Group Photo

One of my resolutions this year was to take my camera everywhere and take photos of everyone having a great time. I'd regret nights where I didn't take photos - as if these moments would be forgotten. I like taking photos and sharing them with friends - it's a fun way to reflect. But tonight at Jess and Sam's wedding party, I opted not to take photos. I was enjoying myself that much; memories captured through photos were not needed tonight.

Learning from Difference

I just sat in on a Public Policy course that I will audit for the remainder of the semester: Nonprofits, Volunteerism, and Philanthropies. The course is taught by Joel Fleishman, who is supposedly "the man" on the national philanthropy scene. He's a sweet old man.

I entered the classroom and the girl I sat next to was brewing her own yerba mate (a tea from Argentina). We had a guest speaker who used to run Oprah's philanthropies for 9 years, and is now the Executive Director of a family foundation. While she was talking, the professor got up to turn on a pot of coffee (making an awfully loud noise), which was placed directly on the podium. I bring up these two examples to make one simple point: policy school is different than business school.

Five of my Fuqua classmates and me are auditing the class, which has about 15 people total in the class. After the first few minutes of class, I immediately regretted not taking more policy and law classes during my tenure at Duke. Why? For one, the nature of these subjects (policy, in particular) is what I'm familiar with. Subjects that have global and social dimensions naturally speak to me, while many business disciplines - while interesting in their own way - do not speak to my personal purpose/mission. Second, small, discussion-based classes are more my style. I'm naturally more engaged, and this has an impact on my learning. Third, the mere difference of taking a policy course is refreshing. I'm not making a judgment on whether business courses are good or bad. But, learning how the "other half" thinks (e.g. policy folks) is important for me as a professional (since I'll be dealing with this world after graduation), and perhaps more so for my intellectual stimulation. As a fundamental principle, I believe in the value of cognitive diversity and from learning through escaping one's comfort zone. At business school (or any graduate school, profession, etc.) it is so easy to be myopic. I believe that those who venture into other intellectual worlds or different cultures will be rewarded with so much - knowledge, empathy, etc.

By the way, the speaker today gave a presentation on celebrity philanthropy responses to natural disasters - pretty interesting stuff.

Now, onto study for Financial Statement Analysis. It's raining outside. Here's a photo of the library (pretty cool scene while it's raining outside this massive, brand new library with huge windows).

Small Town Durham

My day: got up at 10 after a very late night, doctor's appointment, read some Social Entrepreneurship at a coffee shop, go running (55 degree weather on January 19th), sit outside for a while and just chill, happy hour with the MBAA Career Cabinet and the CMC career counselors, then trivia at Dain's.

I am happy to announce that team "Unemployed. So What? F-U" (i.e. Liz, Ashanka, and me) is the proud winner of tonight's contest. With Liz's knowledge of western states and feminism, Ashanka's movie expertise (yes, she's from India, and yes, she dominated), and my sports knowledge, our team was perfectly balanced.

We won a $25 bar tab, but unfortunately had already tabbed out. So what options did we have, given that the kitchen was closed? One obvious choice: tequilla shots, and milk and cookies.

I say all of this to make a point: living in Durham and going to Fuqua is a blast. Dain's is a true neighborhood bar, and it takes me about 5 minutes to walk there from my apartment. Dain, the owner (in one of the photos below), is always at the bar and hanging out with the patrons. Before trivia we had some really good conversation - on microfinance and Indian politics - and tried our best not to talk about our job searches, which is what most people at school default to in conversations. It's a great feeling to be around friends who are supportive of each other, and who don't judge or require explanation when I say "no, I don't have a job yet."

I'm very lucky to be part of this community and to have made such good friends. It's a bit sappy but 100% true... if I had gone to Chicago Booth, I'd probably know more economics. If I had gone to Berkeley, I'd probably have some pretty good friends and be more connected to the Bay Area (but not by much). But I can't imagine having a better social experience than what I've had at Fuqua.

I've been doing a lot of reflecting lately about what I've learned in the past 1.5 years. Ironically, business school has taught me so much more about myself (values, goals, interests, passions) than about "business." My goal for this semester is to make sure the academic piece is tended to, but I'm quite satisfied that the "personal growth box" is checked.

Quote of the night:
Trivia Guy: What state first gave women the right to vote?
Liz: WYOMING!!!
Ashanka: Whoa, are you from there?
Liz: No, but I am a feminist.
Me: Whoa.

MLK "Free Day" - Is this the best we can do?

Yesterday I took time to reflect on MLK's legacy. I pulled out my old book of MLK's speeches (from an MLK class I took in college - still one of the best educational experiences of my life) and listened to an NPR show on the March on Washington. As I did this, I thought "how many others took the time to do the same? I am privileged to have been instructed on King's legacy, but what about others who only have a superficial understanding of King's very, very complex philosophy? Why do we 'honor' such an important figure by the empty offering of a vacation day?" Certainly King wouldn't have wanted to be celebrated this way.

One school (ONE school) in Chicago doesn't take the day off. Instead, they teach their kids on King's legacy. It's very easy to whitewash King's philosophy into one of peace and racial tolerance (two values to which he was convicted, of course), but it's much more instructive to understand the complexities of King. For example, his views on the Vietnam War and class (versus racial) inequality tell us much more about our complex world than do simplified portrayals of King. We're doing King's legacy a disgrace by having a free day instead of truly using our time to think critically (and maybe even act?) on King's philosophy. Congress obviously found it important enough to honor him, so let's do it in a way that's forward looking and productive.

Tiny Desk Concerts

I just discovered these NPR Music "Tiny Desk Concerts." Great music played in a tiny NPR office. My favorites: Lost in the Trees, Phoenix, Tallest Man on Earth (though there are many others).