Monday, November 29, 2010

The MBA Experiment

As a Theatre and Psychology double major during my undergraduate years at The College of the Holy Cross, I read my share of Surrealist plays and academic research papers (see Yale's Milgram Experiment or Stanford's infamous Prison Experiment). If someone decided to combine the metaphysical intent of surrealism with the complex design structure of research methods, you would have created my first week in business school!

Prior to enrolling at the Carroll School, I worked as a higher and secondary education fundraiser and a theatre director. Though I developed a deep interest in creative strategic planning through my work in nonprofit management, I had never taken an economics, accounting, finance, or general business class as an undergraduate student. This left me feeling much excitement and, frankly, a little agita as I began classes this fall. During the first week of class, I would often joke with my friends saying I felt like I was part of an elaborate psychological experiment. Was there a group of psychologists observing what would happen if they placed a theatre major in the middle of a top MBA program amongst accountants, financiers, and business consultants?

I soon realized that I was not alone. In the first semester, I have met classmates with many different professsional backgrounds (musicians, engineers, educators, etc.) and from all around the world.  I also felt a strong connection to BC's many international students - while English may not have been their first language, Statistics was certainly not mine!

In my first semester, I have left my comfort zone, but I have learnt so much thanks to the encouragement and assistance of my classmates and the dedicated faculty at Boston College. From group study sessions to professors' office hours, the support received from the Boston College community has allowed me to succeed in this new, challenging environment. In less than three months, business school has changed the way I view the world: I have explained to a friend the plot of the Zeitgeist Theatre's production of ENRON in terms of a balance sheet equation, engaged in topical investment conversation over Thanksgiving dinner, and was told by a mentor/friend that a personal e-mail of mine read like a marketing survey. Here marks the beginning of two years of intellectual growth and self-discovery. Thanks for following along!