A day on the high heel shoe at New York

As a tradition, the full MBA class will go to New York Yale Club and NYSE trading desk for one day during the orientation. Our class went to New York on Thursday. Almost everyone was wearing black suits. Although I am pregnant for 7 months, I was not different. I got a set of the maternity suit from A Pea in the Pod store, a special store for maternity fashion. The suit does not fit that well, but I cannot find anything else better in other stores such as motherhood, mini maternity etc. I was also wearing a pair of the black shoe with middle high heel. I should have brought a pair of the casual shoe with me. I stood on this high heel from 8:00AM to 11:30PM all day. Most of the network talking need standing. Plus we need walk a lot. What a torture! The other classmates even took the shoe off at the end of the day and walked with the naked feet. I didn't took off my shoe, I held on until I got back to New Haven at midnight. I suggested that if you are coming next year and not used to high heel, bring a pair of flat shoe with you to New York trip.

We have had a very nice lunch at Yale Club, which is in front of Grand Central Station at New York. I never like chicken. Almost all the meat provided during the orientation were chicken. But I want to say that our lunch, the chicken dish at Yale Club, is well prepared with great taste and the desert was very good. After the lunch, we were given a speech by an exceptional woman leader, a member of SOM class of 1986. I was inspired by her speech.

We had a few choices for the company visiting. I chose Merrill Lynch because I want to change my career from engineering to finance. I knew it is quit difficult, specially I will miss a lot of career events at the first semester due to pregnancy. I have to sacrifice this for my unborn baby. But I still want to try. It was a brief visiting at Merrill Lynch. A few alumni gave us a formal presentation followed by an question/answer section about recruiting and career at Yale SOM. When I asked one of them is it possible for me to interview for the investment banking job. He said he will first ask me if I fall sleep in the class because it is tired with pregnancy and heavy class work. Everyone laughed. I won't feel surprised by the people's response. And I know it looks difficult for me to find a good finance internship because I will give a birth right before the banking interview week. But I do not want to give up. I already take the challenge to be here with the rest of the class. I won't mind to take more challenge in the rest two years. I only can say, I will try my best.

At NYSE trading desk, we have had a lot of networking chat with the classmates. The market was closed by the time we went there. No one was there except for the reception servers. So many screens around made me imagine how busy it is in the day as shown in the movies. Maybe this is the first time and will be the last time I will be in this trading desk. So I took a photo there. It will be a good memory.

New York trip is definitely a good memory for my Yale SOM experience.