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!

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.