My 1st Year in the MBA Programme

I won't pretend that the MBA has been a walk in the park. I won't say that I haven't had some moments that tested my intellectual and personal limits. I won't say that I didn't learn a lot about myself, so much I would say that I'm a very different person than when I started here in Barcelona, 11 months ago.

I have to admit I was taken aback at the caliber of this programme and just how to navigate through it, and how to make the right choices or me, not for anyone else. Most of the time I felt like I was constantly running not really getting much value to myself out of it, just trying to stay above water.

Consequently I have a lot of regrets that I hope to ameliorate next year. I regret, when I started out here, not taking the MBA as seriously as I should (I thought I came here to get out of Investment Banking and to get a relaxing job in Spain...). From the second trimestre on, I regret taking the MBA too seriously, and I regret being too hard on myself because of it. I regret letting my Spanish fall by the wayside, and being too scared to push myself with it. I regret not experimenting professionally more. I regret trying to get back into Investment Banking instead of using the time to figure out what I really liked in a career. I regret not enjoying MultiCulti as much as I should. I regret not going to as many BOWs, or as many Dinners. I regret not playing more sports in the MBA Olympics. I regret not taking the time to stop and smell the roses.

But I did make some good choices. I chose the right choreographer for the IESE salsa team in the MBA Olympics. I landed a superb internship with Pala Investments in Switzerland, where I will be working on the valuation & analysis of investment opportunities, financial modeling, and managing the investment portfolio. Seems like I will learn alot & have great responsibility. And having stopped to appreciate this opportunity, I think I'm ready to get the most value from it (rather than constantly running and trying to keep up); additionally, I made the right decision not to do the Capstone project so I have enough time to reflect and prepare for my internship, and pass the last level of Business Spanish. I made the right decision to not be afraid to leave Investment Banking, even also finding out that I don't have to leave Corporate Finance altogether. In this MBA I guess I rediscovered my love for Finance, and even more so, a field that not only I could be happy with, but also fit my skill set: Risk Management. And even so, I think the case method has prepared me to see things on another level, and hopefully all my preparation will finally pay off in my next career.

The end of the 1st year ended somewhat nostalgically. The 2nd years left slowly one by one, and it was sad to see them go. They told me that the MBA went so fast, and they had regretted not interacting more with the 1st years. I'm glad that I put up more of an effort to get to know them more, and I hope next year I make more of an effort to interact with the new 1st years. I ended the year with a good grip on the subjects, some time to go out, and some leisurely finals that I had enjoyed studying for. The day exams ended, some of us went to the beach, most of us met up at the Karaoke dinner at Shanghai. One of things I enjoy most is Karaoke, but I kept it safe by singing in groups, mostly Bon Jovi songs, and a couple of Spanish songs (I always wanted to sing in Spanish! I do it in my car all the time anyway..). Afterwards, took a cab with the Brazilians to Universal for more partying. It was a vodka & redbull night.

I guess all in all life is coming together, the confusion of being in my 20s is the driver of my personal & professional growth. And although I do miss my old friends in the States, and I'm still not sure if I will stay in Europe or not, I can say that I am happy and ready to face the 2nd year.