H@H: Ep 69 – EWMBA Association VPs of Incoming Student Experience – Farzad Yousefi, Lynn Chen, Paulina Tsai, and Veena Dharmadhikari – join host, Adam Ward on this week’s episode of Here@Haas. With WE Launch just around the corner, the VPs of Incoming Student Experience share their plans for the weekend, as well as advice for the new cohort on how to make the most of the event.
Episode Quotes:
The VPs reflect on the vision statement they made for WE Launch:
“We wanted WE Launch to be a welcoming, informative, and comprehensive experience for new students, regardless of the delivery method; whether it was virtual or in-person. I think back in February, we didn’t know what modality it would be in. We really wanted to emphasize the experience for the incoming students to quickly and positively connect with the Haas community. We brainstormed a lot about how we would make WE Launch inclusive, welcoming, fun, and informative, in a productive way.”
Paulina shares what she’s most excited about during the weekend:
“If I had to pick one, I’m most excited for the talent show. The talent show I believe was new last year, and last year I had a great time getting to know my classmates in a different manner – so we’re bringing that back again. This year, people can perform live performances or they can submit a recording. And I think it’s just really cool to see the classmates, show us something new.”
The VPs discuss how they made the event inclusive to people who don’t enjoy networking. Veena shares one approach:
“So I consider myself an introvert; a complete introvert. So networking is something that doesn’t come easy to me. Like I have to actively pursue talking to people and going out of my comfort zone to do it. And so one of the things that we decided to do is we have a cohort panel that we’re putting together. Each of the different cohorts will have a panel of current students or alumni come in and talk about their experience. And students will have the opportunity to ask questions live in person, but there are also folks who may not be comfortable doing that. So we put together a Google form where students can anonymously submit questions.”
Advice VPs have for students coming to WE Launch:
“I would say, come with excitement and an open mind, and I would challenge the new students to mingle with people outside of your cohort. You’ll get to spend a lot of time in your cohort your first year doing core classes together. So as much as you will have fun with the cohort competition, I think when there is time during the dinner or reception, get to know people outside of your cohort, because you don’t really get to cross that much probably until you take electives.”