Dropping in on the new MIB class

Last week I had the good fortune to drop in on a session welcoming the newest MIB students to Fletcher. Although we’re just moving into mid-July, it’s only a handful of weeks until these folks will formally begin their studies with the mandatory Strategic Management pre-session.

While the start of a Zoom session remains tinged with a few moments of regret at being confined to a screen, it was quickly replaced by the excitement of meeting a group of new students together. This event was a fairly informal and relaxed affair, giving students a chance to introduce themselves to one another, and to ask a few questions of Deans Kyte and Chakravorti about both the MIB specifically and Fletcher and the upcoming semester more generally. New students also got some insight from a returning 2nd-year MIB on navigating a virtual semester (based on her experience in the second half of the spring semester), including strategies for scheduling group work over Zoom and remaining in touch with classmates from afar. She also reinforced a common refrain of MIBs over the years: Prof. Jacque’s Corporate Finance class may involve some pain and stress in the moment, but many students end up finding it an essential high point of their Fletcher experience.

As is typical for any subset of Fletcher students, there’s a wide variety of professional backgrounds and interest areas in the new class, as well as talents not strictly related to international affairs. This group will continue a longstanding norm of the Fletcher student body being replete with performing arts talent: there are several dancers, vocalists, and musicians among them.

It always amazes me how quickly the summer season can move along. The approaching return of students to Fletcher, remote environment notwithstanding, gets us all looking forward to the new academic year.