This week in Forum, Vince
was our speaker. Seeing as how it was our last forum of the year,
this was about what we had learned during the semester and looking back over
our changes. So this blog is supposed to sum up our experiences and talk about
life. So this would be a good one to say that i have found out that the meaning
of life is 42. Meaning of course that in my time here i have finally watched
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and i have been meaning to do that for some
time. But that is just a minor thing. This semester has been very interesting
in my life but it doesn't seem like that long ago i was coasting through the
summer on my graduation gifts. This was the first time i had lived away from
home for any extended period of time, but it did not feel like the big change i
was expecting, it was pretty easy to adapt to. Also in this time i have
drastically improved my PT score in ROTC by bringing it up about 30 points
from beginning to end. Over the break i hope to continue working
out, but we will see how that goes. I have done everything i can to stay ahead
of the pack in ROTC and i certainly plan to continue that.
My academic work has not been too difficult and i know i can work
through what i need to do if i can just motivate myself. I have met many new
people that i absolutely love and i am glad that i
am around them, because they are great influences on me.
I absolutely love living in Lafayette and i
am definitely going to try for it as long as i am here. This semester
has been an eye opening experience and i can’t wait to see what is to come.
Friday, December 7, 2012
William G. Hargett
Mr. Hargett worked his way up the corporate ladder over the course of many years and he bounced between many different companies on his way up until he ended up at CEO of his final company. The reason he switched companies so often was because these companies were either bought or went out of business, causing Mr. Hargett to adapt and move to new places. His specific expertise is in Geology and he used that skill to find places to drill for oil. But now he is done with that and is retired, sorta. He now spends his time looking for young start up businesses that he likes in order to invest in them.
After he told us his business history he had a small presentation called "Observations on Corporations" that went into different stages of a career as well as how to be a successful employee. While the man was very dry when he was talking, i really connected with this bit. The career stages for a corporation reminded me of rank structure in the ARMY. being an apprentice for up to five years being similar to exactly what ROTC is about; learning the job, and so on up the line at various stages. At the end of his presentation he showed a slide that every one in the room loved. It was Murphy's Law, and we all had known it at one time.
He went on to talk about that in the professional world, perception is reality. Mind ones reputation because it very well determines most of your business path. The final note was a common theme but good just the same "If you're not having fun, leave it" and i think that is great advice
After he told us his business history he had a small presentation called "Observations on Corporations" that went into different stages of a career as well as how to be a successful employee. While the man was very dry when he was talking, i really connected with this bit. The career stages for a corporation reminded me of rank structure in the ARMY. being an apprentice for up to five years being similar to exactly what ROTC is about; learning the job, and so on up the line at various stages. At the end of his presentation he showed a slide that every one in the room loved. It was Murphy's Law, and we all had known it at one time.He went on to talk about that in the professional world, perception is reality. Mind ones reputation because it very well determines most of your business path. The final note was a common theme but good just the same "If you're not having fun, leave it" and i think that is great advice
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Mr. Steve Pierce
Mr. Pierce is a trustee at UNA and a local business owner and he came to talk to us this past week about how to impress potential employers. He started out by talking about things that employers will look for on your resume. these included things like showing respect and showing up on time, cleaning up your Facebook and social media, doing extracurriculars related to your major and knowing the job that you are applying for.
After he talked about how to impress potential bosses he went on to tell us that the next ten years will be very busy. In that time we will have started our careers, gotten married and possibly had children. All of those are big steps so we need to be sure that we set out in the right direction. "If you're not a year ahead, you're behind" was something he said and i feel that is a good way of saying that you should never stop learning about your field, because it is always changing.
He finished up by telling us about all of the exciting things that are going to be happening around campus soon, including Going D1, the new Science building, and a health partnership with a Chinese Businessman. All of these prospects are very interesting and i cannot wait to see them come to fruition.
After he talked about how to impress potential bosses he went on to tell us that the next ten years will be very busy. In that time we will have started our careers, gotten married and possibly had children. All of those are big steps so we need to be sure that we set out in the right direction. "If you're not a year ahead, you're behind" was something he said and i feel that is a good way of saying that you should never stop learning about your field, because it is always changing.
He finished up by telling us about all of the exciting things that are going to be happening around campus soon, including Going D1, the new Science building, and a health partnership with a Chinese Businessman. All of these prospects are very interesting and i cannot wait to see them come to fruition.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Mr. Auman Pierre McGee
Mr. McGee is a local artist that was born and raised in Florence. His whole talk was about finding what we want to do with our lives and making sure it is what we truly want to do with our lives. He used himself as an example towards this. He has always been an outdoorsy guy and been in love with nature his whole life. But over time he was slowly moved in directions that he thought he wanted and that turned out badly for him. he Grew up working in his dad's contracting company and then took over the family business. He was pretty successful at it but just wasn't that into it. He then decided to just take a break and make metal sculptures. That decision caused his wife to leave him but he stuck with it. Over the years he has been happier than ever since he has returned to his roots.
I really liked what he had to say especially since many people our age are struggling with what to do with their lives. He gave a lot of insight into many paths that would probably be considered by students in our position. I'm glad he came to talk to us.
I really liked what he had to say especially since many people our age are struggling with what to do with their lives. He gave a lot of insight into many paths that would probably be considered by students in our position. I'm glad he came to talk to us.
Dr. Zang and Study Abroad Students
Tonight we had many speakers that came to talk to us about doing a study abroad program to various places. Dr. Zang is the director of the program here at UNA and he was very eager to talk to us about going out on a limb to see the world before we get bogged down by our careers in the real world. He pointed out the cost and a few scholarship offers that he knows are available for students interested in studying in another country.
The first student to talk about her personal experience with the program was Corinne Beckinger and she talked about her trip to China. With all of her scholarships, the trip only ended up costing her $800 and she had a great time. Where she went was apparently very westernized and the language barrier was not a major problem because of the number of other students from around the world.
The next student was Lauren Dailey, who went on an independent travel trip to Spain. I really liked her talk because i went to Spain last spring break and throughly enjoyed it. She talked about doing things that i had experienced and much more that i would like to try sometime. She said her class schedule was pretty good with a small class size and a fairly short day and then she could just chill out all after noon. Seems like a good deal.
The first student to talk about her personal experience with the program was Corinne Beckinger and she talked about her trip to China. With all of her scholarships, the trip only ended up costing her $800 and she had a great time. Where she went was apparently very westernized and the language barrier was not a major problem because of the number of other students from around the world.
The next student was Lauren Dailey, who went on an independent travel trip to Spain. I really liked her talk because i went to Spain last spring break and throughly enjoyed it. She talked about doing things that i had experienced and much more that i would like to try sometime. She said her class schedule was pretty good with a small class size and a fairly short day and then she could just chill out all after noon. Seems like a good deal.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Ms. Libby Jordan
Our speaker today was the Director of Cultural Tourism and a member on the Board of Trustees of UNA. I really liked what she had to say as it seemed to relate not only to the business world but throughout different realms of jobs. She started off by telling us a story about how every one has value, and we shouldn't look down on people. In keeping with a theme that we would learn throughout her talk, she had a personal story for this ideal, this one about a trip to Dairy Queen with her children and seeing some other customers while there.
From there she went on to talk about how we are all salespeople and we our selling our image to the world, every minute of every day. After a few more personal stories about business decisions that she has made over the years and how good honest business decisions have been better than the shadier decisions that have snaked their way in.
She showed some statistics that pointed out some semi-positive sides of cheating and then reminded us that is we give in to that, it would be easier for us to give in on bigger, and much worse things. She explained a difference between Legality and Ethics and how they don not always line up. In the end she said Be true to yourself, do what you think is right because it is the right thing to do.
From there she went on to talk about how we are all salespeople and we our selling our image to the world, every minute of every day. After a few more personal stories about business decisions that she has made over the years and how good honest business decisions have been better than the shadier decisions that have snaked their way in.
She showed some statistics that pointed out some semi-positive sides of cheating and then reminded us that is we give in to that, it would be easier for us to give in on bigger, and much worse things. She explained a difference between Legality and Ethics and how they don not always line up. In the end she said Be true to yourself, do what you think is right because it is the right thing to do.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Dr. Wes Desselle
Dr. Desselle is a surgeon at Helen Keller Hospital and owns a small practice in Muscle Shoals and he talked to us about practicing medicine. He told us about some pros and cons of the profession and then told us the story of how he decided to go into that field. He went on to talk about the Human Values of mentor-ship, perseverance and trust as they pertain to medicine before ending up with "Always cherish your family members."
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