HEC Paris Open Day (Portes Ouvertes)

Today was the annual HEC Paris Open Day during which we had prospective students, mostly resident in France, visit HEC for half a day of lectures, tours and interactive sessions. I was one of the many volunteer ambassadors who had agreed to spend a Saturday shepherding potential colleagues around campus rather than enjoy a lie in. I enjoyed it and had good long conversations about HEC and MBA with a few French guys, a Japanese girl de Londres and a Franco-Swiss couple (so keen were we that some of us even continued this exchange of ideas in a cafe in Jouy!). And, for my bachelor classmates who were also ambassadors, I was the point of reference for anyone who wanted to know about how to balance an MBA with being a father/parent! My advice was to find a good nanny or a garderie for the child to attend if the husband or wife is also a full-time worker. And, to surely let the Academic Affairs officers know that you have a family and that you are not going to be able to attend all the evening lectures and activities. This is true in my case and I have no choice but to miss some of the 'important' lectures. Otherwise, it will be all work and no life. Most importantly, wish that your group members would be understanding enough to schedule group discussions and exercises during the normal day. In my case, this turned out to be a fairly easy proposition as one other member has a family with an infant daughter. So, today turned out to be a much longer and interesting day than I had anticipated. All this for just one HEC polo shirt as a reward! :-) C'est pas grave!