The Competitive Edge: Looking Back at the First Year
George Sent '01
Issue date: 5/3/00 Section: Features
[Editor's note: The Competitive Edge is monthly column that a humerous looks at selections from other business school newspapers]
As we come to the end of a glorious year, it seems appropriate to look back at some of our accomplishments and to look forward to prosperous careers. The following article examines the first year of MBA studies at Harvard. Some of the stories apply to life in Ithaca as well.
Year One Retrospective
By Corey Hajim, Editor-In-Chief
I remember getting into my new bed in Cambridge [my bomb-shelter townhome over at Fairview], leaning over to the bedside table and picking up that book Year One. I read the first chapter and when I got to that part about seating (the story described the different zones, their benefits and drawbacks and the competitive nature of securing the ideal seat - this was before seats were "randomly" assigned) I started to panic and put the book away [Johnson students seem to like the back of the room]. If finding a good seat was that competitive, class participation must be a nightmare [insert M&O, Marketing and Strategy]! HBS scared me. A lot of people are surprised when I tell them how nervous I was to start school at Harvard. My heart would pound as soon as my alarm went off and I would sweat each raised hand and cold call. I wasn't sure that I was going to make it. And I certainly wasn't sure I was going to like it.
The weirdest thing is that 8 months later [I started an Internet company, and now I am worth millions!], at the blink of an eye; our first year is almost done. As long as I make it through finals I survived my first year at the number one business school (according to recent rankings) in the country. Me. I did that [Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus]. Now, I'm no Baker Scholar, but I am happy to say I am mediocre in a group of extraordinary people. I'm still not sure how I got here, but I am sure that instead of drowning, I am swimming. Instead of the arrogant, money hungry, egomaniacs that I thought I might find, I found fascinating characters, an incredibly supportive section (yeah B!) and great friends.
As we come to the end of a glorious year, it seems appropriate to look back at some of our accomplishments and to look forward to prosperous careers. The following article examines the first year of MBA studies at Harvard. Some of the stories apply to life in Ithaca as well.
Year One Retrospective
By Corey Hajim, Editor-In-Chief
I remember getting into my new bed in Cambridge [my bomb-shelter townhome over at Fairview], leaning over to the bedside table and picking up that book Year One. I read the first chapter and when I got to that part about seating (the story described the different zones, their benefits and drawbacks and the competitive nature of securing the ideal seat - this was before seats were "randomly" assigned) I started to panic and put the book away [Johnson students seem to like the back of the room]. If finding a good seat was that competitive, class participation must be a nightmare [insert M&O, Marketing and Strategy]! HBS scared me. A lot of people are surprised when I tell them how nervous I was to start school at Harvard. My heart would pound as soon as my alarm went off and I would sweat each raised hand and cold call. I wasn't sure that I was going to make it. And I certainly wasn't sure I was going to like it.
The weirdest thing is that 8 months later [I started an Internet company, and now I am worth millions!], at the blink of an eye; our first year is almost done. As long as I make it through finals I survived my first year at the number one business school (according to recent rankings) in the country. Me. I did that [Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus]. Now, I'm no Baker Scholar, but I am happy to say I am mediocre in a group of extraordinary people. I'm still not sure how I got here, but I am sure that instead of drowning, I am swimming. Instead of the arrogant, money hungry, egomaniacs that I thought I might find, I found fascinating characters, an incredibly supportive section (yeah B!) and great friends.