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MARCH 2004 MBA JOURNAL: YEAR TWO Tonya Harris: Academics, the Placement Process, and More "First, I would like to adamantly state that second year is definitely NOT a breeze, piece of cake, etc." Eventually, I had to drop a few things (especially when I realized that at 30, I was a little too old for extracurricular activities). That definitely helped a lot. Compared to last year, I have to admit, the semester was much more interesting, and I find that my motivations are very different. Last year, I think I simply wanted to get by. I was getting used to being in school, taking some pretty difficult (and uninteresting) classes, working really hard to make a career change, and getting used to living in NYC. This year, my goals consist of getting what I can out of this degree, expanding my horizons personally and professionally, and making the most out of my last months of freedom before returning to the workforce. As a result, I am spending a great deal of time on my personal growth and academic enrichment. So, thus far, how exactly has B-school year two differed from B-school year one? First of all, I had totally different people in my classes. Last year, in the core, it seemed that everyone wanted to work in finance. And because I have absolutely no desire to follow this career path, I never see those people anymore. Most of my classes are filled with individuals interested in marketing or media (and thus people I feel that I can relate to a lot better). I really enjoy my classes and my assignments, and I can totally see the relevance to my future career. I decided to focus my classes in marketing and entrepreneurship, just in case I decide to venture out on my own one day. During the first semester, my classes were: Consumer Behavior My professor, Morris Holbrook, taught us how to evaluate the managerial relevance of psychological behavior (i.e. why people buy). For my term project, I evaluated why and how hip-hop has influenced mainstream popular culture (a very fun assignment, fo shizzle!). Advertising and Integrated Communication We learned to create advertising campaigns, and actually got to create a new campaign for Office Depot. Measuring Media Audiences What exactly is sweeps? How can you measure Internet, television, and print audiences? Now I know. And, my professors worked for NBC, CBS, and Conde' Nast. Managing Brands, Identity and Experience Who is Bernd Schmitt? He was my professor, and you can check out his brand on his Web site. He is a world-renowned expert on experiential marketing, author of Customer Experience Management and Experiential Marketing, and a great professor. Introduction to Venturing In this class, we studied cases of successful (and not so successful) entrepreneurs. My professor, Amar Bhide, is very well known (and pretty demanding... he yelled at us if we were 30 seconds late!) But, he is a good and interesting professor. Entrepreneurial Selling The course was about how to get business and stand above the rest of the crowd. It was taught by a Columbia alumnus, and the author of Selling Is a Team Sport, Eric Baron. In terms of the job search, I am one of the lucky few who received and accepted an offer from my summer internship, so I can say that things were a lot easier than they could have been potentially. I didn't find out about the offer until October, and the time between August and October was not fun attending class, working, and kissing ass, attending career fairs and informational sessions basically, just trying to find a job. It was very stressful. The short amount of time that I was seeking employment, I found the procedure exactly like that of finding a summer position: attending information sessions, writing letters, informational interviewing, wearing uncomfortable shoes, rejection letters, etc. The entire time I was going through this process I was hoping and praying for an offer from L'Oreal Professional Products Division, so I don't think my heart was completely into the job search. Luckily this worked out for me. I really put a lot of hope in getting an offer from L'Oreal if I hadn't, I think I would have been sooooo screwed. However, I am sure everything would have worked out, right?
 
BW MALL
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