The MBA Student Fall Retreat: How I Found Myself at Georgetown By Stepping Away From It
By the time our first semester fall break rolled around, I won’t lie: I was beaten down by every finance quiz, strategy assignment, and case reading that had come at us. Re-acquainting myself with fancy calculators and learning a new language (accounting) after many years in the nonprofit world gave new meaning to the number of things I could cram into a day. And to top it all off, my first-year class and I did this while trying to soak up every recruiting happy hour and Thursday evening Kegs.
I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what I was missing, but after just a couple of months of barreling forward on this fantastically colorful train that was business school, I was drained. That’s why, when an email announced the chance to take part in an MBA student retreat — a two-day respite from our lovely Hariri building where I spent all my waking hours — I jumped at the opportunity.
The retreat was organized by the program office and headed by Dean Kerry Pace, and I knew very little about the schedule when I signed up ($35 for a bus, a hotel room, and some quiet yoga? Yes, please!). I found that the two days of workshops were filled with reflection time and invaluable advice from brilliant minds long connected to Georgetown. For example: a private equity guru and presidential adviser who meditated with us in jeans and cowboy boots, and a storied leadership coach who led us through a yoga session.
I’ll be honest — at first, I was a little nervous that the retreat would have a religious focus. Georgetown is a Jesuit institution, and I chose to attend partly for its emphasis on cura personalis (caring for the whole person) and focus on service, which has been a guiding theme in my life. I was relieved to find that the tone was inclusive and respectful of the fact that students of all faiths participated.
We sat together in a room filled with giant beanbags and took a moment to breathe and reflect on what we had just accomplished over the past couple of months of business school. We thought through why Georgetown made it a priority to carve out this time together. We thought about why it was important to reflect on the values we had brought with us — and what we didn’t want to leave behind as we continued this journey.
Our lives after the MBA will certainly be transformed. We all enter this program hoping for greater responsibility, greater opportunity, and greater access to resources and influence. The question posed to all of us was this: as businesspeople from Georgetown, where we are urged to think about our whole selves and how we can be of service to others, what is the path that we consciously wish to walk? And which pieces of ourselves will we intentionally bring with us?
I had gotten a little more than yoga and a hotel room when I signed up for this retreat. Especially after running full steam ahead in a suit and heels, this time for reflection and connecting with my peers could not have been more necessary. When fall break was over, I may have gone back to running just as fast in those heels, but I did it with a clearer head and great pride that Georgetown was where I decided to spend two years. I knew I had joined a community that was aiming for something greater.
Opening Term. If you say those two words to any former or current student at McDonough, they’re likely to elicit a visceral reaction as memories of rapid-fire classes, beginning the challenge of career search, community service opportunities, social events, and even the occasional couple hours of sleep play across their minds. Opening Term is your introduction to the MBA program at McDonough and it foreshadows the rest of your experience here. You work hard and you play hard, all while meeting the rest of your incredible colleagues and setting yourself up for success over the coming years of your MBA. So, given the excitement of all that’s about to happen, how do you prepare for Opening Term and how can you ensure that you not only survive but thrive in the early steps of your MBA experience?
Keys to Preparation
Get your administrative onboarding duties handled before setting foot on campus. We all know those endless emails that come from HR when you join a new firm, filling you in on the minutiae that you need to do to become set up as a new employee. You’ll get similar emails from the MBA Program Office, and the best thing I did before Opening Term was taking care of all the administrative work. Simply put, once Opening Term begins, you won’t have the bandwidth to follow through on getting your picture for your GoCard or setting up your account in MyAccess, so do it early!
Do the Career Center prep work to the best of your ability. If you’re a career pivoter, this step provides a leg up during the fall recruiting season. If you’re a career advancer, the work allows you to reflect and clarify what you truly want from your MBA experience. Either way, respect the challenge that recruiting presents and set yourself up for success down the road.
Rest and relax before Opening Term begins. Catch up on sleep, read that book you’ve been eyeing, or go on that vacation prior to Opening Term. It’s an intense period, so coming in as loose as possible is the best approach.
Keys to Success
Stay up-to-date with your work and deliverables. Seemingly a no-brainer, but the temptation to let a reading slide here or there grows exponentially. As a re-introduction to academia, setting good habits now is ideal.
Don’t be afraid to ask for (and give) help. You’re surrounded by an incredibly talented set of colleagues and a world-class faculty. The MBA program, and business in general, rely on collaboration so use your team and other friends to help make the load of the MBA program lighter.
Faculty member George Comer has been appointed the school’s first director of underrepresented minority (URM) student support, where he will work toward building a more inclusive culture throughout Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. “We are grateful to Professor Comer for his ongoing support of our students,” said Paul Almeida, dean and William R. Berkley […]
McDonough Professor George Comer has been appointed as McDonough’s first director of underrepresented minority (URM) student support, where he will work toward building a more inclusive culture throughout Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.
"Having a position devoted to our URM students is vital to our DEI efforts ... and will have a tremendous impact on the broader business world through their [the students] continued success.."
You finally hit submit on your application and anxiously await to see if you receive an interview. At Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business, we realize it is not always feasible for candidates who are selected to interview in person. In these cases, we offer Skype as an option. Vault.com offers five tips to help ensure all of your bases are covered to ace your MBA interview. Read the full article.
At Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business, MBA Admissions focuses on innovation and creating a diverse class -- starting with the application process. Applicants can now choose one essay among three essay prompts, allowing them to showcase what they believe sets them apart from other applicants, either their leadership experience, how they have overcome challenges, or their values and beliefs.
“It’s important to us to that our students represent a diversity of backgrounds, experiences, cultures, and more -- and we realized that professional and personal experiences showcasing this diversity do not always fit neatly into a single essay prompt,” said Shelly Heinrich, interim associate dean for MBA Admissions. “We want to give applicants the flexibility to distinguish themselves from a competitive applicant pool.”
In 500 words or less, applicants to both the Full-time and Flex MBA now have the option to:
Describe a situation when you were asked to lead outside of your comfort zone. What leadership characteristics did you exemplify in this situation that allowed you to succeed?
Describe a situation when failure has been your fuel. What was your failure (or when did you not succeed to your full potential), and how did you use this as motivation to move forward and be successful in a future situation?
Describe the personal brand that you will bring to business school using examples or experiences that support how you've developed it. How do you believe your personal brand will strengthen the McDonough community? As you complete your MBA program, how do you hope to see your personal brand evolve through the transformative experience of business school?
Other application components include a video essay where prospective students introduce themselves in one minute or less, a GMAT or GRE score, transcripts, professional resume, and one professional letter of recommendation.
Applicants can apply in four rounds this year: October 9, January 7, April 1, and May 1.
Washington, D.C. Named Best City for Business Grads
Recently, Washington, D.C. was named the best city for business grads according to Poets&Quants. Move.org and Business.org teamed up to produce a list of the “Best Cities for Business Grads to Move” based on open business and finance positions, cost of living, and unemployment rates. With 10.3% open business positions, D.C. beats all other metro U.S. areas for number of business-specific positions up for grabs, according to the report. Read the full article.
Are you contemplating if business school is the right career move for you? US News outlines “What You Can Expect From an MBA Degree” and sheds light on the outcomes you can expect from obtaining a Masters in Business Administration.
At Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business, you’ll push yourself, learn about yourself, turn thought into action, gain real-world experience, and learn how to be comfortable outside your comfort zone.
