It’s the end of Month 1 of the Cambridge MBA and it simultaneously feels like an eternity and a flash.
MBA academics feel like a very different ballgame from my previous academic experience because I can visualise where and how this learning will have an actual application a year from now. While the content and schedule have been intense, and it all feels new, learning so much in just a month feels super satisfying. This is what I envisioned my transition to business would be like- learning and growth!
It also helps that the Cambridge experience is so much more than academics.
Orientation week at Cambridge Judge Business School saw us doing scavenger hunts, playing team games and networking. At my college, St Catharine’s College, I never know who I’m going to meet over lunch. It could be a neuroscientist, a cell biologist, a polar scientist, a crop researcher, a psychologist, an illustrator, a legal expert, a historian, a linguist, an engineer, a medic or one of the many other brilliant researchers and academicians. From lovely choral music at St Catharine’s chapel to sketch comedy shows by the Footlights (theatre), Cambridge has something for everyone.
I have been punting and tubbing and am still aghast at videos of one of my brave (a.k.a crazy) colleagues jumping into the numbingly chill River Cam and starting a birthday tradition for the Cambridge MBA Class of 2024 – (Thank God my birthday’s in the summer!). Another important life lesson: If mini golf is any reflection of actual golf, I won’t be using the golf course for any business meetings unless it’s to help my competition!
My palate has had an adventure all on its own – authentic Chinese food, original Italian pasta, mind-blowing Korean barbecue and bibimpap, College hall food, extravagant Formal Hall meals complete with wine and cheese, my own kitchen adventures and of course pizza! These are just the highlights.
At the risk of sounding “cringey”, watching the lights of the Northern Lights add colours to the night felt symbolic of the multiple facets I am exploring this year, adding so much dimension to my perspectives and growth.
