Learning to Excel in business.

If I had one piece of advice for incoming students, or someone considering the MAB program, it would be this: become proficient in using Microsoft Excel before your first campus session.

The program, like any business school, has an emphasis on using this software to be efficient as a financial manager in the workplace. Thus, you use it heavily during your courses -- especially while in Manhattan.

I use Excel on a fairly regular basis in my job. That helped a bunch while we did our assignments on campus. But others found it more of a challenge becoming skilled with this unique program.

Several people mentioned that they would have liked to have more knowledge of the software package before they started taking the courses.

Just a tidbit of info to help in the planning process.

We the people.

Here's a peak inside the Class of 2010's work session one day last week.

You'll note that I was short on posts from Manhattan. The on-campus time is a rigorous schedule of lectures, assignments and group work. While you spend most of your time learning -- don't be mislead, it's plenty of fun.

What's most impressive... you leave after the first on-campus session feeling like you've just made 24 new best friends.

Call me back in two years.

I find myself getting nostalgic when I think about the free time I had last year. This agribusiness program is busy. But that's a good thing. It's busy in the sense that you kept active with course work during what would essentially be down time.

You still have time for the job, the family and the sleeping. It's an executive program. It survives by being convenient enough to sustain a life outside of school.

But it does require significant time management. And, as I'm learning, the ability to see that not all things can be accomplished at once.

So next time my wife asks about those minuscule household repairs she's been waiting on, I think I'll tell her to check back once I'm done with my MAB.

The on-campus experience.

Busy. Really busy. That's how everyone is describing the MAB session on-campus in Manhattan.

We've spent a tremendous amount of time in Waters Hall in the last 48 hours, learning the finer points of finance and the ins-and-outs of logistics. Add on a heaping helping of computer software training and you've got the first day and a half of our MAB experience.

The second year students warned us that it will be much of the same all week.

Time spent on campus.

The new MAB students convened on campus today in our first collective trip to Manhattan, KS. The campus is very quiet -- it's still winter break for Kansas State's "traditional" students.

The town's not too hard to navigate. It's the biggest little town I've been in lately. (Fitting it's description as the "Little Apple") Complete with a shopping mall and enough restaurants to have your pick -- but still quaint enough to find your way around without needing a map and specific directions. There's really only a handful of main thoroughfares to navigate.

Many of the Class of 2010 are staying at a hotel right on campus. It sounds like the second year students opted for cheaper rates at discount hotels or other preferred accommodations; they are a little more spread out around town.

Having been here now, I'd say you can't go wrong staying where you'd most prefer. Everything is close enough to campus and the staff has supplied us each with a parking pass good for the main lot outside "our" building -- Water's Hall.

We're experiencing incredible fortune, too. The weather was almost balmy by Kansas standards today -- warm... and it's January. I've spent a lot of time in this state and can appreciate how lucky we are that it's not freezing outside with arctic winds whipping in all directions.

Ready for a long week.

The first few hours of MAB's January session went by quickly. Time was eaten up by software installations, computer program training and a bit of fun. New students (Class of 2010) had the chance to meet second year students and share some laughs with a light-hearted orientation.

We also shared pizza, and many folks seemed to use the time to quiz returning MAB'ers about what to expect.

The consensus was to prepare for a long week -- many hours of classes, studying and perhaps little sleep.

Monday morning brings the first experiences of the agriculture finance course and the logistics course. I'll report accordingly tomorrow. We're getting books, DVD's and other goodies tomororow, too.

For now, I think it's safe to say folks are resting their brains and preparing for a day packed with learning.

First campus session. Day 1.

It's orientation day for MAB's Class of 2010... we'll meet each other this afternoon, in addition to meeting the faculty, staff and students from the Class of 2009.

We'll also kick-off studies with a primer on the learning technologies used in this program.

And pizza. The plan is to wrap-up this afternoon's meetings and learning sessions with a pizza party to celebrate the beginning.

Get ready, get set, get there.

I'm en route to Manhattan for the first campus session of the MAB program. An overnight stop in Missouri breaks the trip up for me. That's about halfway -- as I live just close enough to drive in, but far enough to justify the stopover.

My guess is that some of my cohorts will fly in... we're a pretty diverse group, representing 18 states and six countries. Students in this group hail from throughout North and South America, plus the continent of Africa.

Thus, travel to campus will be the focus for many of us this weekend. It's the last big feat before we start out as the MAB Class of 2010.