From the Editor’s Desk: En Marche

The flowers are passing. White and pink litter the ground so that green can suffuse the sky; in this way we know the end of an era and the opening of another is upon us. Can we know? Every past year, the changing of the colors has heralded the opening of the gate and the procession. We drew ever closer to our own ceremony, but it was so far away, we thought, that it might never come; but here you are, where you must now stand at attention. 

Half of us you leave here, to join the many fractions of the 90,000 strong beyond Soldiers Field. What is the song that sends you off? Is it the steely trill of the fife and drum, the triumphant shout of the trumpet and its band, the choir that mourns your requiem to the worlds left behind? Many of you will be sad to march but look forward with an earnest eye. Some of you will cast a dirty look behind at the last moment. Still some others carry nothing in the heart, passing through this place as routine a stop as any other. It is not my decision to judge. It is only mine to write the elegy of your time.

Alex Qi (MBA '27) is from Irvine, California. He studied philosophy, politics, and physics at New York University. Prior to HBS, he worked in corporate strategy and M&A at Northrop Grumman in Virginia.