1 Degree Obtained (MBA!)
2 Concentrations (Financial Analysis and Management)
11 Countries Visited (Argentina, Panama, China, Taiwan, Israel, Peru, Belize, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, and France)
27 Classes + CLEAD I and II
and so much more!

I graduated from Fuqua on May 11. In a nutshell, I truly believe that the past 2 years were a complete transformation for me, and I grew both personally and professionally. However, there is no way that I’ll be able to summarize everything that I got out of my Fuqua experience in a blog post(s). I know that I’ve touched on some of these themes in prior blog posts — career change, friendships, enhanced global perspective, travel, renowned speakers and professors, amazing accomplished classmates, a renewed personal exercise plan, Duke Basketball, Duke Pride, and so much more — but various factors from each of these buckets helped make my experience incredible and unforgettable! Now, if only my student loans were to disappear … 🙂

On a personal front, my spring was consumed with more travel — Belize, NY, California, Charleston and Myrtle Beach, SC; Asheville, NC; Boston; Washington, DC; Virginia, and a European Vacation that culminated with my classmates’ wedding in Bordeaux. I was also heavily occupied with the job search, classes, lunches and dinners, parties, and partially completing my Durham Bucket List (always need an excuse to visit again). I also had the incredible pleasure of hearing Apple CEO Tim Cook speak in Geneen. Then there was graduation, running my first official race (Running of the Bulls 8-K), turning 30 while surrounded by 8 of my classmates and friends at a Fuqua wedding, and so much more.

Looking Back on “Team Fuqua”

I know the phrase “Team Fuqua” is thrown out a lot and honestly, there is no one way to appropriately define it — but there are a few examples of “Team Fuqua” that really stand out to me:

• Last year, we tragically lost our classmate Jessica Caroe, and the Fuqua community came together and supported each other through the very sad situation.
• Whenever somebody has a question or needs help, he/she often receives more responses and offers of help than is manageable.
• Whenever somebody wants to travel someplace, there is a wealth of knowledge available from a fellow Fuquan who’s been there before. I’ve heard so many stories about classmates running into each other in random cities across the world.
• Bonding over the shared knowledge behind the cranberries case, chicken contact lenses, Littlefield Labs, and other rites of passage (you’ll understand what I’m talking about when you face the core curriculum).
• Chants of “Ruskin Morgan” and a flash mob on Russ Morgan Appreciation Day.
• Going crazy when “Party Rock” (our class song) comes on the radio or during Fuqua Vision, Fuqua Idol, and other packed Geneen events.
• Section pride.
• Taking the standard Fuqua group picture whenever we are all together.

Recently, fellow blogger Deidre-Ann Nelson and I met up for dinner and drinks in NYC and were chatting about our Fuqua experiences. We both have similar backgrounds — Brandeis ’05, 6 years of living in NYC, and Fuqua ’13 — however we didn’t really become friends until we both got to Fuqua. When chatting, we said that there was something different and special about Fuqua that we hadn’t experienced at Brandeis or even living in NYC — and just that feeling that we couldn’t put into words, but knew existed, truly sums up Team Fuqua.

Looking Forward to a New Career

I’m also thrilled to announce that on August 5, I rejoined the professional world as a Real Estate Financial Analyst at The Children’s Place in Secaucus, NJ. Through Fuqua, I was able to change industries from financial services/asset management to retail, and changed job roles from accounting to corporate finance. I cannot wait for what my next life phase will bring. Also, I’m going to live in NYC again, so watch out for a blog post from me in about 6 months entitled, “What I Miss About Fuqua and Durham.”