The big countdown to the first round of exams is on. I am surprised and pleased by how quickly the core is flying by. As I reflect on the past 2 months, I am shocked by how much I have learned in such a short period of time. The professors said that the core is meant to test and stretch your capacity, and it sure has.
Beyond the lessons in the lectures and the facts in the slides, I have learned many other important things in my Sauder MBA experience so far.
#1:Focus on the people. Everyday is a wonderful opportunity to be immersed in a learning environment with other bright business people. It is easy to get distracted by the workload, assignments and events and miss the opportunity to learn from your classmates. Everybody has a plethora of experience in very exciting fields.
#2: Try new things. Often in life we naturally gravitate towards those things that we are good at. However, I have been impressed by many of my peers who are taking the opportunity during their MBA to try things they are not as good at. It sounds cheesy but school really is a safe environment where you can test your strengths and grow in areas that the traditional workplace might not permit.
#3: Take initiative. As business people, everyone is always looking for opportunities to satisfy some need. There is not a day that goes by without some sort of networking event, speaker or party that somebody in the class has organized. The MBA has given many people an opportunity to share their networks or hobbies with the class. If there is something you want to do and you think there will be some interest, then just go ahead and do it.
The program is really what you make it and I really commend and thank my classmates for making the experience such a rick one!
Elysha Ames
