A Guide To Making The Most Of Your Immersion: The Washington Campus

A Guide to Making the Most of Your Immersion: The Washington Campus

The intersection between business and government is stronger than ever, and Kelley Direct’s Washington Campus immersion offering is a great way to learn how to successfully navigate that relationship. This course, “Managing Business, Public Affairs, and Public Policy,” is an intensive week-long residency in Washington, DC that empowers individuals to be better citizens, leaders, executives, and entrepreneurs through strategic management.

You’ll have the opportunity to learn directly from demonstrated policy experts and leaders coming from diverse corporate, government, and advocacy backgrounds and network with participants from other top MBA programs. The exact agenda will be catered to address relevant issues, with additional information being provided closer to the program start, with a sample agenda available prior.

Here are some tips and tricks to make the most of your time on the Washington Campus!

1. Come with great questions for your speakers! On top of your assigned readings, the speaker biographies are a great resource to tailor your questions to the best person to answer them. This is the perfect time to take advantage of their expertise and get the most value for yourself.
2. Take good notes! This will be a no-tech space with no recording allowed, so be prepared to take thorough, handwritten notes. The speaker presentations will generally be available at the end of each day, otherwise, your notes would be the best reference.
3. Be prepared for a lot of information and focus on the application! This is a very content-heavy week, and there will continue to be a lot to learn in managing public affairs and policy. You’re not expected to be an expert policy navigator by the end of the week, but rather someone with the critical knowledge and insight to become one.
4. Attend the receptions, optional events, and connect! The days are filled with speaker presentations, so the receptions and optional events are great spaces to continue networking and have a lot of fun. If you can stay through the Saturday or Sunday following, that’s also a great time to explore DC! Bring comfortable clothes and walking shoes for travel between locations and additional activities.
5. NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK!! You’ll continue to hear the importance of networking through your classes and especially here, where both what you know and who you know is crucial. Connect with the speakers and your peers here and stay connected beyond the event too. This is a group of highly motivated, like-minded professionals, and you can learn just as much from other participants and their experiences.

If I could give just one piece of advice, though, it would be this: be intentional and make this experience meaningful for you. Whether it’s prioritizing getting expert insight, active networking, and relationship building, or exploring a new city, there’s an incredible amount of opportunity here.

These tips helped me make the most of my experience, and I’ve gained a fiery passion to positively influence policy and many wonderful new friends that I’ll be cheering for to do the same. 

Hope this guide helps! Let me know what your biggest takeaways are!