What to Expect in the First Half of your First Year at Anderson

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About Briana: Briana Rayhaun (’24) is originally from Orange County, CA. She graduated from USC with a Bachelors in Business Administration. Since graduating, Briana has worked in the commercial real estate industry, most recently in commercial real estate lending. At Anderson, she seeks to transition to the equity side of commercial real estate.



I’m sure we’re all familiar with the college triangle where you have to pick two of the three points: sleep, good grades, and social life. For us MBA students, we get to add a fourth point, recruiting! Lucky for us, Anderson is grade non-disclosure, which means grades don’t matter, so back to the triangle it is! The best advice that I received is that you can have all three but not at the same time. Depending on the day/week/month, you’ll have to prioritize different things.

Summer Quarter:

Summer quarter had an early start; for my class of ’24, school started on August 1st. For fall 2023 admits, you’ll be starting on July 31st. The thought behind an early start is that students have the opportunity to take quantitative courses that may help with fall recruiting. There will be one week of orientation, during which you will take Foundations of Inclusive Leadership. For the rest of the quarter, you’ll be taking Organizational Behavior, Financial Accounting, and Career Management Workshop I.

All first-year students will be divided into one of five sections, and you’ll be taking all your core classes with your section. You will also be divided into learning teams of five or six and will be doing all your core class group projects with this team. You’ll also have the opportunity to run for a leadership position in your section: President, EVP, International Relations, EDI, Social, Community Impact, and Sustainability.

Summer quarter flies by, and many say it’s their favorite quarter. It’s when you’ll meet and form close relationships with your amazing classmates! You have a bit more time for social during this quarter since you’ll have a light course load and don’t have to worry about recruiting until fall quarter. This quarter ends with a first-year class trip to Vegas!

Fall Quarter:

Things start to pick up during the fall quarter. Now, you’re taking Data and Decisions, Managerial Economics, Career Management Workshop II, and either Financial Accounting or Marketing, whichever you choose. You’ll also have to pick your primary industry focus for recruiting so that you can meet in your ACT teams, which are led by second years and are meant to help first year students with recruiting.

This quarter, in addition to recruiting, your focus will be on networking, joining clubs, and taking on more leadership positions. Companies will visit campus. You will visit company offices. You will set up coffee chats with your peers, 2nd year classmates, and alumni. It’s a busy quarter but you’ll get as much out of it as you put into it so take advantage of all the resources and opportunities. People are always happy to chat with students!

We end this quarter with a snow trip, a month off to enjoy the holidays, and well needed rest before another busy, but amazing quarter!



Student Blogger: Briana Rayhaun ‘24

Undergrad: USC, ‘18

Pre-MBA: Commercial Real Estate Lending at Wells Fargo

Leadership@Anderson: Director of PSA, Admissions Ambassador Corps; Director of Alumni & Community, Association for Real Estate at Anderson

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