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Q2 of my MByay and an escape to the bottom of the world

Q2 of my MByay and an escape to the bottom of the world

Queenstown Milford Sound New Zealand Snowy Mountain

Queenstown Milford Sound New Zealand Snowy Mountain
Queenstown Milford Sound New Zealand Snowy Mountain
Queenstown Milford Sound New Zealand Snowy Mountain
Woah. omg. Blink and I am here!

It has been about six months since I started my MByay journey and I am pretty sure it has been one of the most hectic times in my life. To summarise, all at once I was:

  • looking for a new job in Auckland (taking job interviews at 7am Sydney time to take advantage of NZ time, having Skype interviews during lunch in meeting rooms etc)
  • handing over my job in Sydney while still running projects and a team of six
  • selling my life to move
  • fulfilling huge comme.co orders
  • commuting back and fourth from Sydney every fortnight
  • AND studying my #UOAMBA at the University of Auckland!

Then once I landed my new job, I finished my job in Sydney on the Friday to start the following Monday in Auckland.

Woah. Woah. Woah.

I am not sure how I did it, but now it is done. While it was C R A Z Y, I am so glad I started my MBA with the University of Auckland when I did and didn’t delay it another year – because now I am on the other side and a quarter down! Not having an end date locked in was difficult, but it all worked out in the end. I am thrilled that I have started as Online Loyalty Manager at Air New Zealand, looking after some really cool parts of the business and working with a really good inspirational team.

Quarter Two’s subjects, “Business Economics” and “Financial Reporting and Control”, were really interesting and I can really start to see how they are adding value to my career. Funnily enough, although eCommerce deals a lot with both economics and reporting, I have never formally studied either. I was a bit of a nerd and read the whole economics textbook! To be fair, I did have to try very hard to stay focused, but I found the content really interesting. Prior to class I had only really read pop-economic books so now I understand a lot more about how the world works. Economics was really complimented with Finance both work on the forces of how and where money flows – we had the very special treat of having Sir Roger Douglas drop in as a guest speaker too.

Queenstown Lake Wakatipu
Getting through this difficult time came down to mindset. I knew it was for only a short time and did whatever I could to make it happen. This meant being super organised, disciplined and ruthless with my time. As I was only cooking for myself, I become the master of overcooking and freezing. This meant I could come home from a busy day at work and get straight into studying or working on assignments. Often I would read my textbook while walking to work. The airport became my office – it is amazing how much you can do when there is no internet distracting you! Front weighting work as much as I could also gave me flexibility when things like yoga, friends and family popped up.

Despite everything going on in my life, I am pretty happy with my marks so far. Although there is room for improvement (and even if you’re getting straight A+’s there always will be!) I am also mindful of being gentle on myself. Hopefully better marks for next semester’s “Financial Management” and “Operations and Supply Chain Management” will be achievable given I will be more settled – so here’s to another term! We have new groups this semester so I am looking forward to getting to know other members of my cohort better.

See Also
lisa messenger daring and distruptive collective hub interivew

Cardrona Church
Queenstown New Zealand Snowy Mountain The Hilton Resort and Spa Hotel Kawaru Village
Queenstown Lake Wakatipu
Meanwhile, I am on the last day of a cheeky 4-day long weekend escape to Queenstown – a much-needed break to prepare for the next mad dash. Such epic beauty. I am so humbled by the sheer magnitude of its landscape. We are so so lucky to have a place like this in the world.

Coming up on the blog includes an interview with some of the smart talented people in my cohort, as well as clean eating recipes to supercharge your studying routine – I can’t wait guys, bring it on!

Queenstown The Remarkables New Zealand Snowy Mountain
Queenstown The Remarkables New Zealand Snowy Mountain
Queenstown Lake Wakatipu 2


Follow me as I blog about my University of Auckland MBA experience. Click here to see all posts about my #UOAMBA journey.


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