My first week of orientation.

It has started. My life as a student has begun. The month of summer vacation is over and now I have been jerked back into the reality of life. It all began last Tuesday when the University of Chicago GSB welcomed me, and my fellow first year classmates, to the orientation program. So far everything has been overwhelming! The first day was spent going over basic school programs, like the Dean of Students office, student group programs, and academic planning. My fellow classmates and I had to be on campus from 8am to 7pm, so it was a tiring day.

The next morning I had to be at school by 6am so that I could board a bus to attend the GSB’s LEAD Outdoor Exercise (also known as a retreat) in southern Wisconsin for two days. The purpose of LOE was to prepare us for our first quarter mandatory class called LEAD (Leadership Effectiveness and Development), as well as to bond with our cohort. Before I go on, let me give you a brief overview of cohorts. Our GSB class has 10 cohorts with about 55 members each. Each cohort is further broken down into squads of about 7 people each. During the autumn quarter, our cohort will be meeting together for our LEAD class, where we will break up into squads for small group work. After our LEAD class is complete, our cohort will still work together to compete in competitions against other cohorts in events like the Cohort Games and Golden Gargoyles. Our cohort earns money for each event we win, which we can use at our discretion. Anyway, LOE fulfilled its purpose. We participated in team building exercises and made an afternoon trip to a ropes course. In those two days, I was able to really see the personality traits and leadership styles of those in my squad. I was also able to do some self reflection on my own leadership style. I have some things I need to work on to become a more effective leader, and I hope that LEAD can help me develop my leadership style throughout this quarter.

The busses rolled back into Chicago on Friday morning. I spent a few hours napping and watching Judging Mathis that afternoon. Two of my friends from Raleigh, Adam and Gina, flew in to town later that day. I took them to Giordano’s for Chicago deep dish, and then we went over to the Hancock Building to check out a high rise view of Chicago. The Hancock Building has a cocktail lounge on the 96^th floor which we visited to enjoy a cool beverage. After I left Adam and Gina, and I went to rest up for a GSB social event at the White Sox game the next day. All of the students were given a free ticket and $10 in Comisky Bucks. I only stayed until about the sixth because it was just too cold to stay outside!

Orientation today (Monday) was very similar to last Tuesday. The day was filled with presentations and included lunch and dinner. One thing I have to say… we do get fed well. I don’t have to worry about fixing dinner until Thursday! And I really like the food at UC. I loved the food at Duquesne too. There must be something about my taste buds and generic cafeteria food.