In the Winter Garden, you should have seen the giant world map. Fuquans placed numerous stickers on it to highlight where they have lived. That was just a start.

Ethnic Food

In native Chinese attire for Fuqua Friday.

Everyone loves a free lunch. During the week, we enjoyed regional food every day from Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe. Food is an important part of culture, isn’t it? Surprisingly, I found some great chefs among my classmates, when I tasted their delicious homemade food. Various Brazilian barbecues from the Latin American Student Association were the most popular.

Business Insight

Global Week was not all about fun. It featured two panel sessions related to emerging economies and global supply chains. I was particularly attracted by the second session, given my supply chain background. Supply chains across various industries are greatly influenced by increasing globalization, and I learned the perspectives of Kelly Marchese, a ’97 Daytime alumna who works at Deloitte, and Christopher Nowlin, an ’11 Cross Continent alumnus at Walmart. Specifically, they shared the latest trends in the switch from offshore sourcing to onshore and nearshore sourcing.

Cultural Exchange

Two girls played the role of bride and groom in the Yue Opera during Fuqua's Got Talent.

I also attended a session of Fuqua Discovers, which is a series focused on a different country every month. During Global Week, we learned about South Africa, with ethnic food again. What made the session different was that 3 exchange students from South Africa came to share their knowledge and experiences with us. The session was particularly helpful for me, since I was making plans to travel to Johannesburg for my Fuqua Client Consulting Practicum during Spring Break!

Since Lunar New Year was approaching, Asian students, together with partners and kids, dressed in traditional dress for Fuqua Friday, sponsored by the Asian Business Club. Tables of students offered regional snacks, but at the China table, we wrote Chinese versions of classmates’ names in traditional calligraphy. I loved creating Chinese names for my classmates, and enjoyed picking up the brush that I haven’t used in 16 years.

Fuqua Friday was followed by Fuqua’s Got Talent show, sponsored by the International Business Club. I was amazed by my classmates’ artistic talents, which I did not know about before. There was opera, country music, Bollywood dance, Russian dance, Chinese Yue Opera, Salsa, Korean song, among others. The event was also family-friendly, and some kids even walked on the stage to cheer for their father.

All these great events during Global Week were student organized. It was a good opportunity to learn more about my classmates, and understanding their culture helps me respect the diversity and value the differences in the Fuqua community. Sharing, learning, being collaborative, and open-minded are all integral parts of the “Team Fuqua” spirit.

7:30 AM. Head to school. I don’t like getting up before 7, but it makes the day longer and more productive. 4.4 miles (7 km) driving costs me only 8 minutes — the traffic here is much better than in a big city.

8:00 AM. Marketing core class. Grab a cup of coffee from Fox Center during the break. Today’s case is about the management of a leading European soccer club. I had no idea about the sports industry before B-school, but after some educational events hosted by the Media, Entertainment, and Sports Club and the class discussion, I now understand some key concepts and profit centers in a sports club. Though I’ll never manage a sports club, it fulfills my curiosity and broadens my perspectives in the business world.

10:30 AM. Leadership Communication class. It’s time for my team to deliver a 45-minute presentation on our analysis of an online retail industry. We presented about the industry fundamentals, the macroeconomic environment, and several key industry trends. As we expected, our team got lots of challenges from classmates who acted as “board members,” and we addressed their concerns collectively. Overall, each one of us improved a lot in our presentation structure, transition and delivery since the start of the course, thanks to several informational and advocacy presentation practices and impromptu exercises. We even recorded our presentations — nobody likes watching a video of themselves, but it helped us to improve our presentation skills. I like hearing sincere feedback from instructors and peers, and I also learned a lot from classmates’ presentation styles and best practices.

I cannot believe I’ve finished so many readings and course packs! And there are more to come …

12:45 PM. International Students in Marketing panel. Sandwich provided. The Marketing Club invited 5 second-years who worked in marketing in various industries during the summer to share their internship experiences and answer first-years’ questions. Every professional club has an international team, which provides some resources to other international students.

1:30 PM. Strategy class. A principal from Bain is a guest speaker today, and introduces a real case in the auto parts distribution industry. Student teams discussed the situation, implications and recommendations based on tons of raw data. Later, we heard brilliant ideas from other teams, and had lots of fun acting out the dynamic communication that may happen between “CEO” and “consultants.” The “consultants” were challenged on the huge amount of investments on the new strategy, and this is exactly what we would face in real life. Finally, the guest speaker shared Bain’s actual findings, recommendations and the implementation results that really happened — it was enlightening. It’s great to connect our learning to reality, to avoid thinking of wild and unfeasible ideas.

4:00 PM. Team meeting. We worked on an assignment to propose the price of a new drug for a pharmaceutical company. I don’t have any knowledge in healthcare, but I’m interested in understanding the key players on the value chain. We had all 6 team members in the meeting — not easy to achieve when everyone has a packed schedule. After many discussions and calculations, we agreed on a number for the drug price.

5:30 PM. Net Impact Club cabinet meeting. After each team’s update, we brainstormed about fundraising events for the summer internship fund, which is provided to classmates in the non-profit sector. It sounds like we’ll have lots of fun in the Spring!

6:30 PM. Read 20 emails on my cellphone. Had a call with an alumna, my mentor of AWIB (Association of Women in Business). She shared her experiences from a career switch from an engineer to a marketer and her post-MBA career progression. Reflecting back, her most valuable takeaway from the program is the breadth of the knowledge structure, which built a solid foundation for long-term career development. I also got practical advice in elective choices and time management.

7:30 PM. Corporate Education in Global Marketing. Alumni from a leading consumer packaged goods company shared a successful real case, a global marketing campaign of the 100^th birthday of a cookie brand in 2012, and the learnings from it. This is just one example of many events where I learned marketing strategies from top global brands. My favorite parts are digital marketing strategy and the video of marketing campaigns — full of excitement and fun.

9:00 PM. Workout time! At Wilson Center. The gym is outstanding, and so are other sports venues. I could not catch the group fitness class or rock climbing class, but I will make it one day. I have to condense my workout to one hour due to 7 more items on today’s to-do list.

10:30 PM. Arrive home. Email time. RSVP for upcoming events including lunch and learn opportunities and casual chats with second-years.

11:00 PM. Study time. Read the case for tomorrow’s team meeting for Strategy class. What, craft beer industry? No idea again, which indicates more learning. Reading speed has increased from 6-8 minutes/page to 3-4 minutes/page, so I can easily finish reading a case within an hour now. I glance at the lecture notes for tomorrow’s Finance class. I should also go through some problem sets for the coming mid-term exam, but … let me leave it for tomorrow.

12:00 AM. Check tomorrow’s calendar: no class (it’s Wednesday!) Duke Energy Conference, some coffee chats with alumni, a team meeting, an appointment with my Language Institute instructor, a corporate event, choir at Duke Chapel, and a Bowling Mixer! Ok, time to get some rest now …

I attended the workshop organized by Deloitte at Pop’s in West Village, a nice restaurant in downtown Durham. It was delightful to spend some time with more than 30 female classmates, and it was even better to hear the personal experiences of 4 alumnae who work at Deloitte in roles from Senior Consultant to Partner.

The workshop was a learning experience and a retrospective journey for me. I thought women are more self-aware and less over-confident than men, but I realized some truths about gender differences that I should be aware of in professional environments:

Women tend to rate themselves lower in self-assessment. Several classmates shared their stories about annual performance reviews in previous jobs, which resonated with me. I thought my ability and job performance was average, but it turned out that my performance review results were better than my own estimation.

Women are affected by the Imposter Syndrome, secretly suspecting that they fooled others into thinking that they do better than they actually are. I am exactly a sufferer of this. In the past, when I received a competitive award or recognition, I could not believe it. I thought I had not done anything special. I tried to understand it: it was a great fortune. I was so lucky to be assigned to some great projects. I thought over every possibility, except that I deserved it. Funnily enough, an alumna had the exact same reaction when she got promoted to Partner. But, we learned “There is nothing accidental about your achievements.” This is the take-away I will carry with me in my future career.

The evaluations and feedback I received from my job gradually let me recognize my strengths and weaknesses, and the workshop helped me find the root causes behind my symptoms. Women like collective achievements, and try to avoid taking individual credit. An interesting gender difference in the workplace and also in personal life is that men use “I” in talking about all kinds of accomplishments, while women tend to use “we.” (Ouch, how many “we” do I use in this blog?) We love and value teamwork and collaboration, so we can hardly give up talking about “us.” As women in business, however, we should take credit for our accomplishments, and judiciously substitute “We” with “I”.

I was glad to see that alumnae from diversified backgrounds had faced similar issues, and understood the importance of overcoming these problems in the professional realm, especially when facing competition from more confident men.

The presentation ended with a picture of three red shoes, from flat, kitten heel to stiletto. It represents the growth from an innocent girl to a confident woman. I believe B-school is a perfect place to develop self-awareness, and the reflective night will be an integral part of my transformational journey to a mature, confident and professional woman.

Coming to America

At the end of June, I arrived in Durham at midnight, with other classmates, after 24-hours of travel from Shanghai. It was the first time I came to the U.S. … No mattress. No food. No car. No local phone numbers. No furniture. But thanks to the supportive local Chinese community, all the challenges were easily overcome during the first few days. Then, many ladies from China, including me, gradually learned to drive with peer coaching, and obtained a North Carolina Driver’s License –- a milestone in the formal transition to our new lives!

Brushing up on my English

Shortly after settling into my new home, I walked into Fuqua to begin my MBA with the Language Institute. The program started in July, and was required for international students without solid study or work experience in English-speaking countries. During the 2-week institute, besides pronunciation courses, we read many business cases, delivered presentations almost everyday, and simulated interactive B-school classes. What’s more, I built friendships with around 100 international classmates, thanks to the teamwork exercises (and parties)!

Making some noise at Orientation!

Building Team Bonds

By the time Orientation began in August, the energy level was so high that it seemed like it would never go down. While Orientation included a lot of information, there were also fun bonding activities. In teams of 6, we rushed across the campus in a scavenger hunt. More than 400 students cheered for each other in a tug-of-war competition. Several shuttle buses ran between our homes and Chapel Hill for the ‘80s Party. At the end of the three days of Orientation, when our first-year learning teams were announced, I felt like my life at Fuqua would be great.

I was correct. I have nice teammates, and we really trust, care about and support each other. We have 2 – 4 team meetings every week for case assignments, and on top of that, we schedule other gatherings for team building. My team originally bonded through various leadership activities during the Global Institute (a 3-week program in August), including an outdoor Team Challenge Day at the nearby Triangle Training Center, where we did various physical challenges as a team, including walking on a high wire and “climbing the wall,” which is a Fuqua tradition. It was not easy for me to walk on the high wire, but I never doubted that I could make it, with help from my classmates. A few days later, we fixed the roof of a house during a community service day with Habitat for Humanity of Durham. The camaraderie within my team and with my other classmates continued to grow during Campout, when I survived 36 hours in uncomfortable conditions, with little sleep and little food.

Looking Forward to More Traveling

All of the great experiences that I’ve mentioned, and the collaboration involved is what I hoped to get from Fuqua, and the teamwork was a main reason behind why I chose Fuqua. Additionally, I wanted to attend a global business school to fuel my global career development in the future. At Fuqua, international opportunities abound. For example, I already signed up to go to South Africa for a Fuqua Client Consulting Practicum. I hope to do an exchange program in Europe, and to go to Latin America for a GATE trip in spring 2014. So, I have a lot more traveling to come, and new international and cultural experiences to look forward to!