Networking is the buzz word at the UCLA Anderson School of
Management, and besides showing up at alumni and corporate
recruitment events, it has infiltrated student life through
clubs.
Student organizations at the business school range from
career-oriented associations to a group of about 15 dedicated to
ultimate frisbee. But they’re all tied together by one common
thread: offering the ability to meet people with similar interests
and aspirations, which could lead to future benefits.
“It’s all about networking. … We’re just
looking for jobs,” said Andre Dogan, a masters of business
administration student and president of Strategic Operations
Management Association, which involves students in
management-oriented activities.
Dogan and peers gathered Wednesday evening at Westwood Brewing
Company in the Village, arriving early to prepare for a mixer
hosted jointly by their club and the Marketing Association. The
restaurant cordoned off its upstairs bar for the members-only
event, and guests who began trickling in at 7:00 p.m. filled their
plates from buffet-style, heated pans.
Jennifer Liao, an MBA student and the Marketing
Association’s vice president of membership, says one fringe
benefit of club involvement is that it helps build a strong
resume.
She works in leading roles with five Anderson-related
organizations. Though she was heavily involved in similar
activities as an undergraduate, Liao says the small size of
Anderson’s community makes relationships more intimate.
About 660 full-time MBA students attend classes at the school,
and of those, it’s a small minority who aren’t active
members in a club or other organization, Liao says.
“Anderson culture is an extremely collegial type of
culture,” she said. “It’s great.”
Liao adds that while she is “probably one of the most
involved people at Anderson,” she believes her enthusiasm is
an inherent quality many of her fellow MBAs share.
“You’re dealing with brilliant people that all have
fairly similar personalities ““ Type A, motivated,” she
said.
At Anderson Wine Club’s on-campus event Wednesday,
students chattered in small clusters, surrounded by tables of empty
and uncorked bottles. With bags and backpacks thrown against the
wall, the atmosphere at the annual kick-off tasting was
relaxed.
Club officers brought 80 wine glasses to the gathering, all
handed out within half an hour. Members say the club’s
popularity can be attributed to the real-world knowledge it
offers.
“You get to learn a lot,” said Devana Cohen, an MBA
student and one of the club’s four co-presidents.
“It’s a very unpretentious environment. If you
don’t know about wine, you can ask the stupid questions that
you can’t ask at a nice dinner.”
While MBA students take full advantage of not having to worry
about the underage drinking laws that inhibit their undergraduate
counterparts, Anderson Wine Club events are unique because students
leave with information they can use, Cohen said.
“Knowing good wines is important in any business. You go
out to dinner, and you don’t want to look like an
idiot,” said Mehran Movassaghi, a club member working toward
an MBA and a medical degree.
Friday afternoon offered a change of scene, with a small group
of Anderson students sprawled on the intramural field after a
two-hour ultimate frisbee practice. Of the 50 people on the
club’s e-mail list, about 15 are consistently active, said
Heidi Chong, co-president.
One member is Doug Griffith, who runs Anderson’s surfing
and ski clubs. He and fellow skiiers will take a January trip to
Austria, where they will meet up with students from the London
Business School. Griffith was working last week to rent a
condominium near a ski resort, and says club involvement has
“become my fifth class.”
With her face hidden behind sunglasses at Friday
afternoon’s frisbee practice, Chong said the students who
made it into one of the country’s most competitive business
schools do find time to study.
“After drinking,” she says with a chuckle.
But she and her teammates add that a large group left practice
early to attend an afternoon statistics review session.
And while a slew of clubs for social activities exists, the
largest student organization on campus is the Entrepreneurs
Association. Boasting over 500 members, the association works with
the school’s Harold Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
to offer students hands-on experience in entrepreneurial
activities.
Even Anderson’s sports clubs are not purely social in
their nature. Many of the groups will compete in April as part of
Challenge for Charity, an annual competition that pits students
from seven business schools against each other in fundraising and
volunteering efforts.
The only constant at Anderson seems to be that the calendar is
packed ““ especially at the beginning of the year.
“It’s definitely 15 things to choose from every day.
Later on, there’ll be four,” Chong said.
“There’s always something to do.”