Duke Basketball

At the Duke/UNC game on Coach K's birthday.

Admittedly, I did not know much about Duke basketball or even NCAA Basketball before coming to Durham. I went to a Division III undergrad (Brandeis!) with no sports presence, and I competed in the occasional March Madness office tournament pool, but that was the extent of my college basketball knowledge. Last year, I willingly participated in Campout for roughly 6 hours and didn’t make a valiant effort to win tickets. In fact, I didn’t actually go to a game until January 2012, when a classmate handed me a ticket. However, from then I was hooked and made it to 4 games last year.

This year, I won season tickets (through a Campout exemption due to a wedding) and went to many more games, including the Duke/UNC game in Cameron. The layout of Cameron Indoor Stadium (only seats 9,314) and the energy from the fans is unlike any other sporting event that I have ever been to. The Cameron Crazies are on their feet the whole time and constantly cheer, sing, and make hand signals for Duke. There is Crazy Towel Guy, a lifelong Duke fan who will stand on his feet and whip out his towel during every game. There are even celebrity sightings at the games, with Peyton Manning, Rob Lowe, Doc Rivers, and Dick Vitale making known appearances in the past couple of years. The intimate environment of Cameron combined with the Crazies and the dominance of the men’s basketball team and Coach K makes going to basketball games some of the most fun I’ve ever had at a sporting event.

Carolina Hurricanes

Enjoying a Carolina Hurricanes game with some friends.

I hadn’t been to a professional hockey game since I was 9 or 10 years old, until this year. The MBA Association held a lottery for Carolina Hurricanes tickets, and gave out 100 tickets to Fuqua students for a game against the Winnipeg Jets. Unfortunately, I did not win the ticket lottery, but one of my friends did and gave me her ticket.

Although our seats were high in the upper deck, it was still fun to watch some hockey, check out a new arena, and root for the home team. A few weeks later, I went back to the PNC Bank arena to watch the Hurricanes play the NJ Devils. A small group of us wanted to go check out the Devils game and Duke had great tickets available for $20/piece. Being from NJ, I had to root for the Devils who ended up winning the game. I don’t know if I’ll see any more games before I leave N.C., though I am glad that I was able to check it off my bucket list and remind myself that hockey is fun to watch in person.

Durham Bulls

At the Durham Bulls stadium.

I have been to 2 or 3 Durham Bulls games since coming to Fuqua, and although they are not a Major League baseball team (they’re Minor League), the games are fun and every seat in the house is a good seat. Also, since the Durham Bulls stadium is right next to American Tobacco (a former tobacco factory that’s been converted into cool shops and restaurants), there is ample parking in the area and lots of bars/restaurants to go to before and after the games.

So, for all you sports fans — don’t overlook the Triangle area. Your Durham bucket list should include going to games with all of these teams!

Financial analysis and management more or less define my MBA experience. These concentrations tie directly into my interests and club leadership roles with the General Management and Finance clubs. These concentrations are giving me a balance of hard and soft skills, which will be directly related to my future work in financial analysis, and also provide the skills I’ll need to one day manage people.

Coming into the MBA program, I already had a great understanding of financial statements specifically for asset management companies, but through the courses in financial analysis, I have learned so much about analyzing financial statements for other industries (retail, consumer products, technology, etc.) and how to project a company’s future financial statements. Additionally, courses in the management concentration allowed me to think about various business concepts from a management perspective — people and change management, decision-making, and innovation — which touch a wide variety of corporate functions and industries.

At various times I considered not pursuing the concentrations, mostly for scheduling reasons, but in the end, I decided that I wanted to fulfill the concentration requirement for my own personal satisfaction and to boost my functional skills on my resume. Moreover, I think that listing the concentrations on my resume inherently helped me to get interviews and gave me talking points during interviews. In addition, due to the structure of Fuqua’s curriculum, I was still able to take other classes that I was interested in, like Raising Capital and Product Management. Although I am still tackling one final class needed for the financial analysis concentration, I’m now glad that I stuck with them and that I’ll gain the concentration credentials.

Jet Setting 

In Cusco, Peru, with fellow second-years Fanny and Monica.

This is something that I have emphasized in many blog posts before, but business school has given me the flexibility to travel the world. In 2012, aside from interviews, I went to Argentina, Panama, Israel, Peru, China, and Taiwan. This year, I went to Belize for spring break, and there is talk of going to Southeast Asia after graduation. Plus, 2 of my Fuqua classmates (who met before business school) are getting married in Bordeaux, France. Traveling is a passion of mine, and I have been able to see so much more of the world while better understanding it in a global business context.

The Bull City

Durham provides such a nice and comfortable lifestyle. Every time that I come back home, landing at RDU, I think that I like my surroundings better than I did the prior week. There is hardly any traffic in Durham, I am very familiar with the restaurants and bars in town, and I know my way around. To name a few of my favorite places, there is Pizzeria Toro, Southpoint Mall, Maple View Farm, and the Eno River Quarry. Additionally, there are many things to do outdoors. Duke’s campus is very pretty, and the cost of living is pretty cheap. Also, I spotted Rob Lowe (whose son is a freshman at Duke) at Vin Rouge a few weeks ago.

Station 9 Living

For those of you who don’t know, Station 9 is an apartment complex in Durham that houses about half of the Fuquans. I like to equate Station 9 to a dorm for adults, but it makes life easy and classmates become incredibly close. For example, 2 of my good friends live 2 doors down from me so anytime that I need to borrow an egg or go watch a TV show, I am there. Also, aside from the proximity to my classmates, the apartment complex is full of conveniences including a renovated gym, pool, and movie room. It helps make carpools, movie nights and parties incredibly convenient and it’s within walking distance to many bars and restaurants. Also, I have roughly 2 times the space of my NY apartment, with a washer and dryer and dishwasher (that I don’t use). This is probably the last time that I will live with a bunch of my friends in the same place, and it’s been great.

Scenic Running

Last year after recruiting ended, I started running to get back into shape. Over the past 6 months, it has turned into a hobby that I have really enjoyed. I love the fact that because of the more temperate climate here, I can run outside all through the winter. Duke’s campus is very scenic and makes a great backdrop for longer runs. Also, the Washington Duke Trail is roughly 3 miles long and goes through the Duke Forest. Running it was on my bucket list last year, and now I try to run it at least twice a week. It’s absolutely gorgeous and in retrospect, I think that it’s crazy that I never made it there last year.

Duke Basketball 

At a Duke game with some of my Fuqua friends.

I’ve already written about Duke Basketball a few times and am in the process of writing a follow up post about it, but it’s a great experience and lots of fun. Also, it is totally different than any other sporting event that I have ever been to. First of all, you are standing the entire time during the game and are constantly screaming some Duke themed basketball cheer. I recently went to the Duke/UNC game and the energy in Cameron was crazy. I never experienced college sports during my own undergrad experience and will certainly miss having season tickets.

Close Classmates

The majority of my classmates moved to Durham for business school, putting us all in the same boat, which helps create a sense of camaraderie that I probably would not have gotten at other business schools. So unlike at a commuter school, this allows our community to get incredibly close, travel together, and experience so much more over the 2-year period.

Being Inspired & Challenged

At Fuqua, I am surrounded by incredible, accomplished people day in and day out, whether it is my classmates, professors, or guest speakers. For example, a few weeks ago I participated in a coffee chat with Whole Food’s Southern Region President, Omar Gaye, who was on campus with Walter Robb, Co-CEO of Whole Foods (watch a video of his presentation) as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series. At Fuqua, I am constantly challenged, learning new things, and changing classes, so I never have any time to get bored. When I used to work, oftentimes I felt like I was in a rut and although Fuqua can get crazy and chaotic, I would not want it any other way.

My classmate Leslee and I enjoying ice cream at Maple View Farms (#1).

1. My favorite foods are French fries and ice cream (see #4).
2. I have no first cousins; both of my parents are only children.
3. I am not a big beer drinker, but I have been to the Heineken, Guinness, and Sam Adams breweries. I have also been to the Jameson factory and the Moet & Chandon cellars.
4. I have been to the Ben & Jerry’s factory 3 times. My favorite flavor is Coffee Heath Bar Crunch.
5. I love to travel and have visited Argentina, South Africa, China, Taiwan, Israel, and many countries in Europe! I also went to Peru for New Year’s with two other Fuquans and will be spending spring break in Belize! There are still many, many places on my list (Australia, Singapore, etc).
6. I studied abroad in Madrid, Spain, during my junior year of college.
7. Because of my accounting background, every time I look at a 10-K, the first thing I look at is who audits the company.
8. I grew up in Montclair, NJ, which is the current home of Stephen Colbert, Bobbi Brown, and Yogi Berra. NJ gets a bad rep, but I absolutely love it.
9. I don’t know how to cook anything besides eggs and pasta. I attribute that to my 5 years of living in NYC. On the other hand, I really enjoy going out to dinner.
10. I don’t use my dishwasher, and instead wash all of my dishes by hand.
11. The Gap, J. Crew and Banana Republic are my favorite places to shop.
12. I am mildly obsessed with Starbucks.
13. I spend way too much time reading celebrity gossip.
14. I cancelled cable last year for the first time ever. This year I have cable, but only because the package deal was a better value than having standalone internet.
15. I want my next car to be an SUV.
16. I have become a Duke basketball fan and have season tickets this year.
17. I started running frequently this past June and can now finish the Washington Duke trail! I want to sign up for my first 10K race in the spring (not to confuse with #8’s other 10-K).
18. I video chat with a couple of my college friends every Sunday night.
    

    My college friends, Kelly and Meghan, who I video chat with on Sunday nights (#18).

19. I really enjoy getting T-shirts from Fuqua, and I probably have about 20 more than I started with at the beginning of last year. When I graduate, I am going to take a picture of all of my Duke and Fuqua themed T-shirts.
20. I am not a big music fan – I listen to music when I run and when I drive, but I am really bad at identifying songs and artists.
21. I fall asleep about 1 in 5 times at the movie theaters.
22. I do not like to get lost, and make a point to become really good at directions and aware of where I am at all times.
23. My favorite TV show is How I Met Your Mother, though I want to find out who the mother is already.
24. Whenever I come to NYC, I always have to stop at Pinkberry and get a manicure and pedicure.
25. I am a morning person.

A New Career Path

Showing my Duke pride, with a Duke bull in the American Tobacco district.

I am in the middle of my career change (still trying to find a balance between corporate finance and general management!), which has benefited from the truly broader, more worldly perspective that I’ve gained from Duke. A little over a year ago, my professional experience consisted solely of accounting for investment management companies. At Fuqua, I’ve learned that there is so much more to the business world that I was missing. From my courses, classmates, and even job search, I have learned so much about the broader business world. There are too many lessons to list here, but in general, my eyes have been opened to many more industries, services, and functions that I had been overlooking. For example, Fuqua’s Health Sector Management program/classes, combined with my work during the Strategic Planning Practicum introduced me to many of the intricacies of health care. Even in accounting, I learned about other opportunities, and about how to do accounting for non-financial service firms. This broadened perspective has surprised me the most, because when I came to Fuqua it was after spending 6 years with such a narrow mindset. Looking forward, I know that the new outlook I’ve gained will continue to surprise me as I progress in my new career in the weeks, months, and years ahead.

Fellow blogger Deidre-Ann and I at a Duke basketball game! I'm looking forward to more Duke games!

Something for Everyone

Fuqua is what you make of it. I know that this sounds cliché, but there is something for everybody at Fuqua. I found my niche in corporate finance and general management. So my class choices and campus involvement generally caters toward management and financial analysis. However, my version of Fuqua is completely different from what Fuqua is for other people — just look at my fellow bloggers — we have marketers, consultants, and people studying health sector management. One of the greatest things about Fuqua is that there are many clubs and activities that support and cater to everyone’s professional interests. Moreover, we have social clubs (like the Beer Club and Outdoor Club) where we can find common ground and have an escape together.

Every day at Fuqua I hear about events and opportunities that I did not know even existed. One way that I try to stay on top of everything is by checking the student club calendar every Sunday to see what events I might like to attend. There is more going on at Fuqua than you can even imagine. This is a very active place, and much of the activity is driven by students, which provides networking, learning and leadership experiences. For example, I am working with another second-year student now to help increase the corporate finance presence on campus (through events like the Corporate Finance Symposium, Corporate Case Studies, and recruiting preparation). This initiative that we took on ourselves allows us to communicate with Fuqua’s  career center, corporate contacts, our classmates and our professors to ensure that we are helping the greater Fuqua community.

Looking Back & Ahead

For me, looking back, I’ve already hit many of the goals that I set at the beginning of business school. I have traveled extensively for internship interviews, the Week-in-Cities trip, and global course experiences (and hit silver status on United Airlines for the first time!). Traveling is a passion of mine. Traveling through the Fuqua curriculum allowed me to see so much of the global business world in action, and how it’s interconnected. I took many classes on subjects that I never thought I’d be interested in, like organizational change management. And I am successfully changing careers — I’ll soon be 2 busy seasons out of public accounting! But mostly, I am excited that I still have most of my second year to meet more people, take more classes, see more Duke basketball, and get a few more stamps on my passport.

Being a blogger allows me to hear from various prospective students (like you!) who constantly remind me that I am in an envious position. Sometimes, in the crazy midst of classes, club activities, and recruiting, I temporarily forget about the incredible things that Duke and Fuqua have introduced me to. So, thank you to my readers for reminding me to be grateful, and I hope this post provides you with some additional insight on what you can expect from Fuqua.

Last year, when I started at Fuqua, I expected to pursue a career in brand management; however, that changed after I attended various club symposiums and networking events. I decided to go for corporate finance and general management opportunities. I have an accounting background, an interest in finance and strategy, and a desire to learn about different functions at a company. After various interviews, I accepted a corporate finance internship at Lowe’s Companies, Inc. — the home improvement retail giant.

Since June 6, I’ve been working in the financial planning and analysis division (FP&A) of Lowe’s corporate office in Mooresville, NC. Aside from learning more about the retail industry, I am working on two different projects. I’m assisting the supply chain department by determining cost saving strategies for equipment at the distribution centers, and I’m assisting the merchandising department to help provide consumers with low everyday prices. Thus far, it’s been a whirlwind.

One thing that I really like about my internship is that I have had a great opportunity to learn about and interact with various business units at Lowe’s. At Lowe’s, FP&A provides many of the analytics that support the different business units, so it directly interfaces with parts of the business including store operations, merchandising, distribution, and new business development, among others. In addition to my intern projects, I have met with managers throughout FP&A to learn about specific roles and responsibilities within corporate finance and in the process, I have learned a lot about Lowe’s, its current strategy, and its vision for the future.

Aside from finance and accounting, my internship experience has touched upon other topics learned in Fuqua classes. Oftentimes, I hear about “lead times” and “inventory optimization strategies” (operations class), “current promotions” and “SKU management” (marketing class), and I am learning about Lowes’ vision for the future (strategy class). In addition, I frequently use my information management notes from Business Computer Applications class, to help with using Excel and Access.

Bonus Benefits 

Lowe’s sponsors Jimmie Johnson and Team 48 in NASCAR!

There are also some great benefits to being an intern. Aside from the visibility into the business, there are networking events, trips to stores and distribution centers, volunteer opportunities, and even trivia nights. However, one of the best parts is that I am actually living in an extended stay hotel in Davidson. There are obvious perks, like housekeeping, an onsite gym and pool, and complimentary breakfast and dinner. The setup is ridiculously nice, though I know that I cannot get too used to this lifestyle.

I am also learning slightly more about NASCAR. Lowe’s sponsors Jimmie Johnson and Team 48, and I hope to make it to the NASCAR Hall of Fame before I leave.

Overall, my internship has been a great learning experience, and I am excited to see what this last week will bring. My last day here is August 10.

Other Internship Experiences

Some of my classmates (and fellow General Management Club members) also landed interesting internships this summer. You can read about some of them on the General Management Club’s blog.

5 things to do during my second year:

1. Walk/run the Washington Duke trail.
2. Take trips to Asheville, the Outer Banks, Charleston, and Savannah. I probably won’t make it to all 4 places, but 2 will suffice.
3. Study abroad. Right now, I’m thinking about South Africa, Australia, or Singapore.
4. Spend more time at the Duke Gardens.
5. Have afternoon tea at the Washington Duke Inn.

5 things I’m excited about for next year:

1. I am going to Las Vegas for a wedding in September.
2. More Duke basketball games!
3. Traveling to more countries.
4. Trying more Durham restaurants including Vin Rogue, Scratch, and Rue Cler.
5. Catching up with my classmates after 3 months of working!

5 things I wish I’d known before last year:

1. Fall I, Fall II, and Spring I terms are EXTREMELY busy.
2. Enjoy GIE (summer) and Spring II when they come along!
3. When picking out apartments at Station Nine, look at the floor plan and really try to understand the pros and cons of each apartment.
4. During the school year, schedule time on the calendar to go to the gym—it’s the only way it’ll happen regularly.
5. You will continuously meet new people throughout the year, whether it be through classes, teams, clubs, or social activities.

At the Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai.

GATE By the Numbers:

27 Students
16 Days
5 Plane rides
7 Company visits
4 Different cities in China and Taiwan
1 Night in Beijing with roughly 80 Fuquans

GATE — Global Academic Travel Experience — was something that I was looking forward to all year, and it’s one of the reasons I initially chose to come to Fuqua. In weekly classes during Spring Term 2, we learned about the history of China, participated in a Q&A with Fuquans from China and Taiwan, and heard presentations on various topics including Chinese female entrepreneurs, internet restrictions, the one-child policy, and media and entertainment in China. Finally, after the term ended and exams were over, we were ready to go and see Asia for ourselves!

At the Great Wall with some of my classmates.

This year, due to high demand, Fuqua offered three GATE trips to China. The groups all visited Shanghai, Beijing, and Taipei, plus each group visited a unique fourth city. My group went to Chongqing, which is the largest city in China and in my opinion, is very representative of real China (it’s not just a tourist trap). China has been on my bucket list of places to visit for some time and because of its growing importance in the business world, I thought that it’d be perfect to visit during my time in business school. Corporate visits are a big part of GATE, and we covered a wide range of companies, from a venture capital firm to a specialized cancer center — therefore everybody on the trip found something that catered to their interests.

Shanghai: Shanghai was the first stop, and I was excited to visit it because the Pudong Skyline emerged only in the last 20 years and transformed the city. Our fellow Fuquans arranged our company visits and we saw a real estate company and a maritime tourism company. These visits were extremely interesting because the companies mostly cater to the local Chinese market, and not the multinational perspective that we often learn about in business school. In addition, we visited the French Concession, Shanghai Museum, Jade Buddha Temple, Yuyuan Garden, Nanjing Road, and enjoyed the nightlife along the Bund.

Chongqing: The second stop was the most populous city in China with over 28 million people. This city gave me a picture of authentic China. Chongqing is known for its hot pot and spicy food and introduced me to non-western toilets (you have to learn somewhere!). We visited attractions including the Dazu Rock Carvings, Chongqing Zoo, and Ciqikou Old Town and an automotive company that has production agreements with American manufacturers.

Beijing: Here we visited the Great Wall of China (and alpine slided to the bottom), saw Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Olympic Stadium (from afar) and the Summer Palace. We shopped at the Silk Market, lunched with a local family, visited the R&D center of a multinational consumer products company, and visited a venture capital firm. In addition, all 3 China GATE groups were in Beijing for one night, so in true Fuqua style, we all went out in Houhai.

Taipei: At our last stop we enjoyed dumplings at the original Din Tai Fung, ate at a Night Market, watched a changing of the guards, and explored the National Taiwan Museum. As part of the corporate visits, we went to a cancer hospital, and the COO studied at Duke Medicine and co-wrote a business case with the famed Michael Porter. We also visited an electronic component manufacturer.

During my 2 weeks in China, I was able to see places and do things that I never imagined, and got to know some of my fellow classmates better! Also, this trip was a huge step outside of my comfort zone, since I obviously looked like a foreigner and I could not read, speak, or understand the language. Things that I often take for granted, like ordering food, and asking for “napkins” or “no ice,” suddenly seemed like impossible feats. However, these struggles made the trip more valuable and made me more appreciative of certain things in the US.

I got a preliminary taste of recruiting during the summer by attending the Forte Foundation Conference and the Credit Suisse MBA Explorer program, and I spent a large portion of my time during the first two terms networking with companies, tweaking my resume and cover letters, mock interviewing, holding informational interviews, and practicing my STAR stories. However, nothing could have prepared me for my recruiting adventure during the first spring term.

My recruiting experiences have probably made me the most stressed, disappointed, and humbled that I have been since I started business school … but everything works out in the end. First though, I want to tell you about the numerous lessons I’ve learned and the mistakes that I made …

This might seem like a faraway point to you (depending on where you are now), but do not underestimate the first-year internship recruiting process.

If possible, start thinking about potential career paths, geographic locations, companies that support MBA internships, and make a preliminary list of companies where you would like to work. This pre-work will only help you further down the line, since Fuqua has certain career deliverables and deadlines during the first terms for you and your career fellow (a second-year MBA student who’s paired up with you).

During the fall, I did about 5 mock interviews and they undoubtedly helped me get more comfortable with some of the typical interview questions (like tell me about yourself, why this company, why this position). Here are some additional lessons that I learned while interviewing in January and February:

Craft Your Story – It’s important to research the company and position you’re applying for, and customize your “story” to highlight your skills, strengths, and goals that gel with the job and the company’s culture. Every interview became a learning experience that I used to continue to tweak my story and better prepare for future interviews.

Balance is Key – During the first spring term, I had a hard time finding a balance. I could not give recruiting 150% and ignore my schoolwork, but at the same time, I could not solely focus on my schoolwork and ignore internship recruiting. Time management and balance is key for B-school and internship recruiting is just another example of where it’s critical.

Step Away – There were days when I really just needed to take a step back and forget about recruiting … and that was ok. Those breaks ultimately helped me move forward and keep a positive outlook.

Competition is Stiff – Not only are you competing against your classmates during on-campus recruiting, you are also competing against candidates from every other business school. I did not have time to dwell on my rejections. I had to continue to move forward with the process.

Recruit Smarter – Near the end of the process, when I was gearing toward my off-campus search (on-campus interviews are set up by career services, off-campus interviews are set up directly with the companies), I started recruiting smarter. Instead of solely sending in my resume and cover letter, I tried to connect with alumni and get a realistic picture about a day on the job. This practice helped show my interest in the company and gave me more background to talk about during interviews.

Make Sacrifices – Ideally we all want to land our dream job in our ideal location, but that might not happen. There are times that we will have to make sacrifices in industry, location, etc. Again, this is all part of the learning experience and we might get pleasantly surprised in the process.

Look for Ways to Improve – Some of my interviewers gave me feedback on ways to improve for the future. These have included brushing up on finance concepts, being a little less formal, and framing my case answers better. There is ample time to continue improving and this feedback is very appreciated.

My internship recruiting process lasted roughly two months. During that time, there were many highs and lows. Sometimes I dreaded receiving new emails and during other times, I was pleasantly surprised by calls coming from unknown area codes. I traveled to various places including Chicago, New York, Charlotte, and Hershey, and these experiences will be helpful, regardless of what happens in the future.

Some of my classmates had seamless recruiting experiences. Moreover, they deserved them! As disappointed as I was at times, it makes me happy to know that everything worked out well for my classmates and teammates, who put equally as much passion and energy into the internship search. We are all part of Team Fuqua and this group will continue to be part of my network for many years to come.

And with all this being said, I will be working at Lowe’s this summer outside of Charlotte, where I will be doing corporate finance in the Merchandise and Supply Chain group!

The internship matches many of the things that I was looking for, and I am excited to begin my new career in corporate finance!

At Fuqua, I have an incredible support network who helped keep me going on days that I wanted to crawl under a rock. These people include my friends, who listened to me complain, helped with mock interviews and company lists, and gave me company facts if they had already spoken to that company. Lisa from the Career Management Center, who again listened to me, helped me do mock interviews, and helped me craft a game plan for my off-campus search. And lastly, Fuqua alumni, who have been extremely helpful in putting me in touch with the right people in the right places and were always willing to help with informational interviews.

The Syracuse team won the MBA Games.

Additional fundraising events are held throughout the year for the MBA Games, which benefits the Special Olympics of North Carolina (SONC). These events include a dodge ball tournament, Halloween party, turkey trot run, and charity auction – and everything culminates in the MBA Games Weekend!

For the MBA Games Weekend (March 30 – April 1), I was a “team captain” and I cohosted the Syracuse Team. Basically, this was an excuse to hang out with the team during the competition and social activities. The games themselves included a dance competition, beanbag toss, business suit relay, 50M dash, crab walk, briefcase toss, tug of war, basketball shootout, trivia, and dizzy bat competition.

On Friday afternoon during the dance competition (the first event of the weekend), I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Syracuse both held an application process for team members and practiced games like the 50M dash and briefcase toss before coming to Durham. Apparently, they did not place in last year‘s competition and wanted to change that! Moreover, they came fully equipped in special dancing outfits for Friday and custom designed jerseys for Saturday. They even brought two extra jerseys for Pam and Anthony, who were the Special Olympic athletes on Syracuse’s team. Their preparation was evident and they rocked individual competitions including the Dance Competition (2^nd place) and the Tug of War (1^st place). In the end, they also placed first in the entire MBA Games competition!

Together, the 12 participating teams raised over $45k for the SONC! This was a new record and roughly $7k above last year’s amount.

Overall, the games were a lot of fun and definitely brought more color to Durham … My “ordinary” weekend was replaced with meeting various MBA students from across the country, bonding with the Special Olympic athletes, watching the games, and seeing the outpouring of support from the entire Fuqua community (student fans, professors, partners, etc.). The whole event was completely student run, so it was incredible to see my classmates volunteer in various capacities, including emceeing the dance competition, refereeing the games, dressing up as Superman and Superwoman, helping set up for lunch, and even coordinating behind the scenes amongst the large group of volunteers. Undoubtedly, lots of work and planning went into the weekend, and seeing the joy on the athletes’ faces during the games made everything worth the careful preparation.