MBA Journal: B-School Update January 4, 2010, 1:28PM EST

Friendly Competition

"Kellogg is a very collaborative environment that reinforces our leadership skills. But don't get me wrong: That does not mean there is no competition"

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Don't you miss your childhood days, when everything was brand new and exciting? If you do, you might consider returning to graduate business school. I am an adult, a 27-year-old attending one of the top marketing, strategy, and design programs in the U.S. Yet, I feel like a kid again—from the anxiety, which reminds me of my first day of kindergarten, to the prom we experienced during orientation.

As I wrote in my previous post, I went on a Kellogg Worldwide Experiences and Service Trip (KWEST) at the Kellogg School of Management (Kellogg Full-Time MBA Profile) at Northwestern University. It was called "Hong Kong Ritz and Macau Glitz," which was basically a week-long bonding opportunity mixed with sightseeing in Hong Kong and Macau. I could not believe how small the world is. I already knew two of my fellow KWESTers. The first was my neighbor, a Nicaraguan I had met during the prospective students "Day At Kellogg" (DAK). The other was a Puerto Rican blogger whom I had been following before my arrival in Evanston, Ill. There were still plenty of interesting professionals to meet, from my new roommate, who worked on the Michael Phelps Speedo campaign, to a guy who worked for the Milwaukee baseball team. The highlight of KWEST was participating in a scavenger hunt within the Venetian Hotel in Macau, running among travelers to take a winning picture at Cirque du Soleil.

Before KWEST, my now-elected section president eagerly organized Kellogg parties to promote bonding among the Class of 2011. I also attended Tech Check, where I found out that my section, the Highlanders, was surprisingly active. Within an hour, a Facebook group had been created and 70% of my section mates had already joined. In addition, I recorded my name for the class directory—the version that will be used on convocation day—which now seems very far off.

The first days in the U.S. were hectic, from opening a U.S. bank account and obtaining a cell phone to registering at the international office and settling in at McManus Living-Learning Center, Kellogg's student housing. After having taken a five-year academic hiatus, three weeks of Complete Immersion in Management (CIM), the Kellogg preterm, marked my return to school. Crazy things happened during CIM week. We danced, role-played, participated in social icebreakers, built Lego empires, cheered, wore the same green shirts every day, ran circles around baseball bats, and pitted our strengths against one another in a massive tug-of-war. Such activities gave birth to a new epidemic, funnily referred to as CIM SARS—or CIM Flu, a disease caused by eating greasy junk food, sleeping very little, and spending entire days not immersed, but soaked in management. Needless to say, CIM week acted as the perfect vector to spread the disease and the Kellogg spirit.

Kicking off Kellogg's core courses

On top of the festivities and sleep deprivation, I started to take formal classes. My first was called Management in Organizations (MORS). It taught us about human behavior and leadership through examples from The Simpsons, South Park, MTV, Mary Kay, role playing, political speeches, old films, Lego competitions, simulators, and business cases. After only three weeks, I had written two individual assignments, thrown a Mexican fiesta, completed three group projects, and written my first final. To wrap up CIM, we had a prom night at Chicago's Navy Pier, a celebration I attended in style, traveling in a limo with all my fellow KWESTers. I couldn't believe that the whole class was dancing and talking to each other; those days in which we didn't know anyone seemed long past.

Then the second-year students arrived and the core courses kicked off. I separated from my Highlanders section, which came in second-to-last in the CIM competitions. (But we still had a blast.) I also started taking courses with my MMM peers.