Gosh Darden

Things I Learned This Year - Part I

2009-05-14T12:56:00.000-04:00

First Year is over. I start my internship in T-4 days, and this summer is going to be quite unlike the year that's just gone by. I'm actually looking forward to going back into the corporate world, but my little cocoon at Darden has been a wonderful place to spend the last 9+ months.

So what have I learned? I spent the long drive from Virginia back to New York thinking about it, and here's what I would tell an incoming FY:

- Do the spreadsheets. It can be really tempting to sit in learning team and create a spreadsheet together, or have an LT-mate walk you through theirs. But, trust me, it won't sink in until you hash through the mechanics yourself - especially for those who weren't Excel monkeys prior to Darden, and even for those of you who were.

- Some professors teach directly from the tech notes. Read them. Sooner is always better than later.

- Get to know your sectionmates ASAP; first semester section camraderie is unlike anything I've ever experienced, and it really set the tone for the year.

- The case method can be infuriating. I may expound more on this later. But it can also be immensely rewarding. So give it a chance, even when you feel like you want to pull your hair out - which will be often.

- Don't skip First Coffee. I did this early on in the year, and learned quickly that First Coffee is one of the brightest spots in the day. You'll get to see all your friends, meet more, have casual chats with professors, and definitely have a few laughs. The coffee's not that good, but you'll get over it.

- Dean Carraway is by far one of the most awesome administrators at Darden. Get to know him. Between my own interactions with him and stories that I've heard from others, there is no denying this. He's also extremely easy to talk to, and you'll often find him at First Coffee chatting with students.

- Get to know the Second Years. There is no good reason for you to keep to yourselves, and most of them are very cool people. We were talking about this at the blogger dinner last week - even amongst the bloggers, we didn't spend enough time with each other, and there are certainly some regrets. We, as the SY class, pledge to make it different as well.

But most importantly, your friends will make it or break it for you. There is no case, no simulation, no project that I value more right now than some of my experiences with my fellow Dardenites. Maybe come the summer, you'll find me being grateful for having learnt regression. But I still feel extremely blessed to have them in my life, and some of the stories I could tell would blow you away. But I'll save those for another post.

2009-05-06T18:55:00.000-04:00

After a pretty neat discussion at Dean Bruner's house about Twitter, I've decided to give it another shot.

I joined Twitter almost two years ago when it first started to gain momentum. It's been pretty interesting to see how the technology has evolved since then, and how much it's been adopted by folks - especially now that you can update from your cellphone, or nearly anywhere. Am fascinated by the short-form communication style.

You'll see my tweets over in the sidebar, where I've just added the widget; otherwise, feel free to follow me in any way you choose - I'm PanicSania.

If you're interested in the twitterings of other Darden folks, check out Dean Bruner, Christof, and Bill.

Every new beginning...

2009-04-30T12:54:00.001-04:00

..comes from some other beginning's end.

I just finished my last class of my first year at Darden. Literally, just now.

Honestly, I'm not sure what to feel. I don't think it's sunk in yet, but right now the overwhelming feeling is bittersweet. It's been a long ride, and I am certainly ready to move on to the next step.

But at the same time, I've been enriched in ways I didn't see coming, challenged by things I never expected to face, and I've come out of it better, stronger, and happy to have done it.

More thoughts later; just wanted to capture the moment as it unfolds.

It's True!

2009-04-26T12:32:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I too thought Sukanya was insane when she posted about Thomas Jefferson wandering the halls... but it's true!

Picture us wandering around Saunders Hall after classes, avoiding work:

Sukanya: Look, it's him!
Me: Who?
Sukanya: No really... look.
Me: No it's n.. oh dear. Maybe it is.

And then we run around giggling to get a closer look. He's balding in real life.

Yup, just another day at Darden.

Goodness Gracious April

2009-04-07T11:21:00.000-04:00

Life is good. The weather has been beautiful, there's a ton to look forward to!

This past weekend, Darden students teamed up with the Building Goodness organization to help fix up houses in the Charlottesville community. It was an incredible effort, coordinated by an amazing group of our classmates and attended by many, many more.

We spent the morning working together to paint, scrape, sweep, dig, hammer, and everything in between. It was both physically and mentally taxing - I left thinking a lot about our responsibility as future leaders to our society. How do we give back to our own families, our communities, and the world?

Oren and Sukanya have gone over the details of the day in a lot more detail, but I'll leave you with one last photo - recognize two of your favorite Darden student bloggers?

Who Me?

2009-04-02T05:53:00.000-04:00

A small shout out to my fellow bloggers:

http://www.graduatedegree.org/blog/2009/03/100-best-blogs-for-mba-students/

Paige, Sukanya, Jackie, Angela, Mandy and yours truly were listed on the top 100 bloggers list by the GraduateDegree.org blog. Lots of interesting stuff on there - including a few Darden professors. Check it out!

A Fork Stuck In The Road

2009-03-10T20:48:00.000-04:00

I consider Q3 to be my "lost quarter" -- kind of like Japan's lost decade of the '90s. When it came and when it went, I have no idea. I pretty much watched it go by. An out-of-body experience, if you will.

But now, on the cusp of Q4, with the weather getting warmer and being on spring break - I see a new dawn coming. Three-quarters of our first year has passed by, and what had become status quo to us will soon be changing. We've effectively finished up the first year core curriculum of Accounting, Finance, Operations, Marketing, Decision Analysis, Global Economic Markets, and Strategy. There are only two core classes we'll be sharing with our sections (Leading Organizations and Ethics), and the rest is all electives. That means a more flexible schedule and the opportunity to pursue subjects that we're interested in (and avoid the ones we're not - goodbye accounting! It was nice to have met you.)

And yet, I have to admit I'm a little nervous. FY so far has been a cocoon of sorts - keeping us secure in a fixed schedule and familiar faces. They're releasing us into the wild now, and I'm sure the dynamics are going to change. No doubt that there'll be more time to socialize and make more friends, but we're now in charge of our academic destiny. That's disconcerting.

But I'm also looking forward to it, for sure. I can't wait to explore Marketing in more depth; it is my passion, after all. But we also have an array of really exciting electives awaiting us in the second year. And have I mentioned no more accounting? (woohoo!)

Looking forward to see how it all shapes up..

From a silence awakened...

2009-02-27T20:07:00.000-05:00

It's the end of Q3 and I feel like I've been in a haze for the past two months. So much has gone on - new sections, new classes, and recruiting success and failure -- mostly failure. And there are more changes to come...

So much to talk about, and now that I've gotten my head back on straight, talk is exactly what I intend to do. Stay tuned; over the next few days, I have quite a few musings to share about Darden and life in general.

A Day To Give Thanks

2008-11-27T18:05:00.003-05:00

Who better to wish us all a happy holiday than the Section B bird:

The Bird is living it up in Florida right how; thanks to Colin for the photo!

Happy Turkey Day y'all!

Nail Polish and the Art of Zen

2008-11-24T22:43:00.000-05:00

Can one person seriously be cold-called to start class two class days in a row? Seriously?

Apparently you can if you're me.

Don't know if Professor Lipson forgot that he's called on me, or if I blew the last cold-call worse than I thought. But today, it went fine. The main difference between this week and last week being that I had a nice (very!) quiet weekend at home. Spent the time catching up on readings that I had glossed over, and really concentrating on the week ahead. So this time, I was ready.

It was really nice to have some time to myself. That's one piece of advice I wish I had been given back at the beginning of the year, so I'll emphasize it here now: make sure to make room for "me time." Sometimes, at least for me, I need to back away from being social or trying to accomplish everything at once, and just spend some time alone to re-center myself; whether that's cooking, reading non-case stuff, or doing my nails.

In the midst of all the craziness of schoolwoork, homework, and all the other kinds of work, sitting down to paint my nails has almost a zen-like calming effect on me.

Maybe it's because it involves sitting down, with no distractions, putting my hands on the table, painting each nail meticulously and waiting for everything to dry. And that's ten minutes that I'm not forced to think about anyone or anything else, worry about what I have left to do, or when I'm going to sleep.

And perhaps that's the key - maybe sometimes you just need to shut it all out, only to return a short while later.

With Deference to Judy Blume

2008-11-19T11:29:00.000-05:00

Are you there, God? It's me, Sania.

I get it. You're trying to tell me something here. I need to suck it up and get better at this. This is not a surprise to me.

After a fumble this morning, I slipped and fell during Finance class too. Was that really necessary? You're really not telling me anything I don't know.

What is a surprise to me is how immediately my mind goes blank when called upon to answer a question that I'm not expecting.

Finance wasn't about not understanding the calculation; you and I both know that I do. I guess I didn't put enough effort into remembering and understanding where the numbers came from.

And maybe that was the jolt back to reality I needed. I'm not here to learn equations that I'll never use again. It's about understanding the principle. I'm obviously not quite there in Finance.

I'll work on it. Thanks.

The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves

2008-11-19T09:33:00.000-05:00

I'm falling under. Had to attend to a family emergency at home in New York this weekend, and managed to fall behind in my readings and simultaneously increase my sleep debt. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

I've been dropping every ball thrown at me this week. Passed on a cold-call in Accounting, and fumbled a cold call on an Economics case overview. And we're only halfway through the week! I've probably hit a serious personal all-time low.

We're at a point in the quarter where it's becoming increasingly more important to keep up. Unfortunately, that time also coincides with the beginning of resume drops and the peak period for alumni networking. Throw another wrench into that mix, whether it's a personal matter or an illness, and you've just got chaos.

I'm in awe of my classmates who manage to balance a personal life, case challenges, clubs, family, and always put on a flawless performance in class. (Some of them are my fellow bloggers - how do you guys do it?!?)

But this week so far has been a wake-up call. Now that I've recovered from my sleep debt (overslept yesterday and missed first class - ugh), I need to shift into overdrive. There's only a short time until quarter-end and final exams -- 2.5 weeks! -- so the rest of it is going to have to be a sprint.

The first step is to go back and read the stuff that I've missed, because unfortunately, we don't have very many reading days before exams. Actually, I take that back - we do. In the U.S., it's called Thanksgiving.

Looks like I'm going to be having my turkey with a side of CAPM.

Meet the Darden Student Bloggers!

2008-11-15T13:47:00.001-05:00

Ok, so this post is belated - as are most non-case-related things in my life nowadays - but I wanted to introduce my illustrious group of peers, and better late than never!

Darden Student Bloggers

There are 15 of us in total, 8 First Years and 7 Second Years.

Seriously, this is an amazing group of people, and everyone writes really well. Definitely check out some of their perspectives on Darden. Between the lot of us, you'll get a well-rounded view of what the Darden experience is like - we've got people from a seriously diverse set of backgrounds.

As a footnote, let me mention that my post from earlier about blowdrying my hair was about the day that my blogger profile photo was taken for the Darden Student Blogger page. I think I did alright for myself. God knows I've stopped putting in effort otherwise!

This too, shall pass..

2008-11-13T19:37:00.000-05:00

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Instead, I've come face to face with Q2 and Black November.

What's Black November, you say? Well, the days are getting shorter, and what with being in class all day, you don't get to see the sunlight very often. And if you do, it's still cold out. It's also the month that everything hits all at once.

Every single day, there's an increasingly longer and longer list of things to do. Classes, recruiting, home, family & holidays. It doesn't help that resume drop deadlines are fast approaching, and I'm stuck in a cover-letter writing quagmire.

And Q2 has that ill-fated trifecta of classes -- at least for me -- Global Economic Markets, Financial Accounting, and Financial Management & Policy. As someone who didn't come from a finance or quantitative background, I gotta say - I'm struggling to keep up. There's a ton of reading, which most of the former bankers and finance mavens can skip, but I can't.

Last week, I reached my breaking point. There was just so much pressure to read, understand, and perform in areas that I just wasn't comfortable in. Even after reading the cases, going to Learning Team, and attempting to process the information post-LT, it just wasn't clicking.

That was when I had my minor meltdown. We're talking a sobbing, furiously angry, frustrated meltdown.

For those of you who know me IRL, I know - I can hear what you're thinking. Sania doesn't break down in the face of pressure. It's just not me. My typical attitude is to claw down whatever is in my way, come hell or high water.

And yet, Darden has shown me time and time again that I'm so far outside of my comfort zone right now, that anything is possible. It's a bit strange to be so vulnerable. But it's also teaching me to be a better person.

When I'm feeling myself slip, I remind myself of the following quote*:

"Stripped of your ordinary surroundings, your friends and your daily routines, you are forced into direct experience. That's not always comfortable but it is always invigorating." - Michael Crighton

If you think about it, it's true. It's not easy, but it's true. Every new moment, every new trial, even every tear - it'll allow me to grow, stretch, evolve.

And maybe one of these days, I'll figure out what's going on in Financial Accounting. Until then, it's time to take another deep breath and plug on.

* I found this quote in an excellent BusinessWeek article I read when I was considering coming to Darden. It's a really great & accurate picture of what goes on here. Check it out here.

The Early Birds

2008-10-16T08:10:00.000-04:00

Q1 exams are over. A solid week of mind-numbing studying and cranking out analyses, interspersed with some interesting moments of anxiety and dismay, over.

So why then, am I up at 8 a.m. on a day that I have absolutely nothing to do? Good question.

After two solid months of 8 a.m. classes and 8 a.m. exams and 8 a.m. learning programs, I think my body has finally learned to stop fighting it.

The insanely early class time was probably the biggest hang-up I had about coming to Darden. As a self-avowed "non-morning-person," I need some time to get going in the morning. This isn't to say that I'm lazy; I think my circadian rhythms just amp up a little further into the day.

I know what you're thinking - Sania, didn't you ever have a job? Well, of course I did. Waking up at 7 to commute into the city was never a problem, but that's because I got my "me time" in. That's the time where I'm not obligated to speak to nor pay attention anyone, and I can just be silent and think and reflect.

Not an option at Darden. I'm still up at 7, but the minute the clock strikes 8 a.m., it's time to be poised and listening and processing what's going on.

It's probably a good thing. But God knows a few months is not enough time to become one of the early birds. Let's see how this shapes up..

Chores

2008-10-07T19:05:00.000-04:00

The dishes are piling up in the sink.

If you knew me, you'd know that I detest doing dishes. It's the one chore that I hate with every fiber of my being.

The dishes are piling up in the sink because exams are on the horizon, and I especially can't be bothered with doing them now.

Instead, I've been trying to cram six weeks of decision analysis techniques into my small brain, and learn the statistical theory that I've been avoiding for 25 years of my life. I wasn't kidding when I said I've been dreaming about normal distribution curves.

It's times like these when washing dishes seems like an appealing distraction.

Lessons Learned This Week

2008-09-30T11:37:00.000-04:00

It is indeed possible to blow-dry your hair and fine-tune a Powerpoint presentation at the same time, standing in front of your bathroom mirror at 7 a.m. That's why God gave us two hands. Introduce a hairbrush into the mix, that's where priorities come in. If you can switch off between the hair brush and the keyboard in rapid succession, that's efficiency.

CHO Early

2008-09-29T18:42:00.001-04:00

Seriously -

Charlottesvile-Albermarle Airport has got to be the only place in the country where you arrive *early* - regardless of whether you're flying into it or out of it. At least based on my experiences this weekend.

It's kind of awesome, actually.

-S

We're Clueless, By Golly

2008-09-25T01:11:00.000-04:00

Dear Section B,

You realize that everyone else thinks we're insane, right?

I mean, can you blame them? Between our tradition to highlight the both the smartest and stupidest contribution every week -- where the stupidest is far more revered -- and our penchant for banging on the desks and stomping on the floors every morning, I guess I can see how the other sections might not "get it".

Sections at Darden are intended to foster community spirit. The Class of 2010 has 334 students, but for the first half of our first year, we take all of our classes with the same group of 65 or so. That way, we can see the same smiling faces every morning - and ostensibly so that we can get to know each other better.

But Section B has taken bonding to a whole new level, because a team that's crazy together, stays together.

Every Monday, we start out by yelling and pounding the desks to greet the week. Mondays are also Theme Day, which allow us to show off the more ridiculous sides of our wardrobes. Past themes include "Pajama Day" and "Monochromatic Day". The yelling and pounding of desks continues all through the week, at whim, and we round up the week with a rousing rendition of the Section B song at the end of last class.

And let's not forget - "The Bird" and "The Finger." The Bird is awarded to the most ridiculous comment or action of the past week (and behavior on drunken, raucous nights out is not exempt). It's the badge of honor that everyone hates. The (foam) Finger is awarded to the best, most thoughtful or educational comment of the week. It's a true badge of honor, that allows you to interject in any class discussion, as you please.

I've had deans tell me that sections are assigned completely randomly but I find that increasingly harder and harder to believe. We definitely have a disproportionate amount of crazy in section B. They like to remind us of this when we're seen at First Coffee in footsie pajamas.

But as a result, we're also the closest section - I can't think of a single thing that has helped me acclimate to this new environment better or faster than the insanity of Section B. I've never been at a school with any semblance of school spirit before, but I could get used to this. I know that wherever I am, whether it's a speaker event or a recruiting cocktail hour, if I can seek out a fellow Section B classmate, I'll always have someone to talk to.

You're a nutty bunch, Section B - but I've become quite fond of you.

cheers!
S

A Little Bit of the City in the Country

2008-09-24T22:02:00.001-04:00

Dear Charlottesville,

You and I have some ground to make up. I can't help it, I'm a city girl at heart. Before Darden, I spent my entire life in New York - splitting my time between Long Island and Manhattan. This is my first time away from home. And I gotta say - it's been a pretty drastic change.

People drive the speed limit here. And they yield to pedestrians. This mystifies me.

Service in restaurants is slower. I haven't gotten out of a sitdown dinner in less than two hours.

And don't get me started on the shopping. Virtually non-existent. Especially for clothes. Apparently for such things, one has to go to Richmond.

But this weekend, you made up for your shortcomings, C-ville. Saturday morning, I went to the farmer's market that is held near the downtown mall every week. It was wonderful.

There were so many booths overflowing with fresh local fruits and vegetables. I spoke with a goat farmer who is working against the state regulations against raw milk. I bought a crisp green apple from a lovely couple who so kindly washed it for me on the spot so I could eat it right away. I brought home the best pie I have eaten in a long time, and a gorgeous bundle of wildflowers which are currently brightening my living room.

That's not all - on the downtown mall, I found a charming bookstore that I spent some time browsing. I adore bookstores, and this one did not disappoint. It wasn't a corporate behemoth, but rather a small lovely rare & used books store. It had personality, and I spent almost an hour browsing the stacks. An hour is a long time to spare when you're a Darden student.

That evening, I went to dinner with a few friends on Main Street, and the food was so good, I felt like I was in NY again. Come to think of it, I haven't had a bad meal in Charlottesville yet.

So maybe there's more to you than I initially thought, C-ville. I'll have to give you another chance.

hugs,
me

All The Things I Never Thought I'd Do

2008-09-24T20:58:00.000-04:00

Dear Darden,

I can hardly believe it's only been 6 weeks since I got here. It sounds like so little, and yet, I can barely remember life before you.

I've been dreaming about bottlenecks, and normal distribution curves. I live in serious fear of the cold call, and my little gold name badge is always within reach. I drop my name tent at least six times a day, but my lovely Section B neighbor is always kind enough to pick it up - although he might start charging me for the service soon.

I never thought I'd become addicted to coffee, but yet - the minute the clock strikes 9:25, I'm ready to bolt from my seat towards the PepsiCo forum. And the damndest thing is - my internal alarm clock has already reset itself to wake up in time for 8 a.m. class.

The 100-case party is looming within the next week, and yet we're less than 10% of the way through all the cases we can anticipate reading. Company briefings have started, even though we're nearly a year away from the first day of our internship. It's all madness.

But it's been a great ride so far. I've already made a few really great friends, and hope to make more amongst the amazingly talented group of folks that are here. There's so much more to learn, so much sleep to lose, and a lot more work to do.

Month 1 down, only 18 more to go. I'd better make the most of it. Can't wait!

Love,
me