Over the last couple of months I have had “Manners”, the debut full-length release by current indie favorite Passion Pit, in heavy rotation on my Ipod. I guess I have a thing for synth-heavy electro pop. For more on their awesomeness, check out Paul Shirley’s blog on Espn.com.

Anyway, one of my favorite tracks on the album is “Swimming in the Flood,” and I have realized over the past couple of weeks that not only is the song a great five minute escape from the rigors of Financial Accounting, but also a near perfect description of my first three weeks at McCombs.

A packed week of orientation activity, followed by an intense week if pre-term academic boot camps, leading up to my first week of classes, has left me feeling like I am swimming in a flood. It has been a flood of people, places, experiences, concepts, cultures, classes and, most importantly, of opportunities. It has been simultaneously exhilarating and exhausting. Since we started three weeks ago there has rarely been a moment of rest, and as I look at my schedule for the next week I realize that we are only getting started.

This is a good thing. This is why I removed myself from the workforce and came to a place like McCombs. I wanted to be challenged and I wanted to be taken out of my comfort zone. So far neither desire has gone unfulfilled. A rapidly escalating load of course material has provided ample academic challenge, while presenting during orientation’s Executive Challenge and defending my (sometime erroneous) opinions to my study team have forced me to both embrace constructive criticism and approach problems from a different perspective.

It’s all happening very quickly now, but I feel great about being in Austin. My decision to come here has been constantly reinforced through interaction with my classmates and professors alike.  Before I got to campus, people told me that the biggest challenge would be finding time to do everything that I hoped to accomplish in two years. I can see that this is clearly going to be the case as I make tough decisions regarding the allocation of my time across groups, organizations, Plus projects and academic challenges over the course of the semester. All of this while trying to enjoy all the vibrancy of Austin!

So while it feels like a bit of a flood now, it is a great one to be swimming in. I’ll do my best to keep my head above water and communicate what the first year experience is all about. In the meantime, if there is something you would like to see me blog about, or if you have any questions about life at McCombs, drop me an email at Kevin.Burke@mba11.mccombs.utexas.edu (or follow me on Twitter – kburke1).

Until then, hook ‘em!