Summer Quarter

Aaron Lykken, Program Manager

I have always enjoyed Summer quarter in the TMMBA program. This feeling is probably the product of my enjoyment of Summer quarter as an undergrad student at the UW (best time to be on campus and in Seattle) combined with the timing of the quarter within TMMBA. By timing, I am referring to how Summer quarter begins after graduation (for the veteran cohort) in early June. Since I work primarily with the student body and faculty, this allows me an increased opportunity to connect with the newer cohort of students as my attention is no longer split across two groups.

Another fantastic reason for me to enjoy the Summer quarter is that I enjoy seeing the shift to more qualitative content. The first two quarters of the TMMBA program begins with many of the traditional core courses such as Accounting, Economics, Statistics, Finance, etc., which are mostly quantitative heavy courses. I find it a bit interesting to observe from the surface level how those with quantitatively focused degrees thrive early but then see them adjust and adapt to more qualitative content such as Negotiations, Leadership, and Marketing. The inverse happens for those with liberal arts focused backgrounds too, as they are forced to work heavily with numbers initially and then later welcome courses that make use of studies and theories instead of formulas. Either way, it is extremely important to have an understanding of how the various disciplines in business function so that one can see how they operate as a whole and affect one another. Regardless of the background of the student, they’re all here for the same purpose, to obtain a collection of business tools to help them make the next career/life move they desire; whether it’s a promotion, change of job function, breaking into a new industry, or even starting their own business.

So, while it surely is difficult to have to turn down sailing on Lake Washington or taking a hike in the Cascades in order to complete assignments and readings for classes, Class 9 certainly appears to have good momentum and spirit as they near the half-way point in the quarter. Perhaps they’re driven by the significant milestone in the program, September, which is the one large break in TMMBA (roughly a month long) and just as importantly, marks the half-way point for the program (3 quarters down, 3 more to go).