Where can you travel in a hot air balloon, see a leprechaun, AND have an open dialogue without hot air?
Only here at Darden.
And that’s why this is such an awesome experience. In one day, I experienced all of these things (and then some).
Hot Air Balloon
Ok, while I didn’t quite travel in one, I darn near crashed my car this morning trying to get a glimpse at one taking off. It was right there in front of me—large as life. Huge! The colors were beautiful and watching the balloon rise in the calm of the morning invoked a feeling of peace. Charlottesville is an awesome city with tons to do; there is no shortage of outdoor activities. Hot air ballooning is a big attraction here and it’s definitely on my to-do list.
A Leprechaun
We are in the midst of the fall recruiting season. Companies are on-grounds, in full force, recruiting for both full-time and summer internships. General Mills was on-grounds today. Guess who came with them? Lucky the Leprechaun!! How cool is that!? Lucky Charms was my favorite cereal as a child (and Honey Nut Cheerios is my favorite as an adult—Go Mills!). So, when I heard that we could take pictures with Lucky, I dashed downstairs to do so.
Yay! I have a picture with Lucky–a childhood dream finally realized. As soon as I get a chance to scan it in (it was taken w/a Polaroid–yes, they still make those), I will.
In the meantime…my section managed to get a picture with Lucky also (I must have stepped out when this happened so I’m not in it…don’t bother playing “Where’s Waldo” w/this shot).
Real Talk
Lastly, I attended the BBSF Leadership Speaker Series today. BBSF is the Black Business Student Forum. Today’s event was held in partnership with several other organizations–National Association of Women MBAs (NAWMBA), Hispanic American Network and Darden (HAND), and Gays, Lesbians and Allies at Darden (GLAD). The session was a conversation about diversity and it was moderated by our Associate Dean for Diversity (and Darden’s Chief Diversity Officer).
What an amazing event. First, it was well attended. Second, it was diverse (meaning, it wasn’t a room of just the members of those organizations). Third, faculty and staff attended. Last–and certainly not least–it was REAL!! Not enough time in the day to try to recap the discussion but take my word for it–it was the most transparent discussion I’ve had here to date (particularly around this topic). People were free to express their feelings and they did–both members of the “majority” and the “minority” constituent group. And while we challenged each other’s assumptions, it was clear that we were all genuinely interested in moving the needle on this topic and that, more importantly, we were there to learn. I’m excited to see that Darden fosters an environment where this is possible. Pretty amazing stuff, no?
I was going to post the Section B w/Lucky photo too! Looks like you beat me to it. 🙂