Boulder Trip

Last week I was able to take a few days off work to head out to Boulder and check out the MBA program at the University of Colorado. It was a wonderful trip, although only two days, I felt like it made a huge impression on me and my thoughts toward business school. The only thing that could have made it better is if Mary Beth and Parker could have come too, but maybe next time. I flew in Wednesday morning and hopped in my Prius rental (left) and drove to Boulder. As I was pulling into town, I couldn't help but notice that there were more people riding bikes than driving cars. Boulder is one of the most bike friendly towns in America and it makes me very jealous because KC is not bike-friendly at all. As for the cars people were driving-all sweet wagons, with bike/ski racks-again I was jealous. :)

I ate a quick breakfast on Pearl Street and then I walked around downtown until lunch. I met with a second year student, David, for lunch on Pearl St. at Illegal Pete's (a great burrito joint). David is one of the student bloggers for the business school and he was kind enough to answer all my emails over the past few months, and he helped me get the inside scoop about the program. I would definitely recommend meeting with current students if anyone is thinking about going back to school because you can read about a school on the Internet, but its much more meaningful to hear it directly from the "horse's mouth." After lunch I checked out the Boulder trails at Chautauqua Park (below). Killer run. I actually had to stop and walk twice because my lungs were burning, but it felt great.

Wednesday evening was the formal information session on campus. I had a chance to walk around campus after lunch to get my bearings and find the brand new business building (below). It was a really nice facility. The information session was from 6-8 and it was, well, very informative. :) I learned a lot about the program and was able to ask some questions. I walked out of the meeting thinking that CU is the place for me.

David was also very kind to show me his "family housing-on campus apartment," a housing option for MB, Parker and I if we choose to go that route. The proximity to campus and Pearl St. would surely be nice.

On Thursday, I woke up and picked up some coffee and chocolate covered espresso beans at Pete's Coffee & Tea-I recommend the chocolate covered espresso beans (originally introduced to me by my brother). They are awesome! I went up to campus one more time to attend a class and have lunch with Laurence-a 1st year student ambassador. The class was really interesting, mostly focused on ethics and sustainability. Sustainable business practices is one of the key characteristics of the program at CU. Just attending a class and hanging out with some students made me think that I need to do more reducing, reusing, and recycling. All in all, the trip was a success and I came away from the experience realizing that the CU students all seemed to have one thing in common; they all realize that money isn't everything. They all want to make a difference and they all want to have a work-life balance. I told MB that Boulder is quickly becoming my top choice because of all the factors I have mentioned. MB agreed and has continued to say that Colorado would be her favorite place to live as well. It is a place that I would love to go-we'll see if I can make it happen. :)