Midterm Post-Mortem

     Thursday, as I was sitting in my final midterm of last week (midterm 3 of 3), a gentlemen gave a loud audible sigh of relief after he left the room, causing riotous laughter for the folks remaining in the classroom; this is MIT after all. As the time slowly slipped away, and I was furiously finishing my OP exam trying to remember the Political, Strategic, and Cultural Lenses, I remember thinking that everything was going to be fine; just remember to write your MIT ID on the test. Immediately after I finished my test, my professor offered me turkish delight and I noticed that I felt much better. If fact, I was now incredibly relieved because one of the most trying weeks in the Core was now behind me. Now it was time for the festivities...

     One of the LGOs' favorite Thursday hangouts is the Thirsty Ear, and after our exams, this was the perfect place to blow off some steam. After a fun game night at another LGO's place, we all headed to the Thirsty to sing some karaoke and imbibe some low cost beverages. The cool thing about the Thirsty is that it is on campus and is in a dorm. The bad thing about the Thirsty is that it is on campus and in a dorm so we have to shut down at 12:30. Here is a picture of some regulars:

     This past weekend, one of the LGOs graciously invited us all to participate in what I consider to be a great form of fellowship and cultural learning: a pig roast. Being from Texas, we typically put our meat in a smoker or on the BBQ pit, but this time, something was getting roasted on a spit Lord of the Flies style. I volunteered to drive up early and help prepare the feast. Below is a picture of the me manning the fire. Great memories. ...

If you are an LGO with a family, you have extra duties in making sure that you are nurturing and providing support. This weekend at the pig roast was another time for the LGOs with families to bring them out and enjoy a picturesque outing in New Hampshire. There were horses, carriages, food, laughter, and joy. Truly having a family and being an LGO is probably one of the best situations to be in.

Life as an LGO in the fall

Fall is a time for change in Boston. The temperature, along with the foliage, is slowly changing indicating the start of another class of MBA students at MIT. For an MBA student at Sloan, the time in the beginning is some of the most exciting, as well as the most demanding. At MIT, a first-year (a first year MBA student) begins the Sloan Core. The courses are Economic Analysis for Business Decisions, Financial Accounting, Communication for Leaders, and Operational Processes. The core is special at MIT as you get all the classes that you need to take finished in one semester which give you incredible freedom in what you can take later on in the program. Although you work pretty consistently during the week, you also find time to network and build relationships with fellow students. This is usually through an activity such as a C-Function, trek, or simply going out to a local pub. As an MBA student, your network is just as important as the skills that you pick up in class. So the impetus for building this network and making connections should be given equal weight throughout the program. As an LGO, I find that one of my greatest challenges is to balance what I like to call the "activity deluge." To put it simply, you have to decide what NOT to do instead of what to do. For example, any given day of the week that ends in y, you could potentially be: 1) Getting caught up on reading, studying, engineering/business homework 2) Going to a company informational session 3) Attending a hackathon or start-up meeting 4) Playing a sport with other sloanies 5) Partying with other classmates celebrating being done with step 1 (only for a night) 6) Attending a guest lecture on some interesting subject 7) Going to a club meeting such as the MIT dance team, or cycle team, etc 8) Getting caught up on sleep :) 9) the list goes on. There is literally something to do every minute of every day you are in this program. This forces you to use some sort of organizational tool to schedule everything you want to squeeze in during the week. I prefer gmail calendar but some folks get by with gasp, a written calendar book. Truly, deciding what not to do is a great position to be in and you can pick out the things that matter most to you. For me personally, I want to experience everything that Sloan and the LGO program has to offer. This usually means less sleep and rest. I couldn't be happier. Here are just a few fun photos: This is from the Polar Beverage Plant Tour (awesome experience)

The is from the 80's C-Function Party (great night!)

This is my great summer core team (I really miss those peeps, they are awesome)