Mike Strus
MBA’19

Last exam completed, the first year done… now what? The answer to this is straightforward – celebrate!  While this is probably the most obvious answer, the bigger question came next-how was I going to spend my few weeks before my internship started?  I wanted to make the most of it because my next break lasting this long might not come until retirement.

Catching up
The time commitment required to succeed during my first year at the Kelley MBA program-at times-was quite overwhelming.  I made sure to prioritize school which led to some extracurriculars being put on the backburner. Catching up, for me, took on various forms:

• Family, Friends, and Former Colleagues – Balancing school with keeping in touch with family, friends, and former colleagues was a difficult task for me.  I wanted to make sure I caught up and connected with those important to me.  Building a network of supporters is great but maintaining these relationships is paramount. (more…)

Last Valentine’s Day, I received something I had been wanting for years… the go-ahead from my wife to get a puppy. The excitement of finding the right breed and reserving the pick of a future litter came with some reservations. I would soon be starting my first year at Kelley and had no idea what life would be like with a postgraduate pup. Now, I can look back on my first year at Kelley and provide the following guidance on bringing a dog to Bloomington:

Outsource the walking
Our new dog’s first month in Bloomington was right in the middle of finals and internship recruiting season, and it was difficult to get home regularly for walks. I suggest utilizing one of the many dog-walking services in Bloomington. Rover and Wag! are smartphone apps which allowed us to quickly and easily get a trustworthy dog walker (ours ended up being an IU student herself). Daycare is also available near campus. We take Grizzly to BloomingPaws a few times a week to get his puppy energy out and to allow for extended time on campus for classes and meetings. The costs for these services range from $10-$15 for a walker and only a few bucks more for a full day at daycare. The cost is well worth the freedom and peace of mind. (more…)

Rebecca Cook Executive Director

I’ve been the Executive Director of the Kelley School of Business’ MBA program for the past 18 months, and I’m thrilled for this opportunity. Since my graduation from the MBA program in 1996, I worked in investment management for about 14 years at a variety of sell-side and buy-side firms. I came back to Kelley in late 2009 and worked in Graduate Career Services for the seven years prior to my current role. I am grateful to Kelley for how it shaped my career and provided me the skills and networks to excel, and it’s been awesome to be back working here.

The past 18 months have been an exciting time of investment and change in the program. This fall we welcomed 204 new students with the highest average GMAT and GPA scores we’ve ever had. Of course, as always, we admit students based not only on their strong GMAT scores and high GPAs but also on their interpersonal skills and their projected employability. Our students are exceptionally talented and it is a great honor to work with them. I hope you get the chance to meet them—and of course, I hope that you look for opportunities to hire them! If you have any opportunities (internship or full-time), please email Nina Camfield at ecamfiel@indiana.edu.
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As an executive coach, I’m in the business of personal development and growth-helping others achieve their goals and aspirations through positive yet challenging techniques. It is an amazing experience to watch someone grow along their own developmental axis, pushing their “learning edge” in ways that they may not have believed possible before.

What I notice in successful clients are three mindsets that are critical for anyone seeking personal growth: intentionality, presence, and perspective.

Intentionality
Personal development requires intentionality. You must be intentional in your desire to grow, and specific enough in your goals to know where you should focus your limited growth energy. While there are always chance opportunities for personal growth, the lack of intentionality hinders progress because you can’t really understand your progress towards a known goal. When I work with clients who believe in the power of intentionality it allows us to focus on clear visioning of a desired state, followed by goal creation and pathway mapping. All of these are critical tools for personal development and, interestingly, the same steps that positive psychologists use to study hope. Intentionality helps hope come to life.  (more…)

Namrata Rao
Kelley MBA’19

Pursuing a business degree is a tough decision to make, especially when you plan to pursue it in another country. Nothing can be a polar opposite from my previous chaotic lifestyle in India than my structured and composed life in Bloomington. When I decided to seek an MBA, I wanted to make sure that I made my new city and the people, my home. Kelley is exactly that!

My first day, I walked into the atrium feeling nervous and excited. I picked up my Kelley bag with the details of Me, Inc.(a unique Kelley program that enables students to develop their personal brand) and was approached by classmates who were eager to know me and my story. Me, Inc. is structured to make you open up to those around you. Because of this program, I was able to make friends the very first week of school. From your teammates’ high-fives to small words of appreciation, I realized how fortunate I was to spend the next two years with people who would become my family in America.

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Andy Pyon 
MBA’19

Having taken the GMAT, you know you’ll have to make decisions with incomplete, and often imperfect, information. The same holds true when selecting a full-time MBA program. You’re not going to know everything until you jump in, but to aid your decision, here are four questions to consider during your visits.

What is the quality of the faculty? 
Top business schools will naturally be the home to top faculty. Before visiting, research the instructors who will transform you into a business leader. Do the top faculty teach MBAs? More importantly, do you get the sense they enjoy teaching MBAs?

While visiting, talk with the professors and see if they’re just as excited to be there as you are. You want to find a program where the professors are willing and driven to invest in your success, like John Hill, Clinical Assistant Professor of Operations and Decision Technology at Kelley, who happily dedicated his time to help a business analytics major in the Consumer Marketing Academy nail a supply chain internship offer.

Does the school embrace different personalities and learning styles?
You know yourself best, and finding an MBA program where you feel accepted and comfortable is most important to your success. For example, I knew I didn’t fit the mold of a traditional business student. They all seemed outgoing, charismatic, and super confident. But when I first met Jonlee Andrews, Clinical Professor of Marketing, at an event in Indianapolis, she saw my insecurity struggles right away and said she’d help remove any barriers between me and my goals. I realized right away that Kelley isn’t going to ask me to change who I am, but would embrace and enhance my strengths through coaching and development. (more…)