What an exciting and nerve-racking day January 31st was. The first day being back in person after being online through zoom for the first 3 weeks of the term. It seemed as though I knew my classmates zoom backgrounds more then I knew them personally but that had changed within a blink of an eye. From working with my learning team to having coffee chats online, I was able to connect with my cohort members and break the ice much quicker on that first day of in person classes. Of course, just because I knew a few things about a handful of individuals did not mean I was not extremely nervous and anxious about transitioning over to in person learning again.
After a few days of in person learning and getting my feet wet with my new surroundings and adjusting to the different teaching style, I was able to build on those connections I had made via zoom while improving my techniques to tackle on the case-based learning approach. I personally felt like I was adjusting much quicker than I had originally anticipated and felt very comfortable within my environment. Joining different clubs and working on cases with my learning team and other members in my cohort really helped me out to make those connections much quicker.
What may seem like another regular day will be anything but normal when you take a case up in class. The cases you go through are all very diverse and different from one another and your classmate will bring unique perspectives that you may not have even thought of. These cases are also a great way to get a real-life outlook on issues and how one may tackle them on in a constantly evolving business environment. The case-based learning approach also allowed me to change my mindset when tackling unfamiliar topics and gave me insight on what it might be like for consultants to handle projects, they may not have past experiences or knowledge on.
One piece of advice I want to give for incoming students is don’t let your past shackles restrain you from being the person you are aspiring to be at Ivey. Be confident in yourself and do not hesitate to try new things or join clubs you may not have necessarily been interested in because you may find a whole new hidden passion. Once you get to Ivey, the ball is in your court. You will have a huge team behind you who are there supporting you and making sure your able to succeed but however much effort you put into it is how much you’ll get out of it.
These past 60 days have been a roller-coaster, but I would not want it any other way. I’ve been able to learn so much and make connections with amazing individuals while only being enrolled in the program for two months. That sense of nervousness still comes and goes with new challenges I will need to face but I’m super excited to see what the future has in store for me at Ivey.