The MBA Student Voice

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Out of sight, out of mind? Not so much. A week after we officially finished our first year of business school, I'm already missing it. I miss my amazing classmates, the fascinating classes, my awesome profs, and just the general sense of camaraderie and community that pervades the daily experience at Anderson.

Now ... am I glad to have a few months off from homework? Yeah, I admit I am. I am also excited about my summer internship, a strategy project for Princess Cruises. This was a tough year for recruiting -- not just at Anderson or at business schools in general, but everywhere in this economy. But as a testament to our Parker Career Management office, quite a few of us have found excellent jobs this summer. In fact, I owe my own internship largely to Parker, since one of the counselors, Jennifer Bevan, is the person who made me aware of this opening. She and Amanda Durrant, another of Parker's spectacular counselors, coached me on my resume, my interview answers, and general job-search strategies for most of this year. I owe them quite a bit!

Despite my exciting internship opportunity (which starts tomorrow!), I will certainly miss Anderson over the summer. I'm just glad that I have one more year left, more time to soak in the education and friendship thaty the school is afffording me.

I look forward to meeting many of you this fall. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about Anderson or about b-school in general.

Business skills for the future, not just now

One of the great things about UCLA Anderson is the entrepreneurial spirit that’s infused throughout most things we do. It’s a helpful attitude to carry into work for Fortune 500s as well as start-ups – and is especially relevant in today’s economy. CNBC wrote a somewhat bleak article last week about how the financial crisis has affected MBA recruiting; we’ve all heard this before, right?  But what I took away from the article was Kunal’s confidence in himself and in the skills he’s gained while at school.

That goes double for me. Watching classmates prep for the Knapp Venture Competition finals or create consulting teams for our upcoming AMR projects reminds me that the skills we’re picking up here are relevant in all sorts of economies and hiring atmospheres.

--Linda

Anderson's Amazing Professors

We all have our favorite professors.  Maybe it was that great professor first quarter that changes your mind about that boring subject.  Or maybe it was that professor that was so dynamic and engaging in class that you couldn't help but get excited when you were in class.  I've had several professors that have really been incredible.  One of those is my current professor for an elective class -- Managerial Model Building. Professor Herman is doing great work in the classroom, as well as outside.  She was just honored with the 2009 Health Literacy Award for her work with the Head Start Program.  

I think this is a great example of the type of faculty at Anderson.  They are experts in their fields and are really engaged with the students.  But they also make a significant impact in the real world.  Model Building has been a great class for me and has so many applications across industries and functions.  I've already used linear programming several times for in-class work, and I am sure that I will use it this summer in my internship.  I think it's a very valuable class to take while at Anderson, and Prof. Herman is a great teacher, who also gives back to the community.

--Cheryl

New ACT Coaches!

One of the resources I found most helpful this past year was my Anderson Career Team (ACT).  As I've mentioned previously in the blog, ACT groups are divided according to career interest, and meet on a weekly or bi-weekly basis in order to provide resources and support for your job search.  Not only did I find it key in developing my skills for my summer internship search, but I have learned skills that I will use throughout my career.  I owe a lot of this to my great ACT coach, a second year student that had experience in my intended field -- operations/supply chain management.

Fortunately, I will be able to pass my knowledge along to incoming first years during the fall!  I will be serving as an ACT coach, along with a great friend of mine, for Strategic Operations.  This is a fairly broad umbrella that encompasses corporate strategy, business development, operations, and supply chain management.  Positions can be internal and also within consulting firms.  If these are topics you are interested in, I hope to see you in the fall!  If not, you will have one of the other fabulous ACT coaches to help you through what will be a crazy term!

--Cheryl

Trip to wine country

Having worked in the wine industry before coming to business school, I definitely had the chance to taste a lot of wines and visit a lot of wine regions. One of my favorites, the Santa Ynez Valley, just happens to be 90 minutes away from the UCLA campus.

I took a day trip up there with some family last weekend (pic here). We went to five wineries: Brander, Epiphany, Qupe, Fess Parker and Foxen. Qupe is always a favorite of mine -- we poured a lot of their wine at the restaurant I used to manage outside Chicago. The great thing about taking a wine-tasting trip to Santa Barbara is that you don't really have to like wine in order to get a lot out of it. The terrain is stunning up there, so it's a great way to get away from the city and see some natural beauty. And what's even more amazing is that just an hour southeast of SB, you can see snow!

This is just one off the million ways to have fun while you're at Anderson! 

No rest for an Anderson student!

It's the end of week 6?  Already?!  Spring quarter has flown by.  As you can probably guess, we've got a lot going on these days.  The Knapp business plan competition semi-finals were last week (And my team advanced!  We're very excited!), so we're meeting regularly to put the finishing touches on our plan.  First year students also had our mid-term for Strategy earlier this week, and Ander-prom (our version of a formal) is tomorrow evening.

It seems crazy that we only have five weeks left in our first year - mostly because it seems like there's so much to do between now and then!  Clubs are transitioning leadership, we're starting to prepare final presentations for our classes, and there has been an increasing number of guest speakers on campus (Paul Otellini, the CEO of Intel, recently gave an address). Lots to do, but it's been a great ride so far.  And I can't wait to see what these last few weeks bring.

Huskies, Trojans, and Bears... No Problem!

Anderson Brings the Golden Briefcase Back to its Rightful Place
Published in the 'Anderson Exchange' - The Independent Voice of Anderson

by the C4C Board
April 27, 2009

 Last weekend, Anderson competed against eight West Coast business schools in the MBA Challenge for Charity sports competition. In attendance were UC Irvine, Pepperdine, USC, Stanford, UC Davis, USF, Berkeley, University of Washington, and, of course, the mighty Bruins of UCLA, who led the weekend in
attendance, even besting the host school Stanford. Although all the schools gave a valiant effort, Anderson was the only one to return home with the coveted Golden Briefcase! Thanks to everyone’s efforts in events like Casino Night & Auction, Whistler, the Santa Barbara Wine Trip, and the Junior Achievement Bowl-a-thon, Anderson raised $76,600 throughout the year. This money went directly to Special Olympics and LA Works, and placed us third (behind University of Washington and USC) in the competition in terms of fundraising. Anderson ranked first in volunteering, and it wasn’t even close. Primarily due to Orientation Week, Riordan mentoring, and Project Echo, we racked up 5,123 total volunteer hours during the year. This was roughly 3 more hours per capita than the next-ranked school. The weekend itself was a blast. The weather was in the mid-eighties. The Sheraton pool looked like a scene out of MTV’s Spring Break special. First year and second year students played together more than they had all year on campus. No one touched a book. Everyone touched a Hefeweizen. More importantly, we competed and cheered our hearts out, ranking us second in the Weekend events (behind Stanford). See the results of our superb competitors below. Thanks to everyone who participated either during the weekend or contributed in some way throughout the year. We are extremely proud to bring the briefcase back home, and couldn’t have done it without the dedicated efforts of our entire student body. WHO’S READY FOR A THREE-PEAT?!?

A time of transition...

As you might be able to tell from several of the more recent blog posts, it is a VERY busy time at Anderson.  While it might seem that students would be out enjoying the great weather, or distracted by upcoming internships, it could not be farther from the truth.   We are all enrolled in 2 core courses this quarter, and at least 2 (some are taking 3!) elective classes.  In addition, I am involved in an academic internship and case competition this quarter.  What I find is most exciting though, is the transition to our leadership roles for 2nd year.  This is the time of year that our wonderful second year MBAs are relinquishing their club board positions and handing them off to us first years.  I have the great fortune to be serving as a co-VP of External for the Strategic Operations Management Association.  I am really excited about the opportunity to help SOMA grow and continue its great relations with a number of companies that recruit at UCLA Anderson.  For those of you that are interested in strategy, internal consulting, operations or supply chain careers, this is the club for you!  There are many leadership roles for first year students in all of clubs, and the opportunities just grow the longer you are here!

--Cheryl

1000 Homes Case Competition Housing Tour

So this past weekend, while about half of our school went to Stanford to compete in the annual C4C (Challenge 4 Charity) event with several other business schools, I stuck around LA and took a tour of some local permanent supportive housing.

This tour was a part of the education process in getting up to speed on our 1000 Homes Case Competition.  I got a chance to tour 2 Permanent Supportive Housing Developments towards the Downtown LA area.  The project for our team is to work with the Veteran's Affairs office in LA to find supportive housing solutions for homeless veterans in the area. 

The tour was a great experience and opened my eyes to what Permanent Supportive Housing can be if done right.  A local organization "A Community of Friends" showed us 2 of their developments that have been up and running for a couple of years.  Permanent Supportive Housing houses formerly homeless individuals who have either a mental illness, substance abuse problems, or physical disabilities that prevent them from leading normal lives and who, without help, would otherwise be homeless.

Permanent Supportive Housing offers them a place to call home, usually in the form of a studio apartment, where they pay a portion of their monthly income for rent (the rest is subsidized).  They are able to receive help from supportive services that ensure they remain on the right path and lead normal lives.

I have to admit, I had some preconceived notions as to what I expected these apartments to look like (slightly dilapidated, someone rundown, and potentially seedy).  Upon actually visiting them though, if you hadn't told me it was Permanent Supportive Housing, I never would have known.  These apartment developments were VERY nice!  One was built from the ground up while the other was a renovated building.  While they have a community room and some small offices for residents to meet with case managers, they were otherwise regular apartments.  A Community of Friends (ACOF) goes to great lengths to ensure that their developments fit in with the community.  The support services really help to develop a sense of mutual respect and community for all the residents. 

My misconceptions were definitely the reason this case competition is important.  My misgivings probably echo those of a typical nearby resident who hears that a supportive housing development is going up in their neighborhood.  The NIMBYism (Not in my backyard) element is based on fear of the crime and drugs entering a neighborhood and the eventual drop in someone's property value.  We're just at the start of this competition (it's supposed to last the entire spring quarter), but I hope that at the very least, we can raise awareness of what Permanent Supportive Housing can be when done right. 

-Ulric

Anderson’s Next Top Model…

  

Week 4 kicks off with UCLA Anderson winning the Challenge for Charity (C4C), the largest charitable organization at the School and without doubt a very important part of the UCLA Anderson experience. Congratulations to all members of our community who brought back the Golden Briefcase! Let’s see what else is going on this week:

- Midterms are almost here (come again?)
- Students are filling their calendars with multiple study group meeting as the quarter gets really busy (no way!)
- Weather remains “cool”, about 90oF (nothing beats LA’s weather, right?)
- Only a few weeks left until the RMA Fashion Show (now you’re talkin…)

First of all let me remind to those of you who are interested in retail that the Retail Management Association connects students with professionals in the retail industry as well as supports students who desire to launch their business in related fields. The RMA Charity Fashion Show is one of the most anticipated events in the Anderson community and will be held on Thursday, May 14th, 2009. But why is this event so much anticipated? Students AND professors participate in this event, some of them are actual models on the stage and the best of them qualify as Anderson’s Next Top Model! And of course this memorable event is all about charity and in fact last year’s show raised over $10,000 in proceeds for C4C. A video of last years’ show is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f6822oTZFs. So, if you are already in Los Angeles, start buying your tickets because they go really fast! For more information you can contact us at: nikolaos.stamatis.2010@anderson.ucla.edu.

More details to come right before the real action begins on stage…

-N i k o s