Honor Scholar Day

On Friday March 23, I was able to host my second overnight prospective student for Elmira College. Saturday was one of the Honor Scholar Days in which is for students who have applied and have been accepted to Elmira College and have received one of the various prestigious scholarships that Elmira College offers. My overnight guest, Caitlin, was from Binghamton, and she was trying to decide between Elmira College and Iona College, and was hoping that staying overnight would help her make up her mind. Once my shift was over at my off-campus job at Family Video, I went to Hamilton Admissions Building to meet Caitlin and welcome her to her third visit at Elmira. My roommate, Michelle, was also there waiting for her overnight guest that she would be hosting. Her guest, Jade, was traveling from Virginia to decide whether she was interested in attending Elmira in the fall semester. I brought Caitlin to 1855 to eat some of the best meals on campus, and meet with some of the other overnight guests who were staying with my friends. Following dinner, we attended an Encore performance of Orchesis in which Elmira College’s dancers perform student and faculty choreographed pieces arranged through a variety of styles including ballet, tap, modern, and hip hop. Since freshman and sophomore student have to attend Encore performances for terms one and two, I thought I would give Caitlin a sample of one of the shows. After the Orchesis Show, we went back to the Meier Hall Lounge and watched the SAB performance scheduled for the night; Magician Daniel Martin was doing a show. Daniel has been nominated for Entertainer of the Year by Campus Activities Magazine and was recently nominated for the 3rd year in a row for Best Male Performer. He has been featured on CBS, NBC, ESPN, Revision3 & VH1. The show was amazing, and left everyone stunned, amazed, and confused at the same time. We headed upstairs to the dorm room and then met with some of my other friends who had overnight guests staying to hang out for a little before heading to Twin Towers to meet some sophomores on campus, and more overnight guests. Caitlin and Jade enjoyed seeing Towers as it is completely different than Meier in the atmosphere and the visual aesthetics. We rounded up the group and headed back to Meier to decide the sleeping arrangements and set our alarms to escort Caitlin and Jade to the gym at 9am for Honor Scholar Day activities. I enjoyed meeting Caitlin and Jade, and it feels good to know that we play an important role in prospective students' decision on whether or not to attend Elmira College. It is one of the biggest decisions of a person's life, and it is empowering to know that they base their decision on the experience we provide them in one night. We wish both Jade and Caitlin good luck in completing and graduating high school and hope we helped them with their College decision.

2012 ISM Scholarship Dinner

On Thursday, March 22, I was invited to attend the annual ISM Scholarship Dinner to accept my $1,000 reward I received from Hilliard in recognition of academic excellence and business acumen. I was lucky that both of my parents and my boyfriend were able to attend to support me. I sat at the dinner table with my guests, my professor/academic advisor/guest speaker for dinner, and the scholarship chair that interviewed me and played a major role in deciding the scholarship recipients. They gave me a certificate of achievement, took my picture with members of the scholarship committee, and gave me a check and a wine glass with ISM imprinted in it. Several members of the ISM Finger Lakes Region congratulated me throughout the night, and my parents enjoyed bragging about their effective parenting skills that guided me to where I am today. My advisor spoke about a book that he had read over the mid-term break and provided interactive activities for the different tables to participate in, which were a lot of fun. Finally, the dinner was concluded and I met my parents back at my dorm to swap out my winter clothes for summer clothes they brought, before saying goodbye to them. I definitely needed that last hug from my parents to get through my last couple of weeks of classes.

Countdown Begins

This weekend is not only St. Patrick's Day weekend but also the 100 days until graduation countdown begins! Yesterday the members of the class of 2012 were invited to the Commencement Fair in the Tifft Lounge from 1:00-6:00 to receive loan information, free key chains/bottle openers, sign up for senior week activities, fill out exit surveys, and collect our GRADUATION REGALIA! That's right, I am now in possession of my purple cap, gown, tassel, and hood, and it will stare at me for the next 100 days reminding me how far I have come, and how much farther I can now go. March is the busiest month of the school year since there are no breaks, lots of tests, ceremonies, dinner events, prospective students visiting, and finals. There are a ton of events coming up including my LAST advising day to register for my trip to Hawaii for term 3, a meeting with the Human Resource Manager at Eaton Corporation to discuss human resource management in a business setting for a project, the ISM Scholarship Awards Dinner next Thursday when my parents come to visit, and I believe I will be hosting another prospective business student on the 23rd. I will try my best to keep posting throughout the chaos.

Icing on the cake

It all paid off, literally. I just received one of the best e-mails of my life this morning, and my heart started pounding when I read the subject line: ISM Scholarship. Of course, when I decided to check my e-mail I was waiting in line at 1855 for my chicken salad panini to cook, so when I read the first word of the e-mail "Congratulations" I screamed with excitement and everyone in 1855 stopped and looked at me. I could not help but smile for the rest of the day, remembering how upset I was last year when I was not chosen, and thinking about how much effort I put into writing a good essay and interviewing for my last chance this year. As I walked into my first and only class for today, everyone knew somehow and congratulated me. Ironically, the second winner of the scholarship is in my same class so we were both beaming with excitement. We were invited to attend an awards dinner on March 22nd at the Elmira Country Club, where we will be recognized for our achievements and awarded $1000.
Before I even finished reading the e-mail, I called my dad and blurted out the news, and then my mom, and they are both very proud and happy for me. It's events like this that make me grateful for the opportunities available here at Elmira College and the constant support I receive from my family. Both of my parents are trying to rearrange their schedules so they can attend the awards dinner with me, for what might be the last time they are in Elmira before I graduate in a couple short months. It all seems surreal, but exciting at the same time, and I am so proud of myself for how much I have been able to accomplish in my three years here at Elmira College.

Good News

Now that we have all returned from our last break before the end of term 2, we are re-energized and prepared to finish our last term of classes strong. I had a wonderful break, I went to visit Niagara Falls, Canada for the first time with my boyfriend and I had a blast. When I returned to campus Sunday afternoon to finally hand in my internship paperwork to be accepted and approved, I arrived to a pile of good news in my mailbox. First, I received information about Commencement preparation which is rapidly approaching. Second, I received news that my essay that I submitted for the ISM scholarship was selected as one of the finalists, and that I have an interview on Thursday to further discuss my interest in pursuing procurement and purchasing as a career. Third, was a notification that I was one of 47 students selected by Elmira College to be a member of the Who's Who national recognition for students that demonstrate academic excellence and leadership abilities. Also, my picture and biography were posted in Harris Hall on the Economics bulletin board for having senior status and studying for a minor in economics. I also got an e-mail about being an overnight host again for a perspective student for Honor Scholars Weekend in March. Today, my group and I presented a huge group project presentation for one of my classes, and the weather is starting to get warmer. Only a few more weeks of my crazy, 6 class schedule and I'm home free!!

Senior Year Courses

I remember one of the things I was worried about the most as a high school senior enrolling in college, was being able to understand, complete, and enjoy college-level coursework. I remember thinking that high school-level course work seemed hard enough, so college-level coursework seemed unmanageable. I thought I would use this entry to describe the work associated with college for all the nervous highschoolers out there, or for anyone who is interested in knowing what kind of schoolwork Elmira College Business Administration majors receive. Ironically, after three years of increasingly difficult classes, I still believe that my freshman year was the most challenging; and I think that is part of the school's strategy. In freshman year, every student is required to take a "Freshman Writing Course," regardless of incoming college-level transfer courses (trust me I tried) in which we write at least two papers a week (most of them with midnight due dates.) There are also Saturday classes for the first term, and a twenty-page paper due at the end of the course, in addition to a mid-term and final. That class, in addition to the required CORE class, Encore (classical theater) requirements, and community service (60 hours), (plus an off campus part-time job I decided to add), freshman year was by far the most difficult to handle. However, at the end of freshman year, after accomplishing all of that, the feeling of relief and pride is so overwhelming, it empowers students and instills confidence in them to complete the remaining years at Elmira College successfully. Now that all of my general degree requirement classes are completed, I finally have the chance to take classes that are challenging, but rewarding and enjoyable. For example, in my Market Planning class (the capstone class for a Marketing specialization) we are assisting a local, non-profit business in writing a marketing plan for their business which they will implement for the year 2013 (I cannot describe more details because I signed a confidentiality form). In my Human Resource Management class, groups of three people are traveling to local business to meet with representatives from Human Resource (HR) departments to discuss their career in HR, ask them what challenges they face, learn about the company they represent, and then report about it at the end of the semester. Recently in my Strategic Advertising class, we watched the Superbowl commercials and analyzed the effectiveness of each one and the elements that make a successful or unsuccessful advertising campaign. Needless to say, the courses get more involved in the transition from underclassman to upperclassman, but they are far more interesting and relevant to future career plans. With only 5 weeks left before my last semester at Elmira College and my trip to Hawaii, I think about how far I have come and how much farther I can go now with everything I have learned these 3 short years of college.

Halfway Point

It is almost the halfway point of term 2, and everyone is feeling the stress of mid-term exam week. With 4 classes in a row on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I'm very fortunate that two of my professors took pity on us, and gave us take-home mid-terms instead to lighten the load. This weekend is the Athletic Alumni Weekend, where a bunch of alumni come to network with current students and answer any questions they might have. Also, my parents are coming this weekend to visit me since my 21st birthday was 2 weeks ago and I haven't seen them yet. I recently applied for a local scholarship offered by the Institute of Supply Chain Management in the Finger Lake Region (ISMFLR). Every year, the ISMFLR holds a fund raiser to collect as much money as possible to give back to the community in the form of scholarships. The criteria to be a candidate for the scholarship is full-time student status, majoring in Business Administration, with an interest in pursuing supply chain management as a possible career. I applied for this scholarship last year, however, they only had enough for 2 $1000 scholarships, and they ranked me third. This year, I have senior status and I am more interested in supply chain management than last year, and hopefully my essay application reflects that. The winners of the scholarship get to attend a supply chain management conference in Baltimore, Maryland in the begninng of May as well. The review the applications after the deadline which is in the beginning of March, so cross your fingers for me!