School Begins Again

Last night, we had orientation meetings for our respective classes.

During the networking/check in session prior to orientation, it was great to see everyone from my year and meet the new students who I reached out to prior to this week.

Glancing through my binder, however the reality of being back hit. 8 AM start today. A full day of class.

Year 1 is a lot of information - the foundation for Year 2, which is a lot of practical application. My schedule this year appears to be a lot of group discussion and practical application. As one of our advisers explained, "This is the time to make mistakes. To try things out without messing anything up in the real world."

As a "Year 2" now, I'm coming into class with a different perspective. One of my classmates said it best of her Year 1 orientation experience: "I didn't know what was going on."

If you are looking at the School of Bank Marketing and Management, I encourage you not to be intimidated by "not knowing anyone." Many friendships are formed over flight times. Ninety percent of the class will come in the same way -- not knowing anyone.

The week's activities are a great way to get to know classmates. This week, we have a variety of happy hours planned. Tomorrow evening is a tour of the Sixth Floor Museum. Saturday is a real Texas rodeo. Next year's school, in Atlanta, will surely boast just as impressive a list of activities.

By Year 2, you know the ropes. Understanding and being able to manage the stress and expectations of the school is half the battle (the other half being actually accomplishing the work and networking). And, as I found out tonight, your binder is about half the size of the Year 1 binder. (which, unfortunately, is also a bit of an intimidating reminder that we aren't learning through presentation this year. We are learning through practical application.)

Note: The views presented here are the personal views of our ABA School of Bank Marketing & Management participants and do not reflect the views of their respective banks.