Rockhurst "Football"

Rockhurst has a very popular tshirt at the bookstore that says "Rockhurst University Football: Undefeated since 1958"- coincidentally, this is the year that the university football team stopped competing.  However, the soccer (European futbol) team have had an incredible record over the past many years.  With one of the top "winning-nest" coaches (also great accounting professor, Anthony Tocco), and a supportive program with other talented coaches.  The team hosted the regional games last weekend, and after winning those- progressed onto the NCAA Division II Final Four games today in Georgia.  While the team did not win these games, this was an incredible opportunity for the team, and we are proud that they were able to represent the university in such a great way, and do so well to progress this far.  

Otherwise, this week has also welcomed many visitors- several food vendors have come to campus as the current food service provider contract will need to be renewed or a new one decided on by the summer of 2015.  This meant that there were different groups of people on campus surveying students and getting a feel for the scope of Food Services on campus.  We hope that they will be able to find the right fit for campus, whether it is with our current provider or a different direction!  

Capstone and Events

Well this marks the final week of my capstone presentation for my International Business degree.  It seems as though we were just presented with the different options for our capstone groups to work with, so obviously the time has gone by very quickly!  On Wednesday, my group will present our final proposal for ways that the National Airline History Museum can make changes to increase their marketing presence and increase visitors to the museum.  This presentation will be in the form of an almost hour-long presentation in front of board members, classmates, and professors.  We will be talking about our recommendations for the museum, based on our experiences visiting the museum, discussing the issues with our contact, and researching solutions based on what other museums have done in the past also.  Some of the best parts about working with the museum was the events that we have attended as a result of being a part of this project.


The first event I attended was the Celebration of Flight in the middle of September.  This event included Red Bull Flugtag fliers who did stunts, visiting planes open for tours, and the whole building open for visitors.  I attended this event with my boyfriend, who thoroughly enjoyed seeing the Flugtag fliers (in the background of this picture) in addition to other parts of the museum.  Attending the event was incredibly useful as we looked at the ways for the museum to continue to benefit from our work.

Later on, in November, I attended the Salute to Veterans event at the museum.  This event was a 40s themed evening party that included dinner, silent auction, and dance to benefit the museum.  Red, white, and blue adorned the planes, and all of the decorations throughout the museum, which provided the theme for the evening.  The evening started with hor d'oeuvres all around the venue, and then I was connected with a few of the board members and ended up enjoying the evening with a few of the board members and their significant others.  There were several veterans who had been POWs during World War 2 who attended the event, in addition to countless other veterans from all lines of the service.  After many ceremonial pieces specifically addressing the holiday, the visitors sat down to enjoy songs and dinner for the rest of the evening.  

These events, among a few other visits to the museum really set off the opportunities that lie in weekend plans in Kansas City.  You never know how you might be spending your time when there are so many things out there for people to enjoy!  

Leadership Symposium

Tom McDonnell

In addition to Dan Rather last week, the week held a slew of activities for our first ever Leadership Symposium week.  The inspiration for this week came from a discussion that executive board members had with our own Father Curran last semester.  He questioned why we should not have a week dedicated to leadership, as Rockhurst has continued to enjoy its reputation for leadership throughout time.  As a result, Senate worked with several other organizations, including SAA, SAB, SAAC, and the Order of Omega (I might have missed a few, and I apologize if that's the case)  Monday, we had a speaker, Tom McDonnell, who is the President and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation.

Tuesday was an alumni panel sponsored by Order of Omega, and Wednesday was a presentation by the former president of Harvester's and SAB's Turkey Dinner.  At the Turkey Dinner, all of the canned goods collected (admission for the event) were then donated to Harvester's. SAB made an awesome video about the Turkey Dinner, so I definitely recommend watching it! (linked earlier in the paragraph)

Thursday was Senate's Town Hall event, inviting several speakers to speak about the state of the university, including Town Hall.  Finally on Friday was Res Life's annual Beyond Words event.  Each one of these events had wonderful attendance, as students understood the influence of the speakers and the importance of their contributions.

Dan Rather

Everyone outside the Finucane Center

This Monday was the second annual Leadership Series event for Rockhurst University.  This year, Rockhurst invited legendary journalist Dan Rather to speak to students in a Q&A session and had a luncheon at the downtown Marriot for various community members, staff & faculty from Rockhurst, and some students to attend.   Thankfully, I was lucky enough to be able to attend both the Q&A session and the luncheon!  I was incredibly impressed by how personable Dan Rather was both while talking to our students and while talking to the large group.  While at times speakers held at arms-length can be very difficult to relate to, I overheard one student saying, "I just wanted to ask him if he would be my grandpa!"

The students with Dan Rather at the Q&A

Monday morning, about 20 students gathered in the Finucane Center, along with several faculty and staff- Dan Rather arrived and allowed us to jump right in, asking questions from many different subjects, ranging from the main theme of leadership to reflecting on his experiences.  He had many different insights, that were really incredible to hear about.  His reflection on leadership was very insightful, including four different main points.  These were character, vision, communication, and decisiveness.  The most incredible part is that Mr Rather stated that every one of the leaders he interviewed exemplified these characteristics, and how they carried over into leadership positions for everyday situations also.

Next, we went to the luncheon at the downtown Marriott.  At this particular event, there were countless guests from around the Kansas City community.  I had the opportunity to sit with executives from UMB Bank, faculty and staff members, and two other students which proved for great conversation throughout the meal.  Dan Rather was yet again, very personable- taking a selfie with the student (a close peer) who introduced him and sharing stories about his marriage.  It was such an opportunity to see him speak to such a large, influential audience, and I truly enjoyed the opportunity to attend this event.  I only hope Rockhurst continues to provide these types of opportunities for students in the years to come!

International Opportunities in KC

Last Friday, UMKC hosted an event with the International Trade Council titled "Getting Started in a Global Career".  This event was held at the new Bloch School of Management Building, and connected students or recent graduates with professionals already in an international career, along with members of the International Trade Council.  This organization allows professionals and students to attend events and gatherings focused around the international hub of Kansas City.  For this event, it was focused around why, when, and how to begin your global career.  They brought in many influential people in this process from the university end including deans, recruitment personnel, and a study abroad coordinator.  Additionally, there were several speakers who are already very active in a career around the world, including a man who has been to 35 countries, all for business, to a woman who talks to people around the world daily from her office here in the Midwest.  Each spoke about the pros and cons of traveling for work, (since that's the dream of many college graduates looking at an international career), in addition to the overall fascinating scenarios that being involved internationally poses.

With lunch and networking time following the event, students got a chance to mingle with the professionals, to both make contact for future opportunity and to simply ask for advice.  I know that I really enjoyed a chance to get to hear exactly what a usual position in this area includes- its interesting how so many positions now include work overseas, but all in a different way.  Additionally, I learned a lot from speaking with one of the professionals about different opportunities for the future.  Her position was of particular interest to me, and by just talking through my interests and skills with her, it helped me feel more confident that something will be out there for me when the time comes.  Until then, I will just keep attending events like this!

Fall Break

Last week was Rockhurst's Fall Break, which meant that some students went to enjoy the comforts of home, some traveled to exciting places, and others gave back to different communities by volunteering.  I choose to go back home for a few days and then spent a few days back in Kansas City for events going on.  I quite enjoyed some sleeping in, a chance to get my car taken care of, and lots of homework and television with my parents for company.  There are definitely some major advantages to doing homework at home (dad helping me and mom keeping me company), and the laziness felt well-deserved.  For the weekend, I got to enjoy the celebration of a wedding in Kansas City, with a very pretty ceremony in Mission and a beautiful reception in the Westbottoms area.  Getting to take people to restaurants that I've recommended is always fun too :)  

Several students went on a trip organized through Rockhurst to Moore, Oklahoma.  They were bused down to the site and then spent the days assisting in ongoing construction projects through Habitat for Humanity.  Similar to regular Winter and Spring Break trips, they spent the night at a local high school and participated in prayer and reflection throughout the trip.  These many opportunities for service trips are a great way for students to get involved and give back to many different communities and groups of people.  

 

From Rockhurst website

Discussion

Last week before Fall Break!! I know that most students by this point in time are MORE than ready for a break.  A chance to go home and relax for a few days to power up for the second half of the semester.  And this year is NO exception!  Luckily for me I don't have any midterms to worry about like most students.  I had all of my tests together within two weeks and I'll have the same rotation here in another few weeks.

Today during class though, we got to have a discussion about the current economic situation relating to the furloughed workers, the budget deal, and the federal debt ceiling.  This type of discussion in class was very relevant to what is going on in the world around us and just as, if not more, applicable than what we would have learned during class.  Other Rockhurst classes that I am working with have had a service-learning concept which involves a service project that the students must participate in and then do a presentation or a paper about the project, relating it to classroom lessons.  Between all of the classes we have at Rockhurst, the applicable real-world learning concepts that we are given are more valuable than most classroom learning you are afforded at other universities.

Hope this didn't come across as too "salesy" because that definitely wasn't my intent- just something I've noticed especially most recently!

Ambassador Visit

My picture (why its blurry) 

Last night, what would have generally been a normal Tuesday night, was made more interesting by a lecture by Israel's ambassador to Vatican City, Zion Evrony, Ph.D., here at Rockhurst.  I had seen information about it online, so decided to stop by in the hope to add to the audience that I guessed would be fairly small.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to arrive to a very full audience at the Convocation Center!

 Fr Curran, Rockhurst's president, has had a long-time friendship with the Ambassador, so with the help of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau/ American Jewish Committee of Kansas City, we welcomed him to Rockhurst for part of our Visiting Scholar Lecture Series.  After an introduction by Craig Prentiss, a professor at Rockhurst and a member of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau, he began his speech with surprising humor for a diplomat!  He spent time as the Ambassador to Ireland, and then went into his position where he his now.  The Ambassador reminded everyone that the Holy See has separate embassies from Italy, even with the small size and close proximity to the larger country.  The most interesting part of his speech (to me) was his message about the interfaith dialogue that takes place in his position.  One quote that I particularly liked was that "diplomatic relations (are) used to ease religious tensions".

After he spoke, people were open to ask questions by going up to microphones set up around the room.  The questions ranged from subjects including the wall built in the Cremison Valley to tensions in Iran.  While I felt that some of the questions were not directed toward the correct place, the Ambassador handled each with care.  (He mentioned he hadn't addressed an American audience in many, many years).  Overall, it was a phenomenal event that was put on, that was very educational for all of the students who choose to go, in addition to the countless community members who also were in attendance.  I even met a very kind couple, around the age of my grandparents, who I sat next to during the presentation, and we had a wonderful conversation following the event.  It is always a great opportunity to meet community members, especially since at college, sometimes it feels like you only ever meet other college students!

But overall, the event went very well, and I am proud to say that I was able to attend yet another great lecture before graduating!

Meals

These past few days, organizations have sponsored two very successful gatherings for "mealtimes".  But I will share more here.  Yesterday evening, Student Senate sponsored a picnic dinner that allowed any students or faculty to head out to the quad and enjoy their meal outside on the quad alongside other students, with live music and free cookies provided by Sodexo.  A lot of students took advantage of the chance to get out in the beautiful weather Wednesday evening and socialize together!  This was the first time Student Senate put together the event, and I would say it was a success!  We are looking forward to hosting this a few more times before it gets too cold this fall (for those on campus who are interested)

A few students enjoying dinner

The second event was lunch today, sponsored by the Helzberg School, which invited the faculty of the Helzberg Business School to eat lunch with all students enrolled in the Freshmen in Business Seminar (all freshmen interested in a business major).  Although we experienced a downpour which delayed some of the professors from arriving at the beginning of the class time, several professors and staff were able to chat with the freshmen and get to meet them (many for the first time).  I think the connections that were made along the way will be helpful just as they are beginning their freshmen year!  

Some of the FIBS students before the professors arrived

Personal Evaluation

This week in several of my classes, we have been working with self-evaluation and self awareness through different "strengths" and personality tests.  I have always found these incredibly interesting, even though I've felt it to be a bit overkill this week, but I'm ok with that.  So I thought I'd share a little bit about some of these tests.

1) Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

   -Ok, so this is not one that we have done in class, but it is one of my favorite.  This test asks you a series of about 60 questions- some of which seem repetitive, but they are all yes or no, so it makes it go by very quickly.  Your results of this test come out as 4 letters which each stand for something.  The "choices" of letters include:  a) Extraversion vs Introversion (E/I)  b) Sensing vs Intuition (S/N)   c) Thinking vs Feeling (T/F) and  d) Judging vs Perception (J/P)   My result for this test is ENTJ (Although when I took it in High School I got INTJ)  Because many people have had access to this test and have evaluated it, there are a lot of sites which evaluate how your personality result will relate to other personality results, which to me, is the most interesting part of it. 

2) Social Styles (Merrill & Reed)

   -If I remember right, this test asks you to assign a rating/preference to particular tasks and skills under certain situations and will then assign which "Social Style" you are most similar to.  The choices are Driver, Expressive, Analytical, and Amiable. My result was as a Driver- which means I'm more likely to take action on a given task than be concerned about the human element.  

3) Strength Deployment Inventory (Porter)

   -The Strength Deployment Inventory begins by having you consider 2 situations- one time when a situation is going well, and another time when a situation is going badly.  It asks you specific questions about how likely you are to react in each of these situations which you respond to with a points value- 10 points that you divide between the different situations and you add up the point value at the bottom of a column.  The numbers on each column allow you to graph your "motivational" score on a triangle graph divided between 3 colors (which you can be a combination of).  For instance, mine came out as Red-Green meaning Judicious- Competing.  A second score shows how you are more likely to react under stress.





Overall, these tests serve different purposes, and help make you more self-aware as you are working with others, which is useful in many different situations.  If you get a chance to take one of these assessments in your organization or classes, don't ignore the results!  They're useful across many parts of your life!  

Harvesters

This Wednesday, I had the opportunity to volunteer at Harvesters, here in Kansas City.  Delta Sigma Pi, the business fraternity that I am involved in, signed up for times to allow us to help out.  So Wednesday evening, a few of us showed up and were put to (work) volunteering!  Our job for the day was to sort out pallets full of sliced bread, hot dog and hamburger buns, bagels, and all assortment of bread-type products.  At other times I have sorted vegetables in huge bins, and friends have helped put together boxes for donations, among many other tasks.  We always end up having a lot of fun volunteering, because we get a chance to visit with whoever you are working with, and often times, getting to know someone new- who you wouldn't have talked to before!  Something about Harvester's is that they are the only food bank in the area.  At their warehouse-style location, businesses, grocery stores, churches, and individuals donate food which is then sorted into all different categories to then be distributed to other local nonprofit agencies and organizations.  (which according to their website, is over 620)  Their work requires countless volunteers who come in daily to assist with sorting the donated food.  We actually worked with a group of women from an area company (I didn't catch where at) who actually come in weekly to assist in this sorting.  I also know that Rockhurst will often bring in large groups whether it is from different organizations, for our Finucane Service Project, or the Service Project for Family and Alumni weekend, both Rockhurst and Harvesters benefits from this relationship.

So if you ever get the chance, I would definitely recommend giving back to your community with an organization such as Harvesters!

Photo courtesy of kcchiefs.com

New Internship!

This past few weeks have been exciting to start back up the new year for several reasons.  While homework and decrease in free time has been a major drawback, I've also been lucky enough to have a new internship here in Kansas City!  Christian Foundation for Children and Aging is an organization that works to sponsor children and aging adults in 21 different countries around the world.  Their main sources of support are from the Catholic church, and they have priests that travel around the country to speak in different parishes; however, their message and their goal transcends across all denominations, making it an organization that everyone can get behind.  One of the most impressive things about CFCA is their commitment to bringing donations to those who need it most.  93.6% of the money donated to CFCA goes directly toward program support.  So that means all of the administrative and fundraising support offered by the offices in Kansas City and Florida are not included as part of the 93.6% that goes toward program support.  (this is one of my favorite parts about the organization-- the accounting major in me is showing I think)

But anyway, I've been hired as part of the US Outreach department, so I am assisting in the programs that reach out to sponsors and potential sponsors across the US.  Part of what has made this such an awesome experience for me is that CFCA is an organization I had only dreamed of interning at while in high school.  Upon entering Rockhurst, I was thinking of places that I could work at following graduation; I had wanted to work for a non-profit that was working to help people in developing countries, and immediately CFCA came to mind, because my parents have sponsored multiple children through them since I was small.  So I am very excited to be a part of the growing team at CFCA!

We're also getting to welcome several employees from CFCA in one of my classes next week, and are going to be talking about the video Rise & Dream, a documentary film about a group of students in the Philippines preparing to perform in a concert for peace.  The film won numerous awards including the Reel Rose Best Documentary Film Award and the Thin Line Film Fest's audience choice award.  You can watch the film Rise & Dream online here and learn how to get involved.

Ways Getting Sick in College is Different than Getting Sick in High School

While I'm sure this has been done before, this subject has been on the forefront of my mind since the beginning of the week, as I've returned from our long Labor Day weekend with a killer cold/flu virus that has kept me up coughing, sneezing, and overall feeling miserable for several days.  So I present:

Ways Getting Sick in College is Different than Getting Sick in High School

1) Skipping Classes
     While for some students, and some classes- skipping class in college would be a very easy decision, with the slightest headache or stuffy nose.  However, in my small classes, with daily quizzes, and impossible-to-make-up notes, it would be more of a problem to miss class for one day than it would be to attend class in my decreased state of awareness.  No more 10 free absences a year- more than 3 and our grades are reduced in some classes.

2) Medicine
      So, you're at college, you have everything you need.  The only problem is you probably don't.  The full medicine cabinet you have at home?  That's not cheap or easy to get back at college!

3) Specialized Care
       One thing about living at home, is that like it or not, your parents are going to take care of a lot of things for you.  Especially when you're sick.  So when you're up through the night coughing and sick- your parents will know exactly what to do.  While you may have picked up a few tricks- its much more difficult to remember it all at 3 in the morning by yourself.

4) Nutrition
      Whether you are lucky enough to have a meal plan or are cooking on your own- both requires a lot of work.  You either have to venture outside of your snuggly bed/couch (wherever you're cooped up to recover from sickness) to try and find something mildly appealing from Sodexo, or else muster the energy to go out to Price Chopper to find that particular comfort food you are used to having at home.


So bottom line collegiate peers- do your best to not get sick.  Allow Lysol, hand sanitizer, and orange juice to become your best friends- get lots of sleep, and eat healthy.  (even with all these things, you may not miss this bug) but good luck!

Safety

Rockhurst provides many services for their students, one of which is our Rockhurst Security Department.  The Security department patrols the campus and will handle anything security related throughout and around the campus.  However, many times they are called on for some non-security related assistance around campus.  For instance, security has already visited our house three times in the first week back at Rockhurst, so I'm going to share the many ways in which Security has assisted us.  Keep in mind that this is in addition to the times over the past 3 years I have contacted security for everything from unlocking doors to hooking up technology to a television (darn DVD players in the Party Barn)

Rockhurst Security Office

The first instance was on our very first day back at RU.  As we were all getting ready to leave the house around 6 at night, our gas alarm kept going off- telling us that there was either carbon monoxide or another gas in the house- not good.  So after calling the officers, they arrived at the house, and assisted us to turn it off.  However, yet again the next morning, the alarm continued to go off for several hours- so again the Rockhurst Officers along with the KC Fire Department arrived at our house to make sure there was nothing toxic in the air.  Luckily, the house came out clean, and we have not had problems since.

The second instance was last weekend, again as we were getting ready to leave the house.  Our toilet overflowed and we ended up with gallons of water flowing in our bathroom floor.  It then flooded through to our basement!  With an urgent call to the security office, an officer promptly arrived who helped us stop the flooding and clean up all the water.  What a great way to start the weekend!

The final time security has visited our house was earlier this week.  I woke up in the middle of the night to some terrible noises outside my window.  In my sleep-deprived stupor, I suddenly became worried about what that could be (person, yeti, or dying cat) and called the security office because I was too scared to check myself.  They stayed on the phone with me the entire time while other officers checked all around the house to ease my worry, and thankfully- there was nothing to be found.  (I later heard cats fighting, so my guess is that a cat was scratching on the windows)  But the officers were very understanding and so nice for coming out so late at night just to ease my worry!

Let's hope the remaining weeks of school reveal fewer visits from security, but I'm so glad that we've had such great support from the Security Office in our times of need and worry.

Now on to homework again for the first time in 3 months!

The last.... Fall Semester

It seems that for many people, this (senior) year is one to live it up before entering another step of their education- grad school.  Since I'm not intending to go to grad school following Rockhurst at this time, I'm trying to decide what things I will either miss most about college, or that I will never get to do again once I have a full-time job, have to pay rent, and deal with similar obligations.  I'm hoping this will help me live every single day with as much enthusiasm as most people reserve for weekend trips and other special occasions. 

I was very happy to get to complete my summer internship having gained many skills and a few more connections (thank you LinkedIn).  And I took my last opportunity to take a week off just to spend time with friends and family right before classes start.  

We are welcoming over 400 (I believe close to 450) students to Rockhurst this week.  They all moved in (along with the upperclassmen) two days ago, on Saturday.  I hope we'll have a great group of Hawks who will continue to be involved on campus, and represent Rockhurst well in all of their endeavors.  I will be facilitating the Freshmen in Business Seminar, which will allow me to continue to be a part of the journey these young students will take throughout the first semester here.  

For now, that is all!  I have more moving in to do and preparation for a day full of meetings tomorrow!  

Summer Living

As college students, summer often thrusts many of us into the throes of a difficult living situation. For some, it's a difficult re-adjustment with living back home with parents and siblings. For others, it's a chance to live independently with new friends in a new city, or a city you've grown to love. The past few years, I have been in the former situation. As the oldest, I was the first to 'come back' home for these brief months. While my mom outwardly seemed very happy to have me back, the constant struggle for control proved to be challenging for both of us.  (you get used to a certain amount of independence living 6 hours away from your family, but being aware that you are living with people who like to sleep at 3 am is also a novel concept) This often proved to be difficult and was ultimately eye-opening for both of us. While those past two summers were invaluable for myself and my family to grow and learn, I have got to say that I am embracing true independent living.

During the school year, the university provides a very strong support system for housing. As a recipient of the Trustees' Scholarship, I have to live in on-campus housing, and I enjoy that support system. With classes, work, extracurriculars, and a social life, it is near impossible to also find the time to consistently cook meals, deep clean spaces, and the like. However, this summer I've moved into my first place that I'm actually renting. Really it's the top half of a duplex with two other friend near campus. But I have enjoyed this new step into independence. 

I am especially loving making my own schedule. While I am at work from 8:30 to 5 pm at work every day, I've utilized a Groupon deal to then go to workout classes near my work after. This unique community of mostly young women who are interested in getting in shape, (but also slightly enjoying the exercise) has meant a chance to meet lots of new people- if not by name, atleast it's by their face. Then after getting home (sweaty and tired) its nice to settle in for a movie night with my roommates, a good book, some cleaning, or a long phone conversation back home. All of these small steps have helped me realize a few things. 

1) I will not do well living alone. I like talking too much, and that's all there is to it. 

2) I am obsessed with clean floors. I don't like shoes, so that must be why. 

3) Screened-in porches are fabulous

4) Who needs cable?

5) I sometimes need an intense workout after a long day of work. 

So as I continue my summer journey, I hope that others also have their chance to enjoy 3 months of company anywhere. In your hometown, in a new city, or simply with some good friends. I promise that every space is a learning opportunity in more ways than one. 

SUMMER

I apologize for such a delay in my posting this past month!  I hope to keep it up throughout the summer, but that always takes a certain amount of motivation, which escapes me for the few months I have off per year.  The last few weeks of the semester finished up quite well.  And while it was sad to see many of the seniors leave, whom I have spent the past three years growing and learning with, it was also inspiring to see everyone move on with confidence to the next step in life.  It is crazy to think that one year from now, I will also be in that place!

My siblings all together for my
brother's graduation

This summer, I'm working an 8-5 job in North Kansas City as a market research intern.  This is my first summer staying in the Kansas City area, and its exciting!  I've moved in with a few friends just down the street from Rockhurst, and so I still get to enjoy the same area of the city- only with a little more time to explore!  With a groupon that I've taken advantage of, I've been going to fitness classes after work, which also helps to fill the time and keep me active after being in a desk all day!  I got to spend a week home with family as we celebrated my brother's graduation, and it was the perfect chance to really soak up the first few bits of summer together, since we will all be in different places for most of these summer months.

I got to enjoy a beautiful Memorial Day weekend in Kansas City with my boyfriend- complete with a walk to the park, and lots of time to visit out on my porch.  Additionally, with a groupon that I've taken advantage of, I've been going to fitness classes after work, which also helps to fill the time and keep me active after being in a desk all day!  I remembered how much I love to read and have already read two books in one week's time-- just for enjoyment!  I could definitely get used to all of this.

Any ideas for how to fill my evenings and weekends here in Kansas City this summer?  I'm open to any suggestions!!

If anything exciting comes my way, I'll be sure to post it also.  Anyone else have big summer plans either?  I've enjoyed looking at everyone's pictures from either going back home or going on vacation already this summer.

Weekend and news

Weekend Home

It seems like I've been quite a few nice little breaks recently.  This last weekend, I went back home for my little brother's senior prom.  I can't believe how grown-up he is becoming, because soon I will be going home for his graduation!  It seems like I was a senior not that long ago!  So I got to have some quality family time and quality time in the car on the 6 hour drive.  This picture was taken at the walk-in ceremony (a small town means everyone gets involved)  My brother drove my boyfriend's Camaro which we drove from Manhattan and his date was a friend since grade school- which I think made it really fun for both of them!

New Dean for the Helzberg School

Some very exciting news that we've received this week is that our official new dean for the Helzberg School of Management has been chosen!  Our interim dean, Cheryl McConnell, was also chosen to continue as dean of the business school!  I'm very excited to have her continue in this leadership position, as this past year has also been a huge year for the HSOM.  I also enjoy knowing that Dean McConnell used to live near my hometown in western KS.  Congratulations and good luck!  

Cooking

The end of the semester also gives a lot of opportunity to learn the best way to de-stress.  I was very excited to make chicken egg rolls from scratch a few weeks ago.  Here's the link to the recipe- they turned out really well, although I'd recommend following it a little more exactly- (mine didn't have quite enough flavor with my modifications with only using dry spices instead of onions and garlic) oh, and I found it just as easy to bake them in the oven (with olive oil on top) or to fry them on the stovetop- I'm definitely not going to fry them in an actual deep fry- so much oil!  Maybe I'll make something sweet this weekend :)  

The Grind

This week has gone by quite quickly yet again!  Tuesday was the Helzberg School of Management's very first Leadership and Ethics Day.  What this meant was that every class that took place in the HSOM on Tuesday had a guest speaker from within the world of business.  My only HSOM class on that day, International Economics welcomed two leaders from Bayer.  It was an incredibly interesting conversation about doing business in an International world, and both shared stories of travel for work and their experiences.  I also enjoyed learning that Bob Grant, Rockhurst's very own Vice President of Advancement, also spent quite a bit of time traveling abroad for his job at Bayer prior to coming to Rockhurst.  The day was filled with countless guests, and I count myself lucky yet again, that Rockhurst is in a large enough city to host so many successful companies who are willing to come to a classroom and speak about their experience.  It seems that the connections that the professors have all across Kansas City is also very inspiring.

I'm also going to be very excited at the end of tax season on Monday- my internship at an accounting firm in Overland Park has been incredibly time-consuming, specifically with being gone for so long earlier this month and the increase of people in and out of the office retrieving their taxes.  Now I'm just looking forward to the finale coming up in the next month!  I have a plethora of summer activities in mind, and I will show just a few with pictures from Tumblr now:  (I apologize for the cheesiness of them all- this is way more fun than the homework I should be doing) and I took them all from the sites listed on the photos :)

Welcome Back

Bikes and architecture- pretty typical!

Rembrandtplein

I apologize for being so late on this post!  After the end of the challenge in Denmark, one of my teammates, Sarah, and I went for a few days to Amsterdam.  While many people may have a certain perception of this city, I had a fabulous time taking in the architecture, the museums, and the city in general.  We had quite a few adventures- following a tram to pick up a bag that was left there on the very first day and taking the tram the wrong way and ending up in a "weird" part of town (as the bartender who helped us said) were the (somewhat bad) highlights.  But only losing the small expense of a cab ride is much better than it could have been.  And I absolutely loved walking around the canals in the city, although the wind chill proved to be as cold as the Midwest.  Additionally, the Van Gogh exhibit was phenomenal, and I was very moved by the Anne Frank house/museum.

The line to the Anne Frank house stretched
around the block on a very chilly morning

I have been so blown away by the response that Rockhurst has given following our return to the US.  I arrived back on Thursday afternoon (after an all-day interview process for a summer internship) to be greeted by almost all of the professors at the Helzberg School of Management as they were gathering for a faculty meeting!  It was an unintentional timing, but it was nice to receive so much excitement and support from all of the professors.  Additionally, we were greeted in the lobby with this sign (which is still hanging up in the lobby of the business school):

The Rockhurst PR & Marketing Office also released a story, which got put on the Rockhurst website, congratulating us on the competition.

However, since the trip was not without problems, the adjustment back has been quite difficult.  Without a working computer for the past few weeks, doing all assignments, emails, and catching up has been happening during late nights in various computer labs around the campus.  As my first time without a laptop for any extended period of time, it was quite the adjustment!  Luckily Rockhurst Computer Services got it up and running again in just a few days!  Additionally, my phone ceased working while in Amsterdam, so setting up a new phone (with originally no contacts) created a few awkward conversations.  It was also frustrating to return to my car at KCI, to find that it had lost almost ALL coolant.  With no phone to call AAA, and no sleep in 20 hours, I did what I could, and with the help of a nice mechanic at the nearest convenience store, made it back to campus safely.  Luckily I took it into the shop before leaving for Easter Break, because it needed something new that might have ruined my engine if I would have driven with it that way.  I was incredibly disappointed not to have my car to leave for Easter Break, but I was lucky to have a boyfriend who came to Kansas City and drove me there and back instead, so I was not spending Easter Break by myself on campus.

This week marks the final week playing "catch-up" and by Friday, I'll be ready to start up final projects!  Only one more month left and it'll be on to new summer adventures with an internship/job, new housing, and NO homework!!  (perhaps the most exciting part)

A few of my favorite pictures from Amsterdam-- on the left, a view of the buildings and canals, on the right, my travel companions-- Dave (on the right) was another Grundfos challenge competitor from the KU Engineering team, Sarah (in the middle) from the Rockhurst team, and Vinzent (on the left) from Germany who studied at KU for a year with Dave (he met us in Amsterdam)

Grundfos final

This will be a short post, but I want to conclude my remarks on Denmark while I'm still enjoying my time at the Grundfos Academy.

While our team was not one of the winning teams, I am still extremely pleased with the experience here at the Grundfos Challenge. The students that had been recruited here are examples of the future, of the most innovative, and hard working groups of people that our generation has come to represent. I cannot wait to watch throughout the next 10 or maybe 15 years to see what these students will make happen for our world, all over the world. Simply being a part of this representation has been an honor, and I'm so pleased to have had this opportunity to represent the United States and rockhurst university throughout the past week here in Bjerringbro.

Tonight has been a fabulous example of intercultural relations- working together and enjoying a night to relax and celebrate the accomplishments that we have all accomplished. We enjoyed an amazing dinner at Frisholt, the guest house of Grundfos, and drinks, music, and dancing after. Talking, playing games, and dancing with everyone gave us all a sense of perspective of the importance of working together in all that we do.

Now tomorrow morning, as we prepare to leave Denmark for our respective legs in our journey of life (from Guatemala, to India, china, and all over Europe, in addition to back to the United States) I hope that each of us remembers this past week with fond memories of the students and the staff that truly made the grundfos challenge unique.

--I hope this post includes the pictures I've uploaded- with a broken computer, this is the true test of the Blogger application on my iPhone!--

Grundfos- real challenge

So we've now made it halfway through this week at the Grundfos Academy in Bjerringbro, and the true challenge has really come into play this evening!

 First I'll talk a little more about the experience here at Grundfos though.  A really unique part about this opportunity with the Grundfos Challenge has been the chance to talk to real people who work at Grundfos about future opportunities.  A part of the offer for the winning team is an offer to work at Grundfos.  They incorporated two "interview" sections into this week to more specifically decide where you might end up.  The first interview was with a recruiter, which became a relaxed, longer interview- with her experience looking at potential candidates already, she is able to assess if (and where) the student might be a good fit for Grundfos.  The second part was with someone in a department or division that we set up ahead of time.  Through this process, it was a way to see if the student would like to work at Grundfos.  Making sure that the fit is right in both directions is incredibly important to this company from what I can see from my perspective.  It was a neat chance to delve more deeply into the company and into the opportunity.  Also given this unique position, we have been given a chance to run our ideas by some very influential people in the company.  We have developed a good relationship with a few employees who have given us an amazing amount of support, helping to develop a viable plan from every direction for the challenge. 

I've also had a great time with the social media work that the Grundfos Graduate Program has put toward this event.  Its also been great to see all of the support from everyone back home!  Its great to know that at Rockhurst and all around Kansas City and my hometown, we've got an awesome support system of people! 

I'm not sure what else I'd like to share about the experience! We've had snow the past few days, so that's been fun to watch-- with our big windows, it feels a lot like we're inside of a snowglobe! (atleast that's what I'm imagining)

 I'm avoiding posting repeat pictures just for the benefit of those following my Twitter and Facebook also- so I'd encourage everyone to atleast check out the Grundfos twitter @GrundfosGrad- they're posting tons of videos and pictures throughout the day (night for those in North America) to see our progress and the progress of our colleagues. 

Now tonight- we've changed a big part of the outlook for our solution- so we're looking forward to a very late evening, to prepare for our final day of preparation tomorrow!  :) 

Grundfos First Days

Saturday, after a delayed flight out of Chicago on Friday, a short flight in a small plane out of Frankfurt, and arrival in snow and wind in Billund, Denmark, we arrived at the Poul Due Jensen Academy, here in Bjerringbro to compete in the Global Grundfos Challenge.  We arrived just before dinner-time on Saturday a few hours after the Chinese teams had already arrived.  They greeted our travel-worn and weary faces with large smiles and many greetings, which were probably not received the best due to our sleep-deprived state. However, after a shower and some food, we were ready for more time to socialize- a few of the US students even learned a game that the Chinese students taught us.  

Sunday, we began the day with a factory tour on the Grundfos headquarters.  Learning such an in-depth part of the country so quickly was incredibly interesting- especially to the Engineering students I believe.  We then were directed to a new groups- which combined students from all of the teams, Engineering, Business, US, China, and Denmark- into 3 teams of about a dozen students.  We were given the task to create a simplified hot-air balloon in 2 hours that could lift the weight in a full water-bottle.  Each team had a framework, but then was encouraged to expand or change the plan as needed.  My team, Team #1 actually became the eventual winning team- by expanding the framework and lifting 2 1/2 water bottles off the ground.  

Ours is the first balloon- not too pretty, but effective

Later in the day, we had culture "training" you could say.  By having a chance to more deeply look at the Chinese and Danish culture-- exploring assumptions and first-impressions from all of the teams from different countries was incredibly valuable and made us more self-aware of our own assumptions also.  

Today was our day to receive the challenge.  After a few inspiring messages from innovators, such as John Picard, Niels Due Jensen, the son of the founder of Grundfos, and Carsten Bjerg the CEO of Grundfos, we were given our challenge and given the rest of the day to complete it.  We are given all the resources we may need- from experts within the company, to certain resources outside the company to really develop a solution that the judges will also react positively to.  I think many of us are extremely excited about the challenge- and the final product is going to be absolutely fascinating!  

The trophies set out as inspiration for the week! 

I can't wait to share more about this week (hopefully I'll have time to write a little more before the end of the week about our experience at the Academy!!)  hint:  the food has been incredible!  

Also- if you want to check out more updates from the challenge, the Grundfos Graduate program is posting TONS of videos from throughout our days on their Facebook and Twitter sites (Grundfos Graduate Programme on Facebook-- and @GrundfosGrad on Twitter)  You can also follow me on either-- Anna Juenemann on Facebook or @_AnnaMJ on Twitter-- I'm retweeting and posting a mix of everything on the various social media outlets!  

Mayors forum and departure

Last night, I was honored to speak at Rockhurst's Mayors' Forum, including three RU grads who also currently hold public office as city mayors of Kansas City, Kansas, Kansas City, Missouri, and Blue Springs, Missouri. I was honored to have a chance to meet all three mayors and talk to Mayor James and Mayor Reardon about the Grundfos challenge. As I sit here waiting to board our flight from Chicago to Frankfurt, I'm very excited to begin this next journey! I will do my best to keep this up to date and full of pictures and stories of our adventures. So far we have a rainy and cloudy day in the Windy City to bid us adieu from the states for a few weeks :)

Performance

The preparation for Denmark is coming into its final stages.  I have four more days before our flights will depart from North America for the second time this semester to arrive in a new country.  A large part of the preparation process this week will be packing- but this last week, the chance to go back to my hometown and spend time with family was also important.  There were a few events that I absolutely loved attending while I was there.

The program from the show

On Thursday night, our small town welcomed the Navy Band Sea Chanters for a phenomenal performance.  This performance became their last due to the budget cuts within the national government- they could not continue their tour for the final 5 days throughout Kansas and Missouri.  Therefore, this became the final performance for one Georgina Todd, a woman who was an active part of the Sea Chanters for 20 years.  Her retirement was obviously an emotional event for the whole group- and the fact that it was forced to be early could not have made it any easier.  Their performance was absolutely phenomenal- you could see the passion in their performance for what they do.  They had some fun performances and also some patriotic performances (both are links to some performances that had been uploaded in the past of other performances) which made it fun for everyone.  By representing a part of the military that they obviously feel strongly for, it became a chance for the audience to really see the devotion of this group.  I would love everyone to have a chance to see this group perform, but that can only happen by letting your representatives know.  Here is the link to find out who your elected Representatives are- just type in your zip code and it provides a link to send an email- its always encouraged to send emails to let them know what you would like to see happen (it is their job)- there's no other way for them to know!

I also enjoyed spending a lot of much needed quality time with my family and my community, for instance, at our church's Lenten Fish Fry on Friday.

But now I only hope to finish up these last few days and get my bag packed!  Enjoy the week- I'm sure I'll be back to share my stories throughout my journey to Denmark on Friday!!!!  

Spring Break

Its finally here!  Or should I say Winter Break (round 2)?  With all the snow on the ground, its hard to tell.  This week was very busy indeed- (3 day school weeks are just difficult) :P  But overall, trying to finish up everything before another week away from the Rock is definitely a struggle.  

With the start of Spring Break, my Facebook feed has been flooded with everyone posting pictures and statuses regarding their travels.  Rockhurst provides a chance for students to apply for several Spring Break service trips all over the place- from the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and trips within the states.  There are also plenty of people venturing back home to St Louis, Nebraska, New York or wherever they are from to enjoy time with family and friends.  I'm looking forward to spending a few days here in Kansas City (including this weekend) to work at my internship.  Then, I'll spend the weekend back home!!  I'm excited to see family, since I haven't been back to western KS since December, before I left for Barcelona.  

This first weekend back though, I've already gotten to enjoy a friend's birthday celebration at Power & Lights last night, and an afternoon at the Kansas City classic cafe, the Roasterie here in Brookside.  This snowy, sunny afternoon is best enjoyed from indoors, with good music and a great companion (my boyfriend has come up for the weekend to visit me)  :)  we might catch the huge Oscar-winning movie, Argo at the Cinemark on the Plaza later tonight.  

Hope everyone enjoys a little time away.  :)  

This is actually the Roasterie factory image-- but it includes a great view of Kansas City

SNOW

What a busy week for having several days off!!  Monday, I began the week by celebrating my birthday with a few close friends.  Then after several stressful days- I continued furious work on the various papers and tests due throughout the week.  Last week was also my first full week at my new internship with an accounting firm in Overland Park.  Its been an awesome opportunity to learn more about the accounting processes in real life situations.  Also this week has been "Winter Storm Q" that gave us two days off from classes!  We were all as happy as 10-year-olds with the Rock@lert telling us of the cancellation of Thursday's classes!  Although I had hoped to achieve an unattainable number of tasks and movie-watching, I only achieved a full day and night of sleep.  While most people had classes cancelled on Friday, I went into work for the day- but got a lot accomplished there!  The weekend came and went as quickly as imagined- I enjoyed a full day of work on Saturday (two jobs) and then a full day of homework on Sunday- the plaza library has over and over again been my favorite place to study and focus on all of my impending tasks.

Now today, I have gotten to thoroughly enjoy the same feeling again, with the announcement of school cancelled tomorrow for our next round of storms!  So I will sit here and enjoy the possibility of another day full of movies, (maybe a little less sleeping) and the ever-present thought of the papers and other homework I should accomplish.  With any luck, this snow day will rejuvenate me for the last 2 days of classes before Spring Break (rough life, I know)  :)



Stay safe out there!!

Mid- February

This week has been yet another whirlwind.  On Thursday however, my International Economics class welcomed yet another special visitor.  Ronald Reagan Okumu, a member of parliament from Uganda visited our class to talk about International Economics through his perspective and discuss some of the issues that he has faced during his last 17 years in office.  His experience with the changes that Uganda has seen over these years is absolutely amazing.  He has been the youngest member of parliament- since he began his term the first year following his university education.  He still has many years he may influence the future of Uganda as he looks forward to moving up in the world of politics.  I was amazed at the ability of our school to have such an honored guest visit our small school.  I learned a lot about the trading of goods across national lines in that eastern region of Africa, in addition to the developments that have taken place in that region in recent years.  It was such an amazing opportunity to really learn about the international side of what is going on.

This week has also held plenty of celebrations around campus- whether it was for Mardi Gras, the beginning of Lent or Valentine's Day was all determined by the solemnity and color theme for the evening.  (Tuesday being green and red, Wednesday being much more solemn, and Thursday being all shades of pink and red)  I can't say many people minded the extra excuses to bake and bring snacks to multiple meetings or just for everyone to enjoy- I would hope Thursday didn't ruin anyone's declarations from Wednesday's Lenten promises.

Oh, and this week I discovered a few more articles/ videos from the Grundfos challenge-- coming up in less than a month now!  I'm shown a little bit at the end of this video and briefly mentioned in the article in this KC Business Journal on page 16.  Getting excited!!

Visitors

We've had some exciting events and visitors here at Rockhurst this past week!  To begin with, on Thursday, both the CEO of Dollar General and the senior vice president of global strategic sourcing, Richard Dreiling and Jim Kopp, visited campus and came to several classes, one of which was my International Economics class.  As alumnus of Rockhurst, they made a special visit to Kansas City to visit EMBA classes in addition to some undergrad classes for the Helzberg School.  Mr Dreiling was the one who mostly spoke through our class.  I was absolutely delighted to get to hear all about his journey from Rockhurst in Kansas City, through each of his promotions to end up at the top of Dollar General.  He was very down-to-earth, speaking about everything from his corporate jet and Mike's to their recent phenomenal sales and how to keep their growth reasonable.  Hearing about his journey to his current position was inspiring- as I hope that each step that I take will lead me to a place of success, its encouraging to hear of someone who truly has.  

Richard Dreiling, CEO of Dollar General

Another exciting event on campus was the annual Competitive Scholars Day for high school seniors.  The day includes a chance to see the university, but most importantly, they are given a chance to interview for full tuition scholarships offered by Rockhurst.  This year, there were over 300 applicants for 30 full tuition scholarships.  To show you how much Rockhurst has grown, the year I interviewed, three years ago, there were 160 interviewees for only 9 full tuition scholarships.  This day is a huge chance for Rockhurst to attract potential new students, as I know many people I currently talk to also attended Competitive Scholars Day.  I hope to see plenty of these potential new freshmen around our campus next fall.  

Rockhurst pulled out all the stops with classy lighting,
a jazz band, and  KC slideshow for the social  part of the event

Parks, travel, and to-do lists-- oh my

This week has provided a representation of all four seasons here in KC.  We had fall on Sunday- a day where I enjoyed a gorgeous day in a Topeka park with my boyfriend.  Then on Monday came summer, which I enjoyed with my roommate and a run along a trail near Brookside, called the Trolley Track Trail.  We conquered the tail end of it from 55th to Volker, then went along Brush Creek for a gorgeous day.  Tuesday was definitely spring with the amount of rain, but you know what they say, January showers bring February flowers?? (for Valentine's Day, right?)  Finally, Wednesday and today, winter has finally decided to arrive.  Bringing with it snow, frozen sidewalks, and freezing wind to just make it that much easier to wake up and go to class.  Oh, Midwest weather, you always win.

In other news, I am very excited to report that I have officially booked hotel rooms for Amsterdam!  For being a part of the Global Grundfos Challenge- see my earlier posts about this event here and here- the company decided to pay for our plane tickets to and from a few select European cities.  While I wasn't intending to do so originally, Sarah, one of the other competitors invited me to join her to go to Amsterdam for a few days following the competition in Bjerringbro, Denmark.  With someone to join me, I am very much looking forward to our relaxing trip to another European city following a stress-filled week of competition.

Additionally, this week has held a surprising amount of stress due to a very long to-do list that I've compiled throughout the week.  The cold and flu season also seems to be making its rounds at Rockhurst as many people are missing class.  However, today proved to be LITERALLY the most productive day I have had in... probably a year.  So I have prevailed and everything seems to looking good :)

Hope all you readers have a fantastic week, and enjoy the clips from one of my favorite shows (click on the word LITERALLY)!!

January day

Kansas City has proved itself to continue to be a chilly reminder of the winter I was hoping to avoid.  But nothing can keep class away.  Just a few things on my mind this afternoon- I finally got to see Les Mis earlier today- I love afternoon movies on the Plaza-- they're the perfect way to start the weekend!

• I can already tell with the first week of classes that I will be plenty busy this semester, even though I will have fewer meetings than in the past.  While this is the third semester in a row I have had a full class schedule of 18 hours, I know that my homework level will definitely be increased-- junior year everyone!  
• Yesterday, I went with my roommates to Yogurtini on the Plaza for the first time in quite some time.  I remember when I went to Yogurtini for the first time my freshmen year, with Social Mentors.  The whole school had been buzzing about the "froyo place on the Plaza" that everyone just had to try!  And recently, Rockhurst got something similar in P-Sub: a froyo machine with different flavors and toppings to add on that are weighed just like at Yogurtini!  (I have yet to try it- but one of these days, that'll be just what I need between classes)

• I can't believe how quickly time has passed since I began at Rockhurst!  I'm not even a senior, and I can already tell that my time in college is fleeting.  This isn't all bad though- it makes it easier to enjoy all the little things.  :)
• I have several friends celebrating birthdays this semester, (including mine!) so I'm looking forward to lots of excuses to make cake and enjoy dinners out all dressed up.  (at so many of KC's amazing restaurants)