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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Accross the street from my office in Vancouver lies the oldest motorcycle dealership in Canada, Trev Deeley motorcycles.  Unable to fight another impulse not to look at the beckoning showroom, I stopped by one day last week.  There is an attached museum at the shop, which for the past six months has brought over 250 classic bikes together for an exhibition on the history of the Bristish motorcycle industry (including T.E Lawrence’s – of Arabia - 1928 Brough Superior).

To make a long story short, after walking through the exhibit I came back with a notebook and pen to summarize the main takeaways, which seemed remarkably portentous for the future of the US auto industry…failure to introduce new models, increased loss of market share and abandonement of market opportunities in pursuit of short-term profits.  Make of it what you will, but here is some food for thought:

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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

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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Spring break officially began today with our last take home finals due yesterday evening, yet today I found myself reliving highlights from this past semester and realizing just how much the past few months have changed the way I think…

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There’s this cool club here called SOM Outreach which sets groups of 4 students up with pro-bono consulting projects with local nonprofits.  It’s a lot of work, but if you are excited about the problems you are tackling you will be really motivated.  I am working with 3 awesome members of the class of 2010 to address men’s sexual health issues in connecticut.  We are charged with figuring out a messaging system that could get young men taking better care of themselves!

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Despite the blustery day, I ventured outside during a study break this afternoon to the Creative Arts Workshop on Audubon Street. Just steps away from school is a charmer of a street with SOM favorites like Koffee on Audubon and the Devil’s Gear Bike Shop.All the first-years are familiar with Audubon Street, having done their orientation group presentation on business concepts for a retail space in the district. 

The Creative Arts Workshop is a nonprofit arts center that offers art classes and exhibitions. Every year at this time, they run the Celebration of American Crafts where local artists display their work for sale on multiple floors of the gorgeous gallery space. There’s pottery, textiles, jewelry, glassware, woodwork, you name it. Not that any of us students are in much of a position to know New Haven history, but this is apparently the 40th year of this exhibition. (I discovered it last year and was able to get a nice hand-dyed silk scarf that endeared me to my fiance’s grandmother. And this afternoon I managed to knock off a few key items off my holiday shopping list.)

For those who like browsing arts and crafts fairs, or are looking for unique, locally produced gifts, the Creative Arts Workshop is a refreshing step outside our business bubble. The Celebration gallery runs through Dec. 24, with a few other events interspersed throughout — like a Bowl-a-Thon fundraiser taking place tomorrow, Nov. 23. For a very reasonable donation of $10 or $15, you get a handcrafted ceramic bowl of your choice filled with soup, and fresh bread. Proceeds go to the Community Soup Kitchen. If tomorrow’s weather is anything like today’s, that sounds like a great Sunday afternoon activity to me.

It’s been a while, but seeing that it’s another Friday and I’m chillin’ in the Hall of Mirrors, I figure it’s time for another post.

I’ve been here in New Haven for the past few days to help Microsoft with recruiting. It’s been a good time so far. Aside from the official events, I’ve been spending some quality time in my old haunts (the Hall of Mirrors and Food for Thought) hanging out and talking to people while doing a bit of work in between. The only difference is that instead of doing classwork, I’m doing work work (or “real” work). It’s been great catching up and seeing people’s reactions as they realize that I’m not really supposed to be here. (-;

A lot of people have asked me how it feels to come back. Truthfully, it really doesn’t feel that strange. It feels similar to how I felt when I came back for my second year here – I knew almost all the second years and there were a lot of new faces coming in the first year class. I’m sure it will feel different next year when all the faces will be new, save a few from 2010 that I happen to know. Still, I’m planning to return as often as possible. I love Seattle, but I have fond memories of my time in New Haven.

Oh… and last night I went out to a birthday gathering and ended up at S’wings followed by Club Med. Nope, things really haven’t changed that much!

…and away we go!  It’s hard to believe the first week has come and gone but there is no question that life both at SOM and here in the ‘Have in general is in full swing!

Our first week was definitely packed.  We started with some basics of elasticity, fundamentals of debits and credits, and the probability of Mr. T, from The A Team, saying “fool & sucker” in a 5min segment of the show (he’s a legend in our halls)…Our Interpersonal Dynamics course hit most of us pretty hard as we all came to terms with the fact that business school is not just about learning the technical skills but also about developing our soft skills and taking time for introspection and reflection.

No doubt, next week will be more of a whirlwind than this past, but if this week was any indication it will be filled with much excitement and the opportunity to push ourselves beyond our current limits!

Please describe your short and long term goals and how your previous experience and an MBA will help you to achieve these goals. (500 words maximum.)

In 2004, sixty-five percent of Yale MBA graduates accepted full-time offers in finance, manufacturing, or consulting. Seven percent accepted jobs in a category labeled “non-profit/public”. My long-term career plan is to be part of this public interest category.

Unlike most of my peers with an investment banking background, upon completing an MBA I intend to exit the finance field completely. Two years of investment banking experience has provided me with a foundation in finance, modeling, and valuation. Now I feel ready to pursue an MBA with a particular emphasis on my true interests – nonprofit management and corporate social responsibility. - (Written in September, 2005)

These were the opening paragraphs of my Yale SOM application essays. I started writing my essays shortly after taking the GMAT in the summer of 2005, nearly 3 years ago. I didn’t really know what I was talking about when I tackled the classic “Why an MBA, Why Yale, why Now?” kind of question, but I remember very clearly that Yale SOM stood out as a rather unconventional business school.

I remember reading about the school’s mission – educating leaders for business and society – and noting Yale’s career statistics in more traditional MBA fields (banking, consulting), while also reading about alumni that have done some neat work with organizations in community development, microfinance, and other nonprofit ventures. I remember reading about GSE, an international probono consulting experience run entirely by students. I remember discovering the school’s small class size, and being excited about the opportunity to get to know my classmates, instead of being just another number. And I remember that day in January 2006, when I received an email from SOM’s admissions committee informing me that I had indeed been accepted to the Yale School of Management, class of 2008.

Its certainly been a long journey – secretly prepping for the GMATs in the summer of 2005, to working on my application essays at home after a late night at the office, to finally leaving the investment banking industry after letting my bosses know that I had decided to matriculate at Yale SOM. But as everybody says, the experience went by way too quickly.

The highlights of my 2 years at Yale are undoubtedly the friendships that I’ve formed here. Of particular note is my study group, a weird, eclectic, group of people. On the career front we have little in common – after graduating from Yale we will be working across sectors – marketing, technology, corporate finance, sales and trading, and nonprofit consulting. I’m not entirely sure what it was that brought us together, but for better or worse we managed to grow very close throughout the 2 years. Not too many study groups last the entire MBA experience but I’ve been blessed with a group of people that really have been my 2nd family here in New Haven. Of course, outside of the study group are also a group of people whom I’ve formed what I suspect will be lifelong friendships. They are, what I like to call my “sticky friends”, and truly an unexpected feature of coming back to grad school. Indeed, without these wonderful and fantastic people, I believe my MBA experience would have been a little less fulfilling, a little less interesting, and a lot less fun.

On the career side, Yale SOM has been everything that I needed it to be. As a relative newbie in the nonprofit world I was fortunate to be surrounded by like-minded people who took the school’s mission seriously, weaving the nonprofit world into the everyday fabric of my MBA experience. From my trip to Brazil last year for GSE, to working on the internship fund and spending the summer in Washington DC with the United Way of America, to ultimately landing a full time position in nonprofit consulting with CCS Fundraising, Yale is a community that encouraged me to pursue my interests and take on a relatively unusual career path for a former investment banker.

To those thinking about an MBA or about to enroll in an MBA program, my advice to you is simple – do not make the experience merely about obtaining the “letters”. The MBA experience is truly enriching, a chance to explore your passions, meet interesting people, see the world, and have a lot of fun. I would do it again in a heartbeat, and I’m so sad that its over.

As for this blog, I have a feeling that this may well be my final entry. If it is, I truly hope that you’ve been entertained by my account of time at Yale SOM. I’ve enjoyed keeping a log of my shenanigans, and I’m sure years from now when I re-read these entries and review the pictures I’ll have a good laugh. As always, pictures from the graduation ceremony are in collage form below.

Goodbye Yale. It was fun.