Christie's Diary
If you’re reading this, you’re probably thinking about an MBA from UT. Several years ago I was doing similar research about MBA programs and read an online diary written by “Amanda” a former UT MBA student. She wrote about her experiences in the UT MBA program, and reading it convinced me that if she could do it so could I. By sharing my MBA story with you, I hope you’ll see that not only will you survive this program, you’ll love it!
Chapter 1: It’s all about the plan
My name is Christie and I am an “older” student who took the circuitous route to graduate school. In 1994 I graduated with a BA in marketing from the business school at Michigan State University and was plowing ahead, ready to start my MBA right away. An advisor in the business school suggested that I work for a few years before applying to graduate school; her advice made sense so I moved to Detroit and worked for an engineering firm. Thirteen years, five jobs, four houses, a husband, two masters degrees (my husband’s) and five children later, I finally submitted my application. “Get an MBA” never left my goals list; it just lost its priority ranking for a few years.
About four years ago, shortly after my husband Dave started an evening MBA program in Michigan and his second master’s degree during our marriage, I realized that my MBA goal needed to move back to the top of my list. At this point I was not working and struggling with the stay-at-home mom dilemma of wanting the mental and financial rewards of work and needing a more balanced life. I didn’t need to rush back to school. I needed the hope that I would eventually achieve my goal and creating a plan for getting there allowed me to focus on and enjoy my time at home with the kids.
As Dave finished school and started the post-MBA recruiting process, we kept to the plan and only considered locations that were near large universities with good MBA programs. When he received an offer with a company in Knoxville, Tennessee we were ecstatic. Knoxville met all our criteria: mid-South, temperate climate, medium sized city, outdoor activities, reasonable cost of living and near a major university. The whole packaged seemed too perfect, and we still ask ourselves how we got so lucky.
Our master plan included a year to get settled in our new home and get the support systems in place before I started school the next year. In hindsight this was one of our smartest decisions and although I was ready to get started, the prep year made a huge difference and smoothed the transition for everyone.
Chapter 2: Applying – Lots of Little Goals
Shortly after we moved into our new house in Knoxville I requested a registration packet from the UT MBA website, and a few days later a big white envelope arrived. I have to admit that I was nervous looking at the application and was most intimidated by the GMAT and essays. When would I find the time to study for the GMAT and write four essays? With a newborn, a toddler, three kids in elementary school and a new house, how would I ever get all this done by the application deadline? I decided that my only hope of making progress was to break everything into little goals and set deadlines for each one. This strategy actually worked and I not only got things done, I gave myself a much-needed emotional boost each time I checked another goal off the list. Here are the big goals I set:
Goal 1: Campus Interview
Goal 2: GMAT
Goal 3: Write Essays
Goal 4: Submit Application
Chapter 3: Visiting Campus
I arrived for my interview with Donna Potts, the MBA admission director, expecting a grilling and I was so wrong. We sat in her office talking about my goals, why I wanted an MBA, my plans for taking the GMAT, and she answered my questions about the MBA program.
After our meeting, a current student took me to a Finance class, so I could see what it’s really like. What a surprise. It had been a long time since I sat in a classroom and I loved it, and could even understand what was being taught.
Once the class was over, a group of students took me to lunch in the University Center. I asked questions non-stop and they kept answering so I kept asking. I decided this was my chance to really understand what it’s like, and what it takes to get an MBA at UT. I wanted to know the real time commitment - what is the affect on life outside of school. I asked about the instructors and the design of the program, how they like it and if it lives up to their expectations. Meeting with Donna was informative, and the lunch with students was the true deciding factor. During lunch, I decided that I had to go to UT. Talking with the MBA students, hearing their opinions and listening to their stories convinced me that going back to school was the right decision.
The UT MBA office invited me to their Red Carpet program, a day-long event for people like me who were still trying to decide about UT. I already submitted most of my application, and wanted to attend if I’m admitted, but I’m still not sure whether this is the right year to start. I need some more information before I make a decision and going back for one more visit was worth the effort. This visit was more about meeting faculty and alumni. Dr. Gardial kicked-off the day with a big-picture presentation on the MBA program. She’s associate dean of the MBA program, and her style surprised me because she does not seem very academic, she’s more business-like and a fantastic speaker.
At lunch I met some other MBA faculty and especially enjoyed hearing about the new entrepreneurial and innovation concentration. After lunch I met a current student who’s about my age and we talked about how she manages school, her graduate assistantship and family commitments. She assured me that it’s possible to succeed in this program, but it forces her to be organized and set limits so there’s still time for her husband and two-year-old daughter.
Chapter 5: Yahoo, I’m in!
The letter came today! What a relief – all that work and time I spent was worth it, and I’m still smiling. What’s next? I guess it’s time for some more planning to figure out how we’re going to make this work.
Chapter 6: Summer – Homework already?
It doesn’t matter where I am this summer, UT manages to find me. Every communication from UT arrives in my mailbox at home, by email and is also on the MBA website. All this duplication seemed like overkill at first, until I was traveling and then I was thankful for the over-communication. I have to admit that I didn’t expect this much work over the summer. So far I’ve completed about four different personality profiles and various online surveys. I’m still trying to finish my first big assignment, reading The World is Flat. The kids keep asking me, “aren’t you done yet?”
Speaking of kids, we just finished arranging child care for next year. Our two babysitters are going to help watch the kids through September, until our aupair arrives from Norway. We decided that a live-in nanny would make our lives as convenient as possible and give us maximum flexibility.
Chapter 7: Orientation – Now It’s For Real
I walked into the kitchen this morning wearing business clothes for the first time in almost a year, and my 10 year-old son looked at me with a big smile and said, “Mommy, you look so pretty for your first day of school.” That’s all I needed to hear, this was going to be a great day!
Orientation was at the Foundry, a renovated brick building near the UT campus. When I first arrived everyone looked a little uncomfortable in their suits, but the atmosphere quickly relaxed after pictures were taken, and everyone changed into more student-like clothes. I was amazed by how many people I recognized from campus visits: Dr. Gardial, Donna, Gail, students I met at campus visits and even a faculty member who taught at Michigan State when I was there as an undergrad. We had a full day of faculty speakers, some ice breaker exercises, lunch, an alumni panel and lots of information. As I walked to my car at the end of the day, my head was spinning and amazingly, I was still excited.
Chapter 8: First week – I can do this!
We were broken into teams this week and these groups of five will stay together for the semester. Each placard included the person’s Myers Briggs profile, so it looks like these were used to create the teams.
I think I over-prepared for this week. Everyone warned me about the first three weeks, and I’m glad they did. I expected that I’d disappear for three weeks, and designed my support system to deal with the worst, and it held up beautifully. The days are long, usually from 8 am – 5 pm, I’m tired and every day I feel more confident about this decision.
My life definitely changed this week because I get up every morning and drive downtown to UT while the kids stay home with the babysitter. A few times I’ve felt guilty about causing all this change for my husband and the kids. I miss my kids, and it helps when Dave reminds me that this is my time to be selfish and let everyone else support me for a while; that I earned it all. How did I get so lucky?
Chapter 9: Let the fun begin…
We survived Dr. Rinehart’s famous negotiation simulation. This was our first team project and most of the time it was fun, especially because we spent most of the weekend hanging out at Buffalo Wild Wings and Panera Bread. Each team was a manufacturer, distributor or carrier and we negotiated contracts with the goal of getting the highest profit at the end of the simulation. My team did fine; we made a respectable profit and learned more about each other and our classmates.
The real school work started this week and it was all about statistics, accounting and Excel. In a fast-paced program like this, there’s no time to get behind. I had stats and accounting as an undergrad, and hopefully that background will help.
We also spent some time with Molly and Ryan from the MBA career services office. I’m impressed by the resources available and the attention they give to the to the MBA students. We also had some classes on teamwork and interpersonal communication. I knew the MBA program would help my analytical skills, I’m finding a surprise benefit with the interpersonal tools I’m learning.
Chapter 10: Stand and Deliver
This week confirmed that accounting and statistics are not my areas of strength, but I found relief during the communication, marketing and leadership classes. A small group discussion of The World is Flat also gave me some hope that I can make it through this program. We broke into groups, each with a faculty facilitator, and debated our interpretations of the book. I needed a break from all the numbers, and as my teammates learned this week, I always enjoy an opportunity to share my opinions.
The highlight this week was our team’s first stand and deliver. We were given a case about Kellogg’s and as a team prepared and presented our recommendations to a mock board of directors. Faculty role playing as Kellogg board members critiqued our delivery and gave some recommendations. This experience clearly showed how each of us operates under stress - I think this team stuff will be interesting.
Chapter 11: Play Ball!
Finally, some more classes a little closer to my comfort zone – marketing. This week we added the marketing module on customer market management, and it jump started with four classes in a row. Once again, I thought I knew something about marketing; obviously I need to pay attention because most of this is new to me.
The week ended with some family fun at the Smokies baseball game in Sevierville. The MBA program sponsored a cookout at the stadium before the game and gave everyone tickets for the game. Lots of people brought their kids and spouses, and after two weeks of school everyone needed a chance to relax.
Chapter 12: Thank goodness for three day weekends
Labor Day finally arrived and I definitely enjoyed the first vacation day. In true soccer mom spirit, I spent the weekend in Ohio at a soccer tournament cheering on my oldest son and his teammates. Fall and spring are all about soccer for my family, and just about every other weekend, we pack up the Suburban and spend a few days hanging out at soccer fields. We eat too much fast food, swim in the hotel pool and especially this year, I’ve found creative ways to study and make the most of this time away from home.
On Friday my team met with Dr. Lyle to watch the video from our first stand and deliver, and it was better than I expected. The video showed where I need to add enthusiasm to my speeches and surprisingly, once I got warmed up I sounded pretty good. She also gave us some tips to improve our overall structure and better organize our next presentation. I’ve heard that the faculty gives us many opportunities to practice our presentation skills!
Chapter 13: Career Fair
This week, companies like FedEx, Dell, Schindler and Dollar General brought their reps to the Fall Career Fair. We all put on our business formal and had a chance to hand out our resumes, and talk about internships for this summer. It seems early to start thinking about an internship because I’m just getting used to school. Some people are already scheduling interviews, and Ryan and Molly are encouraging us to start early and keep to a plan.
Chapter 14: Big accounting exam
Our accounting class was taught by Dr. Williams, Dean of the business school, and his approach worked for me. He would say that he wasn’t teaching us to be accountants; he was teaching us the things we need to know to be good managers. On top of my first big exam, we added a new member to our family – Siri arrived from Norway to live with us for a year. Poor thing, she arrived in a new country to live with a family struggling to find relief from this crazy schedule. I pray she finds the strength to persevere as we search for a groove to smooth out life a little.
Chapter 15: The Drama
For the past few weeks my team struggled with personality differences that wear me out. After my husband pointed out how the team drama was affecting our family, I sought out advice from some faculty. Early in the program, these instructors had told us to contact them if we had any inter-team issues, so I followed up on the invitation. My quest for advice gave me exactly what I needed, some perspective that these teams don’t last forever and tips for improving my own team behavior. The next day things got really spooky. A leadership development class was all about conflict resolution, like the professor, who I hadn’t talked with before, knew all about my problems and designed her lecture just for me.
Chapter 16: Transition week
We started four new modules this week, human resources, microeconomics, finance and demand planning. I can already tell that I’m going to like human resources because there aren’t any numbers, and lots of talking. We also wrapped up the Consumer Marketing Management and Statistics modules. I don’t want to know how I did on the marketing exam – it could be ugly. On a bright note, my team presented our big statistics project and turned in the final report. I feel good about what we did, because we put in the hours and despite the rough going, I learned that applying statistical methods without good data doesn’t work no matter how hard you try.
Chapter 17:
Yes! Only three days of class this week because of fall break. Not only was it a short week, the MBA program enticed us to a town hall meeting with Mellow Mushroom pizza, and later in the week, we had an excellent guest panel presentation. My HR instructors brought in local HR executives to talk about what they wish managers knew about HR. One of the panelists said about HR, “we are the caretakers of the company’s soul.” I like the way that sounds. I want to work for a company where everyone considers themselves caretakers of the company’s soul.
Chapter 18: Ethics, speechmasters, corporate governance
TOMBA elections heated up with email campaigns all week leading up to candidate speeches and elections on Thursday. Earlier in the week, the corporate governance module finished up. The former dean of the business school, Dr. Neel, taught these classes. He sits on corporate boards and obviously knows Sarbanes-Oxley. I went to an info session about the class trip to Chile. Everyone who went last year says it was a fantastic trip and I’d love to go, after thinking about it for a few days I’ll have to pass because of some family commitments.
Chapter 19: Please, Make it Stop!
This week just about killed me – four papers, two exams and a finance assignment. It’s not just the pressure of getting everything done that’s so hard, my kids are feeling the tension and that makes this almost unbearable. These tough weeks push my family right to the edge. I’m the one who goes to class, yet it feels like the kids and Dave invest just as much effort. We still find little moments to connect, like when one of the kids pulls up a chair to the desk and we sit face-to-face across the desk doing our homework together. Sometimes after everyone’s in bed Dave comes down, takes the chair across the desk, and we play dueling computers while we share a really cold Mich Ultra. I cherish these little intimate moments that remind me we’re in this together.
Chapter 20: Will This End?
I thought this was supposed to get easier. Urgh, another rough week, man I’m getting tired. Five kids have kept me sleep deprived for most of the last ten years and I have never been this exhausted. I feel like a masochist who keeps coming back for more. It seems crazy – I’m a zombie just putting one foot in front of the other, and yet I’m incredibly happy. Sometimes I actually feel my brain growing, it’s like the connections are getting stronger and I see things that weren’t there before, like the colors are brighter.
Chapter 21: Finance Exam #2 – What a Disaster
How in the world could I crash and burn like that? I aced the first exam and this one completely destroyed my confidence. The slacker-guy even did better than me, the front row gunner. I need to get over the disappointment and stop feeling sorry for myself. Maybe with more rest I could manage this better. Add this to the learning-moments list.
Chapter 20: Ethics
This was ethics intensive week, meaning an ethics class every day, and the discussions became more heated as we went along. During each class we discussed a reading on a particular topic, like sweatshops or oil drilling, and then debated alternate sides of the dilemma a company faced. It was fun to hear the different opinions because sometimes I was really surprised by some of the positions people took on the various issues.
Prepping for the microeconomics stand and deliver presentation dominates any time I’m not in class. Next week we present in front of Dr. Schuler, the economics professor and I’m not a great public speaker so I’m not looking forward to Monday. It might be a long weekend.
Chapter 21: Thanksgiving – Yes!
The economics presentation went fine, actually, we did much better than I expected. It’s tricky to know what the professor is looking for, incorporate the different opinions of the team members, and then organize a report or presentation that makes sense. It was a short week, but it was busy until the last minute. A big finance project in Excel was due on Wednesday, the last day before Thanksgiving break. We have several of these Excel projects throughout the semester and they are rough. It’s all stuff I need to know and I’m sure it will save me at work someday, and it’s still makes me crazy trying to get the spreadsheets to work.
Chapter 22: Business Law Week
Another intensive introduction week, this time it was business law. The professor is a riot. I think the law school loans him to the MBA program to teach this course. Class was definitely entertaining and like the ethics course, there were some lively discussions to make it interesting. As business law got going, microeconomics ended, finishing up with a take-home final exam on Wednesday. Dr. Schuler gave us a several different questions to choose from which helped because I could pick the questions that were most interesting to me. I heard he’s a tough grader, so it’ll be interesting to see how it turns out.
Chapter 23: Total Overload
I can’t believe that I actually made it to the end of the semester without a total implosion. The quantity of work I cranked out between Thanksgiving and winter break was insane. Somehow, with a magical diet of green tea, Coke Zero, and beef jerky I actually got it all done, even handed in on time while also preparing a few presentations and studying for several exams. Definitely not an elegant finish to the semester, but at this point it’s all about getting stuff done because there’s no way to turn off the fire hose! So I’d just crack open another Coke, peel my face off the keyboard, shake my head a few times and erase the 200 m’s my cheek had typed on the screen.
Chapter 24: Wrap-Up
Thanks for making it all the way through my first semester. There’s one more year to go, and a summer internship coming up in a few months. I’m happy to tell you that the live-in babysitter never bolted back to Norway yet I’m sure she considered it several times and she did opt out of Christmas in Michigan - not surprised. We all made sacrifices, especially with our time, and still made time for the important things like soccer practices, games, ballet classes, recitals and date nights. I even went on a field trip and helped out at some class parties, so life did not come totally unglued, although life was more like Mom with a busy full-time job instead of the always-available Mom they probably preferred. We all earned this month off between semesters to hang out and just be for a while.
You’ll notice that my blog kind of ends with this entry. I’m headed over to Oak Ridge National Lab for an internship in the technology transfer office. Amazingly, the ORNL campus, with thousands of brilliant scientists from all over the world, is only 30 minutes from campus. I’ll post a few follow up entries at the end of the program to let you know how it finishes up.
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 25: How I Found a Job
Dave and I have a saying, “you never know who’ll be in line at the grocery store.” We made this up this when we moved to Knoxville and kept meeting people in line at the grocery store who were linked in some way, usually through the kids’ schools, sports teams or work. Makes sense in our smallish town, and now I’m a believer that our greatest connections happen in the everyday moments of life, like waiting line at the grocery store, hanging with the kids at the park, or on a bus tour of Oak Ridge National Lab.
And that’s where I found my post-MBA job, on a bus tour of ORNL. This fortuitous scenario, started with a last minute decision I was able to get assigned to a highlights tour of ORNL as part of a conference I was attending on nanotechnology. At the time I felt silly skipping classes to go on the tour and then to the conference yet I was starting an internship at the lab the next month so I figured it was smart to learn more about the place. As this crew of about fifteen made our way through a building where the tiniest forms of matter are made even smaller, I started chatting with several different people along the way. One nondescript guy casually asked me why someone in Marketing would want to be on this kind of tour. Over coffee after the tour I realized that I was being interviewed.
Turns out he was with a small investment group out of New York that was thinking of creating companies based on nanotechnology discoveries licensed from university and national labs around the world. He asked if I might be interested in staying in touch as they became more organized. Yeah, of course I would, so a few weeks later I’m meeting his colleague at an O’Charley’s part way between Birmingham, Alabama and Knoxville. After a somewhat mafia-like interview, I worked my way into a job by writing marketing briefs during the last semester.
They liked my work, I liked doing it, their investor was on board, and everything fell into place perfectly. So I now find myself with my ideal have-it-all kind of job where I’ll get to work from home and help conduct market analysis on potential technologies coming out of labs. It’s an ideal scenario for everyone.
Chapter 26: Yee Haw! A Real MBA
And yes, with pride I can now apply for the “MBA preferred” jobs and even better the “MBA required” ones! Funny how my initial motivation for getting an MBA was to qualify for these gigs, and then, when the job search started I didn’t even go that route. I ended up with a job that offered everything on my life-style check list, but it didn’t come with a job description, and I’m cool with that. Thank goodness things didn’t turn out exactly as I planned because the outcome was so completely different.
Before heading into this next adventure I’m taking a few weeks through the winter holidays to regroup from this 17-month slog! We all worked so hard that we look 17-months tired and need to remember how to chill for a bit. So, we’ll overstuff the suburban, pack up the kiddo’s and the Sweden au Pair (this one decided she wanted to hang with us over Christmas), and head North to our family’s winter wonderland. This MBA was a group effort that took more energy than any of us ever imagined and lucky us, because the future looks pretty darn bright.
Chapter 27: Was it Worth It?
Like any graduate program, this experience was all about persevering. Individually, every task was manageable, sure some concepts were challenging, and required office hour visits to really get it, yet an MBA was more about getting stuff done. Just like real life, the people and tasks of the MBA were usually dependent because projects and presentations required people working together to get things done. Unfortunately, emotional turmoil was also highly correlated with the number of assignments, presentation and tests, which mean that under stress, people get loony.
And, these combined experiences offered the greatest learning opportunities. In hindsight I’ll say that hands down I’m a better manager, analyst, problem solver, marketer and all the other business-y traits that I expected. What most pre-MBA people don’t expect, and didn’t even occur to me before I started, was how all the intellectual and emotional parts of an MBA shoved me out of my comfort zone and forced me to think differently, and it’s all good.