Top 5 takeaways as a recent college graduate

1. Bedazzle your cap. At graduation, there are hundreds of students graduating. How will your parents know where you are? The answer is to bedazzle your hat. When I was at graduation, I saw one person do that and we all had the same thought “why didn’t I do that?” First of all, it’s really cute and it’ll make it easier for your family and friends to spot you.

2. Pictures. I’m a picture fanatic, but it is very important to take pictures of your time. In the end, that’s all you’ll have 10 years down the road.

3. Networking . This is an extremely cliché word, but as you go through the program, you never know you will meet. Take every chance to do so.

4. Take every opportunity. The school offers a lot of different competitions, conferences, etc…. Try to do all that you can.

5. Go to events. The best memories may be the “after party” from a fun night at an attitude adjustment event.

Independent Study at the Technology Commercialization Office

Interested in start-ups? The Technology Commercialization Office (TCO) takes academic research or ideas from different avenues and provides resources for the company to take off. Similar to a venture capital firm, some of the companies take off making millions of dollars, while other companies never see a dollar in revenue.

This is the first year that an independent study like this has been done at the TCO thanks to Taylor Bench. Taylor currently interns at the TCO and asked a few of us who are interested in entrepreneurship if we would like a course like this and the answer was yes!

It’s not every day that you are presented with an opportunity like this. The experience you gain working with start-up companies at the TCO is extremely valuable. Most students don’t get a chance to work so closely with a start-up company.

Our advisor was Jack Brittain, kindly volunteered to be our advisor for our independent study and it was a pleasure to work with him throughout the semester. Luke Behrmann was the main person who we worked from the TCO. He was great and really wants to make sure that you are getting the most out of the class.

They will be selecting students for the class later on this summer. If you are interested, keep your ears open!

To find out more information go to http://www.tco.utah.edu/.

Goodbye class of 2010!

On Friday, May 7, 2010, the MBA class of 2010 walked through the halls of the David Eccles School of Business for the last time!

We had a wonderful class and many great memories. I will truly miss working with such intelligent and kind people. It will be very interesting to see where everyone ends up in 10 years.

Good luck with all your future endeavors!








The 2010 GBSA Team did a fantastic job organizing our graduation party. The party was held outside at the Marriott Hotel. It was a great way to end the year!

2010 Utah Real Estate Challenge

Are you interested in real estate? If that’s your cup of tea, I would recommend that you enter the challenge. Each year, there are various projects that are submitted from low income housing to assisted living centers.

Our team, Phantom Developers was fortunate enough to win the challenge this year. Our team comprised of 4 MBA students. We were extremely grateful to have Chris Zarek, a joint MBA/Architecture student as part of the team.

We could not have done it without Chris’s knowledge and experience in the architecture area. Zarek is one of the most talented people I have ever met. Not only is he a great architect, but he has a great business mind as well. Keep an eye on him in the future. Zarek is one of those people that you could easily see as a panelist at some conference. Zarek proposed two projects and both made it in the final rounds!

The experience we have all had through entering this challenge is unforgettable. We worked so well together and learned how to put a business plan geared towards the real estate market. If you are interested, get a team together and get started.

Remember to treat the project like it was actually going to get built. Learn more at www.utahrec.org

MBA Poker Night

The first poker night was held at the First Security House. There was pizza, drinks, and poker! The prize for the person with the most chips at the end was a University of Utah t-shirt. There was a lot at stake. Everyone wanted that t-shirt!

Even those who were not familiar with the rules of poker were invited to join. There were great little cheat cards to help everyone along. They’ll be more poker nights and events to come!

Worknet Trip to New York City

A group of MBA students went to New York City for company visits from March 29 to April 1. We visited companies from several different industries including a nano technology company, investments, and of course the New York Stock Exchange.

Here are the companies that we visited:

• L3 Communications
• Trump Organization (We got an autographed picture of Donald)
• Jeffries & Company
• Huron Consulting Group
• Groupe FRA
• Harris & Harris Group

All the companies were great, but I think the highlight of the trip was the New York Stock Exchange. It isn’t everyday that you get to see the trading floor. Benedict Williams was our guide and he took us into the board room and the trading floor.

Unfortunately, since everything is basically automated now, you don’t see traders yelling and jumping around like in the movies! The “pit” is also a lot smaller than you think. It looks so big on television, but in reality it’s not and the podium for the bell is extremely small as well. Who would have ever guessed?






Here's the famous bull:



Love New York! It has great people, night life, and energy. Where else will you have a pillow-fight in Union Square?

The last Attitude Adjustment of the year!

The end of the school year is almost here. I can’t believe how quickly it has flown by and I’m sure everyone in my class agrees as well. It has been a hard, but rewarding year. On April 16, we had the last Attitude Adjustment of the year.

The Attitude Adjustment is put together by our Graduate Business Student Association (GBSA) and it is held several times throughout the year. On the left is the picture of our 2009-2010 GBSA team from left to right: Dan Wilson, Aline Maciel, Nana Aburjanidze, and Jared Wilstead. Missing from the picture is Bryson Brey and Dan Housley. This event would not happen without their hard work.

MBA students, faculty, and guests come to socialize, have great food, and most importantly make memories. I know that’s cheesy, but it’s true. Attitude Adjustment is a perfect place to bond outside of class.

Most of us have our groups that we work with throughout the year and don’t really get a chance to see everyone as much as we’d like. We had a lot of people come to the events including students from the full-time MBA, MaCC, MS Finance, and professional MBA students.

Thank you to GBSA for their hard work! It was a fantastic way to end the year!