Monday, August 29, 2005
The MBADiversity Symposium went really well. (Hats off to KD for doing such a phenomenal job organizing this, you rock.) It was weird though. I've done prospective students events before, but this was the first time when it was just me representing the school. I sat on a panel about admissions, and people asked some thoughtful questions. The weird part was after the panel. As people approached the booth, they seemed nervous. That was just weird to me. I'm a pretty friendly person and I usually put people at ease. But I guess they were nervous because I was wearing my admissions hat. They asked great questions - but at times it seemed like they were searching their brains to find the perfect question. You know the one that makes them seem smart, insightful, and thoughtful. They were trying to make a good impression. On ME. That's weirdly funny to me. I mean, it's just me. It was like a reverse Employer Info Session. It's SO strange to be on the other side of the recruiting relationship.
I flew down to Atlanta and back on the same day to avoid the whole luggage thing (While I'm walking, I'm walking with crutches still). I flew Delta. At first I was really annoyed with them because getting my seat moved to the bulkhead (a perk of the walking cast) required several calls. But on my ride back I noticed a couple of things that move them back to the good company column. In the boarding waiting area, there were screens that showed when the flight was departing, and notices about traveling with children, etc. The screens also had upgrade lists, which listed the people, in priority, on the Standby list as well as how many seats were open. The thing that interested me was the offer to upgrade to first class for $75. Now who doesn't love first class. And given the fact that I hadn't paid for my ticket, $75 didn't sound too much to pay to upgrade. So I did. I got a nice cushy seat and Delta got $75 more of consumer surplus, plus whatever revenue they captured from the standby passenger who eventually got my original seat. Seems like a great idea to me. The plane is going to fly from point A to point B. Why not find ways to get the customer to give you additional revenue? I started trying to come up with ways the airlines could sell additional services to get more $ out of people. Like, they could launch a subsidiary to sell (good) sandwiches before you board the plane. People seem more willing to pay someone else $10 for a Reuben than to pay the airlines $10 for a sandwich on the plane. I suspect it's because it feels like price gauging on the plane. But if a separately branded "partner" sold sandwiches right before you got on, maybe people would buy it. Just an idea.
Anyway, I promise to write about the internships soon. I'm starting my countdown until classes begin. I'm ready to get back into the swing of things.
I flew down to Atlanta and back on the same day to avoid the whole luggage thing (While I'm walking, I'm walking with crutches still). I flew Delta. At first I was really annoyed with them because getting my seat moved to the bulkhead (a perk of the walking cast) required several calls. But on my ride back I noticed a couple of things that move them back to the good company column. In the boarding waiting area, there were screens that showed when the flight was departing, and notices about traveling with children, etc. The screens also had upgrade lists, which listed the people, in priority, on the Standby list as well as how many seats were open. The thing that interested me was the offer to upgrade to first class for $75. Now who doesn't love first class. And given the fact that I hadn't paid for my ticket, $75 didn't sound too much to pay to upgrade. So I did. I got a nice cushy seat and Delta got $75 more of consumer surplus, plus whatever revenue they captured from the standby passenger who eventually got my original seat. Seems like a great idea to me. The plane is going to fly from point A to point B. Why not find ways to get the customer to give you additional revenue? I started trying to come up with ways the airlines could sell additional services to get more $ out of people. Like, they could launch a subsidiary to sell (good) sandwiches before you board the plane. People seem more willing to pay someone else $10 for a Reuben than to pay the airlines $10 for a sandwich on the plane. I suspect it's because it feels like price gauging on the plane. But if a separately branded "partner" sold sandwiches right before you got on, maybe people would buy it. Just an idea.
Anyway, I promise to write about the internships soon. I'm starting my countdown until classes begin. I'm ready to get back into the swing of things.
Friday, August 26, 2005
With summer quickly drawing to a close, there's been a flurry of activity, with end of internship deliverables and all. I've had an interesting summer - and I'll write more later. One of my internship experiences was much better than the other. But again more later.
Not only have my internships intensified, but some of my extracurricular activities have started to creep up and demand my time. In fact, tomorrow, I'm headed to the MBADiversity Symposium in Atlanta. I'll be representing Wharton, so it should be fun to interact with applicants and students and alums from other schools.
Anyway - more later. I have to catch up on my sleep, since I haven't had a more than 3 hours of sleep in the last couple of days. With weeks like this, I'll be retrained just in time to return to school in a couple of weeks.
Not only have my internships intensified, but some of my extracurricular activities have started to creep up and demand my time. In fact, tomorrow, I'm headed to the MBADiversity Symposium in Atlanta. I'll be representing Wharton, so it should be fun to interact with applicants and students and alums from other schools.
Anyway - more later. I have to catch up on my sleep, since I haven't had a more than 3 hours of sleep in the last couple of days. With weeks like this, I'll be retrained just in time to return to school in a couple of weeks.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Yesterday was a good day. I took my first step on my formerly broken leg. Woo hoo!
It may not sound like a big deal, but after spending the summer on crutches, I'm REALLY glad to be moving off the crutches. Progress is gradual but it is gradual. My doctor was surprised how well my foot healed. He told me yesterday that when I broke my foot in May he seriously doubted that I would be walking by the start of the school year next month. So thank God for small (or not so small) miracles!
Baby steps y'all. It's all about the baby steps...
It may not sound like a big deal, but after spending the summer on crutches, I'm REALLY glad to be moving off the crutches. Progress is gradual but it is gradual. My doctor was surprised how well my foot healed. He told me yesterday that when I broke my foot in May he seriously doubted that I would be walking by the start of the school year next month. So thank God for small (or not so small) miracles!
Baby steps y'all. It's all about the baby steps...
Monday, August 08, 2005
I've been back in Philly for a little more than a week. It's nice to be around my stuff again. I missed my stuff. My mom has been staying with me, as I'm still on crutches. So between working and some school extracurriculars that I've been working on in the summer, we've been redecorating my apartment. I have to say, it looks like a grownup lives here now.
I actually could host a dinner party or something. My internships are winding down. My work with the startup will probably end in the next couple of weeks. I really loved the freedom of being able to contribute to something from nothing. My strategic analysis position will probably run through the end of the month. I'm truly enjoying the work. I'm doing types of analysis that I've never done before and creating financial models from scratch, which I've also never done before. It's been challenging to figure this stuff out. I even had to lug out my finance and accounting books to help along the way. I just hope the work I've produced is up to par, and that I haven't tarnished the Wharton name this summer.
Although I've enjoyed my work this summer, I'm ready to get back to school. One of the extracurricular activities that I worked on this summer included bringing some of the rising 2nd years back to Philly at the end of July. I was so happy to see everyone. I missed them! I know people think this is cliched to say, but I really enjoy being around Whartonites! And as fun as work is (I mean, how can you beat a fight over where the interns sit?!!), I think school is better. Although I am poorer. I guess you can't have everything.
My mom and I went to see a few movies last week. We saw The Island, which was entertaining - although there was a 70 story fall that the main characters survived with few scratches that almost ruined it for me (stuff like this that defies the laws of physics in SUCH a major way distract me...) And we also saw Must Love Dogs. Now I'm all for a good chick flick, but this movie SUCKED. I wouldn't even recommend watching this on cable. Horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE. The dialog was awful. And the story was boring. So two thumbs down from me.
I was downloading some old 80s songs (because I love 80s music - especially when drunk), and ran across this 80s Music Quiz. Looks like I know how to rock the acid wash jeans...
I actually could host a dinner party or something. My internships are winding down. My work with the startup will probably end in the next couple of weeks. I really loved the freedom of being able to contribute to something from nothing. My strategic analysis position will probably run through the end of the month. I'm truly enjoying the work. I'm doing types of analysis that I've never done before and creating financial models from scratch, which I've also never done before. It's been challenging to figure this stuff out. I even had to lug out my finance and accounting books to help along the way. I just hope the work I've produced is up to par, and that I haven't tarnished the Wharton name this summer.
Although I've enjoyed my work this summer, I'm ready to get back to school. One of the extracurricular activities that I worked on this summer included bringing some of the rising 2nd years back to Philly at the end of July. I was so happy to see everyone. I missed them! I know people think this is cliched to say, but I really enjoy being around Whartonites! And as fun as work is (I mean, how can you beat a fight over where the interns sit?!!), I think school is better. Although I am poorer. I guess you can't have everything.
My mom and I went to see a few movies last week. We saw The Island, which was entertaining - although there was a 70 story fall that the main characters survived with few scratches that almost ruined it for me (stuff like this that defies the laws of physics in SUCH a major way distract me...) And we also saw Must Love Dogs. Now I'm all for a good chick flick, but this movie SUCKED. I wouldn't even recommend watching this on cable. Horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE. The dialog was awful. And the story was boring. So two thumbs down from me.
I was downloading some old 80s songs (because I love 80s music - especially when drunk), and ran across this 80s Music Quiz. Looks like I know how to rock the acid wash jeans...
