As my third week of MSBA comes to an end, I look back at my time so far and one word comes straight to mind – whirlwind. I arrived at MSBA a week later than most, due to my graduation ceremonies back home. Where is home you ask? Canada – Western Canada. I jet-setted off on the biggest adventure of my life and flew 14 hours overnight to arrive in The Big Apple on a sunny Sunday afternoon. I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into when I rode the elevator all the way up the 14th floor (AKA the penthouse) and walked into my new room. I was immediately thrown in to a group setting that I can now call my MSBA family. It’s incredible how quickly friendships can form and how strong they can get in such a short period of time.
Coming from someone who is far, far away from home, I can honestly say I’ve never felt more at home than here in the city with my MSBA family.
Being Canadian, there were a few things that I had to face once I arrived in the USA: Paperwork, Social Security Offices, Paperwork, Homeland Security, Paperwork, and oh yeah – more paperwork. Double that with having an international phone that didn’t work outside of wifi – it made for an interesting first couple weeks of blindly navigating around Manhattan to various government offices and destinations.
However, no matter how many blocks I walked in the wrong direction, or how much it was a pain to go through those paperwork processes, it was absolutely worth it. I can confidently say this is the best decision I have ever made for my future career in the sports business industry. MSBA has provided me with unparalleled resources in the first few weeks, and I can’t even imagine what else could be in store for the next four. The speaker series has been an incredible experience each and every night.
On Tuesday we had Alec Coughlin, SVP of Corporate Strategy and Business Development at RFI Studios, who spoke about the digital world and its innovations and technology. Coming from someone like me who is still learning a lot about the techy side of things, it was helpful to have him lay out a lot of the concepts in a way that we could all relate to our internships and relative past experiences. He talked about how we are heading towards an era with the digitization of everything – from business to communication to connecting. No longer can businesses have segregated departments with a hierarchy of skills, but must now have multidisciplinary strategies that reach across a spectrum of technology, marketing, and business strategies. He joked about how he worked in a company ten years ago where “Head of Internet” was an actual executive position – crazy how times change.
Looking ahead, I cannot wait for what’s in store for the rest of the summer, and the unforgettable memories that will be made. Coming from someone who is far, far away from home, I can honestly say I’ve never felt more at home than here in the city with my MSBA family.