I will always remember that night: January 8, 2015.

I was sitting in front of my laptop, preparing for my undergraduate thesis. Then my phone rang. It was the call from Associate Director of Admissions Russell Davis. I was admitted by Duke!

If you’re a prospective student, hopefully you’ll be admitted and experience that same joy I did upon receiving the news. But then you’ll start to wonder, “What happens after I’m admitted?” So this is how it went for me.

About 15 days after Russell’s call, I received the admission package that had traveled from the other side of the world to my home in Beijing.

On February 13, I met Russell in person, along with other admitted students and MMS alumni in Beijing. We had a great conversation about Duke, about the MMS program, and about life in Durham. The alumni told us a lot about their experience at Fuqua and how they feel about the MMS program. Duke basketball campout was one thing I was immediately looking forward to after listening to their exciting stories about midnight check-ins.

Beyond that, we also got some valuable career advice from the alumni—which was great to have before the program even began. They shared with us how they landed their jobs, networking tips, and all of the information they thought might be helpful to us as recently admitted students.

The biggest Fuqua community gathering happened on March 25. It was an event called Fuqua Around the World. From March 23 to 25, Duke and Fuqua alumni, current Fuqua students, and fellow admitted students celebrated Duke’s global community during a series of networking receptions in more than 70 major cities around the world. At the event in Beijing, I met with 12 admitted MMS students. There were also alumni from other programs at Fuqua. It was a great chance to build connections before coming to Durham.

I think the most exciting event I could have participated in before the program started was the Duke Kunshan Univeristy (DKU) campus event, but unfortunately I didn’t make it. It was three-day event on DKU’s campus, where MMS: DKU students have their classes after their program transitions from Durham to China.

DKU campus is a highly modernized campus, with a world-class design. If you went to that event, you could even stay on campus two nights for free. If you are a prospective student in the region, there are also open house events at DKU each year so you can visit and learn more.

Fuqua really is around the world! No matter where you are, after you get admitted, you’ll be welcomed as a member of the Duke and Fuqua community even before coming to Durham.