By Henry O’Connor, MBA Class of 2017

My name is Henry O’Connor. I’m a first year MBA student at The Pennsylvania State University, Smeal College of Business. I am writing this blog post at the start of the second week of the program. To be clear this is the second week of classes – not the second week of orientation. While it would be interesting to compare and contrast the feelings I had at those two very different aspects of the program, my primary focus for this post is to emphasis the team aspect of the program and my team’s first couple of experiences.

There are a lot of perks in the Smeal MBA program. First, we have small class sizes. My class is just 67 hopefuls, 33/34 people per section. The day is broken down into two courses with a 30 minutes break in between called “coffee buzz”. Tea, coffee and hot chocolate are provided most days and often there are company sponsored breakfast items. Of course, by the first day you already know most of your cohort by name and a little about each of person due to the two week orientation. Coffee buzz is a great time to network and expand upon these newly founded friendships. Employers will also visit and provide networking opportunities.

Another networking opportunity and major perk of the Smeal MBA program is your assigned team. Key aspects of the program are built upon teamwork so you’re also broken down into small teams. My team is a group of five. We represent a diverse professional and cultural background. I love my team! We complement and support each other and I’m already sure we will be a great success. Speaking of success, before you know it classes are over for the day and you’re running off to events, Graduate Assistantships or maybe even dinner if you can find the time. The first week was possibly one of the busiest weeks I’ve ever had.