Some Random Photos

If pictures are truly worth a thousand words, this is going to be the most I've ever written. I thought I'd post a few snapshots to give you a visual sense of where I spend most of my time when I'm hanging out at school. Let's start with Sage Hall, a view of Cayuga Lake from campus, and a photo of two future Cornellians. (Disclaimer: I'm not a professional photographer. I know how to turn the flash off and on, but that's as far as my camera skills go).

The Parker Center is one of the most valuable assets of the Johnson School in terms of absolute dollars (the software licenses and data feeds are worth almost $2 million in annual fees) and in terms of what makes us different from other top business schools. Using industry-standard analytical tools to manage a real hedge fund as an MBA student is a very unique opportunity. Here is a shot of the Parker Center classroom (available to all Johnson students) and the adjacent Parker Center studio (used exclusively by the student portfolio managers of the Cayuga Fund). When I'm not in class, chances are you can find me in the studio.

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I thought I'd throw in a couple more shots of places a prospective student might find interesting. This first is the Atrium - literally the center of Sage Hall. With a vaulted glass ceiling and plenty of room to eat or hang out, the Atrium is the most social location in the building. The second photo is the student lounge in the basement. It comes equipped with leather couches and two flat-panel TVs so you can catch CNBC and SportsCenter in between classes. There's also a microwave and fridge near the vending machines. The third photo is one of the main classrooms. Not much to elaborate on there.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the show. If you're interested in seeing something that's not on the school website, shoot me an email and I'll see what I can do to post a photo.

And the Trophy Goes to...

One of the most high-profile events held at the Johnson School is the annual MBA Stock Pitch Competition. I was involved with sending applications to other schools and helping the directors with the logistics, so it was a relief that the competition ran smoothly. This past Thursday and Friday, we hosted teams from Darden, Wharton, NYU, Columbia, Wisconsin, Chicago, Kellogg, Maryland, UNC, Duke, and Michigan. Each school sent 3 of their best stock junkies to vie for a chance to impress recruiters and to take home the $3000 prize.

This year's competition didn't disappoint. Kellogg's two-year winning streak was broken by Maryland, whose final-round pitch of Under Armour Inc impressed the judges the most. Here's how the format works. All of the teams were given the same stock (Home Depot), and a list of stocks from two industries (satellite radio and athletic apparel). The teams had exactly 12 hours on Thursday to anaylze their stocks and prepare their presentations. On Friday, they pitched their stocks to a panel of buy-side analysts and portfolio managers. The first two rounds consisted of the teams pitching Home Depot (long or short) and pitching their choice from the sat radio industry (long or short). We broke for lunch while the judges deliberated on which 4 teams would make it through to the final round.

The mood was intense when the final 4 teams were announced: Wicsonsin, NYU, Maryland, and Kellogg. Just minutes later, the first team was standing in front of the judges recommending a long position in Under Armour. It was kind of interesting that the teams could choose from 4 different athletic apparel companies (Under Armour, Nike, Lululemon, and Crox), yet 2 of the final teams recommend a long in Under Armour, and the other 2 teams recommended shorting it. The quality of the presentations were excellent, especially since most of the teams were composed entirely of first-year students and since they only had 12 hours of preparation.