Mia Mabanta

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• Recruiting is in full swing and consuming a lot of my time and energy. Stayed focused on that, but got to do some fun stuff too.

• Getting to know my classmates, especially on trips abroad or just weekends away from campus.
• Interpersonal Dynamics (aka, Touchy Feely) in the spring was a really weird, tough, and transformative experience. What I learned in that class continues to impact my life every day.
• Transitioning from winter quarter (and being a "dead poet") to spring

• Schwab was great, but living off campus opens up a whole new world of social options. The smaller gatherings at classmates' houses are a nice complement to the larger events. Another great memory was going to Treasure Island Music Festival in San Francisco with a busload of GSBers.
• I feel like I've grown a lot in the past year. As an MBA1, I spent a lot of time just trying to keep up. That was a great learning experience in and of itself, but now that I've learned the ropes, I find myself approaching everything I do with a greater sense of purpose.

Today's  biggest accomplishment: Putting in several hours of interview prep.
Today's biggest challenge: Forcing myself to work inside and away from distraction, while it's 75 degrees and sunny out.
Most fun: Feeling supported by my friends as I go through the stress of recruiting.

Today's biggest accomplishment: Getting a final round interview!
Today's biggest challenge: Dragging myself to the gym at 8am.
Most fun: Unwinding with friends over wine and food.

Today's biggest accomplishment: It's a toss-up between working my way through more interviews and the hilarity of the Latin photo shoot.
Today's biggest challenge: Getting through another interview.
Most fun: Always love a good shoot! And TALK was great as always.

Today's biggest accomplishment: Throwing a successful party for a friend's birthday.
Today's biggest challenge: Picking out the right photo booth backdrop for the party
Most fun: All of it!

9:00 AM Wake up unusually late. Feels great to have slept in.

9:30 AM Head out for a quick run up Stockbridge Avenue and back.

11:00 AM Head to Coupa Cafe in downtown Palo Alto to get some work done and prepare for interviews.

2:00 PM My phone lights up to tell me that my friend Jake has checked in on Foursquare. I find him and he offers to help me prep, since he used to work for the company I'm interviewing with.

3:00 PM Jake and I sit in a park outside Palo Alto City Hall and go over interview questions. The weather is perfect for it.

6:00 PM I head back to the Compound, a group of houses that I live in with 15 other GSBers; and meet my friend Jen. We're interviewing with the same companies this week, so we sit on my back deck and prepare together.

12:00 Midnight Bedtime.

7:00 AM Wake up, put my gym clothes on and pack everything I need for the day.

8:00 AM Get to Arrillaga Gym on campus, work out for an hour before class.

10:00 AM Attend my Lives of Consequence class with Rod Kramer. Today's session is on money and happiness. It's interesting to hear my classmates' diverse perspectives on the topic.

11:30 AM I run into some friends at the picnic benches outside Arbuckle and we have lunch together. We talk about recruiting, the case for our afternoon class, and celebrating a birthday.

12:45 PM I get a call from the firm I interviewed with yesterday - they've offered me a final-round interview in New York!

1:15 PM Attend my Formation of New Ventures class with professors Jim Ellis, Jeff Chambers, and Mike Child. Today's case is on ICON Aircraft, a company that manufacturers a new type of sport aircraft. As always, the founder (a GSB alum) is in attendance.

3:00 PM Attend a White Party leadership meeting to discuss our marketing strategy for the event. The White Party is an annual charity auction and a major GSB event. As the end of EAP is nearing, we discuss getting the MBA1s involved in planning.

7:00 PM Grab a quick dinner at Ike's Sandwiches at the Engineering Building before my public speaking class.

7:30 PM Attend public speaking, the "across the street" (i.e., non-GSB) class I'm taking this quarter. The students in the class come from different departments across Stanford, which is an interesting change of pace from GSB classes.

10:00 PM After class is over, I head back to downtown Palo Alto for my friend Christine's birthday party. After a long day of class it feels great to unwind with friends and wine.

12:00 Midnight Bedtime

7:00 AM Wake up, get ready, and put on a suit: I have an interview today!

9:00 AM Get coffee and breakfast at Arbuckle and go over behavioral questions I might get asked.

11:30 AM Interview time. I head to the Bass Center to check in. 90 minutes later, I emerge unscathed.

1:15 PM According to my phone, I have 15 minutes for lunch before my next meeting. I get a salad at Arbuckle and eat quickly.

1:30 PM Head across the square to Coupa Cafe where I meet my mock interviewer. He gives me some great feedback.

3:00 PM Meet up with some classmates to do a photo shoot to promote the upcoming Latin Fiesta. Photography is a hobby of mine and luckily I get to do it pretty often at the GSB. With a few props and some creativity, we get some great shots.

4:30 PM Head to Nola's in down-town Palo Alto for a happy hour hosted by one of the companies that's recruiting.

6:00 PM Head to the gym for a workout.

8:00 PM Meet friends for dinner at LYFE Kitchen, a "healthy fast food" restaurant that recently opened in PA.

8:50 PM Get back to the GSB just in time for TALK12, a weekly series where a classmate shares personal stories from his or her life. My friend Adam is up tonight.

12:00 Midnight Bedtime.

8:00 AM Wake up

10:30 AM Walked the Stanford Dish Trail with my friends Susan and Jen. It's a perfect Saturday morning activity.

12:30 PM Brunch at Woodside Bakery with friends.

Spend the afternoon running errands for a Halloween/birthday party that some friends and I are hosting tonight. This mostly involves picking up equipment and other supplies for the photo booth I plan on setting up.

7:00 PM Pick up tacos for everyone on the party planning team then head to Thunderdome to continue preparations.

9:00 PM The party kicks off as guests start rolling in. It's a fun, joyous night and we've got the photos to prove it!

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