The program I am enrolled in is an International MBA with an emphasis in entrepreneurship that I hope will lead to better career opportunities when Amanda and I return to DFW in a few years. Classes for the first semester began in early September and run through December 16th. The structure in terms of assessment is quite a bit different than what I am used to. Most of those who are readying this were probably subjected to take home assignments and multiple in class tests that take place throughout the semester. This program however requires very little in the way of daily assessment and relies on only an exam and a 2,500 to 3,000 word essay at the end of the course. This makes testing a bit more stressful than I remember it.
For those who are interested I am taking four courses this semester spread over four days. Monday afternoon is Managing Human Resources, Tuesday I have Managing Decisions (accounting), Wednesday is Delivering Customer Value (marketing) and Thursday is Management in a Complex World (economics). The most entertaining course is economics surprisingly with accounting coming in a close second.
The best part of the course is getting to meet new people and learn about different cultures and ways of life. Of the twenty three students in the program, I am the only American. There is also only one native of the UK in the course as well. A majority of the students are from India and Nigeria, however we also have students from Spain, Italy, Greece, Poland, Jordan and Vietnam. With a group as diverse as this you can’t help but learn new ways to see the world and challenge your ideas and opinions about virtually everything. It has already been a tremendous growing experience and I’m sure that will continue over the next several months.
One of the best experiences I have had occurred during a two day excursion to Alton about a month ago. The first day we spent discussing the differences between personality types and received results from the Type Dynamics Indicator we took a few weeks prior (think Myers/Briggs). The next day we went to Lasham Training Centre which is a ropes course that provides motivational and team building activities. We spent the morning playing on the low ropes course, working on communication and trying to put the ideas we learned the previous day into practice. After that they took us to the high ropes course. High ropes course is something that I have always been terrified of. I don’t like heights and to be honest, I find it difficult to trust others with things that are important, and a high ropes course manages to combine both of those personal difficulties into one exceedingly terrifying moment.
When we made it down to the high ropes course I listened attentively to the safety brief never once actually considering attempting it. I made certain to actively help on the belay in hopes that no one would notice I hadn’t attempted any of the obstacles. My plan didn’t work. One of my classmates, Nidhi, had noticed that I still hadn’t attempted any of the obstacles and encouraged me to try one. Seeing as I tend towards the stubborn side I was reluctant to be persuaded. She stuck with it and eventually talked me into it. We decided to do the 30 foot high standard pole that had a trapeze we were supposed to jump to as well.
To be honest it seemed the least frightening of the three options to me. We decided I should go up first so I got all hooked up and slowly crawled up the pole. It felt like it took forever and my progress probably wasn’t helped by the fact that I couldn’t open my eyes. Once I made it to the top however I had to open my eyes in order to stand on the platform and found myself nearly frozen with fear. It took several minutes and some very calm direction from one of the instructors to get me into a sitting position.
Amazingly once I had moved from the kneeling position, in which I felt certain doom was approaching, to the sitting position I felt encouraged enough to stand. It took a few more excruciatingly tense moments but I finally managed to stand at the top of the platform and await the arrival Nidhi. She was far more comfortable with the climb than I was and once she made it to the top all that was left was a leap to the trapeze.
We talked our way through the upcoming leap and committed to going through with the jump on a count of three. At this point we were so focused on getting to the trapeze I had nearly forgotten I was precariously perched thirty feet in the air with a thin nylon rope as my only real protection from falling. Once the decision to jump was made it took another brief moment to gain the courage to jump but on the count of three we lunged for the trapeze. Unfortunately we didn’t jump at the same speed and while I managed to grab hold of the trapeze my momentum pushed it out Nihdi’s reach. The nylon rope and one of our classmates on belay prevented Nidhi from falling and quickly lowered her to the ground while I hung on for dear life swaying back and forth. It was while Nidhi was being lowered that I again realized how far up I was began to find the idea of letting go of the trapeze rather difficult. Our instructor however assured me no harm would come and pulled his end of the rope as much as he could to help me realize that I was still protected from the fall. Being physically drained from the climb up and emotionally exhausted from the whole experience I gave in released the trapeze. The first few moments felt like freefall but quickly the rope slowed my fall and I was let down slowly and gently.
The rest of the afternoon was rather surreal. Every one of my classmates came to congratulate me on facing my fears and several told me it was inspirational to watch. I certainly appreciate the encouragement and kind words but truthfully even now I don’t find what I did to be all that inspiring. I understand fear a little better than I did before and know that while I faced my fear of heights that day, I by no means have conquered it. I also know that trusting others is still something that I must work on if I am ever going to achieve some of the things I hope to. It was a big step in the right direction though and I am extremely grateful for all the support I felt that day when I faced my biggest fear.
Since that trip, we have been focusing our assessments and trying to take what we’ve learned from our classes and each other and apply it to our studies. For the most part it has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience and with the approach of Christmas break (that’s right, they call it Christmas break here) I can begin looking forward to the second half of the course.
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