In late August, 70 new Full-Time MBA students participated in an orientation that brought them together for the first time. Students were presented with academic and career resources available to them on campus, previewed courses from D'Amore-McKim faculty on topics ranging from cultural awareness to an introduction to the case study, and began building relationships on a ropes course and at a Red Sox game.
Getting Oriented
On Tuesday, August 23, after an afternoon of getting to know each other in the classroom, 70 new Full-Time MBA students concluded their first day of orientation with a tour of Northeastern's campus.
Students learned about resources around campus, including the Graduate Career Center and Student Services, on Wednesday, August 25. The day wrapped with professional headshots and a group photo of the new cohort, MBA Class of 2018. Welcome Huskies!
Faculty Director of the Full-Time MBA Program, Todd Alessandri, kicked off Friday, August 26, covering what students will need to know in nearly every course during their MBA program: the case study. “This course is to help prepare the students. Pretty much every course they take will include case study,” Alessandri said.
International business faculty, Harry Lane, opened his Cultural Awareness class discussing globalization in the business world. “There's a tendency to focus on visible inputs,” he said. “While the visible issues in business are necessary, they're not sufficient for success.”
Ready for the next step
“It came down to the corporate residency,” Lindsey Hoffman, MBA'18, said. “I'm here to get a good job and to be ready for the next step. That's what made my decision.”
“It was a feeling of fit. It felt like when I came here everyone was very welcoming. They want to see you succeed. The corporate residency was a huge attraction for me, but also just being in Boston – being in the city,” Victoria Napoli, MBA'18 said. Standing with her new classmates, Hoffman and Flynn, Napoli added, “[Orientation] has been great in helping me make those initial connections with my classmates who I'm going to be with for the next two years – finding out a little more about them and how we work together.”
“I chose D'Amore-McKim because I felt welcomed when I first walked in for my interview. I just felt like I belonged here. Being from a hospitality background, that is very important to me. Having the people skills and making other people feel at home – that's something I've always been big on,” Briana Flynn, MBA'18, said.
Getting to know Boston
On their final day of orientation, students visited the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley. They spent the morning with executives discussing homelessness in Boston, a major area of focus for the organization, and sought to better understand how local government and funding partners help address the issue.
Kwesi Ntiamoa Adarkwa, MBA'18, originally from Ghana, hopes to end up in a supply chain logistics role but also gain marketing and communications skills during the program. Reflecting on the morning at United Way, Adarkwa said, “I really want to get a sense for the nonprofit space as well. That's something I haven't really thought of before this – working with a nonprofit. But this is the stuff that really helps people.”
“Coming here you definitely get a different view on what homelessness is all about and it really just makes you want to help. It makes you want to get involved in this. I think some of the skills I'm interested in learning is being collaborative and being able to work as a team and actually make an impact, which I didn't necessarily know that was what I wanted to do before,” Sarah Hollis, MBA'18.
Students cheered on the Boston Red Sox and got to know their new city together on Friday, August 28.
Looking ahead
Syed Amir Ali, MBA'18, has ambitions of doing something more than just go through his classes and build his network. “I want to do something in my extra time and create something. Whether it's my own company or my own idea, I want to use that after graduation to make an impact.”
“I'm mostly looking forward to learning business concepts. I wasn't a business major in undergrad,” Hannah Ryan, MBA'18, was previously a science teacher and hopes to pursue a career in the biotech industry.