I just got back from one of the most enjoyable social outings that I've had since I got here and it wasn't even a big knock-down, drag-out event. It was simply a birthday dinner for one of my classmates...but, before you start laughing, let me explain more.
I don't know how this started, but, for the Class of 2006 at the GSB, birthdays become a huge event that will bring 20-25 people out minimum for a gathering, which can end up being anything from a dinner in Palo Alto to a wild night out clubbing in SF. Tonight's joint was a birthday dinner for my man Majid at an Indian restaurant a few minutes from campus. I thought there would be around 25 or 30 people there, but, when I arrived, I found that there would be about 100 people coming through to hang out at the beginning and at least 80 of those would be staying for the dinner. As the area at the bar filled up with people, I marveled at how many folks had come out and how diverse the group was. There were folks of several races/nationalities there and the common theme was that we were GSB students. The diversity around here that you may have heard about is real.
The highlight of the evening was a great conversation that I had with my man Felipe, who came to the GSB from the Dominican Republic. We started out by talking about our summer job experience and then the convo moved into talking about race and the role it plays in the DR. After that, the convo went all over the place and ended with him telling me the story of how he spent his first 14 years in Cuba, escaped to the DR with his family of 5 and started out destitute, and spent the next 12-13 years finding his own path to success. He also told me about what it was like to live under Castro's rule and about some of the policies that have been in place over there since he took over 45 years ago...it was like something out of the book "1984". By the time we left the restaurant, we had been talking for an hour and a half and I was floored by both the inspirational nature of his story and his willingness to tell me about it. I came up from humble beginnings myself and have had to fight many adversities in my journey to the GSB, but hearing Felipe's tale gave me a whole new perspective on things. He said that I was the first person here that he's told the whole story to and I encouraged him to tell it to more of our classmates because I think a lot of people would learn a lot from him. I knew that this dude was a cool cat from the time that i met him, but, after the convo that we had tonight, I realized that he was a focused and humble young man who is going to do big things to help people back in his country in addition to making waves in the business world. These are the types of conversations that I came to business school to have. I want to learn as much about as many of my classmates as possible so I can learn and expand my own mind in addition to building real bonds that will continue past graduation. Wow, our Admissions Director Derrick Bolton and his staff have done a fantastic job of putting together my class.
Before I close out this entry, I'd like to give a few shout outs to...
...a young lady named Houda (I hope I spelled that right) who is a Round 3 applicant to the GSB and a friend of my classmate Amanda (who just so happens to be from the greatest state in the U.S....VA REPRESENT!!!). I was interoduced to Houda and told that she reads this blog regularly and she spent a few minutes telling me how much she is entertained by my stories...I bet she'll be surprised to see herself mentioned in this joint :-)
...my man Brian G. (Round 1 admit) who emailed me today to let me know that he mentioned me in a speech that he made to some DC area Princeton admits. I won't bore you with the details, but, when i saw his emails, I swear I couldn't keep myself from grinning for a solid half hour. That Princeton network is too clutch for words.
...two of my classmates, my man Ed and my girl Eugine, who got engaged this past weekend. They met here during pre-term, started dating back in September and (in Ed's words), "After a whopping 7 months of dating", he surprised her with a proposal. She was totally surprised and their story has been the big buzz around here for the past week. They're getting married in South Korea in the summer and I wouldn't be surprised if 50+ of our classmates are there for the event.
Posted by marquis930 at April 22, 2005 06:47 PM