Monday, November 25, 2013

Music to My Ears

MBA students graduating next year will be disappointed to see "The Job Market for MBAs is About to Take a Hit." However, I am a firm believer that with intense networking efforts and realistic expectations, graduating MBA students will be able to find their way.

In fact, a young student at USC recently found me through my about.me page. I was very impressed with his enthusiasm and go-getter attitude, and was happy to meet with him to talk about our mutual interest in startups and networking. I was also pleased to provide social media advice to my Beachbody coach this week, and I'm eager to get updates from her to see how it all works out (no pun intended).

Mallary Hope and me

From left to right: Carrie Welling, me, Rebecca Haviland, and Chris Anderson

These past few days have been filled with a lot of fun activities! I went to two music shows (photos with musicians above), an office happy hour (picture below), and an LA Comedy Festival show. There is certainly never a shortage of things to do around here.

Single Grain (LA branch) happy hour

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Making Headlines

Last night, I finished a book called Tuesdays with Morrie that's a true story about a man who gets in touch with his favorite professor 16 years later. It inspired me to contact my favorite high school teacher, interestingly one week before my 10-year high school reunion. I was happy to hear that my senior year history teacher remembered me and that we might have the chance to see each other in a few months. Tuesdays with Morrie taught me so many incredible lessons, including valuing each day and positive relationships, and I am forever grateful to its author for reminding me to get in touch with my valued teacher.

It is never too late to learn life lessons, especially when it comes to entrepreneurship, which is why I am happy to share "From the Trenches: 23 Entrepreneurs Share Their Most Valuable Lessons Learned." In fact, one of the lessons comes from my Single Grain boss Sujan Patel. You can also see Hamet Watt, my previous boss from bLife, in this clip from FOX (below). In the news story, you'll also see my office building (ROC) and my friend Rob!


Lastly, I am excited to share that Montreal was listed as #9 on the list of best student cities, according to QS. People and places within my network are surely making headlines this week!

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Slam Dunk

Although I had never before been to a professional basketball game, in the past week, I attended two Lakers games. Fortunately, the Lakers won both days and beat the Pelicans and the Pistons, even winning attendees free tacos at both games. After chatting with my colleagues about the games and learning how interested they were in the NBA, I coordinated a company event for us to go to a January Clippers vs. Celtics game. We're all looking forward to our Single Grain LA branch event!

Lakers game at the Staples Center

When it comes to professional sports, though, I have developed a recent love for football. That's why I found Inc.'s article "The Warren Buffett Story That Inspired a Pro Football Team" particularly noteworthy.

In business-related matters, I was interested to see this list of the 50 most beautiful business schools in the world. Though I was surprised that HEC Montreal was not listed, I was happy to see that Russia's Moscow School of Management Skolkovo building was there. I was truly fascinated by the building when I visited it during my Campus Abroad program. Montreal did get credit, however, for being the 10th smartest city in North America in Fast Company. I'd say that's a slam dunk for my beloved Montreal!

Friday, November 8, 2013

The Happiest Woman on Earth

Recently, I've seen a couple interesting articles in tech news. One such article in Wired was written by Chris Bosh, NBA player for the Miami Heat, and explained why you should learn to code. It was fascinating to learn that this professional basketball player was raised by tech-savvy parents and their influence led him to focus on computers. His article demonstrates that he is a great role model due to his skills in both athletics and technology.

Secondly, the Silicon Valley Business Journal noted that "more business grads ditch finance, opt for tech jobs." More MBA graduates are selecting tech positions, rather than finance, so that they can do something innovative and make an impact. I'm not surprised, considering that I would be grouped into this category.

Due to the importance of technology, and especially Google, all employees of Single Grain are now getting Google Analytics certification. I've been spending the majority of the day studying for this, so I can pass the test by our company's deadline. Wish me luck!

I am also happy to share that I finally went to Disneyland (photos below)! On Saturday, I went with three of my friends to the happiest place on Earth. It was a magical day and the perfect way to round out my one year anniversary in Los Angeles.

In front of the Christmas decorated castle

Awaiting the Halloween themed Haunted Mansion ride

With the Mad Hatter and Alice