Woohoo Wall Street!

Photo via NYTimes; credit: Mark Lennihan/AP

Wowee!

Between The Brothers Lehman, The Dudes of Merrill, and AIG, it's a fine day in the US of A, eh?Good lord. All I have to say is, I'm glad I'm into my MBA program already... because I have a feeling the state of the economy is going to drive a bunch of people back to grad school. It will be very interesting to see what happens to application numbers this year.

Of course, it will be interesting to me, since I am already on the other side of it. I would not want to be in the midst of the application process again, period - much less this year.

But! Prospective MBA rockstars, never fear! When you are close to despair, keep in mind that the best MBA programs will look for diversity on many levels, and will not let the crush of laid-off finance peeps affect their acceptances too much. Programs look for a good balance of men and women; as well as professional, socio-economic, and career-aspiring diversity. Or so they should. I believe my program does (after all, the folks who run my MBA accepted me into it!), and all programs should.

So hang in there, MBA applicants!(And don't mind me as I take just a wee moment more to rejoice - and breathe a sigh of relief - for myself.)

Wherefore art thou MBA?

So this is it. My final week before commencing my MBA. The two-and-a-half-year process of GMAT prep, applications, and decisions decisions decisions is finally coming to an end.

Though really, when I think about it, this has been more like a six-year process. When I graduated from college, I thought I wanted to be an archaeologist and looked into PhD programs. When I realized that I was not meant to be the next Mrs. Indiana Jones, I thought perhaps a master's degree in Museum Education or Public Administration would be best.

But the longer I both worked and volunteered for various non-profits throughout New York City, the more often I thought to myself, "I could run this place better than these people... well, if I knew anything about adminstrating a business." Eureka! And a Master's in Business Administration is the degree that stuck.

I have doubted myself many times and in many ways throughout my grad school process, but I have never once doubted that the MBA is the degree for me. I am passionate about the non-profit world, and a few causes in particular, and I have seen too many people waste too much energy trying to do good things for the world through disoranized organizations. So while I feel that there does need to be a balance between functioning like a business and maintaining the heart of a non-profit, I think non-profits have a lot to gain from becoming a little more business-minded.

So that's why I'm here. Now, we'll see where I go.