Mardi Gras was very fun. It was my second Mardi Gras since I came my last year of college in undergrad, but it is a totally different experience to live here. The streets are all parked up, the city celebrates all night, you wake up to marching bands, beads everywhere, and another parade starts. It is incredibly fun and overwhelming. It was fun to see some of our classmates ride in certain Krewes. I know we all ate plenty of king cake and some of us attended a few of the Mardi Gras balls. It really is a great way to experience the city and it is quite family friendly. I have a collection of Frisbees, footballs, and beads in my living room.

In the midst of all the Mardi Gras fun, we were working on our European global leadership module. Our project was to present an entry strategy recommendation to an energy company in Greece. It was an interesting way to learn about the European Union and energy industry. During our trip to Greece, we attended several lectures from the local university professors. We also visited local companies to get an inside look at their business models and how they are handling the euro crisis. During the evenings, we would go out to different restaurants and bars to try local cuisine (and ouzo). The last night was a nice dinner celebration and it was fun to be abroad with almost our entire 1st year class. I spent the next week traveling to Portugal and Spain with two of my classmates which was an incredibly enjoyable experience. It really makes you appreciate the global aspect of the program. We are all looking forward to Argentina in the fall!

Back in New Orleans, we have been busy with our new core classes in accounting and process modeling. Nearly all of our classes have final projects. This semester is definitely about teamwork. It can really test your patience at times, but it reminds me that the ‘real’ world will likely present the same obstacles.

This summer I will be interning at Shutterfly in Redwood City, California. I am really looking forward to the experience and applying some of my newly acquired skills to a current business model.  It has certainly been a demanding semester, so an internship should be easy, right?

I am always happy to answer any questions, please email me at agarrick@tulane.edu

~Amy

Following the December module, we start working on a long-term project that culminates in the May module in Paris.  I’ve been working on a cross-country team consisting of me, a Tulane PMBA student, a Tulane Masters of Energy student from El Salvador, and Executive MBAs from Colombia and Venezuela. We will be working on a project for the Colas Company, a French-based 11.7 billion Euro global road construction company.  The company has a presence everywhere in the world – except South America. So, our mission is to analyze in our teams the different South American markets, and present a report on the market potential of each country.  Our team has been analyzing Brazil.  Then, as a class, we narrow it down to 2 countries and develop market entry strategies for Colas, which we will present to the entire C-Suite of executives in Paris in May.  AWESOME!

This project is exactly the type of project I was looking forward to in coming to B-school – international expansion, cross-country project team, market entry strategies, an industrial company with an entrepreneurial spirit, and serious exposure to top execs.  Not to mention I get to travel to 4 different countries this summer for different modules!

Nicole Munsey

Yo, Jean Paul (JP)

Quiero que me conozcan un poco antes de comenzar la serie.

Me llamo Jean Paul Rodríguez-Díaz y soy candidato dos maestrías de Freeman en el 2013: el Master in Business Administration (MBA) y el Master in Global Management (MGM).  Nacido y criado en la hermosa ciudad de Ponce, Puerto Rico, he tenido la dicha de crecer con una hermana mayor (Michelle) y dos padres excepcionales. Por más que me encantara la seguridad, comodidad, y comida de mi casa (mi madre es la mejor cocinera del mundo) siempre quise estudiar fuera de Puerto Rico.  A los 18 años decidí mudarme a los Estados Unidos para estudiar en Boston University, donde me gradué con un bachillerato en Economía y Relaciones Internacionales en el 2008.

Mi vida profesional comenzó en el verano del 2008, cúspide de la recesión económica mundial.  Luego de una larga y ardua búsqueda, conseguí un trabajo con una empresa consultora global especializada en la soluciones de negocio SAP y Oracle llamada K2 Partnering Solutions.  Por dos años desarrollé y expandí el negocio latinoamericano de K2.  A pesar de que aprendí mucho y formé unas amistades inolvidables, siempre sentí un vacío.  No estaba satisfecho al cien por ciento con mi vida profesional.  Tenía hambre para más.

En el verano del 2010 decidí renunciar a mi trabajo y concentrarme en la búsqueda de un programa MBA, con la meta de satisfacer esa hambre profesional.

Mi Búsqueda

Luego de tomar el temido GMAT, pasé días pensando en mis próximos pasos.  Con tantos programas de MBA prestigiosos alrededor del mundo, necesitaba encontrar una manera de limitar mis solicitudes a seis.  Con este fin, comencé a preguntarme lo siguiente:

• “Qué quiero lograr con un MBA?”
• “Cuáles son mis metas profesionales?”
• “Cuáles son los programas que me ayudarán a alcanzar estas metas?”
• Sabía que quería estar en un programa prestigioso.  No necesariamente significaba solicitar a una escuela de negocios Ivy League.
• “Qué tipo de universidad quiero?”
• “En que tipo de ciudad quiero vivir?”
• “Quiero tener nieve hasta el cuello en Nueva Inglaterra?”

Después de preguntar y contestarme una serie de preguntas similares a éstas concreté una lista de seis escuelas de negocio, todas localizadas en climas cálidos y ninguna Ivy League J.  Me aceptaron en tres de los seis programas(Freeman, IE, e IESE).  Me llegó el momento de tomar una decisión.  Estaba indeciso, ya que los tres programas eran excelentes y prestigiosos.  Luego de unos días llenos de incertidumbre, me llegó por correo una invitación para visitar Freeman y conocer a la administración y otros estudiantes admitidos.  A finales de marzo del 2011, tomé un vuelo desde Puerto Rico a New Orleans.  Quedé encantado con la escuela, los estudiantes, y la administración.  Me dí cuenta que para alcanzar mis metas y realmente disfrutar de mis dos años de MBA, necesitaba estar en un programa pequeño, diverso, e íntimo, y Freeman cumplió con mis tres requisitos.   Adicionalmente, Freeman me ofrece lo siguiente:

• Un curriculum y alcance global
• Un ambiente pequeño e individualizado
• Programa aplicable a la realidad actual de negocios (hands-on program)

Me dí cuenta en este proceso de búsqueda que rompí el encapsulamiento informativo institucional (propaganda elitista de los Ivy League) que nos limita a encontrar alternativas que calcen con nuestras metas profesionales y de estilo de vida.

Ingresé a Freeman en agosto del 2011, y no he mirado hacia atrás en ningún momento.  Mi transformación comenzó con un viaje a la Ciudad de México en agosto como parte del programa MGM, seguido por un primer semestre de estadísticas, contabilidad, finanzas, mercadeo, y modelaje cuantitativo.  Realmente han sido unos meses increíbles, llenos de experiencias, oportunidades y amistades nuevas.

Y vamos, que te detiene?

Más sobre mi primer semestre en el Segundo Capitulo…

Tercer Capitulo: New Orleans

Cuarto Capitulo: Mi Segundo Semestre

Quinto Capitulo: Paris, Shangai y el MGM

 Jean Paul Rodríguez-Díaz

Tulane was appealing for several reasons, aside from its strong reputation: First, I am a firm believer in the benefits of a small school environment. After learning and teaching in small classes for the last twenty years, I know that the relationships students forge with their professors and classmates through close interaction with them are paramount to the educational process. Students cannot hide in a small class, and participation within teams and during discussion forces learning while strengthening communication skills (the lifeblood of business, after all).

Second, I am excited about Tulane’s international focus and the opportunities the school creates to work and learn in real-world businesses abroad.  In today’s global marketplace, it is more important than ever to have some fluency and understanding of world markets. Further, I never had the chance to “go abroad” in college because I was playing a sport. I look forward to travelling to Athens, Greece in a week to present our team’s research project for the CEO of a Greek wind and solar company. After completing this six-day “work study,” five of my classmates and I are going to Munich and then Amsterdam for our Spring Break, before returning to New Orleans.

More generally, I enjoy fly fishing, duck hunting, the Washington Redskins, and my dog Boomer. I hope to provide meaningful insight to readers of this blog, and that I can shed light on what life is like for an MBA student here at Tulane. If anyone has any questions, please don’t hesitate to email me at erider@tulane.edu and I will respond as soon as possible.

A Chinese first year MBA attends the Tulane Chinese New Year Party.

One of the best things at Tulane is the international environment. Tulane is a small international society. I strongly feel the combination of different cultures around the world. I have classes with students from the U.S., China, India, Germany, France, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela etc. We will visit Latin America, Europe, and China during the program to learn more about local business environment and how to compete in the global business context, and to communicate with local business leaders. An exciting experience as well as a good chance to expand my horizon and to see the world.

In January I had my first Chinese New Year in New Orleans. Like Christmas in the U.S., Chinese New Year is the most important festival for Chinese people. It is the first day of the New Year in the traditional Chinese calendar. Usually we will stay with our family, make dumplings, and watch the Festival broadcasting show at the night before the Chinese New Year Eve. We will use red stuff like red paper-cuts, red lantern to decorate our houses. Red means lucky and happy in China. At Tulane, of course we Chinese students will use our way to celebrate the Chinese New Year. We don’t have family with us at New Orleans, but we have lots of Chinese friends. We are a family! The Chinese Student Committee had hosted a big New Year Party on that day. We had traditional Chinese food specially dumplings, and we even enjoyed a wonderful New Year show, all of which made me feel at home!

Meng Zhao

Most people that visit town don’t know about this little gem of a community, but it packs a ton of character into a few blocks.

I didn’t get a good picture of dinner, but we finished off the trek with a hot plate from The Joint.  Great BBQ if you’re ever in the area!

Albin J. Soares

Students: Matt, Bill, Pauline, Chris C., Rohit, Chris D., Rodrigo, Brittany, Nicole, Jerica, Dilip, Jean Paul, Audrey, David, Pike, Thomas, Cullan, Dennis, Lauren, Albin, Scott, Jessica, Mike

The Graduate Business Council is dedicated to enhancing all aspects of life as a graduate business student here at Tulane. School socials have ranged from a Halloween party to bowling and dancing at Rock-N-Bowl. This past Saturday, we got out and played some kickball at Monroe Quad. We had MBAs, MFINS, and MACCT students come together to let loose, eat some pizza, and play ball! It was a little chilly out, but we weathered the temperature with some adult beverages. Team 2 came out victorious with a final score of 7 to 6. Congrats Team 2! A rematch will definitely happen soon.

Lauren Nelson

Lauren Nelson

Now that is February, we are really getting into the internship interview season. I have been lucky enough to interview with several companies I am interested in. This is probably one of the most challenging aspects of the spring semester. Everyone knows the value of networking, but just because you know someone does not mean you will get an interview or get the job. I have been applying online, and I’ve been lucky to get some callbacks. These interviews did not just fall into my lap, I sent my resume everywhere. I really put effort into searching each week for the past 12 weeks. The smartest thing any graduate student can do is be proactive about your future plans. Take the time to really think about what you want to be doing in two years, five years and even 10 years. Make a plan.

Here are my rules:
1) Be proactive
2) Set goals. Mini ones, big ones. (i.e. apply to 5 internships this week, research companies, reach out to contacts)
3) Refine your resume. Have multiple versions of your resume and cover letters ready to send out
4) Reach within your network if you really like certain companies. Ask around. People are willing to help; you just need to ask
5) Prepare for your interview. Know the company, have questions ready.
6) Follow up after an interview with a thank you and make it personal, not generic.

Many of us are getting very excited for our trip to Europe. We are working with a shipping company and an energy company. Both represent two markets we have here in New Orleans which I think matches well with the skills many of us would like to expand. Some of us are traveling around afterwards. I am going to Lisbon and Barcelona. We leave in a month!

Without a doubt, the biggest event is Mardi Gras. In the next 12 days, this city will be invaded by thousands of visitors coming to celebrate and take part in the parades, balls, and festivities the city has to offer. It is a fun time. I have already had too much king cake. Happy Mardi Gras season to all!

Amy Garrick

Week#19 – Saying goodbye to the city from Nicolas Merlaud on Vimeo.

Nineteenth week.
People. Places. Memories.

more videos at vimeo.com/channels/nicoinnola