Sunday, May 15, 2011

The Final Countdown

I can't believe that I've already reached finals week!

Monday morning I wake up early for a last-minute cramming session before my 10:50 am Finance final.  After about an hour, I realize that, at this point, I've done all that I can and switch gears to working through my Operations take-home exam. I also make sure to call and e-mail Hamilton Sundstrand to cancel my on-site interview this Friday. While the opportunity sounds amazing, I think moving to Connecticut would have been just too much to coordinate with such short notice.

I manage to struggle through the Finance final and as soon as I finish I rush to change into my suit for my interview with Vention Medical. Fortunately, it's on campus so I don't have far to travel. I think it goes really well and I seem to connect with the interviewer. The position is a marketing one, and is centered mostly around social media. I'm told to expect a decision shortly.

After the interview I don't have much time for reviewing how it went as my Supply Chain essay final is tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to two hours of in-class writing and am having a difficult time figuring out the best way to prepare. After a couple of hours, I switch to Operations.

Around 8:30 that night I get my second residency offer, this time from Vention Medical! I'm so happy! The saying seems to hold true: when it rains, it pours. I have a difficult decision to make and only a couple of days in which to make it.

Tuesday I'm up early again, this time I'm cramming for Supply Chain with some intermittent breaks of Operations preparation.  The test ends up not being that painful - on the contrary, I wish I hadn't spent any time at all preparing!

After class I manage an hour or so of studying before making my way to the Beth Israel Travel Clinic for my immunizations for India. As expected, I am instructed to be injected with virtually every vaccine known to man. Luckily, they're all in one arm so I can still work on my assignments. Unfortunately, I had to sacrifice a Statistics review session (which would have been well used) to prevent typhoid but I guess that's a fair enough trade.

As soon as that's done I meet with my group to write our final Operations essay and prepare our PowerPoint slides for our presentation tomorrow.  We are at the library until 10:00 that night and still have some final questions to answer on my Operations take-home exam. Luckily, that portion isn't due until tomorrow afternoon so I have some time to finalize it after the presentations. I can't believe how down-to-the-wire everything has become.

Wednesday's Operations presentations go smoothly and I'm told by the professor afterward that he enjoyed our discussion of The Boston Globe's production process.

Today is also the day I have to decide between my two corporate residency offers. After much review and advice gathering from the Career Center, family and friends I decide to accept GE Aviation's offer! Can you believe it?! Finally a co-op, and with only 2 days to spare before I leave for India. Last minute indeed!

Again, I don't have much time for revelry as I make my way to the library for Statistics studying and starting (again, last-minute) my Strategy case write-up (there is no in-class final).  I get several hours of Statistics in but still feel lost. I'm pretty sure this exam is a lost cause and I enter it certain that even a "C" grade will be a struggle. Ugh.

Strategy also takes way longer than anticipated (doesn't it always?).  Again, our professor has graciously extended our deadline to Friday morning at 9:00 am and you can be sure I will take every last minute of time on that one.

Thursday morning I trudge to Dodge Hall for what will certainly be my doom. The exam is difficult but I feel that, perhaps, it was not as bad as I anticipated? Maybe?

After the exam I rush to the library to get down to business on my Strategy write-up. With only 4 pages and two exhibits I am instructed to discuss the entire strategy of Gucci (yes, the famed fashion-house). I tend to have difficulty with brevity (can't you tell from my lengthy blog posts?) so I know cutting this paper down will take some serious time.

After a couple of hours, my writing is interrupted as I make my way to the mandatory end-of year-lunch at the Alumni Center. It's nice to get some fuel before what I'm sure will be a long night and it made me feel really good to have some of the administration come up to me to congratulate me on my residency offer. It showed me how much they really cared.

I'm up well into the night and up again at 6:00 am on Friday morning to finish the paper. I hit submit at 7:47 am, done with my first year of a Northeastern MBA student.

While all I want to do is relax, that is just not in the cards for me. I leave tomorrow for a month abroad (three weeks in India and one week in Nepal) and have packing to do, errands to run and a drug test for GE to complete.

The journey for my drug test is a long one and consumes my morning. I'm also instructed to complete roughly 30 pages of applications forms, background checks, etc. for GE, scan and e-mail them all individually before I leave. I somehow manage to get it all done with enough time for me to run around Boston like a crazy person completing travel errands.

I pick up high-percentage DEET bug spray, a sleeping bag liner, medications, hand sanitizer and the like all in a desperate attempt to ward off the Indian illness I am told will most assuredly come my way.

Saturday morning is filled with more errands. I finish around 3:00pm, just as my friend buzzes me from downstairs to take me to the airport.

Well everyone, it's been a crazy, fulfilling and educational year. I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I will continue to write while on my IFS trip and throughout corporate residency but on a less frequent basis (probably every-other week or so).  To all of you who will be stepping onto the Northeastern campus this fall, congratulations, good luck and please, keep in touch!

* The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Northeastern University, its staff or affiliates.