Internship (& Germany), here I come!

June 1st is a big day in the LFM. The class of 2011 will start school and many of us in the class of 2010 start our internship.

There's four of us going to Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics (and lucky for you, we're all bloggers!), and we all start with "orientation" on Monday. It's actually pretty neat - NVD has monthly operations leadership team meetings and this month it's here in Cambridge. So, they decided to have us participate as part of our first week & orientation. We actually had the opportunity to meet this group of people once before in March, so hopefully that will make it a bit less nerve racking. It's exciting, though, being interns with NVD because it's the first year this divison has participated, so we're getting a chance to help influence the future of their participation - hopefully we don't mess it up! :)

Starting work this time seems a bit different. I did lots of internships in undergrad, but I feel there's more pressure now... they pay a lot of money for us, and we have to write a thesis on the work we do. Now, I've worked hard, but, I'm not sure I've done ANYTHING that I could write about for 50+ pages... oh well, I'm sure it'll come together.

Part of the excitement of my internship is the international aspect. There are 10 of us going to Europe and a few others headed to other parts of the world. It'll be pretty interesting learning how things work there and seeing the differences of the cultures. I'm sure it'll be a challenge at times - beyond the language, but I can't wait.

7 days until the move across the ocean!! Now, back to some packing since the Uhaul is scheduled for Friday...

A 2 week taste of Europe

Lets see, since my last post, the most exciting thing would be spending 2 weeks traveling around Europe and getting a taste of what it will be like living there for 6 months.

A quick summary of International Plant Trek - INCREDIBLE! I did pre-trek activities with 5 other LFMs and we had a blast doing the sight-seeing thing and taste testing all of the fantastic European beers.  I'd post a lot of details, but as luck has it, Drew was traveling with me and his blog is already updated and fantastic. So, read that for details. And, here are some highlights from my perspective:

• Beer is so much more tasty! I never used to be a huge beer drinker, but grad school changed that. And, I anticipate, living in Europe for 6 months will sway me even further towards being a true beer drinker.


• Food is tasty! I absolutely love food - my favorite part about the trip was our groups willingness to read a menu and just walk in on a whim if it sounded good. We had some VERY good local food and funny experiences as a result.


• Being 1/2 polish, it was absolutely incredible to see and learn about a country where my family has a lot of history. I don't strongly associate to my Polish roots for a few reasons, but there was something oddly overwhelming when I first stepped foot in the country and got to witness all of the amazing aspects of it.


• It's eye opening to travel some place where you do not speak the language. We had very few problems since most people speak English, but you still realize how much you take for granted when you know the language.


• As much as i hate to admit it, I am a naive American. I know very little about European history and current government. It actually makes me sad, and I've made a personal vow to learn a lot more about it in prep for my internship and just because it's good to be aware of what's going on in the world.


• Corporate culture is SO different. Again, it was a great way to get some exposure before beginning my job in June...


• And, finally... I LOVE TRAVELING! I can't put into words how excited I was every day we went out to explore a new city. It might sound silly, but it was like a constant high. I actually like the uncertainty and unfamiliarity and the discovery.

If you didn't get the drift, the trip was great. I think there's only thing that would have made the trip better... SUN!!! But, really, it was everything I expected. And, I think one of the best parts was the people I traveled with.

How could I have forgot how wonderful Spring Break is...

Since the new Admits have now learned who they are and might be considering what decision to make, I'll point out one of my favorite parts about returning to grad school - breaks and traveling!!

As we all know, while working, vacation is limited, no matter how great the company. And, even if you have a good amount of it, you have to bust you butt to clear your plate before you leave, it's still on the back of your mind while you're gone, and then when you return, it is inevitable that there's a big mess to clean up.

I've realized that there is no other time besides the time I have now to go away for weeks at a time with no responsibilities holding me back. So, with H1 (the first half of the semester complete) and 2 out of my 7 classes also over, I'm off to spend 2 weeks traveling in Eastern Europe, without my laptop and cell phone. The second week is the International Plant Trek (there's about 40 students from both classes going to tour plants and explore) but the first week is what I'm most excited about - there's a much smaller group of 6 of us. We'll be doing the hostel thing and being major tourists. I can't wait - I have no doubt it will be a blast!

And with that, I should try to do some packing since my flight leaves in less than 24 hours and I made the responsible decision to stay in on a Friday night just for that purpose. :)

6 months to get in touch with my Italian side

On Wednesday night, the announcement of Internship matches came out. The timing almost couldn't have been better (or worse). Many of us were out at Beacon Hill Pub (BHP), where Sloanies spend Wednesday night enjoying a tasty adult beverage to help get through the week, when the e-mail came through. It was a flurry of iPhone & Blackberry action, as everyone worked through the list to find their name.

I am THRILLED about mine. I will be working for Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics in... Siena, Italy. Yay! Personally and professionally I am pretty excited...

Personally, I am actually half Italian, so I can't wait to get the chance to learn more about my family.  Also, there are many other LFMs going to Europe so it will be an incredible chance for me to explore Europe.

Professionally, it's fulfilling exactly one of my major goals for LFM - the chance to do something COMPLETELY new. I don't think you can get any further apart than fighter airplanes and vaccines. ;) Plus, the way the project is described right now, it's much different than my shop floor/manufacturing IE experience.

All in all this is an exciting time.

Also, being the "fill-in" Internship Committee chair, I am SO glad that the chaos of the matching is over!

It's Spring Semester, but not really Spring Weather

I am so thankful for MIT's policy on days off. Even though it's only been 2 weeks of classes, I am in need of an extra day off. I've already fallen behind in classes. Not necessarily because I'm overwhelming busy, but because I just can't seem to get motivated. The odd thing is that I picked my classes this semester, so I should be a bit more excited than I am... I think it's just getting back into the school mentality. After having 6 weeks without school I got spoiled. And although I went 6 years without school before last May - I was actually excited for classes when we started in June. Now, I'm thinking more clearly and know what I've got myself into. ;)

Ok, so here's what will be keeping me busy this semester:

Sloan Classes

Finance: Now, given that my title for the last year I was at NG was Financial Analyst, you'd think that I'd be more excited and interested in this class. But, I am not. I know Net Present Value, Bonds and various other stuff is important, but I actually think there's more interesting things to do with numbers ( wow, could I be a bigger dork? :) ).  Also, our professor is a disaster. Fortunately, he's a visiting professor, so hopefully, none of you will have to take it. One good thing about the terrible class is that we've formed an LFM study group to minimize our classroom torture and to help each other learn what we don't get in lecture.  It's a good chance for me to get to work with new people in LFM.

Sustainability Lab: This class is all about implementing and being aware of sustainablity initiatives in business. It's actually been one of the most interesting so far. It's primarily case discussion based. But, one of the neat things the professor has done is contacted people at the company that we've read about and getting them to call in and provide an update to us during class. It really makes it a lot more enjoyable, plus, I feel like I'm learning a lot about sustainability, which is new for me. (Yeah, I'm behind the times.)

Engineering Classes (at least those that count for me in my CEE degree)

Supply Chain Planning/Design: This is probably the most analytical engineering class I am taking this semester. It's a lot of supply chain modeling - inventory planning, etc. It should be pretty similar to a class I took in the fall, but not nearly as complex (thankfully!!). The only big downside is that it's at 8 AM (MWF) but that's because it's broadcast in Singapore.

International Supply Chain: Because I am hoping to go international for my internship, I thought this would be a great class for me to get some international business knowledge since I've never worked there. It's primarily case based and I haven't learned anything ground breaking, but the professor is a lot of fun, and I think some of the future case discussions should be interesting.

Case Studies in Logistics & Supply Chain Management: I think this is so far my favorite class. It's entirely case based (obviously) and the professor does a great job of managing the discussion and highlighting the key points at the end. I also find the readings pretty interesting. So, that helps. ;)

Product Design & Development: (The surprise of the semester!) A design class is a requirement for LFM and I was really not excited about this class. BUT, the professor who wrote the book is back this semester and the classes have been surprisingly a lot more interesting than originally anticipated. The class is focused on us learning how to do product development through lecture and a project. Our project teams were just assigned - I'm working on a team focused on developing a better solution for travelers trying to sleep on planes/upright. There's 8 people on the team, 5 of us are LFMs, 2 sloanies and 1 person from Rhode Island School of Design. Even though it seems like a lot of work, it should be real interesting.

So, that's that.

All in all, my classes are much more interesting to me this semester, now I just need to get into the groove. In the meantime, I'll keep wishing for spring days!

Domestic Plant Trek: Two Weeks, 9 Companies & 5 Cities

It's hard to believe our Domestic Plant Trek is already over. I remember when I first got into LFM and met the current students, I heard frequently that this would be the highlight of my two years here. I don't want to hype it up too much, but it was really pretty awesome!

Before I go any further, I'll just highlight things, but Drew did a GREAT job of blogging every night, so if you want more details, you should check out his blog too.

Below is a "brief" day-by-day breakdown of week 1 events, I'll post week 2 in another day or so.

Sunday 1/4:
Myself and a few of the West Coast people flew into Seattle separate from the large group. It turned out that it was probably the best decision we made, as the weather in Seattle was snowy, which caused the flight from Boston to have to make a pit stop in Montana (I think) for re-fueling and a flight that lasted 4 hours longer than it should have. Those of us already in town enjoyed happy hour dinner and drinks and a nice night of sleep before the official trek started.

Monday 1/5:
Our first plant visit was to Boeing's 737 manufacturing plant. I don't want to down play Boeing, but I must admit this was the least exciting plant visit for me since I'd worked in aerospace for 5 1/2 years and I find Fighter Airplanes a tad bit cooler.  BUT, I must admit, the highlight was the afternoon's visit to the delivery center, when we got to go into a brand new Delta 737. It smelled like a brand new car, and I did feel a bit like a kid in a candy store, wanting to open and close every door, despite flying probably hundreds of times in my life. The day was capped off by a visit to the Museum of Flight, dinner and a Q&A session with LFM grads now working at Boeing.

Tuesday 1/6:
The first half of the day was another visit to Boeing, this time to see the 747, 777 and the 787 Dreamliner assembly lines. I thought these tours were a lot more interesting because we were actually on the manufacturing floor and the planes were HUGE!!! Boeing also took us on a tour of their 787 Dreamliner Gallery where they bring customers to customize their airplane. It was another kid in a candy store experience. The highlight of which was playing with the various types of First Class seats!

After finishing our tours with Boeing we were off to take Amtrak from Seattle to Portland, Oregon. This actually proved to be very exciting and a lot of fun!  I'd never been on a train like that and I loved that it offered a lot more freedom to walk around than a plane. Our group did get "scolded" a few times for being a bit rowdy, but that's what made the 4 hour ride even more fun.

Wednesday 1/7:
This was the first day when plant trek activities did not involve getting up really early... but, because my Dad and Brother live in Portland, I still was up early to meet them for breakfast. After a tasty meal, I met up with the rest of the group at Intel in Hillsboro. This was my group's day to do the plant review, which means we observe the company, making notes about culture/environment, the plant and offering suggestions for improvement. Intel put on a great day for us. They even brought in a Fab manager and one of their Vice-Presidents. The tour was just a window tour of Fab 20 since it's a big effort to get us in bunny suits, but it did give us some appreciation for the complicated process of manufacturing chips. In the evening, Intel hosted a reception with drinks and finger foods and a great chance to mingle with their company representatives. After the company events, our time in Portland was caped off with an evening of drinking and socializing. We thoroughly enjoyed Portland's reverse Happy Hour where drinks and food go on sale from usually about 9 PM to close. The unfortunate thing about Portland is we were there on odd week nights, so bars were closing at 11 PM or midnight, causing us to frequently re-locate. But, that just meant that we saw a lot more of the city!

Thursday 1/8:
This was primarily a travel day, flying from Portland to Reno, NV. Once arriving in Reno, we had a few hours to kill before a dinner with Amazon... many slept, some went for runs, my group and I had to do our debrief from the Intel visit the day before. But after it finished, I still had some time for a quick nap. The Amazon dinner was great. They have such a relaxed culture and all of their employees really were easy to talk to. Their presentation was great because they focused less on inundating us with information and more on allowing us to ask questions. Which, with our group, might be a mistake, but it's still a lot of fun to be able to ask questions and hear various leaders answer.

Friday 1/9:
Amazon tour day - and boy was I impressed. The distribution center was amazing. I've been in a UPS plant, but this was even more mesmerizing. The amount of conveyors and automation was overwhelming and the rate at which the product moved through the facility was overwhelming. It was a great tour, and our tour guide did a fantastic job of explaining the process to us, but also offering us time to pause and just absorb everything that was happening. Amazon also did another great Q&A session after the plant tour - but this time with some of the LFM grads currently working there. Overall, this was my favorite plant tour of Week 1!

Friday 1/9 evening and Saturday 1/10:
Free time in Reno! Friday was spent out enjoying the city - we found a local brewery that turned into a bar with a live band. It was great for dancing and we shut it down around 3 AM. Saturday was spent relaxing and enjoying the NFL playoffs. About 6 of us locked ourselves in one of the hotel rooms and watched the games back to back. The only thing that pulled us outside was In-and-Out burger for dinner. :) It was nice to relax and of course catch up on sleep. Up until then I'd been averaging less than 6 hours a night.

Coming next... week 2!

Sometimes classes get in the way...

I think the biggest challenge about LFM and MIT, is not understanding what you're learning in classes but managing your time - there are WAY more things to do on any given day than you have time for. They've actually coined a term here called FOMO - Fear of Missing Out. With so many opportunities, one feels like they have to do everything to get the most of the experience. And, in any given day there's dozens of things to balance: classes, company presentations, club meetings, internship search/networking, general socializing ... oh, and don't forget homework & studying. It's really a miracle anything gets done.

One neat thing I've been able to be involved in, that's a bit different from the normal LFM activities, is something called Retail Lab. My team is working with Victoria's Secret helping them improve their peak holiday season hiring strategy. It's a pretty neat experience for a few reasons: one, it gives me the opportunity to meet Sloanies that I wouldn't otherwise meet, and two, I'm getting exposure to an industry that I'm interested in but have had no previous opportunity to be involved with.

Company presentations are another big thing in the Fall and can sometimes be tough to manage, since LFMs don't have to recruit through the normal channels for an internship, attending a company presentation is really only necessary if it's a company you think you might want to work for after graduating.  In which case, it never hurts to begin the networking.

And, speaking of jobs, the past few weeks have been a flurry of internship & interviewing activity. The '09s all returned from their internships to interview with the partner companies for full time positions.  3 days of interviews, and a lot of people had pretty full days. Additionally, the off-cycle internships for our class have all been posted and the discussion of whether or not to submit a cover letter and resume has been a popular convo around the office. This year there are 12 off-cylce internships, which, if they all get filled, would be the most off-cycle internships yet.  Going off-cycle is a tough decision, I actually spent a lot of time debating what I should do and for many reasons decided to stick with the normal cycle.

On the fun side, this Fall some of the LFM X's decided to start an IM hockey team.  One of our classmates played competitively in undergrad, so he's our coach.  But, most of us had no hockey experience. I had never played hockey and probably hadn't been on skates in around 10 years, but it turns out it wasn't as bad as i thought it would be... and I had a blast!

All in all the Fall is as busy as they said it would be!

As always, if you want to hear about something specific, let me know!

Fall at MIT - The good, the bad, the ugly

October happens to be one of my (if not THE) favorite months of the year. It's the peak of football season, the weather is usually great, Halloween means it's normal to get dressed up in crazy costumes and it's my birthday month. This Fall is proving to be different than my recent Falls (one might argue there's no seasons in Los Angeles... but still), all in all, despite the continued craziness of school, I must say that I'm really enjoying the Fall semester in Boston. And, I am even going to say that I like Fall better than Summer (in Boston). So, I'm going to break down my Fall so far, in reverse order from the title above.

The Ugly

• Midterms: Most of the Sloan Core class midterms happen in October, and it so happened that the two of the toughest happen in the same week. It made for a pretty stressful first couple of weeks of October. And I think a lot of us discovered that for the class (Economics) that does not require us to turn in completed homework, we were a bit behind... sure made studying fun. ;)

The Bad

• Cold Weather Already: (this would be Ugly, but I recognize some people might LIKE cold weather) In any case, the recent mornings in the 30's are a bit cold for my taste. Good thing for layers and scarfs! Plus, people have said it's a bit unseasonal! But, what I really dislike is that I bundle up for my walk to the T (which is fortunately barely 5 minutes), get on the T and sweat because the heat is so high, get off the T to walk to class and freeze again. It's rather uncomfy, but I guess that's the way it is in places with winters.  One thing I am actually enjoying about the colder weather - wearing a scarf. I'm discovering they are a fun accessory! (I am sure the men especially appreciate that comment!)

The Good

• The Colors: Ok, so this will sound weird for many of you, but being from Southern CA, I had NO idea what "peak" meant in reference to the Fall. I have now learned that it's the peak time of the Fall when the colors change on the leaves and everything looks amazingly beautiful. I really am enjoying it - especially since this may be my only Fall in Boston. It actually makes me understand why people love New England and makes me happy to be seeing it for the first time.


• SIP Week: This is one of the great benefits of being LFM. Basically, SIP (Sloan Innovation Period) is for the Sloan students to take various workshops on leadership & other professional development topics. Since LFMs have many other requirements and not a lot of "extra" units, it is not a requirement for us. Which leaves us with a week of only engineering classes. Or... for some, vacation. I'm not going to lie, it's been super relaxing, and although I had a pretty tough engineering homework set due on Weds, I still managed to relax, catch up on some TV and pretty much enjoy not having hours of class and homework.

There's much more I could say, but I will keep it to that for now.  As always, let me know if you want to hear about something specifically! And, for those of you attending the Info Session and/or the Ambassador Visit day on Monday, I look forward to meeting you!

And now... 350 more people to meet!

One of the greatest things about LFM is that we start school in the summer and have 3 months to get settled, get to know each other and meet the rest of the class. We become very close and comfortable with one another, and pretty much have a good time among ourselves. It is a great time because we have the run of the Sloan buildings, the LFM office and pretty much anything we want.

But, I think it also makes the Fall and meeting the rest of the Sloan class a bit of a challenge.  The social experiment (at least this is what I call it) begins when Sloan Orientation starts and we are forced outside of our "comfort zone" (which 3 months ago did not exist because we were all strangers!) and integrated with the rest of the Sloan class.  Surprisingly, it's hard -- it's intimidating, the rest of the Sloanies are pretty impressive people and are very excited and motivated... but, worst of all, they are new people! haha, It sounds silly, but I am sure everyone knows the feeling!

We're lucky to have such a great LFM class, but it's easy to fall back on each other. As a result, I've actually been trying pretty hard to get to know a lot of people outside of LFM.  It seems silly to consciously avoid other LFMs when there's a group at a table or talking together in a bar.  But, it pays off -- the rest of the Sloanies are awesome.

Also, I'm actually very excited about my Fall study group. The 6 other people in the Caribbean Cranes pretty much rock, and although I know nothing is ever perfect, I think we'll have a good team experience.

Despite all of the fun of meeting new people, I am admittedly glad to run back into the "arms" of our classmates for an occasional boost to continue with the slightly daunting task of meeting the other 350 people!

It really is crazy to think that 3 months ago us 48 LFMs were all complete strangers!

Coming Next.... more about Sloan Orientation and fall class selection.

Summer Semester

It's pretty hard to believe that I've been living in Boston and leading the life of a college student for the past 3 months. Time has pretty much flown by and I'm still deciding if I'm happy or sad about that...

Regardless, I figured it'd be a good time to reflect back on my first semester as a grad student.

Before I jump into it, I had so many people tell me when I decided to return to school and come to LFM that I'd work hard but I'd also have a lot of fun. And, all I can say is that it was so true - all in all, as I look back on the past 3 months it's been a fun time, a lot of laughing, exploring, meeting new people and learning (can't forget that ;)).

The school part was admittedly tough. We took 5 classes this summer: Leadership, Lean & Six Sigma, Operations Management, Systems Optimization and Probability & Statistics. The work load started out relatively normal but it quickly ramped up to the point where our summer teams became critical (and not just because of group assignments). For the most part the material in the classes wasn't terrible (difficult, confusing, etc.) but there's always a few concepts I get stuck on and naturally, a few classes I wasn't as enthusiastic about. This is part of the reason the summer teams were so important - there's usually at least one of the 6 people who understands the material and/or feels passionate about it. Thus it helps to have people focus on certain areas and take the divide & conquer approach. But, a big lesson learned from our team was to not get so wrapped up in dividing & conquering that we forget to give each other the opportunity to learn new things.

Some of the highlights from the classes were 2 leadership building/team bonding days. The first was for our summer teams which was an Outward Bound trip during the first week of classes. It was a great time to learn about each other, but not quite as exciting as we had hoped because the rain put a damper on our opportunity to climb ropes and do other physical outdoor activities. The second was with a new group of 6 people (randomly selected) at Fort Devens Army Base, and this time the weather cooperated and everyone
seemed to have a blast challenging ourselves mentally, physically and getting to know some new classmates better. My team of 6 for this challenge was arguable the best team - we spent about 90% of the time laughing so hard our stomachs hurt PLUS we were able to successfully complete almost all of the challenges.

There were also some fun group assignments - one was a paper helicopter design contest (for Statistics). Unfortunately, our design did awesome when we prototyped and did our final practice drops. However, the pilot must have had bad nerves, because during the big event, we looked a bit sad. Although, we take pride on the fact that we weren't last. ;) We also tried to tackle a challenging System Optimization project of optimizing the seating chart for a wedding reception. A good friend of mine is getting married in August and we used her as our customer. It was fun to tackle something different than the usual production mix question! It was also really interesting to hear from our classmates what they did and see how practical the material we learned in class really is (dorky, I know - but learning is much easier when that's the case)!

Ok, I'll stop dorking out now and move into the SOCIAL side! Our class of 2010 - some of us are pushing to change from being referred to as the "10's" to the "X's" - is a blast. We've had numerous parties to celebrate birthdays and .... well, just about anything that we can. Most Wednesday nights were spent at the Muddy Charles (on campus bar) followed by Beacon Hill Pub (BHP) where we were claiming our territory since that's the normal Wednesday night hang out when the rest of the Sloanies show up. We've done a lot of fun touristy stuff and I've had a blast seeing the city with others who are not from the area. It's true that it takes some time to find those people you connect with, but I'd say that for the most part, when a big social event is planned, you can count on at least 20 people from the class joining in on the fun. We are all very social people and know how to have a good time.

Wow, this post has become very long. So, I'll spare any other details for now and return to enjoying my last 3 days off before Sloan Orientation starts.

As always, if you want to know more about something, feel free to leave me a comment and I will gladly share more!

Images from the Summer

Tomorrow is our last day of classes for the summer. It's hard to believe how quickly the 2 1/2 months have gone by!

Although there is a lot to talk about, for now, I thought I'd post a few photos to capture the craziness (aka - excitement) from the last couple of months.

Also, if anyone has any specific questions about the program or wants to hear more about anything specifically, feel free to leave me a comment and I'll incorporate it in one of my posts!

The LFM class of 2010!



Pictures from the 4th of July in Boston


Fireworks on the Charles River



LFMs with the city in background



Leadership Reaction Course (LRC) at Fort Devins





Hanging out with other LFMs