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Personal Life Meets Stern

While many of my classmates spent their spring breaks in far off exotic locations, I decided to take a more localized, educational approach to my week off. As I may have mentioned in an earlier blog, I am in a distance relationship. Aside from my personal desire to remain as debt-free as possible (and not spend money on a vacation), I preferred to spend time with my boyfriend over the break and visit with some college friends in Washington, DC. As we toured the monuments and museums, I reflected on my choice to have a quieter spring break than many of my classmates. While I was admittedly somewhat jealous of their travels, I knew I’d made the right decision for myself – one my fellow Sternies had even encouraged me when I grappled with the choice. Again, my friends here serve as more than just classroom comrades. They are advisors and confidants.

One of the things that struck me most when I began at Stern was the number of people in committed relationships. We instantly found common ground and were able to openly share about the challenges of balancing our new lives in business school with our loved one. Make no mistake, it is challenging. There are tradeoffs for sure, but I have seen the way the Stern community is willing to adopt partners. I was concerned that my desire to sometimes spend time with my boyfriend over my classmates would cause a social stigma. Instead, I find that they encourage me to do so. My cohorts understand that business school, even without classes on Fridays, does not make it easy for my boyfriend and I to spend time together. As I agonized over how to spend my spring break, my friends listened and sympathized with my dilemma.

I know there are many horror stories about relationships going awry in business school, and trust me, some do. But if there is one thing that surprised me about Stern, it’s that my classmates, single or otherwise, support me far beyond the classroom and workspace. Given the big transition that business school is for any couple, I must say that Stern has made my relationship more manageable than I anticipated. Even the career counselors helped me determine my recruiting timeline so that I could plan our anniversary. Not to be sappy, but the support of the Stern community for my relationship warms my heart.

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Inside the Stern Community

As the application process is just about winding down, we have had the opportunity to meet and talk with so many prospective students over the past few months.  I thought I would use this blog post to answer one of the most popular questions I have received from many of you and give you another peak into what makes NYU Stern such an awesome place to be.

Something that stands out about Stern and has made this experience truly incredible, surpassing all of my expectations of business school, is the Stern community. I can honestly say I have never met such a diverse group of brilliant, talented, friendly people! Shout out to my fellow classmates – YOU. GUYS.  ARE. AWESOME.

Everyone here at Stern is extremely collaborative, whether we are working together on a project for the Stern Consulting Corps, coming up with a new business idea for our Digital Strategy class project or studying together for a much dreaded accounting midterm.  Each day I continue to be impressed with my classmates’ desire to help one another out.  I have never once felt in competition with my classmates or that anyone was looking out for anything other than my very best interest. I have made friendships that I know will last a lifetime, expanded my network to an incredible group of people and really feel like Stern is a community that I will always be able to call home.

During the month of January while I was a first year I participated in Mock Madness, a recruiting even hosted by the GMA {Graduate Marketing Association}. Mock madness was a full week where my fellow classmates and I prepped each other for interviews, spending countless hours mock interviewing each other, sharing feedback and helping each other present their absolute best selves for their interviews. This is a shining example of how the Stern community truly pulls together in an “us against the world” mentality. Despite the fact that we were all interviewing for some of the same companies and the same internships, it never once felt like a competition.

This speaks not just to my fellow students but to the professors and faculty here at Stern as well. I have found that all of my professors are extremely accessible and their door is always open (as long as you can find their office) to help with questions about the class, share advice on projects or just generally chat about interesting issues. It is a rare thing to be in the presence of so many brilliant minds and I have made sure to take full advantage of the opportunity.

If you haven’t already, I would encourage all of you to come and visit us for a tour, class visit or just a casual chat with our Graduate Ambassadors as you will get a great feel for what the Stern community is really all about!

Until next time,

Kristin