New Prospectives

Just days after beginning classes in August, I, like many of my first year peers, volunteered to act as a host for prospective students. Because we're usually paired with people of similar geographic, educational and/or professional backgrounds, it didn't surprise me that months went by with nary a word from Student Admissions. After all, how many California-raised, UVa-educated reporters are out there looking at business schools? Even given recent newsroom layoffs, not many.
Still, I got an email last week that I'd (finally!) get to play Darden host. And at 9:30 Monday morning there I was, name tag glinting, ready to usher a prospective student through First Coffee and Global Economics and Markets. The experience was great -- not only because I got to see the caliber of people Darden is attracting, but because I had the chance to reflect on and share what business school has meant to me. And it's meant a lot.
Since I arrived in Charlottesville this summer, I've learned how to build intricate models and spreadsheets, draw up income statements and balance sheets, navigate tricky employment relationships and find Operations' infamous bottlenecks.
Day to day, it's often difficult to step back and realize how much I've been exposed to here at Darden. But talking to my prospective and answering her questions really helped me see the big picture: that though difficult and nerve-wracking, this school has widened my horizons in ways I never previously imagined.
And, while it seems like just yesterday that I was in her shoes, filling out applications and touring Grounds, it's been a transformative three and a half months. I only hope I was able to convey that to her.