Following a week of reviews, course recaps, teacher gifts and nostalgic speeches, the four days beginning December 17th put the A-Team to the test: would they survive back-to-back finals? A brief recap of Term One exams is necessary before we bid these classes adieu one last time:
LEAD: Rumor has it that Neil Edwards started daydreaming about organizing LeedsTrek during the exam, and then awoke to realize that he had only 20 minutes left to complete his analysis. Being as tech-savvy as he is, he single-handedly brought down the server so as to allow himself more time to finish and then upload his work. Does this uphold the Section A credo? You be the judge.
FRC: After the exam, several NA-ers gathered together to debrief. Comments such as “I thought activity-based costing was going to be on this exam, but I have no idea what that last problem was about!” were overheard. Others just slowly walked out of Aldrich 112 with a dazed look on their face.
Marketing: Many were left wishing that this exam had been a group effort like the midterm-where was our “exhibit guy” when we needed him!?! But at least it wasn’t about bubble-wrap, right?
TOM: Wow. This one was tough. Several nervous breakdowns were witnessed during and after the exam. Sheer willpower brought us all through those final four hours, until we reached the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. At approximately 12:30 pm on Thursday, December 20th, we were free!!!
Those who were still in town kicked off the break with a “scavenger hunt”-turned-surprise 30th birthday party for Anthony “I want my mommy!” Carango. Others left for exotic locations ranging from Hawaii to Hong Kong, Thailand to India, and Texas to California.
The most exciting “break news” is that Ruby Kam got engaged (if you see her having problems raising her hand in class, note the spectacular ring), and John Veson was married in Greece!
Although it seemed like everyone should be refreshed and relaxed upon returning to HBS, that really was not the case. Jet lag caught up with the best of us, and let’s just say that it was a good thing the first week back was only two days long.
Some things have changed for Term Two. We are getting to know new professors, we have been split up for Negotiations, we are getting dinged left and right by would-be interviewers, and we have new seats. While some of us try to cling to our last remaining days in the SkyDeck during Finance, others wonder how they could have gotten such bad luck two terms in a row. The unofficial poll of the class deems Kirstin Gollop as getting the worst deal: moving from the second to the first row, center-stage both terms. We feel for you!
Some things have not changed. We still know what each person is going to say before he or she says it, there is still a huge back-up at Spangler each day for lunch, there is still too much reading to do, and the French still seem to be blamed for everything. In fact, Laurent Chenot lived up to this reputation by causing a scandal in Negotiations when he admitted to starting his bid at $900,000 after running a thorough analysis of bed-and-breakfast property values. Sacr‚ Bleu!
With Hell Week, Spring Break and even more new classes about to begin, it is definitely shaping up to be another whirlwind semester for the A-Team.
