2007: An MBA Student Looks Back

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It's 2008 and I'd like to take this time to look back at 2007 for us first year MBA students at AIM.

July:
  • While not the official start of the MBA program, July was the month of the Pre-MBA program where I met most of my classmates.
  • The Pre-MBA days were also known for its blistering pace in the classes.
  • I remember I was seated next to Nina Laquindanum and Jen Valenzuela on the first day. We were all together on the same group discussion during the application.
  • First Indian that I met: Archit Kulkarni
  • For some reason, "Clear as mud" became Prof. Larry Tan's catch phrase.
August:
  • The MBA's official start.
  • Probably the days of "making a good impression," in and out the classroom.
  • Notable activity of the month: The team building exercise where we had our first set of CAN groups.
  • More notable activity of the month: Our very first WAC!
  • The "Young MBA Graduate" phenomenon starts
September:
  • I got sick and heard people calling me "the guy who collapsed," although I did not.
  • "Exams" officially became a food group for us MBA students, along with meat and vegetables.
  • Notable activity: AIM Cubs Night!
  • Interesting topic: Integrity and Ethics.
  • Oh yeah, World Trade Organization head Pascal Lamy lectured in AIM.
  • A source of unintentional comedy for this month: our Management Communication speeches.
October:
  • By this time, we're now comfortable with cases and the case method that we can now go through a class by reading 50% of it... some times less.
  • First appearance of Prof. Mau Bolante in a teaching capacity for our batch. Teacher humor will never be the same.
  • Notable event: seeing an multiple question with 16 choices in an exam.
  • I ran for AIM Student Association Vice-Chair... and lost.
  • It was an interesting sight to see the dorm lobby still filled with MBA students in 5 o'clock in the morning finishing the Marketing Management presentation on Market Research and Product Positioning.
  • By this time, everyone has felt being stretched to the hilt, and it was not uncommon to hear primal screams on the dorm corridors.
November:
December:
  • Classes and over-all pressure started to ease up. Thanks to the holiday season.
  • Notable activity: The AIM Students' Christmas Party!
  • Everybody felt discombobulated with the Financial Management 1 Finals of Mr. Richard Cruz. To recall, was taken for almost one whole day and had the works: objective parts and case analysis parts. It felt like we trapped in a different, dreaded realm that day, seriously.
  • And of course, the 3-week Christmas break.
2007 was only the beginning for me and my other classmates. 2008 will be a longer, more challenging year with new subjects, professors and the internships and the Management Research Report (MRR). Hopefully, the next year-end I'll write will be how I finished the MBA program and pulled through.

Do you have any notable additions to my list? Please do add a comment!

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