ONE-YEAR AT GOIZUETA: BRETT PATTERSON – MAKING A LIST AND CHECKING IT TWICE
With the holidays fast approaching, it is the time of year for checklists. Checklists to finish up the semester, checklists to get ready for Christmas, and checklists to generally have fun! My checklist just for the day includes:
- Return Amazon.com Textbook Rentals
- Mail Christmas Presents to Extended Family
- Get Oil Changed in Preparation for the 7.5 hour drive home
- Complete Travel Forms for Mid-Semester Module
- Begin Reading for the Dean’s Reading Series
- Finish this Blog Post
While all these things are well and good, and make me feel productive as a check them off, there is another list that I have been a little more focused on recently called the Club 16 list. The Club 16 list is a list of activities and experiences deemed essential to having the full Atlanta and Goizueta MBA experience. From dining and sporting events to beautiful locations and museums, checking a Club 16 item off the list is infinitely more fun and gratifying! The list can be a little daunting, but we have accomplished quite a bit of it in the past few weeks! Here are some highlights:
Atlanta Hawks Game
As a pre-finals treat, some of my classmates and I took the town heading to Phillips Arena to see Atlanta’s professional basketball team, the Hawks, take on the Oklahoma City Thunder. Atlanta has several professional sports teams and some are better than others, but the Hawks certainly put on a great game for us. Though I am a seasoned veteran when it comes to watching college basketball, especially in the ACC, this was my first experience with professional basketball. The arena was much larger, the fans were a little louder, and there were tons of food and drink options. I settled in nicely with my chicken fingers in our seats in the nosebleed section and immediately felt comfortable cheering on my new hometown team. One Young Jeezy halftime performance later and we were down to the final minutes of a very close game! We all stood up, careful not to fall due to the steep incline, and cheered at the top of our lungs until the final points and final buzzer ended the game – a Hawks Victory!
Hiking Stone Mountain
Another Atlanta highlight lets you get out of the city and completely forget the noise and traffic just a few short miles away. Stone Mountain Park has several trails and activities for the whole family to spend a day or afternoon. Determined to make the trek count and burn some calories, our group selected to hike both the Cherokee Trail (5 miles) and the Walk-Up Trail that took us to the top of the mountain for a scenic look back at the Atlanta skyline. We started our day purchasing sandwiches for a picnic lunch and ravenously ate them halfway into the hike. The trail to the top was steep and we could feel our thighs burning, but it was completely worth it for the feeling of accomplishment!
Walking the Beltline
One of my favorite activities that I have checked off more than once from the Club 16 list is walking on the Beltline. 
The Beltline is a series of trails/walkways around the city that are still in development where an old railroad line used to be. The Beltline is buzzing with walkers, runners, bikers, and pets and the areas surrounding it are catering to the increased traffic with all kinds of fun things to do and see. Taking a stroll is often like visiting an art gallery where large sculptures and street art decorate the surroundings. One of my favorites is a massive Venus fly trap with the warning not to feed the wildlife! If you get tired between the stretch from Inman Park to Piedmont Park, you can always stop in to several shops and restaurants. I always have to pop into the Ponce City Market Food Hall, the renovated Sears, Roebuck & Co. building that now houses food stalls with any flavor your taste buds can desire!
So what’s next on the list? I’m thinking a hotdog from The Varsity and a show at the Fox Theatre!