Kelley School of Business

It feels great to contribute to the MBA Program Blog once again. I have had an exciting summer internship experience at Deloitte Consulting and I would like to share what a typical week was like.

I began my internship based out of the Chicago office on June 1. It was a 10-week internship and the first week was devoted to training that gave us a good overview of Deloitte overall and the Technology practice in particular. Several interns from some of the top Masters of Business Administration Programs were there as well. I was immediately staffed on a project and I was really excited.

For the next nine weeks of my internship, I got to experience first-hand, the life as a consultant. Rather than a Day in Life of MBA intern, let me describe a typical week instead:

On early Monday morning, you fly out of your base location to the client site. After reaching your destination airport, you typically share a rental with some of your teammates. Once you reach the client office, start with calls with any teams distributed globally to get the latest updates. An important task is to prioritize everything that you have on your plate to ensure all the top tasks are completed by the deadline. Some of the tasks I worked on included creating the test plan for two new applications we were building, and leading the design for a reporting solution. On Monday night, you check into the hotel. Team dinners are common and are a great way to get to know your teammates on a more personal level. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the most intense workdays. I also got the opportunity to interact with the client. Check out of your hotel on Thursday morning, finish off any pending work for the week, especially if there is anything that requires face-to-face meetings with the client and you fly back home Thursday night. Fridays were usually filled with some interesting events for the interns and some client service work as necessary. Saturdays and Sundays were time to relax, recharge and explore the awesome city of Chicago in the summer!

I will need separate posts to give you more details of the various aspects of the internship. Look out for more posts soon. And don't hesitate to choose Indiana University for MBA Program - I know it makes a difference!

It is crazy to think that the summer is almost over and I am a week away from heading back to school. I am sad to be leaving Carmel, my summer home, and all my co-workers at Midwest ISO who have been patient teachers and great friends. As part of the end of my internship, I had the privilege of presenting my summer work to a room full of my fellow interns, my Supply Management colleagues, and members of the executive team who made time in their busy schedules to attend. Working for an energy company is certainly not without privileges as well. I shamelessly included photos of tall white wind turbines against a beautiful backdrop of rolling hills, generating clean energy for the heartland. In my presentation, I discussed my daily responsibilities, a selection of projects I worked on, my key takeaways, the skills I picked up along the way, and some of my favorite memories from the summer. Those memories include attending a company-wide event at an Indianapolis Indians ball game, participating in the annual Midwest ISO Office Olympics (and contributing to my department’s first place trophy), and playing in an intern-mentor softball game. Reflecting back on the summer as a whole, I definitely feel Kelley prepared me for success. And, I also owe a great deal to the structure of the Midwest ISO internship program. Projects were designed around my MBA skill-set while maintaining enough flexibility so that I could really add my own personal touch to deliverables. The internship has piqued my interest in Supply Management as a potential career path and I have definitely come away with the tools and know-how to succeed in the field. From projects involving strategic sourcing, supplier risk assessment, and supplier diversity to work involving contract analysis, RFP writing, and much more, I have gained a broad yet detailed experience in the area of supply management which will be invaluable throughout my entire career.

Name: Aaron Kraft
GradYear: 2011
City: Carmel
State: IN

This summer has flown by!  Hard to believe that I will be back in Bloomington starting my 2nd year of my MBA in just 3 short weeks.

Tomorrow marks week 9 of my 10 week internship at Target.  I am in their merchandise buying program in Decorative Home.  Unlike some of my fellow Top MBA students at MBA Consumer Marketing internships at Target we only have one project.  Mine was to analyze 10 categories (down from 13!) against the company's design axis to understand where we performing well and where we have opportunities to serve our guest.  It has been a great learning experience and really let me understand all the cross functional a buyer interacts with on a daily basis - while giving me exposure to the day-to-day role, weekly sales analysis anyone!? 

My presentation is quickly approaching.  But the Kelley's Best Consumer Marketing MBA Academy really did help to prepare me for it.  Our CMA projects really gave us a sample of what to expect on our internship projects so you wouldn't be afraid of the ambiguity or reaching out for feedback.  I don't know what I would have done without that experience.

I spent this weekend making the recommended changes my manager suggested.  Think its looking good - I 'm ready to get this show on the road.

While this has been a great experience, I am ready to get back to Kelley and my fellow MBA Program Students.  I can't wait to hear what they all have been working on!

New York to Indiana, to a few places in between, then back to New York and off to Boston, Massachusetts I went to begin my Internship at Comcast within the Marketing Strategy Department. To say that I earned the title of “expert traveler” is an understatement, as I wait in the not-so-shorter lines at the airport as my reward. The beginnings of my travels led me to the Kelley School of Business, where I started to hone the skills that I put to immediate use during my many interviews and during the first few weeks of my internship.

So was I really prepared? Well, the very warm welcome from the people at Comcast’s North Central Division was a great start. The challenging core curriculum during the first semester helped me figure out what different departments my fascinating project would affect. And during my first week, I put all of my strategy and Consumer Marketing Academy skills to work as I began to understand the scope of my project. Oh and it didn’t hurt that my first week ended at a networking reception at Boston Symphony Hall with a free show. I must say, that I feel quite fortunate to be at Comcast this summer because from the very beginning I have had great visibility and access to many initiatives, including sitting in on a high-level meeting, and a visit to creative their advertising agency. This has really given me firsthand experience on what I have been learning all year, and Kelley helped me contribute value on all fronts. And the people on segways in the hallway are an odd treat that make me chuckle every time I see someone zoom by.

So as I begin to wrap on Project #1 and move to Project #2, I even have the ability to influence one of my projects by working closely with my Director to talk about my skills and interests. I can’t wait to flex more of my Excel muscles, thanks to Wayne Winston! Admittedly, I was nervous before starting my internship, but after meeting the folks here and putting my Kelley MBA skills to work, it’s been great so far. I am also happy to report, that the Boston Red Sox fans have not thrown one thing at my car yet with the New York plates on it, but the summer is not over yet. Till next time…

Name: Azza Elsheikh
GradYear: 2011
City: Boston
State: Massachusetts

My first month in Supply Management at Midwest ISO has gone by in a flash. I have been kept busy on a series of projects ranging from process improvement to supplier research to building presentations for the team. As I enter the second month, my focus becomes more strategic as I sink my teeth into the larger projects that I have been assigned. I have been enjoying getting to know my co-workers better and have been able to shadow them during calls with suppliers and project meetings with internal clients. I think I am finally starting to get a handle on the whole “purchasing” thing. Despite a heavy workload, I have still been able to get away for a few summer adventures already. I spent July 4th in LA with friends watching fireworks from the beach in Santa Monica and, a few weeks ago, I met up with a group of friends for a fun weekend in Las Vegas. Of course, I have also been discovering all that Carmel and Indianapolis have to offer. On a Friday night, I met up with a classmate in Broad Ripple which is a neighborhood in Indianapolis that has a large number of bars and restaurants. And, on a Sunday afternoon, I took a 2-hr walk on the Monon Trail which is a 2-lane walking/biking/rollerblading trail which snakes north to south across Indianapolis (~15mi). Next weekend I am celebrating my best friend’s wedding in Tampa! My feelings about the remainder of the summer are definitely mixed. On the one hand, I am excited to return back to school, see all of my classmates, start on new coursework, and begin my hunt for a new job; on the other hand, I really enjoy where I am at the moment (not to mention getting a regular paycheck again!).

Name: Aaron Kraft
GradYear: 2011
City: Carmel
State: IN

I am just beginning Week 3 of my fellowship with Education Pioneers in Chicago. I definitely wasn’t mentally prepared for the 2 hour commute to and from work even after a month long vacation in India. I am working with Chicago Public Schools in their Office of School Turnaround. If you are like me on Day 1, I had no idea what that meant. The most underperforming schools in the district go through a process called Turnaround. The idea is to reform the school by providing the school with adequate resources, a highly trained staff, infrastructure improvements and community engagement. The staff at OST is unlike what I expected – the culture in the organization is very entrepreneurial and feels like a small company startup. Most people bounce from desk to desk and the open seating in the office makes even the directors of organization seem very approachable. One of my directors took a few interns to visit a school that had recently undergone the turnaround process. The school is located in Englewood, reputed to be one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country. The staff and students at the school exuded optimism, passion and confidence. I was absolutely blown away by the incredible results they had accomplished despite their challenging circumstances and excited to have the opportunity to contribute and further their success. As part of the fellowship experience, we also have weekly workshops focused on challenges within the educational sector. The other fellows hail from diverse educational backgrounds in education, law and public policy. Although I am the only fellow from Kelley, there are several other MBA’s from prestigious universities like Harvard, Stanford, Booth and Kellogg. Weekly networking and social events keep us really busy - in fact I need to start planning for the Education Pioneers Iron Chef Challenge Appetizer Round! Grand Prize – bragging rights and the honor of cooking in an industrial kitchen for the final competition. Allez Cuisine!

Name: Neha Kale
GradYear: 2011
City: Chicago
State: IL

I am writing this blog entry as I near the end of my first full week at Midwest ISO. Headquartered in beautiful Carmel, IN, I am an intern in the Supply Management (purchasing) department. Never heard of Midwest ISO? Then I can bet you are not too familiar with utility companies or the power grid. Midwest ISO manages the grid for 13 states and Manitoba as well as a real-time energy market bringing together buyers and sellers. If that still isn’t clear, just remember that they keep the lights on. Being that the last time I was an intern was the summer of 2004, I wasn’t sure what to expect from an MBA internship. I have to say that I have been extremely impressed with the Midwest ISO internship program so far. Everyone in the company has been welcoming, friendly, and helpful which has made the transition easy. As one of my first tasks, I worked with my manager to outline goals and expectations for the summer. It is very obvious from my interactions with my team that they are committed to developing me and ensuring I learn a lot over the course of the internship – I couldn’t ask for more. Not having previously worked in procurement, I ran out immediately and purchased “The Supply Management Handbook” which has been very helpful. However, I was surprised by how many different things I learned in “the core” and my electives that have already proved useful in the first week alone. From utilizing Wayne Winston’s tricks in excel to my case comp powerpoint skills to Pratt’s accounting ratios and so on, I can already tell it is going to be a great summer!

Name: Aaron Kraft
GradYear: 2011
City: Carmel
State: IN

Southern California is a lot like central Indiana, except that there's an ocean and a bunch of mountains here, and the governor has a funny accent. There are 37 million people living in this state, and I had feared that I might get lost in the crowd. A trip to the beach always reassures me otherwise, however. For when I take off my shirt and stroll proudly into the cool, crisp waters of the Pacific, a quick glance at my fellow beach-goers reminds me that I am the whitest person within 300 miles. Thank you, Midwestern winter. Na zdorovie, Polish ancestry!

I am currently four weeks into my summer internship in the Commercial Leadership Program (CLP) at the biotech company Amgen, and life is good. All employees are given unlimited access to the gym on campus, which is the finest workout facility I have ever seen. A host of fitness classes - from yoga to strength training to spinning - are free and scheduled all throughout the day. All of this is a welcome respite from the absolute physical lethargy that marked my first year at Kelley. A buffet of fresh fruits and fruit-infused waters is on offer when you finish, and partaking of this has become my favorite part of the day (see picture...I am easily impressed). Sadly, whatever weight I lose while exercising is regained five-fold in water weight, but such is my plight: the fruity water is the most succulent beverage to ever grace my lips. I believe that running is like mushrooms. By that I mean that many people don't like it, but that you should try it again every few years just to make sure your tastes haven't changed. Fortunately, I have always enjoyed mushrooms, but alas, running still does not suit me. Nevertheless, I have joined the Amgen running club, which offers me the opportunity to sweat profusely and thus drink more of the fruit water when the time is right.

Amgen has treated all of us in the CLP quite well. On the weekends there are a variety of free outings planned. Surfing lessons began last week (I am terrible), and next weekend we are doing an 8-hour ocean kayaking excursion around the Channel Islands. Paintball and paddle boarding are soon to follow. With all of this going on you might be asking, "Ah, but when do you get your work done?" The answer is that I do not, but that is neither here nor there.

In all seriousness, my project is quite good. Not good enough to bore you with the details, of course, but I am working on the marketing team for Enbrel, a biologic agent used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. My coworkers are all very intelligent, and most hail from the company's core recruiting schools of Northwestern, Harvard, MIT, and Cornell. It would bother me that I am the only Kelley MBA in the department and that they consequently mispelled Kelley (they wrote 'Kelly') in the directory, but then I discovered that my boss's boss's boss is a Kelley MBA, too. This has led to many a forearm smash (a la Mark McGwire and José Canseco) as we pass one another in the hall.

Oh, yes, the sombrero that I mentioned in the title. I was going to stop typing and go to bed, but I'll close with that. My office/cube was absolutely bare when I moved in, and I despaired at the utter lack of character. But then I looked up and spied the sombrero high atop my desk. No one knows where it came from. No matter. It is all I need to give my cube a little flair, and sometimes I don it when I go to the kitchen to make some tea. Good times.

Name: Tom Paprocki
GradYear: 2011
City: Thousand Oaks
State: California

My internship at ConAgra began this last Tuesday. It began with a couple days of orientation during which the MBA interns (there are seven of us) were introduced to EVERY level of leadership from our brand managers to directors to VPs to the President of Frozen Foods to the President of Consumer Foods to the CEO himself. I am so impressed by the attention that this company is now putting into its internship program. (And yes, that is a somewhat recent development for ConAgra.) It's also nice to note that my co-workers are sufficiently impressed when I tell them that I'm a Kelley MBA. (There are quite a few of us in this company, apparently). In fact, within my first 48 hours on the job, every single Kelley alum at ConAgra had sent me a personal email welcoming me to the company. So far, I'm thrilled to be a part of this company and this Kelley culture. If that's not a sales pitch, I don't know what is.

Name: John Pawlowski
GradYear: 2011
City: Omaha
State: NE

So the 2nd week has started off with a bang, with my projects starting to pick up steam. My background is not heavy in analytics, but luckily, the courses from the spring semester have provided me with enough skills to impress my team so far, including small tips and tricks within powerpoint to really spice up some presentations that are going in front of a few VPs next week. Hopefully the trend will continue this summer at AT&T!!!

Name: Ashish Bajpai
GradYear: 2011
City: Chicago
State: IL

500 hours of classes, 30 interviews, 2,308 miles, and 9 states later, I've finished my first year of classes, and I'm in sunny LA getting ready for my internship to start tomorrow. Last week, I drove from Bloomington, Indiana to Los Angeles, California, stopping at the Grand Canyon (see pic) and Las Vegas on the way. Tomorrow I start my first day as an intern at Neutrogena Corporation through Johnson and Johnson's Procurement Leadership Development Program. I've got three great projects to work on - rationalizing packaging suppliers, optimizing order quantities, and improving the performance of one of Neutrogena's key suppliers. Two years ago I would never have guessed such exciting opportunities were ahead! I am thankful for the students, faculty, and staff at Kelley who provided support during the first year of my MBA and my internship search. More to come!

Name: Caroline Storey
GradYear: 2011
City: Los Angeles
State: California

If you are on the Kelley School of Business blog site, perusing an assortment of posts by Kelley’s finest, most eloquent wordsmiths, you are likely a diligent achiever well on your way to attain the finest of business school educations. The first blog posts you may have read probably discussed whimsical anecdotes highlighting tales of successful internship searches, fanciful misadventures on Israeli KIP trips, arduous core experiences, unicorns, butterflies, leprechauns, and other terrifying mythical creatures. But I must warn you, do not expect the typical enthusiastic, lighthearted melodrama found upon other business school blogs. These posts are not for the weak at heart. My tale begins in Bloomington, Indiana on May 10th, TWO THOUSAND TEN. This day began much like any other. The sun’s rays pierced between the low hanging leaves of a community maple tree upon a pasty 27-year-old sun basking Kelley MBA from high above the rooftops of the Georgetown condominium. The reflection off his sweat glistening belly blinds oncoming traffic resulting in a mosaic of sparks, cracks, and curdling shrieks. Captivated yet? Good, because the remainder of my posts will be increasingly tedious. To Be Continued . . .

Name: Ben Terris
GradYear: 2011
City: Los Angeles
State: California

My wife, two kids and I are packing for our internship in Omaha, NE at ConAgra Foods. Although a Texas native myself, I figure that if the college World Series has been thriving in Omaha all these years, it's a cool place to be. I was thrilled to learn that I've been assigned to work on the Marie Callender's frozen food brand. Specifically, my primary project will be to develop a five-year brand strategy. Add some work with an agency to develop an FSI and some analytical work with IRI data, and I think my team has provided me with a pretty meaningful internship. I did run right out to the local Kroger's to do some tasty "market research" and stocked up on product. This is how marketing should be.

Name: John Pawlowski
GradYear: 2011
City:
State:

I am excited to be returning to Chicago this summer! Prior to Kelley I worked at Navigant Consulting in San Francisco, London and Chicago, and this summer I will be interning at Driehaus Capital Management. I start the internship June 7, which is just 2 days after the CFA Exam (level 2). For those not familiar with the exam, it is a comprehensive finance, economics, accounting, statistics, ethics, and portfolio management curriculum that requires about 300 hours of preparation. I will be an investment analyst working directly with the founder and billionaire Richard Driehaus and one other Kelley alum, primarily researching aggressive growth equities, both U.S. and international. The photo attached is our office - a unique architectural landmark on the north side of Chicago.

Name: Michael Petersen
GradYear: 2011
City: Chicago
State: IL

So it's my first day at AT&T -- and within the first 45 minutes, my manager drops about 15 acronyms; to the point where a verbatim transcription of his sentence would leave anyone wondering if he was speaking english or some foreign language. Sadly, I think, nay I know, that I'm going to have to learn this foreign language quickly. Luckily, digging around on the intranet, I managed to find a decent (at best) document with acronyms and their meanings. At least I'll be armed with that tomorrow. All in all, it was a great day and I got to meet some very nice people -- looks like it'll be a fun summer.

Name: Ashish Bajpai
GradYear: 2011
City: Hoffman Estates
State: IL

On Friday I completed my MBA career by graduating from the Kelley School of Business.  The graduation was bittersweet because it took a lot of hard work to achieve an MBA from a top business grad school, but it was also some of the most fun I have ever had.   I really owe the amazing professors at Kelley for this great experience, and particularly Prof. Jonlee Andrews for making Kelley one of the best consumer marketing programs in the country.  I know the Consumer Marketing Academy prepared me for all of the challenges that I will face while working for a large consumer packaged goods company come June.  I also of course owe a lot of my memories to my fellow MBA program students.  Not only were they great classmates, but they were also great friends who knew how to achieve success in the classroom, but also have a fun time on the weekends.   And of course I need to remember that my family also helped along the way by providing me with support and encouragement along the way.  I was so happy that they were in Bloomington to celebrate the with me this past weekend.

As my final MBA program blog, I guess this is the time to wrap up all of the experience I have had in the last two years.  I guess I would say this:  When I came to Kelley I knew I was attending one of the best MBA colleges, but I did not know that I would also meet some of the best people in the world and achieve my dream job.  This has truly been a life-changing experience.

Well, I've finally come to the end of my Kelley MBA program run. 2 years ago, I was applying to programs and trying to find the best MBA college for me. I remember taking my visit to Kelley and knowing that night that was where I wanted to be. I remember the countless hours perusing through MBA websites, writing application essays, and evaluating schools. I used to have the Business Week MBA ranking memorized! Now, here I am...about to graduate from Indiana with my MBA. Finished with classes. In a completely different place, about to enter a completely different world, as a completely different person.

I think back to the time when I was working as a basketball tournament director and remember the things that were on my mind. It's a relief to know that I won't have to worry about tournament schedules, or youth basketball enrollments, or working nights and weekends anymore. Before I came here, I had no idea what an MBA in corporate finance would do. Now I am one, and I'm about to figure out exactly what I can doa nd where I can go with it. Before I cam to Kelley, my Excel use was limited to databases of basketball league signups. I didn't know any commands, or any of the uses. Now I'm creating NBA models, poker spreadsheets, and optimization programs. Moreover, the people I've met and the things I've done here have helped me appreciate different things in life. I'm leaving here with a great job, a great girlfriend, and some great friends who will do great things. I know I made the right choice.

In approximately 1 hour I will take my final exam at the Kelley School of Business.  You may be wondering why I am updating my MBA program blog at this time, but as you may imagine, after two years at a top business grad school, I am sick of studying!  I will not take the time to count the number of exams I have taken, papers I have turned in, or presentations I have given here at Kelley, but I can promise you that it is a very large number.   There have also been many long nights studying with my fellow MBA program students and stressful mornings before major exams.  When I started at Kelley I had no idea what it would be like to attend a two year MBA program, but I can sum it all up in one word:  BUSY.  Now that my MBA career is coming to and end and I am about to enter the work force with a degree from one of the nation's best marketing MBA programs, I can easily describe my time at Kelley as some of the best two years of my life.  While the classes and Professor are incredible, the time outside of the classroom has also been amazing.  I challenge anyone to find a program with more MBA student activities than Kelley, and I will certainly miss the tailgates, parties, happy hours and impromptu dance-offs.  Luckily, the memories (and photos) from the Kelley School of Business will last a lifetime.


Now wish me luck on this exam!

As top MBA students, we always look to come in first, whether it's first place in Case Competitions, first to score a dream internship or job, or even first to try the latest technology.  I think that's one reason why this week, the last week of our MBA program, has been so bittersweet.   This week has been filled with lasts.  Yesterday was my last time working my GA, today is my last day of classes, and this weekend is the last time that the class of 2010 will celebrate together.

The past two years have been some of the most amazing, most challenging and most fun years of my life.  I would not trade my experience for the world.  I am overwhelmed by all that I have learned and how I have grown both professionally and personally.  It seems like such a short time ago that I was a nervous first-year showing up for the first day of orientation and now I'm equipped with one of the best MBA degrees in the country and the possibilities seem limitless. 

This weekend, I made the trip to the Kentucky Derby with some other MBA program students and my wonderful girlfriend. Having grown up in Louisville, it's fun for me to get to share the Derby experience with first-timers. Some of the people on the trip went last year with me, but some of them had nevcer been before. I decided to make a big weekend out of it, and we actually drove to Louisville on Friday to the Kentucky Oaks. The Oaks is like a smaller version of Derby Day, and the big race is for 3 year old female horses. The weather was amazing on Friday, and we got a little extra fun out of it. The Oaks even has a signature drink, the Lily...it's a vokda and raspberry drink. It's much tastier than the mint julep, but not as iconic. It comes with a souvenir glass, too, which completely makes it worth the $9, sort of. I'm sure my MBA in corporate finance would help me figure out the NPV of buying a $9 or $10 drink, but I'm going to leave out the buzzkill for now. We were right by the first turn, so I was able to sneak over and see the horses come by a few times...looked like this:



If you've never been to the Derby, it really is a blast. The infield is packed with people and costs $40 to get in...not too bad. You can either take part in craziness or kind of do your own thing. As adults, we mostly did our own thing. The only real downside is the possibility of poor weather. Because the Kelley School of Business prepared me to be an awesome problem solver, I made the brilliant move of getting a couple canopy tents for our group. We weren't totally dry or warm, but the rain didn't bother us as much as it could have.

Well, I'm about to head in to room 2061 here in the graduate building for my last 2 classes of my MBA experience. I'll make sure to have an MBA program blog entry looking back on my time here later today or tomorrow. 2 years down, 3 hours to go!