Epilogue

Well friends... my MBA is over and now it is time for this blog to come to an end.
This will be my last post, and to all of you who have followed my little saga - thank you!! I started this blog with the intention of giving my friends a glimpse of 'life as a Tippie MBA', and quite frankly, I'm glad this blog has been able to last till the end!

I always wanted to end my last post with this little cliche - "Blogs never die. Only bloggers do." :)
On that note, here are pics of our graduation ceremony and the party that followed..

It is now time to move on. Take care & fare well, my friends!

Go Hawks!!

And the journey is over

I'm staring out of the window, sipping my coffee and musing over the months gone by. In an hour or so, I will leave for the MBA Commencement ceremony. The culmination of my MBA journey.

It has been a long and eventful journey, and I feel I have grown much as a person over the last couple of years. I have travelled to different parts of the world, met many interesting people and collected a lot of beautiful memories. I have learned a lot - about people, about business and most importantly, I feel, about myself.

Looking back at the time I decided to do an MBA, I had a few clear ideas on what I wanted out of my years in B-school. And I feel very fortunate that I have been able to do everything I wanted to, and much more. True, it has not all been rosy, and those of you who have followed my blog will know that there have been a few unexpected twists and turns - but in the end it has simply been a fabulous experience.

Today, it feels like I have reached a milestone. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed, and I'm not sure exactly why. I'm excited and joyous, and a little sad at the same time.

It is now time to get ready for the commencement ceremony.

The final stretch

Another week and I graduate. Wow!

Its kind of a bitter-sweet feeling actually. While I'm certain that I've had my fair share (or more!) of case studies, reports and presentations, and I'm really eager to start working again, I'm going to miss a lot of things here at Tippie. Mostly my friends.
In our two years here at Tippie, we've all made some really good friends. While I'm sure these relationships will last waay past graduation, I will really miss being able to meet up with my buddies just whenever we felt like it. No more TGITs, no more MBA tailgates, no more pizza lunches and 'group discussions' over beer...

I guess this is where I invoke Dr. Suess - "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened". :)

But the final stretch still remains. I've got a final exam, couple of presentations and project reports due before I reach the finish line. Almost there!!

Did I miss a post?

I just realized that it has been quite a few weeks since my last post. First the excuses - the most credible reason would be that I just had a lot going on. And add blogging fatigue (??) to that and my brief absence from the blogosphere is explained! :)

Since we've gotten that out of the way, its time to fill you in on my semester so far. It has been quite eventful in many ways, but my favorite part was Spring Break. Along with another friend, I set out on a road trip to the West Coast. Yes, all the way to San Diego from Iowa City.

Highlights of the trip -
miles covered - 4080 (yes, 4080)
places of interest - Denver, Las Vegas, San Diego, Grand Canyon
visible effects of trip - deep tan & sunburnt skin (I just couldn't get enough of San Diego!)
invisible effects - maxed out credit cards

So many times did I go "wow!" during the trip, it was just amazing! Vegas is like a different planet, San Diego was so chilled out, and the Grand Canyon was breathtaking. And yes, the Rockys too!
I guess you'll understand if I don't want to go on a drive anytime soon. :)

Dumped.. by Corporate America!!

If you could choose the worst time to graduate in recent history, now would be it! With the current economic scenario, MBA grads are also quite severely affected. Across the board, there are fewer jobs, lower salaries and delayed opportunities. And since investment banking as an industry has literally disappeared, many would-be financial whizzes are left feeling blank and cheated.

But all's not gloom. At least not yet! Most of us are still hopeful of finding that one right opportunity and still manage to find cheer in gloom.
Like my friend who, after receiving a verbal offer, called the hiring manager after a few weeks and learnt that the manager herself had lost her job! Or my favorite so far... a friend had a job offer rescinded (which is unfortunate, but since the same happened to me, I'm allowed to make jokes about it!). The job was with a major retail chain, and one morning the HR person calls and gives the bad news with the reason being (and I'm quoting literally) "it's not you, it's us". Jeez, we just got dumped my corporate America!!

Back to IC

I'm now back in Iowa City for the last semester of my MBA. There is something so welcoming about life here at the University of Iowa, that it almost feels like I'm coming back home. Which is true in a sense, since I was away for the better part of last year!

One of the first things I intend to do is to spend time at my favorite coffee joint! It is located just a few blocks from the business building and I just love the whole ambience there - the smell of fresh coffee, the comfortable chairs, the music. And it helps that I get more work done in a coffee shop than at home!

It feels good to be back in Hawkeye land! I really wish I didn't have to miss football season last year. Wonder when I will be able to do a Hawkeye tailgate next...

Final call for...

I'm writing this post as I wait for my flight, at the Schipol airport in Amsterdam. My exchange semester at RSM has come to an end, and now I'm going home for my winter break. As I sit here, waiting to board my flight, I cannot help think of the year gone by. As I started out on my MBA, I knew that I wanted a good international experience. Boy, was that wish granted and how!!

The year started on a great note, with my International Marketing course in Hong Kong and China (to read about it, click here). Continuing on with a fruitful semester, it got better with my summer internship in Washington D.C. and Milan, and has now culminated in an exchange semester in The Netherlands. Wow! That was waay more than I ever expected and I'm feel really fortuntate that this year turned out the way it did.

I'm now ready to go home after what has been a long period of absence from family. Another 2 flights and a 45 minute drive will get me home! Can't wait!

This will be my last post of the year. So here's wishing you all happy holidays and a very Happy New Year!