Introduction, Giants, Elections …

Wow, those are some great introductions. Welcome Archit, Jennifer and Joann. You guys have a fun few years of blogging in front of you, savor every minute of it (Uhh…that’s probably my senioritis kicking in).

Here’s my brief intro keeping with the introduction season. My name is Divyang Agrawal (Div). I started my 3rd year this fall and am hoping to graduate next year. When I started school back in ‘08, one of my goals was to really enjoy the Haas experience, academic and more importantly the amazing world outside of academia. In the past 26 months I’ve lived my goals by engaging in a variety of endeavors. From being the editor of eZine, the EWMBA magazine, to running for office as an executive member of the EWMBA association; from taking voluntary consulting assignments to finding myself stranded on the beach after a late night “field expedition”. Haas is now a part of my life, and my family’s life, what with my son being born 3 days before the Core Finance Exam. Now that was some timing. I should add that my first year Finance Prof was very understanding 🙂 If I ramble more it’s going to sound like a retirement speech and there’s still time for that so let’s move on.

So I have classes Wed (Corporate Finance, which incidentally has a midterm next week) and Sat (Negotiations). Today, the Negotiations class was in South Bay allowing me to watch the entire NLCS Game6 after a short ride back home. The Giants really tried to make things difficult for themselves but finally came through. I am not a big baseball follower. Back in 2002 when the Giants last entered the World Series, I didn’t really appreciate the game having come to the US less than a year earlier. Over the years I started understanding some of the nuances but most recently I think it’s the sweeping Giants fever that has just made me a convert.

The Giants are celebrating today and hopefully they’ll be celebrating even more in another 2 weeks. The upcoming midterm elections will also have quite a people celebrating by that time. Our own Haas EWMBA Association election winners will only get to celebrate by 2nd week of November though. Every year the Haas student community elects its four executive officers (President, VP, Treasurer and Secretary). This year’s slate is now out and we have 10 candidates in the fray. Good luck to all of them. For my fellow bloggers, make sure to vote once the elections open next week. This is a great tradition and these 10 people have stepped up to challenge the status quo and make a difference in our Haas experience. Please encourage your friends, project mates, classmates to exercise their franchise and choose the next executive team at Haas. And don’t be surprised if some of these candidates show up for campaigning in your next class!

One month into fall…

Summer got over in a flash and Fall Semester’s already a month in. It’s starting to kick in that the promised land of graduation is really a few corners around.

One of the classes I took in the spring was Competitive Strategy. Btw, this is going to be a “core” class starting class of 2013 (it’s already a “core” class for the FT-MBA program). For my 2nd year colleagues, I would strongly recommend taking this elective as it helps tie together most if not all of the different functional areas covered during core (Micro, Macro, Finance, Accounting…). It was a semester long class, entirely case based. We evaluated how companies tried to gain and sustain competitive advantage, and analyzed moves made by companies such as MSFT, INTC, AAPL, WMART, etc. Over the summer I got a great opportunity to apply some of these concepts in a project I did with one of the top tech companies in the Bay Area, with their corporate strategy team. Two things helped me get this assignment, contacts with Haas alums and the Haas brand. It was a crazy busy summer with work kicking up a notch and the strategy assignment taking as much time as regular school.

The fall classes are off to a steady start but there’s a lot going on campus as well. For instance, the final Haas@work engagement before the program becomes a “3-credit” class starting spring has generated some debate. On the plus side, semester long commitment will give participants enough time to not only thrash ideas but also actively engage in the execution phase. On the other side of the debate is the loss of one of “free” programs. Regardless of the debate the program itself brings a lot of value (I was involved in a Haas@Work engagement this past spring).

The EWMBA Association events are also picking up and we have a packed schedule of Academic, Social, Alum and Career Services activities. Just completed our mid-year kick-off where each of the committees presented a mid-term report card. It’s amazing to see the level of commitment from the folks who’ve stepped up to drive the association and help make a difference during our stay at Haas. This is despite balancing family, school and work lives. A big shout out for them.

More on EWMBAA in the next post as we prepare for our annual elections coming up in November….

Spring break and more…

Spring break was much needed R&R. Went to Mendocino with the family for a few days. No TV, no Internet, no Cell-phone, no Computer. I think last time I was this removed from the “normal” life for more than a couple of days was when my son was born. Although that certainly did not qualify as R&R 🙂

We got a vacation rental just South of Mendocino on CA-1. Here are a couple of pictures taken from inside the house, at 3 AM and 3PM. Breathtaking view, not for nothing is the California Coastline the envy of all and sundry.

Back in the world of fun and frolic things picked up right away. My Comp Strategy group has a Case write up due Wed and am gonna review the case for my Sunday AM meeting as soon as I post this. I also wrapped up one of my 1-unit classes the week before the break. This was my first class with the FT program. Btw, EW students can apply to the classes on the FT schedule and are admitted depending on availability..

On the non-academic front, the EWMBA Association had a kick-off meeting since my last post. And like Tim, I forgot to capture all the energy in the room despite having a camera in my backpack. If you’re curious, there are 8 functional committees in the association which drive various student government activities with the help of the Program Office and the Executive Committee (Pres, VP, et al). Some of these activities are Technology adoption in the program, Communication, Admissions support, Alumni outreach, etc. It was a successful event and a great networking opportunity over some pizzas and presentations.

Six Weeks and counting for the Summer Break. (Although for our third year classmates this is more than your usual break, no?)

The Start of A New Semester

It sounds like Deanne and Tim had awesome trips. I went to Hong Kong and Macau too and stuffed myself silly with tons of good food, but didn’t manage to bump into Tim.

I also finished reading a book during break (something I don’t normally do if it’s not a book listed in my syllabus for the semester) and to get my car tuned up for commuting this semester.

While the first year evening folks have already been in classes for the last few weeks, my first class isn’t until this Thursday. I’ve signed up for Pricing and Entrepreneurship (and yes, reading our blog has made me realize it’s going to be a busy semester). The relaxing part of January is going to be over soon as I start reading case studies again.

Also, as Tim mentioned, we have new executive team members (including our very own Div), so I’m busy planning the upcoming EWMBAA Leadership Appreciation Dinner for last year’s hard working volunteers as well as planning for the transition meeting to hand off everything to the new President. It’s amazing to think how quickly the last year passed by and how many academic, social, and other events have taken place. I will definitely cherish the memories of being part of the EWMBAA leadership team and hope many of you reading this might consider volunteering once you become part of Haas.

Back and trying to get over the first year hangover…

It’s officially autumn and we’re already a month into the fall term for the 2nd/3rd years. And I thought 1st year flew by 🙂

I am a 2nd year student, used to be a Gold (Tue/Thu) last year although this year I have a combination of evening and weekend electives. Part of the reason for my switch is that work has become more hectic and I can’t take off early as often. I work with a South Bay based Hi Tech company as an engineer/technical manager. Another factor for this transition was that during the 1st year I found myself missing more than a few events during the weekdays. I am hoping to alleviate this with my weekend classes this fall.

Taking 4 classes in the fall, although it’s still a net of 6 credits. The good part is that the classes are staggered so that at no point of time I have to manage all four simultaneously. In fact I’ve only been balancing managerial accounting past few weeks. M&A and Risk Management start next weekend while Designing Financial Models won’t start for another 4 weeks.

I have also been involved in a few extra-curricular activities at Haas since my first year. I am a co-chair of the EWMBAA communications committee and am one of the editors of the eZine, the EWMBA newsletter. While I was apprehensive about whether I’d be able to manage this additional involvement during 1st year, in hindsight it was great to be a part of the thriving EWMBA student government. Folks involved in this effort work hard to make our experience as EWMBA students better. My colleagues find time from their busy lives and drive initiatives to improve our experience as Haas students, whether it’s academic or social or technological or …you get my drift. EWMBAA elections are around the corner and my suggestion to the first years is to try and get involved. At the very least, see if you can volunteer for one of the committees.

In one of my previous posts I promised to compile my top-n experiences from the 1st year. Here’s my top5 aha moments from the 1st year, in no particular order.

• Communications Class: Experience of a life-time! This two-Sunday class was an ice-breaker and helped our cohort really connect with each other. Prof Rittenberg and his GSI’s were great.
• Workshops: Haas Career Services organizes more than a hundred workshops over the course of an academic year. Some of these are soft-skill workshops (work-life balance) while others are hard-core quant/excel domain workshops like “Training the Street” focused on financial modeling for valuation/LBO/M&A etc.
• Parties/Henrys/Jupiter/Bennigans: Our cohort had an end-of-the-year party in the city. Good old-fashioned bar-hopping/clubbing through the night. At various times we sneaked out to Henrys during the class break. Or shared a laugh after class in the South Bay shuttle and finally ended up at Bennigans at 11 in the night after a long day. Work hard, play very hard!
• Course Projects: Almost half of my first year courses had group projects. Good opportunity to work with a diverse set of smart people. We accomplished a lot but more importantly built long lasting relationships.
• Not just surviving, but smelling the roses: Work, school(academics+extracurriculars), partying, family(first-baby!), I’m glad to have not just survived, but enjoyed every moment of it.

  …until later,

  Div

Grillin' & Chillin'

There’s nothing like a BBQ to indicate that summer is really here. The EWMBA Association (EWMBAA) sponsored a BBQ at Coyote Point in San Mateo last week. That means that students from the EWMBAA Social Committee organized the event location, volunteers, food, etc.

It was sunny weather with a strong breeze.
There were the usual hot dogs and hamburgers and lots of refreshing beverages for all to enjoy. It was a great way for families to spend some time together, for the kids to play on the huge play structure, and for fellow students to catch up.

To start off the event, the class of 2010 held a soccer match, part of the South Bay vs. San Francisco Battle that has been ongoing between students – sometimes its poker, sometimes its flag football, but today, it was soccer. Amy, our EWMBAA secretary, was out there representing the ladies and she really kicked some butt, even knocking down one of the guys! Go Amy!!

Thanks for organizing EWMBAA Social Committee! A fun time was had by all.

Grillin’ & Chillin’

There’s nothing like a BBQ to indicate that summer is really here. The EWMBA Association (EWMBAA) sponsored a BBQ at Coyote Point in San Mateo last week. That means that students from the EWMBAA Social Committee organized the event location, volunteers, food, etc.

It was sunny weather with a strong breeze.
There were the usual hot dogs and hamburgers and lots of refreshing beverages for all to enjoy. It was a great way for families to spend some time together, for the kids to play on the huge play structure, and for fellow students to catch up.

To start off the event, the class of 2010 held a soccer match, part of the South Bay vs. San Francisco Battle that has been ongoing between students – sometimes its poker, sometimes its flag football, but today, it was soccer. Amy, our EWMBAA secretary, was out there representing the ladies and she really kicked some butt, even knocking down one of the guys! Go Amy!!

Thanks for organizing EWMBAA Social Committee! A fun time was had by all.

Elections@Haas

It has been a historic election year, but elections are just now coming to Haas!! The EWMBA association and various clubs are holding their elections this month to establish the leadership teams for the next year. You may have read or heard that at Haas it’s all about collaboration, but did you know that this is really embodied in the way the leadership teams for different student run organizations are setup. Each association strives to elect a “Co-President”. We believe in sharing even the most coveted positions, and believe in listening to other opinions. Personally I feel this provides a great balance between decision-by-committee and my-way-or-highway.

The election process starts when platforms are invited for different positions up for grabs. Each candidate whether it’s for a co-president, vice-president (and there are a few of these such as vp-careers, vp-alumni, vp-communications, vp-admissions, and so on depending on the type of organization) or one for any other position, is required to submit his/her vision for the position and a game plan for the next year. This “platform” is then sent out along with the candidate’s background to the registered voters. This year almost all of the elections have been online via surveymonkey type of tools. Each candidate has tried to differentiate him or her (self) during this process and watering holes like Henry’s and Jupiter have been witnesses to “socials” where some of these platforms have been articulated. In fact I’ve had the opportunity to talk to a few candidates who were camped out in front of Jimmy Fifo’s café during evening breaks. All in all, a very exciting process with a real attempt to engage students across the spectrum of Haas’ current batches.

Election platforms did bring out some of the populist concerns shared by EWMBA students. There are some which can be mitigated with the help of school authorities – improving air conditioning, moving the video-taping from its current pre-historic setup to something which is more cognizant of the Haas brand. But there are still others which really require student commitment – networking between the 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students, forums for interaction between current students and alums and so on. At any point of time, there are over 700 students in the EWMBA program from hundreds of organizations in and around the bay area. Wouldn’t it be exciting to talk to someone who’s already working in an industry or profession that you want to target as a potential career destination?

Anyway, before I end, I want to wish all the candidates a big Haas “Good Luck”! I know the students and staff appreciate the passion and the willingness to change the status quo ya’ll have exhibited by throwing your hat in the ring. And to all the other EWMBAers, no matter who you vote for, make sure you vote. Take the time to read the platforms, and talk to the candidate if you have any questions or concerns. These are the people who will be driving issues which impact your daily lives.

– Div

EWMBAA Updates

This year the EWMBAA leadership has started a weekly newsletter and a blog to keep communication channels open. The Blog is hosted at http://www.haasewmbaa.com/ . The blog also contains links to individual committe pages. The blog will give a great “insiders” view to all the things going on at Haas.

Cheers … dutta:)

EWMBAA

Like every other group or organization, Haas has its own alphabet soup of acronymns. And this one is a mouthful. The Evening and Weekend MBA Association (EWMBAA) is comprised of students who try to aid, inform, and serve as a resource to the EWMBA students at Haas – that’s over 700 people.

Fellow bloggers Dutta and Diana, as well as myself, are all members of the EWMBAA committees. If you miss student government and helping make your school a better place, the EWMBAA offers a multitude of committees that cover Admissions, Academic Affairs, Communications, Career Services, Alumni Affairs, Community Service, and of course, Social Events (because we need to have proper school – work – life balance too! and we can’t let the full timers have all the fun).

Many of us are working hard to make Haas an even better place for existing students and to continue to draw the best and brightest prospective students to the program (that’s you!). So visit the EWMBAA website to meet the executive team and all of the committee members and check out our one stop shop for information.