Student Life Blog

On Wednesday night, I had the pleasure of attending the Extraordinary Achievement Award ceremony which honored MBAs who went above and beyond the minimum requirements of being an Illinois MBA student. There were 18 students nominated, each of whom have engaged in outstanding personal acts, impacted the community or impacted the MBA program. I was lucky to be one of the nominees, excited to be honored for all of my hard work and dedication to the program.

Those of us in the Illinois MBA program have a lot to be thankful for--an excellent education, wonderful friends and family, many job prospects and more. In order to show how thankful we are for the things we have, Illinois MBA students like to give back to the Champaign-Urbana community and other communities as often as possible. Prior to Thanksgiving break, MBA students participated in a number of events that benefitted the community, including donating food to a university-wide food drive, helping the Eastern Illinois Food Bank pack food and raising awareness of the Lakota Nation through the student-founded Kola Foundation.

Case competitions are one of the many chapters that an Illinois MBA can add to her or his story while in the MBA program. During a case competition, MBA students are given the opportunity work on a team to present their solutions to company problems and compete against other schools and other teams doing the same. First-year MBA student, Jaren Gaddi was on a case competition team for Nielsen in which his team won. Jaren has a background in retail pharmacy operations and is currently concentrating in Finance and Strategic Management. I had the opportunity to interview Jaren regarding his experience at the Nielsen Case Competition.

In the first-year MBA ethics class, we often heard our professor state that her goal in life was to leave things better than she found them. This thought embodies the MBA Service Association and the projects that they participate in throughout the year. The MBA program is only two years long and many of us come from miles away, moving furniture, family and lives to Champaign-Urbana to start a new adventure as MBA students'we can only hope that we leave this community better than how we found it.

As we are deep into the second quarter for the first-year MBAs and quickly approaching Thanksgiving Break, I decided to sit down with Matt Foreman, a first-year MBA, to check in with him on how the semester is going so far. Matt has a background in aquatics management and has even traveled the world as an Assistant Cruise Director. He is planning on concentrating in general management while in the Illinois MBA Program. Heres what he had to say about his experience as an Illinois MBA:

This weekend proved to be a busy one for the MBA program. Friday night started with an event solely for females interested in pursuing an Illinois MBA. Around 17 women from all over the country traveled to Champaign to take an in-depth look at the MBA program.

To celebrate the coming of fall and the exciting times that Halloween brings, the MBA Association, which is the student government organization of the Illinois MBA program, hosted a festive get-together at Curtis Orchards. Curtis Orchards is located on the outskirts of Champaign and offers private pavilions to roast s'mores and hot dogs on open fires, as well as hayrides around the farm and pumpkins that one can hand-pick from the pumpkin patch. The MBAs decided that Sunday afternoon following the Midwest Career Fair would be the perfect time to enjoy the crisp fall air and participate in all that Curtis Orchards has to offer.

On October 21, the Illinois MBA realized the fruits of its labor: the Midwest Career Fair was finally starting. This event was a means to bring together the top MBA schools in the Midwest and top tier companies who appreciate the talent that the Midwest has to offer. As the website for the Midwest Career Fair states, "This career fair encourages meaningful connections both with employers and other candidates. Use this as an opportunity to grow your professional network" (midwestmba.com). 11 MBA programs (including the Illinois MBA) and 39 top tier companies agreed and used the Midwest Career Fair to garner employment and to grow their professional networks.

For today's edition of the Student Life Blog, we will finish up our recap of the 2011 National Black MBA Conference, which took place last week in Atlanta.

During the first week in October, MBA students from around the world flocked to Atlanta, GA to participate in the National Black MBA Conference festivities. Centered in the popular metropolitan area, Atlanta offered a large amount of additional exposure with companies such as Coca-Cola and Georgia Pacific residing in the city. As I had the pleasure of traveling to Atlanta to experience the conference first hand, I wanted to share my accounts with you in this edition of the Student Life Blog.

The majority of MBA students return to school to make a transition to other industries or to advance themselves in their existing industries. As the career search process continues beyond general interest, students will inevitably encounter the interview and in some cases several rounds of interviews. In consulting with our excellent Business Career Services professionals and various human resource professionals at Fortune 500 companies, I have compiled five key points of emphasis to excel in your interview.

As the interviewing season and associated conference season get underway, MBA students have begun traveling to various regions of the country in search of employment and enriching experiences. Both internship and career seekers ready themselves to impress potential employers at the career fairs and interviews of the national conferences. During September 15-17, MBA students flocked to Austin, Texas saturating the Irving Convention Center for the 2011 National Association of Women MBAs National Conference.

One of the features on which the Illinois MBA program hangs its hat is the ability of students to gain valuable work experience while earning their advanced degrees. A plethora of organizations and opportunities exist for students in which they may immerse themselves and add to their overall experience. Yesterday, the annual MBA Experiential Learning Fair occupied the Business Instructional Facility's atrium in an effort to motivate students to venture outside of the classroom for education.

As students return to school and become acclimated with their daily routines of going to class, meeting with groups, and preparing for tests, a portion of their attention focuses on their career searches. In preparing a strategy for an effective career search, students often block off dates on their calendars to attend one or multiple career fairs. For today's installment of the Student Life Blog, we will examine how to construct a productive strategy, so when you attend your next career fair, you can have a plan.

Throughout the summer, I detailed MBA 2 students' internship experiences. While we have heard from students within the human resource, finance, and project management functions, among others, I wanted to take this edition of the Student Life Blog as an opportunity to share my internship experience with you.

From the moment students enter the Illinois MBA program, the subject of the career search becomes a hot topic. Students want to know how to obtain one, and the Illinois MBA wants to educate students on how to acquire one. The career search initially commences with the internship search in the first year. Today, we will highlight five ways to assist in the journey to an internship.

One of the phenomenal options that students can utilize to enrich their Illinois MBA experience lies in case competitions. These contests provide students with complex real world problems to solve and present before a panel of judges, who select a winner. Case competitions also frequently offer opportunities for extraordinary networking and a chance to showcase ones ability in front of prominent employers!

At the midpoint of the week, the third day focused on career mapping and team building. Students were divided into two groups, which rotated between meeting with the phenomenal Business Career Services team and team building exercises.

Following the exciting kick-off to the 2011 Illinois MBA Orientation, the action continued on Tuesday! Students enjoyed an entertaining and informative etiquette presentation by the captivating Patricia Cook.

Monday welcomed 123 new, diverse students into the Illinois MBA family, as the 2011 orientation events commenced. The first day, which began at 8 a.m., contained numerous informative events. These events included addresses from Dean Larry DeBrock and Dean Stig Lanesskog and tours of Illinois beautiful campus and state of the art Business Instructional Facility, concluding with a night of bowling!

It's about that time again! The Chambana community has begun its annual August growth, as students return and ready themselves for another scholastic year. In the realm of the Illinois MBA, the conclusion of the summer symbolizes completed internships, summer experiences, and the induction of the new class into our beloved program.

How do we best acquire valuable knowledge? Is it from our teachers? Is it from reading, or is it from other people and experiences? In my humble opinion, total utilization of the available information sources serve best in not only our education but also our learning. As the climate of business continuously migrates to an international arena, one's ability to learn and relate to other cultures holds vital importance now more than ever.

A unique attribute of the Illinois MBA lies in the students' ability to create their own personal experience. A return trip to school provides students with the dynamic opportunity to participate in neglected activities from undergrad, and along with one's academic curriculum, students may customize their extracurricular menu. Today, we will discuss a few great ways YOU can get involved as an Illinois MBA!

Meet Jon Chan. Chan, who earned his bachelor's degree at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business in Computer Information Systems, hails from Chicago, IL. In addition to his academic load, Mr. Chan participates in extracurricular activities in various capacities. Serving as the president of Net Impact, an organization striving to involve in riding the trend of corporate social responsibility and long term sustainability, and CMO for the KOLA Foundation has assisted in readying him for a career in the corporate social responsibility field. AND on top of that, Jon Chan recently became engaged! A round of applause, please.

Following Illinois MBA students matriculation through the rigorous first year curriculum, the majority of the class gears up for the customary summer internship. While not required by the school, most students allocate a significant portion of time during the school year to land the best internship possible in the area of business they plan to pursue. These summer internships present a proverbial golden opportunity to enter into the corporation of your choice, make an impact while there, and garner a full time job offer after its conclusion. The core purpose of these internships lies in ones ability to shape their job experience and showcase their ability to contribute in a real world environment. Students who accept internship offers receive them from companies ranging in size from start-ups to Fortune 100, offering significant exposure to high profile organizations, a big plus for joining Illinois MBA.