The Stern Opportunity

This weekend, I had the pleasure of participating in some of the part-time MBA orientation events. The more people I met, the more I found myself thinking about how little the full time and part time programs interact and what a big opportunity we were missing out on. The advantages of collaboration may sometimes not be clear, but each group brings something to the table and can benefit from the others.

Full time students, in their quest for internships/jobs, can significantly benefit from networking with students in other programs. Part-time students currently have the jobs full-timers desperately seek. Since they are also students, they are even more responsive and willing to conduct informational interviews before and after classes. These relationships are a great way for part-time students to become more involved in school activities and integrate into the Stern community. Full-time students have the benefit of time to serve on club boards and plan social events. Getting to know more full-timers will lead to greater diversification of club boards and more events accommodating of a part-time student’s schedule.

The increased integration of the part-time and full-time students is the most discussed topic at SCorp meetings. After debating a few ideas, we now have a plan to create more collaboration and interaction between students in both programs. First, each part-time core group will have a brother full-time block. Blue is with Block 1, Green is with Block 2, Orange is with Block 3, Purple is with Block 4, Yellow is with Block 5 and Red is with Block 6. These block-core group associations will promote part-timers and full-timers to socialize and collaborate. To the core group and block leaders: now it’s up to you to invite each other to block happy hours and other events. SCorp will help out by providing a budget for each group to have social events. A second initiative we’re working on is integrating executive MBA program students with the full/part timers. Last semester a group of EMBA students, staff and SCorp met to brainstorm ways to increase interaction. One idea we’re implementing involves EMBA student liaisons for student clubs. These liaisons will serve as the primary connection between the clubs and the EMBA community. Students in the executive MBA program can provide a tremendous amount of insight and access for the industries they are involved in. These students are great resources because they are more experienced and hold significant positions at major companies.

I know what you’re thinking… ugh, I have to meet more people?! Well it’s not a requirement, but remember the Stern network is one of the top reasons for coming to this school. We all know how hard it is to expand your network once you’re in the work force, so now is the perfect time to do it!

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