Why Do You Believe in Wake Forest?

I am not going to put a lengthy post together because I believe this Web site speaks for itself. This is a great idea, pulling together first-hand testimonials about the university experience. It really makes me proud that I am attending a school that has done so much for so many. If you have a spare moment (which I know is hard to come by these days) browse through a few of these accounts, and feel free to add to the chain.

Caught in the Storm

And they say it's only going to get worse! Wow! This whole MBA process sure is a trial-by-fire for time management and prioritization skills! Do you finish your quant homework or work on a cover letter for that internship deadline? Go to your Marketing Association meeting or Ambassador training? Watch How I Met Your Mother or sleep?

All tough decisions!

September is coming to a close, and I think all first-year MBA students have a good grasp on just how difficult this whole experience will be. There's simply too many things to do. Too many assignments, deliverables, team meetings, project meetings, clubs and organizations ... don't even think about personal time! My DVR is certainly getting a workout.

It's important to take time for yourself, or you'll never get out alive. This afternoon, after my Project Nicaragua meeting, I decided to go for a run. I didn't go as fast as I used to, or as far, but it was good to take a half hour and do something just for me.

So what's coming up in MBA world? Several presentations and group projects, Career Quest MBA fair in College Park, Maryland, and soon ... exams. On the unofficial Head Under Water scale, I'd say it's up to my chin right now.

~ Justin Berthelot, full-time MBA candidate, class of 2011

Frantic yet Fruitful – Early Lessons Learned

I find it hard to believe that more than a month has passed since I entered the Evening MBA Program at Wake Forest, but here I am staring down my first final and preparing to make an adjustment from one class to two.

The rapid-fire pace of my accounting class has been an adjustment after many years away from school, but one that I believe I have handled well. I have seen so many balance sheets, income statements and cash flow statements, and have gotten well acquainted with learning from case studies and from my peers.

During my undergraduate studies, we rarely learned from the other students. It just wasn’t emphasized. Our professor in accounting has done a good job of encouraging people to ask questions, provide perspective, and give high-quality examples from their own experiences.

Rather than write endlessly about the various lessons, quizzes, and meetings that sometimes seem to blur looking back, I want to discuss my favorite part of the course: the group presentations. As a journalist, this particular assignment played to my strengths in some regards since we had to craft a thorough report on the companies we selected (Whole Foods Market Inc. and Safeway Inc. for out project). However, it also tested me in the areas of hefty financial analysis and public speaking. (For the record, we recommended avoiding either company as an investment right now: diminished cash flow, high debt loads, and an uncertain future when it comes to consumer spending.)

What impressed me the most was the way our team – a concept that Wake preaches with regularity – pulled together, assigned tasks, and knocked out self-imposed deadline after deadline. What began as a brainstorming session just a month ago was transformed into what I thought to be a well-constructed collaborative effort. My favorite moment involved stepping up in front of 40 peers and the professor to present the financials. Nervous? Of course. But soon after beginning the analysis I forgot that there were dozens of spectators and concentrated solely on doing my very best.

My team feels very good about the results, which contribute nearly a fifth of our final grade. It also galvanized us as a team, I believe. Our class is phenomenal, too. Every presentation was informative, whether the companies were auto manufacturers, chipmakers, or doughnut shops. I felt fully engaged throughout the nearly three-hour class! That seems to be a key takeaway from the program, and I am anxious to participate in future classes to expand my knowledge base.

I still have quite a load in my final days of accounting: take home project, individual research project, and a final exam. The lesson learned here is time management. Once a day slips away, you can’t get it back, so I have tried to commit some minutes (and hours, some nights) to incrementally moving the needle forward on assignments. The relief is realizing two days before the final that I am 95% through with everything. The joy is immeasurable!

These are just a few brief lessons that I wanted to share. Undoubtedly there will be more as I transition to quant and organizational behavior in coming weeks!

~Paul Davis is a first-year MBA candidate in the Class of 2011 Evening Program.

It’s A Whirlwind

Phew! When they said an MBA program is a lot of work, they weren't kidding. When they said time management is a big issue, they were sugar-coating just how difficult it can be. And it's only been a few weeks! It's not even October yet! It's going to be an interesting two years.

Elections for first year positions in various student clubs took place over the past week. I'm the first year representative for the Babcock Marketing Association and the Communications Committee of the Marketing Summit.

I'm also involved with the Wine Club, Strategy and Consulting Club, Student Ambassadors and the intramural soccer team. Of course, I still have a full course schedule and have to find a job for the summer! Yes, recruiting has begun.

The CMC office does a very good job preparing us for the madness that is recruiting. They help you identify your passions and your purpose, so that you can effectively search for internships you can be happy doing. A few companies have held information sessions, industry panels start soon, and the ratio of polo shirts to suits seems to move closer to 1:1 each day. Career Quest, a recruiting fair in College Park, Md., takes place in early October. There will be many companies there, even some government agencies.

I had identified a possible internship, and luckily for me, two second-year students did the same internship last summer and both got offered full-time positions a few weeks ago! They have been invaluable resources as helped greatly as I scrambled to meet a very tough deadline. I heard about the internship on a Tuesday, and applications and resumes were due on Saturday! I spent a good deal of time working through my resume and talking with my career counselor. I made the deadline, and given the time limitations, I'm pretty happy with my effort!

Things are definitely in full swing here at the Schools of Business. Campus is abuzz with activity, as students work tirelessly on the latest quant assignment, while gathering information for a communications presentation and waiting for a career panel to begin. Intramurals have begun, clubs are starting to set things in motion for events and trips, and quizzes and grades are appearing in mailboxes. Such is the life of a first year MBA student!

~ Justin Berthelot, full-time MBA program, Class of 2011

A Knowledge Base Worth Tapping

BB&T Corp. chairman John Allison has certainly shown his commitment to his new post at the Wake Forest University Schools of Business. Joining the faculty this summer as a distinguished professor of practice, Allison has chosen academia over quiet retirement.

The notion of retirement must be completely unfamiliar to him because he has now agreed to hold a series of seminars at Worrell to cultivate leadership values among the MBA candidates.

Here is a list of the seminars and links for registration. From what I know, these are only open to current students, but I would recommend calling (336) 758-5038 to verify:

Thurs., Oct. 8, 4-6 pm, Worrell 1109, topic: Vision/Purpose

http://ww2.mba.wfu.edu/calendar/intDetail.CFM?Event_Calendar__EventID=5930

Thurs., Oct. 15, 4-6 pm, Worrell 1108. topic: Strategy
http://ww2.mba.wfu.edu/calendar/intDetail.CFM?Event_Calendar__EventID=5932
Thurs., Oct. 22, 4-6 pm, Worrell 1109. topic: Coaching
http://ww2.mba.wfu.edu/calendar/intDetail.CFM?Event_Calendar__EventID=5933
Thurs., Nov. 12, 4-6 pm, Worrell 1102. topic: Ethical Behavior
http://ww2.mba.wfu.edu/calendar/intDetail.CFM?Event_Calendar__EventID=5936

There are also sessions set for 1 pm on those days.

The time of these seminars was arranged to accommodate students’ busy schedules. One idea might include having your team meet after attending a seminar. Space is limited, so you need to use the appropriate link to register for each session of the seminar.

It should be a worthwhile investment of time!

Sacrifice v. Self-Interest: Judging Human Nature

Andrew Verga, a full-time MBA candidate in the class of 2011, sent an email to classmates offering his opinion on a Sept. 10 speech by former BB&T Corp. CEO John Allison (view here), a distinguished professor of practice at the Wake Forest University Schools of Business.

Verga, who wants to focus on entrepreneurship and someday running a consulting firm specializing in corporate social responsibility, says the intent of his email was to “encourage a dialogue” among his peers. The following are Varga's views and do not reflect those of Wake Forest University or the student-run blog, which has reached out to Allison.

John Allison is an amazingly intelligent and successful individual. His message is logical and convincing if you accept his premise: "Everyone has the right to their own life." Sounds good, right? Let me ask you this, did your mother and father not sacrifice part of their own life to create you? Didn't your neighbors and teachers and friends all sacrifice part of their lives to develop who you are? Don't we all have a certain responsibility to pay that sacrifice forward?

During his speech, Allison touched on two major philosophical concepts. First, he mentioned Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative. He claimed that this concept led to the fascism of the Nazi party because it stressed a sense of duty and responsibility to your community and your nation. This could not be further from the truth. Kant's concept is this: If everyone acts as though their decisions will be made into universal truths, we will all be better people and have a better society. This concept does not require us to blindly follow whatever authority happens to control our community; rather it puts responsibility for the collective well-being on every individual. John Allison is all about personal responsibility, but I am disappointed he misused this great concept to further an agenda of blind, obsessive individualism.

Allison also discussed Aristotle's concept of happiness, that the idea of a "long life well-lived" should be our ultimate goal. He failed to mention that a huge part of Aristotle's definition of "a long life well-lived" is a focus on cultivating "right desires." Aristotle understood that people want what they want and are inclined to go get it. He posited the idea that we should attempt to curb our own desires. The intention is not to deny any of us individual freedom or happiness, but rather to encourage all of us to take each other's happiness into account. During Aristotle's time it was understood that we are all responsible for each other. In the Ancient Greek concept of citizenship, the relationship between the citizen and the city was one of codependence. Everyone who was a member of the "polis" had a personal responsibility for the well-being of the entire population.

The significance of this citizen-polis relationship is a sense of duty. If it is bred into us to care about our fellow citizens (we can still care about ourselves by the way), then public service will be rewarding enough to attract the top minds in a society regardless of financial compensation.

Allison made a point of saying that the government made stupid policy decisions. True. He also made a point that the people at Goldman Sachs are way more intelligent than those at the Federal Reserve. Also true. I also assume, and I think Allison would agree, that if working at the Fed paid as much as working on Wall Street we would have top minds in government. Why is it that the brilliant minds in society are dedicated to personal gain instead of public service? Why has our culture come to the point that "individual freedom" is only realized when personal financial gain and security sit at the top of our value hierarchy? The rhetoric of individualism has brought us here.

I am certain that John Allison thinks he is doing a great service by educating people about the financial crisis. I appreciate his words and his expertise on the matter. He certainly understands the global economy much better than I. However, living the "moral high ground" that he mentioned does not mean forgoing personal sacrifice and service. This crisis should not motivate us to turn inward and become even more individualistic. On the contrary, it should motivate us to create better people in the future.

Allison blamed this crisis not only on government policy but on individuals making bad choices. He blamed it on stupid people making stupid decisions. He asked the audience, "Do you want to bail these people out?" Well, it is just not that simple.

Allison mentioned that our K-12 education system is failing. He is absolutely right. Hey, maybe that is one of the reasons there are so many “stupid” people around? Maybe instead of letting them starve to death and live on the streets (he seemingly wants to do away with welfare all together, remember?) We should take it as a lesson that we need to educate our citizens better.

People are naturally selfish. Fred wants Johnny's toy in the sandbox. John Allison doesn't want us to think about the reasons behind Fred's lack of a toy. He wants to punish Fred for his parents’ bad decisions. I think we can do better. We all know that any form of social welfare will be abused, but that does not mean it isn't worthwhile. It doesn't mean we can just give up on each other.

Your parents, teachers, friends, and community all sacrificed parts of their lives to support your life. It is our responsibility as individuals to make productive decisions for the community. I apologize for soap boxing to all of you, but I feel it is very important to understand that the world John Allison envisions is a world of dramatic hardship and poverty for billions of people. While social welfare may not be a sustainable answer either, I will sleep better at night knowing that I have helped other people have "long lives well-lived."

Andrew Verga, a full-time MBA candidate in the class of 2011, sent this email to his classmates outlining his disagreements with a Sept. 10 speech by former BB&T Corp. CEO John Allison, who is now a distinguished professor of practice at the Wake Forest University Schools of Business. Verga says his intent is to “encourage a dialogue” on the topic of altruism v. self interest.

John Allison is an amazingly intelligent and successful individual. His message is logical and convincing if you accept his premise: "Everyone has the right to their own life." Sounds good, right? Let me ask you this, did your mother and father not sacrifice part of their own life to create you? Didn't your neighbors and teachers and friends all sacrifice part of their lives to develop who you are? Don't we all have a certain responsibility to pay that sacrifice forward?

During his speech, Allison touched on two major philosophical concepts. First, he mentioned Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative. Allison claimed that this concept led to the fascism of the Nazi party because it stressed a sense of duty and responsibility to your community and your nation. This could not be further from the truth. Kant's concept is this: If everyone acts as though their decisions will be made into universal truths, we will all be better people and have a better society. This concept does not require us to blindly follow whatever authority happens to control our community; rather it puts responsibility for the collective well-being on every individual. John Allison is all about personal responsibility, but I am disappointed he misused this great concept to further an agenda of blind, obsessive individualism.

Allison also discussed Aristotle's concept of happiness, that the idea of a "long life well-lived" should be our ultimate goal. He failed to mention that a huge part of Aristotle's definition of "a long life well-lived" is a focus on cultivating "right desires." Aristotle understood that people want what they want and are inclined to go get it. He posited the idea that we should attempt to curb our own desires. The intention is not to deny any of us individual freedom or happiness, but rather to encourage all of us to take each other's happiness into account. During Aristotle's time it was understood that we are all responsible for each other. In the Ancient Greek concept of citizenship, the relationship between the citizen and the city was one of codependence. Everyone who was a member of the "polis" had a personal responsibility for the well-being of the entire population.

The significance of this citizen-polis relationship is a sense of duty. If it is bred into us to care about our fellow citizens (we can still care about ourselves by the way), then public service will be rewarding enough to attract the top minds in a society regardless of financial compensation.

Allison made a point of saying that the government made stupid policy decisions. True. He also made a point of saying that the people at Goldman Sachs are way more intelligent than the people at the Federal Reserve. Also true. I also assume, and I think Allison would agree, that if working at the Fed paid as much as working on Wall Street we would have top minds in government. Why is it that the brilliant minds in our society are dedicated to personal gain instead of public service? Why has our culture come to the point that "individual freedom" is only realized when personal financial gain and security sit at the top of our value hierarchy? The rhetoric of individualism has brought us here.

I am certain that John Allison thinks he is doing a great service by educating people about the financial crisis. I appreciate his words and his expertise on the matter. He certainly understands the global economy much better than I. However, living the "moral high ground" that he mentioned does not mean forgoing personal sacrifice and service. This crisis should not motivate us to turn inward and become even more individualistic. On the contrary, it should motivate us to create better people in the future.

Allison blamed this crisis not only on government policy but on individuals making bad choices. He blamed it on stupid people making stupid decisions. He asked the audience, "Do you want to bail these people out?" Well, it is just not that simple.

Allison mentioned that our K-12 education system is failing. He is absolutely right. Hey, maybe that is one of the reasons there are so many “stupid” people around? Maybe instead of letting them starve to death and live on the streets (he wants to do away with welfare all together, remember?) we should take it as a lesson that we need to educate our citizens better.

People are naturally selfish. Fred wants Johnny's toy in the sandbox. John Allison doesn't want us to think about the reasons behind Fred's lack of a toy. He wants to punish Fred for his parents’ bad decisions. I think we can do better. We all know that any form of social welfare will be abused, but that does not mean it isn't worthwhile. It doesn't mean we can just give up on each other.

Your parents, teachers, friends, and community all sacrificed parts of their lives to support your life. It is our responsibility as individuals to make productive decisions for the community. I apologize for soap boxing to all of you, but I feel it is very important to understand that the world John Allison envisions is a world of dramatic hardship and poverty for billions of people. While social welfare may not be a sustainable answer either, I will sleep better at night knowing that I have helped other people have "long lives well-lived."