One of my classmates was pondering on Tuesday if the start of classes would feel anti-climatic after 2 weeks of orientation and leadership training.

After two days of classes, I think I can safely say “nope”. Not anti-climatic at all… As a matter of fact, I don’t think the effort and energy required in this program will peak until we sign our job offers. (And even then, because hopefully we’ll all get offers post internships, we’ll have to finish up the school year.)

The MBA program at Foster is intense.

The professors are intense. One of them knew all of our names and faces on Day 1. (He also knew about my blog! Aye.) Another one gambled with us. And another one shouted “Show me the data!” Jerry MacGuire style. These people are passionate and well trained, and I’m going to learn a lot. (By the way, one thing I heard today from our accounting professor was, “Don’t confuse comfort and learning.” So true.)

The MBAA clubs are intense. I’m still grappling with what clubs to join… In the mean time, there are club events almost every day and evening. One of the clubs, just as an example, organizes around case competitions, which are essentially math club for MBAs. (Someone made that analogy for me, and I love it.) Case competitions are going to be intense.

My fellow MBA classmates are intense. Smart people, who are all accomplished, and who are all ready to take this MBA program and run. I’m going to have to become one with being very, very average. Not to mention the 2nd years who are back from internship full of experience.

Searching for an internship/job is intense. We have our first job fair next week. I had my photo professionally taken today (hence the suit in the pic). And I’m scheduling info interviews for, you know, that extra time on my hands.

So, what I’m figuring out is that I need to be intense. This pretty much means staying on my toes at all times. I need to do as much as I can proactively. And I need to load my Husky Card with money so I can ensure I’m caffeinated at all times.

As I wrap up my first week of classes tomorrow, there’s definitely one thing I feel very intense about… Show me the weekend!