What’s Up | 09/18/12

It’s been a while since my last post, and with good reason. Ever experienced crashing waves while swimming in the ocean? That’s sort of what it feels like right now, with the full onslaught of school, recruiting, and clubs this fall semester. I’m sure a lot of people can relate (especially us business students looking for post-college jobs).

It’s exciting, that’s for sure. Sometimes it’s overwhelming. There are so many things to do, and there’s a constant stream of activities appearing on my to-do lists. As soon as I cross one off, another two appear, and so on.

My classes have been going well. Thankfully, I got into all the classes that I’d planned out over the summer. I’m enjoying them immensely, even the spreadsheet modeling one. I really like how quite a few of my classes this semester focus on actually putting what we learn into action, in the form of business plans, client work, and group projects.

This semester, I’m also co-leading the inaugural class of consultants in ABA Consulting. It’s composed of club alumni, and we’ve started off the semester strong with two clients, both Bay Area startups with a lot of expansion potential. It’s been awesome talking to the clients, visiting their offices, and learning more about leading a consulting group.

Also really excited to be a part of InterVarsity’s Haas Christian small group this semester. This is the first semester we’re doing it, and so far, I’ve really enjoyed the topics we’ve discussed – usually business-related topics in the context of our Christian faith. It’s been both eye-opening and thought-provoking, and our shared background in business makes for a lot of relevant responses and opinions.

Swimming PE class. Why didn’t I do this sooner? Wish I’d enrolled at the start of freshman year. I didn’t realize what I was missing out on. We mostly swim laps, similar to high school swim practices, and even though each practice has been exhausting (I haven’t swam this much in years), it’s been immensely rewarding and even quite fun. Thanks again to Kyle for the heads up on taking this class.

One of my good friends from high school, Chris, visited for the weekend. His visit actually reminded me of how much I love going to Cal. I remember I used to write blog posts about Cal all the time back during freshman year, and just experiencing the campus again as a host and exploring places I haven’t been to in ages gave me a mini-epiphany: Cal is an amazing place.

I’ve grown and learned so much these past three years as a student at Berkeley. From the vibrant streets of Telegraph, to the bustling crowds at Sproul, to the magnificent views from the top of the Campanile, to the tranquil vibe of Berkeley Marina, Berkeley is truly one-of-a-kind. I can’t believe this is going to be my last year as an undergrad, and I know I’ll miss the school after I graduate. I’m determined to make the most of this final year at Cal and enjoy my time here, despite the craziness of the semester.

I’d love to just sit down and spend an evening sharing a lot of my thoughts. Up to the start of school, I’d been thinking about a lot of things that I wanted to write about. Hopefully I’ll find some time in between to post some of them up. For those reading this, I wish you well. If you’re recruiting, I wish you the best. I understand your pain, and just wanted to encourage you to hang in there! We’ll make it to the other side, I know it.

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