Russia Blog

After spending most of my Monday and Tuesday traveling across the pond to Frankfurt then to Moscow, I was finally ready for my Russian adventure. The International Field Study sets Northeastern apart from other programs as it allows all of its students to study business in another country.

Tuesday - I traveled with a group of five Northeastern MBA’s to Russia, so once we are at the airport, we are greeted by our tour guide, Svetlana, and the small bus we will be taking into Moscow. Before we leave, Svetlana prepares us for what is to come - Moscow traffic can be very unpredictable. Right she is! It takes our group about two hours to complete the 30-mile journey to the hotel. Once we arrive at the Holiday Inn Sokolniki, I realize that this is pretty fancy for a Holiday Inn.

I drop my stuff into my room and decide that I am not tired, so I resolve to look around the hotel. My first stop - the fitness room. Judging by the equipment and the number of people there, I start to think that our market entry project may be better than I had anticipated. My group has completed a Russian market entry project for Under Armour.

After my excursion around the hotel, it’s time to get ready for the welcome dinner. The welcome dinner is being held at a Ukrainian restaurant in the heart of Moscow. In this restaurant, there are live animals, which initially worries me. On our way to dinner, we encounter our second incident with Moscow traffic.  After sitting in Moscow’s worst for two hours, the professor and tour guide decide that it is best for us to take the Metro. This proves to be much faster, and we get to the restaurant in no time.

Once we are there, I am identified to the staff as the vegetarian; I guess this is what the rest of my meals will be like. The meal starts off with a Gutsul salad, then potato latkes for me (the rest of the group has pork), and it finishes with pear strudel. After dinner we take some time to look at the animals, which are thankfully behind a wall. By the time dinner ends, it’s almost midnight and time to head back to the hotel.

Wednesday – I wake early today because of jet lag. I always have so much trouble with this. So I head down to breakfast early. Here, I see the largest breakfast buffet I have ever seen: any type of bread you could think of, eggs, pancakes (which are more like crepes), but also salad. I grab some food and find another Northeastern student. Quickly after I eat, I realize that I am still in my pajamas and no one else is. I guess pink snowflake pajama pants are not appropriate breakfast attire. I start to feel self-conscious, so I run upstairs to my room and change into my business casual for the day.

After breakfast we are off for the day’s activities. First, we meet with U.S. Commercial Services to ask them about doing business in Russia. Then, we have lunch at the Metro Restaurant. This lunch includes salad, borsch, potatoes and mushrooms, and vanilla cake. After this hefty lunch, I am more ready for a nap than a walking tour of the Kremlin.

I think pictures will do better justice to the tour of the Kremlin than my words. All I can say is that it was breathtaking.

Thursday – Today might be the longest day of our Moscow tour. I wake up early and go to the gym for a quick run. After, I go downstairs for breakfast in my business clothes determined to not make the same mistake I made yesterday.

Our day starts with lunch at Tchaikovsky Restaurant. This starts with salad and soup like our other meals, but while the others eat chicken, I get to eat a Russian version of macaroni and cheese.

Next we are off to Dewey and LeBoeuf which is an international law firm. The lawyers here talk to us about legal issues with doing business in Russia. Then we are off to Jones Lang and Lasalle, which is an international real estate firm. At this meeting we discuss the exorbitant real estate prices in Moscow.

After these meetings we are off to Moscow State University Business School to make our presentations. We have a quick snack once we are there, which is good because I need the sugar after our exhausting day.

My group is presenting last and waiting is the worst thing for my nerves. However, we give a fantastic presentation, and everyone seems excited about Under Armour’s prospects in Russia.

Most of my team during the presentation.

Following the presentations, we have a reception where we are able to talk to students and faculty of Moscow State. It’s pretty late when we get back to the hotel, so I Skype with my mom then go to sleep.

Friday – This is our last full day in Moscow. I start my day with the amazing breakfast buffet. Then we are off to our meeting with McDonald’s Russia. Here we discuss the success of McDonald’s in Russia and how it will continue its success in the future.

After we head to lunch at GlavPivTorg. For me, this lunch consist of a garden salad, cabbage soup, potatoes and onions, and chocolate cake.

Once we have finished lunch, our tour guide takes us for a walking tour of the Metro. Unlike Boston’s rail system, Moscow’s stations are decorated with art. 

Lenin Mosaic

We also have a boat tour of Moscow scheduled for later tonight, but two friends and I are interested in seeing a sculpture park in Moscow. A few hours before the boat tour, we leave for the sculpture park. But only after we make a stop at the McDonald’s near the hotel, which has been on our mind since the presentation earlier today. Although the sculptures are decorated with umbrellas for a festival, they are still amazing and moving. One downfall of the night is that I chose to wear heels for our entire adventure. By the end, my feet are blistered and throbbing.

Always photogenic - with Stalin

The boat tour of the city was amazing, and we are all very reluctant to say goodbye to Svetlana; but there are so many adventures ahead in Saint Petersburg.

Saturday – After eating a quick breakfast, we are off to the train to Saint Petersburg. We took a high speed train that will bring us to Saint Petersburg in six hours. I decide to sleep for most of the train ride as I still haven’t been able to shake the jet lag. Once we are in Saint Petersburg, we are amazed by how quickly we get through traffic.

That night, a group of us find a bar in order to watch the Champions' Cup. Although I don’t follow European soccer, both of my sisters played in college, so I understand what is going on. The game goes to penalty kicks, which means a late night for all of us.

Sunday – Today starts with another amazing breakfast buffet. Then we take a guided tour of Peter and Paul’s fortress, complete with a musical demonstration by Orthodox monks. The cathedral here houses the tombs of the Romanovs.

After we had lunch at Na Zdorovie. The name of the restaurant is a toast that Russians give for special occasions.

After we took a guided tour of the Hermitage Museum. The pace of the tour was a bit brisk for my taste, but I had to keep in mind that not everyone enjoys art history as much as I do.

That night, two friends and I join the professor for a show at a jazz club. I am completely blown away by the talent of the musicians, especially the vocalist. She even chooses some of her students, who are in the audience, to come up and sing with her. I have to say, she taught them well.

After, I am amazed to find that it is still light out. Because Saint Petersburg is close to the Arctic Circle, the city has extended light hours in the summer and decreased light hours in the winter. We find a pizzeria for dinner. This little taste of home is welcome, as I have been walking on eggshells with what I have been eating.

Monday – Today starts with an early breakfast. Then we are off to the Proctor and Gamble factory in the outskirts of Saint Petersburg. Here we discuss the shaving demands of the Russian market and manufacturing. After, we take a tour of the plant, complete with safety shoes, safety vests, and ear plugs.

Next, we have lunch at Stroganof Steakhouse. Here we dine on salad, vegetables in marinara sauce (meat eaters had beef stroganoff), and ice cream.

After, we visited Data Art. This is an IT company that operates a bit differently than normal companies. The office layout is completely open and it has a game room complete with foosball and an X-Box.

Once we are back from our day’s activities, two friends and I decide that we want to see the Cathedral on Spilled Blood. This is possibly the most ornate cathedral I’ve ever seen.

We also see the Winter Palace on our journey, which ends at a trendy sushi place.

Winter Palace

Tuesday – This was our day to sleep in, and I definitely take advantage of it. After I wake up, the same two friends and I check out the bizarre near the cathedral. Here, we haggle our way to souvenirs.

We run back to the hotel in order to get one the bus for the tour of the Baltika Brewery. Here we talk to the Head of Low Alcohol and Non-alcohol Brands about Russian beer demand. After his presentation, we take a tour of the brewery. The tour culminates in a tasting, which we get to try many of the Baltika brands. 

That night, we have a dinner at an upscale restaurant called Sankt Peterburg. Here we dine on garden salad, crepes, grilled vegetables and rice (omnivores have pork and fried potatoes), and ice cream for dessert. Along with the dinner, we also get a show of traditional Russian dances and songs.

Because this dinner ends late in the evening, many students have a drink in the lobby bar before we have to say goodbye.

Wednesday – I have my final round with the breakfast buffet before I have to pack and hop on the bus to the airport. After a short flight to Frankfurt and a longer flight to Boston, I am greeted by Jim after I go through customs. Although this Russian adventure was amazing, I am so happy to be home.

*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.*

Easter Weekend

After a busy week at school, it was great to have Easter as an excuse to get together with family.

Monday –  As always, Monday starts with Finance. This week, we had a case write up on Crocs due. After Finance, I met up with a friend to start studying for the Operations quiz on Wednesday. Once I got home, I read a few articles for the professor that I do research for.

Tuesday – On Tuesday, we had a Supply Chain case memo due which was about WalMart in China and environmental sustainability. Instead of starting the discussion on this case right away, the first half of the class we had a guest speaker from Exxon Mobil talk to us about their supply chain. This speaker was a former Northeastern student, and it was a great opportunity to see where Northeastern alumni end up. For the rest of the class we discussed the case and the sustainability summit that WalMart had in China.

After class, I met with the professor to talk about the articles I read the previous night. We are trying to find a good way to wrap up my research before I go on Corporate Residency.

The stats professor held an extra session this week to go over the SPSS outputs for simple linear regression and the homework that is due on Thursday. I’m glad I went. This makes so much more sense now.

After this session, I met up with a few friends to study for the Operations quiz the next day.

Wednesday – Today started with Finance where we talked about mergers and acquisitions. In this class we did a small case from the book.

The Operations class for today started with the quiz, which took up about an hour of the class. After that, we talked about total quality management including Six Sigma.

After class, I went home to complete some research for the upcoming IDP presentation to use my time well before the Mentor Reception. This reception was hosted by the Career Center and allows students to meet the mentors that the Career Center assigned them. Although my mentor was out of town and could not attend, I met some interesting people.

Thursday – In today’s Strategy class, we discussed mergers and acquisitions from a strategic standpoint instead of just a financial standpoint. The case for today was about Newell Company’s acquisition of Rubbermaid. After looking more in depth at the products and strategy of Rubbermaid, it did not seem like a good acquisition for Newell, especially considering how large this acquisition was.

In Stats, we did our final class on simple linear regression. Next class we will start multiple regression, which sounds quite intimidating.

Friday – Friday started early with a 9:00AM meeting with my learning team to refine our IDP. We looked more carefully at our strategy and solidified our reasoning behind our decisions. After meeting for a while, we decided to meet with our Strategy professor to get her thoughts on our proposal. She liked our ideas but warned us that we need to be able to articulate our reasoning because the judges will be looking for gaps during the presentation next week. Now that the most difficult part is over, we can start to write the paper and create the presentation.

After, I went to lunch with a few of my group members. We went to the Yardhouse which just opened by Fenway. The food was fantastic, and there were very reasonably priced lunch combos.

Saturday – As usual, I was up early on Saturday for color guard rehearsal. However, this will be my last rehearsal before they leave for finals. Although this is the first time I have missed WGI finals in 5 years, I know that they will do fine without me, and they are in the best possible hands. I can’t wait to see how they do against the competition.

After rehearsal, Jim and I went up to New Hampshire for Easter dinner with his family.

Sunday – I finally got to sleep in on Sunday. I spent the day with my family to celebrate Easter – we even Skyped with my sister in Montana to make her feel at home. I can’t wait until she is back for good at the end of the semester. Once I got home, I wrote the rough draft for my portion of the IDP paper. I can’t believe how quickly this project’s due date came up, but I am glad that I got to relax for a little while this weekend.

*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.*

Sick Week

As you can tell from the title of this post, I was a bit under the weather last week. However, I am fortunate because this is the first bad cold I’ve gotten all year. But this may be the worst time to be sick!

Monday –The day started with finance where we talked about derivatives. After class, I went straight home to read the strategy case for the write up due on Thursday. I also completed the case memo for Operations due on Wednesday. Finally, I did some research for the professor that I work for.

Tuesday – In supply chain, we talked about off-shoring and how it is getting more expensive. This may mean that more manufacturing jobs will come back to North America in the long-run. After class, I met with my strategy team to talk about the case write up due on Thursday.

Wednesday – Wednesday started with finance; today’s topic – international finance. We looked at a case where a company was looking for an arbitrage opportunity by finance debt in another currency. In operations, we had a case memo due, and we discussed improvement of manufacturing as well as forecasting.

After class, my strategy team met again to finalize our case write up. Once we finished this case write up, I had my first conversation with my mentor who was appointed to me by the Career Center. This seems like a fantastic match, and I am so excited for how this mentor relationship will unfold.

Thursday – Thursday started bright and early with strategy. In this class we discussed a case about a paper pulp company which was trying to negotiate whether it should vertically integrate into paper products or continue manufacturing pulp. We also discussed the conglomerates and the acquisition strategies used in the history of the US. After, we had stats where we discussed more about linear regression and learned how to use SPSS to complete this analysis. This will certainly make the IDP more manageable.

After grabbing a lunch, my team met to go over our finance case write up that is due on Monday. This analysis is on the stock price and valuation of Crocs. It was interesting to look at a company that we all know about. This meeting took less time than I had anticipated and before I knew it, I was home trying to get some homework done for next week.

Friday – I woke up Friday feeling the effects of the cold I had caught last weekend. However, at this time of the semester I have to push through and make sure I don’t get anyone else sick. My team met early to go over our IDP. This is a strategy project that also includes statistical analysis and financial analysis. Each of us talked about what we had researched as far as competitors or the company was concerned. We split up work and created deliverables for the following week.

After this meeting, I went home and tried to get some homework done. However, I ended up sleeping in hopes that it would help shake my cold.

Saturday – Saturday I got up early because I had rehearsal from 9 to 2. Once I got to rehearsal, one of the women that I teach with felt my forehead and insisted that I had a fever. But this was my last time seeing my group in competition this season, so I pushed through. I’m so glad that I did because they had the best show of the season! However, I left after my group performed because I knew I couldn’t make it through the entire show.

One of the other staff members texted me the scores, and we definitely closed the gap between us and our local competition. We got second place by only two tenths. Although they will face greater completion at nationals in two weeks, this shows that they are ready and hungry.

When I came home, Jim was finishing up the wedding invitations that we had designed! How awesome of him! He also asked local bakeries for a quote for our wedding cake/cupcakes! Our wedding will be here before we know it!

Sunday – Sunday also started with an early wake up, but this time I got up to write my supply chain case write up. I had to teach from 3 to 8, but the other women that I teach with let me leave at 5 because I was so sick the previous day. This allowed me to go to bed early! Hopefully I can shake this cold. The workload is just going to increase until finals.

*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.*

Regional Weekend

Sorry that it has been a while since my last post! After spring break, I’ve been so busy that I’ve barely found time to do my homework, let alone blog! Anyway, here is a recap of last week.

Monday – Today started off with Finance early in the morning! We discussed the cash conversion cycle and discussed a case about Dell. Directly after this class, I went home in order to write my deliverable due in Supply Chain the next day and get some work done for the professor that I work for.

Tuesday – I’m glad to say I finished my deliverable for Supply Chain just in time! I usually don’t work right up to deadlines, but with everything else going on right now; I’m just impressed that I not only finished it, but I was happy with the quality. In this class, we discussed a contract that was made between Laura Ashley and FedEx, which seemed equitable and ground breaking on the surface, but once you looked further into it, the flaws started to become apparent. It was extremely interesting to hear what actually happened.

After Supply Chain, I met with the professor I work for to go over my research. To my relief, she scheduled our meetings to be bi-weekly. This will help free up some time that I desperately need.

After this meeting, I went home to write my portion of the group deliverable due in Operations tomorrow. My group is completing an analysis on the operations of the Holiday Inn.

Wednesday – Today started with Finance then Operations. In finance we finished a case about dividends and started to discuss a case about the stock price of Crocks. We will have a group analysis on this case due in a week.

Then off to Operations where we discussed forecasting for a toy company. We also talked about the difficulties with forecasting for new products.

Thursday- Thursdays always start with Strategy then we have Stats. In Strategy we discussed Disney and the differentiation of its products. It was extremely interesting to understand what was going on in the company when its many animated blockbusters were released. We also discussed its acquisition of ABC.

In Stats, we started a chapter on linear regression which will come in handy for the group project due in a few weeks.

After Stats, I meet briefly with my team to go over our upcoming interdisciplinary project. At this meeting, we assigned deliverables for each other that are due on Friday. We also discussed when we will meet to discuss and write our analysis for Crocks. So much is coming due, I hope I can keep up!

Finally, I took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather last week and met up with a few friends to enjoy it!

Friday – I let myself sleep in a little bit today. But once I woke up, I was down to business. First, I got a head start on a few things due next week. Then, I packed my bag for my journey down to New Jersey for a color guard regional. Before I knew it, I had to meet up with another instructor to drive down.

We got down to New Jersey in record time and only a few mis-steps, but we had to settle in as soon as we got to the hotel because we had to get up early the next morning for rehearsal.

Saturday – We got up at 8:00am in order to eat breakfast. After breakfast, we had the students warm up and stretch at the hotel. From there, a bus brought the students to our practice site where we had four hours of rehearsal. The students from our older competing guard watched our final run through, and the kids looked ready.

After rehearsal, we took off for the show site, where they had the best run of the season! Once we were done with the show, the other instructors and I had to wait for our scores and critique with the judges. The guard ranked fifth out of sixteen and would be back tomorrow for finals. The judges also had very positive things to say about our performance.

Still at the show site, we watched the older guard have an amazing performance! Then back to the hotel. After a long day, I was exhausted. And tomorrow would be even earlier and longer.

Sunday – On Sunday we had to wake up at 6:00am for rehearsal. We barely had any time for breakfast before we had to be on the bus. Once at the rehearsal site, we only had two hours for rehearsal, and it went by extremely quickly.

Despite having to wake up early, the students had another good run. I finally got to see some other color guards perform at the show, and I have to say, there is going to be some very stiff competition at finals in a few weeks.

After meeting up with a few friends and watching another fantastic performance from the World guard. The other instructor and I took off, even before scores were announced. However, we had another instructor text the score to us – fifth again and the score improved!

Despite hitting some traffic in New York, we made it back earlier than expected. Once home, I was ready for bed and cursing the fact that I had a caffeinated soda with dinner. It was a tiring weekend, but a rewarding weekend. Now I have to find time this week to get my homework done!

*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.*

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.*

Career Fair!

Last Tuesday was the Career Fair, and because I know that this is what you ultimately are interested in reading about, I decided that I’ll give a detailed description of this day instead of the entire week.

Here is what my interview schedule looked like that day:

8:30-9:00: Asset Management Firm Fixed Income Position

9:15-9:45: Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Business Analyst

9:45-10:15: Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Business Analyst

10:30-10:45: Raytheon

11:00-11:30: Asset Management Firm Fixed Income Position

11:30 – 12:30 Bright Horizons

1:20-1:40: Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Product Management

2:30-3:00: L. Knife and Son

(I also had an interview with Ocean Spray on Friday of that week, but more about that later.)

I got up early the day of the Career Fair, so I could grab a coffee and breakfast before my first interview. I stopped by Starbucks to pick up my necessary items. Then off to register and get my name tag.

First impression, the Career Center has this down to a t. I don’t know how they scheduled the interviews, but they did an amazing job!

I was not on my game for the first interview. It was a great opportunity, but probably not the best fit for me. The thing that surprised me most about the interview rooms was that there were other interviewing spaces for other people separated by curtains. With so many interviews in such a short amount of time, this was definitely the most efficient way to run this event.

I then went into my back to back interviews for the Business Analyst position at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. After both of these interviews, I was starting to drag a bit, but I had to keep my energy up for Raytheon.

From there, I had two more interviews – another interview for the asset management company and Bright Horizons - both of which went pretty well. Now time for lunch! I was starving by 12:30, and I needed something to keep my energy up. After my vegetarian sushi (don’t mock it until you try it!), I was ready for more!

After lunch I had an interview with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care for a Product Management position that sounded very interesting. Then I had an interview with L. Knife and Son, which is a beer distributor. It was great to end the day with an interview for something that I am passionate about.

By the next day, I had an offer from Raytheon and an offer from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, but I still had an interview scheduled at Ocean Spray. That Friday, I drove down to my parent’s house to spend some time with them before I left for Ocean Spray. I was already pretty torn between Harvard Pilgrim and Raytheon, then I had an amazing interview at Ocean Spray. A few hours after the interview, Ocean Spray called me to offer me the finance Corporate Residency position.

I spent that weekend deciding between the positions, and after talking to my friends and family, I decided that the benefits of the Ocean Spray position outweighed the long commute. So, I accepted Ocean Spray. This decision was by no means easy, but I believe I chose the position that is best for me.

I can’t wait to start my Corporate Residency, and I am so excited to work for such an amazing company!

*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.*

Crazy Week!

This was a crazy week with 3 deliverables due which ended in interview preparations for the Career Fair. Let me tell you about it!

Monday – Monday began with Finance where we discussed bond valuation. After class, I met with my Strategy team in order to go over the case write up that is due later this week.

Then I went home to finish up my case write up due for Supply Chain, and I realized I really hated what I had written, so I started over. I’m glad I did because I was more satisfied with the final product. It may have been more work, but I feel more comfortable handing in my second attempt at this case write up.

Tuesday – Today we have Supply Chain and we discussed the case write up which was about allegations that a supplier used child labor for a major furniture company. After class I met with the professor who recently hired me as a research assistant. She explained expectations and gave me some work to start on.

Then I met with my team for Strategy again, and we came up with an exhaustive list of ideas for our case about a motorcycle company. We outlined what we wanted to write and split up the responsibility between the three of us.

After that meeting, I went to a networking event with one of my friends from the MBA program. The event, hosted by the Advancing Women in Business, Science, and Technology, consisted of dinner and speed networking with career mentors who were women in the areas of science and technology who are now in business. I was humbled by the stories from career mentors and the women who attended the event. Many had doctorate degrees and post-doctoral experience in the fields of science and technology. My friend and I were able to ask questions and later speak to the one career mentor who was in finance.

Finally, I went home and I finalized my operations case write up due the next day. I also wrote my part for the strategy case write up. After this long day, I was ready for bed!

Wednesday –Today we had both Finance and Operations. In Finance we discussed stock valuation, while in Operations we discussed the case that was due. After classes my friend and I met with an executive from a local company who we had an Executive Luncheon with in the fall. We grabbed a coffee and discussed our upcoming Corporate Residency opportunities and our current classes, which he referred to as the “blood and guts” of business.

After that, I met with my strategy team to put together our case write up due the next day. We spent a long time making the paper sound like it came from a unified voice, but it was definitely time well spent!

I went home after the meeting and added the exhibits to the file and finished my statistics homework also due tomorrow. However, after being in front of a computer screen for all that time, one of my team members told me that I spelt her last name wrong! It was definitely time for me to go to bed!

 Thursday – When I got to campus today and took my computer out of my bag, I realized that I had once again broken it. This time I cracked the screen. I seriously have no luck with technology, and I think my computer has spent more time with the people who repair it than with me! Anyway, I had a long day of classes with strategy then statistics.

In strategy we discussed the case that was due, and then the professor from the other section came in to discuss the data which were collected for our IDP project due at the end of the semester. I looked up the files, and there is some serious data. It looks like all teams will be working incredibly hard on this project.

In stats, we had our third homework due. After, we discussed the normal distribution and z-scores. Then, I went out to lunch with a few friends from the program.

Friday – With the Career Fair less than a week away, we discussed all of the details in Career Management. After class me and another one of the bloggers from this year, met with the blogger from the second year to talk about blogging while on Corporate Residency. Because some of the companies we can have residencies with have proprietary information, we needed to understand the protocol in such situations.

Finally, I met with a member of the Career Center to go over my schedule for the Career Fair. Apparently, I have too many interviews booked, but I have trouble saying no to all the fantastic opportunities that have been offered. I finally had to say no to one of them, although it was difficult to choose.

After meeting with the Career Center, I went looking for a new pair of shoes for the Career Fair. Let me tell you, I am extremely picky when it comes to shoes, so this search took much longer than it should have. This is exactly why I usually go shopping alone – I tend to wear other people’s patience thin.

Finally, I went home to get a head start on some homework for next week. With the Career Fair and interview preparations this week, I knew that this had to be done early. Once Jim got home, we bottled the beer that we made a few weeks ago. 

First, we had to siphon the beer from the fermentation bucket to the bottling bucket.

Then, we used a capping device to seal each bottle.

The bottling process carbonates the beer. It should be ready to drink in about two weeks!

Saturday – I woke up early today, so I could get some more homework done before I had color guard rehearsal.  Today was our first show, and we had a bit of a rough rehearsal, so we were all a little nervous before their performance. Besides a few glitches due to first show nerves I’m sure, they had a fantastic performance! I’m so excited for our next show because we did not have some of our effects completed nor our uniforms. In fact, our color guard organization had 4 amazing performances from our novice guard, B guard, A guard, and world guard!

Sunday – Again, today I woke up early to get some homework done before rehearsal.

Rehearsal went by extremely quickly today, as we were mostly playing around with an effect that we are having quite a bit of trouble with. Also, we had to end early for the students to try on their uniforms! Then on to watch a depressing Super Bowl game between the Pats and the Giants. 

*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.*