- April 4, 2017
- 10:07 am
- Quinlan Ramble
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Quinlan Ramble Reflection- Lina Lee Li Qui Chu
The Quinlan Ramble is a life-changing experience and I’ve had the golden opportunity of having my life changed twice. Thanks to the incredible Alex See, I was able to attend another Quinlan Ramble this year. Being the returner on this trip has definitely been enriching in ways that have changed me as a leader. As the returner, I also had the opportunity of helping out in the planning of this trip which enforced my planning and organizational skills. This Quinlan Ramble exposed me to the fast-paced world you see in movies about Wall Street and New York.
One of the many incredible companies we got to visit really changed my perspective on that business and that was the New York Stock Exchange. It was exactly what I had imagined based off of news outlets and certain movies but the fast-paced depiction wasn’t that fast-paced in real life. Getting the opportunity to talk with a broker at NYSE was a really great opportunity and I fired away with questions. It’s not every day that you get a chance to talk directly to a broker and as an international student from Madagascar, the Quinlan Ramble has shown me so many different aspects of the business world in the United States. During this trip, I also constantly forced myself to come out of my comfort zone and network and make new friends. It might seem scary to talk to important people but after taking the first step, the reward of being able to hold up a conversation is golden. One example would be connecting with the Dean of the Quinlan School of Business, Dean Stevens. This year, the Dean attended a few of the company visits with us and during those visits, I was able to introduce myself to him and talk about careers and my home countries – Mauritius and Madagascar. There were also my other fellow college mates on this trip who made this experience unforgettable. Each one of them brought a different color to the trip and I enjoyed the many laughs.
Thanks to the Quinlan Ramble, I was able to step out of my comfort zone and put myself out there. I was also really fortunate to be sharing my previous Ramble experience in San Francisco to others. I believe that having had such a golden opportunity, everyone should get to know about it. Ever since I came back to Chicago after the trip, I can’t stop bragging about how life-changing the trip was and how much interaction we had with the different companies. As an international student who does not get such opportunities handed to them every day, the Quinlan Ramble will always have a very special place in my heart and career path. I would like to thank the main organizers of this trip because without them, this trip would not have been so amazing – a big shout-out to Chelsea Donahue, Alex See and Meghan Coletta. This Quinlan Ramble was the last one Alex was going to be on and we were all very fortunate to have gone through this experience with him. Alex founded the Quinlan Ramble and without his terrific idea, the Quinlan Ramble would not have existed. The Quinlan Ramble is also a very academically-driven experience where I can connect the company visits to what I’m learning in class. The Quinlan Ramble allows business students to experience the corporate world first-hand by making the companies the classroom. Thank you Alex, Chelsea and Meghan!
Lina Lee Li Qui Chu
Quinlan Class of 2018
Economics