Build-A-Business

Yesterday, I had the unique opportunity to visit the national headquarters of Build-A-Bear Workshops in Saint Louis, MO. My business program, along with the Pre-Business Living Learning Community, travelled to attend a company visit there. We hit a few bumps along the way, including a major one that left us stranded at a McDonald’s somewhere in Illinois for 3 hours, but we finally made it to St. Louis!

The story of the company’s founder, Maxine Clark, is one that really impresses me. Before the trip, I read an article in BizEd, the AACSB magazine. What she has done with her company in about 15 years is so impressive. She says business students “must have drive, passion, and commitment - and it also helps if they have a single great idea.” I thought this was so inspiring, especially since I’m studying entrepreneurship.

Maxine Clark created a fun environment for her customers and for her employees too, as we saw yesterday. All of the people we met seemed to be fun-loving, with their desks surrounded by their own Build-A-Bear friends. I found it really interesting that dogs and children are allowed in the office, which makes for a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere. It seemed so simple an operation; I kept forgetting we were at the headquarters of Build-A-Bear, an internationally prestigious company.

As we sat in the Bear University where they train employees, we listened to representatives explain the main operations of the company to us, including sales, marketing, and the products themselves. It is always interesting to me to learn more about how much work goes on behind the scenes to present such a fantastic company.

This trip is another reason I’m so honored to be a student at Ball State and a member of the MCOB Honors Program. These kinds of opportunities are invaluable experiences that not every college student will have. Besides, spending an entire day with my Honors classmates is an experience in and of itself, especially spending 3 hours stranded at McDonald’s! We’re already becoming a tighter-knit group, which I think will be beneficial as we continue through college.

Thanks to those who put on the trip and especially to Build-A-Bear for having us!


Class of 2014 Miller Honors at Build-A-Bear Headquarters in St. Louis, MO




Taking a tour of Build-A-Bear Headquarters


Bear University


A life size “cub condo” at Bear University – just my size!

Burberry World

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a lecture and meet the CEO of Burberry, Ltd.

Angela Ahrendts is a Ball State grad who has worked her way up the corporate ladder to the position of CEO in the English company famously known for its trench coats. She majored in Fashion Merchandising while at BSU and became president of DKNY awhile after graduating.

Since she’s been with Burberry, she’s been working to bring the company into the modern media world. Her company recently launched its new Website, Burberry World. It involves more interaction with videos, music, and photos and creates a unique experience for visitors. Burberry also is the first luxury brand to have its own social networking site, Art of the Trench. She is the cofounder of the Burberry Foundation, which works to give back to children in need.

While I personally am not a huge fan of luxury brands, I did find her presentation fascinating. What she is doing with her company is unique and interesting. Her innovation and motivation impressed me. I especially enjoyed talking with her at the reception afterward. She has a kind, warm personality. She even seemed genuinely interested in having our business field study group visit while we’re in London this summer!

All in all, it was an interesting experience. One of the excellent opportunities I’ve been given as a Ball State student and member of the Miller Honors program.

Below are some of my Miller Honors classmates with Angela Ahrendts.

Happy Spring Break!

Ball State is on Spring Break this week!
Have fun and be safe when it's your turn!

The Human Condition

A topic that interests all of us is something we find ourselves dealing with on a daily basis – the human condition. It is about who we are as a society, where we’ve come from, how we’ve developed, and where we’re headed. In one way or another, everybody has expressed an interest in this subject.

As a member of the Ball State Honors College, this is a subject you will explore in great depth. Honors College students call this part of your experience “the Humanities sequence.” Each of the 3 Humanities courses focuses on an era of time, beginning with “The Ancient World” and continuing through “The Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Enlightenment” to “The Nineteenth, Twentieth, and Twenty-first Centuries.”

They recommend taking the entire sequence with the same professor, but it’s not necessary. By sheer chance, I ended up with my prof and I’m planning to continue with his classes (I got an A on a paper last week!!). I’m in the second course right now. So far, we’ve read pieces by Aristotle and Plato, and famous works like The Iliad and Othello, as well as Eastern texts by Buddha, Confucius, and Chuang Chou (he’s my favorite).

The other night, I was reading an assignment for the second course (Machiavelli’s The Prince, actually) and got to thinking... I find myself constantly complaining about how much reading there is for Humanities or how boring the Humanities readings are. Ask my roommate, she’ll tell you.

Yet, as I was thinking about it, I realized how many times I’ve actually understood a reference on TV or in a magazine because of something we read in Humanities. Just the references in Machiavelli alone to Virgil’s Aeneid are enough to convince me. If that’s not enough for you though, I found a song by Switchfoot called “Something More (Augustine’s Confession)” and realized that that song was based off of Augustine’s Confessions. Oh my gosh, I get the reference! It happens so often that sometimes I don’t even notice it. But when I pay attention, it’s amazing. That small buzz of excitement; it makes you feel so smart! As frustrating as the number of seemingly boring reading assignments is for Humanities, the ability to relate coursework to real life is so worth it.

Yeah, that was a total plug for Honors College, but I didn’t mean for it to be. Honest. I just had this realization that the work I’ve been slaving away at for Humanities has actually taught me something. I feel more worldly and educated already. Honors College is worth the extra application and effort!

Trust me.