Oh, the places you'll go!

Greetings from a glorious Second Year! I'm so sorry that it has taken me a while to post something - who knew that my SY schedule would be just as chaotic as it was a year ago!? Me neither. I thought that b-school seniority was synonymous with lazy afternoons, long lunches, and poolside study sessions. Not so, my colorful Outlook calendar reminds me!

But, have no fear, there is good news to report. Although I am still the busy-bee-b-school student that I have always been, my life is considerably less stressful than it's ever been at Darden. No, the case method is not a just a cruel form of initiation to which we only subject the FYs; SYs still have to read, prepare, and wrestle with cases. And yes, I am still finding ways of over-involving myself in all possible extra-curricular activities. So...what's changed?

Well, two things. First, we all survived FY with limited injuries (and those that did occur were inflicted during all too aggressive flag football games). There were times last year when a lot of us wondered if making it to May 2011 was even possible. Now that the milestone is behind us, we feel like a burden has been lifted. Second, we also see the finish line, which is only a few short months away. For fear that this delightful slice of life might actually pass us by, many of us are buckling down and trying to embrace the parts of the Darden experience that we overlooked last year (think: less time in Learning Team rooms, more time in vineyards).

Which brings me to the best part of any blog post...the pictures! Here's a small sampling of what I've been up to for the past few weeks and my attempt to savor every last bit of my time in Cville. ENJOY! I know I did.

I made a 3-course meal with delicious, seasonal ingredients! Yum.

I attended a Harvest Feast at a local vineyard...and we ate at a communal table in the barrel room (read: tough to beat).

I stopped at a local store for autumnal-inspired housewares...and proceeded to spend way too much on pumpkins.

I went on a wine tour! I hope this is the first of many...

I competed in the 25-mile Boys & Girls Cycle Challenge, even though I had never been on a road bike in my life. (Update: I survived. So did the bike.)

I hiked Humpback Rocks! Granted, the weather didn't really cooperate, but that didn't stop me from channeling my inner mountain woman on a Saturday morning (note to self: check weather before embarking on a extraordinarily scenic hike).

ATL. PIT. DCA. IAD. DEN. ORD. JFK.

Some people collect stamps. Others indulge in shoes. I accumulate airport abbreviations. That’s right, aspiring air travelers! I’m in the midst of cobbling together a girl-scout-esque sash to parade around terminals in hopes that it earns me a few extra frequent flier miles or, even better, a free Auntie Annie’s pretzel. In the meantime, however, my mile-high pile of crumpled boarding passes and bag tags will have to suffice.

Welcome to the life of a consultant. Well…not really. First, I’m not technically a consultant. I’m a wannabe consultant, more formally known as a Summer Associate, i.e. an MBA student who is hoping/crossing fingers/knocking on wood that the 10-week internship after First Year goes well enough to result in a full-time offer. Second, the life of a consultant is much more than 5 oz. bottles of shampoo, Starwood status, lightweight luggage, and testy TSA employees. And I’m as serious as SkyMiles.

For the past seven weeks, I have been at Bain & Company, working on a performance improvement case. Although I look, feel, and act like an intern (and get to partake in all the super-fun social activities like the Braves game I’m attending tonight), I’ve never actually been treated like an intern. If anything, my manager has treated me like a full-time employee since day one. When I arrived on the case, he didn’t give me a glorified coloring book, he gave me a discrete and substantial workstream. When met with the partners at the two-week milestone, he wanted me to present my slides. And we hosted a focus group with the client, he expected me to speak up.

Don’t get me wrong – I’ve suffered from several mild panic attacks, computer meltdowns, and can-you-explain-‘answer first’-just-one-more-time moments, but that’s par for the course. The more important takeaway (or “down arrow”), is that I’ve learned more this summer than I ever could have expected, and that is the sign of a great internship. 

Who knows what the next three weeks hold. Another late night with Starbucks on my right and PowerPoint on my left? Perhaps. A frantic sprint from terminal A to terminal J on moving walkways in 4-inch heels? Maybe. Delta peanuts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Most likely. The good news is - if they are anything like the past seven, I’m in for a wild (and rewarding) ride.

And yes, flight attendants, my seatbelt will be fastened.

Couchsurf.com, B-school Version

Hello, splendid summer! Oh, how I missed you.

I'm writing to you all from the comforts of my friend's couch in Cali, where I'm enjoying the good life and post-FY freedom. This will be my new home for the week. My summer internship doesn't begin until June 13, so between now and then, it's couchsurfing with comrades (and you thought business school would get you a sweet pad in NYC...).

Now that I'm gradually reentering the "real world" (if you can call it that), I'm remembering what it's like to have friends with "real jobs." And it's been quite the rude awakening. They can't come to the 12:30pm spin class because they actually work. They can't go to a museum on a random Tuesday afternoon because they actually work. And, they can't enjoy a TNDC (Darden's famed "Thursday Night Drinking Club") because...they actually work! It's cruel and unusual punishment for a student on summer break whose alarm clock is set for 11:00am.

In one year, I'll be in the same boat as they are. In the meantime, however, I intend to enjoy the footloose and fancy free feeling of couchsurfing at age 27. Now time to hit the beach!

Final Countdown!

Believe it or not, in just one week, I'll be finished with First Year (warning: a lot can happen in seven days, so keep those fingers crossed!). ACK! To celebrate this final sprint toward the finish line, we had one of the most epic Charlottesville weekends in recent memory. Highlights included: a fabulous crab feast, Darden Follies, and Foxfields. The pictures don't do it justice, but here goes anyway:

Darden Daze!

Apologies are in order! Terms 5, which was supposed to be an easy, breezy walk down Darden Boulevard (to quote one of my favorite fellow bloggers), was infinitely more hectic than my Outlook calendar originally implied. Why's that? Well, if I had to venture a guess.... 

1. Post-Spring-Break-sloth-like behavior: General symptoms include - a body clock that refuses to reset itself to a wake-up time prior to 11:30am, a penchant for using abbreviations such as "SB2K11" gratuitously, a general aversion to case prep, a rapid atrophy of all muscles, and the appearance of a bright-red rash every time the phrase "cold call" is mentioned. Needless to say, it ain't pretty, and I suffered from it for about two weeks after an epic Spring Break adventure in Argentina and Uruguay (some pics below). But the trip was worth it!

2. LO and StratSim Capstones: One week my team was shipping doggie treats across the country to raise money for a local charity, and the next we were running a billion-dollar car company into the ground. Thankfully, the former was real, and the latter was just a simulation (PHEW)!

3. Darden Cares 5k Race: This is a match made in Outreach-Athletics heaven, if there is such a place. Nearly 300 students, partners, and community members burned some serious Charlottesville pavement to help raise money for the UVA Children's Hospital. Thanks to the help of some fabulous local businesses who helped sponsor the event, we raised more than $6,300 for charity. And who says life is a zero-sum game (especially when costumes are involved)?!

4. Building Goodness in April: The name says it all, folks! We came, we built/painted/cleaned, we celebrated. BGiA, one of Darden's most enjoyed and appreciated events of the year, gives students the chance to help deserving Charlottesville residents who need some help with their homes. An article to my team's project can be found here: http://www2.dailyprogress.com/news/2011/apr/05/darden-students-help-habitat-project-ar-952970/#comments. And here's a picture of our (amazing, talented, insert any other applicable adjective here!) team painting Rev. Brown's church: 

5. DARDEN DAYS! Oh, how time flies when you're an MBA (or something like that). One year ago, I was a wide-eyed Darden admit who didn't know the difference between NPV and DMV. Now, I'm spewing FMP-speak in my sleep (and no, it's not because I'm having nightmares about valuation)! And what's better than a night at King Family Vineyards to celebrate that accomplishment? Answer: nothing!

Fired Up. Ready to OUTREACH!

Forgive the old-campaign-slogan-with-a-twist move, but my creative juices were failing me and I had to grab your attention. Why is that, you ask? Well, simple. Because I'm excited about...OUTREACH!

That's right, folks. Business school is not just about...business. Darden prides itself on providing students with a whole host of opportunities to pursue topics, hobbies, and passions outside of the classroom (don't worry, though, you'll get your money's worth!). My activity of choice is Outreach, which manifests in a variety of ways - tutoring, organizing events, fundraising, volunteering, etc. For example, in the past 24 hours, I've tutored elementary students, volunteered to give mock interviews to high school students, and interviewed teachers at a local middle school. Could I have worked on cases instead? Of course. Did I miss out on an a few hours of sleep? Probably. But do I regret for one minute being involved in the Charlottesville community? No way!

Getting out of the Darden bubble every now and then has kept me sane. Business school can get hectic (see ALL previous posts), and it's important to remind yourself that there's a great wide world out there, one that doesn't have anything to do with Excel, valuation, or the 4Ps...

So, to those who are just embarking on the awesome adventure that is business school, I have one piece of advice: figure out what you love to do outside of class - whether it be flag football or finger painting - and make time to do it! You won't regret it.

Coming up for air!

Hello, friends! Please forgive me for being absent for the last 36 days. I fell into the black hole of recruiting and feared I would never make it out in one piece. The good news is, I managed to crawl out, relatively unscathed, and I'm now returning to a life of pseudo normalcy. Hooray!

To celebrate my liberation from case interviews, I participated in annual conference hosted by Net Impact and the Energy Club last week. The theme was "People + Planet = Profit," and the event featured an incredible roster of speakers who addressed topics such as renewable energy, corporate social responsibility, international development, and sustainability (who says you can't do good and do well at the same time?!).

A blog from one of the events I attended is below...but please visit the Net Impact blog for more tidbits from the conference!

It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it...

Well, not “dirty” in the “we promote fossil fuels” kind of way – this was the Renewable Energy panel, after all. Think “dirty” more along the lines of “difficult and demanding,” or something that requires incredible amounts of ingenuity, persistence, and grit.

All of our panel participants showcased those characteristics on Wednesday afternoon. Experts in their respective fields of renewable energy – solar, wind, and biomass – they spoke about the ups and downs of a burgeoning, but bumpy, business. Their titles and companies are listed below:

• Mike Lenox, Associate Dean and Executive Director of the Batten Institute (Moderator)
• Matthew Markee, President, Recast Energy
• Thomas Meth, Executive VP, Enviva Sustainable Biomass Resources
• Eamon Perrel, Director of Business Development, Apex Wind Energy
• Danny Van Clief, VP Business Development, HelioSage

A consistent theme during the discussion was that renewable energy companies, especially smaller start-ups, face unique challenges in the post-recession economy. Specifically, Matthew Markee said that the cost and time for project financing was onerous due to the restricted risk appetite of investors. Additionally, Thomas Meth mentioned that cheap electricity prices have hampered the return on projects, making it even more difficult to raise capital. To that point, Danny Van Clief emphasized how important it was to engage in a great deal of marketing to appeal to “patient capital,” and convince investors of a company’s credibility in the industry.

Despite this challenging environment, the panelists were tremendously optimistic about opportunities for growth. When asked about what cost efficiencies the industry could realize moving forward, each of them was quick to respond: Danny Van Clief thought that manufacturing costs for solar would decline substantially in the future; Eamon Perrel argued that technology would get cheaper and that there would be greater efficiencies of scale, rendering wind energy more competitive; Thomas Meth cited the learning curve as the main opportunity for biomass; and Matthew Markee mentioned that changing the mindset of biomass suppliers would lead to higher performance in the industry.

For more blogs from the Net Impact/Energy Club conference, visit: http://netimpactdarden.blogspot.com/