I was lucky on Monday to have contacted Lily, who mentioned she had spent her spring break in Singapore with the Fletcher International Business Club.  I can’t believe I nearly missed this interesting news!  Lily saved the day, and best of all, she was happy to write something for me.  Here’s Lily’s report.

While Spring break is a time to rest for most students, some find it a great opportunity to network and build the career connections that will help them land their dream job.  And so six Fletcher students, both first- and second-years, went on a week-long career trip to Singapore.  With a shared strong interest in Southeast Asia, the students met with thought leaders and business executives, company managers and representatives, to learn about the economic and business environment in Southeast Asia, as well as the career opportunities in the region.

Students met with a range of companies, from financial services groups like MasterCard and DBS, to consulting firms such as Accenture and IHS, to oil and gas companies like Chevron and Exxon Mobil.  Organized through the Fletcher network, personal contacts, or simply company outreach, the meetings were an amazing opportunity to meet people with extensive experience and expertise in Southeast Asia.

A lively Fletcher community in Singapore was yet another perk of the trip.  A gathering was organized with the extensive support of the Fletcher Alumni Club of Singapore and the gracious hospitality of a Fletcher alumna. Wonderful to meet so many recent and not-so-recent alums in the region.  Their hospitality is unmatched by any measure.

As it often goes — work hard, play hard.  Singapore has some great things to offer!  The highlights:  chilli crab, Singapore sling, chicken rice, and Sentosa!

It was a packed week, exploring the city and its culture, in addition to attending business meetings. Some great videos for Fletcher Follies squeezed in as well!

Interesting – yes!  Useful – even more than I had expected!  Exhausting – to a certain degree!  Worth it – absolutely!

Southeast Asia is a booming economic region and this Singapore trip opened many doors for our Fletcher gang.  We hope to continue this entirely student-led initiative in the future!

I’m going to breeze straight past disappointing sports news from yesterday, and recall, instead, a happier weekend a couple of weeks back.  That’s when much of Fletcher relocated to the mountains of Maine for the annual ski trip.  I asked two students to describe the Sugarloaf experience.

Second-year student, Jenny, fills us in on the organization of the trip:

As a Fletcher student, I never get tired of hearing about the sense of community that students experience here at Fletcher.  In fact, this is what attracted me to the MALD program in the first place.  And now that I am a part of it, I completely understand what I had heard from Fletcher faculty, students, and staff.  Fletcher’s annual ski trip to Sugarloaf Mountain Resort in Maine showed once again why the Fletcher community is so strong.

The annual ski trip is a student-organized event that you do not want to miss.  It’s a chance for all of us to stretch our legs, put down our books, turn off our computers, and get some fresh air during a weekend away.  The dedicated group of students who form the Ski Trip Committee work hard to organize and plan a trip that only strengthens the student community and creates great memories.  Even though the resort is huge, and we are spread out in various cabins, you will always run into a fellow Fletcher student on the slopes, in the cafeteria, in the rental shop, or even in the cabin right next to you.  In the evening, we all convene to show our support for our very own Fletcher band, Los Fletcheros, and share stories of skiing for the first time, falling hard on the slopes, or relaxing in the hot tub all day.  Needless to say, we all thanked the student organizers for planning a great event.

The ski trip is just one example of how students help build a tight-knit community.  Many Fletcher students are involved in planning events such as the Diplomat’s Ball, Fletcher Follies, the four cultural nights, and various speaker events that bring students together in a cultural, diverse, academic, and social environment.  The ski trip shows that the community is not confined to Fletcher’s campus, but exists even when we are away from school.  What connects all student-organized events is that they strengthen the community; and that is the Fletcher experience.

First-year student, Beth, wrote about her first experience with this Fletcher tradition:

The legendary Fletcher ski trip took place recently.  While I was looking forward to it, I had no idea how it could live up to the expectations set by the second years.  All through the fall semester, second years raved about last year’s trip and talked endlessly about the bonding experience.  Somehow, I was doubtful that having 400 students spread over a mountain would really bring us that much closer, when we already spend endless hours together in class, the library, Mugar Café, and Davis Square.

Predictably, I was wrong.  Without the distraction of homework and internship searches, our class finally had the chance to talk about everything else.  Sitting on the ski lift, we chatted about sports, family ski trips, the prior night’s party, and our winter break.  I noticed my friends getting to know other students better and forging new relationships.  My classmates had always impressed me with their hobbies and skills, but I hadn’t had the chance to see most of their talents at work.  Watching them instantly befriend new people, teach each other to ski, fearlessly take on a new sport, or fly down the mountain was truly impressive.

Everything I like about my classmates in school — their supportiveness, their inclusiveness, their confidence, and their sense of adventure — translated perfectly onto the mountain.  As the second years had promised, the ski trip was an opportunity to see my classmates in a new light, and once again be impressed.

Blog readers already know that Fletcher students have talents that extend way beyond the classroom.  Today, allow me to introduce Los Fletcheros.  More accurately, I’ll let second-year student and part-time musician Jeffrey Fine do the introduction.  He was writing in answer to my question, “Are you a Fletchero?” and to my request for information about the group:

I am a Fletchero — trumpet.

As a least-common-denominator, we are all from Fletcher, we like to play music to blow off steam, and we have a propensity for throwing epic musical bashes that attract a broad sampling of Fletcher students.  More specifically, Los Fletcheros is an eight-piece band that has its roots in Fletcher’s cultural nights, but has since morphed into a venue-filling ensemble playing cover music from the jazz, funk, classic rock, pop, and alternative genres.  We now have about five shows in the academic year, plus one epic gala at the annual ski trip.  After graduating much talent last year, we recruited two new first-years who will be press-ganging new Fletcheros after six of us graduate in May.

Have musical talent?  Keep the Fletcheros in mind when you’re deciding if Fletcher is the grad school for you.  Otherwise, there may be pressure on the faculty to agree to the request from first-year Fletchero, Joe, to fail Jeff and other second-years Claire, Sam, Fred, Andrew, and Nick.  Joe writes, “I mean, I wish them all the best, of course, but this is rock and roll!”  Don’t let it come to this, future students.  Instead, help out by joining Los Fletcheros in September.

Alas, the fantastic run of the Fletcher Fútbol team came to an end yesterday in a replay of the final game.  The mid-morning start, and holding the game at Tufts, ensured that light on the field wouldn’t be an issue.

Despite freezing temperatures, and final exams knocking at their doors, intrepid fans turned out to cheer for the team.

As I live not far away and had a bit of Sunday morning free time, I decided to swing by the field for a while.  This, I’m afraid, was an unfortunate decision.  When I arrived, toward the end of the first half, the score was tied at 0-0.  But soon the HBS squad managed a goal.  After a brief break, our hardworking athletes returned to the field, only to suffer the surrender of two more goals.  Fearing that I was the problem, I headed home.  From that moment, HBS managed no further goals, and Fletcher scored one.  If only I had left a little sooner!  I’m so sorry Fletcher Fútbol.  I know you could have done it without me.

No.  There is no Fletcher admissions advantage for athletes.  I want to end that rumor right now, despite dramatic successes for three of our teams. Playing in the Tufts intramural league, facing undergraduate (i.e. younger) legs, both the basketball team:

and the volleyball team:

won in their divisions.  Congratulations teams!

Capping off a week of sports action, legendary Fletcher fútbol achieved a top-of-its group win (3-1!) over Harvard Kennedy School in the regional graduate school league.  The Fletcher fútbolers will soon play in the championship tournament, ably captained by second-year MALD students Amos and Sebastián.  First time to the tournament in Fletcher Fútbol history!  Let’s hope that Amos and Sebastián can count on three more goals from first-year MALD students Elia and Christian, as well as one from Sebastián himself.

If you play a little basketball, volleyball, or soccer/fútbol, consider joining your team of choice next fall.  While admission for athletes rests on their experience and academic ability, the same as for anyone else, we’re glad to know that some of the applications we read are from students who will contribute to a winning team.