Information....overload?

Information. Is it possible to have too much of it? Isn't there a saying that you can't have enough information, ever?

Well, I feel like I have too much information. I have quickly realized that my job is to find the important stuff and by-pass the rest. It doesn't sound that hard, but at times feels overwhelming.

Going back a couple of months, I thought I was prepared for grad school. I never thought it would be easy, but I didn't think it would be like this. I spend more time looking for a summer internship than I do schoolwork. I'm not intentionally putting assignments off, but there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done.

I think I should let y'all know a little about myself. I grew up in New Jersey in the shadow of New York City. Growing up, all I wanted to do was work for a big firm on Wall Street, wear a suit, and be important. I didn't (and still don't fully) grasp what everyone on Wall Street was doing, and what all the different jobs are, but knew I wanted to be there. School always came easy to me. Too easy I think. I don't say this to brag, but I got cocky. I was wait listed at my top three choices and ended up at the University of Delaware. I had a great time there, but thought that I could just coast through college without trying. I was wrong. I was right around a 3.0 when I graduated, and thought that any hopes of working on Wall Street were gone.

After graduating I started to work for a small consulting/commercial appraisal firm based in Delaware. The big positive was I was able to travel across the country and interact with many different people. It was an interesting four years; I was a reason that four of my fraternity brothers became co-workers. We had a great time, but I knew that i didn't want to become a licensed appraiser. I was lucky that the two senior partners were ex-investment bankers who left the business for different reasons. Both guys were great to talk to and learn life lessons from, and their recommendations were very helpful in getting into grad school. I knew it was time to move on, and was lucky to have such supportive people in my life.

So here I am. To be honest. Vanderbilt was not my first choice. However, I don't think I would be happier if I was at any other school. The environment at Owen is unique. There's an underdog spirit to the school. I feel most people ask, "How can I make Owen better?" more often then they ask, "What is Owen going to do to make me better?" I don't think I've met a single person who feels that they are entitled to anything at the school; that everyone thinks that they are going to have to work hard to get anything. People are more than willing to sacrifice their time to have lunch and talk, or go the extra step to make Owen a better place. I've become a recruiter host (when companies come to campus, its my job to make sure everything is ok and that they enjoy their experience), and besides learning about these companies for myself, I try and picture which one of my classmates would fit in best at the companies that are presenting. For example, I was at a presentation for BB&T Capital Markets. I really enjoyed the two presenters, and would love to interview with their company. One of the gentlemen who presented was in charge of their healthcare group, and is looking to add associates. I knew that one of my classmates is really interesting in pursuing investment banking ("IB") and is in the healthcare MBA program. He was at the info session, but had to leave early, so he didn't get to speak to the gentleman from BB&T. The next day, I gave my classmate his business card and told him what I knew. He e-mailed him, and hopefully will be able to at least get an interview. In a couple of months, it may come down to the two of us for the last summer associate spot with the company. I would hope they would see how great we both are, but if they only take one, and he gets it, I'll be happy for him. We're not exceptionally close, but I know that it would be good for the school. Its strange to say, or write, but its the truth.

I know I skipped around a lot, but will fill in the gaps as we go along. If there's anything you want to know about, please leave a comment, or feel free to email me at anthony.opalka.2008@owen.vanderbilt.edu.