Smith students are as diverse in their career plans as they are in
their personal, social, academic and professional experiences.
Below is a peek at the diversity of learning and problem solving
completed by the MBA Class of 2006.
| Black & Decker |
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| |
From left to right:
Irene Chen, Ekta Mittal, Yong Pan, Derek Vlcko, driver
Matt Kenseth (ok..he was digitally superimposed), and
Tom Nowaczyk. |
Smith
Black & Decker interns were fortunate enough to attend the NASCAR
MBNA 400 at Dover Raceway in Dover, Delaware. During the race,
they were able to cheer on the Black & Decker team and support
driver, Matt Kenseth. When not racing, or helping the “pit
crew”, they are in a variety of divisions within Black & Decker.
Ekta Mittal is in Marketing and Product Management. Derek
Vlcko is involved with business development. Hsiao-Yin
("Irene") Chen engages in Product Management. Tom Nowaczyk is
functioning in a dual role within Corporate New Business Development
and Brand Management. Yong Pan interns with Equipment Finance.
General Electric
Caroline Griswold (pictured on the left with her summer roommates),
is spending her summer in GE’s
Commercial Finance Real Estate/Organization and Staffing Department
as part of the Human Resources Leadership Program in Stamford,
Conneticut. Caroline is very active in the Smith Community and
is the Vice President of the
Consulting Club. Many of you will meet her during eNGAGE,
the club's annual Interview and Case workshop on September 24th.
Additionally, She will be rounding up volunteers in the Fall for the
7th Annual Consulting Forum on October 7, 2005.
IBM Consulting
Sam LaNasa, originally from Cleveland, Ohio is interning with IBM
Business Consulting Services working in Strategy and Change right
here in Washington, D.C. Sam has a busy year coming up at
Smith – he is the MBAA Vice President for External Relations, Vice
President of the Professional Communications Club, a Graduate
Assistant for Admissions and appointed Courtyard Frisbee /
Football Coordinator. So if you enjoy tossing a frisbee in the
sunshine between classes, get to know Sam.
Honeywell
Michael Carney drove cross-country to his internship in Torrance,
California. At Honeywell, he is working in the Turbo
Technologies Division and a candidate in the pathways rotational
internship program. Currently Michael is functioning as a
business analyst for Honeywell. In addition to his duties as a
member of the MBA ‘007 Orientation Committee, he is a Vice President
for the
Smith Pride Alliance (SPA)

Note from Michael: If anyone is interested in
running-biking-swimming- let me know! We had an informal
training group last semester; we wouldd love to have more
participants!
PepsiCo
The PepsiCo interns are a great illustration of how students get
involved in the Smith Community. This summer,
each
is focusing on marketing and strategy at PepsiCo in Business
Development, Business Analytics and Category Management. When
you meet them, you will know them as the President of the
Communications Club (Maria Ogneva), President of the Graduate
Marketing Association (Monisha Banerjee) and the President of the
India Club (Vishwas).
from left to right, Vishwa,. Monisha Banerjee and Maria Ogneva tour
the PepsiCo Research & Development facility as part of their
internship experience. On this day, the interns were tasting
new Pepsi slurpees, and observing new equipment Pepsi is bringing to
the marketplace.
Capitol Hill
Interning on the Hill IS cool again!
Smith MBAs Jeremy Greenstein, Julie Inlow, Michael Pozsgay, Bharath
Chandar, Thomas Soong and Theodor Wittmer are interning this summer
in the Executive Office of the President, Department of
Transportation and the Department of Agriculture.

From Left to
Right: Jeremy Greenstein, Thomas Soong, Ted Wittmer, Mike Poszgay,
Bharath Chandar and Julie Inlow
America
On Line
Monica Robles (Corporate Product Marketing), Andrew Roberts (Member
Services, Technical Support and Strategy Development) and Sheilah
Bradley (Director of Budget and Planning Division) are spending
their summers working in different divisions of AOL.
(from left to right: Sheilah Bradley, Andrew Roberts and Monica
Robles)
Johnson & Johnson
Brian
O’Neill is spending his summer with Johnson & Johnson doing
Management Consulting between College Park, Maryland and Titusville,
New Jersey (he's a big fan of Amtrak). Brian is an active
mentor in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization – and he is
pictured here on one of their summer field trips.
Campaigning
Paul Lang, MBA/JD is spending his summer working on his
Congressional campaign for the
Eighth District in Pennsylvania. Paul is managing speaking
engagements, voter registration, constituent meetings and campaign
financing. His MBA has certainly given him insight to leadership,
teamwork, organizational systems, logistics, communications,
marketing and strategy. For more on Paul’s campaign, or to view his
blog visit www.electlang.com
Cisco
Valerio Zanini is working at Cisco Systems in Research Triangle Park
("RTP") outside Raeligh, North Carolina. Cisco's RTP location
is their second largest campus and home to the Mobile Wireless Group
which develops and
supports
solutions for mobile wireless service operators around the world.
Valerio is working in the Marketing department as a Product
Marketing Intern, assisting the Product Manager in the launch of a
new product that will be on the market at the end of August.
He is developing the positioning statement and strategy, business
case studies, ROI analysis tools, and product collaterals such as
the internal and external web-sites and CXO product brochures.
Over the summer, Valerio is living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
He plans to spend any free time exploring the area from the sea to
the mountains. Most recently, he visited a desert island
called "Hammock Island" whose only transportation to and from is a
small ferry, He spent the time relaxing on the white sand beaches
without a car.
His next trip is camping in the Smoky Mountains with some new
friends.
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Tips from
2nd Years
When it comes to making the transition back to grad school, who are the
experts? Smith 2nd years (Shhh! Don’t tell them we said so…).
Housing and Commuting
Housing
• Communicate with incoming students – the Navigator and other resources
have postings for roommates. And, email students who are living in the area
for recommendations.
• A useful website for the College Park area is
www.apartmentcities.com/Washington-DC-Apartments/College_Park_Apartments.asp
Commuting
• Budget your time wisely on how you will get to and from school
especially with the beltway traffic. If you have class in the morning
and are coming from further away, give yourself between 40 minues to an hour
in lovely MD-DC-VA traffic.
• Check the UM Shuttle Route to get an idea if the communities you are
evaluating are on the shuttle route (and double check that the shuttle or a
METRO bus has a nearby route even on the weekends)
• Live as close to campus as possible, a long commute can be a killer!
Parking
• Don’t forget about securing campus parking permits early! Otherwise,
you’ll be hoofin’ it from the CRC (almost “off” campus). Visit
www.transportation.umd.edu
to research your parking options and purchase a permit. It is too late
to have your permit mailed. Thus, you will need to pick it up on
August 18th. Parking information for Orientation and MathCamp will be
coming soon.
College Park Hints
• Plato’s Diner on Route 1 is good for free coffee refills and studying for
finals.
• College Perk is open 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays, and they have free WiFi!
• When attending happy hour at Santa Fe Café or Cornerstone – park behind
the Smoothie King. The meters last for several hours instead of 90 minutes,
And always set an alarm for 5 minutes before your meter expires (ticketing
is a thriving business in College Park)
• Get to know your classmates in and outside of the classroom.
Books
• Ask second years, if they are willing to sell their old books to you.
Another option is to go to online sources for used copies. Only if you
have to buy from the University bookstore, should you do so.
Attire and Career Fashion
• Make sure you have at least 2-3 business suits as during the first
semester, there will be plenty of information sessions and conferences on
campus to attend.
• If you are unclear about the difference between “business casual” and
“business formal” just ask someone to help you understand the differences!
School and Career
• Begin your internship search the minute you arrive (this is extremely
important for finance folks)!
• Get to know the 2nd years! They know what is REALLY going on at
Smith, and they were in your shoes last year.
• Always store a tie or something in your locker that can dress up an outfit
in case you have an unexpected event
• Join a Smith club or organization – think about becoming a leader, growing
a program and getting to know new people. It’s a great way to develop
networking and leadership skills!
Tips for International Students
• Try to visit different locations before choosing a place to stay.
Living in the US may be very different from what you are used to, so better
spend a couple of days looking around and find a place that you like.
• Contact your future peers before coming to the US. It will help
exchanging suggestions, making some new friends, and possibly finding living
locations close to each other.
• If you don't plan to have a car (not necessary), look for a place in
College Park near the campus, or in Washington DC along Green line Metro
(Columbia Heights/Adams Morgan and U Street areas are the best locations).
If you plan to buy a car, you may have more choices available, like Silver
Spring, Bethesda or even downtown Washington DC.
• If you want to have some fun and a wider selection of places to go after
school or during the weekend, look for a place in Washington DC.
Although the commute is a little longer, it will offer you a complete
different list of opportunities to enjoy your free time!
• Don't stress out! Living in the US is going to be a nice and fun
experience, and the Smith community will help enjoying your stay and solve
any problem.
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