My kids welcome the day with the first rays of morning light! Although I would like to get some extra sleep, play and laughter insist on infusing life into the family. Sunday is a day to share with my wife Pola, Ariel (5), and Daniel (2). The San Francisco Bay Area offers a variety of interesting family-friendly activities – be it discovering life-sized dinosaurs at the Lawrence Hall of Science, or riding a miniature steam train through the beautiful mountains of Tilden Park. Obtaining an MBA was, as an international student, a family decision. My wife and kids had to leave behind a job, school, and loved ones for a long period of time, so this has been a challenging experience. However, the unique combination of university services, student initiatives, and opportunities offered by UC Berkeley and the Bay Area has made our decision to come to Haas one of the best of our lives.

At a personal level, the decision was easy. I have a background in computer science and experience as the founder of an internet company in Chile, so I chose Haas because it is the perfect springboard to achieve my goal of starting a company in Silicon Valley. For example, the student initiated course “Life as an Entrepreneur” is currently providing me with the opportunity to meet successful entrepreneurs and tap into the IT industry network in the Bay Area. As a member of the Latin American and Hispanic Business Club (LAHBA), I have attended a career event in Los Angeles and met representatives from companies such as Dell, Nokia, and Microsoft. In addition, LAHBA and the Jewish Business Club have helped my family keep in touch with our national, cultural, and religious heritage.

Today, we are meeting some friends from the Haas Partner’s Club and the Haas Kid’s Club for a barbeque in Cesar Chavez Park. These gatherings provide an excellent opportunity to discuss our professional interests and develop bonds with brilliant and energetic classmates from Haas. They also provide us with some time to exercise and play with the kids. Haas course workload can be significant. Finding time to exercise in between case preparation for marketing class, group meetings to agree on a strategy for our finance investment project, and study time to master FIFO and LIFO in order to finish the accounting problem set can be difficult, especially for a student with a family.

After a wonderful afternoon of kite flying in the Berkeley Marina, a five-minute drive takes us back home to our comfortable townhouse at University Village in Albany. We are very happy to have applied for Berkeley-operated family housing. The vibrant community of graduate student families makes the village a wonderful place to live. It is very convenient to be walking distance from several classmates. Yesterday, for example, we met at home with my team to prepare for the final round of the Apple Marketing Case Competition organized by the Haas Tech Club.

Sunday evenings are when the four of us prepare for the upcoming week. Ariel is excited because tomorrow he is going back to Albany Children’s Center, conveniently located across the street. With the help of the village’s services staff, we were able to enroll him in the middle of the semester.

Finishing the day and the week is no easy task with the kids. After a bath and a story, they have trouble falling asleep. Still excited, they want to extend Sunday with Dad. Close to midnight, I get in contact with the world again. After spending some time working for the marketing outreach team of the UC Berkeley Business Plan competition, I prepare my marketing case for tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, I am taking Daniel with me to Haas. He was accepted at the UC Berkeley Early Childhood Education program. This will help Daniel continue with his social, affective, and cognitive development, and allow Pola to study for her TOEFL exam, so she can obtain her Master’s in Political Science. Tomorrow, after leaving him at the childcare facility at 9:00 a.m., I will log into CareerNet at the Haas Computer Center to research companies in the internet industry that I am considering for my summer internship. Fall semester is ending; winter break is approaching, but instead of saying “time is flying,” I find it more appropriate to say “life is flowing.”

Back to students...

Sundays are when my schedule becomes crazy again. After a week of classes and a fun Saturday, Sunday is the day I get into gear and start my Haas week again. However, it takes me a while to get out of bed. I commute to Berkeley every day, and weekdays, the alarm goes off at 6:30 a.m. My husband Maurilio and I live in Fremont, a quiet suburb about 30 miles south of Berkeley. Maurilio works in San Jose, so we compromised by moving to a place where we could split the commute. Although I miss the convenience of living in Berkeley and the thrill of its high-energy community, we treasure spending time together. Waking up at 6:30 a.m. on weekdays seems a small price to pay. So, during the weekend, the alarm is banned! I usually linger in bed, but by 10:00 a.m., I am up and running. My first stop is the farmers’ market to load up on fruits and vegetables for the week. Then it is grocery shopping. Sunday is the day to replenish the refrigerator, as my schedule during the week includes commitments far more exciting than shopping!

Once back at home, it is time to start working. My first task is to revise the speech I am preparing for the MBA Association (MBAA) elections. I want to represent the international student community, so I am running for VP of International. Being an international student myself and having moved to this country, I understand the cultural shock and hurdles international students need to overcome. I believe cultural integration and opportunity creation are crucial to every international student’s experience, and I want to make my expertise available to the international community at Haas!

Next, it’s time to review class work. My first class Monday morning is financial accounting, and I need to work on the problem set we have due. We also have a group case study to prepare for Thursday, so I send out an email to my study group to coordinate our schedules for a meeting on Wednesday. I also ask for their feedback on my speech for the MBAA. My study group is amazing: there are five of us, all from very different backgrounds, each with our own strengths and weaknesses, but always ready and available to help each other. Sure enough, within the hour, Julia replies with some very good feedback, Seth sends some grammar edits on my speech and schedules the meeting, finding a good time and place for all of us, and Alex shares his thoughts on some of the case’s central issues. What else I could ask for? These people are amazing!

My next Haas-related task for the day is to customize my resume and write an email to Heather, a Haas alumna and my contact person within an organization where I would really like to work this summer. Before coming to Haas, I worked as a bridge engineer in a local structural engineering company. Even though I really liked my job, I have always been interested in the hospitality industry and realized I wanted to explore entrepreneurship and eventually start a company of my own. I chose Haas for its great entrepreneurship program and its emphasis on socially responsible business. As a career switcher, I need to look for an internship that encompasses my strengths and allows me to gain exposure in my chosen field. The Haas faculty and career center staff have been a great help in finding the right opportunity. I look over the binder career services gave us since I want to make sure I follow the proper etiquette and best practices in cover letter and resume writing. As I “send” my resume, it is time to wrap up my workday. Now I can go back to my husband and plan our evening!

After a few calls to friends, we decide to meet for dinner across the Bay in Palo Alto. Maurilio and I have been living in the Bay Area for several years, so we have many non-Haas friends that we keep in close contact with. As we drive over the bridge, I remember we have a Table for Haas dinner on Thursday. Table for Haas is a group I started to enable people to socialize in small groups. Participants have dinner with a different set of people each time and bring their partners as well. Maurilio will need to clear his schedule so he can join me in Berkeley at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Once we return home, I quickly check emails again. I send a reminder to the Table for Haas organizers to book their restaurants for Thursday, and by 11:30 p.m., I am in bed, ready for yet another exciting week at Haas!

Back to students...