Mid-Terms!

Although last week was technically a three day week, it definitely did not feel like it. Here’s a recap of the first mid-term week of the semester. Next week is also setting itself up to be a busy week as well.

Monday – Monday was just what I needed! A day off in honor of a few pretty cool presidents turned out to be an intensive study day. Instead of relaxing, I got up early and started studying for the finance midterm on Wednesday. Later that day, I met up with my operations team on campus in order to go over Wednesday’s deliverable, which is an analysis of the Holiday Inn’s operations and our recommendations for improvement. This is the first deliverable in a three part series that will culminate at the end of the semester. After our meeting, a group member and I stayed on campus to study for finance.

Tuesday – First class of the week. Today in supply chain we finished our discussion on transportation and started a discussion on inventory management. After, I met briefly with my operations team to give a summary to a team member who could not make our meeting on Monday. Once the meeting was over, I rushed home so I could study for finance yet again.

Wednesday – Wednesday marked the dreaded finance mid-term, which did not end up being as dreaded as I had anticipated. In fact, the exam was downright fair. After finance, I have operations, and the case we discussed I had to pay super attention to because it was about a cranberry co-op. I hope this case discussion has better prepared me for my Corporate Residency.

Once class was over, I rushed over to Whole Foods in order to pick up some refreshments for the WMBA panel event. Although only a small crowd was able to come, the discussion was fantastic and the panelists really fed off of each other’s energy. Everyone who attended seemed to enjoy themselves, so I’d mark this event as a success. Immediately after the event, a friend and I scurried over to Barakis for the statistics mid-term review. After the professor cleared up a few things for me, I felt pretty comfortable with the material. I went home and studied more for the midterm, finally falling asleep at 1:00am.

Thursday – Thursday presented the normal strategy stats back to back schedule. In strategy we discussed a case about HTC and mobile phones in general – then, the stats mid-term. Although I felt I prepared for the exam, I did not prepare for the speed of it. I need to learn how to pace myself during exams, but I really like to double check my work before I move on. Anyway, I was unable to finish 2 of the exam questions. After class, my learning team agreed to meet at 9:00am on Friday to go over the finance case write up due on Monday.

That night, I had a much needed dinner at Penguin Pizza with a couple of friends. This is one of my favorite places in the area because of its wide assortment of craft beers.

Friday – On Friday, I woke up early, so I could get to campus and review the finance case before my team discussed it in our meeting. When the rest of my team arrived (one bearing the gift of Dunkin Donuts munchkins, YUM!), we grabbed an empty classroom for the case discussion. Once we felt that we had a grasp on the material and our recommendations, we split up the work to be completed over the weekend. Another team member and I were to write the case analysis (we are only required to write two pages), while the others created the exhibits.

After discussing the finance case, I met with a prospective student for lunch to tell him more about the Northeastern program. When he asked me to show him something that makes Northeastern unique, besides everything else I brought up, I took him to the Cy Young statue which marks the venue where the first World Series was played.

Then I had to rush off to go shopping with my mother and sister. My mother was looking for a dress to wear to my wedding (in August!), and wanted our opinions before buying anything. Although we were unable to find her a dress, we got to spend some time with each other.

By the time I got home from shopping, I had only a few hours to eat dinner and get ready for a show my friend’s band was playing in Boston. The band is fantastic, and they had an amazing performance. They honestly get better every time I see them. Since I spent most of my day running around, it was good to be able to see a few friends and spend some time with Jim.

Saturday – Saturday was another early morning, as I had rehearsal from 10 to 4. After rehearsal, I started writing my portion of the case write up; however, the analysis kept leading my team member and I in different directions. I finally finished my part of the analysis at 12:00am, after which I fell asleep on my couch watching a re-run of SNL. Another successful Saturday night.

Sunday – Yet another early morning with rehearsal scheduled between 8am and 12pm. Although I was supposed to go to the color guard competition today, I had too much homework and studying to do. Furthermore, Jim and a friend were finally putting a banister on the stairs. I tried to stay focused amid the sounds of drills, saws, and the power outages caused by such saws. I’m sure it will look amazing in the end!

*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.*