Get Involved With Johnson School Clubs
Editorial
Benjamin Jobes '01
Issue date: 4/6/00 Section: Viewpoints
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For those of you visiting the Johnson School, I would like to highlight one aspect of our community that really caught my attention when I first visited the school, and continues to impress me as my first year nears its close. This distinguishing characteristic is the level of involvement that our students have with the school's numerous clubs and organizations. After attending an activities fair at the beginning of the fall semester, I said jokingly to a classmate that it brought back memories of high school. She responded, "Yeah, but the stakes are a lot higher!"
Her remark really hits on a critical distinction between Johnson School clubs and those high school and undergraduate organizations where many of us developed our leadership skills. At the MBA level, organizational involvement is more closely related to the civic and professional networks that we will continue to build throughout our lives. Business success is highly tied to the associations that we develop. Community, civic, and professional links constitute a rich source for potential business partners, employers, employees, clients, consultants, referrals, and references, as well as long-term friendships. Because the Johnson School highly values leadership experience amongst its applicants, our students are often far along in the process of developing these associations.
Clubs at the Johnson School provide opportunities for leadership and community involvement during your two-year stay that can enhance--or jumpstart--your involvement in the "outside" community. Many of the relationships that you build at the Johnson School will likely stay with you throughout your career. While club participation is not the only avenue for building a meaningful social and professional network, student organizations provide a unique opportunity for people with common interests to work together. Common interests, which may include job functions or industries as well as non-work-related commonalities such as cultural groups or sports, can be the basis for successful long-term relationships. Regardless of the basis for organization, clubs not only provide opportunities for networking, but also for fun and an all-around more enjoyable business school experience. The diversity of the Johnson School community is exemplified and celebrated through its wide variety of student organizations.
In addition to providing networking and social opportunities, Johnson School clubs offer tremendous educational offerings. Through speakers, symposiums, and other events, our clubs supplement the classroom experience and target specific industry, functional, or cultural interests. One example was the tremendously successful Mergers and Acquisitions Symposium sponsored by the Organizational and Strategy Development Group this past fall, featuring prominent industry and academic speakers. Such events provide tremendous benefit to both the leaders that organize them and the participants.
We have included a list of Johnson School clubs and contact people in this issue of Cornell Business. If you are a prospective student visiting for Destination Johnson, you should definitely talk to club representatives on Saturday in the Atrium to learn more about what they offer.
Her remark really hits on a critical distinction between Johnson School clubs and those high school and undergraduate organizations where many of us developed our leadership skills. At the MBA level, organizational involvement is more closely related to the civic and professional networks that we will continue to build throughout our lives. Business success is highly tied to the associations that we develop. Community, civic, and professional links constitute a rich source for potential business partners, employers, employees, clients, consultants, referrals, and references, as well as long-term friendships. Because the Johnson School highly values leadership experience amongst its applicants, our students are often far along in the process of developing these associations.
Clubs at the Johnson School provide opportunities for leadership and community involvement during your two-year stay that can enhance--or jumpstart--your involvement in the "outside" community. Many of the relationships that you build at the Johnson School will likely stay with you throughout your career. While club participation is not the only avenue for building a meaningful social and professional network, student organizations provide a unique opportunity for people with common interests to work together. Common interests, which may include job functions or industries as well as non-work-related commonalities such as cultural groups or sports, can be the basis for successful long-term relationships. Regardless of the basis for organization, clubs not only provide opportunities for networking, but also for fun and an all-around more enjoyable business school experience. The diversity of the Johnson School community is exemplified and celebrated through its wide variety of student organizations.
In addition to providing networking and social opportunities, Johnson School clubs offer tremendous educational offerings. Through speakers, symposiums, and other events, our clubs supplement the classroom experience and target specific industry, functional, or cultural interests. One example was the tremendously successful Mergers and Acquisitions Symposium sponsored by the Organizational and Strategy Development Group this past fall, featuring prominent industry and academic speakers. Such events provide tremendous benefit to both the leaders that organize them and the participants.
We have included a list of Johnson School clubs and contact people in this issue of Cornell Business. If you are a prospective student visiting for Destination Johnson, you should definitely talk to club representatives on Saturday in the Atrium to learn more about what they offer.