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.

Valentina's Vision Statement

In a near future, I see myself successfully graduated with a respected degree from a dignified college.  I will be working in a company or business that has strong ethical values.  The work and tasks I preform will always be environmentally friendly, socially responsible as doing everything with my morals and values in order.  I will use the world's resources responsibly and with consideration, always taking advantage of all the opportunities that come across as well as learning from all the mistakes I make along the way.  I hope to be constantly innovating myself and improving my way of life.      

Passport Assignment #2: Executive Mentor Kick-off Reflection

After the meeting that we had on Thursday night each one of us met with our executive mentor. The meeting also talked about what the program we are starting is all about. The Executive mentor program is an aid for business students to learn about how a business works and remain in close contact with a person that manages one. It is an opportunity for students to have a more hands on learning towards business. My mentor is Maron, and I really enjoyed talking to him because he told us that he was never a straight A student in college and he is very successful and happy today. I expect this program to be very inspiring and knowledge giving. I also expect to have a good relationship with my mentor as well as the other people in my group and receive guidance for my college years and furthermore business experiences. This program gives Loyola students a comparative advantage and by providing us a hands on learning and experience in business in incentivates us towards being more successful in school.