Week 6 of 8 is coming to an end here at Saïd Business School, and I should really be studying. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned (in addition to various cashflow discount methods), it’s that you really have to take advantage of the incredible opportunities at Oxford that also exist outside the Business School…especially when you only have one year in which to do it.

So how did I get to be here, procrastinating on my homework while looking out on the beautiful river view from the Hertford College Graduate Centre?

Starting with the basics, I am a 25-year-old native of Washington, D.C. and a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. After college, I worked at a public relations firm doing health and social marketing work. After a few years, I quit my job in Washington D.C. and lived in Uganda for a while, working on a small business project with village women.

I always knew I wanted to enter a career in international development, but I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of training might be helpful. Most people I knew in the development field had MPH, MS or even law degrees. But the more I learned about the field, the more I wondered if a new kind of approach was necessary—one that incorporated the end “customer’s” viewpoint, one that responded to demand instead of supplying programs dreamed up by bureaucrats, one that demanded accountability and efficiency in all its operations.

Why weren’t more people in this field getting MBAs? I wondered.I was almost through with my application process—solely to business schools in America—when I happened to have a conversation with Chris McKenna. Now the  Oxford MBA Program Director, Chris was working in America when I asked him about Oxford’s business program. Many schools I was considering seemed like “classic” MBA programs, with a focus on traditional industries, making money, etc. I was more interested in applying business techniques to the nonprofit sector and “making a difference” in the world. What could Saïd Business School offer?
Chris paused then, and his eyes widened. No doubt he was thinking of the School’s Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, its professors’ many public-private research interests, or its uniquely international student body…among many other factors. “I really think Saïd would be a good fit for you,” he said.
So here I am, almost done with the first term, and it has gone by fast. My day planner looks like it was attacked by a crazed diarist around the end of September. And it’s been filled with some really unforgettable moments (hopefully including actual class material…we’ll see in exam week…)

As the core first term requirements, we are taking Marketing, Strategy, Finance, Financial Reporting, Decision Science and Managerial Economics. In the interests of full disclosure, I should tell you that I nearly fainted when I read this little educational ensemble before I came here. But here’s the good news: there are a surprising number of people in our class who have just as little background in quantitative analysis as I do. And there are even more people who are experts in these subjects and devote an incredible amount of their time to helping their classmates understand the coursework.

I’ve been quite impressed, in fact, by the general lack of competitiveness here. If people can help you by sharing their knowledge, they don’t hesitate. Maybe you’ll help them with an assignment in your area of strength, maybe you’ll buy them a beer at the pub later, but reciprocation isn’t the important thing.

And then there’s quite a lot you can learn from classmates outside the academic arena. The student body here is so diverse, it feels like a mini United Nations. We are all divided into study groups of about six people, with whom we will do group assignments for the whole first term. In my group alone, the students are from India, China, Colombia, France and Great Britain. So whenever we work on a project, we get six perspectives analyzing the problem in a uniquely comprehensive way. (And yes, sometimes this can be difficult, such as when we have different reactions to things and need to reach a quick consensus…but it actually doesn’t happen as often as you might think.)

As for the other activities, a few examples and a couple pictures will have to suffice: MBA happy hours, Diwali parties, matriculation events, 2008 election night festivities, formal dinners at friends’ colleges, the notorious Evelyn Waugh Night at Hertford College…deep breath…punting on the Thames, visiting museums, cycling in the countryside, Guy Fawkes Night (for which there is no explanation a non-Briton will understand), and just generally exploring Oxford, one of the oldest and prettiest towns I’ve ever seen. You can understand why there’s hardly any white space in the day planner.