Despite the common assumption that summers are quiet in academia, June came and went with a flurry of activity here in admissions. The month included lots of outreach and events, starting on the 1st with our first Consortium Orientation Program in Charlotte and ending just last Friday when SOM concluded its inaugural two-week Pre-MBA Leadership Program here on campus (the purpose of which is to expose college students and early professionals who are committed to diversity and inclusion to the possibilies of an MBA education).  In between, there was the GMAC Annual Industry Conference, the Forte Foundation Annual Meeting, and meetings with Womensphere, StartingBloc, and a number of other partner organizations.  It was a very busy month, and the Consortium OP and Pre-MBA Program in particular were notable as indicative of the importance of diversity here at SOM.

Now that we’ve had a chance to take a quick breath from all these events, I wanted to do a quick post to announce our 2009-2010 application deadlines and essay topics.  Here they are:

APPLICATION DEADLINES

Round 1: October 8, 2009 (decisions due by December 18, 2009)
Round 2: January 7, 2010 (decisions due by April 2, 2010)
Round 3: March 10, 2010 (decisions due by May 7, 2010)

ESSAY QUESTIONS

SHORT ANSWERS
Please answer each of the four questions below with a short paragraph of no more than 150 words. This is an opportunity to distill your core ideas, values, goals and motivations into a set of snapshots that help tell us who you are, where you are headed, and why. (600 words maximum)

1. What are your professional goals immediately after you receive your MBA?

2. What are your long-term career aspirations?

3. Why are you choosing to pursue an MBA and why now? (If you plan to use your MBA experience to make a significant change in the field or nature of your career, please tell us what you have done to prepare for this transition.)

4. What attracts you specifically to the Yale School of Management’s MBA program?

PERSONAL STATEMENT 1
Describe an accomplishment that exhibits your leadership style. The description should include evidence of your leadership skills, the actions you took, and the impact you had on your organization. (500 words maximum)

PERSONAL STATEMENT 2
Choose one of the following topics and answer it in essay form. Please indicate the topic number at the beginning of your essay. (500 words maximum)

1. A central premise of our teaching about leadership at the Yale School of Management is that true leadership—leadership that helps to address a significant problem in a new way—is necessarily personal. It is only when personal passion aligns with meaningful aspirations that individuals are able to inspire others to act in support of an important goal or cause. What are you most passionate about, and how have you demonstrated a commitment to this passion?

2. What achievement are you most proud of and why?

3. What is the most difficult feedback you have received from another person or the most significant weakness you have perceived in yourself? What steps have you taken to address it and how will business school contribute to this process?

4. Describe a situation in which you devised and implemented a creative or unique solution to a difficult problem. What obstacles did you face and how did you overcome them?

5. Required for reapplicants: What steps have you taken to improve your candidacy since your last application?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (OPTIONAL)

If any aspect of your candidacy needs further explanation, please provide any additional information that you would like the Admissions Committee to consider. (250 words maximum)

I hope this information’s helpful to anyone who wants to get a jump on their SOM application.  We will be posting our summer/fall recruiting schedule shortly and the application itself should be live in early August.  We will be sure to let everyone know when those things happen.  In the meantime, happy writing!

It’s been four weeks, and already I feel a keens sense of the common enthusiasm that’s been building towards Canada Day, with an inaugural fireworks display over the Vancouver bay – best to be watched by slow boat cruise with friends, of course. This summer holiday holds something special for British Columbia, as the northern province is also marking 8 months until the 2010 Olympics.

Working with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games (or VANOC, which makes business cards significantly more concise) has been an enlivening experience, something of a very large not-for-profit which feels like a for-profit corporation and wedding planning service rolled into one.

On June 3rd, VANOC arranged the first Carbon Sponsor in Olympic history (see the announcement here: http://www.offsetters.ca/?q=news/offsetters). I work with a small team of dedicated eco-gurus, where part of my responsibility is forecasting and analyzing the base carbon footprint produced by hosting an Olympic-sized event.

There may be an abundance of job opportunities for environmental-minded MBAs, yet the reality is companies are chronically over-tasked and under-staffed for these positions, in part because of the uncertain nature of new business challenges. Case in point: negotiating a sponsor agreement and measuring performance against carbon reductions. Taking a cue from school, resourcefulness has been key. Understanding branding rights is critical one day; knowing the common legal boundary between levels of corporate sponsors the next.

I’ve posted some running blog commentaries on translating Olympic sustainability into large event planning in general. Check www.yalesustainability.wordpress.com for the latest.

Internship is off with a bang, and i couldn’t be happier. Although the work is pretty stressful. And the summer has been road-breakingly hot. No, really, roads are breaking because of the heat, the index has hovered around 110 or so for the last two weeks. Anyways, I’m working through the city to create an independent non-profit organization to manage citizen “evacuteers” (read: combination of evacution and volunteer.) During mandatory city evacuations for hurricanes and emergencies, it takes a lot of civilian help to move high-need residents without any other means out of Orleans Parish and to safety- that’s our gig. Things are rolling, got our articles, by-laws, MOUs, launch party next week, trainings starting in 2 1/2: it’s very, very cool.

Big ups to Brian Murray for his OrgEff presentation on starting 501(c)3’s that I refer to probably 3 times a day, and to Jody and Carrie McLean for giving me non-profit accounting advice. And finally, of course, biggest ups to the Internship Fund for making my work possible.

So yeah, definitely not your normal internship, but believe me, it’s been exciting. Two days ago I was looking through my Employee notes trying to figure out ideal organizational architectures for our executive officers and our board of directors. 30 minutes ago I’m looking through Art’s queueing notes to get a sense of whether the current system is moving people out of the city as fast as it possibly can, and where to put manpower to improve the process.

Oof and a half. I’m looking forward to hearing what everyone else is up to. Best.

g-mo

so my first year has winded down, and i find myself suddenly in that undefined space between “have to get to my internship at some point” and “well, why not kick it in new haven for a few days and make the most of it, june 1st is pretty far away.” i’ve leaned on the latter for many of the last few days, and have no regrets about it. the reason why? half of the school is departing, and though they don’t make a big deal about it, i’ve taken a particular interest in hanging out with my departing elders (although the whole “seniors” thing is funny, since everyone here is the same age anyways.) but i know i am not alone when i say that i will truly miss the guidance and leadership of the amazing people in the second year class.

you guys and girls are great and awesome, and it has been a pleasure working alongside y’all. we take the gauntlet whole-heartedly (hey random aside, but Class of 2011, look out for the cohort barbeques in the fall because they will be awesome.) this community and this school is going to miss everything you’ve done here, but at the same time knows that each of you will go off and continue to do the same amazing things that brought you here in the first place, but better. so deal with the burden. best.

It was a rainy evening at the Yale Farm, but that didn’t discourage the class of 2009 from turning out for fresh oven-baked pizza, Costco wine, and enthusiasm for giving back to SOM.

One of the things I have been working on this spring is the Class Gift.  With 6 fellow classmates, we have been working hard to figure out the best way to reach out to our class.  We are asking them to give back to SOM as all of our careers grow over the next few years.  We ask people to pledge a certain amount, given in small portions over the next four years.  Nothing is due today.

Our first event kicked off last night, and I was so pleased!  Our class president Matt Kopac ‘09 gave a very nice speech (quoted below), and we already have 20% participation.  We are hoping to reach 100% by next week–the fun is just beginning!

Remarks from the Class Gift Kick-off Event – May 4, 2009

SOM is notorious for its pride. We as students and alumni are fiercely supportive and protective of our institution. In this spirit, SOM has a proud tradition of alumni giving. Over recent years, among MBA programs only Tuck graduates have given back to their alma mater in greater proportion than SOM grads.

We are asking you to make a pledge.

I know it’s hard to believe, but we are just three weeks and one day away from trading in our yale.edu email addresses for aya.yale.edu. We are three weeks and one day away from being graduates and alumni.

We have made our mark while we’ve been here at SOM. We have taken the school to new heights. Just as importantly, we have kept the ship steady in some tumultuous times. Now is our time to think about giving back, and keeping SOM strong for future generations. One way we can do that is by becoming givers ourselves. Hence, the Class Gift.

We are asking you to make a pledge.

Of course, we are still students. Even for those among us who have jobs lined up, salaries have not kicked in. Many, like me, are still looking for employment. And we have generously given recently for the internship fund, GSE and other causes.

But now is the time to make a pledge for the future. You would owe nothing now. We are not asking you to pull out your checkbook today. More than a pledge of money, it is pledge of support for the future excellence of this institution. Especially with the recent drop in the endowment, alumni financial support is even more important today.

Times may be uncertain now, but I am certain we will succeed. We will all excel in our careers. One year from now we will be in a better position than we are now, and three years after we will be on even more solid ground. By then we will be managers and leaders in our field, if not before.

We are asking you to make a pledge.

Last year the most popular giving category was the $2,008 level. As the pledge form states, this means $200 in 2010, $400 in 2011, $600 in 2012 and $809 in 2013.

Of course we would like to raise as much money as possible. But our focus this year is on a show of unity – our class standing together in support of each other and in support of SOM. The greatest percentage SOM has ever had for a graduating class is 81%. We are shooting for 100%.

We ask you to give at a level that both reflects your gratitude for this experience and is realistic for you financially. We want you to be comfortable with your pledge, and to fulfill it. We have laid out some options for you, but we invite you to speak with us and structure your own pledge as you see fit.

Thank you for being here today, and thank you for taking part in the proud SOM tradition of giving back!

–Matt Kopac

Who knew Connecticut had so many trails? Surely not myself, a California transplant who only bought a road bike for the first time 10 months prior. Had you asked me two years ago I would have made a twelfth grader blush with my knowledge of New England geography, oblivious to the forested countryside that lay within minutes of the post-industrial potholes of New Haven. Sleeping Giant? Tyler Mill Run? Regicide Trail?

Which brings me to the Farmington Canal trail which, construction work notwithstanding, provided an entertaining afternoon venture for three MBA students and Professor Amy Wrzesniewski, resident specialist in the realm of Organizational Behavior.

A bike ride with Amy W was the winning reward of a lottery for most carbon-emissions reduced during the 1st year International Experience. More accurately, I was invited by those who actually won the lottery to accompany the trip for one slow-moving Thursday afternoon. I consoled myself that my carbon-emitting habits were partially mitigated by this self-propelled exercise.

Fast paced courses? Too many assignments? Thankfully, this was one of the opportunities at SOM that lets one to relax, take a fresh breath, and on the side find out what it means to teach at Yale SOM.

Truthfully, there wasn’t so much the dish on academic life, but a chance to ask some of the questions I had never got to in class. I also realized that organizational behavior is not so different from most things in life. You place your bets that alignment of incentives and goals will lead to meaningful work, but compromise moves the organization behind the scenes, day in and day out. And it is compromise, whether between labor and management, citizens and governments, partner and partner, that drives a successful relationship.

Business school is transition.

No sooner have you unpacked your bags in your East Rock apartment and dived into orientation, then you are repacking for your summer sublettor (with a wish and a prayer that they won’t flambe the coffee table), unpacking in a tiny summer sublet, repacking, unpacking for Fall Yr 2, finding a full time job, coasting and peddling in a haze through second year, then finding yourself gazing around your East Rock apartment with the daunting task of moving, storing, moving for graduation, summer, new job in fall.  (p.s. I wasn’t so lucky on the coffee table–lovely scorches).

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There have been a lot of memorable moments in the first year of business school here at SOM.  It’s really incredible to stop and think about how much we’ve experienced since arriving in New Haven in August (the International Experience, the Internship Fund, Harvard-Yale, Cohort Olympics, Econ with Oster).  Last night, however, was one of the more memorable and humorous moments of all.

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I don’t really play video games. Not out of any lack of desire to play them. In fact, quite to the contrary, I feel a persistent desire to play. In playing games, I appreciate the value of problem solving, of having the opportunity to attempt to solve the same problem multiple times, to push at the boundaries of the program and learn the rules by which the game must be played. Gaming is, in many ways, the act of learning. Moving forward in a game is a signal of learning; the player has mastered a particular element, and is rewarded with the next puzzle. The more the player plays, the better that player is at learning new rules. As a result, while I may love video games, I am not that great at learning the rules.

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The weather is supposed to be gorgeous for Welcome Weekend.

(See the forecast here)

We are all so excited to welcome the Class of 2011 to campus!