Around the world in 14 months…

When my alarm went off at 6:30am last Monday (10/4), I almost turned it off and went back to sleep. It was still dark outside, so why was I waking up? Surely there was a reason. Oh, yes, it was the long awaited first day of school, the first day of the Global Partners MBA program at Georgia State University , the beginning of our journey around the world–Atlanta, DC, Rio, China, Paris, Brussels, and the unknown internship location.

They told you that the first week is “Orientation,” and even though there was some of what one may consider the typical school orientation, the educational process started right away. From the usual “getting to know you” games on the first day to spending 12 hours on Saturday doing Statistics homework at our new home—-Tower 200, 4th floor—GSU’s Buckhead Campus, life is no longer what it used to be.

The highlights of the week included Challenge Program and Stat Boot Camp. Challenge day was filled with group exercises—“I’m having a chicken” and “it’s zoom”—and the ropes course in the afternoon. The most important event of the day—every single one of us completed at least one ropes challenge, even those terrified of heights, the ones who refused to even put on a harness in the beginning of the afternoon. There we were, cheering each other on every step of the way, and it was then that we became a team. In a complete 180, let me mention Stat Boot Camp with Dr. Skip Schutz. It was boot camp in every sense, challenging but very educational. We had all taken an online class over the summer, and we all passed the exit test, yet we had lot left to learn. Who knew that Excel could do so many things? And at the end of the boot camp, we were handed a 7 page instruction handout to our 10 page homework assignment–not a big deal, right? I think half the class spent the weekend (the weekend before the start of classes) at school, doing homework and reading for the first day. Apparently, in graduate school, yes, you have homework before class.

Welcome, Bem vindo, Bienvenue, 歡迎

The journey has begun…

USA, Brazil, France, China – where is the next stop? The Global Partners MBA will take us all these incredible countries with the opportunity of studying in their best universities and visiting different companies during our stay.

The program will not only take us there but will also push us to experience a culture immersion.

Bright minds, diverse experience, multi-cultural backgrounds, and different personalities – all being pushed out of their comfort zone.

The university teaches us the profession, the Global Partners MBA teaches us a new perspective on life.

Students of the World

It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things.
Machiavelli, The Prince

The reality of the evolution of business into a global field became extremely apparent to me when I read an article in the local Chinese paper about Starbucks trying to add a store to the Forbidden City in Beijing. As we make our way through the first week of the Global Partners program, I see that I am joined by fellow students of the world who have had a similar realization.

Perhaps in line with the theory of the tallest building, which states that society values most what its tallest buildings represent, (And with financial towers competing for the record height.) it is important to note that the business community has taken on a leading role in what shapes our world.

That being said, the Global Partners program, as a pioneer in the sense that it provides a concrete global business education, is training the future leaders of an emerging new order, and I am humbled to be a part of something so profound.

The World is my Oyster

Wow. Global Partners MBA Program, future class of 2011, has officially begun. It’s hard to imagine that in slightly less than one year, myself and 25 other incredibly bright and unbelievably supportive students will have formed the strongest of bonds and everlasting friendships, traveled the globe, and graduated with business degrees from renowned graduate business schools around the world. It is merely the end of day three of the program now and, if I can speak for my colleagues, I believe we feel like we have already known each other for months.

Yesterday’s challenge and ropes course at Stone Mountain certainly played its part in that as well.

I definitely can promise you that I never dreamed anyone could get me to walk across a wire 30 feet in the air, or to climb a 30 foot pole and jump off the top. But that’s what GPMBA will do for you. Push you to your physical, mental, and emotional limits and encourage you to leap outside of your comfort zone.

I can only imagine what the next 14 months have in store for us…

GPMBA Atlanta Orientation, 1 week down!

And it begins…

As a student in the Georgia State University Global Partners MBA program, I have embarked on an incredible journey with 26 of my new closest peers (like it or not, we’re together full time for the next 10 months!). We will be living and breathing this program until December 2011 when we will graduate. Week 1 has been jammed packed with getting to know each other, our facilities, our professors and faculty, as well as beginning studies – namely business statistics and leadership.

My top 5 memorable moments of week 1:

5. Laughing at how confusing the parking deck for Tower Place 200 can be (how many of us parked in the wrong deck or took wrong turns attempting to get there?! Not to mention how many tries it is taking to have the parking passes actually work…)
4. Discovering that GPMBA provides us with Starbucks coffee in our lounge!
3. Hearing the backgrounds of our diverse class, especially all the fascinating places people have lived / worked / visited!
2. Sharing our MBTI II personality assessments and realizing that even after less than a week, we can identify at least a few key traits for everyone
1. Cheering on fellow classmates while we ALL conquered fears doing the team Challenge Program ropes course at Indian Creek Lodge!

Finally, my advice for anyone starting this program in the future: Be proactive! Initiate contact with your fellow classmates prior to orientation if at all possible. We had approximately 4 different “meet & greet” type events that we self-organized (i.e. meeting for drinks, dinner, movies). One happy hour even included some members of the class of 2010, which was an awesome opportunity to ask more questions and gain a more realistic perspective on what to expect. These meetings really help ease the inevitable awkward “getting to know you” first day for anyone who can join!

That and do not underestimate how long your statistics homework will take…