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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








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