Friday, September 25, 2009
I am officially second year!
I am officially a second year! Back from the two-week summer break, I entered the hustling and bustling Sage Hall and couldn't help wondering "Is this the same quiet and leisurely Sage we spent the whole summer in?"
All my AMBA classmates are back tanned and relaxed. Some are sporting new hairdos for the upcoming corporate briefings and recruiting events. We exchanged stories of the Hamptons, the Cape and Miami. Michel spent two weeks on the beaches of Mallorca in Spain, and has the tan to prove it. A dozen of them came back early from their break to be facilitators of Johnson Outdoor Experience for first years. Hats off to them!!
It is very exciting to see some first years I first met at Destination Johnson back in April (wow, it feels like eons ago). I am glad they made the decision to come to Johnson. I first met Vivek at DJ, and now he is a fellow Johnson blogger! Randall sent out an email of the profile of the Class of 2011. They are an impressive group. I am proud to announce China is well represented in this class. This group of 12 brilliant and accomplished students more than doubled the number of last year's class.
I had a hard time deciding what courses I am taking. There are so many interesting electives taught by the outstanding faculty at the Johnson School. We also have the choice to dabble in thousands of courses available at Cornell. I am taking Operations, Macroeconomics, Management Writing, and Cases in Venture Financing at the Johnson School, and Health Care Finance Management at the College of Human Ecology. I also audited a few more courses at the Hotel School across the street from Sage Hall. It was tough to drop some of these courses to fit the 18 credit hour cap.
I look forward to the next nine months at the Johnson School. General Electric led off the corporate briefings on September 9th. We have had seventeen since then, including J. P. Morgan, Citi, American Express, Intel, Proctor and Gamble, Unilever, and Deloitte. My goals for this fall semester are: do well in recruiting, network with the 2-year classmates, learn business skills in the electives, and break 100 on the beautiful Robert T. Jones Golf Course.
All my AMBA classmates are back tanned and relaxed. Some are sporting new hairdos for the upcoming corporate briefings and recruiting events. We exchanged stories of the Hamptons, the Cape and Miami. Michel spent two weeks on the beaches of Mallorca in Spain, and has the tan to prove it. A dozen of them came back early from their break to be facilitators of Johnson Outdoor Experience for first years. Hats off to them!!
It is very exciting to see some first years I first met at Destination Johnson back in April (wow, it feels like eons ago). I am glad they made the decision to come to Johnson. I first met Vivek at DJ, and now he is a fellow Johnson blogger! Randall sent out an email of the profile of the Class of 2011. They are an impressive group. I am proud to announce China is well represented in this class. This group of 12 brilliant and accomplished students more than doubled the number of last year's class.
I had a hard time deciding what courses I am taking. There are so many interesting electives taught by the outstanding faculty at the Johnson School. We also have the choice to dabble in thousands of courses available at Cornell. I am taking Operations, Macroeconomics, Management Writing, and Cases in Venture Financing at the Johnson School, and Health Care Finance Management at the College of Human Ecology. I also audited a few more courses at the Hotel School across the street from Sage Hall. It was tough to drop some of these courses to fit the 18 credit hour cap.
I look forward to the next nine months at the Johnson School. General Electric led off the corporate briefings on September 9th. We have had seventeen since then, including J. P. Morgan, Citi, American Express, Intel, Proctor and Gamble, Unilever, and Deloitte. My goals for this fall semester are: do well in recruiting, network with the 2-year classmates, learn business skills in the electives, and break 100 on the beautiful Robert T. Jones Golf Course.
Labels: AMBA, Mallorca, Robert T. Jones Golf Course, Sage Hall
Friday, June 19, 2009
End of the First Month
We just finished Financial Accounting and Microeconomics finals this Tuesday. Today marks the start of the second month of the Cornell AMBA program. It has been a blur and I am still trying to catch my breath after a month jam-packed with course work, career group activities, and other social events. Through all this, we have formed a strong bond among 42 classmates. I am fortunate to know several of them very well, in spite of the fact that we were half a world apart just a month ago. A number of my classmates kindly agreed to be guest bloggers to Saba's and my blogs. So you will get to know them too.
I will offer my impressions of Cornell, the Johnson School, the AMBA program and the town of Ithaca in later blogs. Today I will try to address an issue on a lot of current, former and prospective students' minds: the Johnson School's US News rankings. The Cornell AMBA program was my No. 1 choice all along. The school, the faculty and the alumni network are still the same, if not stronger today than a year ago when Cornell was ranked three spots higher. The sorry economy and tough job market have blown anything negative, real or perceived, out of proportion. Nevertheless, in the casual conversations and formal feedback sessions with the school administrators and faculty, students have brought up this topic rather frequently.
I spoke with Johnson School staff. The response was Cornell certainly will not make any drastic changes just to pander to a news magazine ranking. The School, however, looks into the ranking methodology and data very closely, and will move to address any issues exposed in these rankings. I completely agree with the Johnson School's approach. In the meantime, I do feel a sense of urgency among the Johnson School community. This is on the agenda of an internal committee. I have full confidence it will be taken care of very quickly.
There are murmurings that the Johnson School will move part of its executive programs to New York City. I think it's a step in the right direction. The common knock on Cornell is its location. I love the campus, and I love Ithaca and its surroundings. But for the MBA students who want to get into Banking, Asset Management or other finance jobs (more than half of the class), it is a hassle to make frequent trips to NYC. The driving distance from Ithaca to NYC is the same as from Washington, DC. I spoke with several classmates and batted around a crazy idea (Hey I am a scientist, that's what I do:)) Cornell should open a mini-campus in New York City. The Investment Banking and Asset Management Immersion Programs have their Week in New York and Trek to New York City. Why not open a more permanent facility that both the MBA and the Executive MBA could use. The Fulltime MBA could have a two or three week session at the new location. A number of finance courses can be taught there. It might also open the door for a part-time MBA program, where the only competition is Langone MBA Program of NYU. In the short term, the Johnson school would announce its strong presence at the center of the financial world; while in the long term, this could build long lasting relationships with more potential employers and sponsors. At the beginning the "mini-campus" can be shared with Weill Cornell in Upper East Side of Manhattan, until a permanent facility could be build with endowment and donations.
It certainly would cost a lot of money. Having faculty members and 200 students living in Manhattan for a few weeks could be a logistical nightmare. This is just one man's opinion. Dean Thomas and other University leadership have more feasible grand plans for the Johnson School and Sage Hall. In his Strategic Plan, Dean Thomas laid out six initiatives, including facilities in New York City. Cornell and the Johnson School will continue to be a strong Ivy League brand and an innovative program for the students, the faculty and the alumni.
I will offer my impressions of Cornell, the Johnson School, the AMBA program and the town of Ithaca in later blogs. Today I will try to address an issue on a lot of current, former and prospective students' minds: the Johnson School's US News rankings. The Cornell AMBA program was my No. 1 choice all along. The school, the faculty and the alumni network are still the same, if not stronger today than a year ago when Cornell was ranked three spots higher. The sorry economy and tough job market have blown anything negative, real or perceived, out of proportion. Nevertheless, in the casual conversations and formal feedback sessions with the school administrators and faculty, students have brought up this topic rather frequently.
I spoke with Johnson School staff. The response was Cornell certainly will not make any drastic changes just to pander to a news magazine ranking. The School, however, looks into the ranking methodology and data very closely, and will move to address any issues exposed in these rankings. I completely agree with the Johnson School's approach. In the meantime, I do feel a sense of urgency among the Johnson School community. This is on the agenda of an internal committee. I have full confidence it will be taken care of very quickly.
There are murmurings that the Johnson School will move part of its executive programs to New York City. I think it's a step in the right direction. The common knock on Cornell is its location. I love the campus, and I love Ithaca and its surroundings. But for the MBA students who want to get into Banking, Asset Management or other finance jobs (more than half of the class), it is a hassle to make frequent trips to NYC. The driving distance from Ithaca to NYC is the same as from Washington, DC. I spoke with several classmates and batted around a crazy idea (Hey I am a scientist, that's what I do:)) Cornell should open a mini-campus in New York City. The Investment Banking and Asset Management Immersion Programs have their Week in New York and Trek to New York City. Why not open a more permanent facility that both the MBA and the Executive MBA could use. The Fulltime MBA could have a two or three week session at the new location. A number of finance courses can be taught there. It might also open the door for a part-time MBA program, where the only competition is Langone MBA Program of NYU. In the short term, the Johnson school would announce its strong presence at the center of the financial world; while in the long term, this could build long lasting relationships with more potential employers and sponsors. At the beginning the "mini-campus" can be shared with Weill Cornell in Upper East Side of Manhattan, until a permanent facility could be build with endowment and donations.
It certainly would cost a lot of money. Having faculty members and 200 students living in Manhattan for a few weeks could be a logistical nightmare. This is just one man's opinion. Dean Thomas and other University leadership have more feasible grand plans for the Johnson School and Sage Hall. In his Strategic Plan, Dean Thomas laid out six initiatives, including facilities in New York City. Cornell and the Johnson School will continue to be a strong Ivy League brand and an innovative program for the students, the faculty and the alumni.
Labels: AMBA, New York City, The Johnson School