Spring in Ithaca!

Spring has arrived (sort of) in Ithaca and with it has come lots of updates! It has been a while since my last post and a lot has happened. First off, Spring Break (I can't believe that was already more than a month ago!) was amazing. I took a spontaneous trip to Niagara Falls with a classmate (who goes to somewhere COLDER than Ithaca for Spring Break, anyways??) and then spent most of my remaining time in Massachusetts with friends and family. I actually spent a lot of the time ironing out last minute details for the annual Community Impact Charity Auction, which was held the Thursday after we returned from break. It went great, thanks to the amazing amount of work and effort that the planning team put into it. At the end of the day, we raised almost $10,000 for two local charities as well as for nonprofit student internships. Some of the popular items were a wine tasting dinner at Dean Thomas' home (always a favorite) as well a ceiling tile (to be decorated by the winning bidder/s) from The Palms, Ithaca's legendary dive bar.

After a quick stop in NYC for the annual Park Alumni dinner on Saturday, where I had the chance to meet former Park Fellows and learn about their experience and careers post-MBA, I was off to a suburb of Philly to interview for a summer internship with a Johnson & Johnson company on Monday morning. I am excited to report that as a result I now have my summer plans in line, having accepted a position in the company's marketing group. I am really excited about the company and opportunity, and am looking forward to getting started on some of the projects they have lined up.

After Philly, I met up with my marketing classmates in NJ for the annual Marketing Immersion / Brand trip. We met with about two companies each day, including Colgate, Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, Coyne Public Relations, American Express, Lippincott Mercer, and Priceline. One of my biggest takeaways from the trip is that marketing is different in but central to all of the organizations that we visited, and that "cross-functional" is not just a buzz word. While Johnson & Johnson, American Express, and Priceline all have vastly different organizational structures, business models, and products, the marketing function is critical to the strength of the brands and growth of the companies. In each of these organizations, reliance on multiple departments was crucial to effective marketing. While we have heard about the importance of "cross-functional communication" many times over the past several months, it was useful to be presented with tangible examples at many of the organizations that we visited. The trip also provided a valuable opportunity to meet with company representatives in a setting outside of the corporate recruiting process, which I think allowed for richer interactions and the opportunity to really understand what happens on a day to day basis.

After returning to Ithaca on Thursday night, I geared up for Destination Johnson weekend - where I had the opportunity to meet many of you! It was really exciting to be here on the current student side of it and share what my experience has been like with prospective students, and it felt great to be a part of planning an event that was so massive in scope and helpful to prospective students.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, I also found out that I will be studying abroad in Monterrey, Mexico during Spring 2010. I am really, really excited about the opportunity to learn more about the Mexican culture and international marketing. (And for more about Monterrey and the study abroad experience, check out Ben Rollins' blog - Ben is a second year who just returned from studying in Monterrey).

So hopefully after reading what the past month or so has been like, you won't hold it against me for not writing sooner - and will also understand how incredibly exciting and enriching it is to be here in business school at Cornell. As always, please feel free to get in touch with any questions you may have...

Destination Johnson - April 3rd - 5th!!

Hi all - I am going to take this opportunity to make a shameless plug for Destination Johnson (DJ), our weekend for admitted students here at the Johnson School. I am the Marketing Chair for the weekend, so you will be receiving an email from me shortly with details about the events we have planned and what you can expect. In the meantime, check out the DJ website (www.johnson.cornell.edu/newstudents/dj/intro.html) for additional information. I had an amazing time at DJ last year and am excited to be a part of the planning committee this year.

In other news, I applied to study abroad during the Spring 2010 semester and will know by Friday if I will have the opportunity to participate in one of the programs that I am interested in. Keep your fingers crossed, and I will let you know when I hear!

Johnson Night Out

After a really relaxing weekend - beautiful weather (for this time of year in Ithaca, anyways!), a hike through Six Mile Creek, and an amazing Valentine's Day dinner, the week was filled with an unusual amount of case studies, presentations, focus groups, and homework assignments - even in the context of business school, it was a really busy week!

Thankfully this weekend allowed for a change of pace - on Thursday, I boarded a bus at Sage hall with fellow first-years as well as second-years to attend the seventh annual "Just About Jobs - Day in the Back Bay" event that took place on Friday at the Taj Hotel in Boston. The recruiting opportunity started in 2003 as a way for employers that don't traditionally recruit at Cornell to meet and interview with Johnson School students. Over the years, this has translated into new corporate relationships with the Johnson School and more opportunities for student internships and full time positions. In March, the "Just About Jobs" tradition continues with a similar event in San Francisco for those students looking to get out (or back) to the west coast for the summer or after graduating.

On Saturday night, Johnson School students participated in a new version of an old tradition. Johnson Night Out is an annual event at the Johnson School - during the first semester, first-years were invited to the homes of second-years and faculty for a pot luck dinner and get-together. This semester, the Student Association decided that it was time for the first year class to return the favor, so along with other first-years I had the chance to host some students at my house for dinner and drinks, followed by an after-party at Dino's in Collegetown. Over appetizers, roasted chicken, homemade fried rice, and apple pie, it was a great opportunity to get to know some of my fellow first and second year classmates a little better.

It was also the second Park Finalist recruiting weekend, so between writing thank-you notes for Friday's interviews and pot-lucking with classmates, I had the chance to meet and get to know prospective students over bowling and pizza. Through the finalist weekends as well as through the Admissions Ambassadors program, I have been really impressed with the caliber of prospective students and their backgrounds and experiences. Forming a class with such a diverse range of strengths and talents is not an easy task, but is definitely something that the Johnson School does very well. I am looking forward to getting to know more prospective students as the semester progresses. And on that note, if that's you and you're reading this, feel free to shoot me an email (kaq7@cornell.edu) with any questions you have or about my experience here so far - I would love to hear from you!

Back in Ithaca

So I know I wrote that I would post over break - but somehow even then, I don't know where the time went. Right now, I am enjoying a lazy Friday morning at home after the pre-term Strategic Marketing Immersion course and first week of classes. One of the things that I am enjoying most so far is the pace of semester-long classes after all seven week courses during the fall. More time to think and reflect on the material is something that I really value, and I think I am really going to like my classes. With the Strategic Marketing Immersion, I am working on a team project for a client in CA, and I am looking forward to hands-on, real-time experience. The class and project approach is closely integrated with what we are learning in Marketing Research, which is my favorite of the classes I have taken at the Johnson School (so far!). Before coming to business school, I worked in market strategy consulting, so there are a lot of overlapping approaches and themes that are emerging, but I am excited to have some formal educational context around my previous work. I am also taking Cost Accounting and Operations (Operations is one of the two final Core classes - we switch to Managing and Leading Organizations after seven weeks).

In addition to classes, I have really started to focus on planning the annual Community Impact Charity Auction, which will take place on March 26th. Community Impact is a club with a mission that mirrors some of the themes at the Johnson School as a whole - the club is committed to strengthening the community through volunteer work and through learning from the relationship between the for-profit, non-profit, and public sectors, as well as through promoting socially responsible business. Last year's team raised over $12,000 for charity, and I am excited to have the lead in working on surpassing that this year.

Interview season has started up in full force, so the next two weeks promise to be pretty hectic, This weekend is the first Park Finalist Weekend, and I am really looking forward to hosting two students as well as meeting other finalists at the weekend's events. On that note, I am going to start some homework before time (once again) gets away from me....

In Retrospect

So over the last week and a half or so, our first year class has managed to wrap up two final deliverables, three finals, a 48 hour integrative case, and the first round of resume drops. It was a grueling end to a tough (but fun!) semester, and as I lounge around in my friend's apartment in NYC, it's surprising to me that I can say, in all honesty....it wasn't that bad. What it comes down to, I think, is that the core curriculum is designed to stretch you and push you out of your comfort zone, and as you respond to each new challenge you become more and more resilient, and more prepared to take on the next one.

After delivering our presentation on Monday evening and celebrating our success (not only were we done with The Core, but Team 26 ended up taking home second place in the competition), I headed to NYC yesterday morning with my fellow Marketing Association trek attendees - we visited Johnson & Johnson in Fort Washington, PA yesterday, and have American Express, Reckitt Benckiser, Colgate-Palmolive, and Unilever on the agenda through Friday.

Despite a busy schedule even after academics have officially been put to bed, it is nice to have some down time to appreciate the softer side of business school. The support and encouragement we received from second year students, faculty, and each other as we finished up was amazing, and I really think that is a key aspect of the Johnson School experience. On Saturday, I will be heading back to Massachusetts to spend time with family and rest up for next semester - I will check back in before I head back to Ithaca in January. In the meantime, I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season!

Career!

On Thursday and Friday of last week, I had the pleasure of participating in the second annual Executive Coaching program run through the Marketing Immersion - what a fantastic event! Warren Ellish, a Sr. Lecturer here at the Johnson School, put together an amazingly diverse panel of sixteen marketing executives with experience in many different industries - traditional CPG, technology, healthcare, cause marketing, hospitality, and executive search, to name a few - who traveled to Ithaca to share their career experience and offer their advice with students interested in marketing. On Thursday evening, we all had the opportunity to mingle with the participating executives at a reception at the Statler Hotel - it was great to get the perspective of people coming from such various backgrounds and career paths, yet all with a marketing connection. And, it was really inspiring to see how many options there are out there, and how worth it it is to really make sure you are on a path that works for you.

On Friday, each of us spent forty minutes with two different executives and used the opportunity to talk about whatever was on our minds. I was particularly interested in refining my "story" and making sure I was clearly communicating why my past experience has led me to pursue a career in brand management. I also used the time with my coaches to narrow down my target list of companies and to talk through some of my PARs (Problem Action Result framework used to answer behavioral questions in interviews) to make sure I am on the right path. All in all, I think the two day event was a true testament to some of the key strengths of the Johnson School, both in the dedication it takes to put something like this together as well as in the responsiveness and availability of alumni who are willing to help.

On top of the Executive Coaching program, this week brought several additional high level executives to the Johnson School. On Wednesday, myself and several other marketing students had lunch with Bill Pearce, the CMO of Del Monte Foods. Bill talked with us about what brand management looks like within Del Monte, the skills needed to be successful, his vision for Del Monte going forward, and what he has learned from reflecting on his own career in marketing. On Thursday, William Weldon, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson & Johnson, presented at the 2008 Lewis H. Durland Memorial Lecture. Mr. Weldon, who began his career with Johnson & Johnson in 1971 in the sales and marketing department of its McNeil Pharmaceutical subsidiary, discussed his perspective on leadership and maintaining company values through times of opportunity and challenge, which is something that I believe truly sets the company apart. After the presentation, I had the opportunity to connect with several Johnson School alums involved in various marketing roles within the Johnson & Johnson family of companies who were in Ithaca for the event, and was once again reminded of how lucky we are to have such a strong marketing program here at the Johnson School.

So, needless to say, it's been a very exciting few weeks career-wise.....now back to Finance!

Fall Musings

This semester, I have really tried to focus on striking the right balance between three of the most significant components of the business school experience - classes, career, and clubs. It's really easy to get caught up in academics, especially if you haven't seen the material before, and oftentimes it requires a very conscious effort to switch gears in order to really take advantage of all of the opportunities that the Johnson School and Ithaca offer. If you're looking for it, there is something going on almost every night - I would have to say that the Johnson School in particular is a very social community (even if sometimes that is in the form of study sessions!). Last week, the weekly Sage Social (aptly renamed "Sage Spooktacular" in honor of Halloween) kicked off with plenty of seasonal food and drink, and was capped off with a pretty impressive team pumpkin carving contest (shout out to Alanna's team for taking home first prize!). I took advantage of some down time on Thursday night to relax at home with my boyfriend and a scary movie - we are huge fans, and hey - 'tis the season. After working on some career stuff on Friday morning, I spent the afternoon at the mall trying to sort out my costume - three friends and I went as an assortment of beverages - for the Halloween party at Kennedy Hall sponsored by the Johnson School Student Association. I had vowed that I wouldn't leave my costume until the last minute, but last minute it was - as many tasks here have to be due to the sheer volume of problem sets, projects, and other deadlines coming at you all at once. It all worked out in the end, however, as it always does, and everyone enjoyed a night of great music, dancing, drinks, and (especially) company.

In other news, we received our new core team assignments yesterday. While my first core team was amazing and I feel like we established really strong relationships, I am looking forward to getting to know my new team better and getting started on our group assignments. More to come!

The Core: Part II

Seven weeks have flown by! I heard it would happen, but here I am, one day away from the end of fall break, about to start the second half of the core, and finding it a little hard to believe. To recap, the previous lineup was Economics, Accounting, and Marketing - on Monday, we start Strategy, Statistics, and Finance. So much has happened since we started in August, and I wanted to take a few minutes to describe one of the most important lessons I've learned: efficiency. It has found it's way into my MBA life in a number of ways, starting with something as simple as carrying one binder with a week's worth of material instead of three with the semester's worth (thanks, Aleda!). Next, fitting group meetings, club meetings, career work groups, company briefings, socializing, and golf lessons into an already over-scheduled schedule, and then on to midterms. I was drawn to the Johnson School for the intense, collaborative community, and it was amazing to see this come into play in the days leading up to exams. Not competition, but support, flew over email and into breakout rooms in the form of t-account charts, study guides, peer-run review sessions, and (finally!) celebratory drinks. I'm almost scared to admit it, but as I've been on break I've missed the sense of camaraderie that pervaded our jam-packed schedule over the past few months. Close friends from undergrad at Boston College have been visiting during break, and it has been really fun to relax and explore the state parks, gorges, and especially the wineries surrounding Ithaca (I'll post pictures soon!). Even so, I'm looking forward to getting back to Sage tomorrow - and that's how I know I'm in the right place and on the right track, and why I'm excited to move on to the next chapter in our MBA career.

Kelly A. Quinn

I grew up in Hudson, MA and attended Boston College, where I majored in English and Communications. After two years with Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, I transitioned to Simon Management Group, a market strategy consulting firm focused on growth opportunities for technology-based companies. I spent the last two years living and working in Golden, CO and made the decision to return to business school to build a stronger marketing foundation. I am interested in pursuing a career in brand management and am excited about the wealth of opportunities that The Johnson School offers in this regard. I am participating in the Park Leadership Fellows program and look forward to sharing my experiences with you.