Week three, semester two, year one, and there is a sense of calm within the class that is both unfamiliar and a little unsettling. I have to admit, I’m enjoying this part of the semester. We have time to properly read the required reading for each new module. We have the time to prepare all case study questions and example questions and problems assigned to us each week. We have a sense of clarity and calm in order to really analyse and appreciate the material and messages the lecturers are trying to get across to us. Unfortunately, this may just be the calm before the storm.
It may sound like the work load has significantly decreased but alas I fear it is more likely that I have just grown accustomed to the madness that is the Executive MBA. I’m doing 15-20 hours a week on top of lectures however I know this will continue to increase as the weeks progress. The attitude from week one of semester one of Sunday’s and Friday nights being sacred has long since disappeared. I have yet to speak to one of my classmates who did not get sick over Christmas following the marathon that was semester one and the concluding exam schedule. The talk around the class has turned to the best way to avoid getting sick – fruit, vegetables, exercise, honey, sleep, Berocca, the list is endless but will any of it work.
There is however one tiny sense of achievement that is fuelling us to continue and that is the fact that we all made it through semester one alive! We are reenergised after the Christmas break and excited for what is to come.
I was initially a little apprehensive about some of the modules this semester but following two weeks of lectures they have exceeded my expectations and I’m excited for what’s to come.
This time last year, I was only starting to consider the EMBA as being a real possibility for me. At that point, I never thought that I would be half way through the first year now. But someone along the way advised me not to keep looking for excuses to put it off and to start it as soon as I could, as there would always be plenty of excuses to delay. That was one of the best bits of advice I received. At least now I know that this time next year, I’ll be on the home straight with the future looking much brighter.
Dorothy Chestnut ~ Year 1 Executive MBA