Nine months ago, I traveled to a college town called Ann Arbor to be interviewed for the class of 2011. Little did I know then that I was on the brink of starting a very interesting chapter of my life. When I look back into the 3.5 months that I have been here in A2, there are many things that I am grateful for. Some things that stand out in my mind include:
· Winning 1st place for the Abbott Case Competition. Despite given only a week to read the case and prep for a Powerpoint presentation, our team managed to pull through and win this case competition. So what was the recipe for success? I would have to say it was determination and perseverance on each team members’ parts. It would have been easy for any one of us to throw our hands in the air and say forget it. However, none of us did that. Despite finance midterms and marketing symposiums, the five of us squeezed out whatever extra time (theoretical of course) we had and pounded through the presentation until 4AM on the Big Day (Michigan vs OSU football game) Would I do it again? A resounding YES!
· Being a part of history in the making for the Wolverine Venture Fund (WVF) http://www.bus.umich.edu/NewsRoom/ArticleDisplay.asp?news_id=17832 Note that this resulted in the WVF obtaining our biggest return on a portfolio company ever. Congrats WVF!
· Finally (and most important of all), really getting to know my section and classmates well. Since this is the second quarter, the hubbub of trying to settle into an unfamiliar town and routine of going back to school (what’s this thing called homework?) has subsided, I have enjoyed taking the time to get to know my classmates … some of whom I consider good friends already. Although I have only been in A2 for 3.5 months, the pace at which one undergoes classes and activities and events makes it seem like we have been here for twice or three times the actual length of time. So what does this result in? Getting to know some excellent people who have since become close friends of mine. When I felt the need to do some retail therapy one evening, a fellow section mate lent me his car and offered his car for any future therapy urges. Another example that comes to mind involves my love of music. Every year during the holidays, the Grammy Award-winning University Musical Society Choral Union launches the holiday season with its Handel’s glorious Messiah (http://www.ums.org/) at Hill Auditorium, which is known for its acoustics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_Auditorium). I invited a few of my section mates to this performance and have since exposed us to a different world of music.
Although I have learned a lot either through academics or case competitions, it really is my section and classmates who have taught me the most. It is the coffee chats when we talk about the most mundane or life altering topics, the dinners where we delve into heated discussions over history and politics, the random meetings of classmates at school and realizing common goals and interests that have made Fall A & B such a rich experience for me. These are the people who will be lifelong friends and colleagues of mine. And I could not be any happier with this realization. Go Blue (all the way)!
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