The Heart of it All
Time has still been flying by around here, and there has been lots of excitement. Notably the end of our first terms, and our first round of exams. Each semester at Fisher is divided into two 7 week terms, which means a new set of courses every 7 weeks, just to keep us on the bounce. In addition to new classes, the internship search seems to be coming along, with people attending conferences out of state, second round interviews, and some starting to receive offers. I had the chance to go to the MBA veterans conference in Chicago last week, which was a great opportunity to talk with companies specifically looking to recruit talent from top schools who are also veterans.
So, needless to say, life as an MBA student is still very busy, and requires proper time management. That being said, life balance is still important, and students need to take time to enjoy life whenever possible. As someone who is interested in supply chain management and operations, it hasn't escaped my notice that there are a significant number of companies who have headquarters or distribution centers in the Columbus area, as well as Ohio in general. Part of the reason for this is that a significant portion of the American population lives within a day's drive of Ohio. So while the state is not the geographic center of the country, it is in a strategic location for getting goods to customers. In fact, I think one of the iterations of license plates the state used to have said "Ohio - the heart of it all."
In keeping with the need for a healthy work-life balance, especially for people who haven't traveled much within the U.S., Columbus is in a good spot for those who want to take weekend trips. I consider about 6 hours (approx 350-400 miles) to be the most I would drive for a 2-3 day weekend trip and within that radius of Columbus are the following cities:
Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dayton, OH
Pittsburgh, PA
Indianapolis, IN
Chicago, IL
St Louis, MO
Detroit, MI
Buffalo, NY
Washington, DC
Lexington, Louisville, KY
Knoxville, Nashville, TN
And those are just some of the bigger cities that I can think of off the top of my head, there are many more smaller cities, national/state parks, lakes and other attractions worth visiting within that radius as well. As you can see, Columbus, Ohio really is rather well situated to serve as a base of operations for someone who wants to have access to a large portion of the U.S., which is another attractive attribute of the Fisher MBA program.