Graduated but not Gone!

This is my first post as an alumna (gasp!) of NYU Stern! I am in major denial right now and I am hanging onto Stern as I continue to serve as a Graduate Ambassador throughout the summer before I start my full-time job in September. I couldn’t bear to leave just yet!

The week leading up to Graduation, Senior Week as we call it, was packed with fun events organized by our great student leaders in SGov (Stern Student Government). We celebrated for a week from Newport, RI to The Frying Pan to the Beach @ the Dream hotel here in NYC. Stern keeps it classy.

Graduation itself was bittersweet. It was really emotional seeing hundreds of students clad in purple robes gather at the esteemed Radio City Music Hall a few Thursdays ago for the ceremony. It was my first time there and it’s a beautiful venue. We all sat with our Blocks, which reminded me of those first days of LAUNCH when we are all just getting to know each other and forming friendships. I know it’s definitely not the last occasion where I will spend time with my block as they are truly friends for life.

We had a few keynote speakers including our classmate David Kuperstein, popular professor Charlie Murphy, and CEO of Mastercard Ajay Banga. Mr. Banga emphasized “doing well while doing good” and reminded us of the symbolic Stern “Torch” that we must carry on. Murphy joked that it was always “better to be rich than poor” and I will miss how he regaled our investment banking class with endless stories from his years in the industry. We capped off graduation later that night with a great party for our entire class

While many of my close friends remain in NYC, some are moving far away to places like Seattle, San Francisco or Colombia. Some have already left NYC for good and last week was filled with goodbye parties.

Fortunately, we MBA 3’s (as alumnae are now called) have started a “Sternies Summer Camp” group for those of us who will remain in NYC and haven’t started working yet so we can continue hanging out with fellow Sternies who are also in denial about graduation.