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Brad Parsons, Class of 2009
Posted Feb. 21, 2008
As Mod A of the spring semester comes to a close, I realize that this first year of business school is quickly coming to an end. Granted we still have a lot left to do, including another semester and our GLP trip, but the fact that we have completed three out of four Modules is crazy. It seems as if it were yesterday when I sat in the interview chair wondering if this would be where I would be spending the next two years of my life. Fortunately, it is.
Let me give you an idea of some of the experiences I have had this year, both for your benefit and for the fact that I want to re-live them. Orientation was amazing. When I say amazing, I mean long, exhausting, and unbelievably fun. The Orientation committee and the 2nd years that ran it deserve all the credit. So many new things come your way that week it is almost overwhelming. From finding out who your 4-5 person study group will be for the upcoming year to being thrown into a case study, you usually found yourself to be out of your comfort zone. Here’s the thing, everyone is out of their comfort zone and that’s what makes it so intriguing. Relationships are built during that week that, in my case, will last far past graduation. Once the week ends, I guarantee everyone is prepared to start their pursuit towards the coveted MBA.
First Mod we jumped right into it with four classes: Accounting, Finance, Statistics, and Managing Your Career. These classes give you the basic building blocks to move ahead through business school. For me, being a professional hockey player for the five years previous, they prepared me well for the upcoming year. Although I majored in Economics at Princeton, it was an extremely theory-based curriculum; Cox has provided the in-depth analysis of how companies profitably and efficiently run their businesses (or not) and has proven to be very useful so far.
It is not all financial statements and standard deviations though. Here at Cox, we work hard and play hard. There is certainly no shortage of get-togethers, happy hours, and social events. These are a great time to meet and hang out with your classmates you don’t see too often, mainly because they are in the other section. (The entire class is split into two sections). We have become a tight-knit group and it has made the experience that much more fulfilling.
Having the first Mod completed allows for us to completely understand and better position ourselves for balancing both the rigorous academic schedule and the many other events happening on and off campus. As I write this blog, 1st years are currently trying to sew up the best internship possible. The first two Mods, school is definitely the #1 priority. Since we have started our 3rd mod, I have seen the #1 priority shift to the internship search. The fact that performing well during this internship may very well lead to a full-time offer, and thus make 2nd year that much less stressful, is the reason for this, I am guessing. Interviews are happening daily on and off campus. Companies from Frito-Lay and ExxonMobil to Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are a few names I often hear about from students and see perusing the hallway. Students are slowly locking these jobs down. (As I write this I believe we are at 18%). It is early yet and you can bet that by the beginning of the summer that number will be at 100%.
As finals are around the corner, and my 4th Mod will begin soon, I am gearing up for the GLP. The Global Leadership Program will undoubtedly prove to be a highlight for this year. Students have the choice to spend two weeks exploring other countries and visiting large companies in order to better prepare us for what has now become a global economy. The four choices this year were: India, China, East Asia, and Europe. I was fortunate enough to get my first choice in China. Either way, I don’t think this school-funded trip will be bad no matter where one ends up. I, however, did not want to go to India or Europe. I have lived in Europe and also visited many times. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but why not spend some time in Shanghai, Taipei, and Hong Kong where I’ve never been? I am a picky eater and feel I would have lost close to 20 pounds over the span of two weeks if I ended up in India, no offense to anyone reading this from India, I am sure you love the food. I don’t do curry. We also meet up in Shanghai with the group from East Asia which will be a great time.
As I wrap up this blog, I want to stress not only the amount of pertinent knowledge I have absorbed from the amazing faculty, but also how the sense of community makes it all worth while. If you love school, then you shouldn’t have a problem anyway. If school for you is a way to boost your resume, and earning power, but you don’t love going to class, you still won’t have a problem. I love school and always have, but I get to school really early sometimes. I am now realizing that it is the people I am surrounded with that make me get here an hour before class and stay an hour later. Prospective students reading this, I really didn’t have a clue what to expect from this year. I had been traveling from city to city by bus while losing my teeth from a hockey stick in the face; I certainly wasn’t gaining those “traditional” business skills that many of my colleagues have. I have since found that my experiences are highly correlated with our classroom discussions, just in a unique way. My relationships with my coaches and managers, both good and bad, have helped to fuel some extraordinary conversations in class. I have learned as much from my classmates as I have from my books and professors, and I attribute that to the amazing talent that Cox surrounds itself with. This must be the reason why the Cox brand has such an impressive reputation not only in the Dallas area, but across the world.
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