University at Buffalo School of Management

6 Buffalo Business Spring 2018 "In one exercise, I had to hold a cup of water upright while I got flipped up- side down," she says. "I really had to think outside the box to come up with some cre- ative solutions to that seemingly impossi- ble task." Like other UB MBAs, though, Recor discovered something about herself from the adventure. "I learned that pushing past my comfort zone can be rewarding and truly enjoyable," she says. "In the past, I wasn't always the first person to say hello, speak up in a group setting or volunteer to lead a project, but MBA Advantage has helped me challenge myself and set me up to continue doing so in the future." Taku Yamamoto, from Osaka, Japan, had only been in the U.S. for a couple of months before coming to UB. For him, understanding what his fellow MBAs were saying was the biggest challenge. Not your father's orientation Students build their skills and teams during MBa advantage Yousuf Aziz wanted to reinvent him- self, so he le his family and a great job in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to get an MBA from a top school. He arrived in the U.S. for the first time just five days before the start of MBA Advantage, a unique program that be- gins with two weeks of orientation before the start of classes. "It was a challenge coming here alone and adjusting to a new culture while trying to get to know other students," Aziz says. "But the School of Management planned fantastic cohort-building activities and innovative approaches that really helped me adapt to the local environment and get to know and connect with people." "MBA Advantage is not your father's orientation," says Erin O'Brien, assistant dean and director of graduate programs. Aer the first two weeks, the program continues with activities to launch each subsequent semester. The focus is on co- hort, team and personal development. "We provide our students with a series of shared experiences and challenges to help define their MBA network for the next two years — and oen beyond." Nearly 100 students started with an overnight stay at Beaver Hollow Conference Center, nestled in a scenic, rural setting an hour from Buffalo. The first day was filled with icebreaker and team activities, a community-building dinner and bonfire. On day two, the group engaged in a more complex series of exercises to spur innova- tive and creative thinking and bring them closer together. Chelsea Recor, an MD/MBA student, grew up locally and knew a few other stu- dents, but still had to venture out of famil- iar territory at MBA Advantage. BY J A C q U E l I N E M O l I k G H O S E N In one activity, MBA students worked with their teams to successfully build a catapult. Photos: Tom Wolf

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