Spring break at UC Davis is upon us, and for some it’s a time for spray-on tans or traveling south for an MTV beach party. For 20 MBA students from the Graduate School of Management, it will be a rare opportunity to meet one of the most sage business minds today:  Mr. Warren Buffett. 

The Oracle of Omaha has graciously invited a group of UC Davis MBA students back again this year to join other MBA students for a visit in his hometown.  The itinerary includes tours of Berkshire Hathaway’s Nebraska Furniture Outlet and Borsheims Fine Jewelry, Q&A with the Oracle himself, a steak lunch with Mr. Buffett, and dinner with our Assistant Dean James Stevens.  Deep-pocketed investors have bid as much as $2.63 million for a chance to dine with Warren Buffett, so we’re very grateful for such an amazing opportunity.

Getting the Most of the Trip

In addition to our day jobs and our classes, the last two months have been filled with our preparations for the trip.  We’ve watched TV interviews, reviewed Berkshire’s holdings, read the famous annual shareholder letters, and Googled everything we could to learn about our host.  Daytime MBA student Tomas Sudnius has spearheaded our Q&A efforts, gathering questions for Mr. Buffett from the group and compiling them into a list for voting on our favorites. Meanwhile, the rest of us are jockeying for a chance to ask each question.

Sacramento MBA student Heather Riggs has arranged for us to volunteer at one of Mr. Buffett’s favorite charities,  Girls, Inc., during our stay in Omaha.  We’re all excited to help out at such a great organization.  Daytime MBA student Alex Tsao and I have been brainstorming the ideal thank you gift for Mr. Buffett.

Of course, our preparations wouldn’t be complete without learning from the experiences of fellow UC Davis MBA students and alumni who went on previous trips to meet Mr. Buffett.  We’re set to grab prime seats for the Q&A, we hope to get a few seats at his lunch table, and we’re prepared to jump at the chance to have Mr. Buffett chauffeur a few of us to lunch in his Cadillac.  One alumna described Mr. Buffett as humorous on her ride to lunch with him. She left Omaha completely inspired by his wisdom.  We plan to leave with that same feeling.

The Journey Begins . . . Prepping for Omaha

As the date gets closer, we continue to make final preparations. Check back here for more blog posts during and after the trip to keep up to date on our experience breaking bread with Mr. Warren Buffett.