All good things must come to an end...

It is OFFICIAL! I am a Walton College MBA Graduate! Wow, I can't believe it is over! So, I thought I would start with some pictures from the past week of celebration! Then, I will wrap my last blog up with some advice to future MBA'ers and the current class of 2011.


This is most of the MBA Class of 2010. We had a party at the Garden Room on Dickson that was hosted by the Graduate School of Business. It was so much fun to meet everyone's family and celebrate with my fellow classmates.


This is at the Garden Room, a few of my good friends. Austin, myself, Matt, Sophie, and Kalid!

This is a few of us out celebrating being done with school! These 3 have become some of my best friends, who I will never lose touch with. Whitney, Kalid, myself, and William. We were in a lot of group projects together and I have enjoyed getting to know all of them! :)

Whitney, William, and me before walking at graduation. I am so happy that I have gotten to know these two. Whitney plans on staying in Fayetteville to work, and hopefully William will too! If not, he will be in Little Rock, which isn't too far away!


The boys before graduation. Kalid, Austin, Benoit, Jeff, and William. These guys are so great!

So, I was thinking about it and I thought...what would I have wanted to know before I started the MBA Program at the University of Arkansas...So, here is the advice I have for others.

1.Get your Professional Development and Speaker Series hours as soon as possible! Even though the workload is a lot less in the Spring, you are still consumed with looking for a job(at least I was) So, it is best to get as much done as possible your first semester.

2. Network, Network, Network. I did not start doing this till it was almost too late. Get your name out there, go to functions, and meet NEW people. It can be scary at first, but it can really make a difference.

3. Make use of the career center. They are there for you!

I know there is more, but that is all I can think of for right now. I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog. I have enjoyed sharing one of the most amazing experiences of my life with you. I am ready to start a new chapter in my life as a "big" kid and enter the professional world. If you are interested in getting your MBA or another Masters, I am a strong believer that the University of Arkansas is the right place for you and there are so many opportunities that come with it. Best of Luck!

The hunt is finally over...Well, for now at least!

So, lots has happened in the last week. I got a job! Woohoo! Well, it is an internship..for now at least! There is possibility of it turning into a full-time after the internship, so we will see! I am really excited because it is with an amazing company and is at the top of my list of companies I would LOVE to work for. So, I am excited! I am looking forward to it because it will be great experience for me, since I have little work experience coming right out of undergrad into the MBA program.

We had our ERP final today. I think it went really well. I also just turned in my last individual assignment for Strategy, which is also a relief! As far as the rest of the week goes, I have my last formal day of Strategy tomorrow. In our Category Management class, we are taking a field trip to Red Dot Square, which should be very interesting. I will blog more about it later. After our field trip, we have our business professional class picture. All I have for Wednesday is an ERP group project presentation, and then I am DONE with CLASSES! Therefore, all I will have left is a take home final for Category Management, a group paper in Strategy, and a strategy final! Then, I will be an MBA graduate and start the next phase of my life. I can't wait!

7 days of class left!

I honestly don't know where this semester went..It has gone by soooo fast! We only have 7 days of actual class left. Crazy! This week is pretty calm as far as assignments go. Next week I have my ERP Final, an ERP final report and presentation, and one last Strategy assignment due. Then, I will have 2 tests during finals week and a couple other projects due that week. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. As far as the job search is going, I had an interview last week that went pretty well. So, I am keeping my fingers crossed and waiting to hear back on that.

This weekend was a big weekend for my family. My brother proposed to his girlfriend of over two years and we had a big surprise engagement party for them. It was so much fun and I am so excited she is going to be a part of our family! Speaking of weddings, a couple of my closest friends are getting married this summer that I am involved in. So, on top of finishing school and applying for jobs, I am trying to schedule wedding showers! Almost every single weekend of my entire summer is consumed with a wedding this year! 9 total weddings! Ahhh, I am not ready to grow up yet! Ha, oh well.

Better get back to working on stuff for next week, since I have some free time this week!

Spring Break Pics

So, as I promised, I FINALLY got some pictures uploaded to my computer from Spring Break, so here are a few. This was by far the best Spring Break EVER. I just can't believe it was my last one.. :( I guess you have to grow up sometime..

This picture is from our first night on the boat, before we had dinner.

We were laying out by the pool one afternoon and we were picked from the crowd to be in a dance contest. It was 4 girls and 4 guys. I lost the contest with the girls, but Justin won! We got these awesome medals and he got a trophy. I was so proud! Haha, it was a blast!

This was our first stop in Progresso, where we hung out on the beach all day. It was beautiful!

I can't believe we only have 4 more weeks of class left. This means I only have 16 days of classes. This program has gone by so fast! This week other than class, I have my exit interview, 2 speaker series to attend, an MBA intramural softball game, 1 assignment due, and lots of GA work to catch up on. It doesn't sound too bad, but for some reason, I still feel like there is never enough time! Somewhere in there I have got to apply, apply, apply for more jobs. Woohoo!

Spring Break Wrapping Up

It has been WAY to long since my last blog, wow! I planned on blogging right before spring break started, but I got a little busy with school and packing for my big trip. Lets just say that this spring break was one of the best I have had..EVER. Justin and I started the trip by driving to New Orleans on Friday morning. We got in to NOLA around 7 and went straight to our friend's house. He took us to an amazing restaurant in the French Quarter and then we hit the town. It was soooo much fun! It was so much fun because one of my best friend's was also in town, and I haven't seen him in soooo long. He met up with us that night. It was a really great night!

The next day, we boarded the Carnival Triumph and sailed off at 4pm. The weather the first night and Sunday afternoon was pretty rough. The captain of the ship said it was one of the worst he had experienced! Lucky us, huh? It was really windy, cold, and the boat was rocking pretty bad. Several people on the boat were sea sick, including my boyfriend... :( Luckily, the next day was BEAUTIFUL! We got into Progresso and got off the boat in the morning. We walked along the beach, had lunch, and got some sun. The next day we visited Cozumel, which was so much fun as well.


The trip was so much fun because the majority of the people on the boat were from ARKANSAS. I believe we called the hogs at least one time a day! Ha, it was great! I really enjoyed it because I really felt like I was at home and everyone was so friendly. I am sad the trip is over, especially since I am back to reality and have done 5 loads of laundry already! Ugh! I am going to catch up on some Grad Assistant work tonight and tomorrow. Depending on the weather, I will hopefully be cheering on the diamond hogs tomorrow! I love this time of year, and I can't believe I only have 5 weeks of school left....!!!


I will have pictures up from the trip, SOON!! :)

Spring Time is my Favorite Time!

The weather this weekend was AMAZING and it is starting to feel a little bit like Spring time! I am so excited about this. This excites me for a number of reasons...

1. Spring Break is in 10 days! Mexico, here I come!
2. I can start doing yard work...Yes, I know this may come as a shock as something to be excited about, but I am ready to do some tree trimming, lawn mowing, and planting some flowers!
3. I can run outside and take my dog to the park!
4. Baseball Season...enough said.
5. The beautiful weather puts me in such a better mood when I am stressed about school and finding a job.
6. St. Patricks Day-Als0 my brothers birthday and a good excuse to get together with my family :)


There are so many more, but those are the things I keep thinking about when I wake up and see that the high today is 71...These are the things I try to think about instead of the midterm that is due today, 2 papers due Thursday, and HOURS of Grad Assistant work to catch up on...Sounds like a fun week, huh? Hopefully I can get most of it done today, and enjoy this beautiful weather!

Midterms!

It has almost been 2 weeks since my last blog, and that is terrible! Sorry! I have been a crazy person these last few weeks, and it doesn't seem to be getting any better with all that is going on! I just keep telling myself, that there is only 18 days till spring break...ahhhh.. Anyway, I have 2 midterms this week-One in Category Management and another in Strategy. I am looking forward to getting them over with because after that, there are only a few assignments between me and spring break.

This past weekend, I was able to get away for the weekend to visit my sister, brother in law, and their kids. I haven't seen them for over a month, so it was really nice to see them finally! Here are some pics of my niece and nephew(twins). They are at such a fun age right now!

Matthew & Madison

I have constantly been looking for jobs and applying when I find ones that I am interested in, but unfortunately have not had any luck yet. I believe only 3 or 4 students from our entire class have jobs lined up after graduation. Hopefully that number will go up in the next few months... Speaking of graduation, I finally completed the application process the other day after class. I can't believe that I will be an MBA graduate in about 2 months. CRAZY!

Let's play catch up..

It has been a crazy few days, with school, group meetings, GA work, family time, and Valentine's Day. So, a little recap of the last week... In my ERP class, we are split into groups and we are selling cereal within a simulation. My group did not do so well in the practice rounds, but we are confident we are going to to better in the real rounds that start tomorrow. Tomorrow morning we are meeting before class to finalize our decisions, and hopefully sell LOTS of cereal! It is a really confusing simulation, but I am looking forward to understand it better in the coming weeks.

In Strategy, we are also divided into teams and will be working on projects to be presented to Walmart Executives. This is going to be a great experience, but a lot of hard work. I'm sure I will blog more about that, once we get more involved in the project.

In my Marketing class, we have been assigned to pick a category and research the background of the history. This includes the size, how much they sell annually, how many products are in the category, and so on. Then, we are supposed to go to a mass merchandiser that carries the category and observe the category structure. We have to draw a layout or take a picture of the layout. We then have to watch at least 10 customers interact with the category and see if we can get a rough idea of the decision tree process they go through to make their purchase decisions. I am looking forward to this project because this is the type of marketing that interests me.

Other than school, I have been doing a lot of GA work. I enjoy what I am doing because I can do it out of my house from my computer. I have quite a few assignments from my GA, so I am staying busy.

Valentine's Day this past weekend was nice and relaxing. Justin and I decided to keep it pretty low key this year and went to dinner and a movie. We decided to do this since we are going on a cruise in 31 days!!!!! Woohoo, I have been counting down EVERY day! My dad's 60th birthday was Sunday(yep, Valentine's Day). I also babysat my niece and nephew for my brother and sister n law on Monday night, so they could go on a date for Valentine's Day! I had a blast with my niece and nephew and was happy I could do that for my brother and sister!

Another Snow Day!

Today classes were postponed till 10 am due to the weather that came in yesterday. Therefore, my Strategy class was canceled at 9:30. There were several people that could not make it to my 11:00 Marketing class, so the teacher decided to cancel it as well, since it is a very small class. So, I was able to get a lot of work and reading done. I worked several hours on my GA assignment and read for my marketing class. I was also able to get a lot of house work done, too. Needless to say, it was a very productive day!

Here is a pic of me and Justin when we got 6 or 7 inches last week! It was so much fun to play in the snow and go sledding!

I have really enjoyed the snow, but I am ready for some warmer weather. Baseball season opens next weekend, and I am SOOOOO excited. Baseball games are really fun to go to because you can tailgate behind the fence in the outfield. A lot of students go to the game, which makes it a lot of fun. The Hogs basketball team is also doing really well and has been exciting to watch. They play LSU tomorrow night, and they have won their past 4 games! Hopefully they can keep it going!

Spring Break Booked!

I know it is only February 3rd, but Spring Break is right around the corner. The last month has flown by, so I am hoping that this next month does as well. This will be my last spring break as a student, so I wanted to do something fun. My boyfriend and I have decided to go on a cruise! We booked it 2 days ago, and we are both so excited!

The cruise is 5 days long and leaves out of New Orleans. It will stop in Cozumel and Progreso Yucatan Mexico. While in Progreso, we are thinking about doing a tour of the Mayan Pyramids of Chitzen Itza. I was able to visit them when I was a Freshman in High School on a Spanish Club trip. They are amazing and I would love to see them again. I have been on a couple cruises with my family, and I think you get the most for your money on them. We are also really excited about leaving out of New Orleans so we can spend a couple days there. It is going to be such a great trip! 45 days and counting!

My Last Semester So Far...

So, I have only had 2 weeks of school so far, but I can tell that I am really going to enjoy this semester. As I have mentioned, I am only taking 9 hours of class. This is giving me so much more time for my GA and for job searching! On Monday and Wednesday, my only class is Enterprise Systems which has been interesting so far. We had a "draft" the other day where the class chose team captains and then the team captains had a draft after class for the rest of us. I have a great team, so I am really looking forward to the group work that we will be doing.

On Tuesday and Thursday, I have Strategic Management and Category Management. In Strategic Management, we have also been put into teams and we have had a couple assignments due already. My group in that class is also great, so I am looking forward to group work in there as well! Although I enjoy ERP and Strategy so far, I believe my favorite class is going to be Category Management. Since this class is related to my concentration, Marketing, I can relate to it the most. The class is very interactive and small, which is nice. I enjoy it because it is directly related to what I would like to do in my future career. I have also had the teacher in my undergraduate Marketing Research class a few years ago. She is very knowledgeable and a great teacher, so I am looking forward to that class the most.

This weekend I have been looking for jobs, and I may have a couple good prospects. Keeping my fingers crossed! I had a pretty relaxing weekend of staying in and catching up on some reading. Since the break, I have also been reading a lot more books for pleasure, which is so nice to finally get to do! Maybe if this semester is less stressful, I will be able to continue reading for pleasure! :)

My Wonderful 4 Day Weekend!

This weekend was full of celebrations, but now it is back to school once again. As I mentioned in my previous blog, my family had not celebrated Christmas yet because we had not been able to all get together. So, we had several reasons to get together this weekend. First of all, my dad, my boyfriend, and myself were inducted into the Harrison High School Hall of Fame for Athletics. Every year, our high school inducts 20 people into the Hall of Fame for athletics or distinguished service in the community. Myself and Justin, my boyfriend, were inducted because of our athletic achievements. My dad was inducted for his distinguished service in the community. It was a really special for all three of us to get inducted the same year. All the inductees had to give acceptance speeches and they played a 20 minute slide show of pictures from our athletic careers. Here are a few pictures from the banquet:

My dad, me, and Justin before the banquet

All the inductees from the night

Me and Justin before the banquet

Since my entire family was in town for the banquet, we also celebrated Christmas and my birthday. It was so much fun watching my nieces and nephews opening their gifts. On Sunday, which was my actual birthday, we had a big family lunch and birthday cake. I came back to Fayetteville that night, and went out to dinner with Justin and then out to Dickson St. with a couple friends. It was the perfect way to spend my birthday.Here are some pics from Sunday, out with some friends:

Austin(MBA student) and me out on my birthday!

Whitney(MBA student) and me out for my birthday!

Christmas Break Come Back!!!

The break has come to an end, which gives me mixed emotions..I am sad because I have had such a good time traveling to see my family and working on stuff in my house. I was actually really productive during the break and got a lot done that I have put off this past semester due to school. I traveled to Iowa and spent time with family during Christmas. I also went home to my parents for a couple days. Although I am sad the break is over, my "Christmas" with my family hasn't even begun. I have so many siblings, sibling in laws, nieces, and nephews, that we have not been able to have our family Christmas yet. Therefore, we are all going home this weekend to my parents to celebrate and open presents from one another. It's also my birthday this weekend :) so it will be fun to celebrate with my family.

Although I am sad that the break is over, I am excited to begin my last semester of school. I have spent time over the break applying and looking for jobs. HOPEFULLY, I will find something soon. Since I studied abroad this summer and received 6 hours of credit, I only need 9 more hours to complete my degree! This schedule will give me more time to look for jobs!

This past year has gone by SOOOO fast. I can't believe we aren't the "new kids" anymore. Seems like just yesterday we were doing the case competition that the new class will be competing in tomorrow and getting to know each other at orientation. I have had such a great experience this past year, and I am looking forward to what lies ahead!