Classical

Remember last year when I competed in ballroom dancing at the Purdue Classic?  Well, I’m back at it again this year!

A group of dancers from the Ball State Ballroom Dance League traveled to the competition together.  My partner, Yasha, and I competed in five dances at the Bronze level:  Waltz, Tango, Rumba, Cha Cha, and Swing.  Our favorite by far was swing (and you’ll soon see in the video).  The competition was incredible; there were so many amazing dancers!  We didn’t advance at all that day, but it was more about the experience of dancing competitively that made it worth the trip.

Check out the video of some of our dances from the ballroom competition!

Business As Usual

A couple weeks ago, I had another excellent opportunity for networking amongst BSU alums.  As part of the Miller Scholars program, I was invited to attend the MCOB Alumni Awards dinner.  Initially, I wasn’t going to go, since I had gone last year, but eventually decided it would be foolish not to take advantage of this great opportunity. And boy, am I glad I did!

When I arrived, I was told that I would be seated at President Gora’s table.  Wow, dinner with the president of the University!  Sitting at this table also meant that I would be introduced to important Miller College alumni, as well as award recipients of the evening.  It was a great experience to have the opportunity to network with such knowledgeable business men and women.

Throughout the rest of the evening, I spent time with my mentor from the Miller Scholars program. Each of us is paired with a mentor who works with us and supports us throughout our years at Ball State.  The Alumni Dinner was a good chance for us to get together and catch up again.

Of course, the most significant portion of the evening was the dinner itself.  If you have a chance to participate in an Etiquette Dinner through the Career Center, take the opportunity to learn proper manners for events like these!  While it is easy to just follow what everybody else does, you never know when you’ll be seated with the University president or your company’s CEO!

Below are some photos from my evening at the Alumni Awards Dinner.  John Huffer, coordinator of BSU’s Photo Services, was kind enough to allow me to use his photos on my blog – thanks, John!

Ball State University MCOB Alumni Awards Dinner 2011

Networking with Miller College of Business Alumni

Conversing with my mentor and his daughter at the reception

In Reality

A couple weeks ago, a surprising opportunity was presented to me:  I was invited to a luncheon with the CEO of Pepsi Beverages Company. What an incredible opportunity! Mr. Eric Foss was personable and professional. The best part is that he’s a Ball State grad! A group of 10 business students were given the chance to eat and converse with a real-world CEO. I suppose you could call it an “immersive” experience!

We were each given the chance to ask a question or request advice about his experience. When I mentioned the importance of international business, he shared with us about the time he spent working out of Hungary. He explained that four things are important to success in his eyes:

1. cross departmental knowledge


2. corporate and local experience


3. international and domestic experience


4. a presence in emerging markets

One of the best pieces of advice Mr. Foss gave us was this:  “No matter what happens in business, family and friends are the most important.”

Before that day, a Fortune 100 company like Pepsi seemed unreachable to me. Now that I’ve had the opportunity to meet the CEO of one of its divisions, it is very real to me. Mr. Foss is just a regular guy who loves his job and loves his family. He even said to us, “Do what you love and for the company you love.”  That’s a kind of job I’d like to have, and one of my classmates that was there today even would like an internship with Pepsi. Our situation with the MCOB Honors Program affords us opportunities like this that are able to turn massive corporations into connections at the tips of our fingers. What could be more real than that? Thanks, Ball State!

Connecting

One of the best things I’ve done since coming to Ball State is joining Cru. For those of you who enjoyed being part of a youth group through your church at home, religious organizations at BSU are the next step! Surrounding yourself with students as passionate about their faith as you are (or would like to be) is the best way to grow!

Whether you are Christian, Catholic, Lutheran, or something else entirely, there is a place for you! For me, personally, I joined Cru about a year ago through a Bible study in my dorm. It’s a Christian organization that meets once a week, with small groups that meet another night each week. Most of my best friends now are girls I met through Cru and Bible study. Not only have I grown in fellowship through Cru, but also in my faith. I have learned so much in my walk with the Lord this past year!

Some of the other most popular organizations on campus are Intervarsity, Navigators, and Baptist Collegiate Ministry. There are other great organizations too, like Grace Village and Catholic Student Union. Some of Ball State’s religious organizations invite members of the community to join their services each week, like the Revolution and Common Way. For those of you interested in learning about other religions, there are groups like the Religious Studies club that I just learned about the other day.

Honestly, I have only brushed the surface of what BSU has to offer for your spiritual connections. I've provided links where I could find them, but there are a total of 32 organizations available to you! Check out Ball State’s Pride Guide for more info about each of the religious organizations on campus.

P.S. Cru’s annual Barn Bash is coming up!!! Check back soon for an updated post with photos!

Career Fair

Every year, there are several opportunities for BSU students to meet and network with companies looking to hire college graduates. Another perk of these events is that many of these companies also have internships available for undergrads. That’s why I attended the most recent Fall Career Fair last week.

At first, I really thought it was unnecessary for me to attend the job fair. Why would I go if I don’t need a job yet? Then I went and realized how beneficial it was. First, though, I had to develop my resume. This was kind of a big deal because I had no idea where to begin. Fortunately, Ball State has an excellent resource for students:  the Career Center. This is a place where students can explore job and internship opportunities, as well as find assistance with interview skills and resume creation.

The Miller Honors Program sets up a “resume workshop” just before this career fair to help us prepare – a benefit of being selected for this program! I learned everything I needed to know to create a basic resume for the fair.

Like I said before, I really didn’t think I would need to be at the career fair. In some ways, I was right. As a sophomore, many companies weren’t interested in even hiring an intern my age. However, they still took my resume and made a note for next year. The benefits started coming in because I was able to make those contacts already for internships I may be interested in next time around. Also, there was less pressure to perform, because I’m just a sophomore. It made a good experience being able to practice networking with real recruiters, even though they won’t be interested until next year.

The moral of the story is that no matter your year, attend a career fair for the experience! There are more coming up this year - check them out here!

We Remember

Today, Ball State remembers September 11, 2001 with special commemoration events. In fact, the University has put together events that lasted all week long. Beginning last week with a blood drive sponsored by Staff Council. Student Voluntary Services (SVS) hosted various service projects around the Muncie community yesterday. Along with Staff Council, SVS also collected items to make care packages for military troops as part of Operation Gratitude.

This evening, a commemorative service was held on campus, with a special guest speaker. Michelle Rosado actually survived the attacks on 9/11 and presented her inspirational story at BSU. The Chamber Choir sang “Prayer of the Children” and ROTC presented the flag. The Student Government Association hosted an “I Remember” poster for students to reflect on where they were that fateful day; the poster was on display at the service tonight.

Immediately following the commemorative service was a procession to Shafer Tower. There was a special candle lighting service, along with a moment of silence followed by the tolling of the Carillon Bells. It was truly a moment to reflect and remember the events of that day 10 years ago.

A Center for Learning

This week, I took a step outside my comfort zone:  I called the Learning Center and made an appointment with a tutor. You see, this was a BIG step for an honors student used to being on the tutor side of the equation. However, I have already gotten to the point in my statistics class where I feel slightly lost. So I decided to be proactive instead of failing…

Believe me, it’s SO worth it! I took a friend with me so I wouldn’t lose my courage, but the tutors at the BSU Learning Center are great. At least the one we had was; I even knew one of the other guys and he probably would have done a good job too. Once we got started with the questions I had, all my fears melted away. Suddenly, probability and distribution functions seemed so much easier! They have tutors in other areas too: Core Curriculum; Math, Physics, Accounting, and Economics; Study Strategies; and Writing.

Honestly, all it took was for someone to explain the notes in a different way. Granted, I haven’t taken the exam yet, but I feel much more confident going into it than I did a few days ago. So if you want my advice (and this is good stuff, folks!), pick up the phone and call before your grades start to suffer. It’s worth it!