Snow ... again

The last time I wrote about snow, I was all about it. Snow, I recall saying, inspires a sense of adventure; a feeling of newness. Hah. That was last week.
This week, I'm over it. Having just survived about 20 inches of weekend snowfall, Charlottesville is now expecting another 5 to 10 inches by Wednesday afternoon. And that, my friends, means more power outages, more aborted travel plans, more slippery roads and sliding cars, more grocery stockpiling and more shoveling. Disastrous! As the inconveniences pile up, snow has begun to lose its luster. While this California girl was once seduced by its shiny, fresh, downy facade, she has now come face to face with snow's more sinister side. The side that turns snow angels into sniffles and coughs, outdoor plans into candlelit games of Apples to Apples and dusted curbs into icy, rock hard obstacle courses. Last weekend's snowstorm was a novelty, this past weekend's was an irritation and this week's will be my undoing.

Help support a great cause!

On Feb. 19, the National Association of Women MBAs at Darden will host its 20th annual auction to support Charlottesville's Shelter for Help in Emergency. The event, which will feature a sit-down dinner, dancing, music from Blues Jam and bidding on a variety of items, will begin at 7 p.m. at the Boar's Head Inn in Charlottesville.

Tickets cost $35 per person and are available at:

http://forms.darden.virginia.edu/student/dsa/ClubEventPayments.html

Snow!

While just a few days ago the temperatures here in Charlottesville were hovering in the mid-50's, I woke up yesterday to snow-covered sidewalks and fresh flurries. I love a good snowfall and, with spring just around the corner, my boyfriend and I couldn't let this one go to waste. So off we went, plowing through the white stuff, intent on enjoying our day. Yet come to think of it, we spent our snowy Saturday much like we spend other Saturdays -- we went downtown, enjoyed a couple cups of coffee, watched a movie and went out for a few drinks on the Corner. The only real difference is that somehow the cold weather and the inches of snow underfoot made everything seem like an adventure. En route to the Mudhouse, we walked along relatively empty streets and it felt like we'd gone back in time (at least, until the snowplows hit the road). And on our way home from the bar, we slipped and slid, pushing each other into piles of snow and returned home cold and completely covered. In the midst of it all, I lost a glove, bruised my knee and tracked in some ice. A small price to pay for an awesome snow day.

Paris, Cairo, Amsterdam

Apologies for my long absence, faithful readers (you're out there, right?!). I have a good excuse. Since Sunday, the majority of my time online has been spent researching flights for my GBE this March. The GBE, or Global Business Experience, is a Darden-sponsored, credit-earning, week-long trip to learn about how business is conducted elsewhere in the world. With about 20 fellow Darden students, you travel to Argentina, Bahrain, China, Spain or Sweden, attend local b-school classes, visit foreign companies and sight see. As my longtime followers know, I didn't go on a GBE last year, opting instead for the relaxing sands of Playa del Carmen. This year, however, I am. I'm going to Egypt! And let me tell you, the itinerary looks fabulous. In between business and university tours, we see The Great Pyramids of Giza, visit the Khan el Khalili Bazaar and travel to Luxor. There's even a light show. Not kidding.

But wait, there's more! Two of my closest Darden girlfriends are also going on the Egypt GBE and we, in our infinite wisdom, have decided to take advantage of the fact that we are traveling around the world to make some strategic stop-overs. Think Paris! And Amsterdam! Sigh. It's a tough life.

On leadership ... and collaboration

Over the past few months, I've been working on an article with Darden professor, Ryan Quinn. In about 800 words, it discusses the role our culture played in creating the current financial crisis, and the small, personal choices we can make to help enact change. The piece was published in The Washington Post's "On Leadership" section last Friday: http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/guestinsights/2009/12/four-questions-for-changing-culture.html
Writing it was a great experience. Not only did I get to try my hand at a new style of writing, I got the opportunity to work closely with a professor who just a year before had stood before my Section B class and cold-called me! To me, this is a testament to the wonderful relationships students and professors can form here at Darden; relationships of creativity and collaboration.

Snowed in

I left New York City just in time! A mere 24-hours after I wrapped up my trek visits and boarded a train back to Rhode Island, the snow started falling. It hasn't stopped. And judging from a recent walk (or rather, attempted walk) with my dog, it's about knee-deep now. Not that this is a bad thing. With a counter-full of baked goods, a Christmas mix on repeat and a tree still un-trimmed, my family's been keeping busy.

NYC Job Trek

Each year, several Darden groups and clubs organize two- to three-day treks to cities near and far, from London to Las Vegas, San Francisco to Charlotte, and Houston to Hong Kong. The aim is to visit companies that don't recruit at Darden on their own turf. And it's the perfect opportunity to find and follow-up on job leads when your search is geographically focused.
Last year, I attended the Media, Entertainment & Sports Club's Washington DC trek. For me, it was a fabulous way to learn about companies, meet with executives and network -- an especially important part of finding a job in the media industry. The trip was so successful, in fact, that tomorrow I jump back on the trek bandwagon.
This year my destination is New York City, where the first-year trek leads have compiled an impressive list of companies to visit, including: NBC, The New York Times, Hearst and ESPN. So excited.