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MARCH 2004 MBA JOURNAL: YEAR TWO Anitra Waller: Academics, the Placement Process, and More "While being at the GSB has clarified the professional path for some, it has caused others to completely change ideas about what the future looks like. But I think a lot of us would agree that change is what this whole experience is about..." I still haven't found that second year is easier than first. Classes took up a lot of my time this past quarter. At first I thought that things would be a lot better. Yeah right! I decided to take a light course load – four classes – but it seems as if there is just so much more to do. I have more group work now than ever before. I actually managed to set my schedule so that I have classes three days a week. I thought that would give me more personal time. However, it appears that the more "free-time" I have, the more people try to fill it. Having the freedom to take any class is great. There are quite a few to choose from, both at the GSB and "across the street" (any non-GSB Stanford class). I decided to stick with the GSB this quarter, but that'll change in the winter as I have had my eye on a couple of education classes. (I'm thinking about starting an entrepreneurial venture in education some time in the future and I think they might be helpful.) So what were my classes like last quarter? I enrolled in Interpersonal Dynamics (also known as Touchy Feely), Negotiations (to help with job offers), an Entrepreneurship class (Formation of New Ventures – See BW Online Journal Alum Sucharita's "More on the Second Year" entry), and Competitive Strategy (to help with the consulting interviews). My favorite class was definitely Touchy-Feely. It took up a lot of time, but I have really learned a lot about myself through the process. TF requires that you write in a weekly journal as well as meet in T-Group for about 4.5 hours per week. (T-Group is an assigned group of 12 students with 1-2 facilitators in which the group is supposed to learn and practice interpersonal skills.) Intense doesn't really begin to describe the process. I laughed. I cried. I loved it! It's amazing what happens when you put 14 strangers in a room with no instruction other than to create a learning environment. But the main focus of this past quarter for many was recruiting. We hit the ground running at the beginning of the year (except for those who were returning to their previous jobs). Recruiting alone takes up hours every week for some of us. Between the Meet the Company presentations, the networking events, the mock interviews, and the actual interviews, I barely have had time to think straight. (But we all make time because these electives require a lot of it.) I don't think recruiting was significantly different this year – except that you feel like you're playing for keeps this time around. I was lucky enough to have a job offer from my summer internship, but I still felt that it was important for me to interview at other places. When I make a final decision about my job, I'll let you know. Surprisingly enough, people don't seem overly stressed about the whole recruiting thing. Folks feel good about job opportunities... I think most people feel that even if they don't get the job they've always dreamed of, things will all work out in the end. Some people aren't even sure what they want to do after school. While being at the GSB has clarified the professional path for some, it has caused others to completely change ideas about what the future looks like. But I think a lot of us would agree that change is what this whole experience is about – dealing with it, learning from it, embracing it. Now, don't get me wrong. There is plenty of time for fun here. The weekly FOAMs and LPFs are still great places to catch up with each other. I think a lot of second years realize that the good life is soon coming to an end, so they're living it up. Since we know that we are never going to have an opportunity like this again, making time to get to know people you didn't hang out with last year but thought were really interesting becomes a priority. After this last quarter, I really don't know what to expect for the next five months. My classes seem promising – Personal Creativity in Business, Consumer Behavior, Comparing Institutional Forms, Curriculum Construction, and Emerging Business Opportunities in Education and Training. I'll decide on where I'll be working too, so that will be off of my plate. But I'll still be leading the BBSA with the rest of my executive board for a while as well as leading a Career Success Team. (Career Success Teams are second-year student-led groups which exist to assist first years in the whole recruiting process.) And I'll be spending some quality time with my classmates too. The fact that this will soon be over is disturbing and exciting at the same time. I am fairly certain I'll be returning to the East Coast, so I'll definitely miss the weather when I leave. I hear it's pretty cold back home. And I've made some really good friends here who I know won't be heading to NY, so I worry about keeping in touch with them. Two years of intense shared experiences can create some pretty strong bonds. But I am looking forward to returning to my family and friends too, so I'm not complaining. I am, however, planning on making the most of these next two quarters… @  
BW MALL
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