Month: March 2018

While we all come to business school to hone our analytical or quantitative skills, build upon the experiences we had while working or switch careers, another reason we come back to school is to learn from others. At Stern, I have had the opportunity and pleasure of taking classes taught by the most well-known professors in their respective fields: Aswath Damodaran, Scott Galloway and Charlie Murphy. I’ve learned Corporate Finance, Brand Strategy and all about Financial Services. I have also learned what it means to be an adult, what it means to live life and what it means to succeed in the real world. As Sternies, we want to succeed in our personal and professional lives. We want to become CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. We want to be the next big leaders, following in the footsteps of the greatest.

But, how did they get there? I truly enjoyed attending every Charlie Murphy lecture last semester, especially because it taught me exactly what investment bankers do, something I did not understand before. My favorite Charlie Murphy lecture was our final class and the end to his last fall semester. Not only did we learn about the financial crisis and how the housing bubble burst, but we also learned Charlie Murphy’s top 10 life lessons. It was unforgettable, and my friend and I left the classroom still talking about how we can apply these life lessons in our careers.

I impart on you the wisdom that I have learned from Charlie Murphy:

1. When you start work, differentiate yourself – “physical not digital”
2. Have empathy
3. Have humility
4. Don’t have kids if all you care about is your career
5. Live your life, not somebody else’s
6. Take risks now
7. Have a hobby
8. When you start, work hard, but don’t take on more than you can
9. Create your network
10. Figure out how to spend more time with the CEO / people at that level

At Stern, you are constantly learning how to improve yourself personally and professionally. With exciting projects, exciting class topics and truly inspirational professors, the opportunities to grow yourself at Stern are endless. Stern really is an “education in possible.”

Reflections on First Semester

I chose Stern partly for the obvious reasons. It is a top MBA program that is well-respected and has a robust alumni base in my industry of focus. More, my wife and I relished the opportunity to move to New York and have a new adventure after calling Boston home for 8 years. However, it was the people I met during my interview on campus that really sold me on attending Stern. I vividly remember walking into KMC through the Bobst entrance and being warmly greeted by the security guard. After he let me in and wished me luck, I ran into multiple Sternies on my way to the admissions office all of whom went out of their way to welcome me to Stern, give me advice and wish me luck. From that moment, I knew Stern was the place for me.

Fast forward to August. I am fresh back from my honeymoon and ready to dive into LAUNCH. The days leading up to LAUNCH were filled with anticipation, excitement and nervousness. I was excited to begin my MBA journey and to meet my classmates, yet nervous about how I would get along with everyone and how I would fit in. About 10 minutes on campus, those nerves were replaced by a feeling of comfort and belonging. The feeling I had was the same as I experienced during the day of my interview.

After LAUNCH, first semester is a blur. Instead of days filled with team building events, workshops, and happy hours I now had class, recruiting events…and happy hours. Moreover, recruiting begins in earnest. Particularly for those of us recruiting in the fall, first semester is daunting. The best part about it is everyone is going through a similar experience and that shared…misery?….is something that helps further solidify relationships. Before I knew it, the first semester was over and it was onto winter break.

Returning to campus at the end of January (January and interview season can be a post all on its own) is a special experience. The feeling I had right before classes started was similar to the feeling I had at LAUNCH, except the nervousness was replaced with excitement. Seeing your friends after a month, hearing about their travels and interviews and time off over a beer (or two) is GREAT. Also, second semester is less structured than the first so I had the opportunity to craft my own schedule, get involved with different activities and meet more people than the fall.

Hopefully I have been able to convey that I have truly loved every moment of my Stern experience… even the recruiting and finals. The academic programs are top notch, the faculty and staff are the best around, and you cannot beat the location. However, it is the students that truly separate Stern from its peers. My initial intuition served me well, and if I had to make the decision all over again it is safe to say I would make the same one again.

Over the winter break, I had the opportunity to explore three different countries: Colombia, Costa Rica, and Scotland. I went to Colombia for a wedding, Costa Rica for a Doing Business In (DBi) class, and Scotland for a Stern Signature project. Although packing for three different climates was a challenge (imagine boots, flip flops, sunglasses and thermals in one checked bag) I would not trade the experiences I gained from each trip for anything.  

My break began with me meeting up with classmates in Colombia. We flew to the country to celebrate the wedding of a classmate who I met during the Consortium’s orientation program. I always knew that the most valuable part of business school was the relationships you built but this trip solidified that fact. We spent a week laughing together, partying together, and crying tears of pure joy as we watched our friend marry his best friend. The trip was amazing and it made me realize how I lucky I was to find such a strong community Stern.

After leaving Colombia I flew to Costa Rica for a DBi class. The class, which focused on sustainable development, took place at the INCAE Business School. We had the opportunity to learn more about the rice and coffee industries through case studies and site visits. We also learned more about the tourism industry and the tough questions that come along with it. Overall, the trip was a great learning experience and a fun way to build new relationships with classmates outside of my social circle.

My last trip was to the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. I went there for a Stern Signature Project, which is a program that pairs students with companies or organizations to help solve a problem. The company my team was assigned to work with was the Carloway Mill, one of the last three mills that produces Harris Tweed. My team was able to explore the island to see where the inspiration for the designs came from while interviewing key stakeholders. The town we stayed in had a population of 500, so it was completely different from our NYC experience. It was nice to be able to immerse ourselves in the culture so that we could have a better understanding of the mindset of the weavers and producers. The knowledge we took away from the trip was much more than we could have ever gained from a case study. We left excited about the relationships we had built and the ideas we had generated.

My classmates and I returned to classes and the halls were full of students exchanging stories about their Winter travels. Although I feel like I accomplished a lot during my 30-day winter break, my journey pales in comparison to the journeys of my classmates. It’s so exciting to hear about the diverse experiences and to see all the exciting things that everyone is working on. It’s clear that no one was truly “breaking” this winter.