This blog serves as a record of my MBA experience at the Sam M. Walton College of Business and my experience in starting up a company, cycleWood Solutions.
I'll keep this one pretty short. Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Last weekend we went and saw the Hodo house in Van Buren. The video is below.
The 2011 Walton MBA class also donated 72 cans of corn and green beans to Samaritan House, which is a non-profit organization that provides a food pantry for those in need. They also have a Snack Pack for Kids program that provides children in need with food during the weekend when they don't have access to school lunches.
Christmas is a great time of year for sharing and catching up with friends and family. If only Christmas were year round. I'm off to enjoy the rest of my Christmas, hope you are doing the same.
CASA is an advocacy group for abused and neglected children. Each year they have a gift drive similar to the Angel Tree. Children are sponsored and gifts are purchased. This year the 2011 Walton MBA Class sponsored four kids. Our original goal was to sponsor two. However, our class went above and beyond our goals. This should come as no surprise from such a generous and caring group.
Yesterday some of my co-workers at Walmart and myself went out to CASA to help organize the presents.
There were nearly 400 gift parcels in all. The overwhelming success of this program shows the quality of the people in the communities surrounding the University of Arkansas.
I would encourage any students, anyone for that matter to go out and volunteer. There are numerous opportunities. These experiences open up perspectives that you might not see anywhere else, and like chicken soup it's good for the soul. It's easy to turn away and think that everything is ok and no one needs help. The truth is that we all struggle at some point in our lives. To paraphrase a famous song it's always nice to have someone to lean on when your not strong.
Today I took my last final for the 2010 Fall semester. Needless to say, I am glad to get it over with. It's been a good semester though. Most of the semester was nicely paced there til the end. I guess that was partially my fault. I have the Spring to look forward to now. Just a couple classes left then graduation. It's bittersweet, I've met many wonderful people in the last year and going back to work just won't be the same. To all of you that I've had the pleasure of meeting and spending time with, I hope we can keep in touch. It's always difficult but with so many networking tools and social media it should be easier.
It's been super cold around here lately. I think last night it got down to single digits. Not my favorite kind of weather. I like snow occasionally, but not this bitter cold. Hopefully this cold streak will end soon.
I'll wrap up this semester with a post reviewing the classes I took this Fall and the professors who taught those classes. I really have no complaints about the classes. There may be a thing or two I might change but not too much.
The Spring semester should be lots of fun. With just a couple classes I'll have time freed up to do other things. I can focus on competitions for New Venture Development (Entrepreneurship). I can savor the free time I have left and spend it with my favorite people. I am really looking forward to it. Everyone should make the most of every moment. Our lives are so busy these days that we're always looking to the next thing and in doing so miss being in the moment we're currently in. That's kinda sad when you think about it.
Ok enough about that sad stuff. It's cold outside. I'm making a pot of chilly, and I think I'll go ahead and have some hot chocolate while I'm at it. Til next time, savor the moment.
Today I was working at the Walmart Home Office and Will Ferrell makes an unannounced visit. It's one of the perks of working there. Occasionally you'll run into folks that make you do a doubletake. He was just wandering the halls looking around at stuff.
We just walked up to him and ask for a picture and he said sure. He seems to be a very nice normal guy, unlike the wild characters he plays. That was pretty much the excitement for the day.
I better get to studying for that Accounting final.
Wow, it's been a long time. I apologize for my absence. The past few weeks have been kinda crazy. I'll start with a quick run down of what I can recall.
Chris Gardner (The Pursuit of Happiness) was great. I thoroughly enjoyed and found him very inspiring. He literally struggled through homelessness to get to success. I would say he took the path less traveled. I'm not sure I would take his path, but his experience shows that hard work and determination go a long way.
After that nice event, it seemed like a pile of work buried me. I had two papers due for ECON this past Monday, an Accounting project also due on Monday, a Leadership final also on Monday, and a Consumer Research presentation today (Tuesday). On top of that we had to scramble to put together a business plan for an idea that we have only had for about two and a half weeks. We had a business plan competition this past Sunday for $1,000 in travel funds and the good news is we won. I've embedded our presentation lead-in video below.
I finally have a little breathing room. I have an Accounting final on Saturday and an Econ final on Monday. I also have a Consumer Research paper due Friday and a business plan critique due on Monday. That's plenty to keep me busy, but not buried.
Aside from school, I also need to get some Christmas shopping done. This may be the most wonderful time of the year, but it's also the most busy.
In other news, the Razorback football team is going to the Sugar Bowl, this is their first ever BCS appearance. They'll be playing the Ohio State Buckeyes. Here's a question for you, How do you smash an Ohio State Buckeye? With a Mallett. I know that was a bit corny, I blame it on lack of sleep.
I'm going to relax now for a little bit before I start studying again. Hopefully it won't be too long til my next post.
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