McCombs Launches McCombs Adventure Program for Incoming MBAs
By Kate McCann
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McCombs MBAs go zip-lining in the Costa
Rican Jungle canopy during their pre-orientation MAP trip.
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For incoming MBA students at the McCombs School of Business, meeting
and bonding with future classmates no longer has to take place
within the confines of school walls at student orientation. Now,
even before arriving on campus, students can kick off their MBA
experience hiking to the tops of volcanoes, strolling on the beach
or whitewater rafting through the rain forest.
This year, the McCombs full-time MBA program introduced the McCombs
Adventure Program (MAP), a weeklong August vacation with new
classmates. In its first year, nine incoming first year MBA students
and three second-year MBA group leaders jaunted off to Costa Rica to
get an early start on making new friends.
“Before MAP, incoming students typically met each other for the
first time at Accounting Boot Camp, an academic program that does
not afford the same setting as the MAP trips,” says Erin Hellige,
MBA ’06. In addition to providing exotic scenery, “the MAP trips
also allow incoming students to meet a few second-year students and
get the ‘inside track’ on what it’s like at McCombs.”
During this year’s Costa Rica trip, students visited the active
Arenal Volcano, relaxed at the Tabacon Hot Springs Resort in La
Fortuna and spent a day whitewater rafting through the jungle.
Students also had the opportunity to participate in the zip-line
tour through the Cloud Forest—where they sailed 100 feet off the
ground. In addition to group sightseeing, the students had two full
days of free time in Tamarindo to relax on the beach, take surf
lessons, scuba dive, snorkel or try sea kayaking.
“The best thing to bring is an open mind,” says Justin Camarda, MBA
’06. “You can go to Costa Rica on your own at any time, but going on
this once-in-a-lifetime trip with a small group of people that you
will work with for the next two years can leave you with great
memories.”
For future trips, MAP organizers plan to offer two or three
destinations and are currently considering proposals for Alaska,
Nicaragua, Peru and Sweden.
