It's a Virtual World and I'm a Virtual Girl

This week I had the opportunity to work The Economist's virtual MBA fair! A virtual MBA fair is exactly what it sounds like: a digital version of what we used to do in person but without all those pesky direct human interactions.  Reality is so 2009.  A couple of weeks ago I had never even heard of a virtual fair and then, there I was, holding a group chat session on networking during your MBA to a bevy of online avatars.  I was thrilled to speak with potential students from around the world and help them see why I love Northeastern.  The whole experience was actually pretty fun - save a few ‘characters’ who felt that text speak was an appropriate way to communicate and correcting guests who told me how much they wanted to go to "Northwestern".

That night I try to go to bed early since I’ll be hosting another Economist virtual fair tomorrow morning.  The only problem is I have become all but nocturnal.  I don’t think I could go to bed before 10:00 pm if I tried!

Tuesday I am in full Northeastern salesperson mode- both inside and outside of my job scope.

I start my day by waking up at the crack of dawn to host another group chat for The Economist virtual MBA fair – this time from 6:15 am to 7:30 am.

After dragging myself through class I am delighted to welcome the MBA program's annual Harvest Festival. The Harvest Festival is held on the third Wednesday in November. It is a thanksgiving-style feast put on by the school including whole turkeys and hams, a bevy of potato products, veggies, cranberries, pies and a million other goodies.  It was so nice to have a real meal with all of my classmates and professors before rushing off for the break.

After the Harvest Festival I make my way to the Starbucks in the Curry Center to meet up with a prospective student who had attended my Human Resources class last week.  We discussed the program, how I came to choose Northeastern and I answered any questions she had.  It was a great meeting and I’m planning on getting together with her in the future to discuss the program further.

Wednesday morning I received an e-mail reminding me that I had an executive lunch with the CEO of Au Bon Pain.  I was thrilled because I had been on the wait list and was never notified that I was now officially on the guest list.  However, I was not in business attire at all and began panicking and planning how I could rush home between classes to change.  Unfortunately, it was all a mistake and I was not actually confirmed for the lunch.  I’ll admit that I was a bit bummed.

Luckily, one of my learning teammates was able to attend and came bearing gifts for our group's 3 hour accounting essay marathon.  She had been given cupcakes from the CEO that haven’t even been released yet! They were amazingly delicious and a formidable foe to my diet.  Later that day I walked past an Au Bon Pain and what was displayed in the window as “coming soon” but those cupcakes. Oh dear...

That night I head over to a friend’s house for dinner and some drinks (I know, on a Wednesday night!).
It was great fun and an out-of-character display of disregard for a school night.  I get home around 11:30 pm and buckle down on some of my case studies.  Sometimes you need to throw caution to the wind.

After class on Thursday I head to the office of the professor’s leading the India International Field Study trip. He had generously agreed to discuss some travel destinations with me. Unfortunately, we miss each other, but I’m able to reschedule a meeting for after the break.  I’m very excited to get an insider’s perspective on the country.

After that I make an honest effort to stay on campus and finish work but I simply cannot stay awake.  I head home for a glorious one- hour nap before returning to campus for my first Insider Insight session.  Luckily, this information session did not disappoint! When I walked into the room it was covered in toys! From Nerf guns to Jenga sets and My Little Pony, the room is wonderfully colorful and fun.  Each seat is donned with playdoh and we spend much of our time answering trivia questions for prizes. Somehow I don’t think the Raytheon session was as vibrant.  I spend the next couple of hours listening to a panel of three Hasbro employees as they discussed their company, job responsibilities and upcoming projects.  I even came home with a Littlest Pet Shop set; one of my favorite childhood toys.

That night, I head over to my peer mentor’s house for what she promises to be an exotic dinner.  It’s great to see her again as she prepares to re-enter school after her six-month residency.  Her husband cooks up a delicious Balinese dinner complete with authentic satay sauce and homemade spicy toppings. Yum! Plus, hearing her class lineup for next semester has me excited for my second year of grad school.

Friday is our last Career Management class of the semester.  While I actually enjoy Career Management, I won’t lie that I’m thrilled to have three-day weekends from here on out. As final projects start piling up, it will become exceedingly necessary.  Our final class is a nerve-racking one for me.  It’s all about corporate residency.  As I sit there I begin preparing for the competitive internship search and wonder how everything will play out.  Questions race through my head.  What if I apply to the same job as a friend?  How do you juggle that?  While I want everyone to get their dream co-op, what happens if someone has the same dream as I do?  I start to lose confidence when I size myself up against my classmates.  The first round of application dates has also been set.  Starting January 18, jobs will be posted.  What's more, the career fair is February 8th, as are our first round of interviews.  It’s all happening so fast!

After class we hold our second official Marketing Club meeting.  I will admit our attendance numbers are substantially lower than before, but I’m excited to present all of our opportunities to the group.  Let’s see how many people I can lure into joining my Massachusetts Horticultural Society consulting team.  I also get started on our Marketing Club holiday party.  The room is reserved and now I just need to get some bodies into it.  I think free food should do the trick.

Saturday morning I wake up early and head to Jamaica Plain for breakfast with a friend.  Oddly enough, Jamaica Plain reminds me of Seattle.  I think it’s the brightly colored houses in purple and pink combined with the plethora of organic food markets.  That morning we discover a true eatery gem; Sorella’s has the most extensive breakfast menu I have ever seen.  With no exaggeration, at least 15 flavors of French toast, 10 variations of pancakes and 20 types of omellettes grace the pages of their menu.  Glorious!  I opt for a seasonal offering of eggnog French toast.

The rest of the day is spent at home doing homework and cleaning my apartment in anticipation of the Thanksgiving break.

Sunday morning I head to the gym (it has been a week!) and then pay a visit to the laundromat - laptop and marketing assignment in hand.  As always, I somehow manage to spend 3 times as long on my work as I would like and I don’t have time to get to everything.  Oh well, I guess my 40+ page Living Document assignment will have to wait- yet again.

*The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Northeastern Univiersity, it's staff or affiliates.

Northeastern Is Moving on Up!

I would like to begin this entry with a little “congratulations” to my school.  This week BusinessWeek posted their annual MBA rankings.  In 2010, for the first time, Northeastern University was ranked! And, not only were we ranked, but we snagged the 56 spot! I’m so excited.  On that note, we were ranked 62 this year in US News & World Report’s list.  I’m so glad to see my school climbing up those ranks.  Let’s give Boston University and Boston College a run for their money (we may need to wait a bit on Harvard and MIT).

Monday is my executive luncheon with Lisa Laich of Ocean Spray Cranberries.  Again, it was a great success and she was very helpful and relaxed.  She even told us about how the REAL Mickey Mouse came to visit her office in support of Ocean Spray’s new partnership with Disney World as their ‘healthy snack’ provider.

On Tuesday everyone breaths a huge sigh of relief as we turn in our 100+ page accounting paper that analyzed the financial data of two companies in the same industry.  My group completed ours on Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airlines.  I have never turned in a document so large that I had to get it professionally bound; I guess there’s a first time for everything.

Later that day I get my Human Resources paper back and am pleased to say I got an A- on my rewrite! I’m so relieved and feel much better as far as my understanding of the material and requirements.

Also, today in Human Resources we had several prospective students visit our class.  As part of my self-imposed duty as a Northeastern spokesperson, I approach them after class and direct them to this blog.   I also offer to meet with one student next week to chat about the program, its offerings and the trials and tribulations of 'living the Northeastern MBA' (see what I did there? Eh? Eh?)

Wednesday is a very long day!

After class the Marketing Club has a meeting with one of our consulting projects: The Marshfield Fair.  We meet two board members and discuss possibilities on how to increase attendance to their August fair event.

After the meeting the executive board meets up to determine who will head each consulting project.  I’m proud to say that I will be in charge of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society project.  We send out invites for our next official meeting with a list of our upcoming opportunities.  These include: a tour of the Ocean Spray Cranberries facilities, a guest speaker and a holiday party with 2^nd year Marketing MBAs.

That evening we have our International Field Study information session.  I can hardly contain my excitement (though some of my classmates may say I couldn’t contain my excitement at all).  The professors leading each trip gave us a rundown on itineraries.  They all seem very nice and knowledgeable so I’m quite pleased.  Plus, there was free pizza! You can’t go wrong with that.  On a side note: I have become the official promoter for the country of India.  I’m just saying that maybe India should give me stipend for all of my efforts. Why the effort, you ask?  I’m nervous about the trip being canceled if we don’t meet the 15 student minimum.  Another wrench in my plan: Northeastern will not allow students from India to participate in this trip.  I’ll just have to use my persuasive marketing skills to make it happen. 

After the information session a bunch of us girls head to Parish Café, conveniently located just down the street from my house.  It was great to hang out and have a chance to socialize, though I’m sad to report that my sandwich was trés disappointing.  Who would have thought that banana walnut bread, honey-baked ham and cheese could be messed up? 

Because of the Veterans Day holiday we get a day off from classes on Thursday (notice I did not just say ‘day off’- we never get that).

Despite this mini vacation from school, I do not sleep in, instead waking up early to meet with my group for a few hours to finish our marketing presentation.  I will admit that this was one of our more entertaining projects. We had to create a marketing plan for a company called Digital Angel using Web 2.0, or social media.  We spend the next several hours fabricating Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and YouTube channels.  Lesson learned: don’t let MBA students near even a sliver of fun or you’ll have an entire fictional company created online, complete with logos and real Twitter tweets, within a few hours.

On Friday I meet up with my co-leader of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society project.  We make up a slide presentation, pick out our specific project and get ready for our Friday club meeting to lure members to our team.

In Career Management today we have our final career track panel: Finance. We host representatives from Wellington, Staples, Cypress Tree Investments, Raytheon and TJX.  While I’m not a Finance major by any means, it was very interesting to see the differences in attitude between the finance employers and the Marketing or Supply Chain panel.  Case in point: one of the panelists bluntly proclaimed that he would throw away any resume with a 3.2 GPA from Northeastern.  Well folks, if you’re interested in finance, put your nose to those books!

After Career Management, I head to my last executive luncheon of the semester.  I meet up with Jodie Neville, a brand manager at Hasbro and a current Executive MBA at Northeastern.  This time we join her in Dodge Hall and enjoy one of the EMBA’s catered lunches (which they get each class day).  She is so laid back and helpful, even suggesting a potential partnership with the Marketing Club for a project she wants to propose to Hasbro.

Afterward I attend a training session for a virtual MBA fair I will be working.  The fair, put on by the Economist, will host about 20 schools.  Prospective students from around the world will be able to attend.  I will be conducting a group chat on networking while in you MBA.  How exciting!

After all my work is done, it’s time to play.  I join a couple of classmates for the cinematic masterpiece that is Saw 3D (yes, you read that correctly).  It was ridiculous but hilarious and definitely a distraction for the stresses of school.

Besides my normal weekend routine of errands I head out for a bar crawl on Boylston tonight.  My friend’s sister is in town and so a group of us head to Dillon’s and then The Pour House to show her a good time.  What a small world it is because we run into several classmates at The Pour House.  I guess we all needed a bit of a break.

Sunday I discover an alternative to the crowded Marino Center, courtesy of a friend. SquashBusters is a Northeastern gym located near the Alumni Center.  A much smaller version of Marino it, nonetheless, offers everything I need and is much closer to my house.  What a hidden gem! It will be excellent for my weekend workouts.

I spend the rest of the day trying (trying being the keyword) to get back on my routine of having all of my Monday and Tuesday assignments done by the end of the weekend- we’ll see how that goes.  As I look ahead to all of my assignments due in the next few weeks I begin to get a bit overwhelmed,  but I buckle down a finally begin the dreaded Living Document 1.  At 40+ pages I feel as though I at least should start it before Thanksgiving break.  I don't want anything distracting me from a holiday centered around eating. Yum!

* 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.

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.

International Dreaming

Photo Courtesy of Katherine Baroutgian

Tuesday is a big day for the Marketing Club.  It’s our first official event: a focus group for the start-up company Open Runway.  After class we meet at the Curry Center in our reserved room and are greeted by a tabletop of shoes, purses and fabric swatches.  Needless to say we all rush the display and begin proclaiming our favorites.  The event opens with a presentation by the CEO and a Northeastern 2^nd- year who is working there for his corporate residency.  He shows us the beta version of their website and gives the club a run-down of their company goals and vision.  They split us into groups with an assignment to come up with some marketing ideas given their meager budget.  I’m quite impressed with our results.  Propositions ranging from giant shoes placed strategically on public streets to targeting sororities with free samples surface in the discussion.

The meeting was definitely a success and it gives the executive board a boost of confidence to pursue our next big activity.

Photo courtesy of Katherine Baroutgian

Wednesday we get our mid-term participation grade in marketing.  I’m sure no good can come of this since I feel that my comments in the class are not all that innovative or deep.  But, contrary to my belief, I am placed in the top 25% of the class with some very reassuring comments from my professor.  A couple of teachers have done similar mid-term participation check-ups and I really appreciate them.  It helps prevent any unfortunate surprises when those grades come in around January.

After desperately trying to keep awake during the rest of class (keep in mind my late nights) I learn that Information Resources is canceled.  It’s amazing what two extra hours in your day can do.   I spend them with my group divvying up our High Performance Organization essay before heading to my second executive luncheon.

This time around I meet with Joanna Storella, the Chief Financial Officer of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority.  I am happy to say that it was another fabulous meeting.  A former Northeastern MBA, Ms. Storella is very candid with us on her time at the school, her diverse career path, her involvement in MBA Connections and more.  With two great networking experiences under my belt, I’m beginning to regret not signing up for more luncheons. 

Now, for a little word of advice: My luncheon with Ms. Storella was categorized under finance, but after looking into the description a little more I learned that Ms. Storella concentrated in marketing during her time at Northeastern and that she had a couple of marketing jobs prior to her current career in finance.  So, while it might be tempting to only sign up for luncheons in your concentration, you can get a lot by keeping an open mind and realizing that just because a person is currently in a position that might not interest you, they might know someone in your preferred department or have even worked there themselves.

After all is said and done, I get home at 3:30pm today! This is the earliest I’ve been home all school year and it feels amazing (even if it was only because I skipped out on my workout).  I take a nap and spend the rest of the night doing accounting and researching for my informational interview tomorrow with Collette Travel.

Thursday is a great day!  After class I head home for my 4:00pm phone interview with Mr. Eric Welter, the Executive Vice President of Marketing at Collette Travel.  The experience was fabulous!  Mr. Welter was so kind and generous in spending more than 30 minutes speaking with me and answering questions.  He recounted his impressive work history (including being a VP of marketing for J. Jill and Viking River Cruises) and gave me some suggestions on how to better prepare myself for the competitive world of marketing.  It was so refreshing to meet someone who is enthusiastic about their job.  Too often I feel that once I talk to someone in a field I’m interested in, they serve to only dissuade me from that path, grumbling and complaining; not Mr. Welter. He even told me about his favorite travel destinations.  What’s more, when he saw my phone number come up on caller ID, he mentioned my 818 area code (LA) and said he knew someone I could talk to at Viking River Cruises in Woodland Hills when I go home for the holidays.  I’m so excited!  This opportunity just wouldn’t have been possible without Northeastern.

To add to my fabulous day, news I’ve been waiting for since applying to Northeastern was posted today: our international field study trip destinations!  I could hardly contain myself as I scrolled down the list on the Gradbiz Enewsletter.  Our options, you ask?  India (my DREAM country to visit!), Russia, China/Hong Kong and Argentina/Brazil.  The only problem is picking just one.  Being my travel-obsessed and dorky self I immediately begin researching locations and possible side trips.  The one unfortunate result of my Google search is this: India is its hottest during the month of May; the month I would be there.  And I’m not talking California hot; I’m talking AVERAGES of 90-104 degrees with numbers in the 120s not uncommon.  Considering I’ll be wearing a business suit, this issue warrants some consideration.  Anyway, I’ll find out more about these trips during our informational session on November 10. 

Tonight is also our Team 58 Halloween party at Symphony 8.  I stop by for a couple of hours and have fun seeing my classmates in full costume.  Plus, some persuasive organizers of this party manage to get all of us drink and food deals for the entire night.  Ah, the benefits of having MBA students as your party planners.

Career Management this week centers around a cover letter workshop.  It’s a short class and I’m done in plenty of time to head over for the free Excel workshop I signed up for.  While the lesson starts off a bit slow, I end up learning about pivot tables and macros, functions that could have saved me a lot of time over the years.  After this session,I’m beginning to feel more like an, as our professor dubs it, “Excel guru”.  My next assignment will be ripe with beautiful graphs and charts, no doubt.

This afternoon I come home to find that my landlord has been to my house to take some photographs for their website (with my permission of course).  Apparently, they think I've utilized my tiny space pretty well.  Just in case you’re wondering what 220 square feet looks like:

220 Square feet of glory

Sunday is Halloween!  Now, I’m sad to say, in the life of grad student, this day turns out to lose some of its ‘fun’ element, but at least I get some entertainment out of watching the costumed citizens of Boston while waiting for the “T” or grabbing groceries.  So fun!

And, in the complete opposite spirit of this candy-frenzied holiday, I make myself go the gym.  It’s been four days and I’m beginning to feel the effects.  After a few hours of homework I decide to head to Macy’s for their birthday sale.  I am proud to say that I have finally found my big, poofy winter coat- and at 40% off at that! Plus, I manage to snag a pair of boots on sale which will be useful in the coming week.  Monday and Tuesday temperature highs are predicted to be 49 degrees.  Brrr....

My new marshmallow coat

I close off the day with some homework and, while I don’t have any candy in hand tonight, there’s always the day after Halloween sweets sales. Yum!

* 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.

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