Duke Weekend Executive MBA Student Blog
Life, Love and the Pursuit of Craziness
After my class finished Term 3 finals, I used this blog as yet another reason to procrastinate on my all-out attack of the 20-pound FedEx box containing my Term 4 pre-reading! You see, before each term, all the academic prep materials are sent to us at home, with the intention that we review everything before the next term begins.
But I have a few other things going on, too, I currently work as a Financial Advisor for Merrill Lynch here in Durham, NC, and I decided to pursue my MBA in order to make a transition from the retail side of our industry into a more strategic, corporate role. This seems to be coming along, but with a twist. Currently, my family is in the process of relocating to Princeton, NJ, where my wife will begin her PhD program in June. So, in addition to school, work and my family (I have 3 kids ages 4, 7, and 9), I have taken on the responsibilities of looking for a new job, buying a house in NJ, renting our house here, and preparing the kids for the transition … Oh yeah, and I was training to run the Boston Marathon in April!
I share all this only because, no matter what life throws my way, pursuing my MBA has been manageable, and in many ways, extremely helpful! For example, Fuqua’s Career Management Center (CMC) and my classmates have been a vital part of my job search process. Also, our Decision Models course took our intuitive decision making process, refined and expanded it, and we tested results through modeling and model verification. I have applied some of these course concepts in my personal decisions of what program my wife should choose, renting vs. selling our house here, buying or renting a new house in NJ, and more comprehensively defining what I am looking for in my new career (which I have not yet secured).
All this craziness seems to be a constant, yet exciting and enjoyable part of life right now. As a final piece of encouragement, I was a history major at Bucknell University where I diligently avoided all things quantitative! While the more quantitative coursework has been the most challenging for me, it has also been some of the most enjoyable. So, for any of those fellow liberal arts students out there, take encouragement! You will have to work hard in the Weekend Executive program, but resources are available and you can do it!