“You have so many opportunities as an MMS student: if something interests you, ask and Fuqua will help you make it happen.” When a Fuqua ambassador said this to me, I was reluctant to believe him. I wondered how accurate it was, and if he was just telling me what I wanted to hear after getting accepted into the program. Now I know it was all true!

When I joined Fuqua and met my cohort, I was eager to share my passion for rock climbing with them. Rock climbing is a social activity. You trust your life to your belay partners as they hold the safety rope while you climb. You also plan the ‘beta’ of the climb with your friends to determine the best technique to reach the top. It’s a sport where you get the best of both worlds: you compete with yourself while relying on your teammates.

The close friends I met on the first day of class were the first ones I introduced to this sport. We started as a small group of about four students meeting weekly for indoor climbing. As we posted pictures on social media, several other students wanted to join. I set up a group chat that allowed me to organize our rock climbing trips and add participants as they joined our group. We all had a great time as we got together once or twice a week.

A few weeks into the MMS program, I mentioned our climbing activities to Allie McClarnon, Associate Director of the MMS Program, and she suggested we start an official club and expand our activities. We set up the Climbing Club Launching Event in order to officially introduce rock climbing to all MMS students, and the Thanksgiving Brunch-Climbing Event where all members came together for a day of climbing and brunch to celebrate Thanksgiving with our climbing family! We were thrilled to have Fuqua sponsor our official club and climbing activities, making this sport accessible to all those who wish to join.

The club gave us the opportunity to meet many students from different sections and bond in ways we never would have, had we not been 47 feet up in the air. Rock climbing has taught us to push our limits, to always aim higher, to trust our partners, and most importantly, to trust ourselves. This mental, physical, and technical challenge is the perfect way to disconnect and focus on our goals.

Climbing has always been my safe haven, and I am grateful that Fuqua actively supports me in sharing my passion with my classmates. Fuqua did indeed make it happen!