The International Food Festival is, for me, the best event of the year at Darden. I missed writing about it last year and had to give it a quick mention this time around.
A visitor to the IFF can look forward to an evening of all you can eat food from all you can imagine countries with great ‘talent performances' to finish the day. Last year, the Indian contingent beat over 30 countries to win the ‘Best Food’ and ‘Best Performance’ categories. It was a great experience being part of a totally different team challenge.
This year the event was even bigger with more prizes. The judges were select faculty and partners who lurked amongst the over 400 visitors. The official winners for the event were:
Best Food – Brazil & Texas
Best Decoration – India & Pakistan
Best Costume - Japan
Best Performance – Korea & Team Africa
Frankly, the judges must have had a very hard time deciding the winners amongst the great food and performances. I still can’t point out for certain which country was the best in any of the categories. The Passion Fruit Mousse was for me the pick of the day as I kept returning to the Brazil stall for more. I am anxiously awaiting the recipe book being put together from the event, this book’s going to be so much better than the casebooks.
Kudos to the International Business Society for organizing the IFF, such a great time!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Beginning of the MBA World Cricket??
By now I’ve explained what cricket is way too many times to start doing it again here … refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket for more on that. You probably know what MBA and World mean. So let’s talk about the beginning …
In early May, Fuqua (I will credit them to be the founders to MBA World Cricket) reached out to us to start the first ever inter-MBA cricket tournament. We had just concluded the Darden first year vs second year cricket game, with the first years emerging victorious in a close game. I was excited at the idea but since we were nearing the end of first year and heading out to internships we promised to co-ordinate over the summer and making it happen early fall.
Over the summer we scheduled a triangular tournament for Sept 5th in Durham between Darden, Fuqua and Kenan-Flagler. However, Kenan-Flagler cited difficulty in forming a team due to smaller size of cricket-playing community and pulled out soon. Back at Darden, we were planning to redraft the team to include fresh first year students. At the very first TNDC (Thursday Night Drinking Club), Laura Pearson (our President) told me that it’s possible for us to get funding from school if organize trials open to everyone at Darden. I was excited at the opportunity to raise awareness for the game on campus. The trials were well attended by experienced cricketers as well as people who wanted to learn the game. Given the high degree of interest, I corresponded with Fuqua to see if each of us could field two teams. The purpose of B team was to give interested people an opportunity to experience a game setting. We shortened the format of the games to have enough time for driving down and playing the two games, Darden A vs Fuqua A and Darden B vs Fuqua B.
On game day, 22 players and 5 supporters carpooled for a 3 hour drive down to Durham. Darden sported whites, while Fuqua wore blue. The A teams squared-off first, followed by the B teams. Darden A beat Fuqua A convincingly, while Darden B showed considerable grit while going down against Fuqua B. Personally, the results were really secondary to the fact that we were using cricket as a platform to interact across schools. However, we had some really passionate kids on the teams and we always had it at the back of our minds that we’re representing Darden.
The Darden Huddle
Below are highlights from the games: Fuqua A 115 all out in 15 overs (Navin 46, Shweth 27, Nishant 3/30) lost to Darden A 116/5 in 10.2 overs (Sameer Sayed 51 not out, Ankush Kaul 22, Divye Rawat 2/19)
The Victorious Darden A Team
The Darden B Team
(Pictures Courtesy Sania Chaudhry)
At this point, I would like to mention my appreciation towards Jeff Peo and Elvis Rodriguez for taking up the challenge and performing well for the A and B teams respectively. And a special thanks to our supporters who followed us to Durham to cheer the team.
It was a great experience interacting with the Fuqua community. In the Spring of 2010, we plan to invite Fuqua and a few other east coast schools for a bigger event at Darden. We’re all excited about it. This could very well be beginning of the MBA World Cricket!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Where's the summer at?
We’re back at Darden, as Second Years this time around. Getting used to coming to school at our own sweet time, being senior members of the Darden community, and always finding the café and learning team rooms occupied. I am loving it except that the summer seems to have been curtailed by school, the stretch of recent cold days hasn’t helped either.
I loved the flexibility I enjoyed this summer, spending most of my time working remotely as a strategy consulting associate. I would have loved to be somewhere other than Charlottesville for the summer, but overall the last few months turned out pretty well for me.
My first non-engineering experience happened to be the development of an international market-entry strategy for a consumer products company. It was great to get an insight into how consulting works, particularly the softer, psychological aspect that we encounter once we go past the hypotheses and the analyses.
I got to meet and experience the Charlottesville locals that come out in droves during the summer, the only time when UVA students retreat, to enjoy this beautiful town. It’s sunny, there’s great food, great music and sports. Talking of sports, I finally got around to learning golf at the Meadowcreek. I was happy that I was hitting pretty well, 300+ yard drives on the very first day, till a buddy pointed out 'drive for show, putt for dough'. Putting is indeed harder than it looks!
My weekends were relatively free and I used them to play cricket. I love this sport – the sound of leather on willow tingles my bones – and I thought I had retired when I came to b-school. But I was back, I travelled all over, enjoyed every bit of it. I am grateful but I don’t think I am done with the sport yet. The very few weekends I was around in Charlottesville were occupied by hikes, the water hole at Sugar Hollow is my favorite. Again this is beautiful country and I had spent too much time in the learning team rooms!
And I did have a resolution for the summer. Towards the end of the school year a bunch of us were looking at the pictures from the International Food Festival last October and each of us had a common observation. We had all gained serious weight while at Darden but I wanted to look and feel like I did before I got to Darden. My summer schedule allowed me to eat well and work myself into leanness.
While I was at it, I also unleashed the reader in me who has been pretty dormant of late. Read a book a week, The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga was the pick of the season. At the end of it all, I felt refreshed and recharged.
The first year has flown by and the new year beckons. All I know is soon I will be out of school for good. The next mission is to get a job and enjoy every minute of what’s left of my Darden-career.
I loved the flexibility I enjoyed this summer, spending most of my time working remotely as a strategy consulting associate. I would have loved to be somewhere other than Charlottesville for the summer, but overall the last few months turned out pretty well for me.
My first non-engineering experience happened to be the development of an international market-entry strategy for a consumer products company. It was great to get an insight into how consulting works, particularly the softer, psychological aspect that we encounter once we go past the hypotheses and the analyses.
I got to meet and experience the Charlottesville locals that come out in droves during the summer, the only time when UVA students retreat, to enjoy this beautiful town. It’s sunny, there’s great food, great music and sports. Talking of sports, I finally got around to learning golf at the Meadowcreek. I was happy that I was hitting pretty well, 300+ yard drives on the very first day, till a buddy pointed out 'drive for show, putt for dough'. Putting is indeed harder than it looks!
My weekends were relatively free and I used them to play cricket. I love this sport – the sound of leather on willow tingles my bones – and I thought I had retired when I came to b-school. But I was back, I travelled all over, enjoyed every bit of it. I am grateful but I don’t think I am done with the sport yet. The very few weekends I was around in Charlottesville were occupied by hikes, the water hole at Sugar Hollow is my favorite. Again this is beautiful country and I had spent too much time in the learning team rooms!
And I did have a resolution for the summer. Towards the end of the school year a bunch of us were looking at the pictures from the International Food Festival last October and each of us had a common observation. We had all gained serious weight while at Darden but I wanted to look and feel like I did before I got to Darden. My summer schedule allowed me to eat well and work myself into leanness.
While I was at it, I also unleashed the reader in me who has been pretty dormant of late. Read a book a week, The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga was the pick of the season. At the end of it all, I felt refreshed and recharged.
The first year has flown by and the new year beckons. All I know is soon I will be out of school for good. The next mission is to get a job and enjoy every minute of what’s left of my Darden-career.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Time for some goodness in C’ville!
One fine day in late September last year, I suddenly realized that for the past two months I had been completely lost in the madness of getting an MBA education. I hadn’t taken the time out to give a second look at my surroundings. My world was getting crowded with cases, case competitions, recruiting events, and some more recruiting events ….
The first two questions I asked myself were – What do I know about C’ville outside of school and what am I doing for the community that I live in? I, sure, had waxed eloquent about giving back to the community in my b-school application essays! A quick run through the clubs at Darden helped me decide on Building Goodness in April (BGiA) because it is the organization that in the larger scheme of things, arguably, creates the greatest impact. The three overarching goals for BGiA are:
1) To rehabilitate the houses of low-income residents, particularly the elderly and disabled, so that they can continue to live in warmth, safety, and independence;
2) To foster the spirit of volunteerism among individuals; and
3) To promote a sense of community within the Charlottesville-Albemarle County area.
Having designed buildings for a career, I felt I could definitely provide a lot of value to the effort. We started by requesting referrals for prospective houses from local non-profits like Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, and the City Government. With a solid list of prospective houses, we split into four teams of two each to cover different parts of the City. Here began the fun part! Calling homeowners and explaining what BGiA meant, that if selected they do not have to actually pay to get their houses fixed, setting up a time to inspect the houses and finally getting the inspection done. Meeting and interacting with these people was for me the highlight of this effort. They all needed help and they all had a great attitude and warm smile to greet us. The needs of houses vary greatly – from leaking roofs, cracked decks, peeled paint, broken plumbing to a handicap ramp. We devoted a few weekends to inspection and by January we had finalized ten houses based on their needs and our capabilities.
Talking of capabilities, we will work with a group of local contractors who will provide construction expertise. Construction equipment and materials are bought through funds raised via donations and the BGiA in-class and online auctions held in Quarter 2.
Currently, we are working with the students who have volunteered to be house captains, providing them logistics and operations support. Each house has three house captains who will work with contractors and collectively lead almost 200 volunteers to repair the 10 houses on Build Day, 4th of April this year. The amount of enthusiasm and support for the cause within the student community has been alarming and beyond expectations so far. House captains have diligently started independent house visits and volunteer recruiting activities. We, as the managing committee of BGiA, are devoted to give enough independence and support to make build day a satisfying experience for the volunteers.
I will give you an update as Build Day draws closer.
The first two questions I asked myself were – What do I know about C’ville outside of school and what am I doing for the community that I live in? I, sure, had waxed eloquent about giving back to the community in my b-school application essays! A quick run through the clubs at Darden helped me decide on Building Goodness in April (BGiA) because it is the organization that in the larger scheme of things, arguably, creates the greatest impact. The three overarching goals for BGiA are:
1) To rehabilitate the houses of low-income residents, particularly the elderly and disabled, so that they can continue to live in warmth, safety, and independence;
2) To foster the spirit of volunteerism among individuals; and
3) To promote a sense of community within the Charlottesville-Albemarle County area.
Having designed buildings for a career, I felt I could definitely provide a lot of value to the effort. We started by requesting referrals for prospective houses from local non-profits like Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, and the City Government. With a solid list of prospective houses, we split into four teams of two each to cover different parts of the City. Here began the fun part! Calling homeowners and explaining what BGiA meant, that if selected they do not have to actually pay to get their houses fixed, setting up a time to inspect the houses and finally getting the inspection done. Meeting and interacting with these people was for me the highlight of this effort. They all needed help and they all had a great attitude and warm smile to greet us. The needs of houses vary greatly – from leaking roofs, cracked decks, peeled paint, broken plumbing to a handicap ramp. We devoted a few weekends to inspection and by January we had finalized ten houses based on their needs and our capabilities.
Talking of capabilities, we will work with a group of local contractors who will provide construction expertise. Construction equipment and materials are bought through funds raised via donations and the BGiA in-class and online auctions held in Quarter 2.
Currently, we are working with the students who have volunteered to be house captains, providing them logistics and operations support. Each house has three house captains who will work with contractors and collectively lead almost 200 volunteers to repair the 10 houses on Build Day, 4th of April this year. The amount of enthusiasm and support for the cause within the student community has been alarming and beyond expectations so far. House captains have diligently started independent house visits and volunteer recruiting activities. We, as the managing committee of BGiA, are devoted to give enough independence and support to make build day a satisfying experience for the volunteers.
I will give you an update as Build Day draws closer.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Black November at Darden! Is it really that bad?
As we sat together like a family at the Thanksgiving Dinner for international students, Marsh Pattie urged us to savor the moment and enjoy the much needed 5 day break from Darden and from Black November.
Novembers at Darden are called Black November as a seemingly constant and unmanageable deluge of academic work, networking events, resume and cover-letters overwhelm students each year. So, heeding to the advice, I decided to forget about cases, the worsening economy and the next steps in my pursuit for the dream internship and set-off for DC the next evening.
Once I got there, we went out to see the critically acclaimed movie Slumdog Millionaire, the rags-to-riches story of an orphan from the slums of Mumbai. It was a pretty realistic movie that captured every facet of the city that I’ve loved all my life. There is no city like Mumbai, the city that never sleeps; the financial capital of India which also hosts the largest slum in Asia; a remarkable mosaic of cultures and religions and yet, this city of 20 million struggles as one and triumphs as one. The city has given me more Ahaa Moments than I can remember. The movie had great cinematography and ended with a joyous song at the historic Victoria Terminus railway station.
When I got out of the theatre, I was inundated with phone calls asking me whether all was well with my family in Mumbai. It took me a moment to realize that Mumbai was under attack, again! Terrorists had targeted different sites across the city with grenades and automatic weapons killing more than 100 people. My first reaction was to call my folks to find out that they’re doing fine, and then I rushed home to find out the details. Mumbai has been the victim of random bomb blasts in the past year and a half but this was outrageous. The elegant Taj Mahal hotel at the Gateway of India, the background of many fond childhood memories, was on fire with hostages held up inside. So was the Oberoi Trident, the landmark at Nariman Point. Mumbai’s top three cops had been gunned down. Over 1 million people who travel daily through the Victoria Terminus railway station had been sprayed with bullets from AK47s.
The thought of innocent people already struggling through their daily battles now having to face bullets on their way to work is outrageous and dismaying at the same time. I know that the city will bounce back as it always has. People will turn out in huge numbers to heal each other emotionally, spiritually and financially. My heart goes out to these men and women. At the same time, I once again stand reminded of the triviality of my individual professional pursuits. It is truly a Black November.
Novembers at Darden are called Black November as a seemingly constant and unmanageable deluge of academic work, networking events, resume and cover-letters overwhelm students each year. So, heeding to the advice, I decided to forget about cases, the worsening economy and the next steps in my pursuit for the dream internship and set-off for DC the next evening.
Once I got there, we went out to see the critically acclaimed movie Slumdog Millionaire, the rags-to-riches story of an orphan from the slums of Mumbai. It was a pretty realistic movie that captured every facet of the city that I’ve loved all my life. There is no city like Mumbai, the city that never sleeps; the financial capital of India which also hosts the largest slum in Asia; a remarkable mosaic of cultures and religions and yet, this city of 20 million struggles as one and triumphs as one. The city has given me more Ahaa Moments than I can remember. The movie had great cinematography and ended with a joyous song at the historic Victoria Terminus railway station.
When I got out of the theatre, I was inundated with phone calls asking me whether all was well with my family in Mumbai. It took me a moment to realize that Mumbai was under attack, again! Terrorists had targeted different sites across the city with grenades and automatic weapons killing more than 100 people. My first reaction was to call my folks to find out that they’re doing fine, and then I rushed home to find out the details. Mumbai has been the victim of random bomb blasts in the past year and a half but this was outrageous. The elegant Taj Mahal hotel at the Gateway of India, the background of many fond childhood memories, was on fire with hostages held up inside. So was the Oberoi Trident, the landmark at Nariman Point. Mumbai’s top three cops had been gunned down. Over 1 million people who travel daily through the Victoria Terminus railway station had been sprayed with bullets from AK47s.
The thought of innocent people already struggling through their daily battles now having to face bullets on their way to work is outrageous and dismaying at the same time. I know that the city will bounce back as it always has. People will turn out in huge numbers to heal each other emotionally, spiritually and financially. My heart goes out to these men and women. At the same time, I once again stand reminded of the triviality of my individual professional pursuits. It is truly a Black November.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Elections 2008 and Eric Schmidt
As November 4 draws close, I can’t flip a channel without noticing an election campaign ad. America has seen some close and well-fought election campaigns in the recent past. With the destiny of the country over the next four years and the current global financial crisis on line, the upcoming election has assumed enormous significance. While the country decides who is better-equipped: experience or change, either candidate will have to take on more challenges and turmoil than they would have liked. There is no denying Obama’s appeal, even to the unbiased onlooker inside me who wishes he could vote. I agree that Obama has successfully bet on technology to reach people. He sees technology as a key part of the solution to problems America faces, be it healthcare, energy or government transparency. The Google for Government bill that he proposed was passed as a Law and allows citizens to access budget secrets and federal tax dollar expenditures. These along with his uniqueness and the element of change have transformed this freshman of a politician into a juggernaut.
I am by no means a political expert but again the businessman inside me questions the feasibility of grand schemes dished out without details on implementation. Yesterday, Eric Schmidt, CEO and Chairman of Google was on campus to talk about Technology and Economy in an Obama Administration. While most people I’ve talked to agree that CEOs have typically been supportive of Republicans, Eric is sold on Obama. He cited the disparity and incongruence in the income distribution as a partial reason for the anger that Gen X and Gen Y (majority of the workforce at Google) hold against government policies – the depth of which he did not initially understand even though he knew that Obama was the runaway winner for them.
Irrespective of his political views, what stood out for me was the advice he gave us for becoming successful business-leaders and citizens:
· Keep Learning: Continue to keep learning. Our generation is much better prepared to address the same problems as there is so much more information available.
· The Power of an Idea: Never underestimate the power of an idea. If we can articulate a great idea and promote it, it will cascade and overhaul the interest groups that are opposed to its progress. Blacksburg, VA, where Schmidt grew up is a city that transformed from a rural place with few opportunities to becoming the most wired city in the world in 15 years, highlights the possibility of ideas.
· Collaborate: Innovation is taking risks to start new businesses. And the key is to do it in groups. These can be through your social networks, political affiliations, or university associations.
· Regulation and Transparency: Almost every business in America is directly or indirectly regulated. The real debate is about what appropriate regulation is and whether it is thought through and end-driven. There should always be a push towards transparency. Whether greater transparency would have changed recent global leadership decisions cannot be answered, but it could have definitely lead to a more informed strategy.
Back to the elections, everyone believes we are in this together. I can almost feel this yearning amongst the people that the government be more participatory. I hope the more able man wins.
I am by no means a political expert but again the businessman inside me questions the feasibility of grand schemes dished out without details on implementation. Yesterday, Eric Schmidt, CEO and Chairman of Google was on campus to talk about Technology and Economy in an Obama Administration. While most people I’ve talked to agree that CEOs have typically been supportive of Republicans, Eric is sold on Obama. He cited the disparity and incongruence in the income distribution as a partial reason for the anger that Gen X and Gen Y (majority of the workforce at Google) hold against government policies – the depth of which he did not initially understand even though he knew that Obama was the runaway winner for them.
Irrespective of his political views, what stood out for me was the advice he gave us for becoming successful business-leaders and citizens:
· Keep Learning: Continue to keep learning. Our generation is much better prepared to address the same problems as there is so much more information available.
· The Power of an Idea: Never underestimate the power of an idea. If we can articulate a great idea and promote it, it will cascade and overhaul the interest groups that are opposed to its progress. Blacksburg, VA, where Schmidt grew up is a city that transformed from a rural place with few opportunities to becoming the most wired city in the world in 15 years, highlights the possibility of ideas.
· Collaborate: Innovation is taking risks to start new businesses. And the key is to do it in groups. These can be through your social networks, political affiliations, or university associations.
· Regulation and Transparency: Almost every business in America is directly or indirectly regulated. The real debate is about what appropriate regulation is and whether it is thought through and end-driven. There should always be a push towards transparency. Whether greater transparency would have changed recent global leadership decisions cannot be answered, but it could have definitely lead to a more informed strategy.
Back to the elections, everyone believes we are in this together. I can almost feel this yearning amongst the people that the government be more participatory. I hope the more able man wins.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Why be at Darden?
Deciding between schools is one of the most difficult yet important decisions one can make. Since it is that time of the year again, I feel incumbent to share with prospective students how I got to Darden, rather what made me come to Darden.
The People: I was amazed at how the students who go through arguably the most demanding two years of school can be so enthusiastic, helpful and fun. I am still not sure whether we owe it to a great job by the admissions office or the well-designed system here at Darden or both, but these qualities pervade wide and deep on grounds and I am happy they do. Yesterday, I was hosting a couple of prospective students to an accounting class visit. We at Section C have a tradition where after introducing him/herself the prospective picks up a challenge from a fishbowl and these challenges have varied from drawing the professors’ portrait on the board to having an arm-wrestling match with our biggest man. It makes great friendly banter. After class, one of the prospectives asked me if we’re always happy like that and if the professors are all as cool as Luann. I told him that’s how it is and was a year ago when I visited. No other school had made me feel more welcome.
I had visited most of my prospective schools twice before making a decision. But, I visited Darden on four occasions – mainly because I was curious how the case study method worked for different classes. However, what stood out for me, apart from the case study method, was the bright quality and consistency of the faculty. The moderation and direction they afforded to 65 eager students collaborating towards a solution gave every classroom the aura of an intellectual powerhouse. I knew I wanted to be here. After a month of classes, I have found them to be highly invested in enhancing the classroom learning experience and surprisingly extremely funny – heck, a couple of my professors won’t do badly at all as stand-ups on Broadway.
The Dean: I first heard about Dean Bruner from friends who met him on his visit to India in late 2005. They were impressed and wanted to know more about Darden, and this place called Charlottesville! When it was time for my school research, I started reading his blog. What he wrote was insightful, practical and honest and I knew I had to meet the man. And after the very first time I heard him in person, I made up my mind that I was in fact choosing Darden. I was visiting the campus during Darden Days and the dean had invited the 100 odd prospective students to a strategy class in the auditorium with current first years. The case was about how Darden should establish itself as a global brand without sacrificing its values and uniqueness and the associated challenges it faces. The sincerity and audacity of the conversation totally surprised me. The fact that strengths and weaknesses were fleshed out and presented in front of prospective students was extremely refreshing, when most other schools I visited were marketing themselves aggressively. This gesture by Dean Bruner gave me the assurance that Darden is what it presents itself as, and I stand by that assessment. I continue to pick on Dean Bruner’s thoughts as and when I get the opportunity.
The System: Today being a reading day, I headed out with my five comrades (together we make Learning Team 41) for dinner last night. Over drinks we reflected back on the last month and a half. We discussed our start, the challenges we faced, what we were good at and marked out things we should work on. Darden is the most challenging and demanding business school environment out there but has an equally stimulating system to complement it. There is a reason why it is called the ‘boot-camp’ – you come out of it stronger, smarter and ready for all challenges. The overwhelming curriculum, learning teams, cases that can leave you high and dry, student clubs, and recruiting activities and workshops act in tandem to constitute the Darden experience. The group agreed that it was incredible how much we’d learned in such a short time. Dean Bruner’s regular assurances ‘Trust the system’ make so much more sense now.
I hope everyone who decides to go to business school makes a good attempt to understand and evaluate Darden. As for me, I am looking forward to a two years of challenges and transformational learning.
The People: I was amazed at how the students who go through arguably the most demanding two years of school can be so enthusiastic, helpful and fun. I am still not sure whether we owe it to a great job by the admissions office or the well-designed system here at Darden or both, but these qualities pervade wide and deep on grounds and I am happy they do. Yesterday, I was hosting a couple of prospective students to an accounting class visit. We at Section C have a tradition where after introducing him/herself the prospective picks up a challenge from a fishbowl and these challenges have varied from drawing the professors’ portrait on the board to having an arm-wrestling match with our biggest man. It makes great friendly banter. After class, one of the prospectives asked me if we’re always happy like that and if the professors are all as cool as Luann. I told him that’s how it is and was a year ago when I visited. No other school had made me feel more welcome.
I had visited most of my prospective schools twice before making a decision. But, I visited Darden on four occasions – mainly because I was curious how the case study method worked for different classes. However, what stood out for me, apart from the case study method, was the bright quality and consistency of the faculty. The moderation and direction they afforded to 65 eager students collaborating towards a solution gave every classroom the aura of an intellectual powerhouse. I knew I wanted to be here. After a month of classes, I have found them to be highly invested in enhancing the classroom learning experience and surprisingly extremely funny – heck, a couple of my professors won’t do badly at all as stand-ups on Broadway.
The Dean: I first heard about Dean Bruner from friends who met him on his visit to India in late 2005. They were impressed and wanted to know more about Darden, and this place called Charlottesville! When it was time for my school research, I started reading his blog. What he wrote was insightful, practical and honest and I knew I had to meet the man. And after the very first time I heard him in person, I made up my mind that I was in fact choosing Darden. I was visiting the campus during Darden Days and the dean had invited the 100 odd prospective students to a strategy class in the auditorium with current first years. The case was about how Darden should establish itself as a global brand without sacrificing its values and uniqueness and the associated challenges it faces. The sincerity and audacity of the conversation totally surprised me. The fact that strengths and weaknesses were fleshed out and presented in front of prospective students was extremely refreshing, when most other schools I visited were marketing themselves aggressively. This gesture by Dean Bruner gave me the assurance that Darden is what it presents itself as, and I stand by that assessment. I continue to pick on Dean Bruner’s thoughts as and when I get the opportunity.
The System: Today being a reading day, I headed out with my five comrades (together we make Learning Team 41) for dinner last night. Over drinks we reflected back on the last month and a half. We discussed our start, the challenges we faced, what we were good at and marked out things we should work on. Darden is the most challenging and demanding business school environment out there but has an equally stimulating system to complement it. There is a reason why it is called the ‘boot-camp’ – you come out of it stronger, smarter and ready for all challenges. The overwhelming curriculum, learning teams, cases that can leave you high and dry, student clubs, and recruiting activities and workshops act in tandem to constitute the Darden experience. The group agreed that it was incredible how much we’d learned in such a short time. Dean Bruner’s regular assurances ‘Trust the system’ make so much more sense now.
I hope everyone who decides to go to business school makes a good attempt to understand and evaluate Darden. As for me, I am looking forward to a two years of challenges and transformational learning.
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