Finals and projects are graded; grades are entered.  What a relief.  It's time to breathe again.

As students, I'm sure many of you feel the same way.  It's good to relax without the presure of the next final or the next project.  it's good to spend some time with family and friends.  I hope you are able to get to your destination safely and enjoy the Christmas season.

All my Christmas shopping is complete and there are still 5 days left till Christmas.  My wife and I signed over 100 cards and delivered them to friends.  We have about 50 to go.  It's a good time to remember the friendships and stay in touch, even when you have not seen the individuals for several years.  I enjoy finding out how the friends from my college days are doing.  I hope the friendships you make in college last a life time.  This summer will be my 20th year since graduating from Truman State University in Missouri.  Several of my college friends and I plan to do a roadtrip and visit our old haunts this next summer.  Should be a great time.  Over the holidays, I hope to get some of these plans set up.   

Merry Christmas!

Ken Carow

ICore Projects

A hectic week has come to an end with the climax of ICore project presentations.  ICore is a combination of three courses, Marketing, Operations, and Finance.  The project integrates the three courses.  At the start of the semester, student teams propose a new project for a company. 

The project must involve a significant expenditure for equipment, land, and/or building.  It must introduce a new product to the market and new operations. 

The students work on developing a marketing program and designing the appropriate operations of the project throughout the semester.  For finance, they use this information to determine the expected revenues and expenses that the company will have if they implement the project.  Based on these estimates they make a recommendation to the company about whether they should implement the project. 

The ICore project results in two grades.  The first grade is part of the course grade.  Generally the Core project composes 15 to 20 percent of each course grade.  The second grade is for experiential learning.  Experiential learning is a special designation for courses that combine the knowledge that you learn in the classroom and applies that knowledge to a realistic project.  Unlike the normal grades, the experiential component of the project is graded as either satisfactory or not satisfactory. 

Occasionally one of the ICore proposals is implemented by the company that the students work with.  This semester, a group of ICore students worked with the Christamore House to evaluate whether Chistamore House could implement a before school care program.  They evaluated the target market, the number of peopled that would used the new program, the revenue from the new program,  the number of people needed to be hired, how the program would be operated, and whether the program would return the investment and expenses incurred. 

Two representatives from Christamore House attended the presentation and were very impressed with the concept.  They had some excellent questions.  Based on discussions of the proposal, they stated they will be taking a closer look at implementing the project.  

It’s great when you see one of the projects proposed by our ICore teams implemented in the community. 

To learn more about the great programs at the Christamore House, visit http://www.christamorehouse.org/.  “The Christamore House, in partnership with the communities of Marion County, is dedicated to empowering individuals and families towards self sufficiency through diverse social, educational, recreational and health programs.” [Christamore Mission Statement]

A guest blog by: Sherry Zike, Career Counselor, CPO

Traditionally, the end of the year is the time to take stock of yourself and make resolutions for better behavior in the new year. Self-assessment should be a continuous process, but with school, work, and family concerns, few of us have the time to give it the attention that it deserves. With that in mind, I have some ideas for clearing your mind, evaluating your progress, and planning your next steps-not only in career development, but all areas of your life.

Network

Touch base with your family and friends and talk about lifestyle and career choices. Listen to the stories that people tell about their work environments and the choices that they have made. There is much to be learned about the world of work from those who have been in it for a long time. Ask questions. Most people love to talk about themselves and their jobs. Get some opinions about plans that you have. These are the people who know you best.

Research

What jobs and work environments are available in your major? A little online research can provide a wealth of information. Use Google, www.myplan.com, and Vault . Using the same principal as above, do informational interviews with people who are doing the jobs in which you are interested. People love to talk about their work.

Read

It’s old-fashioned, but effective. There are so many authors who have been where you are and want to share their stories. Some that I can recommend are:

Make a List of Next Steps

In the chaos of everyday living, this can be a great way to check up on your progress. Have you contacted all of the people to whom you have been referred? Have you done all of the follow-up on resumes that you sent out? Do you have a list of all of the people you know and where they work? Have you talked with them? Have you visited the Career Placement Office and spoken with a career counselor?

Rest and Relaxation

Get lots of sleep. Have some fun. Do nothing occasionally. It can be amazing how many good ideas are lurking in your head that need a chance to come out!