Full-time MBA Blog – Page 15

October 2, 2015

One Month In – Reflecting On My Summer Internship Experience

It has almost been a month since the semester begun and I am definitely overdue for a post. This semester has been quite busy. Once again, I somehow ended up doing much more than I intended – I am working as a Graduate Fellow for the Office of Career Development (OCD), planning the spring break trip for Stern in Africa, and taking an education practicum at Columbia Law that’s worth 12 credits – I feel like all of these deserve their own posts (more to come)!! Of course I love being busy and being active but as I sit in front of this computer, 10pm on a Sunday night, after a weekend trying to catch up so that I can start the week fresh – I know that I definitely need to learn the definition of work/life balance.

Today though, I want to talk about my summer internship! I spent my summer in San Francisco working for a tech company. I was on the sales team, and had an account management role. Funny enough, it took me a couple of visits to our client’s office in San Jose for me to realize that I was in the famous Silicon Valley! You should have seen the smile on my face!!

I spent a lot of time recruiting last year, as I was trying to figure out what I would enjoy doing the most. I am a very curious person, and can see myself doing very different things. Before accepting this offer though, I was hesitating between this and a startup. The startup was in New York, and I would have had an operations role. This was a great opportunity to do work where I would have immediately seen the impact that I was having. However, I chose to accept the San Francisco offer for two reasons:

The exposure: I was part of a program that was recruiting for African countries – which is where I want to end up eventually. This was a great opportunity for me to be able to learn more about what the company was doing, and to network with people on the ground.
The role: I had never done sales as a role on its own, and wanted to see how it would feel, since that is what most multinational firms recruit for in Africa. I had a great team, and enjoyed my projects. Even though I would be successful in sales, I now know that I really do enjoy operations, and that I prefer working with clients on their strategy, operational improvements, implementations models, and such…

Finally, I had never been to California. Since I am not planning on spending my life in the US (so far), I took the opportunity and played tourist. My sister visited me from Toronto, and we went to Napa. I also visited the Big Sur, Monterey, and went to LA. I loved that I had the time to go to the gym, cook, and explore the city with friends. Overall I loved my summer experience: I learned a lot, had impact on my team, and discovered a new region. I left feeling refreshed and I cannot wait to see what this year has in store 🙂

September 24, 2015February 6, 2024

Allow Me to Introduce … Part 1

Hello everyone! September at NYU Stern means … navigating classes, corporate presentations, coffee chats, informational interviews all within the first few weeks of school. What is an MBA student to do during these exhausting and overwhelming times?

Everyone in business is familiar with the concept of a Board of Directors – a body of elected officials who oversee any major decisions of an organization. During my time at Stern, I’m a firm believer in the concept of nurturing a Personal Board of Directors – a group of friends that you can lean on during stressful times, share your excitement with when you get that first interview call-back, and someone to split that Lyft Line carpool fee with when going home after Beer Blast on Thursday nights.

I’d like to introduce everyone to Martin Lynch, a full-time MBA2 student at NYU Stern and one of my dear friends. Go grab a snack and join us in our coffee chat below!

Above: A picture that perfectly captures my friendship with Martin

Evelyn: Hi Martin! So can you tell the readers how you and I first met?
Martin: We met on the first day of LAUNCH orientation last year. Gosh, it’s hard to picture a time when we didn’t know each other! I knew we had to be friends after seeing your masterpiece crayon drawings during one of the more creative team-building exercises on the second day of school.

E: You were such a great help during some of our group projects together last year. Can you tell me what has been your favorite class at Stern so far?
M: This is a toughie, but if I had to pick one, I’d go with Foundations of Finance with Professor William Silber. On the first day, I was so intimidated by the subject matter and some of his classroom policies. For example, if you’re one minute late, you won’t be allowed in! But by the end of the course, I was totally hypnotized by him, and, surprisingly, also by the theories of finance. He has the most expressive voice of any professor I’ve studied under and he is so dedicated to making sure his students are able to grasp even the most complex financial theories.

E: You’re always walking around the halls with a smile on your face. What’s been your favorite memory at Stern?
M: My favorite memory at Stern so far happened last year when I heard from the Stern administration that they would be installing eleven gender neutral restrooms in KMC. Rachel Hurnyak (Class of 2015) and I approached Neil Rader, NYU Stern Chief Operations Officer, and Janet Lyden, NYU Stern Associate Director, to see if installing one gender neutral bathroom was a possibility. Neil said, “If we’re going to do one, why don’t we do one on every floor?” The turnaround time on this project was remarkable. This experience reaffirmed all the reasons why I chose to come to Stern.

E: As a friend, I know better than to talk to you before you’ve had your coffee. Where is your favorite local coffee spot around Stern?
M: Box Kite Coffee on Avenue A and St. Marks Place. Coming straight from the mouth of a total coffee snob: the coffee there is just ridiculous…ridiculously good!

E: Complete this sentence “When I have 30 minutes free on campus I like to …”
M: Find my friends and shadow them! It’s very exciting how each individual at Stern has so many cool things going on. Whenever I have a free moment, I love to walk around campus and catch up with them. It usually ends up being 30 minutes of me saying, “Oh my gosh” “Whoa” “No way!”

E: Quickfire question time! Getting to class, do you take the school elevator or the stairs?
M: I will never understand how the elevators at KMC work, so I stick to the stairs. My glutes and quads are so thankful for the confusing elevators.

E: If you want to catch up with a friend: Sosnoff or 4th Floor Starbucks Lounge?
M: Neither! I love the alcove in the lobby. It is so much fun to catch up there and also squeeze in some high quality people watching.

E: If you need to study: Stern Quiet Room or Bobst Library?
M: Quiet room for sure. Bobst feels far too overwhelming!

E: Where did you intern this past summer? What did you like the most about it?
M: I interned at a food tech startup, Freshly. Prior to Stern, I had worked in larger-sized companies and it was so neat to be able to get exposure to a smaller, more entrepreneurial environment. Also, working at a food company meant a lot of food tastings! I’m now a budding food critic.

Hope everyone enjoyed meeting another fresh voice at Stern! Who will I pick next? What cool story will they have? Stay tuned for my next coffee chat series!

August 26, 2015October 28, 2015

That’s a Wrap! Reflections From My Summer Internship

Happy summer, everyone! Wow, I can’t believe that it has been a year since I moved to New York City to attend NYU Stern. For those of you who have been following my blog posts, you know exactly how much my life has changed since then.

I just wrapped up my summer internship with Showtime Networks a few weeks ago. The company launched their first direct-to-consumer mobile app this summer, which I got to help with. What an incredible moment!

Many companies have established summer internship programs for MBA interns and Showtime was no different. We had organized events such as a weekly speaker series, networking breakfasts, and intern summer projects on top of our daily work loads.

For my summer internship project, part of my final recommendation included making revenue projections which were calculated using frameworks that I had learned in my Stern classes. Professor Damodaran from Corporate Finance would be so proud!

Overall, the summer internship is a great way for MBA students to confirm whether or not they can picture themselves at a particular new company or industry. For some, it justifies their career decision and solidifies what they want to do after graduation. For others, their summer internships may have fallen short of expectations. But NYU Stern and the trusty Office of Career Development will help students recruit again in the fall.

Unfortunately, the entertainment industry does not extend full-time job offers immediately following a summer internship like some of the traditional industries, so I will have to re-recruit in the spring prior to graduation. However, Showtime asked me to return for a part-time internship this fall. I was honored and happy to accept. Wish me luck this fall semester – it will be a busy one!

April 28, 2015

On Part-time Internships

Hi everyone,

I hope that you are finally starting to enjoy the semi-warm weather outside. On my part, I cannot wait until school is out and I have slightly more time to be outside. This semester has been extremely busy as I took on a part-time spring internship on top of my full class schedule, and my club activities. But let’s start from the beginning: Why do people take on part-time internships?

The pros

1.You can try a new industry or a new role

My background is in retail, and I am currently working for a foundation. I have always been fascinated by the work that they do, and wanted to understand how it works. Now I understand the different aspects of impact investing and how different companies approach their different CSR strategies. I could even hold my own on agricultural value chains discussion when it comes to crops like palm oil or peanuts.

2. It’s an opportunity to add onto your work experience
Since the work that I am currently doing is different from what I did before, I am using what I already knew differently, and acquiring a new skill-set. This is also an additional story that will come in handy once I start recruiting again.

3. You explore a company that you might want to work for in the future, and extend your network
Some part-timers extend their internships into the summer, and some even get full-time job offers. I now have a new network, especially since I’m new to New York. Even if my internship ends as just an internship, I have met inspiring people that I hope to remain connected with.

The cons
1. It can be a huge time commitment
My internship required a minimum commitment of 24 hours a week, so 3 full days. However, some of my classmates have internships that are 10-15 hours per week. This varies depending on the company that you are working for. I thought that this would be a great opportunity so I accepted my offer, but this has definitely affected the way my semester went.

2. Most are not paid
This wasn’t a deal breaker for me since I am an international student and can’t work off-campus. I also considered the fact that I was in school full-time and hadn’t been planning on working during this time. However, as a domestic student you can sometimes negotiate a salary that helps a little with the semester.

3. Work responsibilities
Considering the fact that you are only part-time, sometimes you get stuck with the small odd jobs. People might feel that you cannot work on the pressing priorities since you will not be there to follow up. It becomes up to you to create your own job, and to show that you can own a project.

All in all, it was a great experience. I may have over-committed myself a bit, but I am so glad I have made some great friends who helped me stay on track this semester. I can already see how what I learned here will help me in the future, and I met inspiring people.

Have a great week,

Michaella

April 23, 2015

THE FINAL STRETCH!

1 more month of school. Then we graduate. Finito.

It’s a very weird feeling for me and my MBA2 classmates. What seemed like an endless stretch of time — classes, group projects, and Beer Blast Thursday — has whittled down to just a handful of days. I look at my schedule over the next month and every night is essentially spoken for–and, sadly, a lot of this time will need to be used to say goodbye.

I’m lucky that a lot of my friends here are remaining in the NY/east coast area–but there are several friends heading to SF and LA and international cities far away. I am excited for them and the adventures to come–and partially jealous that they can avoid the NY winter–but sad that our carefree days of business school (which have allowed me to hang out with so many friends every day), are coming to an end.

The end of the semester also means the concurrent due dates of all those “final deliverables” that have been piling up in all of our classes. Between my five classes I have six final presentations (yes that’s right–one of them has two). What makes it complicated is that, because everyone is in disparate electives, coordinating group schedules between 5-6 group members can be a bit challenging.

We have some exciting end-of-year events coming though, so I’m excited for those. One is STERN FOLLIES (it’s tomorrow!), which is an annual musical-comedy revue that is entirely written, produced, directed and starring Stern students from both classes. This year’s show is titled STERNIE NIGHT LIVE. My classmate, Mike, is the mastermind behind the show this year and–as he is one of the funniest guys I know–I’m really looking forward to what the show looks like.

The final Beer Blast on May 7th is also a hugely exciting event–it’s always run by our LGBTQ organization OUTCLASS, and is always well attended and a lot of fun. The night ends with a huge lip-synch competition, and I know SOME teams are already preparing (overachievers)! I prepare to participate in that event as an enthusiastic spectator, but it’s always fun to watch your classmates shake off some steam from the semester.

Anyway, here we go into the final stretch. Wish me luck on my projects!

Matt

April 16, 2015

Allyship at Stern

I have been proud to be a member of the Stern community since I enrolled in August 2013. However, my pride has increased even more this year. Several of my classmates have been forging a conversation about diversity and what it means for the academic and business communities. They are willing to discuss the uncomfortable, and have been holding the administration and their fellow students accountable.

For example, in December, in response to the Michael Brown and Eric Garner controversy, a group of students came together to hold a special session of “Stern Speaks*.” Three students spoke about their experiences growing up as black Americans, and Professor Dolly Chugh facilitated a conversation reflecting on current events and how they related to our experiences at Stern. Over 250 students, faculty, and administrators (including Dean Henry) attended and were engaged in having an honest, thoughtful discussion.

This week, the school’s Affinity Clubs have come together to host Ally Week, a week of programming focused on the various ways one can be an ally. The week has included a discussion on unconscious bias, a series of lunch circles on different topics of allyship, a living exhibit where members of the community could reflect about being an ally or receiving the support of one, and a Stern Speaks featuring students sharing stories of allyship.

It has been incredibly powerful to be on campus this week and to be part of the discussion. Students from different clubs, backgrounds, and career interests have come together to demonstrate how inclusive our community truly is. I am grateful to my classmates spearheading this effort, and I am excited to see how our community continues to build on this conversation.

Check out the promotional videos of Allyweek here, here, and here.

*Stern Speaks is a monthly event where an MBA1 and MBA2 share “who they are, not what they do.” The speakers each talk for 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of Q&A. It is one of my favorite programs at Stern.

April 15, 2015October 28, 2015

That Non-Traditional Recruiting Life

Hey everyone!

Today I wanted to share my unique recruiting experience at Stern. For those who haven’t read my past blog posts, I am a career-switcher who has chosen to recruit in a non-traditional industry (entertainment to be exact). “Non-traditional” at Stern is a very broad category that is generously labeled as anything that is not banking, management consulting, or marketing.

My early adult life in one sentence = I went to high school, went to West Point, and went straight into the military for five years. I had 60 days of freedom between my last day in the Army and my first day at Stern. I knew before LAUNCH that I had a big challenge ahead of me: with zero entertainment experience on my résumé, how could I possibly prove to the entertainment industry that not only was I passionate about the industry, but also qualified to work in it?

Some criteria I gave myself:

1. Leave no stone unturned: Knowing my target industry helped me focus my time and energy. I researched into every area of entertainment in order to whittle down where I found the best fit. When I applied to Stern, I had two companies that I could picture myself working for. 6 months later, when I actually started applying for summer internships, I ended up applying to over 12 different companies.

2. Listen to those that have come before you: Coffee chats with the MBA2s are an amazing way to get an honest and thorough first impression on the industry you want to recruit for. I found that not only do the second-year Sternies offer great advice on how they succeeded, but also gave helpful advice on what they would have done differently if they were in my shoes again.

3. Build a diverse network: I realized early on that my network should not only be comprised of MBA2s (re: #2), but also a variety of Stern alumni and non-Stern connections. There are a number of opportunities to meet Stern alumni in your industry thanks to events and panels hosted by OCD or the school clubs. Networking outside of Stern took more time and effort, but it was a great way for me to get a second-opinion on areas I was doing well in or areas I could improve in.

4. Think outside the box: Besides declaring my academic specialization in Entertainment, Media, and Technology, I found that immersing myself in entertainment during my free time helped me understand the industry better. I attended entertainment conferences around New York City throughout the year (the Stern Entertainment Media and Technology Association is a great resource for these events). Also, in addition to being a full-time MBA1 student, I am a part-time intern this spring at an entertainment media company in order to build some more experience before the summer.

5. Be patient: By end of January, almost all of the MBA1s recruiting for traditional industries knew where they will be going that upcoming summer. The entertainment industry doesn’t even begin interviewing until February-March. Just because a company had not contacted me by February did not mean that they were not interested. Even with interviews, the recruiting process is not standardized, which can be frustrating because it is hard to compare opportunities. I was getting asked to come in for first-round interviews at Company A the same week that I was going in for final-round interviews at Company B.

And now … I am excited to share with everyone that I have accepted an offer with Showtime Networks for a summer internship! I am thrilled and so humbled with how everything turned out this spring. I firmly believe that being at NYU Stern was pivotal in successfully landing my summer internship.

April 15, 2015October 28, 2015

Three Months in the Blink of an Eye

Hey everyone! I am going to pull a big blogger faux pas so please don’t hate me. I am consolidating some of my most memorable social and cultural experiences (thus far) from second semester into one post. How easy! How efficient! How “b-school” of me!

– Think Social Drink Local: A student fashion show organized by Stern’s Luxury & Retail Club and Social Enterprise Association. All of the proceeds go to the Stern Social Impact Internship Fund. The fund is a stipend that supports full-time first year MBA students going into summer internships for non-profit organizations who don’t always have the budget to pay their interns. It was a great excuse to get dressed up with my fellow Sternies and see some of our classmates (and our Dean!) walk the runway.

– Spring Break, India Trek: With our trusty South Asian Business Society trek leaders at the helm (thanks Sameer and Abhay!), I and 30 other classmates traveled to India this March to explore five cities in 10 days. We visited the cities of Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Goa, and Mumbai. The country was just as beautiful as I imagined and the food was even better. We had our fair share of cultural sightseeing (had to get that perfect Taj Mahal Instagram shot), local marketplace shopping, and even got to squeeze in some relaxing beach time. I miss the naan!

– Passport Day: The Stern Student Government organizes this annual even as a way for the student body to share their country’s diverse background and heritage through serving local cuisines, music, and dance. The girls and guys who performed in the India dance routine stayed up till 11pm practicing one night! It was an impressive event and reminded me of why I love being at Stern, a place that is brimming with culture and collaboration.

I cannot believe we only have 5 weeks left in the school year! Where has the time gone? Stay tuned for some exciting updates in my next post!

March 31, 2015

The Tales of an International Student

It is finally spring break! And while some of my peers are travelling the world, discovering new places – I have never been happier to stay in NYC. You see I am still recovering from a little mishap that happened to me about 2 months ago – where I literally saw all of my dreams and aspirations flash in front of my eyes. Ok, I will stop with the dramatics and tell you what happened.

I went to Montreal for an interview, thinking that I would be gone for one day and then back. On my way back, the U.S. immigration wouldn’t let me enter the States, and do you know why? My passport had about 4 months left – the minimum required to enter the US is 6 months. I had naively assumed that the standard was 3 months, that I still had a month, and that I could renew it once I was back. They asked me to either get an extension, or to get a new passport. Being a Rwandan citizen, a panic ensued. Our consulates do not provide passport extensions, and I would need a new passport all the way from Rwanda – which usually takes 2 to 3 months.

And so my month of waiting began. I told my professors and my spring internship what happened, and that I would be starting late. I left Montreal for Ottawa where the Rwandan Consulate is to ask for their help. I sent an expedited request to my uncle who represented me with the ministry in Rwanda, and asked for a new passport on my behalf. Then I went to Toronto and raided my sister’s closet :). Since I literally had come for one night, I definitely didn’t have clothes to last me a month. I spent the month with my sister, half of it visiting with friends and trying to enjoy my time in Toronto, and the other half panicking about the classes that I was missing, and the spring internship that I had not started. Finally my new passport arrived, and within a week I had a new student visa from the American embassy and I was on my way back.

4 Weeks! From January 22,2015 – February 19^th, 2015… The moral of the story is that really 2 things would have helped me avoid this situation from the beginning:

1. Leveraging the Office of Global Services (OGS) – whether it was by going to the office and talking to them, or looking at the website

OGS is the office that helps international students. They issue our I-20s, give us International Students Do/Don’ts Training before school starts, and help us when we have questions. Had I thought of checking with them, I would have seen it written clearly: Only travel if your passport is valid 6 months into the future.

2. Knowing my rights

Even though my passport was valid for less than 6 months, technically they could/should have let me in. There is some small fine print that says that since I had been out of the country for less than 30 days (and in my case, 1 day!) I could have gone through and renewed my passport in the US. However, I did not know that and therefore could not build a case for it.

As international students, we have to pay attention to a few more things, and our student status is the priority! Thankfully that scare is over, and I will use this week to organize myself and catch up on my life – as they say, we live and learn!

Have a great week,

Michaella

March 12, 2015

A Few of My Favorite Things…(Part 2)

We are half way through the second semester, which means I am officially 7/8’s of the way done with my MBA. Many of us are headed out of town for spring break this weekend, so I figured it’s a good time to share the second edition of my favorite things at Stern. As mentioned in my previous post, these are a few of the reasons I love being a Stern student:

My Finance Classes: Upon enrolling at Stern, I thought I would fill my schedule with “softer” classes such as leadership and management. I wasn’t even sure I would take finance. However, after my first semester, I saw how valuable the finance knowledge and skill set would be for my career. Subsequently, I took Foundations of Finance last spring, and became hooked. Since then I have also taken Corporate Finance, Investment Banking, and Financial Modeling. It is clear why Stern has such a strong reputation for finance, when these classes and professors can convert even the most reluctant student into an enthusiastic financial modeler.

Beer Blast: As mentioned in my previous post, Beer Blast is a weekly social gathering held every Thursday. SGov and student clubs provide the food, beer, and theme decorations,* while full- and part-time students mix and mingle for four hours. Beer Blast is often my favorite part of the week. I know that I’ll be able to catch up with friends that I might not see during the week, and often times get to know some of my classmates better. There are always a few hotly contested beer pong games being played, and an occasional dance party. It doesn’t get much better than a Thursday night in the basement of the Kaufman Management Center hanging out with my classmates.

Block One: All incoming Stern students are assigned to “blocks” of 65-70 students with whom you take your core classes with. My block, fondly nicknamed Block Won, has been the cornerstone of my community at Stern. Our block had instant rapport, and has been hanging out since the first week of school. We have one or two block-wide parties a semester. I also frequently partner with Block One members for group projects. This is also a community that I’m confident I’ll stay in touch with post-Stern. I look forward to more block parties for those of us who stay in New York, and getting coffee with others as I travel for consulting.

All this being said, I am certainly glad I have another 1/8 of my MBA career to go! The next eight weeks will be filled with group projects, final presentations and exams, a class trip to Puerto Rico, time with friends and plenty of Beer Blast. I could not be happier.

*Beer blast themes range from an Oscar party hosted by the Entertainment, Media & Technology Association to the Halloween party hosted by the Entrepreneurs’ Exchange.