This thing we call the MBA

last day of class

2009-04-30T18:44:00.002-05:00

Done. Someone unfurl the "Mission Accomplished" banner.

2 days...

2009-04-28T20:51:00.003-05:00

Two more days of class. Two more days until I am 99.8% complete with my Walton MBA experience. Excited? Yep. Bittersweet? Kinda.

It is a beautiful night in Northwest Arkansas. I think that the temperature is about 65 degrees, just a slight breeze, and no humidity to speak of. As I write this, I am sitting on my back deck, studying for our ERP final tomorrow and enjoying a nice cigar. The studying is kind of ruining the cigar, but you do what you have to do. Tomorrow, the rain is supposed to start again and I do not think that we will get a break from it until graduation on May 9th.

After graduation, the weather will hopefully cooperate and allow me to catch up on all of the golf that I have missed during the program. I have roughly three weeks until I have to start work, so that is plenty of time for 10-15 rounds. Additionally, one of my buddies in my cohort is getting married at the beach, so a few of us are heading to Alabama the weekend after graduation for some sun and wishing Justin well in his future endeavors. June 8th is the first day of work at Walmart. I will be part of the Finance Department, as a manager with the Accounting and Finance Development Program. This is an awesome opportunity for me, as it is a 2-year program that will give me invaluable experience within many different areas of corporate finance. For those still deciding on the Walton MBA, please know that I hit upon this position at the Fall Career Fair at the Sam M. Walton College of Business and the various career resources at Walton College played a key role in preparing me for interviews and salary discussions.

Rebel has asked that the graduating second year students put up some posts to reflect upon our time here, and I will start that tomorrow. Right now, back to the cigar, the ERP final, and some Kings of Leon.

speakers

2009-04-23T14:21:00.002-05:00

I know that a few of my entries have been about the great business community that surrounds the Walton College, but here is another one.

Today in our Corporate Strategy class, we hosted two guest speakers: Andy Ruben and Andrew Hudson. If anyone is slightly interested in sustainability, you should hopefully recognize Andy Ruben's name. He is the individual who led Walmart's recent push to incorporate sustainability into their business model and is still one of the major players in corporate sustainability efforts in the US. Andrew Hudson is from the Environmental Defense Fund and is part of the EDF project team located in Bentonville. Just like the people from Walmart and SAP who came to talk with our ERP class, Andy and Andrew are at the epicenter of corporate sustainability. The class had a great discussion, lead by Andy, Andrew, and Dr. John Johnson of Walton College's Applied Sustainability Center (check them out at http://asc.uark.edu/).

I did not have a chance to ask Andy or Andrew where else they have gone to speak with students like they have done with the Walton MBA program, but I am sure that the list is not that long. This just serves to highlight the benefit of the business community that the Walton MBA is a part of, and the access that the students have to corporate leaders.

pie a professor

2009-04-16T14:40:00.009-05:00

During our push to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Stacy suggested that we have a fundraiser to throw a pie at a professor. It was a great idea and we raised almost $450 with it. Dr. Tom Jensen, chair of the Marketing and Logistics department, had the most donations on his behalf and subsequently received a pie this afternoon. Special thanks to Dr. Jensen for being such a good sport and helping us raise a total of almost $5,000.

The Ingredients.

Making the pie.
Project almost complete.

Dr. Jensen reminding everyone that he can still change their grades, even after the semester has ended.
Michael's $15 worth.
The result.

dallas pictures

2009-04-09T14:41:00.005-05:00

I will add more later.

Luther King Capital

About to head out to Town North Bank.

Finishing up our presentation.

Dinner.

dallas

2009-04-09T14:06:00.003-05:00

Man, that was a whirlwind trip. The Shollmier MBA Portfolio Management Team took a short trip to Dallas, TX, along with the undergraduate portfolio management class and some individuals from the fixed income portfolio management class, to meet with alumni and other contacts we have in the Dallas banking and investment arenas. It was a great trip and I made a lot of new contacts.

Special thanks to the following individuals for really making the trip happen:

Dr. Craig Rennie – University of Arkansas
John Reap - President/CEO of Town North Bank (and his entire team for their hospitality)
Nick Beare - Stephens, Inc. (and the entire Stephens, Inc. office in Dallas)
Mario Ramirez - TIAA-CREF (and his entire Wealth Management Team)
Jody Staggs - PBS Capital (and his entire team for taking the time to meet with us)
Jonathan Deweese - Luther King Capital (and his team, including Mr. Luther King, for the hospitality and advice on equity managment)
Jack Sharp - Credit Suisse
Patrick Carrigan - Smith Barney
Nate Stinchcomb - White Horse Capital (thanks, also, to Jay)
Sean Davenport - BNP Paribas (thanks to all of the individuals in Merchant Banking for their time and advice)
Barry Davidson - Lakeside Capital
The Graduate School of Business (for picking up the tab on the trip)

I will post some pictures later this afternoon.

been a few days...

2009-04-02T12:34:00.002-05:00

It's been a few days since I last updated the blog. School is starting to pick up with projects and the Shollmier MBA Portfolio is taking a road trip to Dallas this weekend for meetings with local bankers and hedge funds to showcase our work, so I have been pretty busy. Right now I need to get my sector report for the quarterly publication finished, as well as the US economic outlook for our roadshow presentation. I will update with pictures from Dallas in a few days, as well as a more detailed account of life the past few weeks.

spring break 2k9

2009-03-19T21:35:00.002-05:00

It has been a busy little spring break. So far this week I have ripped up most of the floors in my brother's house to aid in his remodeling efforts, played golf, and slept. Tomorrow, I am heading to school to work on some projects and possibly another round of golf in the afternoon. This weekend, an overnighter to Downstream Casino with some friends.

Oh yeah, and it's tourney time! Although I do not anticipate Wake making it past the Sweet 16, it would sure be nice. Go Deacs!

spring break!

2009-03-12T15:25:00.002-05:00

Aside from having to work on Friday, it is Spring Break! Sadly, I don't have any travel plans and I will probably spend most of the week off either helping my brother tear up his floors so he can put down hardwood, working on a finance project, or finishing up a new portion of the GSB website. But hey, at least I don't have class and hopefully I can make it to the golf course and break in my new irons.

This week has been an interesting one, with it culminating in our first Strategic Management test. That lil guy was not enjoyable. We will see how it all comes out, but I strongly dislike multiple choice exams, and this was one of them. I may not regurgitate the word-for-word definition of the IO Model, but I can definitely put together a nice Five Forces analysis. Too bad the latter was not the question on the test.

I am off to put some more time into Photoshop. I will try to get a post in over the break, and some pictures should a few us second year MBAs get a proposed camping trip in at the end of next week.

how sweet is this?

2009-03-04T17:20:00.002-06:00

I have been meaning to post about this since Monday, but I have not gotten around to it. So, Monday and Wednesdays I have my ERP class. This past Monday we had some speakers come in to talk about Walmart's implementation of SAP. Right here, if nothing else is a reason to have your MBA be a Walton MBA; our speakers were the senior vice president (from Finance) in charge of the implementation, one of the directors from Information Systems (who is on the planning committee) and the global account manager from SAP. Essentially two of the top people from Walmart and the top person from SAP who were running the implementation. Where else could you get these three people to come and talk with you for 90 minutes about their experiences and how the company (Walmart) is viewing SAP and ERP systems in general.

They had a lot of great insight into the process of selecting systems and designing the scope of the project to meet business needs. They were very candid and it was interesting to see how SAP and Walmart interact and also some behind the scenes thoughts on synergy between the companies. All in all it was a good. However, I am sure that we wasted these three individuals' time, given that we are just learning about SAP and they run it for the largest company in the world.

But hey, that is what you get with your Walton MBA. Access to some of the biggest names in the business and the ability to interact and learn from them. And, that interaction is not part of a distinguished lectures series or in an auditorium with 300 other people, it's in class.

more snow

2009-02-28T23:39:00.002-06:00

On Thursday it was 70 degrees. Yesterday, it was 40, and I was able to get out and play some golf. Today, it was 25 and we now have about half an inch of snow on the ground. I don't know what the deal is, but the roads are pretty bad and I have been relegated to crashing on a friend's couch tonight since I don't want to try and drive 30 minutes back to Bentonville.

In better news, Cory Scott, one of the guys in my class, had his annual chili cookoff today and it was a great time (yes, we were all outside in the snow). My buddy Justin and his fiance, Alison, took third place. Cory's mom won. After that, a few of us got together to watch the Big Lebowski and enjoy being inside. Tomorrow some of the Shollmier folks have to get together and work on the portfolio and I have a sneaking suspicion that there is an ERP assignment due on Monday.

old apartment!!

2009-02-26T17:31:00.002-06:00

This week has been nuts. I had my first exam in the Advanced Corporate Finance class and let me tell you, not an enjoyable time. It was much more time consuming than I expected and I did not get any sleep Tuesday night as I was trying to finish it by 5pm on Wednesday (it was a take home test). Apparently there were enough people in the class that had trouble with it that our professor gave everyone 2 additional days to rework some parts. Good times.

The last MBA Student Advisory Board meeting was today for my class. I have had meetings shuffled around on my calendar all week, so I forgot about this little guy and ended up getting a text message at 12:35, when I was in the drive thru at Zaxby's. The meeting started at 12:30...

After that little mishap, the afternoon has been spent putting together a flyer in Photoshop for our TeamMBA event and various meetings around campus to plan out video shoots for the GSB website.

Now, I am going to go home, eat dinner, and go play poker with some friends.

service work

2009-02-24T14:24:00.004-06:00

We are working on raising money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and have partnered with TeamMBA for the event. If you would like to support the team, please visit http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/dave_alderson.

should be playing golf...

2009-02-21T14:43:00.003-06:00

The weather today is fantastic. A little breezy, temperature is about 45 degrees, and there is not a cloud in the sky. However, instead of being out on the golf course, I am at Walker Hall trying to bring myself to start working on my Advance Corporate Finance exam. It is always great when one of the questions on a test is pretty much the same thing as the course project you had to complete for the pre-req class to the course. Needless to say, this little guy is going to take some time.

The GSB just got the proofs for the pictures that were taken on Wednesday for the website, so expect to see some new content in the next few days as Chris and I get some things put together. We are thinking of starting some podcasts and introductory videos for the school, the graduate programs, and the PhD programs. Please let me know what you all would think of that as prospective students. Would that be something you would find interesting/informative?

Ok, I am going to try and make myself work on this exam. In terms of class this coming week, it should be relatively light. Case analysis due on Tuesday for Strategic Management, this test due on Wednesday, and an Excel bootcamp Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons.

this week

2009-02-19T13:26:00.002-06:00

This week has been a tad busy. The second year MBA class had its first group project due in Strategic Management on Tuesday and our first test in Enterprise Systems yesterday. Also, yesterday, we took graduation pictures of the class and its members, as well as various situational photographs for use in future publications and the website. I think that we have some good material and we should get the proofs of the shots for the website in a day or so.

As this semester crosses the 1/3-finished point, I am definitely ready for graduation. I need to remember to submit my application for graduation tomorrow and pay my $30. I don't recall having to pay for graduation at Wake, but oh well. Getting my MBA from Walton for roughly $25,000, when I should have paid $60,000-$70,000 (based on the quality and the opportunities I have had) I guess that I cannot complain.

Time to go tour the server-housing facilities for UofA and get some more pictures for the website.

it is the little things

2009-02-12T11:40:00.003-06:00

We had an MBA Student Advisory Committee yesterday. The second year class (my class) and the first year class (the "freshmen", just kidding) had a chance to sit down and talk about how the SAC works and what they have to expect from their time here at Walton College. As we were talking, i started to reminisce about my time here and why I decided to work towards a Walton MBA hanging on my wall...

The first thing that came to mind was that I have received an education that is comparable to the educations that MBAs from the top 30 MBA programs are receiving. Even though you do not see Walton College listed with Emory and Northwestern, the opportunities I have had with my graduate assistantship and my internship, as well as the extra-curricular learning, probably exceeds what these other programs offer. I mean, it has yet to be finalized, but my ERP class is probably going to have one of the top SAP account executives come and discuss implementation. What other school can say that they have that calibre of professionals just drop in on short notice to give a lecture?

The second reason that I thought of with regards to my decision to be part of the Walton MBA was value. Thanks to my graduate assistantship (which most people in the class are awarded), I am paying in-state tuition and these past 18 months are only going to cost me around $20,000 in terms of tuition, books, etc. For the education, access to technology, and growth opportunities I have now, I feel that I should have been paying upwards of $80 or $90k.

Value and opportunity, not to mention hands-on learning and access, you cannot beat that.

new website is live

2009-02-10T16:04:00.001-06:00

We just launched the new Graduate School of Business website! There are still some minor changes that we need to make, but the framework is sound. Let me know what you think.

four computer screens are better than one

2009-02-08T21:02:00.002-06:00

Spent most of the afternoon at school, working on trying to rebalance the equity holdings of the Shollmier MBA portfolio. Finally figured out how to get my own Bloomberg log-in ID, which is sweet, so now I don't have to worry about someone else being on the generic MBA user ID. But anyway, spent the afternoon figuring out which companies the portfolio should short. Now I just have to work on my Enterprise Systems' homework, but I think that I will sit outside and enjoy a nice Honduran cigar before I crack into purchase-to-pay funfest.

Intramural Bowling starts tomorrow night and the MBA Class of 2009 is fielding two teams. MBA Networking event is also tomorrow night, with the Spring Walton College Career Fair on Tuesday. Should prove to be a busy two days.

website update

2009-02-05T16:57:00.003-06:00

We were going to launch tomorrow evening, but since the final touches have yet to be made and there are a few pages that are lacking content, we are pushing launch back until Tuesday. Keep an eye out, because we will flip the switch at 4PM Central Time and you should be able to see it about 4:15, once all of the servers refresh. Feel free to send me feedback, as we are going to start phase two right after the launch and want to know what people think.

team mba

2009-02-05T09:46:00.003-06:00

The MBA program is going to be participating in Team MBA (see the website) this semester by sponsoring a team to walk in the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's Walk MS 2009 in Fayetteville. The GSB is pretty excited about this service opportunity and we are aiming at raising $5000 for this great cause. All MBA candidates are invited to participate and we have almost 200 potential participants. Information is going out to the classes this week and I will keep you updated on how the team is progressing.

If you are interested in donating to our effort, please visit our team website.

walker hall

2009-02-03T13:44:00.002-06:00

I talk a lot about spending time in Walker Hall on the weekends, but I do not think that I have actually written about the home of the Walton MBA. Its a new (aka, under 5 years old) building in the Sam M. Walton College of Business group of buildings on campus. There is a link on the right side of my blog, you should check it out.

It is well designed and visually appealing. The GSB is housed on the 3rd floor and the Career Development Center (the folks that help you get your GA and also who help with finding a job after graduation) are on the second floor. Most of my classes are located either in the trading center on the 3rd floor or in one of the case rooms on the 4th floor. While the MBA program shares the 4th floor with the other graduate programs, I would venture to say that we tend to use it more often than anyone else. Also on the 4th floor are project rooms and team meeting rooms. Each has its own 30-something inch flat screen with A/V hookups, ethernet ports, seating for 8-10. The entire campus is wi-fi accessible.

Being that I am a student here, I am partial to the facility, but I can tell you that the building offers just as much, if not more, than some of the other institutions of higher education that I have attended or visited in my educational career.

cmon steelers

2009-02-01T16:08:00.002-06:00

I think that this is going to be a rough week. With the four snow days (unheard of before this year at the University of Arkansas) and the Superbowl tonight, it has been rough trying to get in a rhythm these past few days. Luckily, my professors have pushed back assignments that were due tomorrow and Tuesday to the middle of the week. That should give most of my MBA class a chance to put some time into them.

Hopefully the school will also push back the deadline for applying for graduation. I still need to go to the Registrar and fill out some forms and give them money.

Keep an eye out for the new Graduate School of Business website later this week. We should be going live with it on Wednesday.

yeah...

2009-01-28T23:36:00.002-06:00

That half an inch of ice that I mentioned below the pictures ended up turning into almost 2 inches of ice in certain areas. My internet just came back online about 2 hours ago, and my cable just came back as well. A fun little storm to say the least, and a few of the folks in the MBA class are still without power tonight. I have heard that the University has power and that the major roads are clearing, but up around me, we still have a solid sheet of ice covering everything.

With that said, we will more than likely have school tomorrow.

Good news, aside from seemingly steady power and internet/cable, Wake won tonight. Bad news, Strategic Management is in roughly 10 hours (nothing against Anand, I just have grown use to the days off). Let us all hope that they have cleared off I-540 by the time the native Arkansanians (sp?) venture out in the AM.

pictures

2009-01-27T14:53:00.007-06:00

Pictures from around my neighborhood.

ice storm 2k9

2009-01-27T13:24:00.001-06:00

School was canceled. I would guess that I have about half an inch of ice at my house, and I am not sure what it looks like down in Fayetteville, but my friend Anna has already been sledding this morning. Snow is expected tonight, but we are still getting a rain/sleet mix right now. Maybe we won't have school tomorrow, either.

I will put up some pictures later today, if I still have power.

guess you are never too old

2009-01-26T18:24:00.002-06:00

I am sitting on my couch about to start working on the strategic management case assignment that is due tomorrow morning and I have just realized that, yes, you are never to old to hope that you will get a snow day. Supposedly Northwest Arkansas is going to get about an inch of ice tonight, and that will more than likely close the area for a day or two. And, just like when you are a kid in elementary school, I am sitting here hoping that I will not have to go to class tomorrow. It would be really nice if the weatherman was right about this one.

In the mean time, and with no regard to the weather, this case analysis is due by 6AM. Even if class is canceled, I still need to keep working on the new website (if I don't lose power). Keep an eye out later in the week for it, as we are hoping to go live Friday, January 30th, at 5PM central time.

That is all that I have right now. Oh, one more thing, Rebel has been working very hard to provide content for her areas of the website, just so everyone knows. Thank you, Rebel.

sunday sunday sunday

2009-01-24T14:20:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow should be the first sunday that is spent in Walker Hall, the first of the last. US economic report, some homework for Enterprise Systems, and some Strategic Management reading. Good times.

I have not posted anything about classes this semester, so for your reading pleasure:

Enterprise Systems - core class, we get to learn SAP, and how to use it as well as some data mining platforms (TerraData, SAS, etc.).
Strategic Management - core class. Learn that strategy is not black and white, nor is how you look at it.
Shollmier MBA Portfolio Management Class - still playing with real money, now it's a 3-hour class.
Advanced Corporate Finance - could have just stuck with 11 hours this semester, but decided that this would be a good class to have. Jandik is much more easy going than he was with the intro class.

Anyone know a travel agent that can get me a cheap flight to New Zealand?

the experiment worked

2009-01-22T17:38:00.002-06:00

Rebel brought her camera today.

Classes have finished up for the second week and the first rounds of assignments are due starting on Monday. Looks like i have, once again, lost my Sundays. In other news, the new GSB website is coming together nicely and we should be able to go live on January 30th. Keep an eye out for an update/announcement.

experiment...

2009-01-21T13:35:00.004-06:00

It would seem that if Rebel (see the admissions blog) thinks she is being tossed under the bus, then she really jumps onto action on things. Let's put this to the test. She forgot to bring her camera today to help with some pictures for the new GSB website.

I will update tomorrow to see if she remembers her camera...

In other news, the Walton MBA has a new blogger! Check out Wenqi's blog. She is going to be keeping track of her MBA life in both English and Chinese. The link is on the right site of the page.

trying to get used to this schedule

2009-01-20T16:43:00.002-06:00

It is pretty nice only having one or two classes a day, especially when they don't start until late morning, but I have been unable to adjust to the schedule so far this semester. I guess its just going from 190 mph with last semester to a leisurely 25 mph through graduation, but I am just not feeling it.

On the upside, the new GSB website is coming together and the new Walton MBA class seems to be settling in nicely. Word from my orientation group is that they all had a good first week. It is probably too early to start a countdown to graduation, so I will just say that we have like 14 weeks...

Oh, my Demon Deacons are #1 and should hopefully keep that spot in the polls for another week. These next two weeks would be a good time to be in Winston.

beginning of the end

2009-01-16T15:11:00.002-06:00

The first week of the final semester is over. All in all, things went well and I think that my classes will be a whole lot less stressful than the funfest from last semester. The new Walton MBA class seems to be settling in well and most of the students that I have talked to seem to be enjoying their classes and professors.

I left my GA with Clarke this week. The company is going through restructuring and my office was hit hard. Good luck to everyone who was affected by the repositioning and everyone who is still with the company. My new GA spot is with the Graduate School of Business, working to update their website and teach Rebel how to use her web development software.

One of my best friends just arrived in New Zealand for a two year rotation with KPMG and has some pretty sweet pictures up on his blog. Check it out: http://brettgoeskiwi.blogspot.com/

the new gsb website

2009-01-13T20:53:00.007-06:00

Here are some screen shots of the new Graduate School of Business's website that I sneaked out of development. Please let me know what you all think so I can pass feedback along...

class, day 2

2009-01-13T15:13:00.002-06:00

The second day of class is almost over (Shollmier Portfolio Class, 7-10pm) and this semester looks like it will be much, much better than last semester in terms of time and stress.

Some advice to the new Walton MBAs and they head toward the end of their first week. First, read the Marketing book in Dr. Jensen's class. Also, make sure that you read the user manual for the MarkStrat simulation before you start to make decisions. Second, talk in all of your classes, participation is huge. Third, enjoy yourselves.

The Graduate School of Business is working to update their website, which should hopefully go live in a few weeks, so keep an eye out for that. So far, it looks really good in work-up and should really bring the school's website into 2009-ish format/content.

final semester

2009-01-11T18:42:00.001-06:00

First day of class is tomorrow and this final semester at Walton should be a good one. I am only taking 14 hours, so I should have some spare time to relax and play golf. Enterprise Systems is at 11am...

case competition

2009-01-08T17:30:00.002-06:00

Today was the fourth day of orientation for the new MBA class at Walton and saw the new students presenting their cases for the case competition. I would venture to guess that most of the individuals enjoyed the time, but I saw some great presentations and each team should be very proud of the work that they did. Tomorrow, the class is heading on the road for Retail Immersion Day and will be touring Northwest Arkansas's business environment and meeting with some industry-leading personalities.

Also, Rebel has posted pictures to her blog of the first few days of orientation. Check out the link to the admissions blog on the right. And no, I have not been throwing her under the bus, just holding her accountable.

Time for the BCS Championship!

orientation tracking, day three

2009-01-07T18:05:00.002-06:00

The new class was working on their case competition presentations all day today. Meanwhile, the mentors got a break and I spent the afternoon on the golf course. I spoke with Rebel about the lack of pictures from orientation, thus far, and she has promised me that she would have some up by tomorrow, so keep an eye on the Walton MBA Admissions blog for pictures.

Tomorrow, presentations for the case competition.

orientation day two...

2009-01-06T15:31:00.002-06:00

It was pretty darn cold this morning. Sitting outside and running one of the team competition stations would have been much better with a heater or something other than a cup of coffee. However, the Walton MBA Class of 2010 did well through the six events and the speaker. So far, I am still impressed with this group of individuals. Everyone seems to be extremely excited about this opportunity. Tomorrow and Thursday is the case competition, so we shall see how they handle the Crest Spinbrush Challenge.

Keep an eye on on the MBA Admissions Blog. Rebel was busy snapping pictures and video this morning of the day's events and should hopefully get them up this week.

Classes for the "seniors" start on Monday. Less than 5 months until my Walton MBA experience is over...

first day of orientation

2009-01-05T21:33:00.003-06:00

Today was the first day of orientation for the Walton MBA Class of 2010. Looks like a good group of individuals and I know that the school and the mentors both have high hopes for them over the next 18 months. Rebel was taking photos like mad today, so keep an eye out on her blog for when she posts them.

Everyone spent today going through the generalities of the Sam M. Walton College of Business, learning how to use the technology that the school has, and meeting each other. Tomorrow, team activities start up followed by a case competition on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday will be retail immersion day. Classes start a week from today.

happy new years everyone

2009-01-02T18:19:00.003-06:00

New Years was a good ole time. 2009 should be a good year. The incoming Walton MBA class will arrive for orientation on Monday and I am hoping that the snow that was predicted for Monday and Tuesday holds off. I am going to try and get pictures for the blog during orientation so that everyone can see the festivities.

merry christmas

2008-12-24T11:53:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas everyone. It has been about a week since finals ended and I have enjoyed my time relaxing and doing simple activities that I did not have time for last semester, grocery shopping for example. The Walton MBA is a good time, and will be well worth the effort, but it does keep you busy. I am going to try and make a few posts during the break, so keep an eye out. Again, merry Christmas and for all of the students who are starting their MBA in January, see you in a few weeks!

a few random pictures from the last couple of days

2008-12-17T14:36:00.004-06:00

Walker Hall, 1:30am
and, getting ready for the Finance final.

last final

2008-12-17T14:20:00.002-06:00

This semester will be over in about 3 hours and I am pretty happy about that. Little get together planned for this evening, then off to Atlanta tomorrow. But, while I should be studying, a few parting thoughts on the past three months...

1. Don't take New Venture Development if you are in the finance track, unless you want to subject yourself to a less-than-optimal end of the semester.
2. Do the homework in Accounting.
3. Make friends with key people, such as the janitor and the folks that work in the cafe on the second. You never know when you will need them.
4. You can sleep when you die. Sometimes you have to learn to nap and not expect to sleep 8 hours a night.

It's almost over, though. The GSB and the Walton MBA have 37 incoming students for the class that starts in January and we are all pretty excited. Orientation starts the first week of January.

so very close.

2008-12-15T19:36:00.003-06:00

One more final and this semester is over with. My team for our New Venture Development class had a great presentation yesterday and I think that we may actually get an A in there. I am planning to post a ranting reflection of the semester in a few days, after I get back from Atlanta, so keep an eye out for it.

The GSB is pretty excited about the incoming Walton MBA Class of 2010 and I think that a few of the students who start in January will be setting up blogs, so keep an eye out for those as well.

random thoughts at 4:30 in the morning...

2008-12-13T04:33:00.002-06:00

I had to take a break from studying for our Accounting final, which is in 5.5 hours. The second half of this week has been a little busy. Wednesday and Thursday I wrote a business plan. Today I have been working on Retail Finance and trying to get over being sick. After a 4 hour nap this evening, I have been working on more Retail Finance and I am now studying for this Acct. test.

This semester is almost over and I heard today that there are 37 students coming into the program in January as part of the Sam M. Walton MBA Class of 2010. Congrats to everyone. Work hard, play hard.

two weeks

2008-12-08T14:44:00.002-06:00

It's official, less than two weeks until this semester is over. Not that I don't like the Walton MBA, it is just that when you are effectively taking 20 hours, it gets old right about this time. Luckily I only signed up for 14 hours next semester, so that should be relief. Advice to the incoming class, if you are going to take the Finance track, do not take the New Venture Development class in the fall.

Sunday at school

2008-11-30T14:02:00.004-06:00

Thought you all may enjoy some images of life on Sundays at Walker Hall. Walton MBA at its best.As I said earlier, its good to be finance (we don't miss Sunday football).

happy thanksgiving

2008-11-29T19:16:00.003-06:00

I hope that everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Arkansas beat LSU, Wake is up on Vandy at the moment, and Florida won. Sunday, Wake is in the finals of the 76 Classic, playing Baylor. Its been a good weekend save for the fact that I am currently at school working on one of the 11 projects that I have due on Monday. For those who are interested, here is a run-down...

1. Leadership Philosophy for Management.
2. Accounting team assignment 3.
3. Accounting homework.
4. Financials for New Venture Development.
5. Executive Summary for New Venture Development.
6. Sources and Uses summary for New Venture Development.
7. Offering summary for New Venture Development.
8. Presentation for New Venture Development on Monday.
9. Sector Overview for the Shollmier Project.
10. Stock Report for the Shollmier Project.
11. US Economic Summary for the Shollmier Project Quarterly Report.

But this semester will be over soon and I only have to take 11 hours next semester to graduate. As for now, back to working on the Shollmier stuff. Billy and Tyler are up here in the trading studio as well (see the Walker Hall link and check out the 3rd Floor). Beauty of being in the finance track, we are the only students with access to a TV that is hooked up to cable in this building.

Saturdays at Walker Hall

2008-11-22T16:09:00.002-06:00

Quick note on the benefits of the finance track with your Walton MBA. We have a few tvs in the trading rooms, so when we are here on Saturdays and Sundays we can get some work done and not miss football. The other tracks can't say that, nor do they have access to these areas. Just another reason to go finance.

Check out the link to Walker Hall and take a look at our facilities. Not many other schools can say that they have the technology or dedicated space for the MBA program and graduate school. And just so you know, even though there are other graduate programs in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, the Walton MBA program pretty much runs the 4th floor of Walker Hall.

Homecoming

2008-11-12T21:15:00.002-06:00

I went to homecoming at Wake this past weekend and had a great time catching up with some of my old friends and fraternity brothers. On Sunday, I attended a brunch with some alums from the Dallas area and who are pretty involved with the college's alumni relations. After discussing Wake football and basketball, the conversation turned to the reasons I had chosen to get my MBA from Arkansas rather than returning to Wake. I spent about 25 minutes talking about the school, the Walton MBA, the Sam M. Walton College of Business, the various activities that I am involved in, and the general business atmosphere that the Walton MBA students find themselves in just by being in the school.

I wanted to share some real quick points:

1. Northwest Arkansas. Yes, it is not that glamorous, but if you stop and think about it, where else are you going to find a large concentration of Fortune 500 companies, along with the world's largest company and headquarters of one of the largest logistics firms in the US as well as Tyson? We exist in a unique business environment, in that we have ready access to most of these companies and their teams. This weekend is the Supply Chain Management International Logistics Case Competition (go hogs!). The team from Arkansas has already had the chance to tour the FedEx hub here, and many of the members are in the process of interviewing with logistics companies who will be judging the competition. Just because they are part of the competition gives them access to these employers and interviews. In addition, we meet with business leaders almost weekly, just because they are in the area and want to talk with students at the University.

2. The Green Movement. We all know about environmental consciousness, but did you know that Fayetteville, U of A, and Northwest Arkansas are all leading areas in green development? Most people think that California and New York are the places to be for the new business of green, but NWA is actually one of the leading areas in technology and process development, as well as awareness. The University of Arkansas's Center for Sustainable Development (located at the Sam M. Walton College of Business) is a leader in green and is helping major corporations develop and implement environmentally responsible practices.

3. The Finance Track. Sorry, I have to plug this part of the Walton MBA. Even though we are incredibly busy, I wanted to mention the access that we have as part of the program. First, Dr. Craig Rennie (responsible for the Shollmier Portfolio) knows pretty much everyone in the financial services industry and regularly puts students in contact with industry-leading companies, both for education purposes and also for assistance with the ole job search. Second, technology. The Sam M. Walton College of Business has three (3) Bloomberg terminals and two (2) user accounts, just for finance students to use. Check the stats with some other business schools, you would be surprised. Third, training. It sounds dull, but the school actually provides students with the ability to take prep classes for the CFA exam, as well as training on financial software platforms.

We may not be on the top ten list of b-schools, but we definitely have resources that those top kids don't have. With that said, my Deacons are first place in the Atlantic Division and can hopefully stay that way through the next 2 weeks. See you all in Miami in January!

questions about the program

2008-11-04T10:09:00.002-06:00

I have received a few questions from the incoming class about the Walton MBA program and wanted to share them with you all.

1) What is the atmosphere in the Walton MBA like?

The atmosphere is pretty laid back. There is competition between the students, but overall we all work together to make sure that we all succeed. I will say that there is no one mold that we all fit into, so I would not be worried that you do not fit in or that you may upset your classmates or professors. As long as you are respectful in your disagreement, you will be good. Just be yourself.

2) How much time do you spend at school?

Depends on which day it is...I am in the finance track and am taking an extra class on top of my normal course load. I tend to be at Walker Hall more than some of my peers and the finance track tends to spend time at school more than the other tracks. I would say that on average, I am here 5-6 hours a day during the week and I do spend most afternoons on Sundays in group meetings or working on assignments. You will get out of the program what you put into it.

I will put up some more questions and responses as I get them in.

Sunday afternoons

2008-11-02T16:10:00.002-06:00

The one downside to the MBA program, at least for the finance folks, is having to spend lovely Sunday afternoons sitting on the fourth floor of Walker Hall, working on all of the things that we need for the coming weeks. Today, there are a few teams up here putting together case analysis for Accounting. Others are getting ready for the Investment Committee meeting tomorrow night, and still the rest are just trying to get ahead of the work for the week.

One positive here, even though I wish I was on the golf course, is that we have a pretty nice facility.

On another note, the mentor program for the Class of 2010 just started up and the mentors have been contacting the incoming cohort to introduce themselves and see what assistance they can provide as the new students get ready to come to Fayetteville.

MBA Mentor Program

2008-10-22T12:54:00.003-05:00

For students that have been accepted for the 2010 cohort, keep an eye on your inboxes in the coming week as the mentors for your class have been selected and we should be sending out introductory messages soon. We are here to help you get ready for 18 months of fun with the Walton MBA and also provide any assistance that you may need preparing for January or during your first semester. I am sure that Deb and Rebel are flooding you all with messages, but keep an eye out for those from the mentors. Also, check Blackboard.

For those who are unaware, the Walton MBA has established a mentor program for each new cohort, comprised of individuals from the class above the incoming class to help them acclimate to school life, answer any questions regarding classes or the program, and show them around the campus and Fayetteville. Being from a non-business background, this program really helped me get back into the swing of things when I arrived in the area and also helped to bridge the gap between the class that was about to graduate and myself.

evening activities

2008-10-20T10:50:00.003-05:00

So we (Fayetteville) just got a wine bar a few weeks ago. In case that is a requirement in your search for a MBA program, know that the Walton MBA now offers a wine bar in close proximity to the graduate school.

Top 10

2008-10-14T15:10:00.003-05:00

So the Walton MBA is now ranked in the top 10 for something. The Princeton Review has put us in the top 10 in the category of "Most Competitive Students". Granted we are 10th, but still, not too shabby.

The others, 1st through 9th: Wharton Vanderbilt, UT-Austin, BYU, Texas Southern, Rutgers, Clemson, SMU, and Howard University.

http://www.princetonreview.com/business-school-rankings.aspx

sitting around between classes

2008-10-07T09:59:00.002-05:00

So the market sucks. We spent about an hour last night in the university's investment committee meeting discussing the ins and outs of mortgage backed securities. The MBA fund is down thanks to all of the turbulence, and I think that most of the accounts that we manage across the university are also seeing some book losses, but so is everyone else.

On a good note, even though the job market looks like it will continue to contract over the next few months, most people in the class seem to be getting some good interviews and following through to the next level. I would be surprised if most of the class does not have jobs be graduation.

Quick update

2008-09-30T23:32:00.004-05:00

I was just talking with Cameron, the lady behind our Facebook page, and she suggested that I put up a quick post about what we are doing tonight. Well, tomorrow is our first Management Accounting test and there are a handful of us sitting up here on the 4th floor of Walker Hall. Normally we don't start the late night rounds in Walker until later in the semester, but this appears to be an exception.

Anyway, check out the Facebook page, become a fan, and write a note to Cameron. She doesn't have a blog and is a little lonely.

http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=34767058295&ref=mf

Been busy...

2008-09-25T15:02:00.002-05:00

Ok, so it has been a little busy the past few weeks (travel with the GA, job search ramping up, etc.). With the fall semester in full swing, here is what my schedule is looking like...

Mondays: Class in the morning, team meetings and homework in the early afternoon. Investment management meeting for the school's various investment portfolios in the evening, followed by another class that runs until 9ish.

Tuesdays: Class in the morning, in the office (for my GA) in the afternoon.

Wednesdays: Class in the morning, more time for homework and team meetings in the afternoon.

Thursdays: Class in the morning, GA in the afternoon.

Fridays: In the office all day.

Weekend: Football, catching up on non-school items from the week, and homework.

A friend of mine who got her MBA from Wake Forest gave me some pretty good advice a while ago: the MBA is more about time management than anything else. Just treat this like you would your job and you will be fine.

More about the job search and the Career Center coming soon...

The Graduate Assistantships

2008-09-07T23:21:00.002-05:00

Don't have much time to give a full length post, as I am still trying to finish homework for this week (watched too much football yesterday) and then pack for a business trip, but I wanted to mention one of the best parts of the GAs...you may get to travel. I am going to Vegas with our marketing team tomorrow and will enjoy 2 nights and 3 days in sin city, courtesy of my company. Plus, I get to miss class. Granted I still have to turn in assignments, but hey, I will be emailing them from Pacific Time.

Some background may help...

2008-09-05T13:43:00.005-05:00

I found some time during my lunch break at work to give a little background about my MBA decision. First, I think that given the overall reputation of the State of Arkansas once you get outside of its geographical boundaries, I should mention that I am not from here. I am from Georgia. I did not go to undergrad in Arkansas (went to a little ACC school in North Carolina, 5 points to who can guess which one), nor have I ever worked in Arkansas. With that said, I am at Walton, in Arkansas, for my MBA, for two reasons: quality and opportunity. There are definite fallacies in both the reputation of the state and most of the jokes about this area.

I wanted a program that would give me the quality education that would propel me into a new industry and allow me to jump ahead 5 years in my career. All MBAs can do that, for the most part. When I was told by a family member that I should look at Walton College, I was skeptical. I graduated from a top 30 undergrad institution and thought this would be a step back. When I looked into the program, though, I found that the resources and curriculum was much better than what was being offered at some of the top-tier programs I was interested in on the East Coast.

The school had just undergone a redesign of the MBA program, tailoring it toward a business-centric curriculum in which the framework was designed with industry insight and advice from day one. The school actually went out into the business community (we are in Walmart's back yard, which means that ~300 of the Fortune 500 have offices here as well...) and sought input as to what business leaders want when they hire new MBAs. This went into the program design and the results of the efforts can be seen in the starting salaries of the first class to finish the redesigned program (Class of 2008, average salary ~$75,000). In addition to the redesign, the school had just built a new building to house the Graduate School of Business (see the Walker Hall link). In talking with a friend of mine at Emory, our facilities are better than they have. I also know that we are on par with the new Business building at my undergraduate institution. So, when I started to put things on paper, Walton had both the curriculum to help me get ahead of where I was and they were pouring money into resources for the graduate programs. That moved them well toward the top of my list.

Opportunity was the second deciding factor in my MBA search. I wanted a program that gave me not only the tools to succeed, but I wanted to make sure that I could get good exposure to business while in class and also have a good network once I graduated. Walton has given me both. Being in Northwest Arkansas, the home of Walmart, Tyson, and JB Hunt, as well as all of the support offices for Walmart, I have found myself in a unique business environment. I work as a graduate assistant (read MBA Intern) for a manufacturing company, reporting directly to a VP, and being responsible for key parts of our M&A activity. Other students in my class have GAs (graduate assistantships, close to 100% of my class has a GA or internship during the school year, which is part of being in the program and is directly supported by the school) with Procter & Gamble, Tyson, Saatchi and Saatchi X, Walmart, and many others. The point is, the school wants you to be able to apply what you learn as you learn it, and this is one of the few areas of the country where there is such a diverse population of businesses that you can pretty much work in any industry you would like.

I digress, and I will talk at length in another post about the GA program, but the business environment around the area is a huge plus for me. In addition, Walton brings in a litany of speakers during the year to give talks with graduate students on topics ranging from ethics in international business to logistics to running companies. The best part is that when these talks are over, the business leader takes time to stay and chat with students and answer questions. This gets to my point about networking. Last spring, I met the gentleman who is in charge of equities for SmithBarney, the CEO of FedEx Freight, and the number 2 person at Ernst&Young. I have each of their cards, and they have mine. Guess who will be getting emails and resumes from me in a few weeks?

This has been a long and wandering post, but here is my message: I came to Walton for what it had to offer, which in many cases is more than most top-tier schools. When you start to look at where you want to go, dig into what the programs can do for you, and I bet that you will see that there is higher quality and better learning/growth opportunities at institutions that are outside of the top 25 than many within the top 25. I ended up valuing substance, growth, and exposure over reputation.

TheFirst

2008-09-05T11:28:00.003-05:00

So as part of the whole redesign of the Walton MBA and our 'new' focus on internet presence, a few of the students from the Class of 2009 are starting blogs to give prospective students an idea of what our lives are like. Here is my attempt.

I am going to try and put up something this weekend that has a little information about myself and the program, as well as the Walton College and the University of Arkansas, so check back.