Busy, busy, busy...

I am starting to establish a routine with school. The only problem is that there isn't quite enough time to do all of the "extra" things that I would like, say blogging, emailing, and reading. With that said, I believe I am learning at an exponential rate. My professors keep the train moving and we just have to keep up.

Along with the classes, I have been able to attend some conferences and workshops. Last weekend I attend the Sarah Smith Memorial Conference at the Yale Divinity School titled, Crumbs From the Table? The Creation of Wealth and the Persistence of Poverty. The focus of the conference was on the role of Christian entrepreneurs and business people in eleviating poverty. The speakers were exceptional, both in speaking and in practice. Included on the roster were Collin Timms (Trustee, The Bridge Foundation, India), Vinay Samuel (Co-Founder, The Bridge Foundation), Susy Cheston (Senior Vice President, Opportunity International), Dale Hanson Bourke (Former Board Member, World Vision International), and Tony Hall (US Ambassador to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture, 3-time Nobel Peace Prize Nominee), among others.

This past week I attended a workshop by McKinsey & Company's Nonprofit Consulting Practice titled Measuring What Matters in Nonprofits. This concept is relatively new to the nonprofit sector and difficult to employ. However, donors are holding organizations more accountable for efficient use of money. Many different methods of evaluation were presented and I am confident that the information will help me be a stronger leader in the future.

As I mentioned in the first paragraph, I am starting to form a routine. With that, I hope to be able to find more time to update you on what is going on. My goal is a weekly summary of changes and exciting events...

The Last Three Weeks

As you can tell from the amount of time between this and my previous post, the last three weeks have been very busy. The first official day of class was the Tuesday after Labor Day. Unlike most first days of class, we had assignments due before every class started. We spent about ten minutes on each of the syllabi and got right into the lessons. Since that day it hasn't stopped. I have been thrown to the wolves in accounting, economics, decision analysis, problem framing, and communication. Our final exams for these classes are in three weeks! Then we start another set of classes...I wouldn't have it any other way.

A lot has happened in addition to classes. I have heard from a lot of successful SOM alumni about different career paths, which has confirmed my desire to pursue a career in relief and development. Also, I just found out that I will be spending two weeks in China during second semester! We will be visiting businesses, government officials, and sites in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing.

On another note, I have finally included a picture of me at the New York Stock Exchange Trading Floor. I have always wanted to know what happens there and I was fortunate to have one of my classmates (a former trader) tell me all about it.



We have also had more visitors. Over Labor Day weekend we had a great time showing friends the sites in NYC. We even went to the Today Show and a Mets game. We were sad to see our last scheduled visitors (before the baby comes, of course) leave just about an hour ago. With all of the visitors we have had, our apartment certainly feels like home now. Our new friends, church, and semblance of a routine have also helped us get comfortable in New Haven.