As I am sure you have come to know, Ivey students are renowned for their work ethic. It also happens that we are actually REALLY well known for our play ethic as well. Outside of the typical movie nights, culture nights, bar nights, dinners, birthdays, theme parties, and post-exam celebrations, there are a handful of occasions that leave an indelible mark on one’s time at Ivey. Probably one of the most fun times at Ivey is what we call “Dis-O-Week”, which is essentially O-Week all over again, except it is at the end of your tenure at Ivey when all of your classes are done. The whole idea behind Dis-O-Week is that it is a week filled with social activities with your classmates, which is designed to bring the class back together at the end of a hectic year of studying and recruiting. The Fall 2010 Cohort’s Dis-O-Week just recently happened at the end of August, and I have to say it was not only a relief being done classes, but a fantastic week of partying with classmates and de-stressing in general. Here is a snapshot of the craziness we got up to during that week:
Saturday, August 21st – With classes finishing a few days prior to this date, everybody from my class was ready for our formal, which was hosted by Pema and Deb at Bellamere Winery (www.bellamere.com). The venue was fantastic, and the theme for the evening was “A Black Tie Affair”. We had a black jack table and a roulette table set up for the guests, along with a professional photographer. The dinner was really well done (chicken and beef!), followed by an awards ceremony for our class. As class President, I gave a speech for the formal attendees. With much less trepidation than the beginning of the year, I gave my 8 minute speech. Actually, to be honest, I was filled with excitement and joy for having the opportunity to celebrate our accomplishments, say farewell to our class, and wish each other good luck in the future. I’ve never felt so happy to give a speech before, and I have to thank Denis Shackel, Ivey’s communications prof, for helping me to overcome my public speaking fears and give me the confidence to succeed. We ended the evening at Ivey’s mainstay bar, The Frog. Check out some pictures from the evening below:
The Lizard and myself.
The Fall 2010 Cohort in perfect form.
• Monday, August 23rd – Although I did not attend this event, a group of my classmates made the trip down to Niagara On The Lake for a multi-winery tour, which was apparently a hit. They capped off the night with a dinner at The Keg, and had a night of partying in Niagara Falls.
The wine tour group enjoying dinner at The Keg.
Tuesday, August 24th – In the evening we gathered at one of our classmates’ apartment where we had a Champagne party. We expected a lot more of our classmates to show up, however, only about 20 showed, and we had about 20 bottles of Champagne lined up and ready to go. Simple math dictates that the event turned into a fantastic party, and that evening is one I’ll never forget. Champagne, appetizers, cheese, fruit, and friends. How can one go wrong?
Pre-Champagne party.
Halfway through the Champagne party.
The end of the Champagne party.
Wednesday, August 25th – At around 10am we held a pancake kegger at my good friend Cecil’s house. Unfortunately, I was the unlucky soul who had to wake up early and pick up the kegs, however, it was a nice relaxing way to start off the day with a few beers, a few (chocolate) pancakes, and a bunch of good friends. By around 1pm, the kegger was finished, and pretty much everybody took the afternoon off as we had to rest up for Ivey Laundry. Ivey Laundry is a tradition. It is a night where the graduating class puts on a show to “air our dirty laundry”. You see, we all become intimately familiar with one another over the course of the year, and everyone learns everybody else’s nuances, habits, and what makes them tick. So, everyone from the graduating class gets made fun of in videos, skits, and songs. Dan and Cecil, our Ivey Laundry co-hosts did an amazing job of brainstorming, developing, co-ordinating, and executing this year’s Ivey Laundry, and it is an evening that no member of the Fall Cohort will forget. To cap off the night, we headed to Molly Bloom’s, and ended the night in true Fall 2010 Cohort fashion. Karaoke!
Cecil & Dan, our Ivey Laundry hosts.
Thursday, August 26th – This was pretty much a night of rest, given that graduation was the next day. Given that we did not finish off all the beer at our pancake kegger, a small group of us gathered at Cecil’s house and had a quiet night of pints and reminiscing of our time at Ivey. Most of us ducked out early to get our beauty rest.
Friday, August 27th – Graduation day. I woke up early, cleaned up, and made myself pretty for the big day. Ivey’s graduation day is one of numerous celebrations, the first of which is the Ivey Ring tradition. Each Ivey MBA pledges to uphold an Ivey MBA oath of honour, ethics, and morality, amongst other pledges. It is sealed with us signing our pledges and receiving our Ivey rings, which symbolizes our lifelong commitment to Ivey. This ceremony was done with just the MBA students at around 10am in the morning. Following that, we had a celebratory lunch which family and friends were invited to.
At around 1pm, graduation finally started. Ian, our Valedictorian, delivered an awesome speech that both parents and students loved, which was followed by our actual graduation. In addition, one of the major highlights was my good friend, Liz (The Lizard) winning the Ivey Gold Medal. It was a really good feeling of accomplishment that I had when I finally walked off the stage, and I imagine the rest of the graduates felt that as well. Post graduation, we went back to the Spencer campus for our class photo and our reception. The reception was massive and exquisitely done. We held it in the back of the Spencer facility on the lawn and family, friends, faculty, staff, and graduates were invited.
It was fully catered and there was an open bar, and I finally got a chance to meet some of my best friend’s family. Afterwards, the vast majority of our class and our families went to Waldo’s, a nice restaurant in London. While there we all had a chance to mix and mingle with family and friends once again. After all the guests left that evening, the Fall Cohort headed to Barney’s (an Ivey MBA hangout) where we partied for the rest of the night. It was really hard saying bye to friends that night. From both high school and under-grad, I know that as well-intentioned as we are, it is almost certain that we fall out-of-contact with our friends from school. There are some friends, especially from foreign countries, that I am almost certain I will never see again. I am just glad that I had the chance to share such a good year with them, and I wish all of my classmates the best in the future.
Ian, our valedictorian, delivering his amazing speech.
The Lizard and her Gold Medal.
Degree in left hand, Ivey ring on right hand.
A brief toast to the Fall Cohort of 2010.
The end to a successful year.
This will be my final Ivey MBA blog. Thanks to everyone that read any of them. My intention was for you to simply get a glimpse of what life at Ivey is like through the lens of a current student. Hopefully you got something out of my posts.
Cheers,
KD
Kyle graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with an Honours Bachelor Business of Administration degree, majoring in finance. Prior to pursuing his MBA at Ivey, Kyle achieved his CFA designation, worked for five years on Bay Street in quantitative equity research, and most recently worked as an Analyst on the Institutional Equity Sales & Trading desk at a boutique investment dealer. At Ivey, Kyle was a member of both the Investment and Finance clubs, and was a contributing member to the latter’s bi-weekly newsletter. In his spare time, Kyle enjoys reading the WSJ, analyzing stocks, playing on the Ivey recreational softball team, and enjoying nights out on the town with fellow classmates in glamorous London, Ontario.