Lindsey Eastwood ‘10
As the daughter of two University of Nebraska-Lincoln alumni and a born-and-raised Husker fan, the choice of which college I would attend was an easy one. I remember going to football games as a youngster in my little Husker cheerleading outfit and grew up wanting to be in that "crazy student section" someday!
I studied abroad twice in Spain, performed my own research study and wrote an undergraduate thesis as part of the UNL Honors Program. I also gained valuable leadership experience in numerous student organizations from the Panhellenic Executive Council to Delta Gamma sorority. I was very prepared for the MBA program and although I am a bit outnumbered by business undergrads in my MBA classes, I enjoy the opportunity to bring a unique perspective to our discussions and coursework. All of my psychology classes were very writing-intensive so I think that has proven to be a big advantage when preparing graduate-level papers, and I was able to gain exposure to reading and utilizing academic research literature since my freshman year of college.
I chose to stay at UNL for my MBA because I knew that the faculty in the College of Business Administration were world-class and that the courses could help me form a framework for integrating my passions for psychology and business. Now that I am officially halfway done with the MBA program, I have found my experiences extremely valuable, both as a student and graduate research assistant, and I have especially enjoyed developing relationships with my fellow MBA students and the CBA faculty and staff.
My best advice to new students is to start getting involved in student organizations that are of interest to you right away, whether it be one that centers around your major, a desired career field, a philanthropic cause, a fraternity/sorority or even a just a hobby. I can't emphasize how important extracurricular involvement during your undergraduate education is – and at a university the size of UNL, it is so easy to get involved! The truth is that some of the most important skills and experiences I gained during my time at UNL were developed outside of the classroom in student organizations in which I was an active participant and eventually gained leadership experience as well.
Being involved in student organizations not only better prepares you for the real world by gaining valuable planning, service-oriented and social skills, but they provide you with real experiences that you can put on your resume and reference in job interviews down the road. As the job market gets increasingly more competitive, it is these extracurricular experiences and the milestones you reach within them that will set you apart from the crowd.
Other random advice: Buy student tickets for Husker football games as soon as you can (one of the perks I still enjoy as a grad student!); go to your professors' office hours, get to know them, and ask them questions -- that's what they're here for and they are some of our college's best assets so take advantage of them; and utilize the CBA Corporate Relations and Career Development Center and Career Services office as much as you can for resume tips, mock interviews, job postings, and of course, go to the career fairs.
In high school, I wish I would have taken more speech classes and tried to get involved with more national-based student organizations for high school students like FBLA or DECA. I am definitely glad that I chose to study an equivalent of five years of Spanish in high school and also that I took challenging AP classes because these experiences better prepared me for college-level coursework.
This summer, I began an internship with Gallup in Omaha that has allowed me to gain exposure to the global management consulting company and learn about its approach to the HR/talent management fields that I am most interested in -- selection, recruitment, and development.
In the next year, I hope to maintain my 4.0 cumulative GPA in my MBA coursework and further develop my business acumen, so I am well-positioned for success in my career. Also, I am looking forward to serving on the MBA Student Association Executive Board as vice president this year.
I am lucky to have learned from some of the best faculty I've ever had during my time at UNL in the MBA program and I hope to maintain the relationships I've made with them, my fellow students and the CBA staff throughout this last year of my MBA program and beyond! Our entrance in to the Big Ten provides for an exciting time to be a business student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and I am eager to see what opportunities are ahead.
Published: July 1, 2011