My first reaction was that it was totally out of place like sand in the eyes, but not to jump to any conclusions, I did a bit of research into this. I discovered that there are many people who are opposed (sometimes fiercely) to the use of M.B.A. after names, while others say it is totally acceptable.

Turns out the truth is somewhere in the middle. Adding academic post-nominal letters after the name is not entirely correct for a person who is not a student or involved in the academia professionally. While there is no rule of the English language that prevents one from listing all the academic degrees after the name, there is however a rule of etiquette in North America that signing the degree is only acceptable when acting in a capacity, where the field of expertise of this degree is relevant.

MBA is an academic degree, not a professional one, and therefore using the three letters by a real estate agent in newspaper ads is not in line with etiquette rules. On the other hand, it is a good idea for participants at an academic conference who have advanced business degrees to indicate such.

After graduation, one can also become an interviewer or help Wharton by hosting or participating in admissions events just like the one at Yahoo!. Some of the alums who came yesterday have been acting in that role for years now, and to me, this both sets an example and speaks volumes of the support that comes from the alumni.

On the other hand, this connection goes both ways and the school continues to be a professional development resource if one wishes. For instance, this week I have been in contact with several of my professors at Wharton, and they have been eager to provide their input into solving some analytical problems I am dealing with at work.

Wharton supports alumni organizations throughout the world. These vary in degree of activity, but many are very active locally. For example, Toronto Wharton Alumni Association organizes regular informal alumni meetings every four weeks; these are usually at some pub in downtown T.dot (aka Toronto). There are also opportunities to meet random business and social leaders, thinkers, practitioners and researchers that somehow appear on the club’s radar.

In Northern California, there is a very active alumni club with activities every week ranging from on-going regular seminars for C-level executives to entrepreneur networking and leads generation activities to wine tasting in Napa Valley or learning about chocolate from the artisans.

There is also a separate Lauder Institute Alumni Association, and this body is very active, too. The Association unites all Lauder alums, and there are regular Global Forums that take place one or two times a year. The next one is coming up soon, it will take place in San Francisco on October 1-3, and the activities will range from conferences, discussions, dinners to informal get-togethers and voyages to the nearby wineries. When I registered for the Forum a couple of weeks ago, the list of attendees was 170 people-strong.

More on ways to stay tuned with Wharton/Lauder in my next post.

The graduation ceremony took place in Philadelphia on May 16. It was a busy and long day for me, my little family, and a couple of very good friends who came for graduation.

Everything went according to schedule: all cohorts, clad in graduation regalia, lined up at 11:00 am, then we marched down the Locust Walk all the way to the Franklin Field , where all the formalities were performed.

I found our graduation speaker delightful and inspiring. “Integrity is the stone of the realm” was the leitmotif of the speech , and the words are still echoing in my head – it is such a simple, yet very powerful truth, a constant reminder to always be honest, and deal ethically.

Special kudos to Dean Anjani Jain for having pronounced all 800+ names correctly during the roll call! Anjani must be paid extra for this exceptional talent. He once told me in the MBA Pub that he does his name research, makes sure his pronunciation and stress are correct, and starts practicing several weeks in advance. He must get every name perfectly right, and name calling, walking up to the stage, hand shake, and receiving the diploma must take no longer than fifteen seconds per student.

The ceremonial activities, speeches, etc. took a good four hours, during which time the friends and family in the audience were patiently waiting, and making sure they had enough sun screen on – it was a hot and sunny day.

After the main Wharton event, the Lauder Institute had a separate graduation ceremony at the Houston Hall. This was a less formal, but not less significant event.

Lauder had two graduation speakers: Mr. Shiv Khemka, Vice Chairman of the Sun Group, and Mr. Paul Hynek, Deal Maker, Giant Studios, both Lauder class of 1990, both on the Lauder Board of Governors. Both Shiv and Paul touched upon one particular thing that sets Wharton apart: courage to take the challenge, and win or lose honestly – in line with the Black Rock CEO’s speech earlier. They also encouraged us to be entrepreneurs in everything we do; and of course, their personal stories were both inspiring and impressive. For example, Shiv shared his incredible success story in Russia, while Paul told us about the movies he has helped to make (his firm has made the life-like computer animation for James Cameron’s “Avatar”) and how being open-minded helped him work and do business overseas.

Then there was our wonderful student speaker, Emily Di Capua (Chinese track), who wrapped up our two years at Lauder as only she could – I am sure everyone in the audience was touched by her words.

Then there were awards (the award and money prize for best research went to Johanna Kuhn-Osius, Chinese track), photos, and a wine-and-cheese reception, where we got to meet each other’s family friends.

My daughter ran around, talked to people, and drank as much Coca-Cola as she could. She casually talked to Paul Hynek, who gave her a small, but special Avatar gift (only the crew and actors have this thing). I looked at her and at all the people from a distance, and I thought I hoped so much that one day she would be in my shoes, the happiest person on Earth, drinking good wine with very good friends and celebrating the completion of her own MBA/MA in the Houston Hall. Then again, she might never make the choice to go to Wharton and Lauder, but if she does, it will be one of the best choices she will ever make.

Our Beach Week was tons of fun: pool side parties, fun at the beach, breakfasts, brunches and dinners, wild nights at some of the best clubs. Again, Wharton works hard and plays hard, and both work and play are taken very seriously: if we do something, we do it well.

A bunch of Lauder students stayed as a big lively family in what we called the “Lauder House” on Collins Street – a private boutique hotel we rented out for the week. Needless to say, when over 20 good friends stay together in Miami Beach, non-stop partying is inevitable.

2010 Beach Week is over, and the class is back in Philadelphia.

Today is the last Pub for 2nd Years. Tomorrow is Final Friday, and Sunday is Graduation day.

It is symbolic that the note I wrote right at the moment when the Prof. called it a class was an idiom 不遗余力, which means “to spare no effort” or “tirelessly”. It does sum up all the hard work that our language instructors have put into the Chinese program: our Mandarin track has the highest OPI graduation achievement level at Lauder this year. It also is indicative of the effort that I personally have put into my MBA/MA degree at Wharton/Lauder.

Overall, our unique MBA/MA program requires an input of creativity, hard work, a lot of time (very frequent all-nighters, too). The output is a new you equipped with new skills, new knowledge, and new perspectives: I got all of this supplemented with a tremendous amount of personal satisfaction and tons of fun with many incredibly gifted friends from all over the world.

Life is good.

My place is like a big dressing room: stage costumes, make up, fake jewelry, wigs, etc. are everywhere. Dance music is on most of the time, which has been making my little one very excited (needless to say, she has tried on all her mom’s costumes several times).

As someone witnessing the preparation and rehearsals from the inside, I can already say that the show this year will be magnificent!

Tickets are 20 dollars, DVD’s will sell for $15, and memories will be priceless. I am excited to see a lot of good friends on stage in a completely new environment. Can’t wait.

If you have any thoughts on what should be done to solve Russia’s insurgence and terrorism problem, please share with me in the comments.