Leafy Goodness!

The one season I was really excited about spending here in beautiful central New York was autumn, and it has not disappointed. It turns out fall here is spectacular and you don't have to go more than a half hour from Ithaca to really enjoy it (though there are plenty of places to take in the sights right on campus). But rather than tell you about it, I'll show you!

Taughannock Falls

http://www.taughannock.com/

The falls are located about twenty minutes away in Trumansburg, a wonderfully picturesque little village full of quirky shops and quaint cafes. On your way into town from Ithaca you'll find signs pointing you to the falls overlook, which offers a breathtaking view of the falls. Additionally, this is also a good spot for hiking into the surrounding woods which prove to be as gorgeous as the falls themselves.

Cayuga Wine Trail

http://www.cayugawinetrail.com/


Fun fact that I didn't know until I came to Cornell is that the Finger Lakes region is known for its wines and is host to a number of wineries just a stone's throw from Ithaca. This is definitely worth a visit even for non-drinkers because most of these vineyards also have cafes and restaurants offering delicious, reasonably priced, local food. It provides a great escape from Collegetown cuisine, and the bonus is that many of these restaurants boast amazing views of Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and the surrounding regions.

Above: Cafe at Americana. Great food, under $10.

Cornell Campus

Yup, that's right. Campus is gorgeous this time of year and you don't have to go too far from Sage hall to take it in!

Alumni Mock Interviews

Recruiting season here at the Johnson School is in full swing right now, with corporate briefings lined almost every weeknight for the rest of the semester. While there is a mad rush to polish our resumes and perfect our cover letters, it's easy to lose sight of step 2 in the job finding process: acing the interview.

To serve as a little reminder, the CMC, along with some incredibly gracious alums, worked to put together a mock interview event in New York City this past weekend. The way it worked was this: Alumni from all over the city and from a myriad of different industries sent the CMC a list of their times and availabilities. Interested students would then sign up at the CMC for available slots and be responsible for arriving at these offices, well prepared with their pitches and PARs.

While this experience not only provided us all with great practice for interviews, the earliest of which should be upon us in less than a month, I thought the most helpful part of the experience was being given the chance to reach out to Johnson alums and gather their advice on resumes, interviews, and surviving business school in general.

Personally, I ended up getting a ton of great advice and a lot to think about in terms of how I plan on positioning myself in this rather daunting market. This sort of advice is invaluable, and often difficult to come up with ourselves since most of lack the experience and insight of people who have a bit more experience working in industry than we do.

Lesson learned this past weekend? I have a lot to learn!

Above: I am pretty sure this is the only picture in existence of me in a suit!

Dinner with the Dean!

View from the Thomas' Porch

Dean Joe Thomas and his wife, Marney, have kindly hosted a number of dinners this semester for MBA students in the class of 2010, offering a fantastic opportunity for students to ask questions about the program, and offer suggestions for the future of the Johnson School.

Among some of the topics posed during the feedback session with the Dean were:

• Introducing a mandatory international experience as part of the curriculum
• Greater emphasis on the role of corporate sales in business courses
• Integration of AMBA students with the traditional two-year class
• The bearing of the current economy on job searches

The discourse between the Dean and current students was of course very interesting, but this leads me to ask what YOU, as a prospective student at the Johnson School, would like to see become part of the program?

Summer Recap (in the Fall)

I feel bad blogging about the new school year without having really gone into what the summer AMBA experience is like.

The AMBA summer can be summed up in one word: challenging. As a student who had never taken even an introductory econ class let alone accounting, econ, finance, strategy, marketing, statistics, and a consulting course crammed into one 3 month long summer session, I can’t say it was easy. Making it through the summer requires commitment. Students can expect to sit through classes from 9 to 5, 5 days a week, but then continue working late into the night. When five hours of sleep begins to feel like a luxury... you're a genuine Cornell AMBA.

That is not to say it is all doom and gloom. Besides the fact that we are all obviously superheroes disguised in business casual, the program and my classmates ensured that fun was to be had this summer. Three points:

Firstly, the CMC tried their best to get us all prepped and ready for recruiting season with trips to Merck HQ in New Jersey and Accenture in Manhattan to meet with alums and get a lot of advice on how to improve our resumes, our interviewing techniques, and generally get pumped up about the job hunt. Let’s be honest, without a lot of motivation and LOT of optimism, it’s going to be hard to keep focus this year. While the economy is showing some signs of improvement, job prospects for MBAs are still looking far from cheerful. The school definitely has gone beyond in helping us all remain realistic and on the offensive in our repsective job hunts.

Secondly, there is the wonderful AMBA class. If you’re out there reading this and are curious about the program at all, you should not hesitate to let myself or Alex know. The diversity within our class in terms of experience, background, interests and pursuits is as diverse as all of as charming and helpful (read that as extremely so). I’ve learned so much about things I really didn’t understand too much about before coming to Johnson like hedge funds or BRIC economies. To sum it up, I learned probably as much from my classmates as I did from my classes if not more, and that’s a huge part of what I wanted from my MBA experience. I’m glad I’ve gotten it here.

Thirdly, I have to be honest: the best part of the summer was getting it over with. An entire year of business school condensed into three months was intense-- but how awesome is that? [A: Pretty awesome.]
If you were curious, I spent my vacation HOME in Seattle. And it was sunny and warm every single day. If that's not a fantastic end to the summer, I really don't know what is.

Interview Prep!

As a former bench scientist and non-profit professional, my biggest fear was that one summer wouldn’t be enough time to get me up to speed on corporate culture and business etiquette by the time interviewing season arrived in autumn.


It’s now mid-July and my classmates and I have been in the program for a little less than two months. In this time not only have we completed the bulk of our core courses, we’ve been kept on our toes by the staff at the Career Management Center who are fully intent on getting us prepped to hit the ground running this fall.

Last month at the end of our module one (Accounting and Economics) we had our first corporate briefing and got to meet with two recent Johnson School alums currently at the Corning Corporation. This was my first corporate briefing—starting with a company-sponsored lunch and culminating in a question-and-answer segment with the Corning Representatives. It was a great opportunity for all of us to ask questions, try our pitches, and both make and learn from our mistakes in front of people who had actually been in a our shoes just a few years ago.

We’ve just finished off another module, this time in Finance and Strategy, and have had a week packed full of interview prep! There were a number of workshops all weekend focusing on everything from a course on how to Ace the Case Interview to getting a Smart Start in Consulting and even a chance for everyone to brush up on their business etiquette.

Above: A sample of the current AMBA class in professional business attire post-meeting with business etiquette coaches.

Additionally, this week we got the chance to take what I would say might be our most terrifying challenge to date-- mock interviews with coaches from NovAspire recorded forever on DVD for us to all take home and review. The interviews took place over two days served as a chance for us to get grilled, and then watch ourselves being grilled on video. If that doesn’t sound scary to you, just wait until you get the chance to watch yourself on tape. After the interview, we got to hear feedback from both the coach and our fellow classmates. The end result is that you get to see yourself the way other people see you and in turn, learn a lot about the way you might behave in an interview setting.

In my two months since arriving in Ithaca I’ve learned more about the business world than I could have imagined, not only from workshops and simulated business interaction through mock interviews and corporate briefings, but from my fellow classmates’ experience and knowledge here at the Johnson School. I’m still learning, as interview season looms ever closer I know I’ll need more than a snappy suit and a bit of luck to land a job in these times. I also am confident that I’ll be ready.

Saba Anwer

My background before coming to the Johnson School has been both varied and focused. In addition to holding a BS in Biology, I have also received a Master's in Public Health from Yale University, and have had the opportunity to work at Johnson and Johnson, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, and to work in global clinical trials with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. While healthcare has been the underlying thread tying my experience together, I also have a great interest in the role of e-commerce and the Internet in today's economy. Ideally I would like to find a way to merge these two passions in a way that helps to improve patient health while taking advantage of the ever-changing tech climate of the world today.

My goals for my time at Johnson are lofty: to build upon my healthcare background, to embrace my passion for science & technology, and to hone my business acumen. I know that getting there is all up to me. I hope to use this blog to capture my experiences here at business school, and I look forward to sharing my world with you this year!