SEMESTER SERIES: KIRK SMITH – Club 16: Are You In?
“Welcome to Fight Club. The first rule of Fight Club is: youdo not talk about Fight Club.” –Tyler Durden
Unlike Fight Club, I’m happy to talk about Club 16. By now,I’m sure that many of you have found multiple references to Club 16 on theGoizueta website, or through a careful combing of our social media pages. But what is this mythical Club 16? What does Club 16 have to do with my experience at Goizueta Business School?
Simply put, Club 16 is the opportunity to engage with your classmates to experience all that Atlanta has to offer students. The initial idea was to put together a fun list of things that GBS students are encouraged to do in Atlanta before they graduate. For the class of 2016 the list contains 16 items. Every year, however, there will be a new club. The incoming Two Year MBAs will be a part of Club 17; the new class will have an opportunity to improve the initial list established by the class of 2016. This means that the list will continue to grow each year, and give each successive class more opportunities to learn about each other as they check items off the list.
But what kind of activities does one chose to put on the list? There are obviously more than 16 activities to do in Atlanta, that one should take advantage of while living here. In order to answer this question, in true business school fashion, we put together a brief survey for students, faculty, and staff to take at the end of the first semester based on initial input from true Atlantans. After calculating the results and determining the most popular, we broke apart the top 4 from each category (Adventure, Culture, Entertainment, Food & Beverage) and included an additional 14 items to allow people to customize their experience. An important aspect of Club 16 to keep in mind is the fact that not everyone has to do the same activities at the same time. Everyone is free and encouraged to customize the list to make the
most of their time and interests while in Atlanta. If you’re a foodie, you might focus more on Food & Beverage than Culture. The goal is for each classmate to complete 16 activities by April 2016.
We kicked off Club 16 with Martinis and IMAX at the Fernbank Museum of History near Emory’s campus. The event was a blast, and people learned about blue-footed boobies, and the rich history of Jerusalem. Some partners even came out and joined in on the fun (I hope this helps illustrate the value of the list for those wondering how partners can integrate with their business school life.) I cannot wait for the next activity; we try to organize events on a monthly basis.
Roommates at Club 16 event with a dinosaur tail in the background
So what’s the point? What happens when we complete the list? Are we just left with an immense degree of satisfaction? Not quite. Our class is already preparing for a capstone event to be held before graduation in May 2016. We don’t know exactly what the event will be or where it will be hosted, but my personal goal is to make it an occasion that will make all attendees cherish and never forget their time here at Goizueta Business School.
So you have to ask one simple question when considering Goizueta Business School and want to make the most of your experience: Are you in?
