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Around campus - Fall

  • The Omni Parker House
    Images from around campus throughout the year - this is the autumn grouping.

Boston Events

  • A look at some of the Graduate Admission Events in Boston. Receptions, Information Sessions, and more!

June 06, 2008

Online... is looking up.

Ish... the weather today is dreary and no fun... I feel like there's a bit of a rain cloud over my head and over the office in general. 

My online class is going much better these days.  Our last class was a student led class with case studies and the interaction and debates were fantastic.  I think we all got a much higher level of learning than we had in previous classes.  Maybe people are really beginning to warm up... or maybe people are just really passionate about what motivates others.  Either way, it was a lively class and I am looking forward to another similar class.

I'm debating whether or not to take finance in summer 2.  Sand, sunshine and happy hour or three classes in the fall?  Whip through it in the summer... or drag it out in the fall.  Rumor on the street is that finance is one of the trickier cores... so I'm up in the air.  And if I took it this summer, it would be $$$ out of pocket rather than using loan dollars.  oh the big decisions that must be made....

May 29, 2008

Summer I already?

The summer session already kicked off and I am chest deep in my Org Behavior class.  Because of China, I decided that taking this course online would be the best option, so I have this class online once a week for 90 minutes.

I have mixed feelings about it.  I am a traditional learner, someone who is not afraid to speak up in class and I really enjoy mingling and getting to know classmates as much as I do learning.  That social aspect is key to me... and much like in work, it creates this additional joy that makes the process that much better.  So, intereacting with all these "names" and strange voices doesn't do much for me.  I'm hesitant to say this, but I think the level of our discussions and the pace is much slower.  In our 90 minutes, there is a lot of blank text, a lot of quiet microphones and for me, the experience should be moving much faster or would move much faster in person.   Because it takes so long for everyone to warm up, I think the level of debate and discussion never moves past the basics. 

So, I am trying to keep an open mind and recognize that the class might speed up a bit, but after our third class, I just cant' see that happening.  I try to recognize that an online class might be an easier format for some of my more shy classmates to participate in.  But for me, it's more difficult and I don't think I am getting out of it what I had probably hoped to.  At this point, I don't really think that an entire MBA should be done online... the interaction and the overcoming fear of speaking in groups and learning to deal with different people is all just as important (ESPECIALLY if you want to be at a management level) as learning the nuts and bolts like accounting, ops, finance, marketing, etc.  Instead, it might be an option for people to still earn an MBA, while shying away from the everyday "challenges" that come from in class learning.

That's just my opinion though and my views on the online format should be remain just that- my views.  I think the online classes should be taken when your regular life takes you away from the ability to attend class in person.    I think anyone considering doing an entire MBA online should take one online class first and see how it fits to them.   It might suit you.  It might not.  But I would challenge anyone in the online program to ask this question:  Are you an online student because you're shying away from the in person courses?  Is it because you don't like participating in person?  Do you make up excuses about why it's not convenient to get to classes in Boston or one of the satellite campuses?  Because I think the in person aspect is crucial and if the drive to Boston (or otherwise) is hindering you there are other schools out there to consider that might be more efficient to your life.

Not that you shouldn't consider Suffolk, because it' s clearly the Best.  :)  I'm just saying...

May 21, 2008

CHINA!

China was everything I thought it was and more.  If you're for one second slightly pondering a global travel seminar course, DO IT!  Take the leap, spend the money and you'll be ever so glad you did.

I'm not going to lie- China was expensive.  I had to pay for an entire tuition AND another $3K for the trip itself, but every single penny was worth it.  Props to all involved at Suffolk for the planning- Michael Brown, Julia Frost and our Prof, Anders- because the planning was excellent.

We arrived in Beijing and were hosted by UIBE- a Chinese University.  Our first dinner was excellent and introduced us to Chinese style eating around a table with a lazy susan in the middle.  During our time in Beijing, we visited the Forbidden City (awesome!), the Temple of Heaven, Olympic Village (cool) and Ipsos Marketing Research Company.  But the true highlight was visiting the Great Wall of China. 

It was truly breathtaking.  The weather was gorgeous and we got to TOBOGGAN down the wall.  My only regret was that we only had 90 minutes at the wall... when I think all of us could have spent 4 or 5 hours there.  We felt a bit rushed.

Xi'an was a fantastic city- we upgraded accomadations to a beautiful hotel right in the city across the street from the famous Bell Tower.  We saw famous pagodas, a big temple and the highlight was definitely riding bikes (I rode a tandem one!) along the seven mile perimeter of a 600  year old City Wall.  Again, perfect weather.  Oh, we got to see the Terracotta Warriors as well- fascinating!

We couldn't have been luckily to have our professor leading the trip.  He is married to a Chinese woman who grew up in the countryside in a village about two hours from Xi'an.  We were fortunate enough to have her family host us for lunch one day, which provided us a rare opportunity to see how much of the Chinese population actually lives.  We're talking poor- outhouses, no central heat, kitchens that are manually powered and no showers.  The houses are so different from what we're used to- rooms are off of open courtyards and small.  Beds are built like ovens that heat themselves in the winter to keep warm.  This family made us all this spectacular noodle dish lunch- all by hand and it was defintely the best meal I had the entire 11 days I was there. 

It's amazing that people live like that, but we were told that to them, times are good.  There was a time when food wasn't always plentiful, but these days, they have food and some small conveinences and therefore life is good.  It's very different to see such a village, but it was very apparent how much of a "community" they were.  We were able to go into caves in which some people still live in and that was an unreal experience as well! 

We were prepped to be able to roll with the punches and to expect things to change and to be flexible.  We were tested a bit throughout the trip with our first "hotel", a Xi'an tour guide, a difficult business visit, but we were a bit rattled when on Monday, May 17th at 2:30 in the afternoon, an earthquake shook the ground beneath our feet. 

Most of us were on a bus at the time waiting for the last few students to get on, when the bus started rocking back and forth.  Many of us were confused at first and blamed the bus driver for yet again messing up (we hit another bus earlier in the day), but then quickly someone yelled earthquake and we evacuated the bus to stand in the open parking lot.  It was very odd to feel the earth rock and roll and wave underneath your feet.  It lasted about a minute and during that time, none of us really felt too much in danger.  We were in an open area, didn't appear that any of the buildings were coming down... so we just sort of rode it out.  Chinese people flooded out of every building and crowded into the street.  We crowded back in the bus to make an apprehensive trip to the planned company visit we had.  Due to the traffic and shock of the quake, a 10 minute trip turned into an hour.  During that hour, we just sort of sat on the bus and talked about what happened and our anxieties about going into a 30 story skyscraper for a company visit.  When we finally arrived to the skyscraper, we parked the bus right on the curb just outside the building.

That's when the scariest moment of the day happened.  As we pulled up and were about to deboard the bus, people came streaming out of the building with looks on their faces I won't soon forget.  Fear.  Complete fear.  Sitting there in the back of the bus, I feared that the building was coming down less than 30 yards from me.  It took one quick peek up to the sky to realize the building was in fact, not coming down, but it didn't matter.  People were running out of the building and I didn't want to sit in the back of the bus like a sitting duck.  We quickly got off the bus and ran into the middle of the street.  All seemed fine, but we would learn later that it was an aftershock. 

We talk and joke about emotional intelligence and at this point, the entire group was spent.  Completely utterly unable to work with anything else.  We did sit through the business presentation back at our hotel, but luckily it was short and sweet.  We wrote emails home to assure everyone we were okay and then craved some comforts of home.  Unfortunately Pizza Hut was closed, but a handful of us took KFC back to the hotel to have dinner and a few beers to try and relax a bit. 

Luckily, neither my roommate or I felt the aftershock that shook our hotel at 4 am that next morning.

Shanghai was an amazing city as well- loved the shopping and we enjoyed views from 350 meters up at the Oriental Pearl TV Tower.  It seemed less historic, more Western than Xi'an and Beijing- most likely because it's only been in the recent decades that this once sleeping fishing town has become a major economic center for China. 

So, from a business perspective (because that's what we were there for right!?) China is evolving to become a world player, but they have a long way to go.  Business and marketing models/strategies are a decade behind the US and China will have to work long and hard to overcome the way the rest of the world looks at them.  But the middle class is evolving, having more disposable income and thus are becoming a giant market for products beyond basic needs.  While China was still really cheap for us (bottled water was .30 cents and you could easily eat for under $4 at a sit down restaurant) I think that those days will soon end over the years.  They are growing so fast that I think someday the economy will catch up with ours and you won't find the cheap hidden jewels and perks of China that we did in our 11 days there.  It was crazy to see how the urban people live, compared to the rural folks... and then realize that I took the equivilent of one middle class monthly salary out of the ATM for a week of spending. 

Tip: if you ever go to China, bring toilet paper whereever you go, always have hand sanitizer and hand wipes- like Cottonelle.  The bathroom situations over there are horrendous.  You know it's bad when you go into a Chinese bathroom and PRAY that behind the door might be even the grossest gas station bathroom you have ever been in in the States.  I've never been so glad to see nice, clean Western toilets!

Bottom line:  Suffolk did an amazing job.  I can't wait to hopefully go on another one before I graduate in the next two years! 

April 29, 2008

I finished!!!!!!

Woo!  Okay, not yet... but I"m so close I can taste it!  Today is the most gorgeous day since (whatfeelslike) August 1999, so spring fever is in the air across the board! 

Last night I finished up my last IT class, so I can count that class done and over with!  WOO!  I just have one final left for marketing... and honestly, I'm not too worried about it.  If I can't pass a marketing final, I might as well just quit my career!  No, I will be studying, I just can't muster up the energy to do it just yet....

Twelve days until I leave for China.  We had our last class on Saturday and now it's just making final preparations before we go.  I have been practicing basic sayings with my Chinese coworkers... but I have a feeling it will be more of a novelty than anything of actual use!   I'll be blogging from China, I'm sure alongside with RunGirl- who happens to be my roommate- so stay tuned for the real life adventures of a global seminar course!!!

So... in all... to sort of wrap up my first year of grad school.  I completed (or will have) six courses + MBA 600, so I am a third of the way done throughout this entire experience.  It' s been filled with mixed feelings... super excitement  when I first registered and then started my first class... then excitement to start the semester and go head first in the experience, followed by a sense of drowning by going in head first.  I seriously did not want to come back after my first semester... but I did and I am SO glad I did.  The second semester was a total 180 AND I was way busier too, so go figure right?  Anyways, I think I have earned an easy summer and will look forward to starting another rigorous, but challenging and exciting, semester in the fall when I take on three courses!

I'm escaping the office early today!  Have a great day all!

April 09, 2008

27 days...

27 days until....

CHINA! 

That's right folks!  It's FINALLY coming!  In less than four short weeks, I'll be on a wicked long flight over the North Pole and Siberia (where the heck is Siberia really!?) and finally, landing in Beijing!  We had our first "official" China class on Friday night and it was where we got a ton of details regarding our travel and the trip itself.  The itinerary is really exciting!  The Suffolk program has done an amazing job is meticulously planning, but not planning too much that it takes away from the experience itself!  We're going to the Forbidden City, Tiananman Square, Olympic Village, Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall in Beijing.  Terracotta Warriors and Bell Towers in Xi'an.  A river cruise and Yu Gardens in Shanghai!  SO EXCITING!  Additionally, the corporations we are supposed to meet with sound fantastic- IKEA, Li Ning, Ogilvy & Mather (which I am personally looking forward to the most!)  Sounds action packed doesn't it? 

The students in the class all seem like a great bunch and my roommate and I are already planning on we can most efficiently pack potentially shared items.  My hair isn't long enough for a pony tail and though it only takes me about 30 minutes from shower to door, I need my beauty necessities!!

I'm sure I will say it when I get back, but I know I can say it now already:  this is going to be one of those trips that will make my entire MBA education.  Just like study abroad in undergrad, it's trips like these that help take students to the next level of the international scope of business this day in age.  Trips like these are one of the reasons that I chose Suffolk and I am hoping to be able to do the Dubai trip in January as well... if not in '09, maybe I could have that wrap up my last year in 2010.

Eww... just reminded myself that I am not graduating until 2010.  Doesn't that seem like a ridiculous ways away!?  In other news, I am pretty much all finished up with my IT class (which has been a JOY actually- I really like the class and case studies, much to my surprise.) and only have a final left for Marketing!  Spring semester is almost over!

Cheers to the SOX opener and to the spring arrival that just HAS to be around the corner right?

April 02, 2008

April Fool's!

Oy!  I cannot believe it's already April 1st!  It's been an interesting couple weeks.

School wise, it was nice to have a week off for "Spring Break", but when you work full time, there is no such thing as beach vacations to where ever it is that kids go these days.  It was just sort of nice not to have to really think about things school related for a week!   This mental vacation of sorts didn't last too long as I received news Monday the week of Spring Break that an extremely close family friend had been the victim of a homicide.  Entirely the most tragic situation I have ever had to deal with- burying someone who had been like an older brother to me growing up at the age of 33- much less when their life is taken so horrificly.  So anyways, it was one of those situations where I could not bear to be away from the family, so I flew home for my "spring break" to be there to support my brother as he said good bye to his best friend.  My brother gave the eulogy, just as he had given the toast at Josh's wedding.  It was truly touching, honored what a fantastic person Josh had been and there was not a dry eye in the chapel.   I was so proud of him!   Just another one of those circumstances that reinforce the fact that life can be short, and unfair, at times, so to live with zest and vigor and energy each day you have!   

So last week was sort of a rough transition week back for me- both in being gone for so many days, still heartbroken over our loss AND kicking back up with classes and a new office space!  It was all extremely overwhelming!  I had an IT presentation that went as well as it could for being last minute and I am happy with the grade, so check that one off!  I cannot believe we are down to just a handful of classes left!  Once I finish up this Case Study for Marketing that is due tomorrow that I am currently procrastinating on, I will have only a final left at 25% of my grade for marketing and only one more case write up for IT!  Weeee!  Home stretch!

China class gets into full gear this Friday night.  SO EXCITED.  Only 35 days and counting!  I have to finish reading my China book and write a book report before then, but that should be cake right?  (Right...) I"m so excited to meet the students going on the trip and just generally get psyched to go!  I think starting the class for it will make it seem more real!

Okay seriously, it's late.  Such is the life of a Full Time Work, Part Time MBA student.  Plan to make your new bedtime 12:30 am.  :) 

March 10, 2008

Daylight Savings time

We're cruising through this semester!  My marketing group worked super hard, presented our presentation and got our grade back last week- A!!!  A for awesome for sure.  We worked hard, were thorough and felt we definitely got a grade we deserved.  I have a take home midterm that was posted last night and is due on Wednesday for my IT class.  While it will take some time to pound out the essays, it's nothing too overwhelming.  And then next week is SPRING BREAK!  WOO!  In the undergrad days that meant going home for a week or somewhere fabulous, but these days it means a whole week of nights to myself!  However, I will have to do a decent amount of work, considering I have another presentation the week following week.   Oh well.

On the China front, my visa was denied because I lazily just printed off a 2 by 2 photo of myself rather than going and getting one done professionally.  Who knew the Chinese would be strict?  :)  Anyways, that is on my to do list for this week so that I can actually go to China!  We've not surpassed the two month mark in terms of countdown, and I have a feeling it's going to be here before we know it!  I started reading my China book and will eventually have to prepare and present a book report on it... however, the novel (that I chose from the professor provided list) is a little racy and is about a sexless relationship of a Shanghai woman.  Hmm... I have a feeling that unless I find a way to spin it, that I'll feel awkward presenting this book to the class!!!

A good friend of mine was recently accepted into a Masters in Creative Writing program at a different school.  I asked how many classes she was going to take and she said, four.  FOUR!?!?!  And she wants to work full time?  My advice to her was ease into grad school otherwise it's very easy to find oneself overwhelmed with the sudden and drastic change in social life and routine.  I don't know if I swayed her, but yikes... she'll drop off the face of the earth with that work load. 

Daylight savings time, while welcome in the summer, is always difficult that first Monday morning.  :)  Have a great week!

February 26, 2008

relaxation

holy crap- this was by far the best weekend I have had in AGES!  I stayed in on Friday and Saturday and holed up with a ridiculous amount of movies.  I slept about 10 or 12 hours each night.  I went to the gym.  I did homework.  I read.  I pounded away at my to do list.  I ran errands.  It was AWESOME.  Then last night I actually went out and enjoyed a few drinks in the company of a good looking man, who hopefully in turn sees me as wonderfully and fabulous as I see myself.  :)

And because class was cancelled on Friday- I am actually a week ahead in one of my classes, so that's great.  It means a presentation I was scheduled for got pushed back, which normally I might be excited for extra time, but I was looking forward to get it dunzo and over with.  Oh well.  Also got my tax returns back and now I need to transfer those moneys from Uncle Sam to Grandpa Suffolk for my China trip and wash my hands clean of that giant expense!

Here's to another productive week!

February 22, 2008

Like a little kid

I have to admit, this morning, I immediatley turned on the TV and just like when I was a child, waited impatiently for the school closing announcements to SLOWLY scroll through.  I mean, why is it that WBZ has them scroll so slowly?  M... N.... O.... P.... Q... R... PLEASE, PLEASE let class be cancelled tonight- and then there is was- Suffolk University, closing at 1 pm.

WOO HA!!! 

Due to the Presidents Day Holiday, my Tuesday class was scheduled for tonight, but I'm very excited to have my Friday night back.  I cannot wait to go home, pop in a movie and watch the snow fall from the safety and warmth of my house.   I am all caught up in my readings, my case write ups and my group project is coming along nicely.  I feel pretty solid about school right now.

I am getting more and more excited about China- been talking to a lot of people about it and yesterday went to the doctor to get a start on my immunizations.  Unfortunately, they decided that One Stop Shopping at the Travel Clinic at MGH would be more conveinent since they have all the vaccinations (including Rabies. RABIES!?  Yikes!).  I hate needles, so I'm not looking forward to that, but I guess it's what I have to do to go to China....

So anyways, slow school week- things should be back to normal next week!

February 15, 2008

TGIFriiidayyyy!

YAY!  It's Friday!  Sometimes the weekend, esp a three day one, can't come soon enough!

I know all of you were on the edges of your seats with anxiety that I might procrastinate all my China materials, but *big shocker* I buckled down and did it all on Wednesday and handed it in on Wednesday night before class.  I checked boxes, wrote numbers and info and then read the cover sheet, had to go back, white out a whole bunch and check new boxes.  It's like the time I decided I was above the IKEA directions on my new TV stand and I ended up with the top on backwards and some pressed wood showing in the front.  (And yes, I just left it the way it was, this wasn't as official and important as a China visa!)  Point is:  read first, then act.  I finally chose a book, which I promptly researched and discovered that the BPL has on file. All in all, I am glad to have that off my plate!

I am off to the MBA Edge Networking Event at FELT tonight.  I am looking forward to socializing with some of my classmates!

I need an afternoon caffeine jolt, so I am off in search off a fix.  Have a great weekend!

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