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It’s Over Already?! The Mixed Emotions of a Graduating MBA

Lady MBAs power-posing

Walking out of the business school building for the last time as a student, I wasn’t sure what to feel. It felt a bit anti-climactic, because our graduation ceremony wouldn’t happen for 2 more weeks. So it was hard to really believe the reality: I’m no longer a graduate student! There was excitement and relief: no more school work! But also confusion and sadness: You mean I won’t get to see all my friends on a regular basis each week, sharing this journey with a cohort of amazing classmates?? Maybe these two years went by too fast after all!

It is hard to process the completion of such a huge goal. Now that it’s over, how do we recognize what it all meant?

Writing a final blog post gave me the opportunity to reflect on some highlights of my MBA career. So many highlights jumped to mind, and I think they help to illustrate what makes this MBA program special. Here are a few:

  • Overseeing the collection of over 3,000 lbs of food for the first MBA holiday food drive
  • Spending two amazing weeks in Cuba with a group of my classmates for our Global Perspectives class
  • Class bonding during the annual MBA kickball game: 1st years vs 2nd years
  • Serving a year term on the board of an incredible local nonprofit through the program
  • Bonding with our Director of while skiing mogul runs together on the annual MBA ski day
  • Serving on the Student Advisory Council and the MBA
  • Hitting the trails for early morning mountain biking with classmate friends before class starts that day
  • Interviewing my classmates throughout the year to profile their accomplishments for
  • Being among an inspiring group of female MBAs who make up 30% of the MBA class but hold a majority of leadership positions within MBA clubs and student government.

And one of the best highlights is sure to be the exhilaration of our graduation ceremony, celebrating our success and hard work and the friendships we’ve made.Reflecting on these highlights, I realize how much I’ve benefitted from this MBA program, not just academically and intellectually, but how the experience has enriched me as a person. What I will take away from this program includes the well-developed skills and tools of my business training, but also a community that I feel so lucky to be a part of. That community is made up of my classmates as well as alumni, faculty and staff of the Leeds School of Business, and I am looking forward to being a part of this community for the rest of my life.