Why I Chose Darden

Admitted students for the Class of 2015 are starting to arrive on grounds for Darden Days, our admitted students weekend.  It's so strange to think that it was only a year ago this week that I made the decision to come here.  I was trying to find my pictures from my visit to show you why it was so easy to chose Darden, but they're lost somewhere in facebook/my phone/my external hard drive.  Sorry!  Regardless, each year at Darden Days, the entire school (all current students and their partners, faculty, and staff) are invited out to King Family Vineyards to welcome all the admitted students with a really good southern meal and lots of flowing wine.  Last year, it was an idyllic late spring evening with clear blue skies, sunshine, and warm breezes.  We mingled over wine out on the vineyard's lawn as the sun set on the Blue Ridge Mountains behind us.  I mean seriously, it was impossible to say no to this place.

So for those admitted students that are still trying to make the decision, or to reinforce the decision that some have already made, let me tell you the advice that I followed to choose the best school for me:

1) Choose a school that will challenge you intellectually.  Coming into Darden, I had zero finance, accounting, marketing, or operations experience either in the classroom or in my job.  I knew that the core curriculum (which includes all those subjects) would really push me in areas I hadn't experienced before and that was both exciting and what I thought would be critical for my long-term career.

2) Choose a school that will keep you happy.  I know that I'm really affected by the aesthetics of my surroundings.  I know that I really like seeing people I know every day, and working in teams.  So the beauty of the Darden grounds and the strength of its community were key to my decision to come here.

3) Choose a school you want to build a long-term relationship with (and will make you proud to be associated with).  Darden's alumni network is really strong and very proud.  And on top of that, everyone I've met, from current students to alums, is always willing to help.  It's great to be a part of such a supportive network.

So that's what I thought about.  I also polled a bunch of current students, and this is why they chose Darden:

• "People.  Every person I met made me feel like I was at home."
• "Have you seen the place?"
• "Case method, academically rigorous, inviting environment/people, smaller class size than some of the bigger schools. DPA [Darden Partners' Association] was a strong component. Also, the food options in Cville. I'm easily swayed by food."
• "Darden's first name was Colgate, and I went to Colgate! It was fate."
• "world class professors"
• "I knew a really successful alum who started their own business."
• "Plus, same colors (orange/blue) as our undergrad and the Denver Broncos. Made the transition easy, no need for new clothes."
• "Dean Bruner's awesome information session in Bangalore!"
• "We really appreciated how welcoming the Darden community is to partners and families."

Admitted students, have you already made the decision to come to Darden?  Current students and alums, why did you choose Darden?  Post a comment below or tweet #WhyIChoseDarden to @rollingship.

Spring! (Finally!)

Virginia has one of the most beautiful springs around.  And it's been teasing us for weeks with a glimpse of warm weather, only to replace it with freezing temperatures the next day.  Well it seems as though spring has finally come for real.  (Very bad timing for the cold I seem to have caught over the weekend...)

The pools in Ivy Gardens and Huntington are open and as soon as I'm feeling better, I'm looking forward to relaxing out there while doing my reading for class.  I even got to warm up a bit this afternoon between classes with a club meeting we held outside.  I think what I'm most excited about this spring, though, is the golf clinics sponsored by the Graduate Women in Business club that I tweeted a preview of on Friday.

I've been playing a variety of sports for most of my life (some competitive and some not so much), but I've never tried golf.  Unless, I suppose, you count the time that I found some awesome plaid pants and played caddy for a friend.  Last Friday, we had our first lesson on pitch shots.  I kinda went into it thinking, "well how hard could this be? I'm a relatively athletic person..."  Um, yeah.  I think we know how that story goes.  I mean, I wasn't horrendous, but let's just say I'm looking forward to practicing more.  It's pretty fun to learn a new sport, though, and the beautiful weather and views we had made up for any frustrations with my lousy swing.

As the first year wraps up over the next month, I'm hoping I'll be able to get out there more and keep practicing.  (Maybe next year we can even get a few ladies' games going so it's not just the second year guys out there at Birdwood every day.)  Of course, the nice weather also brings other, more passive forms of outdoor entertainment, like enjoying a glass of wine on the sunny porch at Pippin Hill Vineyards.

I'll leave you with the words of one of my favorite poets who seems to capture the feeling of today's weather:

Today

BY BILLY COLLINS

If ever there were a spring day so perfect,
so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze

that it made you want to throw
open all the windows in the house

and unlatch the door to the canary's cage,
indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,

a day when the cool brick paths
and the garden bursting with peonies

seemed so etched in sunlight
that you felt like taking

a hammer to the glass paperweight
on the living room end table,

releasing the inhabitants
from their snow-covered cottage

so they could walk out,
holding hands and squinting

into this larger dome of blue and white,
well, today is just that kind of day.

Source: Poetry (April 2000).