A Closing Reflection of Graduate School

A Closing Reflection of Graduate School

December 14, 2007

Ever since I started college as an undergraduate student, I knew that I wanted to go back to school right away for my Masters degree.

I did everything that I thought I needed to do in preparation.

I aimed for high grades. I studied and took the GMAT exam. I took on a double major and completed it in four years. I got involved with many clubs on campus and even took on leadership roles within them.

I met with someone from the graduate admissions department of Suffolk, as I was already a student there. She told me what they look for in an applicant and how I could work to get to that point.

I was also told about something great that Suffolk offers. If you score a ‘B’ or higher in the core classes as an undergraduate student, then those courses will be waived.

That is equivalent to getting eight courses waived total. For someone like me who was not set up for employer reimbursements and wanted to finish my degree in a relatively short period of time, that sounded like an excellent opportunity!

I ended up applying to two other schools in addition to Suffolk University. When I received my acceptance letter from Suffolk, that sealed my future!

I was elated when I got the acceptance letter. I feel like my undergraduate experience at Suffolk has changed me so much for the better that I really wanted to continue my education there.

So that’s what I did.

My first semester began in the Fall of 2006.

I was nervous to get started, to be quite honest. I was able to get six courses waived, so I anticipated to graduate within a year and a half.

At the time, I did not really know anybody who was currently attending or recently finished graduate school. Though now, I know of a ton of people in that situation.

My very first class was my business law class. The whole layout for the course just seemed so intimidating. There was a lot of reading involved, in addition to a presentation, a midterm examination, and a final paper. When I say that a lot of reading was involved, I’m talking about packets of one hundred or more pages each class that needed to be read by the following class.

I took four classes during my first semester, as well as the MBA 600 requirement.

MBA 600 was a great way to get started in program. I wish I had taken on a more active and leading role from the beginning, which is something that I’m going to remember for the next time I’m in a similar situation.

Throughout the semester, I was required to attend MBA EDGE sessions. Those sessions provided a lot of helpful tips that I certainly used during my time in graduate school.

For my second semester, I signed up for fifteen credits, which came out to six classes.

I took my first online course, which I enjoyed very much. We participated through means of chat participation, a discussion board, papers, exams, and even a group presentation.

The one class that I was the most excited about was the Global Seminar to China. I had never been to Asia previously and it seemed like a great opportunity to learn about the culture and business in China.

After finals closed, I left for China with my class for two weeks. It was an incredible life-changing experience for me. Really and truly.

I got the opportunity to see so much, from historical sites to various businesses, from the rich side of the city to passing through the poor rural areas.

While we were there, one of the students in my class handled a lot of the communication. She was of Chinese descent and spoke the language, and she was definitely a great asset to the class! She really inspired me to learn the language of my ancestors, which prompted me to sign up for a Polish language class when I returned home.

I signed up for another online course in the summer, while I worked full-time. I also went on interview after interview trying to find the right job for me. I feel like I went on thirty interviews. Towards the end I was getting really frustrated, until I went to one interview and everything just clicked.

I received a job offer in October, just as I was in the midst of my final semester. It’s a great company with great benefits that is going to provide me with the experience that I need in my field. My first day was November 5, 2007. Everything there has been great ever since.

For the Fall 2007 semester, I only took three classes. But I have to say that it is probably one of most stressful semesters I have had.

I felt like I was in over my head with one class because I was not familiar with the subject matter and it was not something that I have ever worked with. I put a lot of time and energy into that class. It was very demanding because we had a lot of homework assignments, chat participation, discussion board participation, a midterm examination, a term paper, and a final examination.

I guess my efforts paid off because I did better in that class than I thought I would.

Now I have just finished my finals. I have completed all of the requirements for graduate school.

It’s such a great feeling of accomplishment knowing that I have been able to achieve my goal of obtaining my MBA degree.

It has not always been easy. I have been stressed out a great deal. I have felt overwhelmed. But I have stuck through everything and took it all step by step.

There were things that have happened in my personal life that have made things very difficult at times. My uncle lost his battle with cancer in February of 2007 and passed away. My mother has been continuing her fight with cancer and has gone through a couple of major surgeries.

On the plus side, I was able to get a new job that I have enjoyed very much since I have started. I got myself a new SUV, that I have definitely enjoyed driving a lot more than my old car. Things are coming into place for me.

If anyone is interested, here is the list of courses that I have taken:

• Effective Career Planning
• Economic Analysis for Managers
• Corporate Financial Reporting and Control
• Managing in the Ethical and Legal Environment
• Leadership and Team Building
• Business in India
• Business in China
• Global Seminar: China
• Managing in the Global Environment
• Money & Capital Markets
• Human Resource Management
• Investment Analysis
• Special Topics: Private Capital Markets
• Options and Futures
• Strategic Management

It was a lot of hard work, but I’m glad that I did it. I think time management is key.

I have already seen how having an MBA degree can benefit my career.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my classes. I really feel like it was the extra bit of education that I needed. From this point, I really want to work on building up my work experience.

I’m looking forward to receiving my diploma in January and walking across the stage during commencement in May.

Thank you, Suffolk University, for giving me the opportunity to enhance my education. It has been a great experience.

Best of luck to future and current students.

Congratulations to the Class of 2008!

Happy Holidays!

Best Regards,

DiamondS

Comments

[dissertation write up]

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[Kimi Stremmings]

Whoa. You certainly did quite a lot of work, but you're right: time management is the key. The 'real world' can be a pretty busy place, and you need to be capable of handling the pace. All the stuff you've studied, the tests you've taken, prepare you for that.