OwenBloggers: Isaac - MBA '08

A little housewarming gift

One of the problems students have when they move to a new city to attend B-school is that they've got to uproot their lives, change address, change phones, and start up fresh in a new town.  Then, two unbelievably short years later, you uproot and move again, get a new address, a new phone number, etc. 

There exists a solution to at least part of the problem, and i have an answer.  Grandcentral is a unique service (now owned by Google) that provides a centralized telephone number; the way it works--- you get a brand new number (in the area code of your choosing).  That number is your number from here on out--- till death do you part.  Anyone calling that number is routed (through rules you set up on their website), to your cell phones, office phones, home phones, etc.  If you move--- GrandCentral stays with you.  You simply take the new home/office/cell you have in your new city and tell GC to ring them instead.  It also allows centralized voicemail, tons of great messaging and routing features, and all sorts of other cool tricks.  No more worrying about updating all your contacts with your new information--- this is they number you keep for life.  It's the single best thing i've done since Tivo, and the slickest Google aquisition yet.  Above all else, it's 100% free. 

If any Owen student is interested in this service, it is currently in private Beta, but i'd be glad to share some of my invites with you.  Send me an email to Isaac (dot) Rogers (dot) 2008 (at) owen.vanderbilt.edu using your new Vanderbilt account and i'll send out an invite.  I've only got a few invites, so first come first serve.

Don't say i never gave you anything nice, class of 2009.      

OwenBloggers Summer Advice: The little things around Owen

Since Orientation is just around the corner, I figure it’s time to “add a little value” here on my page and share some tips with the incoming class.  I’m going to focus on the little things around Owen--- those things it might have taken me weeks to find on my own, but now I couldn’t live without.

1. The library study rooms.  We have roughly 25 small study rooms around the library (and three in the 8:10 café…).  These rooms hold between 4-8 people.  Booking a room is pretty easy; there is an online scheduling tool (available through the Owen Intranet).  Here’s a tip though--- the rooms book up pretty early in the day (you have to book the day of the reservation, I believe).  If you have any inclination of finding a nice quiet place to have a group study session--- book early.  I book before I leave for class in the AM if I know I’m going to need a room.  If you need a room and they’re all booked (which happens a lot during exam time), don’t worry.  “Squatting” is always a viable option.  People (rude people) often book rooms and then don’t use them--- I’d say at any given time ¼ of all the “booked rooms” are actually not taken.  It’s ok to slide into a room that shows “booked” as long as you’re willing to leave if someone with a reservation shows up.
2. If you have a big group study session (say, 5+ people), at night you can often book the classrooms.  This is really helpful around exam time.
3. The rest of Vanderbilt campus houses a lot of great resources.  Take some time to explore all the various buildings and areas--- you’ll find the Main Library is a great place to study, Rand hall has some great food (the Pub rocks), and there are tons of amenities tucked around campus for the large undergrad population.  For example, there is an on-campus dry cleaning facility, the Bookstore has about every school supply you’d need, and

   Peabody

   campus has some great spots to sit outside and study. 
4. The Law School Café isn’t bad for a light lunch or breakfast.  It’s about 100 yards from Owens’ rear entrance.  They don’t include taxes in the price (even for things like soda, which I think is the most bizarre thing ever…), but they make a pretty good quick lunch spot.
5. Get to school early for parking.  The surface lot and
   Wesley Place
   garage fill up before 9AM (usually about 8:30 or before).  Otherwise, you’ll be parking in Terrace garage, which isn’t that much farther, but if you’re running late for Froeb’s econ class, you’ll wish you would have gotten there just 15 minutes earlier.  If you do show up later in the day, just cut your losses and head to Terrace.  I know many people that will wind around Wesley place for 10 minutes looking for a spot, give up, comb the surface lots for another few minutes, and then finally give up and head to Terrace.  My advice is just to head to Terrace in the first place if you’re getting there mid-day--- unless you don’t mind fighting for a spot.
6. Utilize the librarians.  They are a WEALTH of knowledge.  If you have a question about a company, doing research, or chasing down a journal, they can find it faster than you could ever imagine.  Don’t hesitate- just ask.
7. Through its.vanderbilt.edu, you can purchase educationally-discounted software.  Lots of useful stuff here--- MSFT office, productivity software, antivirus, all reduced cost or free.
8. The Vanderbilt bookstore carries every book assigned by professors- however, like many monopolies, the prices are all jacked up.  My advice--- but the classpaks at the bookstore, but your textbooks from Amazon.  I got many of my books for half the price of the bookstore. I saved $150 in one Mod alone.  As long as the Prof is clear on the version you’ll be using--- Amazon is a safe bet.
9. Don’t sign up for every club.  Please don’t.  I did this.  I signed up for about 6 clubs in all.  How many did I actively participate in?  Yeah, one.  That’s over $150 down the tubes--- just because I didn’t know any better.  If you are really into Marketing/Finance/Operations, sign up for the club and attend the meetings; you’ll get a lot out of it.  Just because your concentration is Marketing doesn’t mean you have to sign up for VMA.  It’s not a prerequisite.  People try and tell you it’s something you “have to do”--- but you don’t. That goes for every club at Owen. 

Ok, so that’s my list of the “little things” about Owen.  I’ll probably revisit this topic closer to Orientation--- if anyone has any questions, shoot me an email at OwenBloggers@gmail.com and I’ll answer it.

The summer internship experience

Like a lot of my comrades at Owen, coming into B-school I had no idea, NO idea, about what to expect from a summer internship.  Thinking back to last summer, the idea of an internship in a far away city gave me great concern; how does one move to a brand new job in a brand new town for several months?  How does it all work--- do you get treated like a part of your adopting company, or are you seen as an outsider?   Will you be prepared for all your challenges, or will you find yourself struggling to keep up with the incumbents?

I don't know about the rest of my Owen pals, but for me, all that worry was for nothing. My summer so far has been nothing short of fantastic; everything just gets worked out.

Moving to a new city is challenging; for some interns housing is provided, but I had to find a place here in Denver myself.  Turns out there are TONS of short-term rentals in any major city; it's a little more expensive than say an apartment lease, but hey, it's not bad.  My wife and I have a really cool place in downtown LODO (trendy part of Denver) that's pretty expensive overall, but utilities and parking are included, so the actual "rental" is about $1300/month- not bad.  Bottom line; don't worry about it.  Try to get your internship nailed down at least by the middle of April and you'll have plenty of time to find a rental in your adopted city.  My advice- if you can, spend a little more on a nice place with a good location and treat it like a 3 month vacation.  It might be your only time in (insert city name here), so enjoy it.

I'm sure others might have different experiences with their working colleagues than I've had, but I've felt like part of the team here since maybe the 3rd day.  Most of my friends I've talked to have had similar experiences; you're not treated as much like an outsider as one might think--- for one, the current staff realizes you're not displacing anyone since you're leaving at the end of the summer, so no-one feels threatened.  Also, as long as you're coming in to a new job and acting like an "intern" (ie someone there to learn and not compete), you'll be fine.  Don't look at the job like you do a class; you're not trying to compete with everyone else--- you're there just as much to learn and apply your skills as anything else.  Come in acting like a pompous MBA (which some do), and you'll get treated like... a pompous MBA. 

The MBA internship is about two things; learning and applying- learning more about a company/industry and applying the skills you've just honed in your first year.  The sponsoring company realizes it's a symbiotic relationship; they'll get a hardworking "fresh pair of eyes" for 3 months, and in the process they'll impart some industry knowledge on you.  Realize that and you'll do fine; come in acting like you're "god's gift to their firm", and, well, you'll just be proving the negative MBA stereotype lives on. 

Oh, most importantly--- have FUN!  Do things you normally wouldn't do; don't make the summer all about work.  Last weekend my family was in town and we went out in downtown Denver and ended up at a cancer survivor's fundraiser; next thing I know I'm up getting my head shaved for "locks of love"--- first time my hair's ever been um, gone, but it was fun.   Had a special meaning to me--- that's my father in the background, just a couple months post-chemo.