Amanda Hyland

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Amanda Hyland, CQEMBA '13

Amanda Hyland 12/2/2011 2:53 PM RssIcon

A Brief but Welcome Break

By Amanda Hyland on 12/22/2011 6:25 PM
This last week has been the busiest, most mentally challenging stage of the CQEMBA Program yet. Finals week was always a trial during my undergrad, and it hasn’t gotten any easier with time. Most days I’m fortified by the fast pace of this program. Every time I receive a new course binder, I have a sense of accomplishment and feel like I’m constantly moving forward. But this week was exhausting.

In the span of 13 days, we had a marketing paper, full day of class, finance exam, 8-10 HR paper, and marketing final. It truly has been an intense 2 weeks. I genuinely believe this program in built for your individual success, but it will test you. More than once during this time, I wondered if true lesson was time management.

With the last test behind me, I feel an overwhelming sense of relief. Not only that the exams are over and I know I did my best, but also that we’re past the frantic, break-neck pace from the last few days. The next two weeks are a welcome reprieve. Though new white binders continue...
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Diving In

By Amanda Hyland on 11/24/2011 12:54 PM
It’s Thanksgiving Day, post turkey, and I find myself so excited to kick off my student blog for CQEMBA Class of 2013. Thanksgiving is a time for appreciation and reflection and I am amazed at how much my life has changed in the last 12 months. It was this time last year that I got the itch to get my MBA. While I had toyed with the idea and knew it would further my career, I felt the process of getting into a good grad school was far worse than the actual subject matter. But last Thanksgiving I decided to stop procrastinating and do something about it. I signed up for the GMATs (a trial that future members of this program will be lucky enough to forgo), ordered a GMAT prep book, and refused to let myself feel intimidated by my spur of the moment decision.

I took the GMAT in February and five short months later I was on my way to Cornell for my first residential session. I thought the grad school application process would be a nightmare that stretched out for a year. Instead, a year later, I find myself already accepted to an incredible MBA program for two very prestigious schools, neck deep in the course work while preparing for my next set of papers and finals. I also find myself an enthusiastic member of an amazing virtual team (DC/Ithaca!), supported by wonderful new friends I made at the first residential session. While the CQEMBA Program has been a challenge, I genuinely feel like my life has been enriched by the experience so far.

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