Each student in Darden is assigned a section ... There are a total of 5 sections with about 60 students each ... All students in one section go through the same experience in the first semester (same classes and professors) ... In some classes, having a good section is almost as important as having a good professor ... So much of your learning at Darden depends on your peers ...
Needless to say, there is a lot of bonding between folks in the same section ... There is so much that we go through together ... The sudden cold call and that nervous answer ... That silly comment someone made which has the class split in laughter ... That moment of insight when the professor tells us that the approach followed by the whole class was wrong! ... And then there are those moments secret to only our section ... Section E - the youngest and most energetic section at Darden! ...
Like the concept of "Word of the Day" ... One of us decides a word of the day, and then that word has to be used during one of the class discussions that same day ... He should of course use it in a relevant context AND remain uncaught by the professor ... Imagine the struggle to use "Aromatherapy" in an Accounting or Operations class! ... Just last week, one of the guys in our class very courageously used the phrase "Burger Joint in the Moon" in our Marketing class, but was unfortunately caught by the professor ...
We keep getting visitors to our section in the form of prospective students applying to Darden next year ... Each section has it's own norm in greeting visitors ... Some thump the desks loudly while repeating the visitors name (in an ever increasing crescendo) ... Some get them to pick a creative question out of a hat and then answer it in class ... We do something much more fun! ...
We tried it out for the first time last week ... We had a visitor from Mexico come into our Accounting class (guy with glasses in pic below) ... after he introduced himself, we told him that the custom for all visitors before sitting in on a class is to wrestle with our champ athlete ... Chris (in the sweater with the hood below) would then jump out of his chair, over the desk and then start hopping around madly in the middle of the class, with his arms hanging loosely at his side ... The rest of the class would start whooping wildly by now, and making the visitor get down the stairs to greet his adversary ...
I can only imagine what must have been going on in the visitor's head! ... Chris is BIG, and when he comes charging at you, it can get quite intimidating! ... I won't tell you what happens next, or I'll spoil the surprise for other prospective students reading this blog and planning a visit! ... But in the end, it's an extremely memorable day for the visitor ... He / she is not going to forget the Darden experience in a hurry after a class with Section E! ...
Go Section E!!! ...
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That is very interesting narration.
Thanks for sharing your experiences and enjoyment with us. The pictures are good too.
Burger Joint in the Moon" that is funny thought!
It is a fun read!
Indu
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