Home Stretch

I’m proud to report that my peers and I have survived the first half of the MA program! When we started in July, I must admit we were all pretty nervous about the difficulty level of our classes. It is crazy how a group of Creative Writing, History, Music, and Religion majors just completed graduate level courses in Economics, Quantitative Business Modeling, Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting.

We’re speaking a different language now … the language of business! We can read financial statements, make confident stock investments, and do break-even analysis in our sleep!

The courses were more difficult than I predicted, but I honestly feel as if I gained tons of valuable skills. I was sitting at my father’s desk over Thanksgiving break and he peered over my shoulder, as I was balancing accounts for General Mills, and said, “Is my daughter voluntarily looking at numbers?” I’ve gained a new level of confidence because of the conversations I can now participate in, as well as the jobs for which I now qualify. Just last week I was interviewing for a position that historically is designed for MBA graduates.

The more I interview and participate in admission events, I am amazed by the level of excitement employers display once they understand the concept behind an MA degree: A graduate business education with a liberal arts foundation.

Although we finish classes tomorrow, I still have another week with my new Wake Forest family. With the assistance of Mike Crespi, I’m organizing a trip for the marketing club to go to NYC and visit with companies such as BBDO, PepsiCo, Nautica, American Express, and Bayer. We’re spending three days in the city, networking and attending information interviews with these companies. Our visit to AMEX includes a marketing case studies and a presentation from their CMO. I’m really excited about the trip, especially BBDO, which is my ultimate dream company!

To finish the semester, SGA organized an awesome holiday party — complete with band and bar. Everyone got dressed up really nice and took tons of photos (see some below). In just these few short months, we’ve made long-lasting friendships and learned a lot about ourselves as individuals and team contributors. I’m looking forward to January. I will begin my Corporate Fellowship project, which includes a marketing campaign utilizing social networking.

Happy Holidays everyone!