Although It’s been just seven weeks into the MBA, it feels longer; it feels more like halfway into the programme. A lot’s happened (in a good way!) We started without a lockdown, and now there is a lockdown. Thankfully, educational purposes are sort of exempt so we still get in-person classes.
My week typically consists of school work, school prep (two separate, time-consuming things!), my work with the Oxford Seed Fund and socialising with my remarkable classmates and the broader Europe VC landscape.
8am: Alexa rings the alarm. I turn on my phone (a new habit of turning off my phone before bed, going good), say a prayer, and get ready for class! I ask her what the temperature is at Oxford for the day – this informs how thick my coat will be.
9am: Walking to class with my headphones reading an audiobook – Born A Crime by Trevor Noah. It was recommended by a classmate during a walk. Trevor Noah’s performance of the audiobook is fantastic!
9:15am: I’m seated in my Business Finance class, coffee in hand in the lecture theatre, with a quaint, socially distanced group of about 15. I’m wearing a mask, but now used to it. I forget I have it on. We both calculate and have philosophical discussions about net present value, portfolio diversification, Beta, and CAPM (capital asset pricing model) capital market assumptions in this two-hour class. By digging into the basics, we can build intuition on capital financing. I ask questions. I listen to people’s questions and comments. I quite enjoy this class.
11:15am: I’m heading to the School café to grab my second cup of coffee alongside fellow students in my section. We talk about the finance class and discuss the possibility of some student-led study sessions for those with non-finance backgrounds. Someone mentions that there is a support class offered by the professor.
I haven’t had breakfast and I am now hungry, so I grab breakfast at the School café. Today, it’s rice and tomato sauce with cheese and olives. The chocolate chip cookie is a favourite dessert option, so I get that too. The staff at the café are so lovely, and their smiles alongside the cookie brighten my day.
12pm: I have a coffee chat with a fellow student in the cohort. I hear her story and share mine. I think communicating and listening while wearing masks develops your non-verbal cues in ways you might not realise. You see the smiles in the eyes, the furrowing of the brows, the rapid blinking, the arm gestures; they all mean something and are weaving a story. We share our general sentiments on the MBA experience so far and we talk about our post-MBA plans, favourite classes etc. We find that, even though we are from totally different countries and experiences, we have a lot more in common than we think! I cherish these 1-to-1s.
12:30pm: I open my laptop. Lots of meetings to attend, emails to respond to, and I prepare for my next weekly meeting with the Oxford Seed Fund team.
1pm: I attend a Marketing plenary where Jesse Bongiovi speaks about his journey with Hampton Water – his relatively new rose brand. (I promise it’s school work!)
1:30pm: I have a 30-minute sync with a School alumna from a previous cohort who is currently an investment professional at a European Venture Capital firm. She was gracious enough with her time to talk with me about the investment landscape in Europe and share her experiences. It was terrific; again, I cherish the 1-to-1s. I have another call with an amazing Oxford-affiliated startup, Yoxly, and talk about their business, and how the Oxford Seed Fund might help.
2:30pm: I’m getting a little hungry, but not that hungry, so I grab another cup of (free) coffee.
2:45pm: I walk home, and I continue listening to the audiobook, Born A Crime by Trevor Noah.
3pm: I rest for a bit, and try to catch up on pre-reading for the next day. This is Business Analytics — about two hours of content and some group work are required. I check in on my study group via chat. I skim through some of the content. It’s basically statistical sampling and regression analysis. I dive in.
5pm: Finally done! I take a break for the next hour and get ready for the event. I sneak in another meal. This time it’s an attempt at a homemade sandwich.
5:45pm: I dial into a pre-sync call for the Oxford Seed Fund flagship event. We refine the final details and align on flow. I speak passionately on the video call, telling the team how amazing the slides look.
'Maria, I think you’re on mute!'
I laugh as I unmute. 'Yeah, isn’t that the norm these days…[laugh]? I was saying….'
7pm: The event was great! I relax, catching up on a TV show. Did I tell you about my love for cyberpunk dystopian sci-fi TV shows?
After the TV show, my husband and I talk about our days as students. It’s funny how we are in the MBA programme together but somehow have totally different daily experiences!
Till next time.
Maria
