Today was one of those days I often have at Haas – I come home and think, “wow, that day felt like it was out of an MBA brochure.” Since it’s that time of year when we get to excitedly share our experiences with admits and prospectives, I wanted to just jot down my “Day in the Life of an MBA”… here’s a glimpse at what your life at Haas could be like!
7 am: Wake up. Sort of early, I know, but not bad compared to the 5:45 am alarm clocks I had to set when I worked on Wall Street. Also, I should mention that the weather report says it will be 65 degrees today, and it’s already super sunny… in February. Emails, breakfast, packing a lunch, and walking to school from our house in North Berkeley ensue.
9:30: Meet my project team to discuss research we’ve completed for our Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility class. This is a great course taught by Professor Kellie McElhaney, and it fulfills our BILD experiential learning requirement. Our team is exploring sustainable travel opportunities for our client, so we compare notes on potential partnerships and ideas for our next conference call with our client liaison.
11 am: Head to CSR class, which always kicks off with a lively discussion of “CSR in the News.” Today we debate whether Groupon’s SuperBowl ads were in poor taste – the class was split. Next we hear from a really inspirational guest speaker who talks about starting Alta Gracia, the first apparel factory in the world to pay a living wage. We dive into a mini-consulting discussion with the CEO, bouncing off ideas for increasing consumer awareness of Alta Gracia and opportunities for him to expand the living wage model.
12:30: Grab my lunch and meet up with my Women in Leadership Retreats co-chair, Jenny. Every year WIL plans a day-long trip to Napa – wine tasting, good food, memorable conversations, silliness on the bus rides to and from – really a signature bonding event for the women in our class. Since Jenny and I are taking over the retreat planning from the 2nd years, we pow-wow to talk about our planning timeline and ideas for making next year’s trip even more memorable (get excited gals of 2013!).
1:00: Head into a focus group for a couple of classmates who are kicking around ideas for a new social shopping experience app. We talk about our buying habits and shopping preferences. It’s awesome to be surrounded by so many budding entrepreneurs!
2:00: Off to Operations class, one of the core courses required in your first year. Great professor who keeps things snappy and engaging and today we even get to play “The Beer Game” (seriously, that’s what he calls it). It’s a really fun way to get hands on experience with a supply chain, and we even get to enjoy some game-relevant beverages while playing (*wink).
4:00: Make some edits to a cover letter and submit it through CareerNet for a potential summer internship. This time of year gets busy with recruiting, so I’ve been trying to stay on top of it with frequent informational interviews with Haas alumni and mock interviews with the Career Services team to better prepare.
4:30: Head to my third class of the day, a Speaker Series course featuring Chief Marketing officers from various companies. Today’s guest is Bill Pearce from Del Monte, who shares stories from his long career in brand management (including a stint with Tampax – a great jumping off point to talk about the importance of understanding consumers) and leads us through a few case studies of Del Monte’s pet food brands.
6:00: Home for dinner and a bit of a break (finally). My boyfriend, Tyler (also a Haas FTMBA student), and I have a chance to catch up on our days. It’s pretty nice having your partner in the class, actually – you have a built in study team! We talk through some of the study guide for our upcoming Macro midterm after dinner.
9:00: Out for a quick drink at Bear’s Lair, the Cal campus bar, to meet up with other MBA students. Tuesday Night at Bear’s Lair (TNABL) is a weekly Haas tradition – a great chance to unwind, laugh about the Beer Game you played in Ops that day, and commiserate about recruiting stress/congratulate classmates as they inevitably find amazing opportunities for next summer. Perfect wind down from my busy day…
I hope this gave you a peak into a Haas “Day in the Life.” Feel free to reach out to any of the WIL leadership to learn more about our experiences at Haas.