A Hungry First Year MBA

Ryan (far right) enjoying a bite with classmates during pre-term

Post by:
Ryan Sosin
MBA Candidate, 2013

My name is Ryan Sosin and I am a hungry first-year MBA student.

Boston may not be the culinary center of the world, but food is definitely at the center of my BU MBA experience. Going to school a stones throw from Kenmore Square, a short walk to Fenway and easy T rides to downtown, Brookline and Allston provides plenty of options to eat.

You will hear during your MBA, no matter where you go, that networking is just as important as your classes. This is very true, but people often mistake social events as the study guide and not a good meal with good friends. Food gives you the brilliance to turn around your selected Integrated Project product the night before the mid-term deliverables are due; it sustains you during the two days you spend in close quarters with three other people for PharmaSim (a 3-day marketing simulation) and most importantly, it is the ultimate networking activity.

During pre-term, people travel in packs while the smaller social groups are still shaking out. One day, about 25 of us piled into the Kenmore Square Qdoba at the same time to chow down on burritos. While we talked about where we were from and what we think of Boston, Qdoba turned into a five-star restaurant/mess hall. We had pushed all the tables together and the staff was bringing us chips and dip. It was a classy affair!

There is also an event called “Thirsty Thursday” just about every week throughout the year. Most of them are at the unofficial BU Graduate School of Management (GSM) bar, Cornwall's. A short walk from class, Cornwall's is the site of many debriefings after exams, presentations or data cases. While many choose to use their free drink ticket to get a pint first, the smart kids are chowing down on the free nachos and cheese sticks before others get to them.

My classmates and I have dumped an untold fortune into the coffers of Breadwinners and Starbucks, a café and coffee shop located on the second floor of the School of Management building, during our first months at BU. There is something very comforting about getting a peanut butter and jelly sandwich from Peggy before frantically trying to wrap your head around free cash flows in the graduate student lounge.

By the time you reach Thanksgiving, the bonds with your classmates have grown fairly strong. Those who did not travel home for the American holiday held a potluck dinner with food from all over the world. They watched football, ate oysters and played cards with a giant deck that could double as plywood.

Ryan Sosin is a 1^st Year MBA with experience in collegiate athletics and a life-long dream of being an astronaut. You can find him ordering a PB&J sandwich at Breadwinners.
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