Game days in the Big House with my friends! We love trying to get as close to the field as we can, and today we successfully were only 10 rows away. (Madelyn is on the right)
September is an exhilarating time here at the Ross School of Business: Classes are picking up, club and internship recruiting is in full swing, and students are enjoying game day weekends.
While my days have some consistency, like going to class and taking time to focus on health and wellness through daily runs, they are also filled with something new. In this snapshot of a week in my life as a University of Michigan business student, I’ll focus on stand out moments throughout the week.
MONDAY
Michigan Ross makes it very manageable to take on part-time jobs as a student. For me, I am a barista at a local coffee shop, where I spend a portion of my Mondays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. After working this day, I was excited to attend my professional business fraternity’s first information session for interested members, where we highlighted the professional and social aspects of our club. The event ended with networking, where I got the chance to speak with incredible first- and second-year students who come from diverse backgrounds and bring new, unique perspectives! From conversations around favorite restaurants in Ann Arbor to business interests, these events enable students to learn more about business fraternities and if this is a community where they want to be a part. For me, I have found some of my best friends through this club.
At the start of Strategy 390, students take their seats around the classroom and put out name tags for everyone in the room to easily see who we are! This especially helps our professor get to know who we are.
TUESDAY
Tuesdays are one of my busiest class days here at Ross. I have three classes from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. While this can be pretty tiring, I love to grab coffee in between classes. Lucky for me, the Ross School of Business Building has a Starbucks inside! \
My favorite course is Strategy 390: Corporate Strategy, a senior-level class that focuses on decisions companies make and their impact. Today, we had a guest speaker who spoke about her role in the non-profit space and how her company strives to improve the educational space. Her inspiring story enabled me to think deeply about my future career goals and the importance of finding a role that goes beyond profit and makes an impact in a community and the world.
However, the highlight of my day was attending a dinner at Sava’s (a popular restaurant on campus), where I joined colleagues from my internship at Kraft Heinz this past summer to discuss the potential of going back full-time after graduation. I am so fortunate for this opportunity and beyond excited to go back to a CPG company that continuously strives to develop new, innovative products and marketing campaigns.
Ross provides the preparation to have incredible career opportunities and I am so incredibly grateful for that. For me, one of the biggest tools I utilized to find career opportunities is our alumni network. When looking into internships, I got the chance to connect with multiple Michigan alums who provided me support and guidance for interviews. An individual who made a huge impact in my career decisions was an alumni member from my professional business fraternity who worked at Kraft Heinz. She took the time to have coffee chats with me to better prepare me for the interview process at the company. Michigan has incredible alumni at companies across the world, with each one being passionate and willing to support fellow Wolverines who are undergoing recruiting.
WEDNESDAY
After another barista shift, I spent the afternoon working with my team for a group project in Strategy 390 class. For this class, the project is focused on identifying an industry and looking into the top competitors within that industry. By the end of the semester, our goal is to determine the strongest competitor and convince shareholders why they should invest in that specific company. Since it is pretty early in the course, this meeting was spent determining an industry to focus on that we are also excited to research. So far, we’ve narrowed it down to the plant-based dairy industry and the food delivery service space. Ross courses have a big emphasis on collaboration, which has enabled me to gain experience working with different people and grow as a leader. I work with people ranging from athletes, to international students, to individuals with different career interests from my own. As a result, I have diversified my perspective and feel more comfortable working with people who are vastly different from myself.
Later that day, I attended a resume workshop for my consulting club, where I supported underclassmen in enhancing their resumes. At Ross, classes and clubs teach you how to format a resume using ACR: Action, Context, Result. I got to teach one first-year student how to use that format, enabling him to demonstrate what he did for a club and the tangible results his work produced. I absolutely love giving advice and helping students who are going through the same experiences as I did. Giving back to other students is something I have enjoyed immensely here at Michigan. I ended my night by watching a movie with my roommates. Coming home after a long day to spend time with my friends is something I value a lot.
