My Birthday in Business School

Yay! This is my birthday week (I’ll be turning the ripe old age of 24) but, as you’ll see, birthday celebrations take on quite a different meaning when you’re in graduate school.

The first big event of my week is turning in my rewrite of that Human Resources paper I got a “no grade” on.  I’m super paranoid about it and am glad to be rid of it so I don’t keep over-analyzing and rewriting it ad nauseum.  I’ll keep you posted on how that goes - unless, that is, I get an 'F' or worse on it, then I’ll just conveniently ‘forget’ that promise.

Wednesday the Marketing Club executive board meets with the Massachusetts Horticultural Society to discuss our first consulting project.  We join a group of board members at one of their condominiums on Boston Common.  While it was a bit intimidating at first to walk into a room of well-dressed and influential members of the organization we eventually ease into the meeting.  They provide us with an extensive list of at least six potential marketing projects (of which we will choose one) and outline the history of the organization.  Some options include finding ways to draw more reservations for their event facilities, increasing membership numbers and finding ways to get more visitors out to Elm Bank (one of their gardens).  The meeting lasts more than two hours and I leave a bit overwhelmed with all of our choices.  We decide to let the members know by next Wednesday which project we wish to pursue.  This gives us time to meet with our other consulting project, The Marshfield Fair, and then divvy up responsibility between the two among the executive board.  We also have a potential speaker in the works.

It’s also a big day for this blog! "Living the Northeastern MBA" is officially announced in the Gradbiz eNewsletter (a weekly eNewsletter that goes out to MBA students).  It’s kind of thrilling when fellow students and teachers approach me saying they’ve read the blog.  I’ve also been checking out my site hits and where they come from (again, I'm a dork, remember?).  I’m proud to say that I have views from South Africa, India, Algeria and the UK.  How neat is that?

The day ends with my boyfriend informing me that he has booked his flight to come visit me during spring break!  I’m so excited to see him for 10 days and am already looking into day trips around the area.  At first I image the end of February and beginning of March in the California terms of spring, then quickly realize my mistake.  In fact, far from beach weather, it may very well still be snowing.  I guess I’ll have to redirect my travel planning approach.

Happy birthday to me! Thursday is my 24^th birthday and, of course, a very hectic school day.

I begin my morning with class, then a group meeting to work on our 100+ page accounting paper.  Afterward I head home and change for our networking reception which is from 5:30pm to 7:30pm tonight (I know, exciting birthday right?).  I end up staying at the reception until 8:30pm but am happy to have gotten the chance to mingle with some executives.  For instance, I spent a good while chatting with a brand manager at Lindt & Sprungli (yes, the famed truffle makers), some representatives from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, a recruiter from Blue Cross Blue Shield and several others.

As I’m getting ready to call it a night and head home to an early bedtime, a friend of mine humors me and agrees to join me for a drink and dessert at Vox Populi.  I’m really happy I was able to do something fun today –especially since it involved a delicious cocktail (strawberry vodka with strawberry puree and muddled mint!) and chocolate bread pudding (which I consumed most of).

Ahh, but when I got home around midnight, I did not know my night was far from over.  Around 2:30am I wake to the sound of my building’s fire alarm.  In a drowsy stupor I manage to grab a coat and head downstairs to the freezing and raining outdoors where I wait for more than 30 minutes until fire trucks arrive.  Some idiot (I'm sorry that wasn't nice) threw a cigarette into a trash bin in the basement.  By the time all is said and done, I get to bed by 3:30am; tomorrow’s going to be a long day.

In Career Management we have a marketing panel of seven executives speak to us and answer our questions on their careers and the industry.  Among the companies represented are Staples, Hasbro and Johnson & Johnson.

I spend the rest of the day working on my accounting paper with my group and indulgently watching movies.

Saturday is a glorious day of catch up.  In business school it is so easy to let errands get pushed to wayside in favor of cramming for last minute assignments, club meetings and group work. So today I’m making up for lost time.  I write about a million and one thank you letters to executives I have spoken to during the past week (OK, maybe I exaggerate a little), pick up groceries, get my first Boston haircut at Safar Coiffure (I highly recommend it), do some light shopping and savor a smores cupcake from Sweet.

Feeling a bit guilty about my lack of homework-doing today, I spend several hours at the library that night.

Sunday I begin and finish my economics analytical assignment which, at 30% of my grade, is an intimidating adventure, hit the gym and visit the laundromat.  Overall, it was a weekend of errands and I couldn’t be happier about that.

* The views expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of Northeastern University, its faculty, staff or affiliates and are solely the opinion of Katrina Graves.