I was reading through other blog posts to get some inspiration/structure to write this final blog post, but then I remembered one of the core things I’ve learned from this class; an entrepreneur knows how to handle ambiguity. You never truly know what the right answer is. You have to use your toolkit that you’ve developed up until that point and figure something out, so I’ll go ahead and follow suit.
The first thing that comes to my mind is the unconventional structure of this class. I missed the initial first day of class due to a work trip. I pretty much came to the conclusion that the first day or “Syllabus Day” isn’t that important. That was until my friends told me that they were already learning concepts and things of that nature on the first day. On top of that, this was my first time taking a class that was 3 hours long. Before I walked into class for the first time I already had some reservations and often questioned if it was the right choice. I often think of myself as someone who doesn’t have the greatest attention span. I say that because I do get bored quickly, especially when I am learning information that I know has nothing to do with what I want to do. Similarly, this changed when I attended my first class. I was immediately engaged in the information, the setup of the classroom, and just the nature of the environment. Everything was going smoothly until he began to explain the setup/structure of the class. When Professor Kane first mentioned no tests, I was ecstatic I was like there is finally a teacher who understands! This was until I realized that I was apart of the education system for real. I only ever knew how to get an A in class that included tests. I planned my semester around tests, not blog posts and twitter updates!(we’ll get to that in a second) I began to struggle a bit. I began to question everything. Yeah the information is cool and all, but how do I know I got an A! After a couple weeks, I could really care less about getting an A. The amount of information and experiences that the class provides outweighs everything else to be completely honest. Additionally, Professor Kane really eased us into the whole process and structure of the class. The generosity that he gave us with make up work and a more lax environment helped me concentrate and focus more on the content. I truly can’t complain! I loved it.
My favorite part of this class had to be the guest speakers and it’s not even close. There is one thing to watch podcasts and read all these articles about companies and the business environment. It is completely different to be in the classroom and having conversations with the movers and shakers of the business world. I experienced a full circle moment this past week when I went on a trip to Silicon Valley with one of the speakers that we had in the class, Greg Gretsch. I say this is full circle because during the trip, I met with another one of the speakers who were lucky enough to have, Mr. Michael Horvath(CEO of Strava). I say this to say that many of the conversations that we had in class prepared me for many of the conversations that happened during the trip. I spoke with Mr. Horvath on the state of AI and how he thinks it could potentially impact his business as well as the environment in general. I spoke with other executives about Venture Capital, Series A funding, Cybersecurity & Privacy, and so many other things. I was surprising myself with some of the things that I was saying and I definitely surprised them a bit too. I was in the room with multi-millionaires having good conversations with them that derived from this class. Conversations change lives. This class equipped me with the skills and toolkit to have successful conversations. Furthermore, being able to draw connections with Mr. Horvath solely on the fact that he came and spoke to our class was a blessing. Who needs tests when you can learn and directly apply knowledge!
I have to follow my favorite part of the class with my least favorite part and unfortunately that was Twitter. The reason it was my least favorite part was because I barely use Twitter to begin with, so it felt like a hassle or a job everytime I had to log on and tweet something. However, when I did find myself on Twitter, it was a bit of an interesting place. It was like learning about topics from class but in a bite sized sort of way. The twitter feed was pretty interesting as well. I don’t want to make it seem like I absolutely despised Twitter, but it was definitely the part that felt the most out of the way for me personally!
How could I go through this blog post without highlighting Professor Kane. He made coming to class worth it. He was engaged and intentional in every conversation and thoughtful about every response he made. I guess it does help when he kept bringing in high quality people. I especially loved the days when he was able to be there with us in person. It felt more like a conversation or seminar than a class. I can say with complete honesty that MIST 5720 was my favorite class that I have ever had in college. Realistically, I say that on course evaluations just so I run into zero unwarranted problems, but I am saying this with full transparency. I enjoyed coming to class. I enjoyed learning even if I wasn’t interested in the topic beforehand. That is because Professor Kane explained the reasoning behind every conversation and reinforced it many times as well. These weren’t useless class discussions that worked on public speaking skills. These were conversations that will help us better our career. These were topics that keep us on the cutting edge of the world we’re about to enter. Sorry to get a bit sidetracked! Coming back on topic, Professor Kane is just a great human being. I don’t know if I can give a higher compliment! Thank you for everything!