Monday, March 30, 2009
The Value of Destination Johnson
Destination Johnson (or DJ as we call it) is coming up this weekend giving some incoming students a chance to get an inside look at the Johnson School community before they start school here in August. For some prospective students, its a chance to compare and contrast this school to others they may be considering accepting an offer from. In either case, its understandable when people loosely refer to this weekend as a "sell weekend" for the school. In my opinion, while that may be true to some extent, DJ weekend is more about meeting new people and finding mentors and friends in them who may be able to share valuable guidance and advice as you spend two years in business school.
My experience was absolutely positive, giving me a chance to meet some amazing people who have become great friends and mentors. For this reason, there were a few things regarding DJ that I want to share with you so that you too can walk away with an experience similar to mine.
1. Stay with a student host- I ended up staying the weekend with a close friend of mine at the Law School. Part of the reason was that I wasn't sure about the notion of being hosted by a student and staying at someone's place that I hadn't met before. After observing 2 years of DJ, all I can say is that there is absolutely nothing uncomfortable about it. A number of my friends here have hosted students and it has been a great experience for all involved. It gives incoming students a chance to establish a great bond with their host who shows them in the ins and outs of the school during the weekend, and for the host its a chance to share their experience with someone who is now in the the place where they were not long ago. Besides, the social and amicable nature of the Johnson School community really makes this a great experience.
2.Attend all the events as you never know who you may meet- DJ weekend 2007 had a forecasted storm that was supposed to begin Saturday night to Sunday morning. Initially I had planned to skip out on the Saturday night dinner at a students house and the party at the Museum given my long drive back to Detroit. However, at the last minute the student hosting the dinner changed my mind and I ended up staying for the dinner and the party. This was probably one of the best decisions I made in the last 2 years. At the dinner, I met a second year student who was in the same Immersion and career path as I and was headed to full time employment at a firm I wanted to work for. And the best part was that we really hit it off. Infact, he took me with him to the museum party and introduced me with other students with the same career paths who were both first and second years. This really gave me a huge advantage as I now had access to a group of people who can guide me even before I began school! As for the second student himself, he turned out to b one of the best mentors I had as I navigated the challenging course of banking internship recruiting in my first year. All because I chose to stay for an event that I almost skipped out on.
3. Introduce yourself to your prospective classmates- The biggest piece of advice I can give for this weekend is to not be shy and introduce yourself to as many people as you can. Everyone is in the same boat in an unfamiliar setting meeting new people. The best thing to do is introduce yourself to anyone and everyone you meet, especially your incoming classmates. A number of my friends met their roommates or best friends at DJ just because they introduced themselves to each other and hit it off. The advantage of this is that when you start school in August, its nice to have a familiar face or friend who is in the same boat as you that you can rely on to get through the challenges of the first semester.
The three points above are just the points I wanted to share with those of you attending DJ this weekend, as I felt they may be helpful. For those who are still on the fence, think of it this way. The cost is one weekend. The benefit is contacts who may become great mentors and best of friends.. For me, the benefit certainly outweighed the cost.
My experience was absolutely positive, giving me a chance to meet some amazing people who have become great friends and mentors. For this reason, there were a few things regarding DJ that I want to share with you so that you too can walk away with an experience similar to mine.
1. Stay with a student host- I ended up staying the weekend with a close friend of mine at the Law School. Part of the reason was that I wasn't sure about the notion of being hosted by a student and staying at someone's place that I hadn't met before. After observing 2 years of DJ, all I can say is that there is absolutely nothing uncomfortable about it. A number of my friends here have hosted students and it has been a great experience for all involved. It gives incoming students a chance to establish a great bond with their host who shows them in the ins and outs of the school during the weekend, and for the host its a chance to share their experience with someone who is now in the the place where they were not long ago. Besides, the social and amicable nature of the Johnson School community really makes this a great experience.
2.Attend all the events as you never know who you may meet- DJ weekend 2007 had a forecasted storm that was supposed to begin Saturday night to Sunday morning. Initially I had planned to skip out on the Saturday night dinner at a students house and the party at the Museum given my long drive back to Detroit. However, at the last minute the student hosting the dinner changed my mind and I ended up staying for the dinner and the party. This was probably one of the best decisions I made in the last 2 years. At the dinner, I met a second year student who was in the same Immersion and career path as I and was headed to full time employment at a firm I wanted to work for. And the best part was that we really hit it off. Infact, he took me with him to the museum party and introduced me with other students with the same career paths who were both first and second years. This really gave me a huge advantage as I now had access to a group of people who can guide me even before I began school! As for the second student himself, he turned out to b one of the best mentors I had as I navigated the challenging course of banking internship recruiting in my first year. All because I chose to stay for an event that I almost skipped out on.
3. Introduce yourself to your prospective classmates- The biggest piece of advice I can give for this weekend is to not be shy and introduce yourself to as many people as you can. Everyone is in the same boat in an unfamiliar setting meeting new people. The best thing to do is introduce yourself to anyone and everyone you meet, especially your incoming classmates. A number of my friends met their roommates or best friends at DJ just because they introduced themselves to each other and hit it off. The advantage of this is that when you start school in August, its nice to have a familiar face or friend who is in the same boat as you that you can rely on to get through the challenges of the first semester.
The three points above are just the points I wanted to share with those of you attending DJ this weekend, as I felt they may be helpful. For those who are still on the fence, think of it this way. The cost is one weekend. The benefit is contacts who may become great mentors and best of friends.. For me, the benefit certainly outweighed the cost.
# posted by Faizan @ 12:57 PM 
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I think what you're saying is: just get out there, meet new peoples, don't be shy, as they actually in the same position as yours and introduce your self. Because you don't know what is coming up after that. Who know big opportunities will head up to you right away. kerja kosong
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