Changing lives - one way we make a difference

by Zach

As a Jesuit School, Boston College has long been steeped in not only developing a strong community but also helping those around it. With a long tradition of community service, Boston College Graduate students have been serving their communities in a variety of ways, from working with non-profits to feeding those most in need. Today, every Carroll School Graduate student volunteers at least ten to twenty hours towards community service. Through continuing this long tradition, we gain experience working with many different community-based organizations and individuals. It also reflects our tradition of experiential learning. After just one semester, I have found that my classmates and I are well on track to far exceed, if not double or triple, the ten to twenty hours!

Graduate students enjoy many community service opportunities, ranging from student organizations like Net Impact to working local and national organizations in the Boston area. The Carroll School of Management even plans activities for Boston College's annual Jesuit Day of Service.

One of the most rewarding, for me personally, is participating in Invest in Kids (INK). INK is a joint program between Boston College and Brookline Public schools. This program pairs a graduate student mentor with a 7th or 8th grader. The students I have worked with have really impressed me and I continuously find myself learning more from them than they probably learn from me.

While part of the INK program focuses around school work, the other part focuses on connecting student and mentor through a series of activities. These events range from costume competitions (during Halloween), to meeting student athletes, to scavenger hunts around campus.One of the first events we held was a stock picking challenge that took place between 1915 and 1930. One of the kids in my group astutely pointed out that the Great Depression was coming up and convinced his fellow students to liquidate, propelling our group into first place!

Reflecting on my first semester, I feel that INK was a great source of stress relief and helped me keep things in perspective. While grades and internships are important, it was great spending two hours a week giving back to our community!

A few quotes from my classmates regarding their experience with INK:

"I love having the chance to take a break from studying and schoolwork and give back to the community. The kids always have the ability to brighten my week and I love helping them work towards their goals." - First-Year, Full-Time MBA student.

"Ink is AMAZING!" - First-Year, Full-Time MBA student.

"A nice departure from schoolwork." - First-Year, Full-Time MBA student.

"Fun & Rewarding... Brings out the kid in me!" - Second-Year, MSA/MSF Dual Degree student.

Why BC?

by Lauren

I can't believe how quickly the last seven weeks have flown by! I just spent the last week crunching for final exams with my classmates and am relieved that they are finally over!

I'm excited to share my experiences over the next two years with you through this blog. Since this is my first post, let me start by telling you a little bit about myself and how I found myself pursuing an MBA at Boston College.

About Me:
I grew up in a suburb of Boston and went to Colgate University, earning my bachelor's degree in Political Science and History. Not yet ready to return to Boston, I moved to North Carolina (a big move for me!) to work in business development and marketing for an International Development non-profit. Now, you might be wondering, what exactly does that mean? It means I worked for a U.S. Agency for International Development contractor that designed and implemented programs to improve health, education, and governance systems in developing countries.

Raleigh, NC, 

I loved the work of the non-profit, but realized I was also passionate about marketing. So after two years, I made a career switch and started working in the marketing department for a pharmaceutical manufacturer. There, I had my hands in everything from event management, to online advertising, campaign development and other marketing activities.  I was also heavily involved with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society- Greater Carolinas Chapter in my free time. I loved it!


Why an MBA? 
I chose to get an MBA to advance my career. In my last job, I found myself struggling to understand some parts of the business, and realized that if I wanted to run my own department, I needed to have a better understanding of business and management. I saw a gap between where I was and where I wanted to be in my career. I knew an MBA would give me the skills, education and experience to get there more quickly.

Why Boston College?
I chose Boston College for a number of reasons, but the number one reason is the people. I was blown away by the sense of community I felt among the students I met. Everyone was engaging, motivating and had interesting backgrounds. BC is also one of the few schools I looked at that requires MBA students to complete a community service requirement.  Giving back to the community and being a part of the community has always been important to me and something I really enjoy, so I knew that BC would be a good fit for me.

Photo Courtesy of Boston College

The second reason? Boston! It's a great city with tons to see and do. Not only is it a fun city, but also it's the city I see myself ending up in after I graduate, and I wanted a school with strong connections in the Boston community. My family is also in the New England area, and I wanted to be closer to them.

The third reason is that once you're an Eagle, you're always an Eagle. Alumni networks are powerful, and BC has one of the best. It was important to me to be able to tap into an alumni network while I explore internship and job opportunities. While I also see myself ending up in the Boston area, I also wanted to go to a school with national connections, and there are BC alumni groups everywhere!

Great Decision!
It has only been seven weeks, but I already love Boston College! For a small program, there are a lot of events, information sessions, and activities going on. There's no shortage of things to do and resources to take advantage of.  So far, so good!

Choosing Where to Live

by Eduardo

As stated in our previous post greater Boston is a city that holds around 250,000 students; it means that there are a lot of housing options and landlords and real estate agents are familiarized with the students’ housing needs, but it also means that the good places run out fast, very fast. Keep in mind that all the schools start around late-August / early-September, so everyone would be expecting to move in the 1st of September. In searching for a house in Boston you have to be i) proactive, ii) know what do you want but be flexible to accommodate to similar options, and iii) whenever you see something that you like and fits in with your budget take it immediately, it could be gone in the afternoon and you will have to start all over again… Boston is a relative small and convenient city but the public transportation is not the best one; cabs are expensive, the Subway or the “T”, as it is called, is America’s oldest subway (opened its doors in 1897); it has a wide network of stations and is well kept but some of its lines, such as the Green that would take you to BC, have a lot of stops (from Downtown to BC could easily take you around 1 hour) and having to wait your bus in the middle of the cold winter is not the best idea. The best idea if you are planning to study at BC, and you are not thinking to buy a car, will be to live at a walking distance, a couple of metro stations away, or closed by to the route of the free shuttle buses of the university. Bicycles are a great option during the non-winter months, the parking spaces are free and convenient and the city is basically flat. The neighborhoods that you should keep in mind are Chestnut Hill, Allstone/Brighton, Brookline, Newton and Jamaica Plains. Start by using the University off campus housing office but also some local real estate agents.

Photos source:
http://www.flickriver.com/places/United+States/Massachusetts/Boston/Cleveland+Circle/search/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kieloch/4783617021/sizes/z/in/photostream/
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/07/11-week/
http://nabewise.com/boston/coolidge-corner
http://joonbug.com/boston/scenetracker/Get-Your-Sing-Along-On/mttadJxjJvB
http://longwoodresidential.com/moving-to-boston/brookline-apartments/
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/southerncalifornian/63840263/

The Vibrant City

by Eduardo

Welcome to the unique, diverse and vibrant city of Boston. It is not just its age (as one of the oldest cities in US founded in 1630) or its title as the birth place of the American Revolution that makes Boston a top American landmark. Its more than 100 universities with more than 250,000 students keep the city energetic and alive. Greater Boston, with its 7.6 million people, is the 12th largest economy in the world and at the same time America's most "spirited" city (work hard, play hard!). The city is a vibrant economic pole for industries such as biotech, ports, mutual fund and asset management, health, consulting and entrepreneurship industries among more. The high skyscrapers of the financial center are complemented with the iconic Boston brownstones houses in Back Bay and Beacon Hill areas; Boston Common Parks and the Charles River are the places in charge of adding the magic natural enchant to the postcard. If those contrasts are not enough, the difference between Boston’s highest and lowest average temperature, 81.8°F (40°C) in July and 22.3°F (-5.4°C) in January, would certainly make you feel the difference. Do not let the cold discourage you, it brings along the start of the Hockey season, ice skating and the opening of some of the best skiing stations in New England. Welcome again and make the most out of your time here, it will fly away fast!

(From left to right, top to bottom: Night skyline of Cambridge, Charles River and Boston; Charles River; Beacon Hill; Back Bay; Boston Public Garden in summer and winter.)

Photos source:

http://en.wikipedia.org

http://www.imig2012.org

http://www.marriott.com

http://www.bifilmfestival.com/

http://www.28degrees-boston.com

INK takes on the Boston Marathon...

by Eric

This past weekend, the Invest in Kids (INK) co-directors teamed up to run the Boston Marathon in support the Invest in Kids Scholarship Fund. For those readers not familiar with the organization, INK is a tutor/mentorship program sponsored by the Carroll Graduate School of Management. For more information on INK see my previous post: Perpetual Growth: Why Investing in Kids Pays Off

Family, friends, classmates, and professors all came through in helping us raise over $10,000 in support of the Invest in Kids Scholarship Fund. For their generosity, we are immensely grateful. The scholarship fund, started by former INK directors and tutors, is an endowment that supports low-income college bound students who have participated in the Boston College Invest in Kids program and who have continued to be a part of Brookline's Steps to Success program.

And now on to the main event...The Marathon.

First off, I must say that I am in awe of the dedication and stamina put forth by my co-directors, Kim Clark and Michelle Pinnette. Training since last semester, they have run through snow (though not much this winter, thankfully), rain, sleet, and now 87 degree stew to make it through yesterday's marathon. Not even Professor John Gallaugher's exhausting, but rewarding 20 companies-in-five days death march could stop us from training as Michelle and I regularly passed each other this winter break while jogging to and from our hotel toward Stanford on University Avenue in Palo Alto, CA. 

Much credit and praise should be given to Kim and Michelle for running their first marathon.  And thanks to them, they pushed me outside my comfort zone to run my first 10 miles. Here is my story...

I started my run at Mile 16. I joined the pack just as I could see the cocky second-string, front-runners petering out due to over exerting themselves too early in the race. As I managed to keep pace with them up Heartbreak Hill, I fed off of the crowd cheering me on. With very little athletic prowess of my own, I felt like a rock star as I jogged past adoring fans holding signs that said "You [Wait, me? Yes, me!] Inspire Me!" Indeed, running really is the sport for the kid who couldn't make the basketball team. Believe me, I know.

Not long after starting, a Chestnut Hill housewife exclaimed, "You look great. Keep it up!" Of course I looked great, I was only three miles in. Unfortunately, compliments like this stopped for me before hitting Brookline. While running through Newton and Chestnut Hill, residents graciously handed out water and Twizzlers (On the Next Episode of Sh*t Rich People Do) to deflated runners as they crawled up Heartbreak. Regrettably, most of the families allowed their toddlers to hand out the orange slices. I had to respectfully decline - who knows where those toddler hands have been?

It was exhilarating running by Boston College on Marathon Monday. You couldn't help but get a mental and physical boost from the thousands of undergraduates lining the streets cheering you on. At one point, I'm pretty sure I was running next to the Fruit of the Loom characters. Whether it was a hallucination invoked by heat stroke or a demonstration of college brand humor, the absurdity of the moment and the chuckle that followed came at the right time. That said, Mile 21 by Boston College is like the love child of Mardi Gras and the Olympics. 

As I passed each notable landmark - Cleveland Circle, Washington Square, Coolidge Corner, etc. - I was greeted by familiar faces of friends who had come out to support the run. As I joined up with Kim and Michelle at Mile 25, we ran the last stretch in solidarity. A group of our classmates saluted us from the Cactus Club (it was 5 pm somewhere in the world) as we neared the finish line.

I'd liked to think that I didn't make too much of a fool out of myself running in this year's Boston Marathon. But if I did - at least it was for a great cause. I couldn't be prouder of the efforts of our INK Team and those who helped validate and affirm our good work through their support of the Invest in Kids Scholarship Fund.