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Expression of the Lesson(s) Learned

*formerly posted on the BGSU MBA blog in 2009

Good evening there!  Hope you had an amazing holiday weekend.

Graduation is less than 3 weeks away, and I must admit that it will be hard to leave.  Graduate school is a place I really wanted to reach, and I am glad to say that this dream came true.  However, the ride through the full-time MBA program at BGSU, while busy, flew by quite quickly, and I have to prepare to take flight, wherever I go.

Upon reflecting on this journey through graduate school, an interesting thought hit me.  Right now, I am almost certain someone will ask me this in an upcoming job interview.  The question: what is the most important lesson I have learned from my graduate school experience?  Come to think of it, I have been asked in interviews before about my greatest life accomplishment and my most important lesson learned in life in general.  Still, this question is heavy and deep.  I know that I have learned a lot since coming here, but what exactly have I learned?  I must be able to articulate what I have learned; likewise, I must be able to use this knowledge and wisdom.

While the question is straightforward, it is also very open-ended.  As a graduate in a tough job market,  I think it is important that I continue to ask myself difficult questions.  There are jobs out there--good ones, in fact.  Yet, I must remember that I have values and passions for a reason.  Perhaps the upcoming job or jobs that I find will not allow me to express every heartfelt passion or every shred of creativity from my mind, but I must give myself the chance to be both successful and happy, and I must be in tune with me.  No, I should not be selfish or self-centered, but I need to remember in any job that I work, that I must be sincere and genuine.  The question asked was "what is the most important lesson I have learned from my graduate school experience?"--not what someone else has learned.  In giving myself time to answer this question and other difficult ones, I can truly put my BGSU full-time MBA education to use.  With that said, I wish you luck in answering your own difficult questions, and to current and future BGSU full-time MBA students out there, I hope that you find your time at Bowling Green to be as worthwhile as I have found it, if not more.

New Year's Day is coming around the corner.  It serves as a time to reflect, let go, analyze, set goals, and move forward.  At the beginning of 2008, I wrote these words as part of a song, and I think they still fit in well with what I am feeling now.

"I'm learning to cherish every last breath, / And I'm yearning to face the challenges ahead. / I'm ready to stand tall and keep pushing, / Because I know that life isn't worthwhile if I let my gifts and my passions go to waste."

Do not let your gifts and your passions go to waste.  Cherish every last breath.  Stand tall and keep pushing.  Yearn to face the challenges ahead.  And, if you foresee the MBA challenge in your near future, do not hesitate to contact us about submitting your application.

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