Over the course of last year, a team of our fellow Boothies took on a $1 billion challenge against several other universities to see which school could best invest the theoretical sum of money in commercial real estate. The Booth team’s unique strategy beat out the rest of the Real Confidence University Challenge participants and earned them the $30,000 grand prize (in real money). The Booth team returned 23.86% on their portfolio over the course of the year and cleared the runner up of 32 teams by 4.80%. Hear what a couple of the team members have to say about their winning two-point approach and how Booth set them up for success.
Every year, around 400 First Years (1Ys) go on a Random Walk with a group of classmates they will have just met for the first time. The international excursions combine cultural experiences, nightlife, relaxation, and outdoor adventures to flex Boothies out of their comfort zone and offer opportunities to form lasting friendships (fellow TBEer Eli and I both went on the Mystery Random Walk our first year).
Each group of 12-14 1Ys is accompanied by four Second Year trip leaders (~120 from the entire 2Y class). While some of our classmates may think we leaders just can’t let go of our first year—after going to work this summer, I never want school to end—and want to relive our adventures from last year; I can assure you a little more goes into guiding the experience than just doing another random Random Walk.
Today marks a year since I moved to Chicago to pursue my MBA at Booth. I remember feeling excited about this new chapter but also feeling anxious about all the unknowns. I had created a list of what I thought to be the most important things to accomplish: classes I would take, student organizations I would join, and companies I would apply to, etc… But as I reflect on my first year, I realize that it wasn’t always the activities I took part in that I remember most today, rather it’s the people I shared those experiences with. Here’s a look at a couple of my most memorable ones.
This summer, 24 members of the Class of 2019 got a head start to their Booth experience through the pre-MBA program called Startup Summer. Across the globe, soon-to-be Booth students were paired with Booth-founded startups to explore their entrepreneurial function and industry goals. Cofounded by Booth alumna Andrea Sreshta, ’16, LuminAID is a women-founded Chicago-based startup that makes solar-powered inflatable lanterns for disaster relief and outdoor recreation. Find out what incoming Booth students Erich Bao,Jessica Goldberg, and Michael Hull had to say about their experience at LuminAID, and how it will impact their time at Booth going forward.
International travel is a popular passion for many Boothies and if I had a plan to visit any location in the world, I’m sure I could find a classmate who could give me a recommendation in the area. So, when I read in our class GroupMe that a small group of my classmates were interested in taking a weekend road trip to the Cleveland/Akron, Ohio area over the 4th of July weekend, I was honestly shocked. “With all the travel opportunities available here, why on EARTH would anyone want to visit Cleveland or Akron?” I thought to myself.
However, like any other Clevelander, I’m passionate about where I’m from and could show them things they wouldn’t find on a travel site. I conveniently did not yet have plans for the weekend, so I immediately offered to be their tour guide.
