Simmons Student Reflects on Summer Elective
Simmons School of Management MBA student Noelle San Jose offers a student’s insight to taking electives outside of the cohort over the summer. San Jose writes in the Simmons student blog:
“I was unsure about stepping out of that group to take an elective this summer. Being that I have yet to take the Negotiations course, I had yet to acquire the skills to convince others to join me in the summer elective I found most relevant to my goals and interests, writes San Jose.” “Once I was able to login to the class website, I saw no familiar names and thought the worst: the fear of having to introduce yourself to another group of strangers is the stuff on sleepless nights–ice breakers can be the worst! Would I be the last kid picked for the team? But then I remembered that I’m at the Simmons School of Management and nothing here is ever that bad,” she said.
San Jose writes that after the first day of class, she realized that venturing out of your original cohort offers opportunities for growth and a fresh start.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: business school isn’t just about learning sales techniques or financial ratios (although those are very important things to learn)–it’s also about leadership and teamwork,” she wrote. “During my first semester in the SOM, I had two classes with one semester team project in each. The team projects allowed me to get to know my colleagues outside of the classroom and work on some with very interesting ideas and concepts from class, but most of all, I learned a lot about myself: my leadership style, how I handle pressure, and most of all, how I can improve using feedback from my teammates.”
San Jose writes that the summer elective outside of her cohort was challenging but it was also an opportunity to make new connections.
“Stepping out of your comfort zone can be daunting at first, but it’s a step we all took when we decided to submit our applications to the SOM. And look where that’s gotten us! Just think of how much farther we can go!”
About the Author
Erin Purcell
Staff Writer, covering MetroMBA's news beat for New York, Philadelphia, and Boston.
