All I want for Christmas is sleep

The semester is FINALLY over!  Technically the semester ended yesterday but I was a bit lazy writing the post.  With the MBA core and two engineering classes this semester the course load was quite high but I had an absolute blast.

Paul kills it with a Santa Beard
And gives me everything I want for Christmas

The end of the semester was actually relatively relaxing, because of the way my courses worked out I only had two finals.  Leading up to that was a pretty rough two week stretch but once most of the papers and presentations were out of the way it was pretty manageable.  Especially with Meggsa Clause in the LGO office to brighten our day

In typical MBA fashion we finished off the semester with auctions for charity and drinks for stress.  Not sure how responsible it is for those two to go together but I'm happy to report that the Caribbean ocean raised $8225 dollars for the Children of Fallen Patriots and Heifer International organizations!  I don't know the numbers or organizations for the other oceans but I know they also did great work.

Now that the semester is over everyone has dispersed and enjoying some well deserved R&R.  However the LGO 14's have our Domestic plant trek coming up in January.  For those that don't know LGO's take a two week plant trek across the US during January of their first year.  This year we'll be going to Raleigh, Detroit, Indianapolis, Austin, San Diego, Portland, and Seattle.  We visit partner companies of the LGO, see their manufacturing facilities, get face time, etc.  We even get to go nuts shopping at the Nike factory store (which I will spend way too much money at).  That trip goes for two weeks in January so I'll write multiple posts then keep everyone up to date.

On a quick last note I won't be in classes next semester!  Kind of bitter sweet as I felt like I just got here but also it'll be great to have my weekends back.  I'll be doing an off cycle internship at National Grid trying to optimize how they plan for and react to damage to the power infrastructure systems.  I've gotten my thesis advisors and had a few meetings and am extremely excited to get started.

I hope everyone has a great Holiday season!

Thanksgiving, Movember, Internships, Semester closing, and DEADLINES!

As my blog title suggests...there is a LOT going on.  Too much...

First with the good.  Finally Thanksgiving is here.  My favorite holiday by far as I'm 110% justified in eating too much and watching football while slipping in and out of consciousness on the couch via food comas.  I (and many of peers do as well) unfortunately do have some work to do over break but for the most part well deserved relaxation is in order for the LGO's.  I personally am back in Buffalo with family and plan on being in sweat pants for about 97% of the time...it's gonna be fantastic.

Another great aspect of November....MOVEMBER.  Big LGO, MIT, man (and woman?....see photo) tradition and the LGO's did not disappoint (or very much did depending on how you look at it).  Unfortunately due to timing all of the participants can't be seen in the group shot but the spirit is there....hide your wives, husbands, and children everyone...

Yeah...it's not pretty...  Special shout out to Jeremy for giving his best effort.  On the original photo with enough pixels and zoom you can see his mustache...I can vouch for that.  Mine isn't much better... (in my defense however I did have an interview and had to do a mid month shave to prevent from looking totally ridiculous).  Some of us didn't get the costume memos but overall the men and ladies represented Movember well.  My personal favorite is Ben Polak pulling in a stache that is an uncanny Peter Griffin.

Speaking of that interview...I got my off cycle internship!  Very happy about it.  I'll be working at National Grid to model and simulate damage to their substations, power lines, etc. to optimize how they dispatch their repair crews BEFORE a storm hits.  Especially with Sandy recently causing havoc, having a priori knowledge of where the worst of the damage will be is invaluable to minimizing the long term effects of major storms.  I'll be starting that in February so I won't be taking classes next semester.  It kind of feels like I just got to MIT but my internship is local so I can still be involved while getting of the classroom (and actually having my weekends back).

But before I get to that point this semester has to be finished.  While it seems like the end is in site there's still a lot to do before I can put my feet up for a while.  The first week of December is going to be particularly rough as I essentially have 5 projects due that week.  It's going to be painful and right now I'm really questioning my decision to max out on credits this semester.  But I'm told from 13's that if you endure the pain now it's much lighter later...I REALLY want that to be true.

One last thing...THE DEADLINE IS APPROACHING FOR PERSPECTIVE students.  Get those applications in! I know for me the worst part of the application process was constantly checking and re-checking everything.  I have no idea how many times I edited my essays.  My advice is to not think too hard on that stuff.  If you've been putting in the time to write it and edit it and haven't put it off until the last minute.  You're going to be okay.  The best feeling is sending in that application and then it's off your chest.

Half. Way. There.

It's been a while since I've posted and it's largely because I just passed easily the toughest week I've had at MIT yet.  Three midterms, an engineering, speech presentations, group meetings, the list goes on...  It goes without saying that MIT is a tough school but I think I've got a really good idea of it now.  Don't get me wrong, still a great experience and we've gotten through half of the fall semester which is quite a feeling.

I think one of the biggest things that have hit LGOs especially during this past week was how important our time management is.  On a given day when you need to study for economics, plan a corporate meeting for your OP project, give a persuasive speech, complete a parallel computing problem set, participate in your clubs and committees, getting to the C function by 8 pm for some much needed R&R is a pretty hard thing to do.  But it's important that you learn to schedule that way.  Because obviously that problem set has to be turned in on time but missing the 90's pajama C function would also be pretty upsetting.  BBQ chicken and beer in footy pajamas is actually not a bad way to spend Thursday night.  For those who don't know, Sloan has C functions every other Thursday nights where Sloanies celebrate culture with dances, eating contests, trivia, but most important free food and drink.

Connor Doing Work

In good LGO fashion the class of 2014 is doing everything we need to do make sure we have a good time. The LGOs just had a pig roast up at Andrew's parent's house in NH.  Late nights, drinks, and great food were had by all.  IM Flag football has been a blast and we've got three games coming up next weekend (that might hurt...).  Next week IM ice hockey is starting up and the LGOs are excited to test out our skates on the ice.

LGOs have another big turning point to deal with right now.  As part of our two year program we do a six month internship.  Some LGOs will do on cycle, some will do off cycle.  If an LGO applies for off cycle and gets the job they won't be around for the spring semester and will start their internship then.  Where as on cycle students will miss the next fall.  Students will choose off cycle for the different opportunities of internships available and when they want to be on campus for specific coursework.  However it's also a weird feeling to be leaving campus already to go to an internship...feels like we just got here.  LGOs just submitted resumes for any off cycle internships they might be interested in so interviews will be taking place soon.  It's an exciting time but also an important one as this has serious impacts on our LGO careers.  I personally have applied for one and will let you know how it goes (fingers crossed...)

Lastly LGO Ambassador Day is coming up!  Ambassador Day is taking place on November 5, 2012.  If you haven't already please contact lgo@mit.edu to attend.  This is a great opportunity to visit the campus, meet faculty, staff, and students, attend a class, and really get an idea of what the program is like.  Students from years past (myself included) always agree that this is a key event in showing students how great the program is.  For more information see the following: http://lgo.mit.edu/news/articles/ambassador_day_2012/ambassador_day_2012.html.  Again I highly recommend it and hope to see you all there

And so it begins.....again

Summer came and went, LGO's had some time off and now we start again.  This time with the rest of MIT.  MBA's and fellow Engineering students are on campus.  It's going to be another great (but REALLY LONG) semester.  The week off was key to getting back to sanity and relaxing a little bit.  I personally went back to Buffalo to spend time with the parents, my brother and his family, and play in the first annual Blake Whipple Memorial Golf Tournament (which was a huge success).

Caribbean Gulls Represent!

Once we all got back to campus we started off with another week of orientation with our fellow MBA's.  Very similar to the orientation the LGO's had at the beginning of the summer, just more people.  Got to meet our MBA Core teams, went to the Warren Center for team building, and we got to play the Beer Game (again!).   Actually players who had played it before played an "experienced" version and that was quite the experience.

Of course meeting the MBA's wouldn't be complete without some solid social drinking.  The class of 2014 represented quite well with a pretty crazy night at BHP (Beacon Hill Pub for those unaware) and our class went out on a harbor cruise in Boston.  Good times were had by all and and if nothing else we know we got a class that likes to have a good time.

Classes have officially begun again and I may have bit off more than I can chew.  All MBA's take the MBA core their first semester and most take an elective as well (I went with Competitive Strategy).  But, as you may know, LGO's are taking Engineering as well so I decided to tack on two more engineering courses, Parallel Computing and Engineering and Architecting Software Systems.  I have genuine concerns if I'll be able to handle the course load.  One REALLY good thing about MIT is you can drop courses well into the semester with no real drawbacks.  So I've decided to front load myself and try to push myself (that's the point of this right?).  If worse comes to worse I can drop an engineering course and be okay but we'll see if I can manage.  It's been done before I'm told...

Of course the LGO's got right back into the studies as soon as we got back on campus... Not really.  We did get really serious about Fantasy Football league though

Also the LGO's recently had a night out at Fenway with the SDM's (who actually bought the tickets so many thanks to them).  Night was an absolute blast despite the minor monsoon we experienced.  Game was only set back by an hour and that just meant we had to distract ourselves with a few extra beers before hand....it's a miracle we made it.

So another semester begins.  Case studies, papers, projects, endless team meetings, and now Engineering classes thrown in.  Not going to be easy...but nothing worth doing ever is

Home Stretch?

As promised I said I'd talk about the work that we do as LGO's.  Summer seems to have gone by so fast yet slowly at the same time, there have been weeks that have felt like AN ETERNITY where there are simply not enough hours in the day to get your individual readings done, work with your groups, participate in committees, and somehow manage to get some sleep or have a social life.  This isn't all together surprising as it IS in fact a dual degree program at MIT.  But alas here we are something that somewhat resembles a home stretch....

Sleep...take it when you can get it

There are about three weeks left in the summer and while I've had an absolute blast thus far, I'm some combination of tired, excited, scared for the next three weeks.  These weeks include a Stats helicopter project, an interview and process write up for high velocity, a leadership paper, a class production of Antigone (not making that up...), a Lean culture paper, assorted plant tours to local businesses, a simulation write up for Ops Management, a Systems Optimization final project and an "individual timed homework" (I'm sorry Professor Ashlagi but that is a TEST, I don't care what you call it).  In addition there are some individual homework assignments, readings, and case studies that remain as well but that gets you the gist of it.

Seems like a lot...and it is...  But that doesn't paint the complete picture of what it means to be an LGO student.  At the end of the day the LGO is about WAY more than time you spend in class (but that is important too).  The committees you take part in, plant tours you attend, CLGO's you meet, the small groups you work in will all teach you something and add valuable knowledge to you.  But it's not free, it comes with a cost of your time and effort.  A LOT of time and effort...

So why do this?  Why the LGO?  Is it worth it?  A lot of people will say that graduate school grades don't matter, an MBA is just a check mark, everyone gets A's and B's anyway...  So why work hard?  What's the point?

Shotguns in normal hands...
Assault rifles when Lizzie and JS hold em..

While I don't have the complete answer for that I do have some thoughts.  First being, put 48 dual degree MIT students together and there aren't a lot of slackers.  If anything I'd say we can easily get caught in the trap of working too hard.  Putting that aside, I think you get out of the LGO what you put into it.  The amount of knowledge in an LGO classroom is astounding and diverse (same goes for our opinions).  None of us came here for a check mark, none of us came here to "get through it."  We came here because we want to expand our technical knowledge, we want to grow as managers and engineers, we want to be leaders.  And it's this drive that will carry us through these last three weeks of long days and nights where sleep is a precious commodity (the week off afterwards is also a good motivator...).


On a final note...it's easy to get stressed out and worry about school and lose sight of things.  We all do it.  But even though we work hard, we play hard.  And nothing will cap off a Wednesday evening like 3 dollar pints at BHP, shooting hoops, and mowing down bucks...

Independence Day on the Sailing Pavilion and CLGO's Vist

Summer has been busy and that's not going to change anytime soon.  Independence Day was an absolute blast, I've lived in the Boston area for three years now and this IS THE PLACE to watch the fireworks.  Everyone was out on the MIT sailing pavilion, we had food, drinks, sailing, (mildy inappropriate) card games, and of course amazing fireworks.  The view was fantastic, the only way to get closer was to be on the barge that was launching them (don't do that).  I could tell you what happened Paul Meggs decided to go nuts with his SLR and created this gem (if pictures speak a thousand words then this thing is an encyclopedia of how to party on the 4th of July)




After we all sufficiently recovered our guests from China arrived.  19 CLGO's are here to visit Boston.  Day 1 some LGO's took them around Harvard and Cambridge from some sight seeing and dinner.  Day 2 the CLGO's got experience Steven Spear in all of his High Velocity glory and we got some multicultural interaction in.  Turns out you can communicate quite well without being able to talk to them....this is not a comment on any language barriers (they speak English quite well in fact), we LITERALLY weren't allowed to talk to anyone while we played cards.  Again dinner and drinks happened all over the city with our guests (some of us went to Sacco's in Davis Square and it's heaven).  And finally Saturday came and with that so does a Fort Awesome party (for those not familiar, Fort Awesome is the customary house for LGO house parties).  The CLGO's were all about learning American culture via our BBQ and drinking games and taught us some of theirs as well (lots of yelling and drinking involved there as well).

All in all it's been a great weekend, some of LGO's/CLGO's are out berry picking as we speak, I on the other hand needed to sleep for a change.  But we still have yet to send the CLGO's off in style.  Tomorrow brings the Amgen/Bose plant tours and a farewell party later on in the week.

Eventually I will talk about school WORK in this blog....because it does actually happen..

Seriously what is the LGO?

Before I start this off I'd like to make it very clear that after three weeks into the summer courses I still don't have the answer.  Sure it's a dual degree program where students get an MBA and a Masters in an Engineering of their choice, it's a program that focuses on manufacturing, it's curriculum intense, it has an internship, a thesis, and all that fun stuff...


But how much do you REALLY get from all that?  If you're anything like me, it's the people and the experience that really define something.  Who are your classmates, what kind of course load is required (and does that make you want to jump into the Charles), what is the lifestyle of an MIT student in Cambridge, etc.


As I said I can't answer all of that, and probably won't be able to for a while.  But I do want to start with what I've learned the most about.  My fellow LGO 14's.  Within our class of 48 we have: military veterans of several countries, entrepreneurs, a PhD, a JD (not sure why these people need more degrees but hey more power to ya), fathers, mothers (good luck to them...), ultra marathon runners, sailors (of varying skill I'm sure...), surfers, gymnasts, football players, athletes of all kinds really, a playa (see picture),  one girl has had a TV fall on her and another was struck by lightning (while those last two aren't exactly something anyone strives for it's still pretty crazy).  And that's a very small sample of accomplishments that these people have to offer.

But what really has surprised me the most is how much I've realized I can learn from this new group I'm apart of.  First and foremost this wasn't the collection of nerds and Type A's I thought it would be (don't get me wrong we're still mostly nerds and Type A's), but that doesn't stop us from working hard and playing harder.  It's been a while since I've belted out probability, done system optimization, and then went straight to crush beers at the Muddy Charles.

I could go on all night about this incredible group of people, but the real point I'd like to make is that in the short time I've known these people I've realized that there's so much I DON'T KNOW.  But I've also realized that the next two years figuring all that stuff out is going to be a blast.