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Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Welcome New Austins!

Posted by James Zackler

Editor's Remarks: I would just like to add that when James first introduced himself to Harry and Wally last year, he said that one of his hobbies is growing mustaches. We have a lot in common.

Wasn’t that an awesome phone call on decision day when Kate (or whoever called you) said – you’re in…

…oh and by the way –

You’re getting an Austin scholarship!

I was blown away. What a way to start the Kellogg experience! It’s a pretty incredible gift we have received from the administration. Don’t forget it, and use it to enable yourself to achieve what you want to do (even if that’s different from what you wrote about). For that reason – before introducing myself, I’m leading with my most important advice first (which I’m sure you’ve heard plenty of times by now):

If you haven’t already, take no more than an hour to self-reflect on what you liked / didn’t like about your previous job(s) and what you think you want to do. Write it down. Let a couple days go by. Revisit and see if you can add anything / cross anything off. Keep these thoughts handy, and throughout the school year, revisit this list (whether physically or in your head) and make sure that you update it as you gather more experiences in and outside the halls of the Jake (our beautifully ugly building). While you probably did something similar when applying to Kellogg, I urge you to not leave it as a past-tense application but to make it a living thing that you can revisit to [dis-]confirm if what it is that you are doing is what you truly want to do.

Now – with the sappy pump-up and piece of advice out of the way, a little about me and why I’ve had such a rewarding experience at Kellogg peppered with thoughts that might be helpful.

KWEST Disclaimer: I am leading KWEST Sweden/Norway so if you are on it (I don’t think any of you are) – don’t read my background section.

Background
I was born and raised in the Bay Area, graduated from UC Berkeley, and worked in San Francisco at a hospital financial consulting firm prior to coming to Kellogg. I also devoted a significant amount of time and effort to Family House – a non-profit providing housing for families of kids receiving cancer treatments.

While at Kellogg, I wanted to have as many experiential learning opportunities as possible so that I could continue to cross things off that I did not like and further explore topics that I did. As such, my primary focus during the first year was not on grabbing a leadership position in a club but to get involved in as many interesting experiential opportunities that I could physically handle: Kellogg Marketing Competition (1st quarter), Kellogg Impact Consulting Club (Q1), Neuro Start-up Challenge (Q1/Q2), Kellogg Board Fellows (Q2/Q3), Analytical Consulting Lab (Q3), and Kellogg Rugby Club. However, in the first two quarters, these along with classes, recruiting, and “networking” became a bit overwhelming. I was so excited by the opportunity afforded at Kellogg that I overextended. I felt like Jason Segel learning to surf and that life/Kellogg was acting as Kunu telling me to do less. Just understand that when you get to Kellogg, there will be so many shiny objects in the room that you can participate in. It is all about prioritizing. Be conscious that you don’t spread yourself too thin as it is quite easy to do. And that self-reflection I suggest will help you on the prioritization front.

This summer, I am working at a firm that Kellogg’s re-branding team would love: Treacy & Company – a small management consulting firm focused solely on growth and innovation (so no cost containment projects!). It’s been an incredible learning experience, and I am quite grateful for it. My client is in the construction materials industry – so, I think a lot about wood and how to provide sustainable growth for a public company that is integrally tied to cyclical demand and market prices. Been a definite shift from before school and I’ve added/crossed off things on my list, which has been great!

Re-reading what I’ve written, I realize that it’s been quite focused on professional experiences, and I don’t want to misrepresent. So – to balance out and leave you with a more fun note – you should also start looking forward to a variant of the following incredibly fun events during your two years off from the “real world”:

·        KWEST Mystery to Fiji and Samoa:


Ski Trip to Aspen:


Spring Break Hiking the Machu Picchu Trail in Peru:


Weekend Travel for MBA Rugby Tournaments, with Games in Evanston:


The Three Charity Benefits:


CAB Events, to which you will inevitably over-commit:
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This fall, I’m excited to have you join the Austin ranks and look forward to meeting those of you I have not already. In the meantime (and if you got to the bottom of this) – GO! Enjoy yourself. If it’s work or you’re already on that FUNemployment train, get recharged prior to starting this whirlwind adventure.

Best regards,
James Zackler



Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Austin Scholar Start-up Makes Crowdfunding History!

Posted by Kyle Burr

Hey there incoming Austins! Just wanted to add a quick post updating you all with some fantastic news. Fellow Austin Scholar and rising second year Hiral Sanghavi has recently made history by launching the most funded clothing project in the history of crowdfunding!

Hiral's company, Baubax, claims to make the world's best travel jacket and includes 15 unique and convenient features. It's recent Kickstarter campaign, which launched earlier this month with a goal of raising $20,000 has now surpassed $1.2 million from more than 7,300 backers!


The product has also been featured all over the interwebs, including media outlet such as Entrepreneur, CNN Money, Travel & Leisure, and The Huffington Post.

Congrats, Hiral!!




Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Help, I am going through Kellogg withdrawal


Posted by Maria Duzon

Dear Kellogg Austin Scholar of the Class of 2017,

Congratulations! You are about to dive into College 2.0 - “Bigger, Better, and Older”. As a bonus you have been accepted into a pseudo-secret society called the Austin Scholars, where you don’t pay tuition and you get to hang with very cool people. Welcome to the club.

It seems that many of the 2nd year Austins are leading KWEST trips, so to keep the theme alive...

STOP READING IF YOU ARE GOING ON KWEST NORTHERN SPAIN!!!

Now, let me skip down memory lane. What was running through my head when I was in your shoes one year ago?

Like you, I heard this one piece of advice at least 439 times: Cherish your time before business school. Once it begins, your life will be crazy.

I thought, what B.S., how can school be that busy? It’s just school! Like, only 3 hours of class per day. These MBAs must be terrible at time management, I’m sure I will have plenty of free time when I quit my job and go back to school.

Well, young Austin Scholar, I was wrong. So wrong.

Life at Kellogg is crazy, but I gradually learned to tame the beast and focus on what I love. I make trade-offs to find the balance between academics, clubs, social events, and me-time. It’s not easy or perfected, but I have no regrets about how I spent my first year, and I can’t wait to get back for year 2.

This is what I prioritize, in no particular order, so that I love my time at Kellogg:

  • Relationships: The people are everything at Kellogg, and I cherish the new relationships I have made. I also love spending time with my boyfriend, who dove whole-heartedly into Kellogg culture (spoiler: he’s joining the MMM Class of 2017!). I try to get to know friends better over lunch or dinner, and I plan to do much more of that next year.
  • Music: I tell people that I spend more hours in rehearsal than I do in class (sometimes true). I sing in the Kellogg rock band, the Rocket Pockets, and I’m vocal directing Special K. Yes, this means I am crazy busy, but I am happy -- music is my passion and I love that I get to indulge at Kellogg.
    • Shameless plug: We need 1st years in the bands and Special K! If you are a musician, singer, dancer, or performance-oriented in any way...let’s talk.
  • Class: I came to Kellogg because I love to learn, and I know there are certain skills I need to develop to make myself an even more bad-ass leader. It’s not about grades, it’s about learning from your peers and from stellar professors. I try to find the best profs that will make me fall in love with the material. (If you get Grayson’s marketing class, lucky you!)
I am so eager to meet you all in the fall! I hope you enjoy your summer and last few weeks of real adult life. Congratulations again, and welcome to Kellogg!!!

Oh, and if you wish to know the obligatory “about me”, here are the headlines:

Where I’m From: San Francisco Bay Area
What I Did Before School: Marketing at a nonprofit that runs homeless shelters
What I’m Doing for My Internship: Brand management at Clorox
What I Want to Do After Kellogg: Marketing somewhere...if not at Clorox, then tech
Advice For Incoming Kelloggers: Buy these boots

Cheers,

Maria Duzon
Kellogg Class of 2016