On the first day of freshman orientation, I sat with my brother and dad while I listened to President Gann’s address to the class. Eventually, Dean Huang stepped to the podium.

“We have great leaders in the Class of 2011,” he began. My brother nudged me. Not being particularly good at any sports in high school, I had thrown myself into extracurriculars and held a few leadership positions by graduation time.

“There are club presidents,” My brother nudged me.

“Class presidents,” Again, a nudge.

“School presidents.” Another nudge.

“One third of your class held a president, captain, editor-in-chief or other leadership position in high school.” …No more nudging from my brother.

CMCers are dynamic. It should come as no surprise that so many members of my class were actively involved in everything from debate to lacrosse to student government, but the thought of being with so many other big fish--no longer being in a small pond--kind of frightened me.

I found out really soon, though, that it is still possible to find your niche at CMC, not despite of, but because of, the many other amazing and qualified CMCers. It’s a supportive community of students. Since that day of orientation, I’ve been involved with ASCMC and was elected Junior Class President last spring.

As 2011 president, I have the opportunity to bring the class together. Sometimes campus life gets crazy with everyone’s classes, practices, meetings, and conferences. It's easy to fall into a routine with a group of friends and get lost in the cycle of day-to-day work. I try to make unique events that deviate from the norm in order to connect the class. Like last month, we went to a filming of the Price is Right, and the other weekend there was a class brunch. Last semester, as many CMCers were abroad, we mailed them letters overseas so juniors could have a taste of CMC wherever they were, all the while remembering what they were coming back to. Being class president also allows me the chance to create new CMC gear. As a fundraiser, I sold customized CMC wayfarer sunglasses--and all 600 pairs sold out within 10 minutes!

I just got back from my semester in DC on CMC's Washington Program, and man, it's good to be back in the Golden State (no de-icing, tastier fruits/veggies all-around). But I'm a little sad.   I never thought I would ever find somewhere in the world that would rival my love for CMC, but I did.  Now I'm trying to fill that empty space in my heart that was once reserved for the Metro schedule, my "official" Capitol building ID card, and powersuits.

If you don't know much about the program, here are the basics:  you work for 40+ hours a week at an internship of your choice.   You also take two seminar classes in the evenings once a week, usually on a Monday and a Thursday. You write a semester-long research paper with minimal guidance on any topic under your major-related sun. The internship, two classes, and paper total to a full semester course load.

I don't think I need to tell government majors why they should do the DC Program.  However, if the idea of casually bumping into John Boehner/Steny Hoyer doesn't make you pee your pants, never fear.  I highly encourage non-majors to apply for the DC program.  Let's face it.  Government spending amounts to +40% of GDP.   This means the government can wreak some serious havoc in your future career field, but you're going to be a much more attractive job candidate once you understand how that works.

Sam Bastien, CMC '11, is an economics-accounting major with a financial economics sequence.   After CMC, she hopes to work in finance, not government.  Attracted to the opportunity for work experience, she decided spend the fall 2009 semester on the Washington Program. Most of her fellow bankers-to-be told her she was crazy.  "Some of the other economics majors questioned my rationale for going," she told the Forum, "After all, I would fall behind in my finance classes." She got an internship at the Securities and Exchange Commission, where she was the only undergraduate intern.  "After the financial crisis, you have to realize that the federal government can make a huge impact in the world of finance if it chooses to do so."  Her job focused on regulatory financial policy analysis and she was tasked with research projects on hedge fund legislation.  She attended House Financial Services Committee hearings and witnessed the "intense" testimony of Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner on financial services reform and TARP.

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CMC is known for producing outstanding future leaders in government (Washington) and finance (New York), but lately they have tried to increase their reach in Silicon Valley. Two weeks ago, a group of 20 students spent a week in Silicon Valley, touring companies, meeting alumni, asking pointed questions and learning about what it's like to work in the technology industry. We met CMC alumni from Microsoft, Google, Electronic Arts, Lockheed Martin, Meebo (chat software), Applied Materials (solar panel manufacturing), Atlassian (corporate software), Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (private equity), and EMC (data storage and other products). At night we met more alumni, some of whom have started their own companies, at dinners. Nearly everyone discussed the importance of doing what you love, and the importance of making friends and being someone that other people like being around. Those aren't skills that every school sets out to teach, but you're more than likely to learn a lot about at CMC, because it's so small and because the quality of life at CMC is so good.

The trip was outstanding, and if you'd like to hear more about it you can read my blog (http://kburke.org/kburke/itab), but the important lesson here is that this sort of opportunity is not available at a bigger school, even a prestigious one, or a school without such an organized alumni network. We got to see what it's like to work in Silicon Valley, and talk to lots of young (and old) alumni about how they picked their careers, what sort of work they do on a daily basis and a little bit about business strategy. CMC alumni loved their experience and try hard to give back to current students, and we definitely benefit. An experience like this is unique to have at an undergraduate college. It is only one of many ways that CMC works to reach out to their students to provide them with unrivaled experiences that will help them to succeed.

--Kevin Burke is a junior economics major from Alamo, CA. This semester he is working for Seva Mandir, a nonprofit in Udaipur, India. He writes for the CMC Forum (a href etc) and on his own blog.

Best,
Kevin

International Leadership Conference 2000
How CMC paid for me to go to Prague…

CMC Sophomores Return from Prague with First Place and Life-Changing Experiences

Written by: Michelle Kim, Miles Bird, Veronica Pugin, and Zephanii Smith

When classes resumed for the Fall semester of 2009, not one of Team Kravis Leadership Institute’s (KLI) team members imagined that the four of us would spend a school week in Prague competing in the International Leadership Association 11^th Annual Conference’s Student Case Competition for $1000, a free membership to the premier leadership association, and the honor for KLI and CMC. After undergoing an application process, Miles Bird; Michelle Kim; Veronica Pugin; and Zephanii Smith were selected to represent KLI and CMC by competing in the Student Case Competition as Team KLI.

Team KLI underwent a twenty-two hour journey each way to make it to Prague and back. On the way there, the team stopped in London, and on the way back we stopped in Frankfurt and San Francisco. We traveled across the globe, attended a leadership conference, competed and won a student case competition, met individuals who we will never forget, and explored a city we had never been to before all in less than a week.

The 11^th International Leadership Annual (ILA) Conference hosted six-hundred attendees ranging from leadership scholars, business leaders, non-profit pioneers, government leaders, and other individuals interested in learning about leadership. The ILA works a deeper understanding of leadership knowledge and practices for the greater good of individuals and communities worldwide. The theme of the conference was transformational leadership, which is defined as a leadership style that raises the followers, transforms them, and turns them into leaders.

For the Student Case Competition, Team KLI had to complete two rounds of the competition. In the first round, completed before we reached Prague, the case centered on Seagate Technology’s change in management in 2001 and the challenges that the company’s culture and leadership experienced as a result of this change. Team KLI was responsible for acting as professional consultants and researched Seagate Technology and the disk-drive industry as a whole in order to answer the list of questions and to provide recommendations for the company and the CEO.

Upon our arrival to Prague, Team KLI then focused on completing the tasks of the second round. Team KLI found answers to the new questions presented this around by attending the conference’s workshops and speeches. We divided relevant lectures and workshops among ourselves and sought to apply information learned at the session to recommendations for the case study. We networked with speakers and used their expertise for help on the case as well, and this may have been the tipping point that pushed us to win first.

This experience, completely sponsored by KLI served as a milestone in each of our lives and careers at CMC and is one of the many great opportunities that CMC presents.

I knew my freshmen year of high school I wanted to go into Engineering, but by May of my senior year I knew Claremont McKenna College was where I belonged. So, I threw out my hopes of Engineering, and packed my bags for California. I figured I would be able to find something I was just as passionate about while at CMC – and there was no way I could say no to all the other opportunities that CMC offers.  A few days of freshman orientation filled with talking about my interests to upperclassmen and professors, led me to Professor James Higdon’s office. Once Professor Higdon started talking about the 3-2 Engineering program, I knew that CMC really was my dream school.

    The 3-2 Program allows students to attend CMC for 3 years pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Management-Engineering. You have to fulfill all the regular general education requirements and take a mix of math, science, and economics courses. Once completed, you are technically ready to graduate from CMC. But it gets better. You then get to go to another school for two years to get a Bachelor of Science in whatever engineering specialty you choose. Our sister school is Columbia University in New York, so most students will head east after three years in the sun. However, you can apply to any engineering school to continue the program.

A lot of students on CMC’s campus say that I am crazy when I tell them I am doing the 3-2 program and many cannot understand why I am doing it.  You have to finish all of your major requirements in three years instead of four. You have to leave the paradise of CMC a year early, missing out on senior activities, etc. But despite these statements, you get the opportunity of a life-time: three years in Los Angeles, two years in the hustle and bustle of New York City, two Bachelor’s degrees, a range of course work that enables you to become a very well rounded student, and two very different college experiences. Yes, the 3-2 program is demanding academically – some students have to overload, and you are always taking challenging classes. But this is not to say that I have not enjoyed my three years at CMC – I took all the required classes, I swam on the Varsity Swim Team, placed at the Division 3 Nationals for Swim, had a job at Career Services, had a social life and I could not be happier. 

Filling out the applications to other colleges was a challenge – but I now have applications in to Columbia University, University of Southern California, and Stanford University. They are all great schools, so no matter where I choose to continue the 3-2 program next year, I know I will be in a good place. It will be hard to leave Claremont, and I will miss senior year traditions such as spending Thesis Day in the fountain with my class of 2011, but I will never regret my decision to come to CMC and to do the 3-2 program.