My experience in Student Clubs as an Early Careers Student

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By Lindsey Zastawny, MFA2022

I remember a year ago when I was writing my application essays for LBS, scouring the website trying to narrow down the clubs that I wanted to join. Being involved in activities has always been an important part of school for me, as it’s afforded me the opportunity to meet so many people outside of my courses and take on leadership roles. This year during my MFA, I’ve been lucky enough to serve on the Executive Committees for Women in Business, as part of the Community and Social Team and the Sailing Club as a VP – Cruising.

Choosing What to Get Involved in and Applying to the Executive Committee

With so many clubs offered at LBS, it can be overwhelming to try and only choose a few. Personally, I chose to be a member of the Investment Management Club, Sailing Club, and Women in Business. These were three organisations that I believed would help me grow professionally while expanding my network across all the programmes at LBS. Furthermore, just because you’re only a member of a few clubs doesn’t mean you can’t still participate at events held by other clubs! I recently attended the Retail and Luxury Goods Conference, and you don’t need to be a member to attend such events. A good rule of thumb is to pick at a professional and a social or sports club, one to further your career and one to have to blow off steam and relax.

Next, it’s important to decide if you want to apply for a leadership position, or “ExCo” position as we call them at LBS. The application process and deadlines differ for each club, so make sure to stay up to date with the communications they send out. Typically, there will be an initial application where you fill out some basic information about yourself as well as your motivation for joining the club and the specific team you are applying for within the club. Then the senior members will select people for interviews. In my experience, they were super short, only around 10 minutes, and they were a chance for me to meet some of the people I could potentially be working with throughout the year and share some of my ideas. If you end up not getting the position you apply for, don’t fret! There are still many ways to stay involved in the club and be an active and contributing member even without being on the Exco.

My ExCo Experiences at LBS

Ever since I first started researching LBS, I knew that if I joined the MFA I wanted to be involved with the Women in Business (WiB) club. During my undergraduate degree I was always one of the few girls in my finance curriculum, so I wanted to be a part of an organisation that uplifted and supported of women. As a member of the Community & Social team, I helped out with the Equality Ball that happened before winter break. Luckily, we were finally able to hold the event in person again and while there are always challenges when planning such a large event, we were successful in raising money for UN Women – the ultimate goal of the event. Throughout the rest of the year, my team oversees planning events that bring WiB members together to foster community and promote interaction across all the programs and cohorts.

During my undergraduate degree, sailing had been a way for me to push myself out of my comfort zone, and I thought that it would help me to do that LBS too. As a VP of Sailing – Cruising I plan our Salty Dog day sailing trips that allow everyone from beginners to those who have been sailing for years a chance to get out on the water. The camaraderie among the ExCo team is great, and I always look forward to seeing them in at social events or out on the water. I’m most excited for the LBS MBA regatta in Athens, Greece this spring. I’ve always raced in smaller boats during university, so I can’t wait to be racing in bigger boats in such a beautiful area.

I don’t think my LBS experience would have been the same if I had not pushed myself to get involved in various clubs. While it’s important to get close with your cohort, it’s equally important to make an effort to meet the MBA and MiF students as well, you never know when those connections could come in handy and the advice I’ve received from many of my fellow ExCo members has been invaluable.

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