First week of school!

School has officially started!

Instead of climbing on the bus to go to school, I took the midnight flight out of Seattle to DC. I landed in DC after a layover in Boston around noon on Sunday June 10th. Leaving me a few hours before I met my cohort in the lobby for orientation.

I was nervous. The elevator doors open and there was my first classmate Miquel -with the welcome packet held in hand. He has a PhD in Biochem and works for a large Pharma in Spain. I was immediately relieved- Business school contains my science peeps!

We exited the elevators- and my life had been a blur ever since. A blur compromised of constant motion, colors, sounds, accents, little sleep, and many new friends.

The GEMBA 05 cohort is diverse.
My cohort is 39 people-from over 17 countries-11 are females. Ages range from me at 30 to others that are wise. The companies represented here range from big banks, IT, Pharma, government, world organizations, foundations, media and public relations- large multinational firms, to small private companies. Job titles range from CEO, VP, Directors, Managers with concentrations in all different functions-Finance, Operations, HR, IT, Marketing, R&D, Program Management, etc.

The common thread between each person is the desire for knowledge, wanting and understanding the need for the global perspective, and a true respect for others.

The typical day goes from 9:30am to about 6:00pm, then an evening activity to about 9pm or 11pm and then studying/work till late in the night.

In the DC module we are taking four classes: 1) Business, Government, and the Global Economy 2) Financial Statement Management 3) International Business Management 4)Integrated Course and then we have Special Topics throughout the two weeks.

While we are here we had one paper due, and 2 group projects. After I leave I will have 2 more papers and a take home test that will be due roughly two weeks after I return.

Once I am done with that, I will start my reading for module 2 which will be in Spain in September.

I have so much to do-so that is a simplistic recap for now :) Just know that I am loving learning-my teachers are top notch! I love the diversity of my cohort and enjoy everyone's company and their stories of experience.

I am deeply thankful for this opportunity and feel like I won the lottery because the tools I am gaining is sparking fires inside of me ready to create, connect and facilitate. Temperance. Temperance. Temperance.

Love you & goodnight,
Elizabeth