This last year at MIT Sloan was absolutely amazing. I got to try so many new things and had the best time exploring. One of the highlights for me was the Sloan Follies on the last day of spring classes. Hilarious. I organized the Follies along with two other Sloanies, Yonca Heyse and Fei Ye, and we were involved with everything from auditioning acts to ordering bobble heads. The Follies is a dinner and show where all of the writers, actors, and musicians are Sloanies. Some students made video parodies of business school life, others performed live skits (including a reenactment of a dance scene from Little Miss Sunshine ... wow), and several bands performed. Our theme for the show this year was “Late Night with MIT Sloan,” featuring our very own hosts Sim and Antonio, who interviewed numerous audience members (including Dean Schmalensee of course) and even gave their own Top 10 List. A memorable night for sure.
The Rolling Sloans performing at the Sloan Follies
Market Lab and the Innovation Challenge
When I came to MIT Sloan I really wanted to get involved in projects
with companies outside of school and was very surprised by the number
of ways I was able to do that. One opportunity that I highly recommend
is Market Lab. Through this initiative of the MIT Sloan Marketing Club
I was able to work on two different projects: one for Staples and the
other for Dunkin’ Donuts. I loved these because we were offered real
company projects and spoke weekly with contacts at their respective
headquarters. At the end of the semester we presented our
recommendations to the company and my Dunkin’ Donuts team even got a
tasty tour of their concept store. Case competitions are another great
way to gain experience in various companies and industries. Last fall I
competed in the Innovation Challenge with three other Sloanies. This
was definitely a highlight as we brainstormed new ideas for Hilton
Hotels, M&M Mars and Chrysler. We submitted our first ideas to the
competition and my team was incredibly excited to make it into the top
ten and then the final three teams. All in all, it was a great way to
try new things outside of the classroom.
My Innovation Challenge team at UVA Darden for the finals — Me, Susan Rogol, Viara Nedeva and Kristen Oldenburger
Oceans and Core Team
One last aspect of my first year that I'd like to touch on is my ocean,
or cohort. Every first-year student is assigned to one of six oceans
(mine is the Baltic ... yes, I know it's technically a sea ... ) and
those oceans are broken down into core teams of six or seven people.
The first semester I had all of my classes with my ocean and then did
my projects with my core team. It's comforting to have that smaller
community of people, especially when everything is brand new and you're
adjusting to being back in school. My ocean is supportive and
enthusiastic and we continue to do activities together even after the
first semester. Towards the end of classes we had the first annual MIT
Sloan Olympics and I served as the Ocean Captain. The chance to see my
classmates participate in events like the Bat Spin Relay, Core-team
Legged Race, and the Tug-Of-War was priceless. I'm definitely looking
forward to that again next year.
The water balloon toss competition at the MIT Sloan Olympics
Summer Internship
I've recently moved to St. Louis, Mo. and begun my internship with
Anheuser-Busch. I'm working as part of their Global Industry
Development division and focusing on a consumer marketing campaign
called “Here's to Beer.” Over the summer I hope to learn more about how
large corporations implement new marketing strategies — and what better
place to do it then the home of the Budweiser frogs?
