Last fall, I was thinking out loud with my fellow cabinet members of the Arts @ Fuqua Club: “Wouldn’t it be awesome to do our own version of Dancing with the Stars?” Well, on April 5, we did! Dancing with the Faculty began as just an idea that became a reality this spring.

Guest Blogger Bee-Lian Quah and Senior Associate Dean for Programs Jennifer Francis.

Finding an available Friday evening for a Fuqua-wide event in the Spring 2 term is no easy feat. We jumped on the only Friday evening that was available. I then realized I had less than 2 months to convince some of our faculty members to learn a dance from a student within 3 weeks and perform it in front of the entire school! As evidence of how amazing our faculty is, it was easier than I thought!

‘90s Hip Hop by Associate Dean for Admissions Liz Riley Hargrove and second-year student/choreographer Rotimi Thomas. (Photo by Dionne D. Hill)

After returning from Spring Break, 6 couples were beginning to practice one of 6 different styles of dance. Most of the faculty members had little to no dance experience, so the teams were starting from ground zero. The dance couples were:

• Associate Dean for Admissions Liz Riley Hargrove & Rotimi Thomas: ‘90s Hip Hop
• International Programs Coordinator Candice Aldrich & Sahithya Yadati: Indian Classical Dance
• Consulting Careers Section Director Mary Beck White-Sutton & Tony Toussaint: Cumbia
• Professor Shane Dikolli & Wing-Kam Li: Swing
• Associate Dean for the Daytime Program Russ Morgan & Jamaila Holder: Caribbean
• Ford Library Associate Director Jane Day & Azamat Valiyev: R&B
  

  Indian Classical Dance by first-year Sahithya Yadati and International Programs Coordinator Candice Aldrich.

Dancing with the Faculty

Hours before the live event, the couples (and I) were all nerves. The other event organizers and I had converted classrooms into dressing rooms, where the dancers could change into costumes, warm-up and have their hair & makeup done by students. Our faculty members’ families came to the event for support; many provided pep-talks to their “star” for the night.

In true Dancing with the Stars fashion, the couples performed in random order, introduced by a video showing their progress from 3 weeks of rehearsals. I had the pleasure of providing some commentary at the end of the performances with Senior Associate Dean for Programs Jennifer Francis. The two of us (and the rest of the audience) were thoroughly impressed as the dancers put it all out there for our “coveted” disco ball trophy. I saw the sighs of relief from the performers after their dance, and the proud look of relatives as they cheered for their mom/dad or husband/wife.

Swing Dance by Professor Shane Dikolli and second-year Wing-Kam Li.

Behind the scenes, we were taking some risks with how we executed the event. We attempted to push the limits of what was possible from a multimedia and live performance perspective. Throughout the prior 3 weeks, we taped our competitors learning their dances and rehearsing, and then played a short video before their live performance. Before we conducted our text message voting, we played a recap video that we compiled during the live event. To buy some time, we had a special performance by Fuqua Fast Motion, our school dance team. As the real-time voting took place, we also had a musical performance by our “house band,” giving the audience a preview of the upcoming Fuqua Idol event.

After the votes were in, we learned that our champions for the first-ever Dancing with the Faculty event were: Jane Day, our librarian, and Azamat Valiyev, a second-year (aka. Jayonce and A-Zee). They did an R&B performance, and it was quite impressive what they had achieved in such a short period of time. Watch their performance!

Here at Fuqua, we’ve always wanted more student-faculty interaction and engagement outside the classroom. Some of the faculty members described Dancing with the Faculty as being “terrifying, yet satisfying” and “in the almost 12 years I have been at Fuqua and the dozens of student events I have been a part of, this rates at the very top.” For our Arts @ Fuqua team, receiving this feedback for a new event created from a tiny idea was extremely gratifying.

For some, this event was an opportunity to step out of his/her comfort zone. For others, it was an opportunity to coach and teach someone. However, for all of us, it was another exhibit of the unique culture here at Fuqua.

Interested in watching the dances? You can check them out on the Arts @ Fuqua YouTube channel.

Guest Blogger: Joel Theodros, first-year student.

What an AMAZING trip! I recently got back from my first trip to South America. During spring break, I went there with 25 of my classmates as part of the Global Academic Travel Experience program, or GATE. It was the perfect blend of fun and adventure as well as education. Our trip was led by our distinguished professor and former U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, Patrick Duddy, which allowed us to have special insight into the business and political climate in South America. A number of events happened while we were there that also shaped our trip to Brazil and Argentina: the passing of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, the election of an Argentine Pope, and a whole host of economic events including Brazil’s announcement of protectionist policies and Argentina’s controversial take-over of an oil company controlled by Spain’s Repsol. To say that a lot was happening in South America would be a great understatement.

We were also fortunate to have access to business leaders from a wide range of industries including banking, petrochemical, and health and beauty, to name a few. We enjoyed all of the presentations and learned a ton of cool and insightful information on a whole host of topics.

Here’s a list of 10 random bits of information I learned from corporate presentations, cultural excursions, and from interacting with the people we met along our journey:

The Latin America GATE group visited the Casa Rosada, the office of the President of Argentina.

1. The name Brazil comes from brazilwood, an indigenous tree and the country’s first export during the early days of trading with European settlers. The name Rio de Janiero is Portuguese for “River of January” and was given by the European explorers who visited the area in January 1502. Rio de Janiero was also the original capital of Brazil until 1960, when the government was transferred to Brasilia.
2. The famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janiero is considered the largest Art Deco statue in the world and the fifth largest Jesus statue in the world. Constructed from 1926 – 1931 it is considered an engineering marvel because in addition to its large size, it was assembled on top of a 2,300 foot high mountain, where it was carried to by train, piece-by-piece.
3. Imported goods are very expensive in Brazil. In addition to an import duty tax there are additional taxes and “extra” margins put onto these items. In one case, while walking the streets of Sao Paulo, a group of us stopped by a sports car dealership and noticed a Lamborghini that would cost $300,000 in the U.S. cost 1.2M Real (roughly $600,000 USD).
4. Messi is often regarded as one of the greatest, if not, the greatest football (soccer) player of all-time. However, Maradona will always be the national soccer hero because he led the national team to the World Cup championship over England after the Falkland War between the two countries.
5. During the presentation from Itau Unibanco’s (one of Latin America’s biggest banks), we learned that bank ATMs in Brazil aren’t connected to other banking institutions. What this means for bank customers is that they can only deposit and withdraw money from an ATM associated with their own bank and not another competing Brazilian bank. Ironically, international tourists are able to use any ATM in Brazil if their home bank is part of the same alliance network.
6. The Catholic Church in Argentina and the national government have a long history of public spats over social issues and their relationship is often described in the media as being mutually hostile. The dynamic recently took on a dramatic twist during our trip when Pope Francisco became the first Argentine Catholic Pope.
7. Argentina doesn’t import any beef. While anyone who’s ever tried a savory Argentine steak will argue there’s no need to do so, the issue has become a thorn for the industry as it seeks additional markets outside of Argentina.
8. Argentina modeled its capital after Paris and is often regarded as the Paris of South America. The mix of coffee shops, opera houses, and museums that line the streets gives it a very sophisticated and historical feel.
9. Avenida 9 de Julio (translated to July 9 Avenue) in Buenos Aires is the widest avenue in the world, spanning the width of an entire city block. While the design of the avenue was inspired after the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in France, its name honors Argentina’s Independence Day from Spain on July 9, 1816.
10. Nightlife in Argentina doesn’t begin till very late in the evening and can run into the wee hours of the morning. In the heart of Buenos Aires, it’s not uncommon for stores to close in the afternoon just to reopen at 10 pm as the nightlife goes into full swing. Also, club goers don’t go to the club until around 1 am!

This trip was everything I could have asked for and more. From wine tasting and tango dancing in Argentina to walking the world famous Ipanema Beach to being interviewed on national television in Buenos Aires about the new Argentine Pope, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. But what made this trip all the more special was that I was able to enjoy it with my classmates and Ambassador Duddy. Taking stock of my first year at Fuqua, I can’t believe how much I have learned and experienced in one year. It seems like it was only yesterday that I was working in my office wondering what business school would be like. Now that I am here, I can confidently say that being at The Fuqua School of Business has exceeded all of my expectations. And while I am sure there will be other trips to South America, I know this GATE trip was truly a unique experience — one that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Guest Blogger Maria A. Rodriguez R., second-year student

Now that I’m just a few weeks away from graduation, I’m thinking about the experiences I have had during this amazing MBA adventure. In less than 2 years I moved to a different country (from Bogotá, Colombia), started a challenging program at a top business school, in a language different from my own, shared my learning experience with outstanding people hailing from all over the world, and participated in all sorts of activities, many of which took me way out of my comfort zone. One of the most challenging and fulfilling was organizing Fuqua’s first Global Week.

When I was selected as the International & Diversity Executive Officer of the 2012-2013 Duke MBA Association (MBAA), I knew that many challenges were ahead of me, but little did I know that those would involve coordinating the first edition of a school-wide event of such importance as Global Week. The idea for the event came out of a task force organized by the outgoing 2011-2012 MBAA members. A 1-day Global Conference was suggested to serve as a platform for the discussion of global business issues and to foster greater collaboration among international diversity clubs. One of the key reasons I applied to Fuqua was because of its commitment to being a global business school, so I thought the conference would be a great avenue to further advance this vision. Deborah Costa, the incoming President of the MBAA, was also convinced of the importance of a global conference, so both of us decided to move forward with the initiative.

Holding the final (and lengthy) agenda for Global Week.

Event Expansion

We started the planning process in April 2012, by connecting with the co-presidents of the 6 international diversity clubs, the Dean of the Daytime MBA Program, the Director of the International Programs Office, and the Global Sector Leader of the Career Management Center. We agreed on January 30, 2013, as the event date, and put a team of 4 MBAA leaders together to hit the ground running. And then the summer came. And it was really tough to coordinate things over email. But we kept doing as many things as we could, while we were learning a big lesson: once people are not on campus, no matter how great everyone’s intentions are, things are just not going to move forward as quickly as expected.

However, this “delay” actually played out in our favor. When we came back to school, officially as second years, our class voted during C-LEAD 2 that the global aspect of our MBA experience was so important that it deserved a whole week of events. And that’s how the Global Week idea was born.

Given that we still had some time before our conference date, we decided to move forward to transform our original 1-day event into a week-long one. Given that the event had expanded, we put together a larger team of organizers led by Dima Hwaidi, a fellow outstanding second-year who stood up to the challenge of becoming the general coordinator, with Deborah’s and my support.

Associate Dean of the Daytime Program Russ Morgan kicked off the Global Map activity by placing the first sticker. He was followed by Professor John Graham (left).

Week in Review

The results were amazing. During the week of January 28 to February 1, we put a big global map in the Fox Center, and Fuquans put stickers on the places where they were born and had lived. After a few hours, I was amazed that there were stickers on every continent (well … all of them except Antarctica, which is still pretty good, if you ask me).

Introducing the Global Supply Chain Panel.

On Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday we held Lunch Fairs, led by the international diversity clubs, featuring delicious food from different regions of the world. On Monday we had our weekly Language 2 Language program, where Fuquans practiced speaking Spanish or French. On Tuesday we had a Distinguished Speaker Series session focused on global leadership, with Mr. Bill McDermott, Co-CEO of SAP.

On Wednesday there were panel discussions on Business Trends in Emerging Markets and Global Supply Chain, with high-level speakers coming from private equity, diplomacy, retail, and management consulting. I personally had the most interesting takeaways from these panel discussions, as they provided incredibly valuable perspectives on the growth drivers by region and on the skills needed to effectively tap into those opportunities. Wednesday also included the annual Exchange Fair, informing students about the great variety of study-abroad opportunities available at Fuqua.

Performing Culture Shock, one of the acts presented during Fuqua’s Got Talent show.

On Thursday we encouraged students participating in our weekly Diversity Tables initiative to talk about the regions and cultures they come from. And, then Friday’s finale included Fuqua Discovers South Africa (a student-led presentation about the country’s culture and economy), Fuqua Friday celebrating the Lunar New Year, and the annual Fuqua’s Got Talent Show (featuring acts that showcase our student body’s richness of cultures). I had the most fun performing during Fuqua’s Got Talent, as part of an act called “Culture Shock,” where 8 of us came up with choreography inspired by music from different parts of the world. After the show, we closed the week-long event with a Global Party where attendees were encouraged to wear clothes that are traditional of cultures other than their own.

I know I speak on behalf of the student leaders who made Global Week happen, when I say that we see this as part of our legacy at Fuqua. We believe this was the first edition of many Global Weeks, where Fuquans and the bigger Duke community, will continue to discuss global business trends and bring to life the global nature of our community. As a leader, this experience taught me that collaboration requires a lot of work and, at the same time, is one of the most powerful ways to generate impact. Global Week will definitely provide a lot of stories that I will be able to tell my children one day, when they are faced with a big challenge that is aligned with their passions.

Guest Blogger Niladri Sannigrahi, second-year student

Losing focus is one of the most common phenomenons observed among MBA students. We spread ourselves too thin as we try to take advantage of all academic, extracurricular, and career opportunities. To avoid a potential negative outcome and the resulting frustration of being overwhelmed, the most critical element is to stay true to yourself in your actions at business school. Having a focus is really important, especially when you are constantly offered more opportunities than you can take. I learned this lesson personally, through finding my job “focus” during the recruiting process.

Lesson One

Consulting is the most popular industry for MBAs, specifically at Fuqua. Obviously, this means high competition (albeit a healthy one!) and subsequently the frustration of getting rejected. In my personal experience, the biggest reason for this situation has been the lack of focus and self-reflection.

Before coming to Fuqua, I spent 8 years working in the public sector as a traffic/transportation engineer in India, Afghanistan, and the U.S. I came to business school to make a career change, and during my first year, I put all my effort into finding an internship in consulting. After my initial research, I found consulting to be pretty attractive, mostly because I could not find a better alternative. During my search, there were signs that told me consulting might not be the best fit for me. However, I pushed myself and convinced myself that I could manage all the challenges, once I got a consulting job. This is where I started veering away from my true self. The result, as you can probably guess, was not getting a consulting internship, in spite of going through a number of interviews. That was in February 2012, and frustration and disappointment hit pretty hard.

It was too late to apply to major general management firms, and I did not know what to do. As the only option, I started my off-campus search; but even then, I failed to focus on the right strategy based on who I really am. I felt desperate and started applying to everything — jobs in IT, health care, non-profit, retail, you name it. The excel spreadsheet where I tracked my search showed more than 75 postings that I applied to! It was ridiculous — demanded a lot of my time, and frequently stressed me out. After Spring Break, I sat down with one of my classmates, who served as a great mentor and guide, and he helped me understand the situation and optimize the process. He showed me how a lack of focus affected the quality of my applications — my cover letters and resumes did not reflect passion and commitment, because I applied to companies without thinking. It was no surprise that I did not get a single interview! However, with a more thoughtful and focused approach, I received an internship offer in a corporate strategy position at a global water technology firm.

Lesson Two

The reason I have two parts to my story is that one lesson was not enough for me. After I started my summer internship in New York, I had a good conversation with my wife regarding my career. I talked about the factors that worried me all along about consulting, and we decided that I would no longer pursue consulting jobs. But then something happened — I got a note from a Fuqua alumnus at McKinsey, who wanted to chat with me and encouraged me to apply for a full-time consulting position. This created a dilemma. On one hand, I knew why consulting was not a good fit; but on the other hand, a consultant from McKinsey showed interest in me — that was too much to ignore! After thinking for a little while, I fell into the trap again.

As a good friend and partner, my wife supported me in my second consulting search. I decided to be more focused in the process and more selective about the firms (I ended up applying to 6, including the top 3). But once again, it took up a big chunk of my time. To make a long story short, I did not get into a consulting job. I received a few interview invitations (not McKinsey, by the way!), and actually felt good about my performance. But one big difference was that I was not shocked or heartbroken by the rejections. I accepted the misfit, and immediately shifted focus to the other companies and positions where I found better alignment. Before Winter Break, I was very happy with the options I had, and then accepted an offer to join the Corporate Development Program at Liberty Mutual.

Lesson Learned

Here is the moral of the story — no matter how clichéd it sounds, “knowing yourself” is really key to your success in business school (and in life in general). Unless you stay true and honest about who you are, you will be lost in a sea of options, unable to figure out what is really good for you. Talk your decisions through with your close friends and families, especially when you are in a dilemma as I was. During the internship or full-time job search, identify the pros and cons for each position and weigh them against your own, personal priorities and preferences. Finally, know that knowing yourself will not only help you stay focused, but will also enable you to identify a symbiotic match with suitable firms, effectively creating a great positive synergy in the long term.

Guest Blogger Julia Houlihan, second-year student

In the past few weeks, we’ve received email reminders about graduation requirements to make sure everyone’s on track to walk across that stage and shake Dean Boulding’s hand in May. These emails have caused me to reflect a bit on the requirements I had when choosing an MBA program. Principle among these: I wanted to attend a business school that was serious about preparing leaders to make an impact in the social sector, and I wanted to find peers who were similarly striving to use their MBAs to find solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems. I was drawn to Fuqua because it houses the well-recognized Center for Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE). To me, the presence of CASE promised that I would learn about the intersection of social impact and business from scholars and practitioners, and find other students searching for the same experience. I am happy to report that my expectations were exceeded.

For me, much of business school has consisted of: courses, practicums, clubs, and the search for a fulfilling career. I have incorporated my interest in social impact into each one of these areas.

Courses

Two electives that stand out to me are Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing, both taught by Professor Cathy Clark. Some highlights: in Social Entrepreneurship, Professor Clark brings in an incredible cross section of guest speakers — emphasizing the reputation and connections that she and other CASE faculty have in the field. We heard from one of the co-founders of B-Lab, a program officer at the Acumen Fund and the Executive Director of the Calvert Foundation, among others. In the Impact Investing elective, I was blown away by my classmates — we were 70 strong and had an incredible diversity of experiences.

Practicums

I participated in CASE’s Global Consulting Practicum in Social Entrepreneurship, which is now a part of the overall Fuqua Client Consulting Practicum (FCCP) that provides opportunities for student teams to consult with both commercial and social sector clients in the U.S. and abroad. Through the practicum I worked on a consulting engagement with a large non-profit eye care hospital in Hyderabad, India — LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) — that offers world-class eye health services to 50% of its patients free of charge. Because of the incredible service LVPEI provides, they are inundated with requests from other organizations for help establishing or improving other eye care facilities. My team was tasked with conducting a feasibility study to see if these requests for help could translate into a revenue-generating consulting arm. Over Spring Break, we traveled to India to interview LVPEI staff, clients, and partners. This was an incredible opportunity to put coursework into practice and blend the business and nonprofit worlds.

Clubs

The Fuqua Net Impact Club is one of the largest student clubs on campus, and this year it was recognized by Net Impact National as Chapter of the Year. I have served on the Net Impact cabinet, helping to organize Social Impact and Sustainability Career Support and Programming. We coordinate career-mentoring groups and create and maintain different resources for students looking for careers in this space. Through my involvement with the club I also expanded my network with Fuqua students, alumni, and even professionals outside of the Fuqua community.

Career

I hope to pursue a career in the education space. This past summer, I participated in the Education Pioneers Fellowship and worked on a new revenue strategy for Teach for America’s Chicago Region. My internship was made possible partly because of Fuqua’s Summer Internship Fund (SIF), which matched a portion of my salary. SIF supported 19 students last summer, who all made a difference in a variety of sectors. Also, this year, I have been working closely with Erin Worsham, Social Impact and Sustainability Sector Director in the Career Management Center, to find my post-graduation dream job. The results aren’t yet in, but we (myself and Erin) are optimistic!

Guest blogger Simon Moore-Crouch, first-year student

I found the above quote from Phil Knight, the founder of Nike. I ran across it while preparing for a presentation at Fuqua back in the fall, and it’s really become my elevator pitch for why I passionately want to continue my career in the sports industry. You see I’m all about sports. My pre-Fuqua life included 7 years in the Australian sports industry, working with both highly paid professional and amateur athletes, with teams and individuals. I aim for my post-Fuqua life to also be all about sports.

So far, I had plenty of opportunities to share Phil’s words of wisdom as well as my own passion in my pursuit of opportunities in the US sports industry. In November, Fuqua’s Media, Entertainment and Sports Club oversaw an explosion of sports & business related activities both on and off campus.

The month was jam packed. The huge global sports agency Wasserman Media Group hosted “The Business of Sports” conference and launched a sports themed case competition. To participate, one of my sports industry classmates, Mike Leopando (he worked at Adidas pre-Fuqua), and I formed a team, including a couple of MMS students, Nancy Yu and Taylor Glymph (she was a Duke Women’s Basketball Manager). The objective is to present a case for Clif Bars to utilize sports as a marketing tool to expand in Western Europe. The winning team will receive a fully funded trip to the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston, and courtside seats to the Boston Celtics, so we’ll be spending a bit of the winter working on the case!

With Duke alumnus and current GM of the Brooklyn Nets, Billy King.

Also in November, students hosted the annual “Wide World of Sports” conference and another group of students traveled to New York to represent Fuqua at the industry leading “Ivy Sports Symposium.” The “Wide World of Sports” was a great chance for me to help promote sports business on campus, as the first-year student organizer for the Media, Entertainment and Sports Club event. I got to team up with a great second-year to put on the event, bringing a number of alumni back to Fuqua to share their sports business success stories with classmates looking to find their break in the industry. The Ivy Symposium was a bit more relaxing for me as I could simply sit back and absorb all the amazing wisdom dished out by heavy hitting executives from MLB, the NBA and NFL including Duke basketball alum and current GM of the Brooklyn Nets Billy King.

With the value of MBAs in the sports industry slowly but surely being recognized, the significant sports themed activities offered for Fuquans are a huge boost for those of us chasing opportunities in the realm of bats, balls, and baskets.

Wide World of Sports Conference on campus.

I believe the key to unlocking the door to a career in sports is building a network within the industry, and the power of these events is giving students the opportunities to lay the foundations for this. In the past couple months alone, I spoke one-on-one with executives involved with one of the biggest naming rights deals in all of sport (the MetLife Stadium in New York); executives who work with huge global brands like the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC; and others who develop the branding strategy for the NBA.

I packed up my life back in Australia and travelled half way around the world to pursue an MBA at a top 10 school, all with the ultimate aim of landing a dream job at one of these places. I’ve had to pinch myself multiple times. But this is not a dream. The potential to spend this summer working for one of the biggest brands in global sport is very real.

At all of the recent events and during all my networking conversations, four things have been constant. Four features of a successful sports/business person have been shared time and time again. They are:

Ivy Sports Symposium credentials.

1. Team focused with great people skills
2. A global mindset
3. A passion for the sports business
4. A blue chip education

Hearing these attributes reinforced over and over has made it clear that coming here to Fuqua was the right choice for me. It made it clear that working at the NBA, at Wasserman or at Nike is not just a dream, it can be a reality.

These four traits are the hallmarks of what Fuqua offers or what Fuqua can foster. Working with teams is at the core of the first-year Fuqua experience. In an environment where about 40% of us are from beyond the US borders, you have to have a global mindset to be successful. When you are learning from a faculty ranked number one in intellectual capital by Bloomberg BusinessWeek, you are in the midst of a blue chip educational setting. When campus is home to the best college basketball team and fans in the nation, (ok, I’m biased!) you can live and breathe sports!

Armed with my Fuqua experience and my sports background from Down Under, I’m confident I’m on track to making my sports business dream a reality. If you want to read more about my journey to Fuqua from Australia, feel free to check out my blog at downundertoduke.com or my tweets at @moore_crouch.

Guest blogger Leslie Kim, second-year

Guest blogger Laura Jones, second-year

Two years ago we were prospective students checking out various business schools, writing essays, and trying to figure out where we wanted to go if we got in … Now 2 years later, it is the middle of the admissions season and in early November, we wrapped another successful Weekend for Women.

What is Weekend for Women, you ask?

Attendees enjoying the Weekend for Women.

The admissions process at Fuqua involves Admissions officers, but also student interviewers and club members who organize various events. As part of the Association of Women in Business club, we serve as Admissions Co-Directors and have the privilege of working with the Admissions team to build a weekend specifically designed for female prospective students. It is a big undertaking, involving hundreds of participants, student volunteers, and alumni. But for us, it is a chance to take a step back from busy MBA life and remember how hard we worked to get here, and share our enthusiasm for Fuqua!

Even the panelists have fun during the weekend.

Funny story, neither of us attended the weekend when we were applying. But, we have been so impressed with and supported by the amazing community of women here at Duke that we wanted to make sure prospective women get to see first-hand what Team Fuqua is all about. It is easy to get lost in a sea of black suits when applying to business school, so the Weekend for Women is an opportunity to really spend a few days in the life of a Duke MBA.

Each year we start from scratch when coming up with the programming for the weekend, but we aim to give attendees more in-depth information about academic options, career support, international experiences, student life, and much more. We also strive to ensure that prospective female applicants experience how much Fuqua values female leaders. For the weekend, we invite student leaders — our MBA Association president, club cabinet members, and Center Fellows — to speak to the value of a Duke MBA as a female student. One of our favorite statistics that we shared at this year’s event was that though women are currently underrepresented in the overall student body, we are overrepresented in terms of club leadership positions!

This year’s weekend, the 9th annual, saw the kick-off to Fuqua’s “Year of the Woman,” a celebration of female leadership at Fuqua. The rest of the year will include hosting the C200 conference for the world’s most successful women entrepreneurs and corporate leaders, and will culminate with the 10th annual Weekend for Women in 2013. So, if you are thinking about applying to business school, we strongly recommend that you try to attend this wonderful event! Keep an eye out for the 2013 Weekend for Women application deadline in late summer/early fall!

– Carrie Bloch, Second-Year & Communications Executive Officer, MBA Association

We are thankful for …

“Unbelievably amazing friends from all walks of life. I’m grateful that they share with me everything from their foods to their homes across the world.” – Darlene Ritter, Second Year

“Amazing club cabinets — SY and FY — who come up with fantastic ideas and see them through to develop fun and engaging activities for all of us!” – Karen Vancina, Second Year

“For class sections that applaud after their classmates give announcements at the beginning of class.” – Chris Giacolone, Second Year

“Bruno Andreoli for making me smile no matter what mood I’m in. Doctors recommend: One daily dose of Bruno.” – J.C. Conover, Second Year

“Selfless sharing from Second Year about their experiences and advice, which definitely helps a lot in our learning, recruiting and development.” – Meiqing Fan, First Year

“The renewed child-rearing pleasure and joy from our baby daughter Rukmini, ten years after our son. We are genetically programmed to be sleep deprived and blissfully happy during this time. (Note to students in Health Care Operations — My occasional mental glitches in class have nothing to do with my baby. That is just the way I roll …)” – Pranab Majumder, Faculty

“The diversity of experience and opinion of my classmates who never cease to amaze me.”– Nicole Thompson, Second Year

”My family, friends, and health. I feel extremely lucky to be at Fuqua and have the opportunity to interact with caring, intelligent people every day.” – Lee Kornfeld, First Year

“I realized that maybe the most important thing that I learned in Fuqua and that I will be always thankful for is how to create a perfect working environment. Fuqua is a safe place, an open and respectful environment, a diverse community, a collaborative and courageous community, a place where everyone is motivated and wants success of the entire community – a perfect environment to progress.” – Jose Gonzalez, Second Year

“Family, friends, freedom and the excellent opportunity to continue to grow as a leader at Fuqua.” – Mike Rybacki, First Year

“Two cute daughters who greet me with giggles and squeals when I come home every day.” – Nate Wright, Second Year

“The supportive and encouraging nature of Team Fuqua. Each and every day I am amazed from the friendly greetings in the hall to the level of discussion in the classroom. Every single day I am learning how to think in a new manner and my eyes are opened up to new societal and business challenges. Thank you Team Fuqua (FY, SY, faculty, and support staff) for making the Fuqua experience some of the best months of my life.” – Chris Mack, First Year

“I’m thankful for the opportunities I’ve had at Fuqua that I wouldn’t have had otherwise: co-leading a GATE, being a FuquaPride ally ambassador, learning about the death spiral, Fuqua Fridays, and working with classmates and professors who inspire and challenge me, to name a few.” – Deborah Costa, Second Year

“The love of my family and friends, the incredibly supportive Fuqua community, and the fact that I live in a country that allows me to pursue my every dream.” – Selina Jain, Second Year

“The great support, in all means, of the school.” – Jose Higuchi, First Year

“Health, my wonderful Fuqua family, the Suns Out Guns Out volleyball team, and anything made with pumpkin.” – Scarlett Harrod, Second Year

“10:30AM classes, 1:30PM classes, and not having to use an alarm clock this year.” – Lindsay Posner, Second Year

“The leadership and commitment of staff, faculty and students. From basketball to COLE, the MBAA to the BMO, we’ve got a remarkable body of enthusiastic individuals to make this experience transformational and unforgettable.” – Kirsten Hagfors, Second Year

“All of the hugs I give/get.” – Paul Vitelli, Second Year

“Team Fuqua. Through Team Fuqua I have started to interview for my dream internship which is thanks to all of the connections, informationals and encouragement of my classmates and friends.” – Beth Sanchez, First Year

“How much laughter there is in my life this year and for the amazing people I’m spending these two years with.” – Abigail Lundy, Second Year

“1 – A student body without rivals; 2 – A strong supply of intelligence, dedication and future leaders of consequence; 3 – No substitutes for Team Fuqua!; 4 – Savvy student “buyers” who recognized the value of a Duke MBA; 5 – Consuming strategy cases with intensity!” – John Joseph, Faculty

“All of the students who took on leadership roles at Fuqua. You make Fuqua the special place that it is and we appreciate your hard work and commitment!” – Colin Joyner, Second Year

“Easy access to unlimited student loans for “study” abroad trips around the world.” – Julia Drake, Second Year

“Excellent friends and classmates who are super talented and just as caring. Also, for the incredible opportunities that Fuqua has provided for me to learn and grow over the past year and a half.” – Matt Aviles, Second Year

“My FY Week-in-Cities cabinet, Michelle Wei, Shyam Patel, and Linda Shi, for doing a terrific job organizing and executing the trips! You made life easy for me and Fuqua proud. Thank you!” - Molly White, Second Year

“Chuck and Scott from the BMO and Michael and his team from Bon Appetit who all help us every week with Fuqua Friday.” – Benjamin van der Horst, Second Year

“How supportive Fuqua is of our LGBT classmates. To genuinely know ‘who you love’ empowers your classmates to be uninhibitedly phenomenal leaders. Thank you for unlocking the power to love! It means more than you will know.” – Monica VanBuskirk, Second Year

“The opportunity that life has given me of spending two years of my life at Fuqua with the most amazing people I have ever met!” – Maria Rodriquez-Retamoso, Second Year

“My amazing friends and classmates, my entire Fuqua experience so far, and of course, the freedom of being a SY.” – Christie Lange, Second Year

“Ginger Chicken! And getting to know a bunch of great FYs. “ – Ryan Condon, Second Year

“The amazing friends that I have found here. It’s home. And not being a first year anymore.” – Nancy Dexter-Milling, Second Year

“Friendships that are stronger than I would have thought possible in just 18 months.” – Elana Boehm, Second Year

“Delegated decision rights, performance measurement, and incentives, and that there is one thing that comes to mind for students who are reading this and who have taken Fuqua’s management accounting course: a three-legged stool.” – Shane Dikolli, Faculty

“My roommates, Aliya and Oi Yen. We met during the Weekend for Women two years ago, and they’ve been an amazing source of strength and friendship ever since.” – Mailande Moran, Second Year

“A community that is never satisfied with the status quo and is always looking for opportunities to improve.” – Carla Hickman, Second Year

“My wonderful friends, s/o, and family, all the amazing opportunities I’ve had in my life, and the fact that we have a 5-day vacation from school!” – Anjali Menon, Second Year

“I am thankful for each and every member of the Fuqua community. For those who have offered support, advice, and guidance when I needed it most. For those who contribute to and build our learning environment, who share their perspective, expertise, and insight. For those who go above and beyond to help their peers because they believe in our team, they truly want everyone at Fuqua to succeed. I am thankful for the opportunity and privilege to be here. I feel lucky and blessed that I get this time to learn, explore, and grow. The Fuqua education is a true gift and I recognize that throughout the world, most others will never enjoy anything like it.” – Samantha Brody, First Year

“The opportunity to be part of Duke BOLD and all the team-building activities for the upcoming adventure to Mt. Chachani!” – Bernardo Urdaneta, Second Year

“Classmates that continue to surprise, impress, and inspire me.” – Scott Kleiman, Second Year

“Classmates that welcome you into their family home so you can experience Thanksgiving for the first time!” – Simon Moore-Crouch, First Year

“Section 2 – Class of 2013 … Team Fuqua … The Chicago Bears … FuquaVision being so awesome” – Alex Kerr, Second Year

“I am thankful for all of the good related to Team Fuqua. Huge shout out to all of the staff, faculty, and students who contribute to making Fuqua the place that it is. I am also thankful that none of the students forced me to ride the bull or get into the cage last Saturday night at Shooters!” – Russ Morgan, Associate Dean for the Daytime MBA Program

Guest Blogger: John "JC" Conover, second-year student & Career Fellow

Like many people who attend business school, I “knew” exactly what I wanted to do with my life until the day I got in. I wanted to start a door hardware company. But just getting into Fuqua offered me the opportunity to explore and potentially work in almost any industry or job function. Maybe I’ll be an entrepreneur, a consultant, or an ops specialist, no … wait a tick … a professor! At one point, one of my classmates asked me, “So, JC, what career path have you chosen this week?” All of a sudden, so many doors opened, and I was no longer pigeonholed into the construction industry from whence I came.

I was warned to enjoy it while it lasted, because recruiters would show up and slap the ignorant dreamland smile off my face and I’d enter a world of overwhelming pain and agony … OK, a dramatic exaggeration. Nevertheless, there came a point last year when it was time to start narrowing my search, but how? I had no idea what I wanted. Did I pick the door with the high salary? Should I do what’s comfortable or should I switch careers?! Did I pick the door that my friends were picking? Was there some awesome door that I don’t even know about? The Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) began to settle in …

So after beginning my job search last year, I quickly came to the realization that during my entire life I had been opening hypothetical doors to give myself more options for the future. Well, I succeeded. All the doors were open and my future was right in front of me. It was time to close (or at least temporarily shut) some doors and pick a career path.

I walked into Fuqua’s Career Management Center and began my relationship with my new therapist career counselor, Mary Beck. After hearing my situation, she proposed a novel idea which was Lesson #1: Stop thinking about what you SHOULD do (Brain) and consider what you WANT to do (Heart). This advice led to a breakup with my longtime girlfriend, but that’s another story (thanks for freedom Mary Beck!). I began to analyze what I wanted out of life and what I would enjoy doing. I kept a list on my iPhone titled “Passions.” When I did something that I truly enjoyed, I’d jot it down in my phone. Today my list looks like this:

Passions
Helping people, hanging out with friends/family, learning, hiking/camping, technology, teaching/mentoring, math problems, Shooters, operations, analytics, Volleyball, decision models.

Lesson #1 knocked out plenty of career options. Prior to understanding Lesson #1, I thought that my career would be full of presentations, that it would put me on a path to CEO, that I should keep my options open for later, that I’d make a bunch of money. But I eventually realized that:

1. I’m an introvert at heart (this took time to admit to myself … who are you?) and I’m never going to be perfectly comfortable presenting
2. CEO is not really a career choice
3. The lengthy Tavern receipts that I pull out of my pocket every Sunday morning repeatedly remind me that more than 1/3 of my life is likely already over so I need to stop settling on things I don’t love simply to keep options open

One piece of advice that rings true with me is that a passionate worker will crrrussshhhh a hard worker any day, and will be much happier doing it. So I had a new goal: pick a career/company/job function for which I’m passionate.

Lesson #2: Analyze and perhaps redefine your definition of “success.” I was under the assumption that “success = $,” but over the course of several months, and with much difficulty, I finally became convinced that “success = happiness.” Sad, right? I’m 27! And where does happiness come from? My family, friends, and experiences (which, granted, require some $). But I realized that most of my happiness would be derived outside of work. So I prefer a job and company with significant work-life balance! Boom, knocked out a few more career paths.** Take that, doors.

My third lesson came from the CEO of P&G, Bob McDonald. He randomly popped into my leadership class one day to give some free advice. I had heard this advice before but for some reason, it stuck this time: Lesson #3: Align yourself with your company’s values/vision. I get pumped reading articles about the advancement of technology and how it impacts the world (talk nerdy to me). I also agree with the philosophy that the public’s collective thought will create a better outcome than the ideas of just one company. For these reasons, I was naturally drawn to high tech and ultimately interned at a company called Autodesk. Autodesk’s vision is to provide design tools to professionals and individuals to “imagine, design and create a better world.” Nailed it. Their culture is laid back, has great work-life balance, employees bring their dogs to the office and the people are awesome. Lately, I’ve been meeting with teams at Autodesk that put a strong emphasis on modeling and analytics to appease even more of my passions within a company that I align with.

My first year at Fuqua was truly transformational. You read all of these articles that say “is the MBA worth it?” They use metrics mostly based on dollar values and ROI, but they don’t look at the transformational value, the redefinition of life and redirection. These things are what I got out of my first year at Fuqua. Will I make more money after school than I did before school? I don’t know. Do I care? Not really. Will I be happier? Yup. Was the past year of my MBA worth the costs? You bet. So I advise that incoming (and future) MBAs take these two years, drop the word “Should” from their vocabulary and explore what is important to them and what they’re passionate about. You have entered a frustrating time where your brain and heart will pull you in different directions. I challenge you to at least give your heart a voice and listen.

I’ve given this spiel to some of my closest friends and I’ve been hearing a lot of “you get it” comments. I couldn’t disagree more, but these comments ensure that I’m on the right path. I’m not speaking to you from a state of completion, just from a point along my journey. As Ferris Beuller eloquently put it: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” I know you don’t have much free time, but the time I spent reflecting has proved more valuable than any assignment or meeting I’ve had at school, so try to make it a priority.

The most rewarding result of this post is if someone gains a new perspective on life, school, or their career so please reach out and set time to chat if you are inspired by my experience thus far. Good luck!

Another Student’s Perspective – I shared some of these thoughts with a close friend of mine and he pulled out a poster board with answers to the below questions. He called it The High Level Brainstorm & Soul Search. Maybe you’ll find this framework useful as you think about your goals and plans:

1. What do I want/what are my dreams?
2. How am I going to do what I want?
3. What are problems I believe need solving?
4. What industry/-ies to focus?
5. Random Ideas?
6. Misc.

Guest Blogger & Orientation Co-Chair Stephanie Gorski

In exactly one week, the halls of Fuqua will be filled with 440 new first-year Daytime MBA students! On August 1st, these new students will begin a three-day orientation focused on bonding in their new community. It’s also the start of their journey to understand what “Team Fuqua” is all about. If you’re an incoming student, we look forward to seeing you soon!

In preparation for this large event, over 25 second-year Daytime MBA students (AKA the O-Team) have been working hard to organize orientation activities. It’s become a tradition for second-year students to organize orientation for the new class — it’s a way for us to give back and to welcome our new MBA classmates. As the co-chairs of orientation, Stephen Grygar and I pulled together our O-Team before leaving school in May.

During the summer, O-Team members were based around the world for their internships, in locations including San Francisco, Washington DC, Chicago, and even India. Whenever we had some free time — day and night — we worked on orientation. Through this project, we started to understand the true meaning of “global business” and a “global MBA.” Some of my orientation teammates occasionally forgot about the time differences, and called each other during sleep or work hours — it was just one of the challenges of working in a globally dispersed team!

Supported by an amazing group of administrators at Fuqua, we’ve mapped out 3 days full of welcome activities for the new students. Events include everything from introductory/welcome messages from school administrators to a session on understanding the importance of personal branding. New students will also have the opportunity to let down their hair and take part in some friendly competition through something we call “Section Olympics.”

Learn more about the upcoming orientation.

“Thank you” to the entire O-Team and all the administrators who’ve assisted with orientation. With only a week left, we are pumped for the event and excited to meet all the first-year students! And we only hope that the first years are just as excited as we are!