Recently in John Category

OMG.... Thanksgiving is almost here! And have I got a list of my favorite things about TG that I must share with yall:

• NO SCHOOL: Amazing. I am still as amused with time off school as I was when I was a little kid. You get to sleep in, sit around in your boxers all day, play video games, have sleepovers with your friends... I still do all this.
• Food: Favorite foor on TG is stuffing. No question. I get stuffing, mashed potatoes, and turkey, and leave a circle in the middle for the best BBQ in the land: Sweet Baby Rays. Now I know the turkey connoisseurs will be upset that I use BBQ as appose to gravy or nothing at all, but Sweet Baby brings these three Thanksgiving Staples together like you wouldnt believe. And you better believe I come equipped with two bottles of SBR on Thanksgiving day.
• Family: There is nothing than to be with the family over break. I am pretty lucky this year to have my brother flying in from Houston (unfortunately his wife and dog, hoss, will not be able to join him... they will be missed). And my other brother will be able to get off work this year!!! But we will get to see both my mom and dads side of the family which will be fantastic. It's weird how my brothers and I used to dread these trips and now we cannot wait to be with family. I guess that is what growing up does to you. Makes you realize you only have a limited amount of time with the people you care about.

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys their break. Hopefully you all can spend it with the people you love and/or get a good meal. It will be over in no time and it's right back to school and then the ever horrifying finals will sneak up!

John 

Hey Everyone,

Everyone in their Kelley School of Business Career will participate in a group project. It may not be by choice, but they will all the same. Some people really dread group projects, rightfully so: Group projects can be a real struggle when you have 4 people with different schedules, ideas, and goals. Some have families, some have ideas that are very different (typically me). and some desire grades that others dont. For all the negatives associated with group projects, there are more positives:

• 3,4,5, heads are better than one: As long as you dont participate in the dreaded "Group Think", you really are smarter when working with others than you are by yourself. It's amazing what others know. And when you are able to bounce your ideas off of different people, you typically seem a lot smarter.
• Pulling Your Weight: When a group is well organized and roles are defined, you can really feel it. Each person desires to live up to the standards set for them by their fellow group members. And when each group member lives up to what is expected of them, it is a great feeling and usually results in a good grade.
• Friends: Group projects are good for making friends. It is hard to meet people at school. Each person has their own agenda and usually keeps to themselves. But when you work in a group, you can easily meet new people that you may not have talked to.

So, next time you are assigned a gorup, dont dread it. It could turn out for the best..

John 

Hey!

Today is the last day of my IUPUI career that I will be scheduling classes. Onestart will once again assist me in scheduling classes with ease. My dad always talked about the lines he used to wait in to schedule his classes in college to which I say thank goodness we have onestart.

My shopping cart is full and I am about ready to go in and confirm all the classes. Next semester should not be too tough. I have one last accounting class to take care of, a humanities elective for general ed, then 6 other electives in order to fulfill my 150 credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. I am really looking forward to taking some relaxing classes and having a semester where my head does not feel like it is spinning at all times. I will, however, be studying for the CPA exam, so that will keep me busy. But it should be a great semester.

John

Hey All,

Just wanted to share an update about our Conference Tournament. We ended up losing to Western Illinois 1-0 in a very hard fought game. We definitely had our chances to score, but could not find a way to break through. Western Illinois was a tough team who now plays UMKC today in the tournament finals.

So now my soccer career is over. Crazy to think something you have done your entire life is no longer there but it is one more step to life in the "Real World". I will continue to play but do not think it will ever compare to the competitiveness of College Soccer. I will miss the game quite a bit but, more so, I will miss the guys on the team. It was a great run. I really enjoyed my soccer career here at IUPUI. Now it is time to focus on finishing up school!

John

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to use this blog to say how happy I have been with the Career Planning Office this past semester. Searching for jobs is not easy. And, as every single person knows, the tough economic times make it even more tough to find a good job. In saying that, the CPO has done an excellent job to bring employers in and allow us access to companies we may otherwise not speak with. The recruiting events have all been wonderful as well. The additional services the CPO provides, mock interviews and resume reviews, are very helpful in making the Kelley Students attractive prospects.

If nothing else, I would just like to say thank you to the CPO for helping me find a job. And any student out there wondering "how in the world will I ever find a place to work" stop by the Career Planning Office, BS 4090, and go from there.

John 

Hey Everyone,

I was thinking in class the other day about a couple classes that stuck out in my mind
here at the Kelley School Indianapolis.

• First class that came to mind was X100. It was my first business class at the Kelley
  School Indianapolis (I previously took classes at Kelley Bloomington) and it was the
  start of a new journey, as cliche as it sounds. The class was a tedious class in the
  sense that you had a lot of quizes to take and a group project. But I was in there with
  some of the mens and womens soccer team and we made the most of it. Our project was on Finish Line, if you wanted to know.
  
• A class I really enjoyed and one that made me really start to like accounting was
  Managerial Accounting. Professor Lambert taught the class and made it very easy to
  understand. The tests were tough but useful. I think accounting classes can get grueling
  at times, but I was tuned in to this class the majority of the time.
  
• ICORE, the three headed monster, was something I will never forget. The classes were fine but sitting in the same seat for an entire morning got very old very quick (maybe im not ready for a desk job). My group was great, however, and I learned some very useful things from the three professors.
  
  
  Looking back, it has been a nice career here at Kelley Indianapolis. It is good to
  reflect sometimes and think of all the hours you put in and all the times you said you
  hated school and realize that you made it through, and you're almost done, and that you
  will kind of miss it.... In saying that, I have one more semester that I am really looking forward to. Hopefully I will make some more memories and have some more time to
  reflect.
  
  John

Hey Everybody,

Just wanted to fill everyone in on the soccer season. As you may or may not know, the season is coming to a close. We are playing in our conference tournament this weekend. Four teams make the conference tournament (out of the seven in the Summit League). Unfortunately, the tournament is in Michigan at Oakland. We begin by playing Western Illinois (who beat us earlier in the season 1-0) and, if we win, we play the winner of Oakland and UMKC. It should be an exciting tournament and will be the last of my collegiate career. Unfortunately, I will have to miss my J411 class on Thursday night. Our business simulation in the course is coming to an end and points are hard to come by so I am pretty upset about missing the class.

An update on the Women's Soccer team: they won the conference tournament and are heading to the NCAA Tournament, something we definitely want to emulate. They will be traveling to South Bend to play Notre Dame. It will be an extremely tough game but anything can happen. So cheer them on!

Keep reading and if you have time leave a comment!

John.

Two tests down and one more to go. Here is a summary of my week of tests:

• Astronomy 100: Now some may think "why would a 5th year senior take a 100 level course"? The answer: to sit for the CPA exam. To be eligible to sit for the CPA Exam you must have 150 credit hours. Thus, I needed a class that is a bit easier than the typical 300 level accounting class at Kelley. This was the second test we have had in this course and it seemed to go pretty well.
• F494: This class is a bit more challenging, from my perspective, than Astro 100. This was our second test in this class. It consisted of an essay, 5 short answer questions, and 20 multiple choice. Time was most definitely an issue but I think I prevailed. Lets hope I do a bit better on this test than the first.
• Saturday Game At Centenary: We have already made the conference tournament (next weekend at Oakland), however this is a game we need to win to go on a 4 game win streak and carry our momentum into the post-season. Lets hope we can pull it out on Saturday and turn our attention to the Conference Tournament.

So, that is my week of tests. I am excited to be able to rest one day, but that day seems far away!

John 

Hey All,

I wanted to take a moment to tell everyone about my J411 class. The class is a capstone class for seniors and you must take it to graduate from the Kelley School of Business. During the class you work with a computer simulation where you are running your own company that manufactures and sells sensors. The simulation has five segments which you can manipulate: R&D (you change the products size, performance, and reliability), Marketing (you adjust the pricing and advertising budget), Production (you present a sales forecast and set how many workers you need), Human Resources (allows your company to invest in training hours and recruiting), Finanace (control stock issue, current and long term debt), and TQM (which helps your company become more efficient).

Now, I understand all this does not sound fascinating by any means, but when you are competing against teams in your own class as well as other students around the world, you take pride in what you do. Additionally, your grade accounts for your results, so you want to do well.

Currently, my group has done decent in the simulation. We started out great but we've had a couple bad rounds (8 rounds total). We are hitting stride again with 3 rounds to go and are looking to make a comeback in the standings. I have really enjoyed the J411 class thus far. It truly does help you apply the knowledge that you have learned throughout your years at Kelley. 

If you have any stories from your J411 experience please make a comment!

John 

This Fall is Flying By!!! So much so that I have been forgetting to BLOG. But I am back, so not to worry. Here is what my fall has consisted of:

• Class Again: After a long summer in Europe traveling around and living the dream, I had to come back to the real world and start going to class again. Not all bad though. I have enjoyed my classes this semester including the J411 Capstone class (our team is doing pretty well in the simulationg SHOUT OUT TO ERIE B!) and a Finance class that I really have enjoyed.
• SOCCER: It's my last year of soccer here at IUPUI. We did not start out great but my short term memory is serving me well now that we have won the past 3 games and clinched a spot in the conference tourny!!! We have one last regular season game then we are only 2 games away from the NCAA Tournament! Show your love to any Soccer player you see. Also support the Women's team who won today to become co-conference champs. They have their conference tourny next week so we'll be cheering them on.
• Job Interviews: Crazy to think I will be hitting the real world soon. It is scary and exciting all the same. I have really enjoyed my time here at IUPUI and am trying to enjoy the time I have left here.

So thats my story! If you like it or even if you dont throw a comment out there! Also, check out the other BizBlogs if you find the time!

John