OwenBloggers: Colleen - MBA '09

Tired and...

Yes kids. I am very, very tired. I have spent all day studying for my investments exam, which I take in about an hour, and I still feel like I have a million things left to do before I head off to Bangladesh. Pack. Make sure my Bottom of the Pyramid paper gets handed in. Finish my Corporate Val project. Have three different conference calls about the project I am working on for my internship at Cumberland Pharmaceutical. Find housing in NYC this summer. Study for my Corporate Val Final. Oh yeah, and take that other final in an hour.

And yet...when going over everything in my head of things I have left to do, I thought about how many different and varied opportunities I'm getting. An internship with a pharma company. A trip to Bangladesh. An internship in NYC. While I feel too tired and overwhelmed for all of it (my own fault there), this Mod has definitely pushed me to my limit and helped me prove to myself what I can do, all on a very little amount of sleep. I tell everyone not to make the mistake I did, but somewhere in the course of getting your MBA you will inevitably have far too many things to do - but will be amazed at how much you've grown in being able to get them all done at the end of the day.

Sidenote: This is amazing. It's only going to be 3 blocks from me. Hotness.

Wall Street Week

We're going to start Mod 2 tomorrow (!!!!) and I figured it was time to let you guys know how the break went. I was able to go on Wall St. Week during the break - it's a trip where a group of students who are interested in investment banking/private wealth management, go up to NYC to meet different bankers and attend info sessions.

I got into NYC early Monday morning and left early Friday morning. It was a great trip, albeit a little tiring. The following list is of the banks we were able to meet with: Petrus Partners, Bank of America, UBS, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, Citi, Bear Stearns, Credit Suisse, Cowen & Co., Shattuck Hammond, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Thomson Company.

I know - it's a bit exhausting just to read it. We were running all over NY but it was a very energizing experience. Some of the banks we met with for different functions - Investment banking, sales & trading and private wealth - so, depending on your interest, you didn't have to attend every session, which helped. The experience was very helpful in getting to know what the job functions are all about, how the firms are different from one another and where we would fit in best. I'm very glad I went and thankful to the CMC who planned the trip, mainly Emily. She did a great job of having us meet with a lot of different people to establish connections and make the whole process easier.

Now that we are back we are starting to ready ourselves for interviews by doing mock interviews and going over questions that are normally asked. There's a real sense of teamwork and you can see everyone pulling together to help us all succeed and try to land a job, a feeling that makes Owen such a great school. While it's a competitive process and not everyone will be able to make it, you can tell we're all in this together, making it a little easier.

Below are some pictures from Wall St. Week. Although it was tiring, we managed to have a little fun every now and then. Enjoy!

Fellow blogger Matt, proving to us he will take over Wall St. one day.

So business. So New York.

A little something that reminded us of home.

Having a little fun at the end of long, but productive, week.

Back from Cancun

...and it was amazing. There is nothing better than a vacation in a beautiful location for a week to help you recover from the stress of finals. Cancun is in the Caribbean and it was so beautiful. White sand, crystal clear ocean. I also had time to check out Chichen Itza for a day and spent some nights in the town square eating the most amazing Mexican food for a dollar a plate. I also got to spend tons of time just relaxing on the beach and meeting some awesome people from all around the world. I love traveling so much and being able to stay in a place for a good bit of time. When I was on study abroad I would spend a day or two in a place I wanted to visit - this week long vacation was a nice change. I really enjoyed being in Mexico and I hope to go back one day. Below are some pictures from the trip.

Finals. Spring Break. Yum.

Hey all - sorry it's been a bit since I wrote but I just went through finals week here. Ugh. But now I'm off to Cancun for a week so it's all good. Hope you all have a great week and I'll be sure to post some pics when I get back.

Still mad Drexel wasn't in the big dance. Still made that Vandy lost last night from a basket that was amde after the player traveled. Stinks.