A Summer Camp In Business Basics

The Professors:

Several students made a point to say that the Haas BASE professors are what make the program useful, education, and also a not-so-tedious way to spend the summer.

“We have very high quality professors who usually teach at the MBA level,” Giguere-Joannette says. “They’re very good teachers, and also entertainers.”

Anderson agreed, saying that the professors are probably going to be the most memorable part of the program for him. “They’re all just weird, but funny, and it’s pretty normal for there to lots of laughs in the classroom.”

Jacob Walker

“For the past two Mondays, my Financial Accounting professor has come in and talked in an American accent the entire time. He’s British. And he never drops it. I don’t know what he’s doing there, but I like it,” says Walker.

At the End of the Day:

Classes end at 3:30 pm, and regardless of whether they commute or live in dorms, it’s not unusual for the students to stick around campus and study together.

“Sometimes I head back home to beat traffic, but in general I think the program puts a premium on people sticking around,” Anderson says. “We have a lot of group work, I think there’s a group for every class, and on Wednesdays when we have a half-day, they put a lot of emphasis on staying here to work with those groups.”

“Everyone has their strengths,” Giguere-Joannette says. “We study together when we have an assignment or an exam. We had an accounting quiz this morning, so yesterday I was helping people in accounting. When it was marketing, other people helped me.”

On Fridays:

On Fridays, the group abandons its usual schedule and opts for educational workshops and trips. One workshop trained the students to negotiate with each other, and the trips are to companies like Apple.

“We did go to Fisherman’s Wharf to do a group orientation thing, so some days like that feel a bit like a summer camp, but on the whole the program is like a day-long college seminar,” Anderson said. “It’s very academic usually, but Fridays are a bit more creative.”

When The Summer Ends:  

BASE will end on Aug. 15 this year, and the students report that they already feel like they’ll leave having gained useful

Ian Drake

skills and knowledge.

“I’ve already learned a bunch of stuff that I’d never been exposed to before. I know I’m going to go back with so much more knowledge about the business side of the world, and hopefully be able to tie that back in with my liberal arts major,” Anderson says.

Drake and Giguere-Joannette both say that they hope to feel more comfortable and confident with business once they leave, and that they expect to refer back to what they’re learning now throughout their careers.

Walker says BASE has already convinced him that going to business school after college is the right path, and that the experience has taught him to be more open to other people’s ideas. “I’ve realized that the people you meet are where ideas that can completely change the way you think are going to come from,” he says.

“I just wanted to be confident in my business abilities, and I honestly didn’t know what to expect from BASE,” Gruye says. “But I really happy that these courses are so applicable to the real world, and I’m really please about how it turned out.”

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