Haas Student Ambassadors

We've Moved!

2011-08-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

The Haas Student Ambassadors Blog has moved from Blogger to Wordpress. New posts will appear exclusively at http://haasstudentambassadors.wordpress.com/. The new RSS feed is available here. Thanks for reading!

Media/Entertainment 101 Panel

2010-09-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

Today I participated in the Media/Entertainment 101 panel. The purpose of this panel was to give the class of 2012 an overview of the space, the typical roles and work performed along with information on what is needed to conduct a successful job search.

On the panel was a handpicked selection of second years who spent their summers at Apple, Disney, Facebook, Google, and Zynga. From launching new products to managing global teams, the first year panelists showed that it's possible to accomplish a lot in 2.5 months! While we had different roles and responsibilities, it was no doubt that we were all enthusiastic about talking about our great summer experiences!

This was a great opportunity to share our insights on not only the recruiting process but also give the first years an inside look at what it's like to work at these companies. Given the insightful questions, we are confident that the new class has hit the ground running and will continue to stake their claim in the digital media and entertainment industry!

Haas Job Seekers Kick Off with Firm Night!

2010-09-10T12:29:00.001-07:00

School has just barely started and the quest for the perfect job has already begun! For Haas students looking to make a career transition, or those working to reach the next step along their career trajectory, there are a tremendous amount of resources at Haas. In addition to our wonderful Career Services Office staff who know us by name, face, professional background, and career goals, we also have a fantastic Vice President of Careers to help us! Our VP Careers sits on the MBA Student Government body and is there to provide job-related resources.

On Monday night, we had a Firm Night, where 2nd year students represented different industries and played the role of professionals, while 1st year students had the opportunity to pose questions and network with these "professionals" to get some practice in before the networking events happen in real life! My classmate interned at a pharmaceutical company this summer and represented the health care industry. She is so passionate about this area that she is also a Career Coach, there to help students to be successful in securing jobs/internships in this area. My other classmate, who just got married this past weekend on the East Coast, made it back not only for Firm Night, but also didn't miss any classes! A former investment banker, he worked for a large consulting firm this summer, and was there to be the Consulting Professional for the evening. Firm Night is a great idea, as it's a practice run for the real thing - you get to practice how to ask good questions that leave a positive impression on recruiters in your chosen field. If you mess up, it's okay, that's what practice is for. One of the aspects that I love about Haas is that students are supportive of each other in their pursuits, so supportive that 2nd year students would come back to school at night dressed up in suits to play these roles, just so you can test your preparation, and get those bad jokes and other networking faux pas out of the way in time to make a stellar impression with recruiters!

Days at Haas II - Sizzle Reel

2010-05-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

For a peek into Days at Haas II, check out another Academy Award Nominated video by our very own Nan Duan.

Days at Haas II Sizzle Reel from Matt Salazar on Vimeo.

Business Plan Competition & C4C Sports Weekend Recap!

2010-04-26T16:00:00.000-07:00

University of California Community Spawns New Ideas, Wins Prizes

On April 29th, alumni, students, and faculty from the UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will present their best business ideas and compete for nearly $28,000 in prize money at the 12th annual UC Berkeley Business Plan Competition hosted by the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. The six finalist teams fall into three tracks: information technology & web, life sciences, and products & services.

The grand prize winner and track winners are chosen by judges from the venture capital industry. All members of the audience will have a chance to vote on the People’s Choice Award and newly Elevator Pitch Award during the event. Event is open to the public. More details and registration (required) is located here: http://entrepreneurship.berkeley.edu/bef/apr10forum.html

Haas snags 4th place at the annual Challenge 4 Charity Sports Weekend!

The C4C weekend (4/16 & 4/17) brought together nine West Coast MBA programs in Palo Alto for a weekend of sports, friendly competition and an opportunity to raise money for Boys & Girls Club and Special Olympics, among other local charities.

Over 125 Haas students and partners participated in the various weekend events. Some Oski highlights included our one-woman spelling bee champion, Sarah Kwon ('11); a black eye from the competitive dance-off event (don't mess with our dancing abilities!); and a Battle of the Bands and Cheerleading performance that we won't soon forget!

Haas Standings:
1st place
- Golf
- Ultimate Frisbee
- Spelling Bee
- Trivia

2nd place
- Co-ed softball
- Dodgeball
- Squash

3rd place
- Co-ed Soccer
- Co-ed Football

We look forward to having some of you bring your skills to the field or on the stage for C4C Sports Weekend 2011!!

Recap: Days at Haas I

2010-04-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

A recap of all the great things that went on this past weekend at Days at Haas. I hope to see all of you in the fall!

Video by: Nan Duan

Photographers: Leticia Achardl, Lauren Gellman, Alexa Hawrysz, Lauren Hayslett, Bernie Lin, Miguel Martinez, Elena Martinez, Ben Poynter, Matt Salazar, Mary Seo, Leon Wei

Days at Haas I Sizzle Reel on Vimeo.

Days at Haas 1 – T minus 6 days!

2010-04-02T16:09:00.000-07:00

From fellow HSA, Chuck Doppelt '11:

Probably the biggest (and most rewarding) event that the HSA team pulls of each year is Days at Haas. Days at Haas is a weekend (Thursday through Saturday) for admitted students to get a feel for what life is like on campus and a chance to meet their future classmates. It was far and away the biggest reason I chose to come to Haas when I participated in it last year. The first session starts April 8th (Days at Haas 2 is on April 29th) which is just next week! All of the HSAs have been putting in long hours to make sure that this event is special for the MBA class of 2012 and it’s bound to be a good time! We’ve already broke the records for the number of people registered – so we’re working really hard not to disappoint.

I’m spending most of my waking hours planning the Thursday Night Diversity Pre-Reception, the Student Dinners, the Alumni Panel, and gathering all the logistics around agendas, folders, and handouts. We have a great group of current students representing all the different cultural affinity groups for the pre-reception: the Black Business Student Association, South Asian Business Club, Pacific Rim Club, European Business Club, Latin American Business Association, Jewish Business Club, and our MBA Association VP of International. It should be a good time for those who can come a little early to get a sense for the diversity that we pride ourselves on. It’s been really easy getting these groups to volunteer their time for this event – the clubs are eager to meet with next year’s 1st year class and discuss their experiences at Haas. This event will lead directly to the Welcome Reception where admits will get a chance to hear from 2009 Nobel Laureate and Haas Professor, Oliver Williamson and meet their future classmates.

After the Welcome Reception, we’ll move on to my favorite event – the student dinners. This was the singular event that really made me feel the personality of Haas when I was a participant last year and something that I didn’t see from any other Admitted Students Weekend. We have 13 current students who are opening up their homes for admits, partners, and current student for dinner. I’ve been arranging the food, drinks, transportation, and getting flyers for each house. This event really sheds some light on what makes Haas different – friendly students who embrace a sense of community within our school. I know that all the houses will be as welcoming as the one I went to last year and that the admits and partners will have a great time and get to know each other and current students in a more intimate setting. I also know that some houses are going above and beyond (in true Haas style)…get ready for some surprises!

On top of these two events, I’m also organizing our Alumni Panel (with our fabulous Alumni Relations Director, Meg Roundy) to show the longer-term impact of Haas. We have some great panelist ranging from Consulting to CSR to CEOs of start-ups to Real Estate to Tech to Finance. Although we can’t possibly cover every industry or functional area of interest for admits, we’re trying to cover as many bases as we can. We’ve moved this to Friday (previously it was on Saturday) because we felt that if fit in better with the atmosphere of each day and I initially thought that it would be hard getting Alums to come to campus on a workday. No problem at all – it’s really a tribute to how much our Alums care about Haas and want to share their experiences. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised – these are the people who are continually coming back here to recruit, mentor, and speak. We truly have a connected and passionate Alumni Network. I hope this comes through at the panel.

Beyond these responsibilities, I’m also keeping the agenda and all the handouts. I know this seems like a thankless and boring duty, its given me the chance to peer into a lot of the other events that my colleagues are planning. The Amazing Race is going to be a really good time. I know that the Partner’s Program on Friday will be a great chance for them to get a good sense of the neighborhoods around Haas and be able to network with other partners. The Case and Faculty Panel will really give students a good sense of how friendly and approachable our Professors are. The Career Fair will let our superstar Career Services Office (CSO) shine and introduce all the admits to the people who are here to help you get that dream job! Then there is the fun stuff…We have Bar of the Week, a Consumption Function, and the Saturday Hangin’ with Haas events. Plus, our Latin American Club is putting on their famous annual Mojito Party on Friday after the Consumption Function. They have graciously given free admission to all the admits and partners who want to go – so if your body can handle another party, it’ll be waiting for you.

Days at Haas will definitely be a great time – I really hope that all those admitted choose to attend (and if not this one, please come on the 29th).

Thanks – and back to work,
Chuck

Day in the Life of Another Current Student

2010-04-02T15:25:00.000-07:00

7:00 Wake up - hit the snooze button

8:00 Wake up for real this time. Remember to wear business casual today, as I have an Admissions info session this afternoon and have to look presentable (haha - presentable is my middle name! :) )

9:30 Grab coffee on the way to Real Estate Finance class. This is one of the electives I'm taking this semester, taught by Nancy Wallace. Nancy is a rock star in the real estate economics field and is associated with the Fischer Center for Real Estate. Nancy uses her extensive network to bring in leaders in the real estate field to speak to our class. Today is the 2nd class being guest taught by Robert Helsley, whose speciality is urban economics. We've been looking at how economists explain concentrations of people and jobs in cities. Did you know that 75% of the US population lives on 2% of the land?

11:00 Meet with my Real Estate Finance group to divvy up the work for our case analysis due next week. In my group, I have a 2nd year MBA student, two other 1st year MBA students, and a 2nd year law student. We also discuss our final class project, which is an investment analysis and market analysis of a real estate project, either existing or in development. This project involves speaking with real estate professionals to get the numbers behind the deal, and do an analysis to support our go or no go recommendation. I can't believe we only have 6 weeks left to finish!

12:30 Meet up with a international new admit who is visiting Haas and a couple of other schools while he and his wife are in the US. He is interested in sustainability, and we talk about the courses that students can take, and experiential learning and job opportunities available to students interested in sustainability. I also connect him to one of our 2nd year career coaches, who is extremely knowledgeable in the sustainability field, so she can tell him more about it from a 2nd year student's perspective.

1:00 Admissions Info Session! Today we had 12 visitors, which is a larger number than we've seen in the past few weeks. We like visitors at Haas, so the more the better!

2:00 Talk to a visitor who, like me, is from New York. I go on and on about the great access to outdoor activities in the Bay Area, and how Haas students love to take advantage of this! I think she got my point. :)

2:30 Lunch at Cafe FIFO and catch up on my reading for Ethics class.

3:45 Still at Cafe FIFO - it's amazing how if you stay still for one hour, all the people who you've been wondering about but haven't seen in a while pass by! I get to catch up with two classmates.

4:00 Ethics Class. I'm really enjoying this course so far. The readings are really interesting - today we had to read Kant, John Stuart Mills, Ursela LeGuin, and a case describing a difficult situation where a single mother was fired because she chose to care for her child over putting in long hours at her office. Our professor, Ernesto Dal Bo, does a great job of facilitating discussion about hard topics and forces us to tackle internal conflicts. You might have walked into the classroom thinking you were clear on where you stood on ethical issues, but you walk out with thinking of new perspectives provided by your classmates.

6:00 Catch up on emails. We are in full Days at Haas planning mode!

6:45 Women in Leadership event. As VP Professional Development for Women in Leadership at Haas, I come and support my leadership team, who has arranged to bring a professional wardrobe consultant to Haas. As a student, I don't shop anymore, but with interviews, internships and jobs, it's important to have a professional, polished look. Business casual is something I've never been comfortable with, so I come to this workshop, ready to take notes. I learned a lot about how clothes should fit and what types of clothes I should invest in to achieve that professional, polished look.

8:15 Home. My fiance picked me up from school and is making dinner. I just took him to our Partner Club Appreciation Dinner to show our partners how much we appreciate their support, so maybe I can get away with him doing the dishes tonight! Or maybe not...

9:30 More Days at Haas planning while sitting on the couch. It's been a long week, and I treat myself to some hard earned TV shows.

11:30 Bed time. What's on tap for the next day? Lots of Days at Haas planning...

For the new admits out there - I hope you're coming to Days at Haas! We can't wait to meet you all!

Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility at Haas

2010-03-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

This semester, I'm taking Kellie McElhaney's Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Course. The Strategic CSR course is one of the experiential learning course offerings at Haas. The course meets over the entire fourteen week semester, and we receive classroom instruction and guidance while simultaneously working on a consulting project with a corporation on a CSR related issue.

Earlier this month, my team, comprised of three MBA students, went to visit the headquarters of our client, a major airline. Our main task on this project is to examine our client's Corporate Citizenship strategy and determine how our client can position itself in an airline industry that is becoming more and more intentional about its corporate citizenship efforts. A large part of corporate citizenship for airlines is reducing their environmental impact. Improving fuel efficiency is one of the ways that our client, as well as other airlines, are achieving what defines CSR: doing what's good for the world, while also doing what's good for business.

Our client is testing out a plane that is more fuel efficient than standard planes within its fleet. Not only did my team get to fly on the this plane and interview onboard flight attendants, we also got to visit the airline hangar, and had the opportunity to interview people at all levels of the organization, from junior level to C-level staff.

This field work has greatly enhanced the quality of our project deliverables, and my team is very excited to give our final presentation to the class and our client in early May. This course has exceeded my expectations in terms of the quality of instruction and class discussions, the caliber of guest speakers who have visited our class, the visibility and relevance of each of the team projects, and the resources that have been made available to my team. I would recommend this class to anyone who is looking to pursue a career in CSR, as well as to anyone even remotely interested in the subject. It's been an eye opening experience so far.

Day in the Life of a Current Student - Marcelo #1

2010-03-05T14:48:00.000-08:00

7:30am

Alarm goes off. I have just enough time to brew some coffee and have breakfast while I look over my notes and prep for a client call for my International Business Development (IBD) project.

IBD is one of the more popular experiential learning opportunities offered at Haas. I'm working with four classmates to develop a business and marketing plan for a global conservation organization to support traditional crafts in Rwanda. The goal is to enable local communities to both engage in convervation and earn a living through a sustainable small enterprise system.

8am

The call is with a specialist at the conservation organization who is from Rwanda and is familiar with the cooperatives and the crafts market. He gives us some great information and advice to round out the research portion of the project and we're ready to dive into the analysis! We are also getting excited about spending three weeks in Rwanda this summer and getting to talk to the community members, present our findings, visit the National Parks, and see the famous gorillas!

10am

On campus now, holding down the fort during my H.S.A. office hours. I'm in charge of the registration for Days at Haas I, so I spend some time making sure things are running smoothly and checking the stats. We are excited to see so many admitted students and partners signed up already! I respond to any other queries that come through the hsa@haas.berkeley.edu email and get some DAH planning out of the way.

12:30pm

I make my way to the Wells Fargo Room for this month's Dean's Speaker Series, one that I'm particularly excited about given my interest in film. Bill Block, Executive Producer and Founder of QED International, spends the next hour giving us an overview of the film industry and methods of valuing a project given estimated earnings in the box office, DVD sales, syndication, and of course, the talent attached to the movie. I should also mention that his movie, District 9, is up for four Academy Awards!

1:30pm

We had plenty of time for Q&A during the presentation but I was lucky to have been invited to have lunch with Bill, Dean Lyons, and four other FTMBA students afterwards. It was a treat to have that opportunity to pick his brain about the future of film, exciting trends in the industry, and to hear first-hand stories and lessons learned from such a successful businessman.

4pm

I arrived to the last Macroeconomics class invigorated from my lunch with Bill. We covered the last bit of material for the course and Professor Rose reviewed the major themes of the class to help us better prepare for the final. We end the class with a rousing applause, a common practice on the last day of class :)

6:30pm

I head up to the Wells Fargo Room for the second time today - this time for a talk sponsored by the Global Initiatives @ Haas group. The topic is "Africa - The Final Frontier: Private Equity for Social and Financial Gain." I arranged to meet up with one of my IBD teammates since this is a very relevant topic for us and our project. The talk is geared towards doing business in Africa and some of the challenges at the small and medium size enterprise (SME) level. We come away with useful nuggets of information that we can share with the rest of our team.

8pm

After the talk, I head back home. I'm only a 10-15 min walk from campus on the South side, so it's really convenient for me. On the way, I start to crave the carnitas tacos from Gordo's Taqueria on College Ave., a local favorite, so I call one of my classmates who lives nearby and meet up with him for a casual dinner/catch-up session. Since we're in different cohorts this semester, we don't see each other very often. It's nice that a good number of classmates live nearby and that we have plenty of great dining options.

9pm

Time to catch up on email and treat myself to a movie from Netflix. It's great to have some time to unwind at home!

Interested in Clean Tech and Energy?

2010-03-03T00:38:00.000-08:00

On the eve of the Berkeley Energy Symposium, I want to highlight the resources available at Haas for students interested in the energy industry and clean technology. This is a field of ballooning interest here at Haas, driven by the tremendous amount of energy-related research taking place at Berkeley and around the Bay Area. Although energy is a topic of interest that touches numerous graduate programs, many of Berkeley's most active energy organizations have grown under the leadership of Haas students and faculty.

To highlight a few:

The Energy Institute at Haas

EI@Haas is a joint venture of the Haas School of Business and the UC Energy Institute that promotes the development of business and policy leaders within the energy industry. Both EI@Haas and the UC Energy Institute are headed by Haas professor Severin Borenstein, who has been a pioneer of of energy at Berkeley. EI@Haas organizes courses, publishes academic research and hosts special events throughout the year.

Berkeley Energy Resources Collaborative (BERC)

BERC is one of the largest student-run organizations on campus, claiming over 2,300 members. Although BERC was founded at Haas, it has since grown to include students from over 10 different graduate programs. BERC is a not just a centralized academic resource, it's become a social community and a powerful professional network.

Most notably, BERC organizes the annual Energy Symposium. This year's symposium will be held Wednesday, March 3 and Thursday, March 4th, featuring keynote speakers Bill Weihl, Google's Green Energy Czar, John Bryson, Former CEO of Edison International and Co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Philip D. Moeller, Commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The theme of this year's Symposium is "2020: Envisioning the Future of Global Energy."

CleanTech 2 Market

C2M is a popular experiential learning course at Haas, which pairs cross-disciplinary student teams with scientists from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) to bring clean energy inventions to market. C2M is co-directed by Beverly Alexander and Cyrus Wadia, and was founded as a joint initiative of LBNL and BERC. This spring, C2M projects are focused on solar, battery, smart grid and biofuel technologies.

Idea Labs, Energy Competitions & Haas@Work

Haas students participate in numerous energy-related Idea Labs, case competitions and consulting projects. Of recent interest: this Friday, Haas will host the 2010 semi-final rounds for the International Renewable Energy Case Competition, sponsored by Investors Beyond Borders.

Although this is certainly not a comprehensive list, I hope this gives you a better understanding of the opportunities at Haas for students interested in clean tech and energy. Power on!

Day In the Life of A Current Student - Salazar Edition #1

2010-02-12T16:30:00.000-08:00

This is the first of my post about a Day in the Life. As many will tell you at Haas, there is no typical day. The day below happened to be one of my particularly busy days. As the semester progress, I'll try to switch it up to paint a fuller picture. Without further ado...

Day in the Life a Current Student - Salazar Edition #1

6:15 AM - Alarm sounds. Hit the snooze button.

6:30 AM - After snoozing 3x, its time to get up. Get ready for a very busy day.

6:50 AM - Leave my apartment to walk to campus. I live on the southside of campus (my favorite) so its a 10 mintue walk. Do a quick scan of my inbox on my iPhone to make sure I didn't miss any urgent e-mails. I see that Lauren is bringing bagels to this morning's HSA meeting. I walk a little faster.

6:58 AM - Today is our weekly HSA meeting. Our main topic of discussion today is the Days@Haas events in April. We continue to iterate on our ideas and discussion from prior meetings. We also discuss some special projects that aim to provide another avenue for all of you to see what it's really like to be at Haas. Exciting stuff ahead so stay tuned.

9 AM - Holding my HSA office hours talking to prospective students and responding to e-mails (we really do read everything that comes through hsa@haas.berkeley.edu and try to get back back to you promptly). I also take this time to coordinate smaller meetings with HSA sub-teams for particular sections of Days@Haas.

11 AM - Having attended to my HSA duties, I head down to the Computing Center to meet up with my Independent Study Project Team.

A little more details about my Independent Study Project. As part of my electives for this semester, I chose to setup a research project within the digital entertainment space. Through the Play Conference (www.playconference.org) I met various executives from the industry. I had a great conversation with one executive in particular, on where we thought the industry was heading. As this semester came around I pitched to him a collaboration between Haas and his company on market research project and he immediately came on board.

Today's meeting centered on narrowing our project scope and focused on how we would approach the next meeting with our company contact. As a former consultant, it's nice to see some of the skills continue to be relevant.

12:30 PM - My first break of the day. I head to the MBA lounge to check e-mail and relax for a bit. End up catching up with a few people I haven't seen all week. It's good to hear people have been busy with recruiting. We all agree that there's been a sizable improvement over last year.

1 PM - Grab some lunch to take with me to my next meeting with my group from my entrepreneurship class. Really loving the process of putting together a business plan. What's great is that we have a direct line to a VC mentor so we can get very timely feedback.

2 PM - Operations class. This class is turning into one of my favorite classes at Haas. Hearing 2nd year's rave about Professor Taylor, I had some high expectations and I'm happy to say they've all been met. Today's class is a debrief of the "Beer Game" simulation we ran in our prior class. The simulation centered around production and supply chain management in uncertain demand. The simulation helped reinforce concepts from lecture as well as prior cases.

4:00 PM - Media and Entertainment class. I'm really happy that I was able to take this elective this semester. The class is taught by two professors, Professor Spiller who has done academic research within the area, and Professor Ulin who has a wealth of industry experience, most notably at LucasArts. It's a great blend of theory and real-world application.

6PM - Hang around after class catching up with friends, notably congratulating my friend who got engaged over the weekend.

6:30 PM - Grab some dinner from Thai Basil, one of my favorite Thai places in Berkeley.

7 PM - Make it home, have dinner, watch a little TV.

8 PM - Break open the laptop and start catching up on e-mail from today. Do some reading to prep for my Thursday classes. I finish my portion of the Macroeconomics case on Argentina for my study group.

11:30 PM - Switch back into relax mode. Watch a little late night TV and then off to bed after a very long but productive day.

HSAs in Transition

2010-02-12T16:15:00.000-08:00

As the first posting member of the new HSA team, I think it's only fitting that I acknowledge all the great work the outgoing HSA team has done. Together Veronica, Saumil, Jenny, Bernie, Jessica, Hetu, Meredith, and Dan logged thousands of hours speaking to admits (that would be me and my classmates), holding info sessions, organizing Days@Haas Admit weekend, and conducting student interviews. Moreover, they've been a great resource for the incoming team and have really made sure they passed on their knowledge and insights. We have some big shoes to fill. So in closing to our outgoing team, remember what you told us: Once an HSA, always an HSA.

Another Good Day (Day in the Life #4)

2009-10-09T00:56:00.000-07:00

Wow, today was really a good day! I've been waiting for that "perfect" super-packed/fun/busy/crazy day to blog about, and all the stars aligned for me today. And here is my tale:

10:00 am - Get out of bed (I usually sleep at 2 or 3am) a bit groggy, but looking forward to the jam packed day. Quickly reply to all the emails about the >play Conference (Haas' digital media and entertainment conference, www.playconference.org), Astronomy midterm questions from my undergraduate students (I'm a graduate student instructor (GSI) for the class, more on this later), and follow up with a few career coach mentors to sign up for their 1st year "mentees" (part of a new initiative I'm pushing this semester as the VP of Admission.

11:00 am - Get ready to leave for SF to meet the HR Director of LucasArts, where I interned this past summer, for lunch. Checked Google Maps to see if the traffic was bad, and saw red and black lines at the Bay Bridge toll plaza, uh oh!!! I rushed out of the house and called the HR Director saying I may be late, and hoped for the best!

11:55 am - Miraculously, I got to the Presidio, where LucasArts is located (near the Golden Gate Bridge) 5 minutes before our meeting time. Whew!

12:00 pm - Treated to a nice lunch at one of the most beautiful company cafeterias I've ever seen. It has a 270 degree floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, the Presidio, the Palace of Fine Arts, and the hills of San Francisco. You really can't beat eating the yummy/healthy/organic food with a view like that!

The meeting with the HR Director was mainly to catch up on how life has been after I went back to school at the end of August. Unfortunately due to our busy schedules, we weren't able to meet up until 8 weeks into the school year. We chit chat about all the latest news on both ends, interesting classes and events I'm planning, and more about the culture of the company. I had such a positive and fun experience this past summer at the company that I'm definitely going into the gaming industry for my full time job after graduation, and if I'm lucky enough, hopefully I get an offer from them.

1:00 pm - Lunch ended with a surprise gift from the HR Director that was pretty random, and a guarantee that I will hear whether there's an offer in 2 weeks. yay! Caught up a little more with the UR Manager I worked with over the summer and then rushed back over the Bay Bridge to make my 2pm class in time.

2:00 pm - Power and Politics in Organizations", taught by Prof. Cameron Anderson. This has been one of my FAVORITE classes so far at Haas. The 7 week course (which will be followed by 7 weeks of Negotiations and Conflict Resolution, itself an "award winning" class) is like drinking out of a firehose. I've learned so much about human behavior, how to influence others, how to build networks and alliances, etc... through this course. Today we analyzed a film we watched on Tuesday, "12 Angry Men", and discussed the 6 ways of influencing a hostile crowd. Did I say I love this class? =)

4:00 pm - "Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Wireless Industry". This is another popular class that involves 400-600 pages of reading every week and super in depth discussion about every aspect of the wireless industry, from the spectrum regulations to technology to platforms to carriers and more! Prof. Reza Moazzami knows EVERYTHING about this industry! And the class discussions, while it often goes over my head, have been very useful in understanding the nooks and crannies of the industry.

Today, we were lucky to have the former CEO of Good Technology, a competitor to Research in Motion's (RIM) BlackBerry device, to come in and do a joint discussion. The speaker was engaging and the stories he told illustrated many of the innovative business strategies that RIM used to reach its dominant status today in the enterprise email space. It was definitely one of the best discussions so far in this

6:00 pm - Went to grab a quick dinner with 5 of my closest classmates at one of my favorite local restaurants, Le Petit Cheval, a Vietnamese restaurant where the lunch specials are under $6 and takes me 2 sittings to finish. I had to wolf down my food, unfortunately, because I needed to get back on campus by 7pm to do an Astronomy midterm review session.

7:00 pm - So why the heck am I a GSI for an undergraduate, non-science major, and breadth requirement astronomy class? Well, because I love astronomy, and it has been a hobby of mine since elementary school. I also took the course many many years ago with Prof. Alex Filippenko, and I can confidently say he is probably the best professor I've ever had. The guy is brilliant, yet can still explain super complex ideas such as black holes, supernovae, and the expansion of the universe so that even a non-science major can understand the basic concepts! In the past, he has made quite a few "poets" switch to an astronomy major. =)

Anyway, one of my biggest regrets in undergrad was not becoming a teaching assistant (TA) for him, and since I'm back at Berkeley now, I had to do it! While this class has taken over a huge chunk of my life, it has been very worth it to be immersed in one of my favorite hobbies again.

Tonight, as one of the 11 GSI/TAs (850 students take this class every year, with 26 discussion sections), I hosted one hour of the review session with a fellow GSI, answering any and every question the students had about light, phases of the moon, celestial sphere, and the planets. I was a little nervous about the session, since you never know what questions can come out of a room of 100 or so students, and I definitely did not want to get stumped in front of a large crowd like that, haha! I'm glad to say, it ended up being a lot of fun and I survived in one piece!

8:00 pm - Left for SF the 2nd time in one day to meet up with some non-Haas friends for game night and hanging out.

12:30 am - Returned home after a long day to check some more emails, type up this blog, and head to bed around 2 am. Quite an early night for me! Tomorrow is another day of interviews for my Power and Politics final paper, administering the astronomy midterm, and catching comedian Hal Sparks do a show in SF. I am loving life right now!

Day in the Life #3 - Minimish's Good day

2009-09-26T00:06:00.001-07:00

(Posting for Michelle, copy from the Student Blogs)

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

7:20 am Pre-Alarm goes off ("pre-alarm" because I always hit snooze at least once)

7:22 am I let my mind ease out of dreamland and into what will be my longest day of the week.

7:30 am Real-Alarm goes off. I reach over to my desk, grab my computer, and pull it onto my chest (while I'm still lying in bed). I already have the link to Professor Haykin's website, so that I can watch the Tesla Motors "Virtual Case" (aka video case) for today's Innovation, Creativity, and the Entrepreneur (ICE) class. I'm grateful for the opportunity to absorb a case with my eyes closed.

8:05 am After finishing the case, I put my computer back on the desk and roll out of bed. I listen to make sure none of my roommates are showering (don't want to divert the hot water), and begin to get so fresh and so clean. I turn up the volume and blast the case from my speakers as I get ready so I can review some of the key details (wasn't totally awake the first time I went through it)

9:00 am Phone rings. Who is calling at this hour? Daniel Chun, one of the undergrads on my Diversity Conference planning committee. He has a lead for a keynote speaker. AWESOME.

9:15 am Gah... I really should fire off some emails before I leave. Must find a nonprofit board meeting to attend before my paper for Strategic Management of NonProfits is due on Oct 20th. I check the websites of 5 charter schools, fire off emails to contacts at 3 CMOs, and text a couple friends at nonprofits. Maybe I should draft an email to solicit interviews from my Del Monte colleagues for the Strategy, Structure, and Incentives project... D'oh! Gotta go!

9:45 am Grab my dinner out of the fridge, hop on my scooter, and ride down the hill to school for

10:00am Meeting with admissions about the Diversity Admissions Workshop on Oct. 10th.

10:30am Bump into Takashi (from the other IBD Finland team) in BofA. Chat about our meeting with Sebastian and the upcoming IBD conference. Brandon (also on Takashi's team) swings by. We brainstorm what's the best way to provide constructive feedback on how to ensure that our client continues to get good value out of the IBD projects they pay so much for.

11:00am Hop on my scooter and scoot down to Emeryville for lunch with Gasper Martinez, a colleague from Stanford undergrad who I'm trying to recruit onto Leadership High School's Board of Trustees.

11:20am Arrive at Cocina Poblana, but Gasper texts that he won't be there for another 20 minutes. It smells yummy. I sit down, whip out my computer, and start drafting more emails.

11:40am Gasper arrives, buys us lunch, and lets me know that although I'm here to court him onto our board, he's also here to try to recruit me to work for EdTec, a charter school support organization. SWEET! Let's talk!

12:40pm We wrap up lunch, he agrees to set up a visit to Leadership High, and I agree to come by EdTec to have lunch with folks there sometime in the coming weeks. Time to jump back on the scooter and head to school.

1:10pm Back at school. As I'm walking from my parking spot to school, I pass by I-House, which today is hosting a BCBG sample sale with items up to 70% off! I've been dying for some reatil therapy for WEEKS... so tempting...

1:25pm Walk into C335 in time to catch the tail end of the Education Club kick-off meeting. Welcome to all you first years interested in public education!

2:00pm Help Jason gather up the extra pizza and walk over to the MBA lounge to meet with my IBD team on our upcoming presentation. Marvel at all the great pictures Bernie added to the presentation. Reminisce about how simple life was in Finland. Work on a single project during the day; relax in the evening and at night.

3:00pm Meet with Amy Hornstein in the program office to discuss the status of the Diversity Conference planning. Accept her offer of a plum tart slice leftover from Kate Blumberg's birthday. Tasty!

3:45pm Hungry again. Head to the MBA lounge and wolf down leftovers from lunch. Notice a bag of leftover baked goodies that are now up for grabs. I dig around and find... a brownie? Yoink!!!

3:55pm Pick up prospective students visiting my ICE class.

4:00pm ICE time! Today's session is on design thinking, and Whitney Mortimer, IDEO's head of Global Marketing is the guest speaker. I heart this class!

6:05pm Time for Strategy, Structure, and Incentives. Discussing make or buy/ outsourcing decisions. Somewhere around 7pm I start fading...

7:30pm Break time. I try to get on airbears (the UC Berkeley wireless network) to print the reading for Power & Politics tomorrow. FAIL. Try to call Wendell Tull from admissions to touch base about sponsorships for the workshop. No reception. Retrieve my dinner from the HaasWeek room fridge. Microwave does not blow up. Success! Yum. The food gives me a second wind. Start skimming the Power & Politics reading on my computer.

8:15pm Break over. Back to discussing the situations in which outsourcing does or does not make sense.

9:30pm Class over. Wohoo, I made it! Oof, it's cold outside now that it's dark. Suddenly regretting wearing a skirt/not bringing knee-high socks to wear on the ride back home. Oh well. Hop on the scooter and scoot up the hill.

10:00pm Home. Public policy roommate (Aurora) is pressing gauze to her lip and is icing it. What's going on? Public Health roommate (Meghan) explains that Aurora got hit in the face with a softball. =( We do some googling about what kinds of cuts need stitches. Aurora decides to go to the emergency room and sends me update texts about her tetanus shot and sweet wrist bracelet.

11:00pm Crawl into bed, pull my laptop onto my chest, and blog about my day. Aaaaannnnnd... I'm spent. G'night Neverland!

Minimish

A Day in the Life #2: A Mostly Typical Tuesday

2009-09-16T15:31:00.000-07:00

The alarm goes off at 7:30…way too early for the Tuesday after Labor Day! I just came back from Minneapolis late last night – was at a friend’s wedding. I feel a little bit behind schedule, so I hop out of bed right away and go over to the computer to check email. A couple dozen emails and one green smoothie later, I’m on my bike to Haas. It’s a particularly hot day, so I try to balance my inevitable lateness with not getting too sweaty on the uphill climb.

First meeting of the day – HSA weekly check-in. It won’t always be at 8:30 am, but with it only being the second week of school, this was the only time we could find when everyone was still shopping classes. We talk about the visitation programs for prospective students, our travel plans to various info sessions across the US, and upcoming plans for new HSA recruitment. I reflect back to when I was applying to be an HSA and how the time has flown by so quickly.

9:30 am, off to Financial Information Analysis class. As a music and engineering major in undergrad and coming from the nonprofit world, this class will probably be one of the most challenging in my time at Haas. But I specifically chose it to build knowledge in an area I know I need more work on. Today we talk about Overstock.com and how analysts determine the valuation of the company. I’m amazed at how much I’ve learned in just a year and a half at Haas. Although this class is challenging for me, I’m able to follow along with the financial speak and really get a lot out of the material.

I have a little break at 11 am, so I catch up with a friend I haven’t seen yet this school year. We talk about our summer internships and what the various clubs we lead have planned for the year. I walk over to Yali’s Café for an early lunch date with my husband, who is pursuing a PhD in Computer Science at Berkeley. When I started at Haas, we had hoped for weekly lunch dates, but soon found that 1st-year lunchtime was packed full of activities. So, in the first year, we probably only met twice for lunch. But this year, I am re-invigorated to make the weekly lunch dates happen.

12:30 pm and I’m back at Haas. I’m sitting on a panel about the Berkeley Board Fellows program, sharing my experience with the board of the Marin Theatre Company. This is a wonderful program at Haas, and the popularity is evident, as there aren’t even enough seats for all the interested students. After the session, I duck into the library for a few hours to finish up some reading and emails and also to escape the heat.

My second and last class of the day is “Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Wireless Services.” The professor, Reza Moazzami, is fantastic – I can’t imagine anyone with more knowledge about the industry. The class is set up as a real “deep dive” into the wireless industry, in which we synthesize readings from lots of different sources and have lively class discussion and debates.

At 6, I head over to Stanley Hall for a program the Global Initatives @ Haas Club is putting on – a conversation between the CEO of IDEO, Tim Brown and the CEO of Acumen Fund, Jacqueline Novogratz. The room is completely packed – not just with Haas students, but students, faculty and community members from all around Berkeley. It’s a fascinating discussion, and I’m inspired.

Around 8 pm, I head out with my hubby for some sushi dinner and call it a night. Time to walk the dog, write a paper, and hopefully indulge in the new episode of Mad Men.

Day In the Life of a Current Student Entry #1

2009-09-14T14:46:00.000-07:00

The school year is in full-swing and we are all getting back into school-mode after our rewarding summer internship experiences! We (the Haas Student Ambassadors) have been discussing our blog and trying to determine what is the best way for us to tell you about what it is really like to be a student at Haas. The second best thing to following us around all day is to read about what a day at Haas is really like for a student. So, on a go forward basis we will be posting “A Day in the Life Of…” on our blog so that you can get a real feeling of what your day might be like at Haas. Happy reading!

Monday 9/14:
I woke up early this morning to go on a run. I am training to run the Big Sur 1/2 Marathon in November with a group of first and second year students from Haas, as well as a few of my friends from my summer internship. My legs were a bit sore this morning as I ran 6 miles yesterday, but it got my day off to a great start.

After my run, I drove to school from my apartment in San Francisco. After stopping to pick up a sandwich at Fifo Cafe, I met with the other Haas Student Ambassadors for our weekly meeting. We discussed our visitation program for prospective students and came up with some great new ideas. Right after our meeting, I led an information session for prospective students along with another Haas Student Ambassador. The session went very great and was very well-attended.

After I finish writing this Blog, I will be heading to the library to get caught up on emails from today as well as finish writing my case writeup for my Marketing Strategy course (due tomorrow morning at 9:30 am). We are currently working on a case for Sony and their car navigation systems, which is extremely interesting. I am guessing that I will spend a few hours finishing my write-up and polishing my thoughts for class discussion tomorrow.

Then, I head to my Real Estate Finance and Securitization class tonight which is held from 6:00-9:30 pm. It is a very interesting class where we are learning about mortgage backed securities and the events that led up to the financial crisis here in the United States. This is a very interesting topic and I am excited to learn more about it.

After class, I will try to make it to the grocery store before heading back to San Francisco for the night. Then, me and my roommate (another second year Haas student) have plans for brownies and Tivo before bed.

Resources for Prospective Students

2009-09-09T00:03:00.000-07:00

As application season picks up (R1 deadlines is less than 2 months away!), I thought I would summarize all the different ways a prospective student/applicant can learn more about Haas, whether through cyberspace or in person:

Haas Student Blogs - a great way to get a glimpse of what student life is like on campus. Informal, fun, and lots of pictures.
http://berkeleymbastudents.blogspot.com/

Haas Student Ambassador (HSA) Blog - new format this semester (more to come) which should be a big hit!
http://haasstudentambassadors.blogspot.com/

Haas Visitation Program - Come for lunch with students, an infosession right after, and then a class visit if it fits your schedule.
http://mba.haas.berkeley.edu/visitation.html

Student Clubs - do some research on what clubs will help you network and make friends who are like-minded in career, cultural, and social interests!
http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/MBA/student/

And of course, if you have any questions, feel free to email us at hsa@haas.berkeley.edu!

Cheers!
Bernie

Summer Internship

2009-06-11T17:57:00.000-07:00

Greetings from my new cubicle! I started my summer internship in green building three weeks ago and am absolutely loving it! Being a project manager has been really fun because it allows me to work with architects, interior designers, and subcontractors. I love that I get to work with all of these talented and diverse people and that I am gaining insight into the world of green construction. I get to go to a job site almost once a day...It is so nice to get out of the office! It's also nice to be making money - I feel a lot less guilty going to Starbucks a few days a week :)

However, there are many things I miss about school, especially getting to see my fellow classmates every day.

All in all, this is shaping up to be a fantastic summer. I leave for Los Angeles this weekend for my 5-year college reunion. It will be fun to see my long-lost undergrad buddies and I'm even excited about the fact that I'll be sleeping in a dorm room for the weekend! Later in the summer, I've got a weekend trip to Lake Berryessa and a four-day trip to Toronto for one of my Haas classmate's weddings.

Happy Summer!

Days at Haas 2 Retrospective

2009-05-08T10:38:00.000-07:00

I have a soft spot for Days at Haas 2. I think this has to do with my personal experience of coming to DAH2 last year and having a blast. While I enjoyed the academic, career, and alumni portions, what really got me energized was the Scavenger Hunt.

You hear a lot about authenticity once you get to business school. In b-school, leadership is about finding your authentic voice and letting it shine. When I came to Haas last year, I remember having all the usual fears that a new student might have when meeting a big new group of people – “Will they like me?” “Will I fit in?” The Scavenger Hunt completely sold me on Haas. My crazy ideas weren’t so crazy, and creativity was truly appreciated. It was nice to know that I could really be myself at Haas.

The creativity and authenticity I saw at Days at Haas 2 this past weekend blew me away. I was completely impressed by our admitted students’ ability to take risks in front of people they didn’t know all that well, and to let their creativity and spontaneity shine.

So, a word to the wise to the Class of 2011 – even though you’ll all be “learning how to be authentic” in the fall, relax. From what I’ve seen, you have it within you already.

How can I decide?...

2009-04-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

One year ago, right around this time, I was in the same shoes as many of you are today. I had been accepted to business school and I was deciding where I should go. As you face this decision, I thought you might like to hear the process I went through to make my decision:

I’m a list maker, so it was no surprise that I created a pro/con list. When deciding between schools, the list included the following (in no particular order):
- how the curriculum would support my career aspirations
- where I could leverage and gain a strong network
- how did I connect with the current students and other admits I met
- strength and breadth of alumni network
- each school’s brand recognition
- what new opportunities and experiences could I have (like living in a new city)
- career services…and the list went on and on
I explored additional resources; spoke with numerous alums, friends and families for advice. I also went to all the admit weekends to get a feel for the school from the student perspective. At the end of the day though, I realized that I could spend hours adding to each column to the point where everything evened out. It started to feel like I was running around in circles with so many facts and feelings in consideration. So I gave myself a break. I stepped away from thinking about “the decision” for a couple days. This break really helped to refocus my attention.

Afterwards, I decided to concentrate on just three things that I felt mattered most to me: how relevant the school’s curriculum and programs related to my career goals, which school could offer new opportunities to learn about myself, and finally, where did my gut tell me to go. This last point was the most important because ultimately, I had to remember, this was my decision and I should trust my instincts. Going through the previous exercise of flushing out all the facts was necessary to thoughtfully consider each school. But at the end of day I knew to stick to where I felt the most comfortable during my visits. And from then on, I knew my answer—Haas.

My process and order of priorities is by no means the only way to arrive at an answer, but I hope that sharing what I went through helps some of you who have a decision to make over the coming days/weeks. For some (hopefully many!) the answer will be Haas, and for others it may be another school or not going to business school at all. But take the time to consider all the facts and your feelings. It’s not an easy decision to make at all. And be confident that no matter where you end up you will come away with amazing opportunities and memories that will last a lifetime.

"Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions"

2009-04-19T23:05:00.000-07:00

After a wonderful Days at Haas I, the HSAs and our fellow classmates are hard at work rejiggering the event for the next class of admits (and hopefully our future classmates). We’re trying to make it even better than the first, but in the process I’ve realized what’s truly great about Haas; whether it’s the faculty, the Career Services Office, or the students; we’re always looking for opportunities to improve. In this vein, I’d like to share two quick stories with you about my experience thus far.

First, I was taking this Operations class with Terry Taylor—a professor you’re absolutely going to love! He likes to teach through Seinfeld videos. For example, he might use the Soup Nazi to describe how you can reduce variability and run a business more efficiently by training the customer. I won’t bore you with additional details, but about three weeks into the class when we provide our mid-course feedback, he gets the message that some students would enjoy more sarcasm—and the amazing thing, is that he actually gets funnier! More seriously though, professors are incredibly responsive, whether it’s to incorporate additional guest speakers, to change the background color on a set of slides, or to adjust their teaching style to help students learn better.

The second experience I’d like to discuss concerns the Career Services Office; they have exceeded my wildest expectations, despite the economy. As a result of student feedback, they created the Career Management Conference and provided us with two days with which to attend several panels related to the job hunt (e.g., How to Conduct an Informational Interview, Brown Bag with Entrepreneurs, Resume Workshop, etc). This is just one of so many examples, but nonetheless indicative of how far the administration will go to make sure the students are provided with the very best resources available.

Well, that’s all from me for today. I hope you found our “conversation” useful, and I hope to hear from you soon…even if it is just feedback.

Days at Haas I -- a retrospective

2009-04-11T10:49:00.000-07:00

When I think back on last weekend's Days at Haas I, the first image that comes to mind is watching all of the admitted students watching the concluding video slideshow on Saturday morning. We were all exhausted from two packed days of events, but it was a good kind of tired -- the feeling of satisfaction that comes from having accomplished something. The video, put together by a tireless member of our Digital Media & Entertainment Club, had a number of great photos from the weekend's activities -- shots that showed both the formal and informal events that we all had taken part in.

I saw a room full of talented, energetic admits and partners from around the world smiling and laughing as the video helped us replay the weekend in our minds. As people saw photos of themselves and the other people that they met that weekend, I thought about how a new community -- the class of 2011 -- was beginning to take shape.

Thank you to all who joined us here in Berkeley this past weekend -- we're looking forward to doing it all again in a few weeks for Days at Haas II.

One More Day Left!

2009-03-31T23:52:00.000-07:00

Just one more day before Days at Haas! All the pieces are falling into place and the HSA team has hit the ground running (sprinting more like it =P) after our Spring Break last week to put the finishing touches on what will be a wonderful weekend!

It looks like the weather will be perfect. As Hetu said last week, the weekend is intended to give you a comprehensive sample of what student life is like at Haas, and to showcase the culture that we Haas students are fiercely proud of. Oh yeah, and the weather too. =)

We hope those of you who join us this weekend will get as much out of the experience as all of us did last year, and we look forward to meeting many of you very soon!

Bernie

Days at Haas

2009-03-21T08:54:00.000-07:00

The 5-week winter break seems like a distant past, so it is timely to have a middle-of-semester spring break. As many of my classmates took off to their various spring break destinations – Japan, Miami, Mexico – I take an opportunity to visit home. Not surprisingly, I ran into two of my classmates at the SFO airport…

Apart from Spring break, I am also excited about the Days at Haas event right after we return from Spring break. This is a great opportunity for us to meet the new admits (in some cases, again) and for you to meet us – the current students. Last year, this event helped me confirm that Haas is THE place for me. It was an influential data point in my decision making process. So, this year, as a Haas Student Ambassador (HSA) I am actively involved in making this event as meaningful for the class of 2011 admits. We have a great line-up of events over two-and-half days which will give you a well-rounded flavor of the Haas experience. Events include: mock lecture from a faculty member, session on experiential learning, several panels (faculty, student and alumni), career fair, dinner at current students residences, consumption function, and a fun campus scavenger hunt. In the spirit of continuous improvement, we took the last year’s feedback and have retained the best parts of the weekend and added/improved some aspects, which you would love!

Congratulations to all those who have already received an admission offer. We look forward to seeing you at the Days-at-Haas event!

Congrats to the R2 Admits!

2009-03-17T22:39:00.000-07:00

I cannot express how excited I am to hear that many of the great people I spoke with at Super Saturday emailed/messaged me today to let me know they got into Haas! I still remember that day one year ago vividly, when Pete Johnson gave me a call while I was at work. I definitely did not expect how amazing life has been since that call, and know that your lives will be changed for the better in the coming months.

With that said, I look forward to meeting many of you for the first time (or again) at Days at Haas I, coming in 2 weeks. If it's not too much trouble for you to make it, I strongly encourage you to come check us out, learn about our academics, social life, clubs, students, housing, financial aid, and more! The HSAs are pouring their hearts and souls into the schedule to ensure you have a wonderful time, so come join us and celebrate your admittance together!

See you soon,
Bernie

Super Saturday 2 Recap

2009-03-12T08:01:00.000-07:00

Hello again to those of you who I had the chance to meet at last week's Super Saturday. I hope that you all had as much fun as we (the Haas Student Ambassadors) did. I know that there was some nervousness surrounding the interviews, however we hope that the day was fun and informative. As I was walking home after Super Saturday was over, I had some time to reflect on all of the great conversations that I had with many of you. I must say that you are an impressive group and I really had a fun time getting to know you and sharing my experiences at Haas with you. For those of you who were visiting the Bay Area for the first time, I hope that you had a chance to enjoy our beautiful weather over the weekend.

For those of you who are a Round 2 applicant waiting for an interview but were not invited to Super Saturday 2, do not worry. I remember seeing many posts on the MBA blogs about Super Saturday and the awful feeling that I got when I realized I was not invited. However, with only one week before the notification deadline, I received an interview invitation. Do not give up hope! There is still time left.

Best of luck to all of you!

-Meredith

Super Saturday

2009-03-05T18:37:00.000-08:00

The other Haas Student Ambassadors and I are looking forward to the 2nd Super Saturday coming up this weekend. I imagine that for many applicants this day has been marked on their calendars for a while – and with good reason – it’s a unique time for us to learn more about you and vice versa.

I had some thoughts about the interview and how you might approach it. You’ve worked hard on your application and it obviously paid off – here you are. The interview is an opportunity for you to bring your paper application to life. It’s your chance to provide some color, tell some good stories and illustrate what you’re passionate about.

In the morning before Super Saturday starts, you can almost feel the nervous energy in the room. While nerves are a natural, understandable part of the interview experience, they are completely manageable. It’s logical that you would be nervous about something that you don’t know how to do – like flying a commercial airliner with no training. But a business school interview is something you know how to do, even if you’ve never done it before. You’re just talking about yourself – who you are, what makes you tick, where you’ve been, where you’d like to go next and how the Berkeley MBA can play a role in making that happen.

Good luck,
Dan

A Shiny New Blog!

2009-03-05T14:48:00.000-08:00

Hello World!

A big welcome to the new Haas Student Ambassadors' blog! Along with the Admissions Director's Blog and Students' Blog, we hope the HSA blog will help all prospective and admitted students get a better understanding of the Haas culture.

What is the difference between these blogs, you may ask? The Admissions Director's Blog discusses the application process from the admissions committee point of view. It contains information about the whole process straight from the people who make the decisions. The Haas Student Blog contains snippets of student life from all the diverse students who make up the Haas class. It can contain stuff about conferences, social life, academics, cartoons, and every day life.

The HSA Blog will occupy a space between those two blogs. The blog will be updated every week by at least one of the HSAs, often addressing admissions process or events from the student point of view. For example, after a successful Super Saturday, the HSAs may reflect on what made it fun and fruitful for everyone involved. If there are some questions that were asked more than others during a week, an HSA may address that question in the blog.

With that said, we hope you'll enjoy this additional perspective that Haas provides for you to make one of the major decisions in your life, whether to attend business school and whether to apply and attend Haas.

As always, you can reach the HSAs directly at:
hsa@haas.berkeley.edu

or learn more about us here:
http://mba.haas.berkeley.edu/hsateam.html

Enjoy!
Bernie Lin, on behalf of Dan, Meredith, Hetu, Jenny, Saumil, Veronica, and Jessica
VP of Admissions and the HSA Team