My first 90 days in the Ivey MSc program were intense to say the least, but overall it was an amazing time. Sitting in my room listening to the orientation presentation I was filled with excitement for the experiences I would have in the upcoming semester, but in the back of my mind I could feel the nervousness building. Focusing on the sciences in my undergrad I was unsure if I would be able to succeed in a business focused graduate program; I could feel the butterflies in my stomach. The very next day we had our first class, which was Accounting. As soon as I heard our professor start the class I knew it was go-time; it was time to embrace the butterflies and get to work. “Out with the nervous Adam, and in with the new confident Adam”, I thought to myself. However, this confidence quickly turned into doubt and confusion when I heard the terminology spewing out of the professor’s mouth. No offense, to Dr. Stein, he was an awesome professor. To make it even worse, the next class I mistakenly had my microphone on in the Zoom call, and the whole class embarrassingly heard me randomly speaking. Fair to say the first few days weren’t off to the best start.
Although, those moments weren’t great, I do have to say that my experience was only uphill from there. Doing the readings for each course and paying attention in class allowed me to understand all the content, and even be able to hold my own when it came to contributing to the class discussion. Furthermore, I made tons of new friends in each of my classes. One amazing thing about the program is that you will work with many different groups, and so you will become close with a lot of new people. Additionally, the MSc Association contributed to a lot of my great memories. They hosted tons of amazing events where we played games together and got to know each other.
Another big component of my first 90 days in the Ivey program was getting involved with the MSc clubs. I have to hand it to every club, because although having events and interacting with students is immensely difficult when working all remotely, they were able to host several amazing events. This ranged from events like info sessions with professionals in the field, all the way to case competitions for the students. Having the opportunity to participate with the clubs available to us was a really fun experience and it made me enjoy the program even more.
Overall, my first 90 days in the Ivey MSc program helped me to become a better learner, pushed me to try new things and make new friends, and allowed me to gain many memorable experiences. I won’t lie there were a few bumps in the road, but this long journey as an Ivey student has only just begun and I can’t wait to see where it takes me next.