July 2016 - Building a Better World

GSB TLAs

July 29, 2016August 1, 2017
by Travis

Letters to Live By – GSB Acronyms

I was first exposed to the acronym culture as an undergraduate. While I did not have the pleasure of attending Stanford, I was involved with a Stanford undergrad while I attended Santa Clara. There were times when I would be listening to a conversation and quite literally have no idea what was being said. Acronyms had way of making me feel excluded, not cool enough to know the right way to say something. Coming to Stanford, first in the Civil Engineering department and then the GSB, started with a similar sensation – not always knowing what was being said. Now, two years later, these acronyms have worked their way into conversations with my SO, so engrained in my mind that they are no longer acronyms, but the only name I know them by. With that past headache in mind, I’ll share some of those (as well as a couple of words that are not acronyms, but have worked their way into the GSB vocabulary) that come to mind.

Recruiting

July 29, 2016August 1, 2017
by Travis

Recruiting

TL;DR Everyone gets a job eventually

School at Stanford begins late September, much later than most due to its quarter-based schedule. A week before the MBA2s arrive, all MBA1s gather to participate in the obligatory “Week 0” festivities. For a few, this is their first introduction to new classmates. For most, there are a few familiar faces in the crowd of 400. Some knew others from work or from undergrad; and many met each other on the annual trip to Colombia a few months earlier.

Why Write?

July 29, 2016August 1, 2017
by Travis

My name is Travis Duncan and I was trained as a civil engineer – not exactly the most creative of outlets. I have always enjoyed writing. The process of taking the free flow of thoughts racing around your head and putting them to the page can be part physical, part mental, and part creative. I, like many others I assume, have struggled with making the words on the page sound like those in my head, or even those that come out of my mouth. But during that struggle to bring some sense of order to the chaos of my thoughts, I may get one sentence, or one word just right. Perfection may be unattainable, but once in awhile you just get lucky.