Mentor Blog #3

This entire mentor experience was unforgettable to me. I have heard from other people that they did not enjoy spending time with their mentor and their group and even that their mentor met with them rarely. This was not the case for my mentor group experience. My mentor was extremely conversational, friendly, polite and funny. He was always concerned with our college life and any problems or concerns we had. He became more than just a business executive that gave us advice, he became our friend. When we went out with him I felt comfortable talking to him as if he were another member of the group of students. He always took us out for nice meals along with pleasant entertaining conversations. The meeting I most enjoyed was when he invited us to his house so we could meet his wife and lovely kids. I felt at home when we were there, and fell in love with his entire family.
As the mentor program progressed I noticed an enormous change within the people in my group. Everyone was more comfortable talking to one another and we became closer and even stablished firendships. I would recommend my mentor to anyone. And I will most definitley be stayuing in touch with him in the future.

Mentor Blog #2 Spring Semester 2009

1.  Last Thursday evening our mentor took us our for Italian food and Gelato.  While we were enjoying our meal he talked to us about the importance of communicating well in business.  My mentor taught us many important things during dinner.  One of the things that we learned from him was that when we wanted to be remembered and if we wanted to standout from the rest we should go about writing a personal handwritten letter.  He explained to us that handwritten letters transmit a positive message because the receiver feels more important and it gives your message a much more personal and professional meaning that will cause a much more lasting and important impression than that of an electronically written message.  He also encouraged us to improve on our resume as soon as we can by acquiring experience in the summer by interning, even if it was for free, at any company or workplace where we had the opportunity.  The best way to do this was by getting in contact and asking our parents, close family, friends of family and friends parents for any available opportunity they could help us with.   

2.  One job that I have learned about that I might enjoy would be working at my friend's father's marketing and advertisement company.  I think this would be a very interesting experience to learn about how a professional work environment functions and it would also give me a better understanding of the real business way.  It is also a great opportunity to have work experience for the future.  

3.  One thing that I wish to experience during Mardi Gras is to learn about and see the different parades and also learn more about the historical background on Mardi Gras in New Orleans rather than what the word on the street is.  I want to avoid the absurd drunkenness and  that I have heard about and any troublesome encounters with the law.  

4. Mardi Gras is important in New Orleans not only because of the historical background that reveals the roots in the start of the Catholic season of lent, but because it also helps business and commerce in the city.  Because this carnival in one of the most widely known in the world thousands of people come to visit and it is  a time where truism of the city grows, and this truism raises revenue and profits for most, if not all of the business in Louisiana, especially in New Orleans.    

Mentor Networking Event

For our business class on Thursday, January 15, we had our first Executive Mentor Group Program meeting. The goal of this particular event was to meet five different business professionals and make a business connection with each of them. The first person I met was Allison L. Plaisance who is an business assurance and advisor for Ernst & Young, a company that is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. This company and all of its employees such as Allison, help people retain the confidence of investors, manage risk, and achieve their potential. The second person I met was Dr. William B. Locander, who is the Dean of the College of Business here at Loyola University New Orleans. It was fun talking to him because he was very charming and I found it useful and important to have met the Dean of the program I am enrolled in this University. After meeting the Dean, I also met another member of the Loyola family, Cyril Lee Mundell. Mr. Mundell is the Associate Professor of Decision Science. The next person I met was one who's job I like the most, H. Jude Boudreaux. Boudreaux is the Director of Financial Planning at Bellingrath. His role in the company is to work with businesses, families and foundations to meet their financial goals as well as to alleviate any unnecessary risk. The last person I met at this event was Mason G. Couvillon. Unlike the other people I met, Couvillon has his own company alongside another person, Dardis Couvillon & Associates. This company helps individuals, families and businesses by providing financial services as well as insurance.

On Wednesday, before the networking event we met in the Audubon Room and guest speaker Roberta Kaskell, Director of the Career Development Center gave us a lecture in order to instruct us on how to network. The day of the event we were to apply the different networking tips and techniques learned. One thing I did well during the networking event was walking with a warm smile and confident stride as well as making eye contact around the room and especially with the people I was talking to. since this was my first networking event there are some things that I need to work on and improve. One of the things I should work on is asking questions in order to break the ice and get to know the other person.

A business professional that I would like to emulate is Lilian Bettencourt, Daughter of L'Oreal founder Eugene Schueller. Bettencourt succeeds when it comes to controlling stake in the cosmetics giant, which she has held for more than four decades. Her Bettencourt Schueller Foundation supports medical, cultural and humanitarian endeavors in France and developing countries.


A website that I found useful for people who want to learn about and improve networking skills is one that provides 12 Tips for Successful Business Networking for shy people.

Passport Assignment #6: Executive Mentor Program

The College of Business Executive Mentor Program introduces all the freshmen students to the exciting world of business. Successful business owners and executives of New Orleans volunteered to mentor small groups of students. Our mentors were supposed to introduce us to the different types of jobs and careers available to us as business students, discuss many different topics such as managing time and finances, setting goals and communication skills.
My experience with my mentor was a little different than what is described above and mentioned in the website. My mentor did not limit himself only to business, and rather than a business mentor he became a friend. He was an adult that we could talk to about anything who was not involved with the University directly. The experiences that were most helpful to me were the ones when our mentor told us about his life in college and gave us tips and advice in a very realistic and humorous was, as a friend our age would. My expectations changed the entire semester of this program, because I thought that it was strictly going to be about business but it was not, at least for me and the other people in my group. I enjoyed all the activities we had with our mentor and the interesting college life discussions we often had, but I thought I was going to be learning more about business than what we actually did.
For another peer that is seeking a mentor, I would suggest to them so find someone they can get a long with very well and that they can trust as a friend and not only have a formal, cold and distant relationship with. I would also suggest to them to look for someone that has a personality similar to them so they can feel comfortable talking with that person.
Next semester I look forward to spending more time with my mentor and continue to have comfortable and fun friendly discussions. It is nice to get away from all the stress of college and have a nice talk with someone mature who I wan trust and have a positive conversation with, as well as provide guidance as we overcome our first year in college.
For anyone that it interested in staying business connected over the winter break I would recommend Business Week, which has a wide variety of fun, interesting and easy to read articles. I would also recommend the Economist, which I used in highschool but I find that it has extremely interesting world wide articles!

Passport Assignment #5: Wolves on the Prowl Community Service

This Saturday November the eighth 2008 all the freshmen students from Loyola’s College of Business gathered together for the annual event of community service called Wolves at the Prowl. There were four different activities that we could chose from in order to give back to the New Orleans community. Some of the events like “Cubs in the Den” and “Service starts in Our Own Community” took place in the University while others such as Wilson Charter School and LUCAP’s project Smile were off campus. When it came time to choosing the activity I wanted to participate in I decided to do something outside of Loyola in order to see other parts of the community that also needed help so I decided to go to the Wilson Charter School.
The Wilson Charter School is located in uptown New Orleans, a ten-minute drive from Loyola Univerity. This school was greatly affected by hurricane Katrina, but it has received a lot of help both from individuals and institutions. One of the people that has contributed greatly to the improvement and recovery of this school is supermodel Petra Namcova with the help of her Happy Hearts fund. Although the school has received a large quantity of help there is still help needed.
We arrived at the Wilson Charter School on a school bus provided by the University around nine in the morning. From the moment we got there until we left the women in charge warmly welcomed us. They thanked us for our presence and cooperation and provided us with key holders and coffee, to wake us up and get us working. We were then divided into different groups in order to complete different tasks that needed to be done. Some people painted a moldy wall; others gave life to an old office by painting it blue, while the rest helped with several handy tasks such as decorating bulletin boards as well as repairing chairs and others small jobs.
I am a very creative and active person, so I decided to help with the bulletin boards in school. The decorated bulletin boards that they had were very plain and dull so we were told to help with our creative skills and make them more visually appealing and fun. We decided to improve the Physical Education board. We used many different colors of construction paper to make tennis balls, basketballs, and soccer balls as well as first place prize awards. We added a playful boarder that was in the material that was provided to us that gave the board a fun final touch. When we were done with the board as well as helping moving furniture into the recently painted rooms, the buses back to Loyola were already gone. We had been so focused on finishing our job and doing it well that we had missed the bus. We finally got a ride back to the University, and even though we were late for lunch it was worth it because my friends and I felt happy and rewarded due to the hard work we had done that day and the improvement we made for the school with a simple bulletin board. The people of the school were very thankful and excited for their students to see what we had done. It was truly and unforgettable experience.
After my first experience in community service here in New Orleans I would like to do much more for this community, which I now am a part of. Back home in Ecuador I participated in Habitat for Humanity, and help build houses for members of an extremely poor community. Since Katrina has destroyed the homes of many people in New Orleans I think that it would be a nice project to be a part of. Habitat’s mission is to build houses with the help of different sponsors, individuals, communities, and families in order to change people’s lives. Habitat strives to abolish poverty by providing decent shelter for those in desperate need.

Passport Assignment #4: Executive Speaker on Personal Finances

Last Thursday night, we meant again as an entire freshmen business class a long wiht our respective executive mentors. During the fist half of the class, we listened to a guest speaker called John Zolinger, talk to us about "How to Manage Your Credit in College." In this pannel we were taught how to use money and credit cards wisely in college. Zolinger told us to be careful with credit cards and how we use them because this can affect our credit record and prevent us from getting future loans in order to buy more expensive goods such as a house or a car. He also gave us important quick tips on credit cards like having a few of them but keeping them with a balance of zero which looks good on our credit report. However his most important message was to be careful with all the offers that we get. In college we are going to get a lot of offers for credit and it is very easy for these credit card companies to give us money we do not have. The important thing is no avoid this situations and only spend what are future earning will be. His overall message was how we should manage our college money wiseley.

CareerBeam Assignment 1: Self-Assessment I

1. What is your vision of your ideal future?

As I mentioned in my vision statement, I vision myself finished with school with a respected degree in my hand and working for an important company or business. I want to help others and by doing this I never want to harm the environment. I see myself taking advantage of every opportunity that comes my way as well as learning from the mistakes I make along the way.

2. What are the benefits of writing a vision statement?
Writing a vision statement enables one to have a sometimes very difficult future goal to complete. It is an incentive for us to achieve something that can be very challenging and that takes up a lot of our time and effort. Having a vision allows us to be improving constantly and learning to value time and using is wisely.

3. What are the challenges of writing a vision statement?

The challenges of writing a vision statement are the sometimes we are not completely sure of what we want to do in the future, so we might just be writing a vision we are not really confident about. Another challenge is that we as well as the world around us is constantly changing, so one say we might think a certain way and the next day that can change completely.

4. Which of your values are more important to you?
There are two types of values, personal and work values. The values that are most important to me are self-respect, friendships, honesty and wisdom.

5. How do you express/display your values on a daily basis?
I display my values everyday first by going to school where I receive and education and wisdom. I am constantly meeting new people and making new relationships and close connections as well as constantly communicating with my friends and family from back home to preserve valuable and strong relationships. Everything that I do I do it because I want to, and i try never to go against by believes and respect myself.

6. Find an Organization that expresses a close match between your vision/values and the organization's vision/values. Quote the organization's vision/mission/values.

After doing some research of different companies and each of their vision statements I found that Coca Cola's vision statement was quite similar to mine. In their values vision statement they mention "being mindful of their own responsibilities," and "a place where people are inspired to be the best they can be." Coca Cola also mentions "Nurturing a winning network of partners and building mutual loyalty" which connects with what I mentioned about friends, family and strong relationships.