I enjoyed celebrating Fuqua Fridays with my friends Nancy and Carmen.

It’s an opportunity to learn new things, have some great food, meet new people, and just relax. Many Fuqua Fridays are sponsored by cultural student clubs or Fuqua administration and focus on a theme or an event like Oktoberfest or the Lunar New Year.

Some of my favorite Fuqua Fridays involved my friends organizing the festivities, like the time my friend Nancy presented about the tradition of serving tea in China or another night when my friend Carmen made a delicious traditional Mexican dessert. Both nights were completely different, but they were enjoyable for many of the same reasons.

Take a walk through the hallways at Fuqua and you’ll see flags from all over the world. Literally. All over. These flags represent the MANY different backgrounds that students come from. Fuqua Friday is an opportunity for groups of people to share what is GREAT about where they’re from. And for the rest of us, it’s a time to learn about and enjoy all they have to offer.

When a couple of my college friends came to visit me, they were SO excited about attending Fuqua Friday. Before they visited, they said they wanted to experience all of the great things that Fuqua, Duke, and Durham are known for, so I told them about (and took them to) places and events like Cameron Indoor Stadium, Brightleaf Square, the infamous Shooters, and of course, Fuqua Friday. They both work full-time and have been out of school for a couple of years. I didn’t quite see what they were so pumped up about. Now that I’ve graduated, I have to admit that I can better see their excitement. Fuqua Friday is a tradition like no other. It’s a weekly celebration that I’ll miss long after leaving Fuqua.

A couple of terms ago, I knew Capital Markets was going to be a challenge for me, so I reached out to Kevin Hoch, the Associate Director of the MMS program, to find out if he could recommend anyone as a peer tutor. He connected me with a girl I knew of, but had never talked to for more than just a “hey” in the hallway.

My peer tutoring sessions with Nancy Yu led to a great friendship.

And that’s how I got to know Nancy Yu. Even though I had never really spoken to her before and didn’t know how I felt about having someone my age go over class material with me, Nancy and I clicked right off the bat. Not only did I start to understand the course material better, but I gained so much more.

Nancy and I grew up in two completely different places, she grew up in China and I grew up in upstate New York, and our differences (and sometimes surprising similarities) have provided both of us with unique learning experiences.

For example, in the summer I planned a trip to a Durham Bulls game, where Nancy got to experience an American baseball game for the first time, with an American beer and a hot dog in hand. And then we went to a Chinese New Year celebration where I learned how to make dumplings. Nancy’s enthusiasm for Duke is infectious, and she’s encouraged me to get involved in all sorts of MMS activities and fun events. In addition, Nancy told me that the tutoring sessions have helped her to improve her English — a big plus in her opinion.

Neither one of us expected to become good friends. And our study sessions have surprisingly expanded to include other classmates. Last term, we had 8 of our friends join us to discuss the final case for our accounting class. At this point, we’ve studied for 3 different courses together, and this term will be no exception. We both agree that it’s encouraging to have someone there to push you to work harder and to learn everything that you can.

Sometimes, during our tutoring sessions, we get off track talking about the most random things, but unlike the formulas for finance that I may have already forgotten, our discussions about the differences and similarities in our childhood, educational, and life experiences are not something I’ll forget anytime soon.

Modeling some African clothing styles.

While I’ve grown up and changed over the last 21 years, being at Fuqua has stretched and tested me in many new ways.  While I’m not afraid of being in front of crowds of people anymore, in our Business Communication II class, we learned how to give presentations without the comfort of using notes AT ALL. At first, I was afraid I was going to be the next YouTube sensation and that I’d butcher my speech, but by the end of the class, I felt extremely comfortable speaking in front of people and I got a lot of great feedback about sounding ‘natural’ and ‘conversational.’

A couple of weeks ago, I stepped out of my comfort zone in a new way. A classmate asked me if I wanted to help out with a fashion show as a model. Modeling?! I really don’t mind standing up in front of people if I have something to say, but this was just walking. And having people watch my every move. Yikes!

The event, Kuumba: An Evening of Black Expression, was for the MMS Black and Latino Business Association and the Black Law Students Association. In between awesome performances by poets, dance groups (including a great performance by a group of my MMS classmates!), and other performers, we modeled 3 lines: African clothing, Caribbean clothing, and business casual.

Needless to say, I survived. I got to wear a couple of gorgeous outfits, made some new friends, and had a great time doing something that a younger version of me would’ve gone running from. I think the best experiences are the ones that intimidate you the most, you grow from, and at the end they make you think, “what was I afraid of, again?” Experiences like this are challenges that Fuqua offers me every day.

Every term we have lunches called “flunches,” which are lunches with faculty members, sponsored by the MMSA (the MMS Association). These lunches serve as a unique opportunity to get to know our new professors outside of the classroom. Any 5 students can sign up for each flunch, which means it’s also a great time to interact with a mix of classmates who are interested in the same classes as you. And with just 5 people, everyone has a chance to talk in these small group settings.

Flunch with Professor Mary Frances Luce.

I recently had the opportunity to have lunch with Mary Frances Luce, our Marketing Intelligence professor, and a few of my classmates who are especially interested in marketing. (Learn more about our classes.) Not only did we have a great time talking about the field of marketing, but I learned more about my classmates and my professor, too. I heard about how one classmate landed a great position with a CPG company in L.A., and I heard about why my professor is so passionate about the field she’s in. In addition, the flunches are always held in the Thomas Center (the R. David Thomas Executive Conference Center, which is named after THE Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s International, Inc.), which means that we have the opportunity to have a great tasting, complimentary lunch, too!

My classmate Nancy with Dean Bill Boulding and his wife.

Fuqua has fun events all the time — sometimes it’s difficult to choose which events to attend because there are so many options! For example, the other week there was a tailgating party with Dean Bill Boulding.

The event was held before the Duke women’s basketball game against Miami on Jan. 31. We were in Scharf Hall, overlooking the basketball court where we could see the players warming up before the game. The party was organized and sponsored by Fuqua and was free for students to attend (free food is always a plus!).

Enjoying the party with my friends Jackie and Liyun.

I ended up going in place of my friend because he had to work, but I’m glad I had the opportunity to attend! Everyone’s enthusiasm was contagious and it was great to interact with the Dean, my MMS classmates, and MBAs in a more casual and fun setting. I especially appreciated that the Dean, with such a busy schedule, took the time to get to know Fuqua students a little bit better and show his support for the Duke community. Plus, there’s nothing like some good North Carolina BBQ and Duke basketball! Duke won the game, 82 – 43!

See some more photos on Facebook.

Experience the program for yourself.

Take a tour, sit in on a class, wander around Duke/Fuqua, attend an admissions event, check out a sporting event, and experience what the MMS program (and Duke!) is all about. When I first visited Fuqua, things started to click for me. I knew I wanted to go to Duke, and I became a lot more confident about my decision to attend the MMS program once I came to campus. Like when choosing an undergraduate school, you want to make sure that the grad school you pick is a good fit for you and a place you want to spend a year of your life. I think that the more you know, the more excited you’ll be about applying to be a “Dukie!”

Get the inside scoop.

I know that many of you may not be able to visit campus (about 40% of my class is international and students come from across the United States, too), but there are still a lot of great opportunities to research the MMS program from wherever you are.

• Connect with the Admissions Office by sending an email to mms-fob-info@fuqua.duke.edu or call +1.919.660.7705 and ask to speak with one of the MMS admissions counselors — it’s a great way to start a conversation about coming to Fuqua
• Check out where recent grads are working
• Participate in an online chat
• Read through the frequently asked questions
• Review the list of admissions events around the world to see if there’s an upcoming event near you
• Read some profiles of previous students
• Read my classmates’ blogs

These are just some of the great ways to find out if the MMS program seems like a good fit for you and your career, and to put your best foot forward in the application process.

Good luck, and please leave a question/comment here if there’s anything else that you’d like to know about the program.

Earlier this year, I decided to take the GMAT in preparation to eventually go to business school. I’ve worked in marketing since I was 15, so I knew that business school was eventually where I wanted to be. I also knew I wanted to go to a top school to maximize the investment of my time and my money, so I started looking at top-ranked schools. Because of my interests (Duke is the #3 B-school in the country for marketing, according to U.S. News) and my desire to try living someplace other than the Northeast , Duke was at the top of my list. As I was doing my research, I happened to come across something called the Masters of Management Studies (MMS): Foundations of Business program. It stood out, and now, here I am. But what did I like about the program, and why did I decide to attend?

Here are my top three reasons:

1. Comprehensive – This program is comprehensive, both inside the classroom and out. With career guidance, networking opportunities (Fuqua Friday = free food!), professional and social clubs, activities like etiquette dinners, and a variety of classes, this program provides a well-rounded experience.
2. Challenging — Like the program title says, this is a “foundations of business” degree. When I was doing my research, I liked the diversity of classes offered. Not only did I want to take classes that I had never taken before, but I also wanted to be challenged to look at the big picture to see how all of the pieces of business fit together. Plus, what’s the point of going to school if you aren’t learning something new in the classroom?
3. Diverse — Having lived in a small town for most of my life, I love learning about different cultures and meeting a diversity of people. My class this year is about 40% international, which gives the program a global perspective with a variety of different people to learn from.

Now that I’m halfway done with the MMS program (that’s hard for me to believe!), I can tell you that it is meeting my high expectations. While it’s hard to say whether or not I should have waited to eventually get an MBA, I can tell you that I arrived at Duke looking for a challenge to grow and learn from, inside the classroom and out, and that’s what I get here, every single day.