By Lauren Wolfen (’19)
When I walk into the welcoming, open courtyard at UCLA Anderson, I am inevitably greeted by section mates, group project team members and friends, who have all quickly become some of my most trusted sources of advice, suppliers of a great laugh or a good story, and reliable supporters and motivators who will always go out of their way to help one another.
This is my #WhyAnderson ― the Class of 2019.
Growing up in Los Angeles and working here prior to enrolling in business school, I did not anticipate the tight bonds that quickly form among Anderson peers; but these personal bonds will stay with me more than anything else.
It started during orientation week in early August of 2017, when we arrived as a bunch of people from all over the world, thrown into Korn Convocation Hall together attired in business casual on our very first day of graduate school. No one quite expected that we would be thrown back into the classroom so quickly and assembled into sections and learning teams that would become our families at school.
I was particularly intrigued when I met my diverse learning team, with members hailing from places as far-flung as South Korea and Canada, as well as right here in Los Angeles. We could not imagine a more diverse bunch, but we became a unit (all it took was one complete rewrite of an Organizational Behavior paper the night before it was due). One team member led accounting tutoring sessions for those of us less mathematically inclined, and we in turn edited emails and papers.
Later, we all entered the recruiting phase. You might think it would be a cut-throat time when we all vied for the same internships, but, boy, would you be wrong! All throughout the fall, we interview-prepped one another with behavioral questions, case questions and tons of feedback. After much back and forth and uncertainty, one classmate in particular helped me distill my unique value proposition and changed the way I interview. We are a school of collective strength.
The Class of 2019 consists of some of my very best friends, who I will know for the rest of my life. We have been through a lot already in just one year of business school, and we rely on one another through good times and not-so-good times. No matter what, there is always someone there to laugh with, grab a drink with and learn from. This openness is what sets UCLA Anderson and the students here apart. We don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk, and we pay it forward.
It is my wish for everyone to experience this type of community. There really is nothing like it.
Lauren Wolfen spent her 2018 summer internship analyzing data for the process innovation business unit of Samsung in New York City. Read her original post on the UCLA Anderson MBA Insider’s blog.
Appreciate for sharing Lauren's experiences in UCLA Anderson. Will be great to have more student / alumni sharing as well.
Posted by: Jasmine | 10/23/2018 at 07:57 AM