Archive for August 6th, 2011
2011 Summer Update
Two years into the JD-MBA program, we’ve all finally come to realize how busy things keep being. In our first years we were 1Ls, which in most cases speaks for itself. Â The following summer we had full time course loads in addition to many other activities. In my case, I had that and a full-time job at a law firm. In our second year, we were all first year students again but this time at Kellogg, where things were faster and more competitive than ever before. And this summer, most of us looked forward to having more free time. Except in my case, I decided to split my time at two jobs, launch a new website/company, and take a class at all at the same time. And as a result, the busy-ness has not stopped.
At long last, the JD-MBA program is two years in and our last summer is coming to an end. I spent the first half of my summer working at a consulting firm. Fortunately, my project was local which was nice because I got to come home every day. On the other hand, it also meant I had more time to work more hours and it also meant my commute was longer since I still live in Evanston and not downtown Chicago. Either way, this past week was my last week at the firm, so I look forward to starting my law firm gig in just a few days.
However, there is still one thing standing in between me and my time at the law firm, and that is a final exam I have on Monday. Â The exam is for my class Administrative Law, a Constitutional Law class that not only requires a lot of reading but also a lot of writing, at least for the final exam. I’m looking at old practice exams now and it looks like I still have quite a bit of studying to do before the Final Exam on Monday. The exam takes place from 6pm to 9pm, just about one hour after I finish my first day at the law firm.
I am also working a lot this weekend on the website/ company that I am launching. At the moment, I’m in the process of looking for web developers for the site. Someone who not only build the site but also help maintain it in the short run in case I need updates or fixes. It’s taking a surprisingly long time to go through all the emails and figure out who the right person is to help out.
In addition to that, I also have to start shopping for items I’ll need for my KWEST trip. As I’ve mentioned here before, we’ll all be headed to Ecuador in just a couple of weeks, and I’ll need a large array of outdoor apparel, including boots, shirts, backpacks and toiletries.
And finally, I also have to choose classes for next year, a process which is much harder than it sounds. I have to balance my units at the law school with those at Kellogg. I have to be sure I satisfy all my law school requirements – Perspectives class, Professional Skills class, Ethics class, etc. I also have to think about how much to bid for my legal classes and pick teams for my Kellogg classes. A lot more complicated than I thought it would be.
As you might suspect, it sounds like this week is going to be hectic and that August in general is going to be a crazy month just like it was last summer. But either way, I can’t complain. Because just when August ends, things pick up even more. Not only does law school start, but then KWEST happens. Then recruiting also picks up. And then Kellogg classes begin.  It will be interesting to see how everything plays out over the upcoming weeks.
But perhaps more interesting is the fact that we’re all pretty far along the way now in the JD-MBA program. I can’t wait to see where all my classmates end up. I look forward to sharing more about it in the upcoming months. Stay tuned!