Lifeng Wang -- one of our best players!

Depending on your personality and competitive nature, or lack thereof, Duke’s intramural league is the single best way to meet new people or instantly make enemies — it is up to you! Students can enlist a group of friends or classmates and participate in a myriad of sports like soccer, flag football, basketball, volleyball and others. Interestingly enough, there are several different leagues within every sport, so you can choose the skill level of your opponents and subsequently size up your team. Every game feels like the real deal as you play under the lights, while real officials run up and down the field and each team vies for an all-valuable playoff spot with a shot at the championship game.

MMS soccer team huddles for a pep talk.

Each week the brightest minds of our university square off in fierce competition, risking life and limb all for that one glorious moment when they can proudly wave the T-shirt given to the last team standing. But for me it was never about the T-shirt or the millions offered by pro scouts, I did it to be part of the team. There are few  better ways to form bonds with your classmates than to participate in intramurals. It is a truly unifying experience. It can be particularly helpful if you are playing against a different school or major, as this breeds a lot of chest puffing and inevitable temper flaring. Overall, intramural sports are a great way to see your classmates in a different context and appreciate other skills that they may not be able to display during the week. Said one MMS student of intramurals, “It is weird to see you guys being athletic.” Though not the most glowing endorsement, I promise what she meant was that watching or participating with your teammates is an immensely rewarding experience, and will create many lasting memories.

To prospective students, we cannot say enough how great the MMS program is, but what we can say is that you need to brush the dust off of those old soccer cleats and practice up because there is fierce competition from all sides. To current students: if you would like to participate in a new season of intramural sports, please contact the representatives from the MMS Sports Club (Arian Omid and Charles An) and come out for a few games. You can even check out our Facebook group to find some pictures of students participating in intramural events. To students from other Duke schools (especially the law school — you know who you are), GAME ON!

You see, I remember my favorite thing about college was the fact that math classes, for the most part, were optional. My quantitative skills had retired to a distant corner of my brain, as I focused on finishing a major that involved absolutely no math and no statistics. Upon being admitted to Fuqua I knew that I would be forced to gather the cobwebs and shake off the thick dust from my once sterling analytical skills. The overwhelming task led me to Professor Dan Laughhunn and the Business Math Review or, as I like to call it, Fuqua Math Camp, which was offered before the official start of the MMS program.

The week started abruptly on a Monday morning as we received a mini-tour of the business school and a decent breakfast that everyone seemed too nervous to eat. We then jumped straight into the curriculum with what seemed like 150 pages of packets that I would come to know and love as a vital part of Dan’s course. The course covered everything from linear functions and inequalities to basic financial calculations. At the end of my first day, I had made a few friends, relearned some frustrating math rules, and been completely convinced that I needed Math Camp.

The intensive review was helpful not only because it reminded me how to carry out certain equations, but also in learning the practical business applications of these topics. I found that as the week progressed and new topics were introduced, I was learning quickly and carrying that knowledge almost directly to the business application stage. But be warned –this was no easy task for both teacher and student. Dan and his amazing assistant Tiffany worked tirelessly to ensure that the concepts worked their way into our consciousness. As for the students, most of us stumbled out of the classroom with our eyes glazed looking for food at any cost (just picture The Walking Dead or I Am Legend, add math and you would have a pretty accurate picture). But by the end of the week, Ifelt better prepared for what lay ahead and relatively comfortable with the topics that Dan had covered — and much more ready for the quantitative nature of MMS.

Another wonderful aspect of the week was how it touched down right before the madness of orientation, giving me an opportunity to get my bearings in business school, settle down in Durham, and get to know some of my classmates. During the week, we shared everything from our work, to sweet potato fries at the Refectory Cafe. I made some of my best friends during that week, and I’ll never forget my “bunkmates” at Fuqua Math Camp.