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It's hard to believe that we're already at the end of February. It's been a busy month! Students have been wrapping up spring term one, finalizing their summer and post-graduation plans, and packing for spring break travels and GATE trips. In Admissions, we're reviewing applications, preparing to travel for
Fuqua Around the World, and making plans for our second Blue Devil Weekend on campus. And of course, everyone at Duke is getting ready for March Madness! We hope you enjoy this month's newsletter, including the following features:
- Fuqua First–Year Spotlight
- Daytime MBA Student Blog
- Five Ways to Prepare for Your MBA Career Now
- Meet Your Classmates
- Save The Date
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Fuqua First–Year Spotlight – Meet Jessie
Prior to Fuqua, Jessie was a Finance Manager for Beijing Guang Tian He Culture Media Company, a subsidiary of China Southern Airlines, the largest airline company in Asia.
1) What extracurriculars are you involved in at Fuqua? I've gotten very involved during my first year. I'm a Cabinet Member of the Finance Club, FuquaVision (you'll find out what this is soon!), and MBA Games. I'm also a first-year Admissions Ambassador. If you've been to campus, we might have met!
2) Do you have any plans for the upcoming spring break? I'll be attending the South Africa GATE trip with 16 other students. We had 5 classes this semester where we learned about South Africa, and we also had students from South Africa help us prepare for the upcoming trip.
3) After your admission, how did you prepare for your journey to start at Fuqua? As an international student, the most challenging part of moving to a new country was housing and transportation. I visited several apartments during BDW and leased one before I left. I highly recommend doing this, or contacting any Fuqua students you know to get a better sense of whether you like the environment. There are other issues to consider as well, like renters insurance, for example. I moved to Durham two weeks earlier than school started to buy a car, obtain my license, etc. It'll get crazy after school starts! Second, I finished the MBA Math curriculum and Business Computer Application (BCA) early. MBA Math is a very good resource to fill the gap and will help significantly with all of the core class experiences. Finishing BCA will ease some burden for the first term, since some recruiting starts very early. Furthermore, I would recommend spending some time to think about the career you want to pursue. Talk to friends, students, and alumni. The earlier you can figure it out, the better start you'll have for recruiting. And lastly, enjoy your free time!
4) Do you have any special memories of your time at Fuqua that you would like to share? I love FuquaVision! We make skits to make people laugh. At the end of every term, we show all of the skits we've made in the Auditorium, and Russ Morgan, the Senior Associate Dean, will not only get involved in skits, but also attend the show! It's one of the best events every term. Second, I love my first-year team! We're so close, and they'll be my best friends going forward. I've enjoyed every day at Fuqua so far.
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Daytime MBA Student Blog
Learning from Giving: MBA Games and Special Olympics
Started in 1989, MBA Games is a student-run club with the goal of raising money and advocating for Special Olympics of North Carolina (SONC). Fuqua is SONC's biggest donor. In a recent blog post, first-year student, Stephanie Salem, talks about her experience on the MBA Games cabinet and the impact it's had on her time at Fuqua so far.
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Five Ways to Prepare for Your MBA Career Now
At this stage of your MBA journey, what should you be doing now to prepare for your future career post-graduation? Our office, along with the Career Management Center, receives this question a lot from admitted and enrolled students who are waiting to start their MBA.
First, it’s important to remember that once you get to campus, you will start interacting with our CMC right away. This is through career intensives – workshops led by your sector directors in tandem with leading experts from industry – and by working with your assigned career fellow. Within the first few weeks, you'll learn more about how to recruit using Fuqua resources and the proper timeline based on your goals. Right now, the CMC wants you to focus on leaving your current position in a good place and also to allow yourself the personal space to make the transition back to school. However, if you are feeling like you want to invest some time to think through your next steps now, here are some opportunities you can focus on at this stage:
- Organize your work experience thus far by compiling a folder containing your job descriptions and performance evaluations. Note any extra projects, committees, awards, or assignments you took on, and collect results for each project. You will need to quantify results on your resume, and getting access to this data now is easier than after you arrive at Fuqua.
- Explore different MBA careers using the CMC's Career Bookshelf.
- Do research on your target companies and career aspirations. Set up coffee chats with professionals whose work you find interesting.
- Update your LinkedIn profile to ensure it's job search ready when you arrive at Fuqua.
- To get a head start on the CMC class you'll take, read The 2 Hour Job Search, Designing Your Life, Strengths Finder 2.0, and The Culture Map.
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Meet Your Classmates
Hilary Bernstein:
I'm a unicyclist and I taught myself to ride when I was eight years old. I can also pogo stick (with no hands) and jump rope at the same time. I won first place in every talent show!
Ayush Rawat:
I am an adrenaline junkie, and love to add an element of adventure in every opportunity I get. I sky-dived over Long Island when in New York for official travel, and reverse bungee jumped at Clarke Quay when in Singapore for a conference. I've conquered 8 multi-day hikes until now, and one of my life's athletic goals is to complete the Half Ironman triathlon.
Patrick Cox:
I once swam in the same pool, at the same time, as Michael Phelps!
Don't forget to email us if you would like one of your 25 facts included in a future edition of FuquaBound!
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Warm regards from Durham,
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