After finishing the module 1 exams in December there were many days and nights of celebration at regaining my free time. Friends and family I had ignored over the previous three months were contacted and reminded that I was alive. The celebrations lasted for two weeks before the New Year was upon us with the promise that this year will represent the new me.
The new me would be able to do it all; tackle a full time job, part time MBA, take on hobbies, maintain contact with friends and do it all without feeling wrecked. Fast forward to today, 2 and a half weeks later and reality has hit; work is as mental as ever and the MBA has started back with talk of presentations, exams, continuous assessment and self development. The first thing to fall out are the friends, I shall see you again maybe for Paddys Day but definitely sometime in June!
As part of the first weekend back in the MBA we completed an SDI workshop – Strength Deployment Inventory. It allowed us to assess our own motivational value system (MVS) and our team members’ MVS while also looking at how this changes when faced with conflict. I found this workshop really interesting and learned a lot about myself and the extreme personalities in the class. After the first weekend of lectures that dreaded feeling of going back to school is gone and it has reconfirmed why I decided to go back to education. I am really looking forward to the interactive ethics lectures, developing my understanding of HR in the form of HR strategy, and enhancing my finance abilities through Management Accounting and Corporate Finance.
The next hurdle is getting the module results for the first semester this week, fingers crossed I get them and can fully focus on enjoying both the education side of Semester 2 and the networking side of the MBA. Roll on the next 3 months!
Darren Kelly
Weekend EMBA YR1