The month of November is caustically referred to as “Black November” by Darden first year students. The convergence of networking events, resumes and cover letter submissions for internships, exams, and the onset of cold temperatures requires us to bring our A-game every day to stay on top of things. While I have definitely felt the pressure during activities ranging from a grueling all-nighter for Deloitte’s case competition to just completing my case-load on especially busy days, it’s been an exciting month overall.
The event that led me straight to my computer to write this post was University of Virginia’s Investing Conference (UVIC) held at Darden over the last two days. I was eagerly anticipating the event because Vincent Reinhart, my boss at my job prior to Darden, was one of the speakers at last year’s UVIC and had really enjoyed the event. Over 650 visitors descended upon Charlottesville for the conference this year which boasted of an impressive line-up of speakers from business and policy arenas. They included Sheila Bair, former Chairman of the FDIC; Dennis Lockhart, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; David Rubenstein, co-CEO of the Carlyle Group; and John Taylor, the Stanford economics professor whose research led to the famous Taylor Rule for setting interest rates. Several experts from hedge funds, private equity firms, think tanks and corporations also spoke at the conference. UVIC has definitely been one of my favorite Darden events so far and I’m looking forward to next year’s conference.
Besides UVIC, this week has been a lot of fun as I have celebrated Diwali, the traditional Indian festival, on campus. There have been a host of parties and dinners that have been attended not only by Indians but by our friends of all nationalities representing the diversity of Darden and tight bonds in the community. I’m now looking forward to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner organized by the Student Affairs Office for all international students before I head off to spend the holiday with my family in Connecticut.
So cute you are (I think I’m beginning to treat you like your sister).