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| “I chose the Merage school because of the students. There is more of a realness to the students here than I saw at other schools. They were very interested in me and what I could bring to the experience.” |
| Vital Statistics |
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Graduating Year: 2007 |
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Hometown: Laguna Beach, California |
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Undergraduate and Previous Work Experience: Pepperdine University, Malibu, CaliforniaMoney Manager, Bernstein InvestmentsAssociate, Fisher Investments |
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Major: Finance and Real Estate |
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Internship while in the Program: GE Real Estate |
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Position upon Graduation: Associate Director, GE Real Estate |
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Extracurricular Activities: Vice President of Finance, Real Estate AssociationPresident of Toast Masters |
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Just for Fun: Surfing, basketball, volleyball and reading history books |
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OC Favorite Places: The rooftop bar of La Casa Del Camino in Laguna Beach – it has an incredible 180 degree ocean view |
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Orientation Was an Immediate Way to Connect
I’ll never forget the first day of Boot Camp – that’s what they call orientation at the Merage School. All of us participated in a four-day course called “Management of Complex Organizations.” This Boot Camp experience was intense and rigorous. But more than that, it was an incredible way to connect with all of the students in the program.
I spent time and got to know the team that I would be working with for my first year of classes. How great it was to have the advantage of knowing them even before we attended our first class. It was also a terrific way to get a chance to learn about people quickly and find out what everyone else was doing prior to coming to the school. Being around everyone all the time was an immediate way to connect.
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I’m Not Just a Number
Being part of a smaller school and smaller student body really helps with having access to your fellow students and professors. But more than that, this sense of community extends outside the school. To the local business community, you’re not just a number to them – they have maybe a handful of students they are dealing with from the school. This gives you a more hands-on experience with the businesses as well.
Also, the culture of the Merage School is to work really hard – but at the end of the day, hang out and have a good time. The students definitely adhere to this culture – we are all very serious and committed, and yet we also enjoy going out having some fun.
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"To the local business community, you’re not just a number to them – they have maybe a handful of students they are dealing with from the school."
Kurt Nelson
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Growing My Networking Skills
As I’ve gone through the program, I’ve definitely gained more confidence in myself. Just going through the academic process alone has helped me develop skills I never knew I had. And networking, growing that skill, has helped me immeasurably in terms of my job search and getting to know everyone in the Merage community.
One thing that I found to be quite valuable was the team experience. Working in a team allowed me to express my ideas and test them out. Some of them worked, some didn’t. I was excited to see my thoughts come to fruition within the team – I felt that my thoughts and ideas were very much contributing to our success.
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Iveta Brigis
FIRST STORY:
Matthew Helfer
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