BOND Back In Person
Having joined BOND in the Winter 2021 semester, I first experienced BOND virtually. Being completely virtual my freshman year, it had been hard for me to build a sense of community but when I joined BOND, I met an incredibly tight-knit and supportive group of people. While sitting through endless zoom classes wasn’t fun, I always looked forward to our virtual BONDings, club meetings, and consulting projects. Now, as we transitioned back to in-person this past year, I realized that BOND would be the best part of my semester from my very first day in Ann Arbor.
Right from the first week, I was meeting all of the people I knew through tiny zoom windows and it felt like we hadn’t skipped a beat. I was a bit nervous during our first BONDing at Sava’s, trying to match names to faces, but by the end of it I truly felt like a part of the BOND family. From going to my first Michigan football game with Katie, Rishabh, and Marissa to finally getting to taste Saman and Nameer’s lauded cooking, I had a great time getting even closer with all of the people I had met virtually.
Being on campus meant the return of in-person consulting projects and I cannot overstate how amazing this experience was. While using the Ross whiteboards turned out to be overhyped, being able to work on problems and slides with my team face to face lent itself to more growth for me as a consultant and more fun meetings. Every week, I looked forward to seeing Jacob’s reaction to Sid’s rich vocabulary and hearing Ekam’s random Grand Rapids facts during our team meetings. In addition to the team, it was extremely gratifying being able to present our work in person to the clients and seeing the satisfaction on their faces.
Time after time, I found that the most fulfilling and fun parts of my semester were the ones I spent at biweeklies, BONDings, and countless informal “work” sessions. With how hectic the world has been as of late, I’m so glad I have all of my friends at BOND to lean on for career advice, Taylor Swift debates, and everything in between.