Lily and Tracy getting ready for the competition.

The air outside the Fox Center was unusually scented with spices and herbs from around the world, creating a cacophony of sensations as I perused each table. Atop each surface were even more sensational ingredients, lumpy brown roots and soft white proteins, most of which I’ve never seen gracing the shelves of my local market. You could tell each team had their own strategy for beating the competition as they whispered quietly with one another and tied each other into aprons. Perhaps some of the teams thought these mystery ingredients would give them an extra edge. But of course this is all speculation because no one wanted to divulge their secret plans to me!

Tejesvi and Jean, part of the MMS Iron Chef team.

A woman with a megaphone shouted that the teams had 30 minutes to prepare one of the courses, and the courtyard erupted in a bedlam of noise, metal spatulas scraping skillets and frenzied chatter between teammates.

The lovely MMS team was well represented, the bench stacked with heavy hitters from the Connoisseurs Club. Headed by Jiali and Jean, the club decided to prepare their dishes in a simple Asian style, so they devised a 3 course menu reflecting this theme, which had some pretty complicated ingredients — like edible flowers — for something that was supposed to be rustic Asian fare.

My view might be slightly skewed, because while I am able to sit in the kitchen while my father does his thing with a wok, I am stilled banned from doing any cooking in our house. This ban was unjustly implemented after my parents visited me on a snowy weekend at law school in Pennsylvania. While boiling water for tea, I literally set the stove on fire. It wasn’t pretty …

The teams were given $75 bucks to do their best to find ingredients at the grocery store. Our team pulled out all the stops and bought from Whole Foods, but some ingredients, teammate Tracy Jim said, were from the Chinese market. For instance, Chinese ginger root, which I’m told is used in Chinese medicine, can’t be found on even the trendiest, most obscure shelves of the Whole Foods market.

Although the MMS team didn’t win the top prize, I am seriously impressed with their skills with a skillet. You guys are welcome in my kitchen any time!

Iron Chef entree.

2013 MMS Iron Chef Menu

Appetizer: Phoenix Wings and Ginger Crumble Salad Wings glazed with coke and soy sauce, with a hint of red ginger. Paired with a salad topped with ginger crumbles.

Entrée: Super MMS Style Stewed Chicken. Chicken infused with fresh ginger, green onion, garlic, and herbs, stewed and simmered to perfection for a delightful aroma.

Dessert: Milk of Ginger Pudding. An innovative Chinese treat blending fresh milk and ginger juice in a “magical” combination. Topped with mint, fruit and chocolate powder.

Can’t Touch This

MMS team T-shirt.

Our team has finally come up with a name. We have been struggling to settle on one for weeks now. I suggested we call ourselves the Asymptotes and that our slogan be Can’t Touch This. Get it? An asymptote is a line that you can approach but can never touch. Nerd humor, anyone? I can’t take all the credit for the name — it was the name of an opposing team during a mathlete bowling tournament in high school in which my team was called the Riemann Noodles.

My suggested name was met with blank stares and solemn head shakes. There was no way anyone wanted to be called the Asymptotes. However, the name Can’t Touch This managed to stick. I can’t divulge too much of our opening skit strategy, but I have a feeling some MC Hammer may be incorporated into our dance, wink wink.

Supportive Community

I am so proud of all of my classmates who have participated in our MBA Games fundraising so far. Although only a small portion of us are actually members of the team, I am touched by the support I have gotten from my class, and consider everyone to be a part of the team.

The ‘80s party was a huge success. Although one of the purposes was to raise money for our team, the main objective of the event was to bring both sections of the class together. As the year is winding down and we are finishing our last term of the program, most of us are becoming increasingly more aware that we’ll soon be graduating. We have to fit in as much as possible in these last few weeks. I was so impressed with the creative costumes everyone came up with. We managed to raise money and raise the roof at the same time. Go MMS!

This past week included trivia night at Fullsteam Brewery, in which the MMS team received 25% of sales of all beer pints and pitchers. It was made possible thanks to the networking of my classmate MJ with the brewery owner, Sean Wilson, who just happens to be a Fuqua MBA alumnus. I guess Team Fuqua really does extend after you graduate. Trivia night is always a blast, but the beer tasted even better knowing that it was for charity.

Lastly, this past Saturday was our LOYO day. Our team received 10% of all the goodies our supporters bought. It was a gorgeous day, so my classmate Kourtney Kellin and I didn’t mind taking shifts lounging outside of the yogurt shop and recruiting people to buy sweets for the cause. It didn’t take much arm twisting to entice them!

So that’s it! All of our fundraising events are over, and although we had a great turnout at the events, we still have not reached our fundraising goal. If you still haven’t visited our team website, there’s no time like the present!

Wait, did I say something wrong?

One massive eye roll and a plate of tofu later, she explained that FTK stands for “For the Kids.” It is a term employed to describe the philosophy of Dance Marathon, a massive benefit to fund the causes of the Children’s Miracle Network, a non-profit that pumps much needed funds into children’s hospitals. The local CMN hospital is our very own Duke Children’s, but there was no student fundraising effort for it, so Kourtney decided to start one.

Kourtney puts up posters to advertise the Dance Marathon.

Kicking Off Duke’s Dance Marathon

The Duke Dance Marathon has been a year-long effort that culminates in a 12-hour fundraising event starting the evening of this Friday, March 23, and goes until the wee hours of Saturday. During the final event, participants dance in shifts, so that people are dancing almost non-stop for the full 12 hours, standing up for the children who are too sick to stand for themselves. Throughout the year, students raised funds and awareness for the local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. As a recent Penn State graduate, I am familiar with the efforts of Dance Marathon. At Penn State it’s called THON, and it is quite possibly the biggest event of the year, and the excitement surrounding it rivals that of the football games. It is already ambitious to participate in the marathon, but to build one from scratch is … just wow!

Kourtney has spent most of her free time devoted to organizing events to fortify Duke Dance Marathon. Absorbed with instilling its importance in every local business and student organization, she tirelessly worked toward making the fundraiser a success. And it seems to be paying off — there is a buzz around campus about the event. This heightened awareness encourages more people every day to gear up to dance for the cause. Everyone now seems to know what FTK stands for. And why does Kourtney spend so much of her time organizing and supporting such an impressive event? She looks at me incredulously with wide eyes, as if the answer is self-evident. For the kids, obviously.

Kourtney with miracle child, Alison.

Between her sister, Kaitlyn, her best friend, Elyse, and her little hero, Alison, she has a lot of personal reasons that fuel her enthusiasm for Dance Marathon. Every Miracle Network child she has had the blessing of meeting motivates her even more to make an impact on the lives of these miracle kids. They have experienced troubles and persevered through struggles that she could never even imagine. “Through all the pain, these kids have a hope that is inspiring. It’s hard not to fall in love with the cause and become passionate about making a difference when you meet them,” Kourtney told me. Simply put, the children and their families’ stories, strength, and determination are what Dance Marathon is all about.

It Really is All for the Kids

I would like to stress the fact that every penny raised goes straight to the kids — no gimmicks and no catches. No one is making any money off of this event, because every scent goes toward saving more lives. Kourtney and her team members are still collecting donations online for this great fundraiser.

Participants in the marathon are in for a treat. All of the students I’ve spoken to who have participated in similar events have nothing but good things to say about it. During the Duke Dance Marathon “participants will be entertained by various DJs, comedians, and dance troupes, fed by local sponsors, will do a 7 minute Dance Marathon line dance every hour, hear stories from Duke Children’s Miracle families, have fun during our 2 hour black light party, and stand and stay awake for those who can’t,” Kourtney states excitedly, practically jumping from her seat.

If you are interested in participating in the event, you can find more information on the main event website, the fundraising site, Facebook page, and Twitter. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to leave a comment for me or you contact the source herself through one of the listed sites, and she will provide you with a wealth of information. Kourtney is a great example of the type of compassionate, driven, and well-rounded students that comprise the MMS class, so don’t forget to show her that Team Fuqua is behind her. FTK all the way!

And I’d be willing to bet that the MMS class can, too.

MMS Dream Team

MMS Student Life Chair, Josh Connor, who truly has a heart for community service and charitable endeavors, was tasked with forming a team of 12-15 MMSers to participate in the MBA Games. As team captain, Josh assembled a diverse group of students to spearhead the fundraising efforts of our class and to represent a Special Olympics team during the weekend event. The final, capstone fundraising event, the MBA Games Weekend, will be on April 12 – 13, and attracts teams from across Duke, and other top B-Schools. Each team is paired with a Special Olympics’ athlete, and compete in various games.

There’s just one itsy bitsy problem: most of us don’t have a clue where to begin championing such a mammoth cause. This year, Fuqua has pledged to raise a whopping total of $50,000. Our class has pledged to raise $3,000 of that total donation. Some students have been stellar at motivating people to give to the cause. Others … are having a bit more difficulty getting their fledgling fundraising sites off the ground. Check out the MMS team’s fundraising site, and the site for all of the MBA Games’ teams. I believe that I was in last place in our efforts, and had only raised $10 for a while, but I’m now focusing on doing more. Here’s my fundraising page. If you’re interested, please consider supporting this great effort — any donations will be really appreciated.

Fundraising Push

At a recent team meeting, MMS Associate Director Kevin Hoch handed us the reins to come up with a more effective fundraising plan. Since it was a working lunch, pizza was provided, and initially, the room was silent except for the hungry gulps of cheesy bread. Then we sat staring awkwardly at each other. I thought I would bring a lot of knowledge about fundraising to the table, having served as my sorority’s philanthropy chair in college, but I was drawing a blank. I had never taken on such a big cause.

Thank goodness for seasoned fundraiser, Kourtney Kellin, who threw out the idea of a possible yogurt night at one of the local eateries. Hmmm, we all grunted with full stomachs. Everybody likes yogurt. Then another person piped up, and I took to the board with a red dry-erase marker to document the genius ideas that were flowing from our dream team, and pretty soon the board was filled. The MMS master plan for fundraising domination was complete! (Insert evil laugh.) Here are the events we are hosting to raise money for the Special Olympics — some events are open to the public:

MMS Fundraising Events

• March Madness Brackets — We are accepting brackets from MMSers on the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
• ‘80s Party — Get your leg warmers, brick phones, leotards, punk gear, and fanny packs ready, because this Friday, March 22, there will be an ‘80s themed costume party at The Republic. We joined forces with the MMS Association to rent out the entire bar. Donations at the door will go directly to our Special Olympics team.
• LOYO Day — If you buy yogurt at Local Yogurt on Erwin Road on Tuesday, March 26, our team will receive 10% of the profits!
• Trivia Night — We’ll be at Fullsteam Brewery on Thursday, April 4, at 9 p.m. A portion of the proceeds will go toward the MMS team.
• Dodge Ball Tournament — TBA

If these crazy events aren’t enough to entice you to support the cause, I have one more juicy tidbit that will definitely change your mind. At the opening ceremonies of the MBA Games Weekend, on April 12, starting at 7:30 p.m., each team must perform in a dance competition. This might be an issue for some of us, because I have seen most of my teammates cutting a rug on the Shooters dance floor, and it is a hilarious sight to behold. And although in my head I truly believe I could give all of the contestants on So You Think You Can Dance a run for their money, I’ve been told that I definitely don’t have moves like Jagger. You know you’re dying to see this!

What our team may lack in synchronized dancing skills, we make up in tenacity and spirit. And although the games are in good fun and for a great cause, the competition could get pretty heated, especially in my favorite event called the Hash Run, in which people dress up in costumes and run a race with several rest stops along the course. At each rest stop you must drink a beer. Then when you finish the race, breathless and bloated, it’s tradition for people to tell funny stories about you and come up with nicknames for the Hash Run veterans. It’s a tough job … but I’m willing to bite the bullet and do it!

So in the spirit of the Special Olympics and healthy competition, let the games begin, good luck to all the participating teams, and to invoke the words of Effie Trinket, “May the odds be ever in your favor.”

Enjoying the wintry weather.

Wait a minute. We’re going skiing in the middle of Virginia??

Who would have thought that only 3 hours away from Duke’s campus there’s a ski resort in Virginia called Wintergreen? I certainly never imagined such a place. In fact, I didn’t know the Appalachian Mountains reached high enough to sustain a proper ski course, but seriously, what do I know? As you can deduce from my daydream above, the extent of my skiing abilities is limited to me teetering on my skis long enough to get to the ski lifts at the end of the bunny slopes so that I can ride up to the comfort of the mountain lodge and enjoy a nice drink — sans skis, of course.

Ryan Clark, my savior on the mountain!

So it was settled, a large group of people would make the journey to the mountains to see what these slopes had to offer. Thankfully Ryan Clark agreed to drive a few of us. He’s the MMS class Communications Director, the most reasonable person I know, and the owner of a family friendly vehicle with functioning windows and a TV screen in the backseat. I know the design of this vehicle was intended to cater to small children, but we couldn’t help the strange need to messily eat boiled peanuts and rock candy while watching “I Love You Man” in the backseat. Actually, Ryan, we’re really sorry about the mess. Please send us your cleaning bill …

We arrived in Waynesboro late that evening, and I was already getting antsy about the coming exertions on the mountain. I begged our Social Chair, Mike Cho, to tell everyone to wake up earlier than we had originally planned. I wanted to get to the slopes at 8 am, not 11! But as soon as we settled into our hotel, it was clear that instead of getting a full night’s sleep, we would have to play some Canadian game that involved quarters and empty cans …

Resting at the lodge.

My group was the absolute last one from the MMS class to make it to the mountain. We arrived just in time to miss the 11 o’clock ski class. In the 2 hours between classes we took the slopes by ourselves and by the end of the waiting period, and after several compliments over my form, I decided that I could forgo the ski lessons and take on the other, more difficult side of the mountain. I was soaring … for about 3 minutes until I had the most spectacular fall. My bindings unnecessarily tight, my skis remained in tact, and I laid splayed across the course with my body contorted in the most impossible way. I could tell by looking up at Ryan’s face that my fall had looked really painful. The only words I could muster were “lodge” and “now!”

From the comfort of the mountain lodge, with my ski boots discarded, I enjoyed the slopes immensely. Even when the sun started to set and it began to snow — and I mean clumpy great skiing snow — our group stayed on the slopes. The crowd thinned to a trickle of patrons, and we decided to give the slopes one more shot. The combination of perfect powder, short lift lines, and my silly MMS classmates made this one of the best group trips I’ve ever been on. And even though I am a bit bruised and banged up, I am glad we had a chance to go to Wintergreen Resort, and definitely plan on returning in the future.

This is what Campout really looks like.

Once upon a time, I was such a person. As a double-Dukie, I attended undergrad here and know all too well the horrors of month-long tenting in the middle of winter just to attend one game: the elusive Duke vs. UNC game, the biggest rivalry in all of college basketball.

Oh haha, you think I actually tented in K-ville as an undergrad? Think again. I was completely content with watching the game from the comfort of a wingback chair in the warmth and safety of the Washington Duke Inn, instead of freezing my wits off in a mud pit for the better part of a month. I’m a person who enjoys multiple showers a day and the smell of fresh linens. So, why on earth did I think it was a good idea to camp out for graduate tickets??

Yes, we are Cameron Crazies!

I have absolutely no idea.

Here’s how it works: first you have to register for the event weeks beforehand, effectively putting your name in the queue for tickets. On the day that the camping madness commences, you check in at a large white tent, and they tell you the rules of the game. Camping out successfully puts you in the pool of hopefuls whose names will be drawn in a lottery for season tickets. Throughout the duration of the spectacle that is Campout, in which people literally sleep in the back of U-haul trucks or out in the open in pools of unidentifiable liquids, the Campout Committee can call you at any time to check and see if you are still waiting. I didn’t realize how literal this rule was until we were called for checks in the wee hours of the morning. You can only miss one check-in, and if you miss more, your dreams of owning a coveted season pass are dashed.

At Duke vs. UNC.

I could have written about this ages ago, but the scars inflicted upon me from Campout were much too fresh. Even now, as I write this, images of overturned outhouses, 4 a.m. check-in lines, and swollen pizzas left outside to soak up the morning dew flash through my mind as the phantom sounds of omnipresent techno music strum against my eardrums. Simply put, Campout is an exercise in sensory overload and sleep deprivation, and it is enough to make you go mad — or at least give you PTSD. I still flinch at the mere mention of a tent.

It is a wonder that I managed to survive Campout. But it all paid off! Almost two weeks ago was the famed game, and guess who was in attendance? This gal! The energy in Cameron was pulsating, the crowd swaying and undulating along with well-versed chants and the pounding rhythm of the Duke University Marching Band (D.U.M.B!). By tip off, the excitement was literally coursing through all of our veins, and even yours truly was shouting and jumping along with the rest of the student section.

After being down for the majority of the game, Duke finally scored a few much needed 3-pointers to put us ahead of the competition. From that point on, we stayed in the lead and crushed the competition!

Victory tasted oh, so sweet, especially while chanting “Our House” at the top of our lungs as the defeated UNC players exited the court in shame.

I’m already looking forward to the upcoming rematch on March 9!

But contrary to a zombie apocalypse, we had a line up of pretty tough finals including the infamous finance exam, and every spare moment I had was spent holed up in a study room trying to grasp the concept of unlevered free cash flows. It was during one of these grim study sessions that someone with a wandering eye on the Internet mentioned something about the second presidential debate, which was met with quizzical glances and frustrated grunts.

As a recent law school graduate, the political interest in me flickered just a bit. There was a time — it seems like ages ago — when I was fully emerged in current affairs and politics. Now instead of discussing the latest in political affairs, I’m lucky to catch the evening news to stay informed. As a law student,  we tended to say that we worked harder than business students, that business students just coast through an easy two years of school learning how to socialize and prioritize their partying rather than challenging themselves academically. Let me dispel that rumor now. While there are a choice few who find this material easily manageable, they are just that — the minority. Let the rest of our blood shot eyes and mangled nerves be a testament to this.

Sooner or later, a business student has got to come up for air to view the world around them. We have a unique perspective on current affairs, especially this country’s economy that should be represented in the upcoming election.What good is learning all about cash flows and marketing if we can’t apply it to the big picture?

The two major political campaigns have targeted the Duke Law School hard. Each party had voter registration tables prominently set up at least three days a week. Voter outreach had reached new heights all around campus, and yet Fuqua seemed like the exception.

I approached a campaigner while renewing my voter registration information and asked them why they didn’t show the business school any love. The campaign employee shrugged his shoulders while looking at his phone, saying simply that there wasn’t any interest so they decided not to pursue it. This didn’t make any sense — we’re interested people with interesting opinions. However, the main underlying reason was that they didn’t have a contact in the business school. After considerable pressing on my part they said they did not have a single person reach out to them from the business school, and that I was the first one.

By the next week I had become the campaign contact at Fuqua. Armed with clipboards and stacks of voter registration forms I encouraged my fellow classmates to vote, even approaching some random MBAs in the hallways a time or two. I got the professors to make announcements before their classes encouraging students to sign up. And for those people who already registered, I was there to offer insight and helpful information about the voting process because I believe that everybody deserves their chance to be heard, even in the midst of quantitative business analysis.

So, don’t miss your chance, if you didn’t take advantage of early voting, election day is Nov. 6.