2nd Years From a 1st Year's Perspective

An author once said, “Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.” We’ve all heard similar sayings or quotes to that effect – the idea that painful failure can actually build positive character in the long run.

That lesson is poignant to a first-year BYU MBA student, especially when they take a moment to observe one of their second-year counterparts. The bar to get into the Marriott School is high enough that you probably won’t make it without a notable history of success to one degree or another. That means that most of us showed up on the first day of orientation with optimism and high hopes for the challenges that lay ahead.

But, every first year can attest to noticing something a little different about the class just ahead of them, and not just because the second-years have authoritative roles. A new MBA student can sense that a second-year carries a quiet type of confidence – the kind deeply based on assurance.

Most first-years now have an idea of where that confidence comes from. And, the class of 2013 will get that same sense from them. It starts with experiencing failure that is more painful and stressful than most probably expected. It is refined when they overcome that and succeed.

Whether it comes in the classroom, at the career center, or beyond, failure and stress are trademarks of a BYU MBA. But, we move passed it and collect our war stories. Next fall, a bunch of second-years will don the Sherpa polos and get down to business helping the new class. The new batch of first-years will be enthusiastic, optimistic, and talented. But, the second-years will have that quiet assuring confidence that can only come from prolonged time in the battlefield that is the Tanner Building.

Devon Black, Class of 2012, OB/HR