It’s October and the days are a little cooler and cloudier, making it the perfect weather for fondue and hot chocolate. It’s also a stressful time of the year as graduation looms closer, and when we aren’t suiting up for company presentations and job interviews, we’re taking client calls and preparing decks for our ICPs. In spite of this, many in the cohort continue to make the most of the time we have left together in Lausanne.
The White Horses welcome new band member at 50th anniversary gig
The White Horses have been planning for our next gig since our winning performance at MBAT in Paris. As luck would have it, we were graciously invited by our Dean, Omar Toulan, to perform at the networking evening of the MBA 50th anniversary event in front of our classmates (a.k.a. groupies!), professors, and alumni – an opportunity we wouldn’t miss for the world.
This time, we went bigger by performing an hour-long set list. The restaurant was transformed into a concert arena for the event, making the perfect debut for our newest member.
We were honored to play alongside a legend and to have him as an official fan of The White Horses.
My fellow bandmember Bavly was the first to show us a mysterious drum kit which resurfaced from the depths of the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center. It turns out we are, in fact, not the first IMD band. With Professor Arturo’s support and enthusiasm, we had access to equipment previously used from when he was part of an IMD band of professors/staff – one of the coolest pieces of IMD lore I’ve learned.
With our instruments ready, the only thing left was a space to rehearse. Earlier in the year, the band had to travel all the way to a studio in Morges. This time, we managed to get our very own studio setup in BR32 itself, which would not have been possible without John Evans, Herve, and the facilities team who were instrumental in helping us bring our most polished performance to the evening.
Living in the moment by keeping active and social
Several classmates have been training for the Lausanne Marathon this month, where they will be running along the lake (the full marathon extends all the way to Vevey).
In preparation for this, my classmate Philip Smedegaard organized an IMD Hill Run. The objective: to run up and down the IMD hill ten times consecutively, while the rest of us cheered them on – and they did it! Congratulations to my classmates on this feat, and wishing them the best in the marathon.
Spontaneous dungeon / study room gatherings are becoming an increasing phenomenon as classmates look for ways to blow off steam with fun activities. As we celebrate 50 years of the MBA, and 50 unique cohorts who went through the experience, I wonder how each cohort remembers their year and what memories they relive when they return to campus. This year, I will miss these moments of warmth and humor the most.
