New Beginnings

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past four weeks, it’s that I’m not going to understand everything presented to me in class immediately, whether it’s the amortization of bonds or finding the Z value of a hypothesis test.

Leading up to the first accounting exam, I was straight-up freaking out. Then all sorts of things started clicking during my studying in the few days leading up to the test, and I figured out that’s just how accounting goes. There are going to be certain concepts, I realized, that I’m just not going to fully grasp until I’ve seen them a few times. And that’s Ok.

The high I experienced in getting an A- on the first test has dissipated because of the difficulty in learning the material leading to the second. But I’ve been here before. I’ll just put in the time to study everything again before the next test and I’m sure it will all come together.

Yesterday I stopped into Mary Reinhardt’s office. She’s our academic advisor. I wanted to ask about the online Math Prep class that’s available for us to purchase and use throughout the year. I’ve been having, shall we say, troubles grasping the statistics in the business math class. I’ve never taken statistics before, so I’m taking extra time just trying to wrap my mind around the basic concepts. I found a basic statistics website the other day that has helped immensely.

Mary reassured me that what I’m going through is what everyone goes through, one way or another. Hang in there, she said. You’ll do fine.

I knew coming into the MBA program there would be an adjustment, since I’d been out of school for so long. Coming face-to-face with it every day has been a challenge, but I’m enjoying it. It’s a really good feeling when things start to click and you figure something out for the first time.

Although I’ve thought about pursuing an MBA for the past 3 or so years, it wasn’t until last fall that I decided once and for all I needed to take the plunge.

Now the kicker was, I was 36-years old. I already had an expensive grad degree in my pocket and debated whether I should get another. I had a good, recession-proof job writing and editing web content for the Texas Department of Transportation. My dad worked for the state of New York for a long time and now has a nice pension to show for it. He’s always encouraged me to pursue state work and was happy when I started working for TxDOT. Let’s just say that, at first, he was not too keen about the idea of me quitting that job.

I was also afraid that I was too old to go back to school. Many of my friends from college and grad school are doing quite well in their careers. I’m getting daily emails from LinkedIn informing me of their fancy new titles and job promotions. I wondered whether resetting everything and starting back at zero would be the best path to take.

But then I figured out that I was probably going to be working for at least another 28 to 30 years. That is plenty of time to go to school, learn what I need to learn, graduate, and make a successful, fulfilling career switch into marketing.

So here I am, at the spritely young age of 37. Some of my IMS classmates, ranging from recent college grads up to early 30’s, like to poke fun at my advanced age. Back in 1999 when I started grad school at Boston University, I was fresh out of undergrad and one of the youngest in my journalism class. I made fun of my elders back then, so I figure I’ve got it coming to me now.

Fast forward to Wednesday morning, at the beginning of our accounting exam. The proctor handed out Scantron sheets for the multiple choice questions.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen one of these things, and I was already anxious about the exam. I saw what looked like rectangles with letters. In a panic, I turned to Daniel, who sits behind me. “So we just fill in the rectangle, right?”

“Dude, how old ARE you?”

We laughed about it and, needless to say, I felt pretty silly and slightly embarrassed. “I’m used to circles, not boxes!” 

So yes, I’m getting used to being back in school. For the most part.

Leading up to applying to the MBA program, I always wondered what a day in the life of an MBA student really is like.

I put together my day yesterday. This isn’t a typical day, since there’s a heck of a lot of studying for Wednesday’s accounting exam, but it will give you an idea of what the summer IMS program is like.

Monday, June 17

6:50 a.m. – Alarm goes off.
8 a.m. – 11 a.m.: Class. Math let out 15 minutes early.
11 a.m. – 11:20 a.m.: Walk home (I live two blocks away), take out dog. Eat sandwich.
11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.: Meeting with my graduate assistantship professor. We discussed my assignment then had a nice conversation about some of the research projects he is working on. He briefly explained some basic statistics concepts and how they apply to his projects and to consulting work he has done for HEB and Cabela’s. Great conversation.
12:30 p.m. – 4:20 p.m.: Grad Student Lounge – 3rd floor. A group of us usually go to the lounge to work on our accounting homework. Really great collaboration, constantly asking questions. I’m always grateful for how much my classmates are willing to take the time to explain something to me. Occasionally, the conversation gets sidetracked. Yesterday we talked about our favorite video games growing up. (I have a Notes file on my iPhone titled “Favorite Sentence of the Day”, where I record fun things people say. Yesterday’s entry is courtesy of fellow student blogger Rich Lubbers: “If my wife could monetize her ability to play Dr. Mario…”)
4:20 – 4:50 p.m.: Snuck in some GA work.
5 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.: Supplemental Instruction for Accounting. Usually an hour long. The professor’s grader runs a review session for the class. We went over Chapter 5 material.
6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. : Go home. Take the dog out. Try to relax. Watch Community on Hulu.com. Snuck in another 30 minutes of GA work. Ate two bowls of salad to cope with starting to panic about the week’s accounting exam. (I’ve never eaten salad as a coping mechanism for stress, in case you’re wondering. I’m a little concerned about it.)
8:30 p.m. – 12:30 a.m.: Studied for accounting in the lounge area by the Starbucks in the main library. Reviewed Chapters 1 through 3. Made flash cards. Said a lot of prayers. But I am feeling much better about the exam.
12:45 a.m. – 1:30 a.m.: Played with my dog. Tried to unwind. Listened to music. (I’m a night owl, so it’s hard for me to get to bed early. And I always seem to need an hour to relax before heading to bed)

Tonight I’m realizing that I’ve passed the point where, much like MTV’s The Real World, the summer IMS program stops being polite, and starts getting real.

I spent 4 or 5 hours this afternoon on a take-home math final that’s due Monday. The professor will be available tomorrow morning for any questions. I for one, plan to take him up on that offer. Luckily I’m almost done.

Earlier tonight, I finished up an accounting extra credit assignment out of our textbook along with the Chapter 4 quiz in our accounting review packet. Last night I completed the online MyAccountingLab homework that’s due tomorrow, so that was one less thing to worry about today.

And I’m writing this entry as a break in the middle of doing some Graduate Assistantship work. I’m required to put in an average of 10 hours every week working for a professor. Right now I’m reading chapters from a book he’s written and providing feedback. Then I’ll start summarizing some academic papers for him regarding a research project he’s working on that I’ll be helping with this summer. I’d like to get another half hour in tonight, then hopefully get 4 hours done between tomorrow and Saturday.

This weekend I’ll be driving up to Dallas to visit my girlfriend. But I’ve also got tons of accounting reading and studying to do, since our first test is next Wednesday. It is scaring the stuffing out of me, so I’m hoping to tie up some loose ends in my understanding of the material this weekend. I’d also like to get a head start in the next math chapter, but we’ll see how that goes.

I’m learning a ton and enjoying the intellectual Olympics we’re being put through. And I’m starting to get a little better at divvying up my time to get everything done. If only there were more hours in the day…

Anywho, I leave you with this picture I took yesterday of a squirrel. It was sprawled out on a concrete bench next to the business school, trying to stay cool.

So I thought I’d take the opportunity to introduce myself. But mostly I’m procrastinating from accounting. In the past week, life has become what happens in-between reading the accounting text book or doing accounting homework. But I digress…

I am 37 years old. I was born in Bogota, Colombia and grew up in Binghamton, New York. I went to college just up the road at Syracuse University, where I earned a bachelor’s degree in English & Textual Studies, which is basically a fancy shmancy name for book reports. I then received a master’s in journalism from Boston University.

I worked as a reporter at the Stevens Point Journal, I’m sure you’ve heard of it, in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. After a little more than two years, I decided I was done with cold weather and moved down to Austin, where I worked as a web content writer/editor for the Texas Department of Transportation for the past five and a half years.

As far as I can tell, I’m the oldest student in the IMS program this summer. My grey hair, which first sprouted at the tender age of 14, probably makes me look a little older. My fellow MBA student blogger Rich was kind enough to refer to me as “grandpa” during one of our accounting study sessions this past week.

Despite what Rich says about his pooch, I have the best dog in the world. Anyone who has ever met her will attest to that fact. It’s as certain as death and taxes.

Greetings!

Thanks for stopping by. I’ll be keeping this blog to fill you in on the day-in-the-life perspective of an MBA student at Baylor. There are about 20 of us who started this past Tuesday morning taking two classes: Financial Accounting and Math/Statistics for Decision Making.

I think we’re all happy to have week 1 under our belts. Accounting has been, shall we say, a challenge. Just when you think you’ve got a grip on what’s going on, a thousand more terms and concepts are thrown at you. We quickly followed the advice we were given during orientation Tuesday afternoon to get to know each other and work in groups. I’ve learned plenty from the group exercises and homework review sessions we’ve had in the grad student lounge on the 3rd floor.

I’ll write more this weekend, but just thought I’d say a quick hello. (I think this is the part where I’m supposed to say “Sic’ Em”, but I’m nowhere near that point in my assimilation into Bear Nation…)