Fall in New England Means Apple-Picking

 

Monday

My new week starts off with my first ever Marketing presentation.  Eeek! My group had to develop a marketing plan for the Best Western hotel chain in their Northern Europe market, taking into account market research on customer satisfaction.  I think we feel pretty good about our ten-minutes in front of the class (even the rigorous question-and-answer session afterwards).

In economics today I get a very pleasant surprise.  Our textbook pricing papers are returned.  As I flip to the last page I see numbers I never thought I would on an economics paper: 100%.  What is this?! I am thrilled, plus, it doesn't hurt that the paper is worth 25% of our grade.

To add to my pleasant day, I find out my networking efforts were well served.  The Career Center is helping me schedule an informational interview with the Executive Vice President of Marketing at Collette Travel.  I’m so excited and nervous at the same time.  I need to make sure I have some stellar questions to ask.

I’ve also been working on scheduling some Marketing club meetings.  We are all set to meet with the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in a couple of weeks and with a representative from the Marshfield Fair the week after.

Finally, I’ve officially decided it’s getting cold out.  Since my walks to school often see temperatures in the 40s, I sit down to my computer and order some winter attire.

Tuesday

I am sad to report that, after yesterday’s success in economics, I am now faced with my first academic failure. I get my Human Resources case analysis back only to see a note explaining that I received “no grade” on the assignment.  Ugh! Fortunately, our professor is giving us a chance to do a rewrite if we are not satisfied with our grade.  I feel frustrated, but lucky as well because in the real world, there are no rewrites.

Wednesday

I wake up this morning and check my e-mail (in fact, that’s the first thing I do every morning) and as I scroll through the 9 or so messages I received between the hours of 12:30am and 6:30am I come across one from my accounting professor; our grades for the test are up.  Oh no….

Luckily, it’s not a as bad as I thought and I come out of it with a B+ (88%) which is just a hair below the class average of 88.7%.  I’m relieved.

Today is also my first executive luncheon - and with Rick Daniels, the president and CEO of Gatehouse Media and former president of the Boston Globe nonetheless! I’m super nervous and pester any and everyone I know about how their luncheons went.  I hear “awkward”, “good food but not comfortable eating it in front of the executive” and “they just talked the whole time”.  These comments are not helping me at all.

After class my lunch mates and I meet Mr. Daniels at the Alumni Center on Columbus Avenue for our luncheon (where we had our fancy orientation dinner).  I can see we are all applying the etiquette skills we acquired during our breakfast a couple of weeks ago (the boys even wait until all us ladies have taken our seats before sitting).  I am thrilled to say the lunch was fabulous.  It was not awkward at all, in fact, we ended up spending nearly 2 hours with Mr. Daniels as he explained his very impressive work history, life lessons (he had just given a commencement speech in May) and even personal anecdotes and funny stories.  Plus, the food was delicious.  Overall it was such an insightful experience for me, especially considering that he is a media veteran and I want to get into media marketing.

I leave lunch and rush home to complete my thank you letter (we have been instructed by the Career Center to send them out within 24 hours), change into some gym clothes and out of my suit (mind you, I only own one and it has been getting quite the workout)  and head to the library to finish my accounting case before making it to the Marino Center.

That night is spent sending out emails for Marketing club projects, research my apple-picking trip, and trying to think up a gift for my boyfriend’s birthday.  I wanted to send him some lobster tails from Mikes Pastry (see pictures from 2 weeks ago) only to discover the shipping cost is $100! That’s $100 for $20 worth of pastries!  I decide my meager student budget can’t handle that and go about finding some more creative solutions.

Thursday

Today I meet with my Human Resource professor to discuss my unfortunate case analysis (remember? the one with “no grade”? I know, I tried to forget too).  He gives me some new insights and book chapters to review and gives me 2 weeks to complete it.

Friday

Today in Career Management we have a supply chain panel of about 7 people from that career track.  These include executives from Fidelity Investments , Raytheon, W.R. Grace and more.

Now, I’ll admit that I initially wasn’t very interested in this panel (I am, after all, a marketing concentration) but it was actually very enlightening.  Through the questions and answers I was able to get a better grasp of what supply chain actually is.  After class we were able to mingle with the panel and do some networking.  I am able to speak with Gina Rendar, who is currently the Vice President of IT Services - Procurement at State Street Bank and Trust.  She was the only female on the panel and a very empowering example of a strong woman in a role traditionally held by men.  She offered great insight on not just her career in supply chain, but the benefits and struggles of being a female executive as well.

At around 5:30 that evening I come to the sudden realization that I have to do laundry this weekend and will not have time tomorrow or Sunday.  I pick up the phone and dial my laundromat to see when they close.  While I’ve only been there twice since moving here, the man who answers the phone recognizes my voice and says I have time to head over.  How strange, but nice of him, I guess.  I definitely close down the place that night, making it out just before the clock strikes 7:30 pm.

Saturday

I head to Snell Library early today with some classmates to do homework.  I work on our first marketing case memo that's due on Monday.  As I trudge through the pages of exhibits I’m so glad I didn’t procrastinate on this project.  What I anticipated would take a few hours TOTAL ended up taking 5 hours on calculations alone.  I know what you’re thinking:  marketing and calculations are not meant to get along, but that’s what Northeastern's MBA program is great at; integrating all elements of business and teaching us that you simply cannot have one without the other.  Here, we were looking at launching a new drug, how to price it compared to the industry, where to spend our marketing dollars.

Afterward we hit the gym and grab another classmate on our way to Target.  I don’t think I’ve seen any of us this excited the entire program.  While we only have an hour there because of Zipcar time restrictions, we end up with more than a shopping cart full of cleaning supplies, toiletries and random two-for-one deals.  You know you’re getting old when you meet three of your friends around the back of a Zipcar to excitedly discuss the deal you found of Charmin toilet paper and Betty Crocker cake mix.

NOTE: If you don’t plan on having a car in Boston, I suggest signing up for Zipcar.  It’s a service that allows you rent cars by the hour with gas and insurance included.  We found a Prius for $7 and hour.

Photo courtesy of Sophia Moon

Sunday

Yay! It’s apple picking time! I get up early and dress cozily (it’s a bit drizzly out) to meet a group of girls at Dodge Hall for our adventure to Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow, Massachusetts.  It’s officially the last day of apple-picking season.

After a beautiful drive into the more rural parts of the state we pull up to the orchard.  Honey Pot Hill boasts apple orchards, pumpkin patches, barn animals, a hedge maze, hayrides and, most importantly, a store that sells delicious jams, cider and, drumroll please….apple cider donuts! Heaven!

Two of the girls native to Massachusetts laugh at the rest of us as we rush down the rows of trees marveling at the fall foliage.  We all chip in to buy an apple picking bag for $22 that allows up to 5 people into the orchard.  We have two varieties of apples to choose from in the first orchard: Empire and Spencer. We opt to take the $1 hayride to another orchard down the way that has Mutsu and Janagolds.  The hayride is beautiful and bumpy as we get pulled along by a tractor sitting on hay bales. in the back

We all have a field day at the store, buying pumpkin butter, squashes, jugs of cider, jams and of course, the apple cider donuts (which, I’ll be honest, do not last me through the end of the day).

This excursion was a welcome relief and a much needed change of pace.  But I will admit, I pay the price for a day of fun when I stay up past 1:00 am to finish my marketing case memo.  Whatever, it was SO worth it.



* 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.

Creativity, Connections and Accounting Calculations

I wake up early Tuesday morning and begrudgingly walk my boyfriend to the Mass Ave “T” Station to say goodbye.  I won’t see him again until Thanksgiving break so it’s a tough farewell.  What’s more, getting back into work mode after such a relaxing weekend is going to be difficult.  Luckily, with a three-day weekend, comes a four-day week!

Wednesday is our creative presentation in Marketing.  Last week we had been given three random words (ours were: big, home and tool) and instructed to invent a new product that was somehow associated with these words.  The results were hilarious.

Our team was perhaps the most conservative, with a techno kitchen cart.

But, while my group opted for a more realistic product (and, albeit, a boring one) some of the teams were impressively creative.  One group invented “The Cornballer”, a giant glass ball similar to a hamster ball (their words, not mine) that people roll around in to play extreme sports in the arena of cornfields.  All this from the words rural, ball and glass.  Another was a T-shirt you played as a musical instrument called "Jam Wear".  I was glad to see how much fun our classmates had with this assignment and our professor was laughing the entire time.

After class I head to the Starbucks in the Curry Center to meet a 2^nd year regarding his co-op.  He is currently completing his residency at Open Runway, which is of particular interest to me because the Marketing Club will be serving as a focus group for the company in a couple of weeks. 

I ask him a few questions about his experience working for the start-up and he generally seems pleased with his experience.

That night I conduct perhaps my most glorious study performance to date: 6 hours of accounting! The quiz is tomorrow and I’m a bit nervous so I sit down and systematically go over the study guide, re-do our online tutorial from the pre-work assignment and prepare my one page of notes.  Plus, I am only minimally distracted by the snacks in my apartment.

Thursday brings our first accounting test! Eeeek! But, I will admit, I feel satisfied with my performance as I leave class that day.  Now, whether this sense of well-being is founded or not, is yet to be seen.

After Career Management on Friday I approach my career advisor to ask about some networking efforts I had been working on.  I had researched and called a couple of companies through Hoover’s and was not having any luck with hearing back from them.  I ask my advisor if she has any connections that I might be able to use to infiltrate that first barrier. She directs me to the director of the Career Center who says she’ll see what she can do.  I hope this works!

After class my learning team and I head over Hayden Hall for a meeting with our accounting professor.  She goes over our progress on the Annual Report Project and lets us know where we stand.  We come out feeling pretty good about our efforts and new direction.

Afterwards, I head to the gym and treat myself to a manicure (I know, so indulgent!)

Tonight is a networking event put on by the MBA Connections Club.  It’s held at Symphony 8, a nice bar near campus.  Both 1^st years and 2^nd years are invited to attend.  There’s a huge turnout and I spend nearly 4 hours rekindling previous connections with the class of 2011 and hanging out with friends.

Saturday morning I have a 12:30 pm meeting with another 2^nd year in the graduate business lounge of Dodge Hall.  He is my third and final interviewee for the Career Management assignment.  He tells me all about his residency at Hasbro.  His work in market research sounds fascinating and fun.  I will definitely be applying to any Hasbro internships that present themselves.

Afterward, I head to the Marino Center  (but not for a workout) where a few 2^nd years and 1^st years are finishing up their residency interviews.  After they wrap up I grab lunch with one of them I had met back in February and we chat for a while. Somewhere in that time frame a group of nervous looking undergrads approach us, asking if they can serenade us with an a capella version of a Backstreet  Boys song as part of their fraternity initiation.  We gladly comply.  I must say, I was pretty impressed.  In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that one of them may have practiced these songs before.

Next, I meet a classmate for some discount shopping at Marshalls and Filenes Basement where I try on several poofy down jackets that make me feel like a marshmallow.  There will be no slimming silhouettes this winter!

On the way home we grab burgers at b.good on Newbury Street.

I finish the night with some homework (emphasis on some).  It appears as though last week’s lazy weekend has ruined my homework diligence!

Sunday, it’s serious.  I only leave the house to print some Econ reading at the library. Graduate students receive a free yearly print quota of 1,200 pages and I, stupidly, have not taken advantage of this until now.   I used to read my econ chapters online (we have an e-text) and would take notes manually.  While useful from a retention perspective, this method would lead to 2+ hour reading sessions PER CHAPTER.  By printing the chapters I can now highlight and take notes directly on the page. It saves a ton of time and I get to read in bed!  I’m slowly becoming more efficient, even if it’s due to the ridiculously high price of ink. 

* 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.

A Crazy Week Leads to a Relaxing Weekend

I'm beginning to feel the results of four weeks of non-stop work.  This week is pretty hectic and, combined with the fact that I am attempting to have a homework-free weekend for my boyfriend's visit, I'm feeling very overwhelmed.

On Monday I'm glad to rid myself of the economics textbook pricing paper.   I also get back a graded Marketing assignment.  So far, I seem to be falling above average in the grading spectrum in all of my classes.  While I'm by no means in the top 10 or even 20%, it's comforting to know that I'm also not in the bottom 10 or 20%.  I really just want to get safely above a 3.2 (if you get a 3.2 or below your first semester, you are on probation and I risk losing my scholarship if I fall below a 3.0).

Before work on Tuesday I meet my fellow executive board members at the director of the career center's office to go over additional opportunities for the Marketing Club.  Our club signs on as members of a focus group for the start-up Open Runway, a website that allows women to design their own shoes.  This should be a perfect first venture into consulting projects for the group.

After the quick meeting I head to work.  Today the executive luncheon series sign-ups open at 3:00 pm sharp.  The executive luncheons are lunches of six students and one executive where you have the opportunity network with the employer.  These are not interviews, merely networking lunches. 

The competition for these spots is so thick I fell like I'm back at the University of Washington waking up at 6:00 am to compete against 30,000 students for class registration.  Unfortunately, I have work during this time, but I ask my boss and she kindly allows me to take a few minutes and sign up.  I have my strategy all lined out, with alternate schedules available should my first choices fill up.  Out of a list of 60+ luncheons only about 10 are geared toward marketing.  With a class comprised of over 50% marketing students and a limit of six students per lunch, you can imagine the competition. 

I manage to snag a spot on a few.  They are as follows:

Oct. 20 - Rick Daniels, Gatehouse Media
Oct. 26- Lisa Laich, Ocean Spray Cranberries
Oct. 27 - Johanna Storella, Mass Convention Center
Nov. 5 - Andrew Boyd, Aberdeen Group
Nov. 12 - Jodie Nevelle, Hasbro
Nov. 17- Sue Morelli, Au Bon Pain

I am an alternate for the Au Bon Pain and Aberdeen Group lunches.  Only if one of the confirmed students drops out will I get a confirmed spot in these lunches.

I'm particularly excited to meet Rick Daniels as he was an executive at the Boston Globe (the journalism major in me squeals in delight). 

That night, after arriving home, I start calling up some second-year students from a list provided to us by the Career Center.  We are to interview at lease three regarding their corporate residency experiences.  I manage to set up my appointments; one with my peer mentor who works at a beer distributor, one with a student working at Open Runway and one with a student interning at Hasbro.

Wednesday is another 12-hour day.  We have our first marketing club meeting. I'm super excited and hope all 40 of the members on our mailing list can join us (we did, after all, announce the meeting and free food in our marketing class this morning).

The meeting draws quite a crowd (about 25 people) and almost everyone stays past the last slice of pizza (now that's dedication).  We present our activity options and get a better feel for the commitment level of the group.  It is crucial to stress commitment to projects because, if we decide to take on a consulting project, we must put our best effort forward.  There can be no flaking, or "I forgot" because while this may be an ungraded extracurricular activity for us, it is someone's real business.

Unfortunately, I front the $140 for pizza. Funding for clubs works on a reimbursement system.  Let's just hope our paperwork is all in order and I get that check soon. I am, after all, the proverbial "starving college student".

After a couple hours in the library becoming intimately acquainted with accounting, I hit the gym and at 6:00 pm head to the Curry Center for our student organization training.  The hour-long meeting gets me a bit nervous because with its laundry list of strict regulations.  If we want to bring any food in to meetings, we need a contract (save pizza- phew!), if we have any more that $10 exchanging hands at an event, we need NU police there, we need chaperons for trips outside the state, six-week advance notice for trips, events, etc.  They even have a specific kind of chalk to use if we want to advertise by writing on the walkways around campus.

After this I run over to Dodge for a 7:15 pm meeting with my peer mentor and two other students for the co-op interviews.  I get some new information on her experience and jot down notes for my write-up later.

I leave campus around 8:00 pm.

Thursday is spent at school, work, the gym and then homework cramming before my boyfriend's arrival early Saturday morning.  My group is very accommodating and agrees to meet after class today to finish our accounting Annual Report Project.  It's such a relief to not have that looming overhead during the weekend.

Team 58 is going to Our House, a  bar I quite like near campus, but having everything in line for my boyfriend takes precedence so I stay in and spend the night in books.

I also start researching for our etiquette breakfast tomorrow.  The etiquette breakfast is a yearly event for full-time MBA students that is put on by W.R. Grace, a global chemicals company that hires co-ops every year.  I brush up on their history, products and executive board, where I learn the many had previously worked for Honeywell, a company my Dad worked at years ago.  In the spirit of networking, I call up my father and rack is brain on names of people he knew.  As I get talking about other executive lunches I learn he also has connections to Ocean Spray, Hasbro and Gatehouse Media.  Excited, I promise to send over a list and get some phone numbers.  Look at me, doing the whole "networking" thing.

Friday morning I'm up bright and early.  After dressing in my suit I get to the Curry Center an hour before the breakfast to meet with the Marketing club to finalize our direction.

The breakfast is fun, and frustrating.  We are let in at 9:30 am and instructed to head to the back of the ballroom to chat with some W.R. Grace representatives.  I do so and hand out my hot-off-the-presses business card.  Hors d'oeuvres are passed around as are drinks as we are instructed on how to consume these appropriately.  We are next instructed to find a seat at one of the tables for breakfast. 

Here's where the frustrating part comes in.  While I was chatting with the W.R. Grace employee, people had put their bags/belongings on seats at tables marked with their concentration.  There were only four tables for marketing so I can understand their strategy.  I am, unfortunately, forced to sit at the one table without a W.R. Grace employee (they had to cancel at the last minute).  The whole purpose of this breakfast was to network and learn etiquette.  It lost most of its purpose when I was just sitting with six of my peers.  At least the breakfast was delicious! Several courses of fruit, pastries, French toast with sauteed apples and walnuts, potatoes and bacon, plus coffee and tea! I guess I can't complain too much considering the free fare.

As soon as I get home I dutifully write thank you letters to the two W.R. Grace people I spoke to.  The Career Center has stressed that we send thank you notes out within 24 hours of a meeting.

The rest of Friday is spent sprucing up my apartment for my boyfriend's arrival and homework, homework, homework.  I will admit to a tiny breakdown that night.  I had tried SO hard to make it so that I wouldn't have to study while he was here, but, after more assignments were added at the last minute, I had no choice.  I apologized profusely to him, but what can you do?  I'm up until 1:00 am doing as much as I can.

Ahhh! So excited! I get up around 6:00 am to catch the "T" to the airport to pick up my boyfriend.  On my way I e-mail my accounting professor as I'm having some trouble on the homework.  While I can't meet with her this weekend, she generously offers to have a phone conversation and help me through some of my questions.  How cool is that?  I would never have expected a professor to take time out of their day on a Saturday morning to help me out.

After picking up the beau, we head right to breakfast at Charlie's Sandwich Shoppe.  I indulge in pancakes crammed full of fresh cranberries! Yum! 

We spend the rest of the day on a serious walking tour of the City and my of school. We make our way down the entirety of Newbury Street, meander through Boston Commons, zig-zag through Beacon Hill, stroll along the water front and cross the Charles River over to Cambridge were we rub shoulders with the Ivy set at MIT and Harvard.  My boyfriend, an engineer, loves the MIT museum full of artwork he can finally
appreciate- tinkering bits of winding machinery.

Fall in Boston Common

 We end the day with dinner at Boston Shawarma (his favorite food) and a screening of The Social Network at the massive AMC Loews Theater at Boston Common.  It was fun to watch as much of it was filmed at Harvard, where we had just been.  Plus, the crowd erupted in booing after Mark Zuckerberg criticized BU (Boston University).  How Fun! We close with some drinks at the Parish Cafe right on the corner of my block and a late night pizza run to New York Pizza (so good and open until 2 am!) with slices of pizza pie the size of my face.

 

The next day we grab breakfast at the Other Side Cafe where I devour their Tex-Mex Tango breakfast, work on some homework, head over to the North End (the old Italian center of Boston) for a day visiting the Old North Church, Copps Hill Burying Ground (my favorite cemetery ever), and indulging in Reginna's Pizza and Mike's Pastry cannolis and lobster tails; both well worth their lines out the door.

Copps Hill



Whoopie Pie and Lobster Tail from Mike's Pastry



We close the day by perusing shops at Quincy Market, visiting Faneuil Hall, walking the WWII memorial and strolling along the waterfront.

Since Monday is a day off from school (thank you Mr. Columbus), I will include it in this week's post.

Tasting Room

We wake up early and grab breakfast at Thornton's where I order their vanilla amaretto french toast.  We hop on the Orange Line to the Sam Adam's brewery tour in Jamaica Plain.  Now, as I was told these tours fill up quickly, we arrived in time (or rather, early) for their first tour at 10:00 am.  Yes, I was drinking beer at 10:00am.  Don't judge.  The tour was supposed to be 55 minutes but in reality was about 10 minutes of brewing history in one room followed by 30 minutes of free beer sampling in their tasting room.  We sampled their famous Boston Lager, Octoberfest flavor and a brand new beer from a finalist for one of

their competitions.  We even get free tasting glasses.  What followed was hilarious to say the least. After the tour you can take a party trolley (yes, that's party trolley) to a bar down the road named Doyles.  Doyles was the first bar to ever serve Sam Adams and as part of a deal with the brewery, when you order a pint of any of their Sam Adams beers on tap, you get to keep the pint glass for free.  Needless to say my boyfriend was thrilled.

It was a wonderful weekend and desperately needed.  I realized I hadn't had a day off since I've been here.

 

* 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

You and Me and Everyone We Know

I can't believe it's only been three weeks since I first set foot in Dodge Hall.  For the amount of knowledge I've gathered (and composed into executive e-mails, accounting reports, etc.) I might as well have been here for three months.

This week's word of advice is this: you need people.  What do I mean by this?  I mean study buddies, networking, the co-executives of your club and even someone to hit the gym with.  Talk to anyone and everyone. You know that group of 35 people from your section that you pretty much live with? They can act as supplemental reminders to your daily planner.  Trust me, with six classes and all your other responsibilities it is not unheard of to forget about that pesky three-page executive analysis due for Human Resource Management next Wednesday (or is it Thursday?).  Your second year mentor? They can be your link to the whole network of second-years and offer you the inside scoop on the unspoken rules of the road  As for the gym, well, let's just say if I didn't have someone to go with, I'd probably never get past the Au Bon Pain on the ground floor of the Marino Center.

I have also noticed that the people who study independently seem to struggle more with the work load.  Now, I'm not telling you to collaborate on work the teacher has specified as an individual assignment, but most professors encourage, nay, insist on group work and will even allow it for individual work up to a certain point.

Another lesson on teamwork comes from clubs.  After last week’s call for a treasurer and secretary, I'm pleased to say that the Marketing Club has completed our team.  This will make life so much easier with someone to reserve rooms, keep our financials in line (which can get very complicated) and pick up those pizzas for meetings.

Should you find yourself in the position of being a club leader I would suggest staying VERY on top of things.  Throughout the paperwork process we have received  conflicting information on budgets, registration and even a typo by the administration website telling us our deadline for funding was three days before we even joined the club (as you can imagine, that sent us into panic mode).  Also, don't trust that just because you found out about your club position on a Thursday, that the paperwork won't be due the next day.  This happened to a friend of mine.  She was announced as president of a club only to learn that the deadline for registering the club was that day! Talk about hitting the ground running.

On a positive note, I've finalized my resume, which means I will soon be able to post it to e-recruiting, the software program we use for our residency search.  This is making the idea of searching for a corporate residency very real.

Thursday some classmates set up a get-together at Punter's Pub through our Team 58 Facebook page.  This bar is a welcome relief to my graduate student budget after last weekends' foray into the fashionable and pricey world of 28 Degrees and 12 dollar cocktails. Plus, it's right around the corner from school so cab rides are not an issue.  For those not from Boston, keep in mind, that the subway, or "T", stops running after 12:30 every night so be prepared to pay that hefty cab fee if you decide to finish your night at last call.  Here's a link to the MBTA website, if you're not from the area: www.mbta.com/.  Northeastern is on the Green 'E' line.

Because of the proximity to campus and the relatively early start time of 5:00 pm we get quite the crowd at Punter's.  Both sections are well represented and I have a great time mingling with people from the other class I normally don't get to interact with.  Unfortunately, I leave after about an hour and a half to head back to Dodge for the first Entrepreneurship Club meeting. 

I’m proud of myself because, at the meeting, they open up the remaining executive position for anyone interested.  My gung-ho inclination is to raise my hand and ask to be Vice President, Secretary, anything, but I quickly catch myself.  I'm already pretty stretched for time so do I really need another commitment?  I realize the answer is a resounding "no".  So I sit back and enjoy the prospect of just having to 'show up' to these meetings in the future.

On Friday my fellow Marketing Club execs and I meet with our club advisor. He gives us the low-down on the plethora of opportunities available to us. 

We talk about several options for consulting projects, including work for a start-up company conducting focus group research and another for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.  He tells us about big-name lecturers who have come to campus in the past, including representatives from New Balance, Segway and Dunkin' Brands.  These would be big events, possibly opened up to the entire college of business (undergrad and graduate). How cool is that?  We also broach the topic of setting up an alumni lecture series.  These would be held in a more intimate setting for just Marketing Club members. Former MBA students who are now in marketing positions would come sit with us and answer questions, tell us about the job, etc.  We also have the opportunity to do some facility tours.  Past years have even gone to Hasbro (apparently they have a giant Mr. Potato Head in the parking lot!).  It quickly becomes apparent that we have too many options and not enough time.  We decide to discuss our course of action with the rest of the club at our first meeting next Wednesday (complete with complimentary Upper Crust pizza, I might add).

Friday afternoon I spend "networking".  Career Management this morning was all about reaching out and expanding your network.  I'm nervous, but I do some research on Hoover's and cold call a couple of residency executives to try and set up informational interviews. I know it's a long shot, but you never know.

I also reconnect with former employers and ask them to complete a questionnaire on my performance while at their company.  This information will become part of our Human Resource Management "Living Document", a 40+ page analysis of our managerial strengths and weaknesses.  I'm feel bad asking them to complete the 84 questions (especially after many of them wrote my recommendations for Northeastern!), but I suck it up and send out several requests.

I round out my day with dinner at Woody's Grill & Tap, a restaurant serving up stone-fired pizza. While it was delicious, after Upper Crust, their spicy chicken sausage pizza left something to be desired.

Saturday morning I wake up to the ringing of my alarm at 8:00 am.  I'm meeting a classmate at Snell Library in a couple of hours.  After our five-hour powerhouse study session dedicated mostly to our looming economics textbook pricing paper we get our butts to the gym. 

Fortunately, I get a small bit of socializing tonight.  I'm invited to the former marketing club president's house to mingle with some second years.  I rack their brains for advice, ask how their co-ops are going and about the adventures of their international field study.  It's nice to have some straight-forward answers from students who have been there. 

Sunday arrives and with it another adventure into laudromat land where I spend some time fine-tuning my econ paper to the sounds of spinning dryers.  I feel a bit guilty because I had set a goal to complete all of my work for Monday and Tuesday this weekend, but as Sunday evening rolls around and I find myself still unsatisfied with my paper, I resign myself to a packed week.

On a side note, my boyfriend is coming out to visit from California for Columbus Day weekend so I know I better get as much work completed ahead of time as possible. I'm sure he doesn't want to watch me read my Information Resources case while he's here.  I think we'll do a Sam Adams Brewery Tour in Jamaica Plain (free, for all you budget-conscious beings), maybe grab some dessert at Finale and possibly head over to Cambridge. I'm hoping the leaves start to change soon so he can have a true first-time Boston experience. The City is, after all, the most beautiful during fall.

P.S. - if you want to know how dorky I am, I check the Foliage Network website to monitor the leaf change/fall in the Northeast.  Might be fun to check out if you're not from the area.

* 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