Is it already
second year? For the past few months, I
have been interning with a consulting firm in Washington, DC. The experience was challenging, but I felt
fully equipped from day one to be a contributing member of the team all thanks
to the preparation of the Darden first year curriculum. My summer engagement was heavily analytical
and I found myself thankful that I was paying attention during the quant-heavy
cases of my first year.
The last day
of my summer internship ended on Friday, so that evening I packed up my
apartment and prepared to hit the road to Charlottesville on Saturday. I was in a hurry to get back to Charlottesville
because I wanted to attend the Darden Community Picnic that Saturday
afternoon. I remember being a first year
at the Picnic, feeling only moderately overwhelmed. I was in a new environment, making new
friends, meeting new faculty. Most of
that afternoon as a first year was a blur, but what I remember more than
anything was how excited the returning second years were to catch up with one
another after a summer away from Charlottesville.
Remembering
that was motivation enough for me to make it back to Charlottesville. And it was well worth it. It’s hard to describe how I felt at the
picnic; excited to be reunited, thrilled to hear about my classmates’ successful
summers, and afraid that this year is going to pass too quickly. (Is this what
my second year has succumbed to? Am I really talking about my emotions at a
picnic?)
If Saturday
was all about catching up, Sunday was all about ramping up. Sunday was my day to get organized. I figured out what classes I was taking and
made sure to prepare the cases for my first day as a second year.
Monday afternoon, my
class assembled in Abbott Auditorium for a Welcome Back address. The strangers I sat among at my Welcome
address as a first year are now some of my best friends and principled leaders
at our Welcome Back address to start off the second year. What a difference one year can make.
