Author: Matt Nathanson

Hi all,

I was asked to give a brief talk today on my favorite Stern professor — so thought I’d share what I have written here on the blog as well. Happy Spring! -Matt

Q: Who is your favorite Stern faculty member and/or what is your favorite course taken so far?

Hi My Name is MATT and I am going to talk today about my favorite Stern professor A MAN A MYTH A LEGEND–who has mastered the mystic art of CONTROLLING THE VOLUME OF HIS VOICE and MODULATING THE PACE of his delivery. Who can turn even the driest material into engaging, dynamic, and–frankly–wonderful lectures.

Professor William L. Silber. The Marcus Nadler Professor of Finance and Economics. White-haired Legend of the core MBA-required Foundations of Finance class. Internationally-recognized scholar of dynamism in securities markets. And First class oddball.

Odd indeed–but in the best possible way. Hilarious, off beat, RANDOMLY LOUD, and more than anything passionate about his specialization.

Finance scared me. I didn’t think I could do it. If the landscape of MBA is organized in a Braveheart style binary between the Poets and the Quants (Or quantitative-leaning students), I am most definitively a poet… I majored in English in college. I worked in media reviewing film script and pitches for six years. I had forgotten almost all the math that once rented tenuous apartment space in my brain. I was worried.

But the most valuable lesson Silber has taught me isn’t about Arbitrage, CAPM, or interest rates, but rather the fact that just because you haven’t been exposed to something…doesn’t mean it has to dominate you. (Like a less risky, more rewarding portfolio would dominate a lesser security as an investment.)

Professor Silber’s PASSION for finance comes through in his lectures–and they are the most engaging I’ve had so far here at Stern. They made me WANT to learn.

And now I’m ready to come out and say it–my deep dark secret — I LIKE FINANCE.

Silber got me here. And that’s why he is my favorite professor. But then again, Thursday is our Midterm. So, depending on how that goes, I’ll revisit this issue next week.

Back in the swing!

Second semester has started and it’s been chaotic — unlike last semester, where there was some time to “ramp up” and learn the ropes before classes really hit full stride, this semester is definitely more intense work-wise much more quickly.

Part of the situation is that most MBA1s have been able to move away form the “core classes” taken first semester and start electives.  Through electives you can craft whatever concentrations (or specializations) you want to in tailoring your MBA.

Mine are far-flung, as I’m not 100% sure yet what my final concentrations will be.  A major challenge for me this semester will be my Regression Analysis class–an advanced statistics course.  What’s interesting about this course is that I’m one of only two full time MBAs in it.  Many of the students are Stern undergraduates or from other graduate programs–a few PhD students, a few Masters, etc.  This diverse milieu is definitely a new experience for me but one that should add a lot to the class.  It’s going to be a pretty challenging class though–so I’ll keep you posted on my survival.

Otherwise I have a full course load ahead.  Helpfully, I secured an internship for the summer ahead-so that takes a bit of the pressure off.  Looking forward to some of this snow melting so the commute to school is a bit easier…but excited for a productive semester.

M

Study Room Wars!

Well not really, but study room space at this time of year–Final Exams begin next week–is at a premium.  At Stern you reserve rooms in two hour blocks.  These days, when your two hours are up, you’re almost guaranteed to get a knock on the door asking you to wrap up.   It makes sense: the study rooms are the best place to study on campus–so everyone wants a turn.

Studying in general at Stern is probably not much different than you may expect from undergrad or other programs.  Unlike law school where there is just one huge exam at the end of a course, typically courses here will have two or three “mini” exams throughout the semester.  It does make the material a bit more digestible, but between exams and other “deliverables” like case papers, there always seems to be something due.  Of my five “core” courses I’m currently enrolled in, four of them have actual final exams, and one has just a final (five page) paper.

The paper is written, so the only thing left to do is buckle down and get this Accounting memorized.  Good thing there is a Starbucks right across the way.

Hello Blog-readers; my name is Matt and I’m an MBA1 who has signed on to be one of Admissions’ featured bloggers.  Specifically, I come to you as someone who worked in television industry for seven years, someone who is on the EMTA (Entertainment, Media, Technology Association) board here at Stern, and someone who plans the “nontraditional” route for recruiting — that is, forgoing this first wave of banking/consulting/marketing internship interviews to look for (hope for?) opportunities in media later in the Spring.

Most deadlines for this first round of applications are due early to mid December, so it’s cover letter writing season for many MBAs.  I have been crafting a few which I’m about ready to send out (for specific companies that I am targeting, and who do in fact recruit now).  Still it doesn’t compare to some people (I have one study group member who is doing 15 applications, and is just getting started), but again that’s a function of one’s chosen industry.

Still, with a BIT of the calm before the application storm, some members of my block put together a brief respite this past weekend — a pre-Final exam, pre-application escape from the chaos of recruiting season.  It’s always great to get away, but particularly so when you can do it with new friends who you really are just beginning to get to know.  Though I see these same faces every day in Statistics class, friendships are really formed by the things we do outside of class.  That being said, I was lucky enough to be in a block (BLOCK ONE!) of students who are all–without exception–fantastic, open-minded, curious, fun-loving people from all over the globe.  Hence, we get along great.

So we went up to the Poconos, rented a cabin (with an outdoor Jacuzzi–that yes, I spent many hours in), and forgot about the stress of school for a few days.  We had a chili cook off, found a forest hike we were woefully under-prepared for (did you know it’s Bear Hunting season in Pennsylvania?  Neither did we.) and generally got to know each other away from the chaos of Manhattan.  Think everyone agrees it was a fantastic time and we hope to do it again, maybe expand it to a few hours so our entire block can join.  One great thing about being at Stern is of course enjoying the City that Never Sleeps, but if you’re a country kid (which I am, despite having city roots….not sure how that happened) it’s always amazing how close the mountains are (2.5 hours drive, in this case).

I wanted to open up my blogging with a description of this weekend retreat to stress how important the social element is during your time here.  Frankly, there’s a case to be made that everything you do in business is part of an elaborate social dance, and how you relate to and learn from your classmates is the perfect crucible for how well you will do in a business environment where teamwork is vital in getting the job done.  So, yes, go to that happy hour.  Yes, sign up for that trip with classmates.  Yes, definitely, participate.

And yes, take time for relaxation during the breaks we have.  We’re off this week for Thanksgiving, so it’ll be a nice couple of days of rest–punctuated, of course, with cover letter writing.  But that’s all in a day’s work for a Sternie.

Until next time, Eat Your Turkey and Have a Happy Thanksgiving-

Matt