First two weeks at MIT Sloan!

So much has already happened since I arrived in Boston from Argentina that I can’t believe the MBA hasn’t even started yet! Although registration day and the official start of the Fall Term is tomorrow, September 8th, there have been many activities going on over the last two weeks such as the E-Treks, Pre-term, and Orientation week. It’s been very hectic already but, personally, it’s been really great to get involved early on to have some time to let it all soak in. I’ve already met many of my classmates and I’m really excited since the Class of 2011 seems to be awesome!

Let me tell you a little bit more on what’s been going on around here:

1. E-Treks: They’re short trips organized before the start of the MBA that allow the incoming class to get to know each other. This year they took place the weekend before pre-term (August 21-23). Usually second year students organize them, although this year there was a trip organized by first year students as well (again, isn’t my class awesome?). There are usually several options, this year we had to pick among: Rafting in Maine, Hiking in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, and Camping in Vermont. I was on the Rafting trip and had an amazing time! I had never been rafting before and was excited to try it out. Also, it was great to meet my classmates for the first time in a stress-free environment and to share an adventure together. Many thanks to all of the organizers of the treks, especially to Jonathan Alspaugh who organized the Rafting trip! To find out more about the E-treks: http://mitetreks.wordpress.com
2. Pre-term: It was a weeklong series of four courses: Accounting, Statistics, Economics, and Finance, to help you get ready for the Core semester. It wasn’t mandatory and had to be paid for on top of tuition, so approximately half of the class took it, while other students created study groups and reviewed the materials together. I found some of the classes to be very useful and others to be somewhat basic, but overall I think it was worth it and it was good to get back in the rhythm of being a student all over again.
3. Orientation: After sharing over a week of activities with the Class of 2011, the time came to split up into our cohorts or “Oceans” as they call them here at MIT Sloan. There are six oceans with approximately 60 students in each one: Altantic, Baltic, Caribbean, Indian, Mediterranean, and Pacific. Each ocean is then split into ten “core teams” of six or seven students, with whom we will be sharing most of our assignments during the first Core Fall Semester. The core teams have the names of birds (half of which I had never heard of in my life): puffins, egrets, cranes, etc. I’m in the Baltic Ocean and my core team is the Cranes! (The best ocean and the best core team ever, of course!) The Class of 2010 gave us a very warm welcome and introduced us to life at the MBA. Each core team was assigned a second year Pilot (like a mentor) that will accompany us throughout first semester and is the go-to person in search of advice. Our Pilot is amazing, I’m sure he’s going to be a great source of support throughout our first year. To give you a brief overview of orientation week, we participated in our first class with the case study method (and then heard a speech from the CEO of the company!), we attended information sessions about the MBA and MIT Sloan, and we spent a day outdoors doing teambuilding exercises with our ocean and our core team. I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical in the beginning about the teambuilding games, but at the end of the day I felt that they had been very effective at helping us get to know each other and figure out how we work as team. It also got us started off with a positive attitude to begin the school year.

I think it’s also important to tell you about my first impressions after being here for only 2 weeks:

1. The Class of 2011, especially the Baltic Ocean, and especially the Cranes are awesome! (Did I already say that?)
2.  Diverse student backgrounds. Seriously now, coming into business school from a mostly non-business background I really didn’t know what to expect. But I can assure you that people have amazing backgrounds, there is true diversity of professional and life experiences and conversations are very stimulating just because of the crowd that gathers here. I feel humbled and very proud to be here! I am sure that I will learn a lot from my classmates, even from informal or spontaneous conversations.
3. Collaborative environment. You hear over and over how collaborative your school will be, but at a certain level, you just don’t buy it – until you see it for yourself! MIT Sloan is so collaborative that it’s even rubbed off first year students before we even started. For example, a classmate with sailing experience organized a day of sailing at the MIT Sailing Pavilion to encourage all of us to get our MIT Sailing Card that allows you to sail for free while you’re a student. In addition, a couple of Sloanies that studied undergrad at MIT organized informal MIT campus tours, giving us tips on where to study and how to take advantage of life on campus. Also, some of my classmates are already organizing the Iceland Trek for mid-October, and have been doing so since Admit weekend with the guidance of second-year students. Thanks to all of those who already took on initiatives!
4. Mentorship from second year students. The Class of 2010 has been extremely present in our first weeks here at MIT Sloan and has made us all feel very welcome. They have organized the E-Treks so that we could meet each other, they’ve welcomed us to our Oceans and accompanied us throughout the activities during Orientation week, and they will remain our Pilots for our core teams throughout the first semester. Moreover, they have demonstrated their openness to dispense personal and professional advice to all of us first-years. Kudos to the Class of 2010 for a very successful leadership role!
5. Energy is just flowing. MIT Sloan and MIT in general are really flowing with energy. You feel it the minute you step on campus. Many things are going on at the same time and you want to be involved in everything. You walk around campus and you have the feeling that things are being invented all around you as you walk past. Seriously, it’s a really contagious sensation. (In case you can’t tell, I’m really excited to be here!)

Well, that’s all for now folks! We’ll start our first week of classes this week so I’ll let you know how it goes! Hope you like the blog, please drop me a line if you have any comments or suggestions!

Cheers,

Mercedes 

Comments

[voilsmypeviem]

[url=http://nextdayshippingpharmacy.com/categories/stop-smoking.htm][img]http://legalusdrugstore.com/14.jpg[/img][/url]
pharmacy purchasing outlook http://nextdayshippingpharmacy.com/products/levitra-super-active-plus.htm about online pharmacy [url=http://nextdayshippingpharmacy.com/products/detrol.htm]detrol[/url]
texas cvs pharmacy locations http://nextdayshippingpharmacy.com/products/tretinoin-cream-0-05-.htm cheapest cialis pharmacy comparison [url=http://nextdayshippingpharmacy.com/products/synthroid.htm]personal statement pharmacy[/url]
pharmacy tech practice exam http://nextdayshippingpharmacy.com/products/tricor.htm jones discount pharmacy [url=http://nextdayshippingpharmacy.com/products/pletal.htm]pletal[/url]
tx state board of pharmacy http://nextdayshippingpharmacy.com/products/kamasutra-superthin-condoms.htm wisconsin pharmacy shcool [url=http://nextdayshippingpharmacy.com/products/nizoral.htm]current issues about pharmacy practice[/url]
http://nextdayshippingpharmacy.com/products/vermox.htm critical care pharmacy