Lots to do!

Its Tuesday, and it feels like I have been in school for more than just one day! It is that time of the semester when things are starting to get really busy. Yesterday, I had 2 classes and then a Retail Seminar about shopper marketing and social media. This was very interesting because we discussed the impact social networks, such as facebook and twitter have on marketing. I have a facebook account, but I never have understood the big deal about twitter...So, I thought I should check it out. I can't say I have actually "tweeted" yet, but we will have to see. If you would like to follow me on twitter, my username is jessicamaland.

This morning, I had my marketing classes. In shopper buyer, we are now discussing the cultural paradigm and reading the book "Blink" by Malcom Gladwell. I am really enjoying this class because it is very different from any marketing class I have ever taken. After Shopper Buyer, I had my marketing research class. In this class, we are working on our surveys for our market research project. My group is researching the consumers perception a certain private label's packaging, old vs. new. I am interested to see how other consumers feel about the new packaging and if it has affected their purchase habits.

Realtime Economics is about to start with Professor Kali. This is a professional development course that takes place every other week on Tuesday afternoons. We discuss the current economy and our views. I really enjoyed our class discussions last semester in his class, so I knew that this professional development course would be interesting.

Let the Group Meetings Begin..

This is the first week I have had to get together, outside of class, with my groups. Last semester it seems as if I was with my group every week at least 2 or 3 times. However, last semester, we had the same group in every class. Therefore, we would meet several times a week for different projects we were working on. We had to meet every week to discuss our decisions for our Markstrat Simulation decisions. Toward the end of the semester it was almost every day that we got together, since we had presentations in almost every class to prepare. This semester is a little different since we are all doing different tracks.



Last night I met with my Management group to discuss a case and put together a 2 page summary that is due Wednesday. This afternoon, I met for a few minutes with my Marketing Research group to discuss our survey questions that are due on Thursday. We are going to work on it individually, and hopefully come together tomorrow to finalize our first draft of questions. We also have an accounting assignment that is due tomorrow, which we have broken the assignment into parts that everyone is supposed to work on and we will put it together tonight. Phew, after all this group work I am going to be ready for the weekend, which starts Thursday!

What a weekend it will be, too! I have a big weekend trip planned to go to VEGAS! I am so excited and I can't wait! I am going with 7 of my cousins on my mom's side(all girls from 21 to 28). We have tickets to see "O" which I am SO excited about! I just need to stay focused to get all my stuff done for class, and then Thursday afternoon, I can forget about school for a few days for a much needed break! :)

Worn out by Wednesday

I can't believe it is already Wednesday. This week has flown by because we have been so busy. The networking social went really well Monday night. Since I did not have an internship this summer and did not have a poster to present, I was able to walk around and talk to a few prospective students. I really enjoyed talking to them and answering questions they had about the program. There were also some employers there, which I was able to talk with as well. Yesterday, we had the career fair, which went pretty well. I gave my resume to 5 companies, and I have applied for a few different jobs online.

A few of my classmates and myself were talking about how the past few days has really worn us out. On top of class, the networking social, and the career fair, we have had to squeeze in a retail seminar on Monday and real time economics course with Dr. Kali. Both of these courses go toward our Professional Development hours we are required to complete each semester. We must have 48 hours by May 2010. I completed 16 hours last semester, and I believe I will complete 24 hours this semester. As well as Professional Development hours, we are also required to have 10 speaker series credits. Last semester, I received 2 credits. The Walton College has several speaker events each month, so I will have no problem getting several credits this semester.

So after we get done with all the stuff above, we have to manage time to fit in working at our Graduate Assistantships and study. Something else that I have been involved in the past 8 weeks is called NWA bootcamp. Some of my classmates think I am crazy for this because it involves me waking up at 4:30AM every morning. I got involved with it over the summer, and I have really enjoyed it. It is an intense hour long workout with a group of 30 women and 2 trainers. We do everything from running, drills, free weight exercises, and ab workouts. Each session is 4 weeks long. Tomorrow will be my last day of the second session. 8 weeks of waking up at 4:30 has definitely taken a toll on me. I thought about doing the camp for another 4 weeks, but I think my body needs a break. It makes for a long day when I am up till 2AM working on homework, then getting up 2 and 1/2 hours later to workout. I am looking forward to a day of rest this afternoon! Happy Wednesday!

These next few weeks!

Last Friday, my fellow classmates who had internships this summer, gave presentations over what they did during their summer internships. Myself, and 3 other students, did not participate in these presentations since we chose to study abroad. I am disappointed that I did not get to participate in this competition, but I am still able to go to the networking event that will be held Monday, September 14th, where one of 6 finalists will be announced as the winner.

The following day, Tuesday, September 15th, I will attend the career fair here that is held in Walker Hall. I am looking forward to this because now is the time we should be looking for jobs to begin after we graduate in May. There are several companies attending the career fair that I am interested in talking to, so I will be doing some research this weekend to see what available positions they have right now.

Today I have a mock interview with the Career Center. The Career Center sets these up for us so we can practice our interview skills with actual employers from various companies. Hopefully this will benefit me, and teach me what I need to improve on during interviews.

This week has gone by so fast since it is only a 3 day class week! After class tomorrow, I am going to head home to see my family. Yesterday was my mom's birthday, so Happy Birthday Mom! She spent her birthday taking care of my 10 month old (twins!) niece and nephew, because they were sick and couldn't go to daycare. I am looking forward to going home and spending some time with my family. I have quite a bit of work to catch up on in my classes, so I figure I will be working on a couple papers and doing lots of reading!