Phew! What a week! Here’s a recap:
Monday – Today we all had our first MBA-level finance course. The professor is fantastic and left us with a rather difficult, real-life question to answer. He told us about the CFO of a pharmaceutical company that was faced with a difficult decision of whether to stop producing a life-saving drug that was only given to nine children in the U.S. because it was extremely expensive to produce (tens of millions). The CFO had to decide whether to stop production on this drug or not. A little too realistic for me!
After finance we had the first class of our continued HR course from the previous semester. This semester we will focus on working on our managerial abilities, as we identified them in our Living Documents last semester. In this class, we analyzed our learning strengths, and mine was somewhat of an odd-duck. It seems as though I learn through experience and theory. A rather strange dichotomy if you ask me. I’ll have to look into that further.
In the evening, I applied for my first Corporate Residency! I don’t know why, perhaps it was because this was the first one I applied to, but I was extremely nervous to press the submit button. It took a bit of talking myself into it, but I came to the conclusion that the Career Center would not have told me that my cover letter and resume were ready to go if they were not.
Tuesday – Tuesday was our first supply chain class, and one of the two times we start class at 8:30. In this class we went over the syllabus and started to talk about the basics of supply chain management; transportation, warehousing, and packaging. This class is dismissed at 10:50, which left me thinking, “What should I do with myself?” Of course, apply to another Corporate Residency!
Wednesday – Our second MBA finance class was held today, and we got to find out what the CFO did. Apparently he had a change of heart and decided to keep manufacturing the drug even though it was expensive because the bad press from upset families would have been damaging to the company. The company eventually figured out how to use a synthetic to produce the drug at a lower cost. Extremely interesting!
Today was also our first operations class. From what I’ve heard in the past, Operations can be a dry subject, but the professor kept us laughing. Also, he suggested that we watch “How It’s Made.” Any professor that gives me the green light to watch more TV is good in my book!
After Operations, there was free pizza in the grad lounge! This is something that the admissions department provides for us once a month and I’d have to say that we are all very thankful for it. Unfortunately I could not stay very long because the Finance and Investments Club had a trip to State Street. Here, we got to see the trading floor, much quieter than I had imagined, and we were able to speak with several State Street employees. This was a very successful event planned by the Finance club!
But my day didn’t end there – I had enough time to bring my backpack home and head to color guard rehearsal. Tonight we choreographed a part that has been giving us some trouble in the past week. We wanted to continue the movement and momentum in a particular part of the show, but have been unable to conceptualize it, let alone put work to it. And after a manic day, I wouldn’t have been able to write any choreography without the help and logistical aptitude of the other staff members. (It also helps when your students can do flips!) I think we were finally able to hit the nail on the head.
Then home to study for the statistics!
Thursday – Today was my second manic day! First, we had strategy class where we discussed the difficulties CEO’s face in balancing short-term and long-term priorities in their first year. This discussion definitely left me thinking. We were also better introduced to the Interdisciplinary project due at the end of the year. This project, which has pieces due in strategy, finance, and statistics, will require us to write a memo and present our findings to a panel of experts.
Now time for our first quiz in statistics. We had 15 minutes to answer 20 multiple choice questions and 4 open-ended questions; this may have been the fastest quiz I have ever taken! Anyway, after that, we went over the syllabus and talked about some basic statistical measurements.
Next on the agenda; I met with Rochelle in the Career Center, the WMBA advisor, to talk about the panel we are planning for this semester. She gave me a fantastic idea for a conference to encourage club members to go to, and told me to ask the club what they wanted to hear a panel talk about. I am so excited for the panel and the conference!
After my meeting with Rochelle, I ran (no, literally ran) to the L. Knife Insider Insight. L. Knife is a beer distributor which offers a Corporate Residency through Northeastern. We got to hear one of their HR members speak, along with a former NU MBA student who currently has a full-time position there, and the current MBA student who just finished her Corporate Residency. The company is expanding rapidly due to a combination of the growing demand for craft beer and their exploding imports business.
Friday – Friday started with an early morning team meeting. This was due to the many upcoming assignments in our classes that require teams of 3-5, and we are a group of six. Although we had to split the team up for some classes, I believe that the new teams will be productive and rewarding. Luckily, we were able to strike a deal with the other group of six for the Operations project, which another team member and I will be on a group with two new members. It will be strange not working with my team, but it will be great to get to know some classmates better.
After, we had our first Career Management course of this semester. The topic of this class was interviews. We were split into groups of six and asked to write down any questions we had about interviews. Our questions were then given to another team who had to answer them as best they could. After, one group member presented the responses. It was great to see that many people had similar questions.
Then it was homework time! Like last semester, I am trying to stay on top of my homework by getting the majority done on the Fridays and Saturdays.
When Jim got home from work we decided that it was finally time to go out for our anniversary, which was on Wednesday. (5 years!) We decided to try a restaurant that we have been meaning to go to since we moved to Malden, the All Seasons Table in Malden Center. The food was so good, especially the vegetable tempura. Needless to say we left full and happy!
Saturday- I got up at 8:00 today, so I could get a head start on homework because today Jim and I decided to make beer! Ok, it’s not the first time we’ve homebrewed, but it’s still very exciting. However, it is a time-consuming process, so I had to get an early start.
Anyway, we started the brewing process at 12:00 and we sealed the bucket for fermentation at 5:00. Here are some pictures from the process.
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| Mashed malts are placed into the almost boiling water, like making tea. |
After the hops are added and the wort is cooled, then you have to siphon into the fermentation bucket.
This stuff is sealed and then left to ferment for about 2 weeks!
Next up, we had some friends over to watch the Patriots obliterate the Broncos!
Sunday – Like the day before, I woke up and finished up my homework. Before I knew it, I had to leave for rehearsal. Today we finished up the drill (how the students move around the floor), and now we have even more choreography to write. Our first show is on February 4th, and I can’t wait to see what the other color guards in the area have done.
When I got home I realized Jim had made vegan chili while I was gone!!! And then it was time for more football. I’m looking forward to my Monday off tomorrow!
*The views expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of Northeastern University, its staff, faculty or affiliates and are solely the opinion of Amy Foley.*
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