The First Year, First Semester Marathon

By design, the first semester of an MBA program is the busiest and most intense and that’s no different here at Georgia. In September, first year students are preparing for midterms in their core classes while preparing for and attending one or more virtual and in-person career fairs: National Black MBA Association Conference, Prospanica Conference & Career Expo, MBA Veterans Fair, Grace Hopper Celebration, and Reaching Out MBA Conference, to name a few. Deadline and event conflicts invariably clash, stress levels are high (especially on the days around the finance and accounting exams!), and students are working hard to juggle it all. For many career paths, the fall recruiting fairs are their best opportunities for interviewing with major employers in the hopes of securing their summer internship early. For other students, the career fairs help them prepare for interviews with other companies who hire later in the year or in the spring (just-in-time hires). This is the time when students rely on their teammates for support academically and personally.

The good news is that everyone survives the first semester, learns a lot about their time management skills, and gains valuable experience with networking and recruiting (and pass finance and accounting!). As staff, we can feel the energy rise and fall – the stress and the relief that follows – with each student as part of a cycle we see repeat each year. Our job is to prepare, support, reassure, and celebrate with them.

September is also when the weather shifts – days and nights are cooler and we wait for one more spate of really hot days before we can confidently pull out our long pants and sweaters. Fall is beautiful in Athens with the milder weather and the leaves turning from green to gold and red. Though the days are getting shorter, outside activities are more pleasant. The AthHalf Marathon is held in October and runners cross the finish line at Sanford Stadium after running the route through downtown neighborhoods. And once students get through mid-terms, they start getting excited to head to Jacksonville for the Florida-Georgia football, a decades-long rivalry.

For a better idea of what our campus looks like, watch our Virtual Tour video or download the Guidebook app and take our virtual tour of the Business Learning Community.

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