After nearly 3 full semesters with my classmates, I continue to be amazed with the stories and experiences they bring to Yale.

Today we heard from five fellow SOMers, each of whom served in the armed forces.  A member of an elite special forces unit, a Ranger school graduate and platoon leader, a research scientist, an intelligence specialist, and a logistics specialist each shared their perspectives on life in the service as well as lessons they learned while enlisted.

From capturing high-value targets during special reconnaissance missions to supplying trucks and managing logistics in South Central Baghdad, from battling the Taliban in the mountains of Afghanistan on multiple tours of duty to developing cutting-edge satellite technology, even jumping from planes at 25k feet and tracking the movement of Kim Jong Il, the stories from our classmates were remarkable.  These incredible stories of valor and service were shared with equally memorable humility.  It was inspiring to say the least. Read the rest of this entry »

The admissions office ran a very successful open house today for a large number of prospective students who attended classes, joined us for a tour of SOM, lunch, and an evening cocktail.  At lunch, one of the prospective students asked me what most surprised me about coming to SOM.  For me, it is New Haven.

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Last fall I had the opportunity to participate on the student/faculty team responding to the The Aspen Institute’s biennial survey “Beyond Grey Pinstripes: Preparing MBAs for Social and Environmental Stewardship.” This report measures the degree to which business school curriculums incorporate environmental and social issues that impact business performance.

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Unbelievable as it may sound, exams were upon us mid October, merely a month and a half after we started classes at the Yale School of Management. Accounting, Microeconomics, and Statistics all had to be “negotiated” within the first three days of last week. Studying for these exams made me realize how much material we had covered over 7 weeks.

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In one of my favorite episodes of 30 Rock, Jack Donaghy drags Liz Lemon along to a corporate retreat. There, among fellow managers and industry gurus (Jack is the CEO of General Electric), he participates in team building exercises designed to hone soft leadership skills. As Jack reconnects with his fellow business bigwigs (each of whom “embodies a pillar of the Six Sigma Business Philosophy: teamwork, insight, brutality, male enhancement, handshakefulness and play hard”), Liz is left alone first to observe and eventually participate in the strange docket of workshops. During L.U.N.C.H. (”Lego Utilization to Negate Crisis Hierarchies”), Liz and her teammates build a Lego robot according to blueprints that only Jack can see; during C.L.A.S.S., (”Consuming Lunch and Simple Socializing”), Liz and others join banquet tables to network with new friends; and just prior to the keynote address (to be delivered by Jack), Jack psychs himself up, makes a fool of himself and then saves face with the help of Liz.

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Things have been a bit quiet here at SOM recently.  Last week was exam period, so students were hunkered down in exam mode, and this week the second years are on break before the begin of Fall 2 on Monday.  The first years are currently on campus for their Managing Groups & Teams class, though, which means there’s some activity right now — just not as much as normal.  Things will be back in full swing come Monday.

That’s not to say there hasn’t been activity here at SOM.  The Admissions Office has been full steam ahead since our first round deadline on October 8.  We’ve been extremely impressed by the quality of the applications — seemingly our best crop yet from initial indications — and are working hard to move forward with the review process as expeditiously as possible.  In fact, we sent out our first batch of interview invitations yesterday.  These invitations are just the first wave that we will send out; I estimate that they constitute somewhere shy of half the invitations we will ultimately send out this round.  So for those applicants who received an invitation yesterday — congratulations!  We look forward to seeing you on campus soon.  For applicants who did not receive an interview invitation yet — don’t fret.  We know waiting can be very difficult, but there are more invitations on the way.  We will continue to send out invitations in the coming weeks as we move through the review process.  So stay tuned and keep an eye out for our email.

I’ll share more updates as I have them.

Bruce

It’s interesting timing that this Thursday, October 8, is both the Round 1 deadline for Yale SOM Class of 2012 applications and the last day of “Fall 1” courses for the Class of 2011.  What a difference a year makes!  Around this time last fall many of us were anxiously putting the finishing touches on our application essays; prodding our recommenders to hit “submit” already; and settling in for a long, arduous, wintery wait.  (Sidebar: wasn’t there something more cathartically satisfying about running to the mailbox everyday in high school awaiting college news than hitting “refresh” on your Gmail?)

Now, a year later, it’s all smooth sailing.  We read Econ cases while undergrads fan us with palm leaves.  Accounting is held outside in the courtyard, the class in a “Kumbaya” circle, as waiters proffer Bloody Marys.  Employers chase us from class to the gym to the bars waving offer letters for the summer.  And like characters in the Matrix, we stare a screen of moving Blue Stock simulations and see an alternate reality that makes sense. Read the rest of this entry »

As we start to get more at home with the idea of being students again, its time for some club hopping. SOM has a large variety of clubs for us to get involved with and a completely unscientific survey says that we’ve joined on average 4.2 clubs.

You could broadly categorize the clubs into two groups. The first set are the professional clubs – these are the clubs that work very closely with the CDO and students on professional endeavors. They are a great way to network with your classmates who are into the same professional tracks as you – and probably most importantly (from my perspective!), the second years. Read the rest of this entry »

Mary Oliver’s poem “Summer Day” begins and ends with a series of open-ended questions. As the chill in the air and the falling leaves remind us that summer is decidedly past, I can’t help but return to the last of these questions, which resonates particularly with me.  ”Tell me,” Oliver says in the closing lines of her poem. “What is it that you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”   Read the rest of this entry »

I came to business school with a very specific end goal in mind, namely a return to the media & entertainment sector. Throughout the application process I was told by various people that, if I was serious about this, I needed to go to school in either New York or LA. These cities are the main hives of sector activity and proximity to them could certainly be an asset. However, after sounding out more or less anyone who would give me the time of day throughout the post-application phase, I decided against both.

Business schools tend to be defined in the market – rightly or wrongly – for certain specialisms or for their strength in faculty, teaching or research in particular facets of business and management. By this definition, Yale would not be seen as a “media & entertainment school” and, let’s face it, New Haven is never going to be the be all and end all for the industry. So why choose Yale with this goal in mind? Well, the fact is that this institution opens doors and if it doesn’t open the door for you, it at least ensures that the door is built and ready to be opened with a little focused effort on your part.
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