The Fuqua Experience

Imagine it is the year 2022 and you have just received your invitation to the “Duke CCMBA Class of 2012 Reunion”.  Shooters has been converted into an oxygen bar named “High Flyers”.  The invitation reads:

Dear CCMBA 2012 Alum,

As the MBA class that has the highest net worth and social capital in the world, we humbly invite you to return to Durham, North Carolina on the evening of May 5, 2022 for a 10 Year Reunion. 

The Fuqua team looks forward to welcoming you home for this event.

Sincerely,

Malcom Riley – Dean

Fuqua School of Business

 

Fast-forward to May 5, 2022.  The High Flyers wait staff is helping prepare the room for the exclusive private event that Duke is holding.  Security is at its peaks due to the high profile crowd that will be attending.  Sandra and Yasmine can’t help but chat with Brad the bartender about all the excitement.

Let’s listen in to what they’re saying…shalllllll weeee!

Sandra: “Yasmine, you know what this event is tonight right?”

Yasmine: “I heard it was a class reunion, but I’ve never seen so much hoopla over a class reunion before.”

Sandra: “It’s a reunion alright, this is the Duke CCMBA 2012 class.  Apparently the cumulative net worth of everyone in the room is 10% of the world’s overall net worth.  People like Abe Kim who owns the Uncle Abe’s coffee chain that bought out Starbucks.  Nick Sarraf, the guy that created the Nu-phone.  Talk about revolutionary…it’s hard to believe we ever had to carry a phone with us rather than just having the chip implant.”

Brad  chimes in:  “Hey ladies, what’s all the chatter about?  Don’t tell me you two are excited to see Lady A tonight?”

Sandra squeals:  “WHATTTTTTTTTT???!!!!  THE Lady A is coming?  I love Ayisha Jeter!!!  When she took over the O Network I just knew it was going to be huge.  Who was that lady that she replaced that used to be a big deal?  Oprah or something?”

Brad: “Yeah, yeah she’s great and all, but she’s not the reason for all the security.  You know Ben Brooks is coming right?”

Yasmine: “PRESIDENT Ben Brooks?  So those guys in the black suits outside are Secret Service?”

Brad: “Yup, that’s right.  Apparently he’s flying Air Force 1 down here for the event.  A lot of the classmates in the Duke CCMBA 2012 class are big world players you know.  There’s this guy named Tim Krysiek is big in the oil business.  He made a deal with Russia to get in the market early when everyone thought it was still too risky.  Man did that pay off.  He used some of the money to invest into a real estate investment with another classmate, Edan Amar.  You ever heard of Casino Island in Qatar?”

Sandra: “Isn’t that the man-made island that Qatar built right before the Olympics were held there?”

Brad: “Yeah it is.  It’s shaped like a roulette wheel with the casino in the middle of the island and the housing developments rotate red & black streets all the way around.  There is a cruise ship that goes around the island 24 hours a day to look like the roulette ball.  Pretty cool because you can make bets on where passengers will ask to stop next while you’re at the hotel bar.  Absolutely genius.”

Sandra: “Ohhh that reminds me, isn’t one of the women coming the one who put on the Qatar Olympics?”

Yasmine: “Fatma Al-Ghanim is coming?  You know she is the one who is doing the first inter galactic games on the moon?  I heard she did a reception with all of the world leaders, including President Brooks, on the International Space Station.”

Brad: “I hadn’t heard that, but it doesn’t surprise me.”

Sandra: “Guys I just found the guest list.  Shaliz Afshar is going to be here….ughh…I’m going to have a heart attack.  I love her!  I remember when she was on CNBC and I have followed her fashion blog every day since…forever!  She was just at the Milan fashion week with Anna Winters and I heard they are talking about starting their own line.  If they do I think I will need a new job so I can afford to buy EVERYTHING they make.”

Brad: “You ladies and the fashion.  I’m all about Brad Dubinsky.  He’s the guy that does the “F16 Instructional Videos”.  That stuff is awesome.  He goes up in an F16 and teaches you stuff like algebra at Mach 3 speed!  It’s so cool.  I used his course for Accounting and Professor Schipper gave me a perfect score.”

Yasmine takes a hit of oxygen and tries to calm herself down.  She nervously looks at Brad and Sandra and says: “You guys, this Duke CCMBA Class is seriously the best group of people in the world.  They all went to Duke in the same class?”

Sandra: “Yeah, I know.  Hard to believe right?”

Fade back to present.

Wow…I don’t know about you guys but I can’t wait for that day!  What’s even more amazing is that I believe that when that day comes, we’re all going to shocked at not just the accomplishments that Sandra, Brad, and Yasmine talked about here, but about all the other ones I didn’t have time to list or vision to foresee.

But guess what.  That day may not come at all if the Annual Fund isn’t there.  The Annual Fund isn’t just used for paying salaries or buying books.  It’s used for things like newsletters, reunions, regional networking events, and education events.

So if you are like me, and you believe that the 10 Year Duke CCMBA 2012 Reunion is going to be an epic experience to come together again with people that have changed the world, help make that happen.  You can still donate/pledge to the 2012 Class Gift campaign all the way up to May 8.

DONATE HERE

Let’s get ready for our practice run at Shooters in a few days, and get those donations in so we can have a great reunion!