Being an engineer, I was extremely skeptical as to how my capabilities would prove worthy while navigating business courses. I was told that as an engineer, the struggles that awaited me at the business school were far more convoluted. However, as time progressed, I realized that my quantitative background proved to be beyond helpful, especially in courses involving statistics. After taking mechanics-heavy classes filled with technical jargon during my time in undergrad, I found that courses at Fuqua covering real-world cases were relatively intuitive in nature. Even though the learning curve had its ups and downs, these remarkable professors surely made it fathomable.

Professor Kevin Chen

One of the classes in Term 1 was Financial Accounting; one that I was warned I would dread the most and for good reason. The only kinds of equations I had ever known resided in the worlds of chemistry and mathematics, so the concept of a “balance sheet equation” was especially alien to me. However, there entered Professor Kevin Chen, whose passion for accounting made the course for a first-timer like me greatly enjoyable. The highlight of the course was definitely the game of Jeopardy that Professor Chen designed around accounting principles. Did you ever think learning accounting could be this fun? I surely did not.

Professor Ryan McDevitt

Another one of my favorite classes was Business Economics by Professor Ryan McDevitt. The last time I had touched an economics textbook was in high school, so this was again a new realm for me to discover. The way Professor McDevitt mediated discussions was one of the best I have ever experienced. Learning economic principles and game theory through Disney case studies and pop culture references made the whole classroom experience truly one to cherish. In fact, I remember having an interesting conversation with the professor on how he names his slides as “Ryan’s Version” as a take on Taylor Swift’s albums. I mean, how cool is that?

Professor Ali Makhdoumi

One of the harder courses at Fuqua and yet, one of my personal favorites was Decision and Spreadsheet Modelling by Professor Ali Makhdoumi. We took this class in Term 5. It was an amalgamation of various different concepts we learned at Fuqua, all beautifully captured into three different decision modeling approaches we learned through the term. What I loved most about the course was how it motivated me to think, which helped me broaden my perspective on decision-making.

Though these were three of my favorite classes, there were many more that I thoroughly enjoyed. Another great thing about being a part of a diverse classroom is the different opinions you get to listen to and learn from, all enclosed within the walls of a Fuqua classroom. Moreover, as you navigate through these courses of varying difficulty levels, you do that with a team of your classmates, which not only enhances the learning experience but also helps you share your workload. The classroom experience at Fuqua classroom is truly one of a kind. I could not be happier that I chose to embrace it in all its glory.