins next week with the onset of classes, but I look forward to getting started with courses and all of the other activities that will coincide. “Drinking from the firehose of MIT” has already begun, but its about to come at full force.