How to describe the first quarter of an MBA?
Let’s see… imagine this: After months of preparing for a bareback horse riding lesson, you finally arrive at the stable to see a shiny new horse staring you square in the eye. You’re excited for the lesson and only a bit nervous about the size of this behemoth ahead of you. You swing your leg over this jet black stallion and no sooner do you get your hands on its mane than it bolts off at breakneck speed. Your fists turn white with intensity as you struggle to stay on board. With each gallop the pace quickens and before you know it everything around you has blended into an indiscernible blur of colors and amorphous shapes. The only thing that keeps running through your mind is “don’t let go… Just Don’t. Let. Go.” In one instant you begin to feel like you’re hitting your stride and in the next the horse gives a kick and you begin to feel yourself slip…. Your fingers begin to cramp and you think you may be in for a quick introduction with the ground.
It is in this moment that you take a look around and realize that you’re not the only one on this horse. You lift your neck a little and see there are just over a hundred others on this crazy beast and each one has the same crazed fear-stricken determination to survive. Just as the last vestiges of strength are sapped from your body and you feel yourself begin to fall, a group of hands from all sides push and pull you back into position and your strength is renewed. This same dance plays itself out over and over. Sometimes you are the one about to fall to the dirt, more often you’re a helping hand to save an unknown fellow rider. As you begin to forget what it feels like to be in any other situation the horse rears up and with one giant kick you use all your strength to hold on…
The horse slows to a walk and you realize you have come further from the stable where you started than you ever could have imagined. As you gaze into the faces of your companions, you see that not only have your surrounding changed but yourself as well. You realize that each step of the horse was a measured step to push you to your limits without ever giving you more than you can handle. You have created a bond with your fellow riders that can never be broken and know that this is only the beginning. You give the horse a spur and begin quarter number two…
Okay maybe it’s not really a whole lot like riding a horse bareback (not that I would know, I live in cities) but you get the impression. It’s fast, it’s crazy, and without a bunch of other people all in the same situation you would never make it out alive.
The greatest about this program is how much you learn in such a short period of time! I hear the words coming out of my mouth now and think, “I wouldn’t have understood a fifth of this 4 months ago.” Working in the “real world” you forget how easy it is to fall into a routine where you are not challenged and just keep on earning that paycheck (and yes, I really miss that part) but at Foster, you can’t sit idle.
There are too many opportunities to spend a moment without direction. Is this for everyone? No way, you must love the intensity. Could anyone do it forever? Not a chance, there’s a reason that an MBA only lasts 2 years. Would I go back home if I could do it all over again? Never.
– Guest Blogger: Trent Huntington, FT 2012
