Hi and greetings from the ranks of Kelley alumni. I’m Deb New and this is my first posting for the Kelley BizBlog. I thought I’d tell you a little bit about myself and invite you to check back for reports from the New Side of the real world!

I’m a 1996 MBA graduate from the Kelley Indianapolis program. I completed my MBA in 3 years while working fulltime and with a toddler. Talk about running on the proverbial gerbil wheel. I have my undergrad from that other large state university 1 hour north of Indianapolis, however, don’t hold that against me! I’m president of the Central Indiana chapter of the Kelley alumni association – a really cool organization that you'll want to join. In my spare time I run my own consulting firm, New Enterprises. We help organizations create new possibilities with marketing, PR, strategic planning, advocacy and program management. I've spent most of my professional life in the corporate world and have a ton of non-profit board leadership experience too.

I’m relatively new to blogging and the invitation to contribute to the Kelley BizBlog came at a great time… I was looking for opportunities to learn more about the blog world. It also got me wondering what in the world Kelley BizBlog readers would want to hear from me. So, I’m open to suggestions; please let me know if you have questions or topics I might be able to address, and I’ll do my best. In the meantime, I’ll periodically share my experiences, observations and views with you. See you soon.

Cheers!
Deb

Hello everyone....

I'd like you to see this photo of another rare Jaguar sighting on campus. Don't be alarmed, he looks friendly enough.... But, I still must keep my distance.

Unfortunately, he still doesn't have a name. So c'mon now and give me some suggestions!

Until then, keep on a lookout for this ferocious Jaguar!

Coming to a Jungle near you!

Kelley’s tagline these days is “One School. Endless Possibilities”.  Among those possibilities is the ability to pursue your MBA in either the full time residential program in Bloomington, the part-time evening program in Indianapolis or online through Kelley Direct.

While it is “one school” each of the three will, at times, put their own spin on the educational experience. One value of pursuing a degree in such an integrated school is that even though I’m a student in the Indianapolis program, I typically get the chance to participate in special events and opportunities offered in the others.

I had the good fortune to take part in the “IU Entrepreneurial Connection” put on The Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation and the Bloomington MBA’s a few weeks ago. This event was to bring together Kelley students, alumni, and entrepreneurs across the state in a unique learning and networking experience.

The keynote speaker was Mr. Herb Kelleher, founder of Southwest Airlines and the Johnson Center’s current IU Distinguished Entrepreneur-In-Residence. Mr. Kelleher, who apparently goes by “Herb”, is certainly an impressive man who has done impressive work.

(Image courtesy of Indiana University)

He spoke of the keys to Southwest’s success, like the importance of their corporate culture (the company President is also the “Chief Cultural Officer”), their dedication first and foremost to their employees (if employees are happy, they’ll serve the customers well and shareholders will benefit), and the importance of hiring the right employee for the company (they hire people with the right attitude, skills can be taught).

It’s tough to find a more successful entrepreneur than Mr. Kelleher and not every business school gets the benefit of his time and attention. Luckily, for all of us in Bloomington that day, Kelley is that school.

This is my first Blog for the Kelley School of Business. So it may be a good idea to introduce myself and tell you a little about me. My name is David and I am a sophomore pursuing a double major in accounting and finance. I am involved in many different activities on campus and also work part-time at a bank. Within Kelley I am involved in Kelley Student Government and the investment club. I am a first generation college student and the oldest of five kids. I currently have a 3.9 GPA and working hard to maintain it. I live on campus as a RA (Residential Assistant) which leads me to why I became a blogger!

As a RA I noticed many theme houses in the apartments on campus. For example Women in Science, Honors House, PU House, oooops I mean Purdue House, International House, Herron School of Art, etc So I had the bright idea why not a Kelley House? I talked about the idea for a while with a few friends and then began to take some action. Within the first couple of weeks of school (which would have been in August believe it or not) I started talking to residents that live on campus (approx. 1000 students live on campus) and created a survey to see if people would be interested in living in a Kelley House. I then talked with Jaime (academic advisor) and coincidentally she had the same idea.

After some talk and gathering some data and a few meetings it all finally paid off, because the Kelley House has been approved!!!!! I encourage all students in Kelley or interested in Kelley to look into the option of living on campus in the Kelley House with all business students. We have lots and lots of exciting things planned. Stay tuned to hear more information!

Kelley House

Looking for a great place to live?  Check out Kelley House!

This is a brand new opportunity for business students to live on campus in a residential based learning community.  These units are reserved for business students who what to live in the IUPUI Campus Apartments.  Kelley House apartments have a private bedroom in a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment.  The apartments are by the White River on the East side of campus. 

We have two housing units reserved for business students.  These are the Morton-Finney House and the Fox House.  The houses are named after community leaders from Indianapolis.  John Morton-Finney (1889-1998, that’s 108 years) was an educator, lawyer and humanitarian.  He earned 12 college degrees and taught Greek, Latin, German, Spanish, and French at Crispus Attucks High School.  Lillian Fox (1866-1998) was Indianapolis’ first African American female journalist, who founded the Woman’s Improvement Club.

Kelley House was the idea of several of our Kelley students that live in campus housing.  In the last year, the students completed surveys indicating interest.  I’m thankful to this group of students who brought such a great opportunity to our attention.  I think this will be a great opportunity for students to get to know each other better and learn from each other.  I’m looking forward to the many activities that this group can be involved in. 

Living in a learning community with other business students provides a great opportunity to get to know other students with similar interests, create life-long friendships, and be close to other business students that can help you understand the topics covered in business courses.  Studies from the experience of other universities have shown that students who live in learning communities earn higher grades, make friends faster, and graduate at higher rates.

Check out the website on IUPUI campus housing.
http://www.iupui.edu/~sldweb/housing/

Please visit the following link for information regarding Kelley House:
http://www.iupui.edu/~sldweb/housing/reslc/kelley.html

If you do not currently reside in Campus Housing please visit the following link to apply:
http://www.iupui.edu/~sldweb/housing/docs/Housing_Application.pdf

All questions regarding the application, facilities, fees, etc. should be directed to IUPUI's Office of Housing and Residence Life: 1-800-631-3974 or reshalls@iupui.edu.

What is going on everyone? I have a lot to tell you. It has been a while since I have written something on here. I apologize for that. I promise it will not happen again!!

First of all, I am still enjoying this wonderful opportunity I have been presented. I get to live in a marvelous city in another country. I am taking classes that count towards my degree, and this is a great experience to accompany my international business degree. The classes here are frustrating because the professors do not care as much as professors at home. They require a lot of work from us, but are reluctant to put in work themselves. I will find a way to make things work out.

Last weekend I took a trip to Rome. I had the time of my life. I loved Rome. Without the help of a fellow Kelley Student, Josh, I would have been completely lost. I emailed Josh a few days before leaving and the reply he sent was great. It told me all of the nice places to go in the city and the places to avoid. He even told me that I didn’t have to buy a metro pass. That saved me a little money!! All in all, I enjoyed Rome so much that I will be going back in a few weeks.

This last week was very busy for me. I had 3 midterms and I was running around the city trying to secure my new internship. I had one, but all I did was do Google searches for this company called Iris Experience. I did not feel I was getting anything out of it. Now I work with a sports agent and his entertainment company. It is going very well right now.

Now I am in the process of securing my summer internship. I just found out I will be in Indianapolis this summer. I know I am running a little late, but I will be in contact with the staff at our CPO tomorrow.
                
How are things in Indianapolis? I bet it is still cold out there. Just to brag a little bit, the weather is wonderful here!! I have to get going now. I have to study for one more midterm. Busy busy busy!!!

Well, SIS is back up...sort of.  The Administrative Center, which is what the academic advisors and I use to see what is going on with students, is up and running.  The Student Center and Faculty Center aren’t up yet.  At least not where I can see it!  They both should be up soon, so don’t panic.

We are having lots of fun in the office figuring out how to find the stuff we need to use.  It is all there, just in different places.  Please give us some slack if you call us or come into the office.  We are all in learning mode!

Well, not much else right now.  Don’t forget to make appointments with advisors soon.  Registration starts March 19th!

It sure is a good thing that this is a leap year because I will need an extra day at the end of this busy month.  I started this month in Denver on a little vacation to visit some friends, since I have been back it has been nothing but run, run, run for me.

This is a very interesting semester for me because I am fortunate enough to be able to work three full days a week and still take six credit hours.  This month I have had five different meetings for school and for work, I have had two job interviews, and I have had to manage work and school. I am not complaining about my busy schedule because most of the events I have been involved in have been fun learning experiences.

Last week I had the most exciting interview of my job hunt. I was fortunate enough to land an interview for an internship with the NCAA.  The position is a yearlong internship with full benefits. The interview lasted from 8am-4pm. It was a long and draining day, but very exciting.  It involved one on one interviews, group interviews, a writing sample, and many other personality observations. The day was exciting and full of some very interesting questions. I will not hear back from them for at least three-four weeks. I feel that interview went great, but I will have to wait it out just like the rest of the people that interviewed that day.

To conclude this month I have been selected to represent the Kelley School of Business at the Emerging Leadership Conference at the University of Florida. Three other students were selected to attend the conference as well. I am hoping that the conference will be a fantastic networking event and it will allow me to learn from some of the best leaders in America. I will write more about this conference after the event.

Wow. I'm an alumni now?! It really just doesn't seem right yet.  I mean, I just graduated in December and it just doesn't feel like I should be done.  I was on the 5.5 year plan and now that it's over--it honestly feels so weird.  I guess it will feel more official when I go to Commencement in May and get my diploma in March.

I'm not what you would call your typical alumni, or at least I don't think I am all that typical.  When most students get out of college, they start applying for jobs and most of them get one within six months of graduating.  Well, I didn't start applying for a "real" job right out of college because I'm also getting a certificate in events management.  I am currently taking two classes online right now--which just so happens to be the last two classes I have to take.  BUT I also have to do an internship in the hospitality industry in order to receive my certificate.  Most people hear the word certificate and don't think it's much work.  Well, it's actually more credit hours than most minors.  I need to do 150 volunteer or 300 paid hours working in some field related to my certificate.  

Ever since I can remember, I've wanted to live in Florida.  I have gone there every year since I was a little kid.  We would go to the Sanibel Island/ Ft. Myers area and I LOVED it.  So, I have been looking for internships in that area.  I found one that I think is just right for me.  Some things that I am looking for in an internship are: housing, payment, experience, duration of the program, and what other students and schools say about the program.  Some people have suggested I work for Disney or work on a cruise.  I have looked into both and although they both sound like fun, I just think that working at a resort is for me.  I want to be able to plan corporate events or sell meeting space to corporate customers.  Marketing is closely related to the Events Management field and it actually goes hand-in-hand with  a lot of jobs in the hospitality and event planning industry.

I feel a little overwhelmed right now because I feel like I don't have a tight grip on what I really want to be doing, but I know that I have a lot of options and I need to just go with the one that I feel most led to doing.  Since I am wanting to do an internship soon, I knew that I didn't want to apply for a "real" job just yet.  So, I went through a temp to hire agency and that has been quite an experience.  I just went to an interview with Cummins for a position as an executive administrative assistant to a Vice President.  I know I am quite capable of doing the work that needs to be done, but I just have this feeling that it isn't for me.  It is a LOT of work and responsibility and I just don't feel like I can give that much of myself to a job right now.  It would require me to basically be "on call" when I'm off work because if he needs anything done-- it just HAS to get done!  The thing about it is that I've never worked for Cummins at all so I am a newbie and they need to put someone in that position that knows the ins and outs of that company.  It is just frustrating to go to interviews and come out of it knowing that you don't want the job.  On the other hand, it is a relief that I got all the information about the job before I committed to it.  That is why it is SOOOO important to ask all the right questions during the interview.

Hello everyone!  I am a new member to the Kelley Bloggers, and this is my very first blog!  First of all, I want to say "thank you" to the Kelley staff to have me here.  I am so excited!

Well, as a starter, let me just tell you a bit about myself...I am from Japan, and been here for...7 years by now (Wow!  Time flies...I've never felt it's been this long!).  Almost 6 years out of 7, I have been a student of IUPUI, the first 5 years as an undergraduate student with finance major, and now as a graduate student in MSA program.  I do remember my first year at IUPUI, I was so overwhelmed by the new environment...the classes, people, different language, different cultures...and so forth.  I was so excited about my new challenge, but also was so nervous whether I could catch up with all the study I needed to do. Every beginning of the semester, I felt "Oh no...I will not be able to make it...It is just...too much to me!".  My anxiety reached the maximum level, when I started reading the class syllabuses.  You know, the syllabus is the scariest thing!  It tells you all about how hard students have to work (and it's always not enough!), how difficult the class will be, how many assignments students have to do within a limited time, how students may fail from the course, and how soon the last date of withdrawal is coming, etc...  Reading the syllabus, for me, almost feels like watching a preview of a horror movie.  I know I am gonna enjoy the movie, and I know there will be a lot of shocks and screams (that I tend to have after the exams or getting my exams back), but since I've already watched the preview, I got to watch the movie anyway.  It's a mixture of scary feeling and curiosity that I feel when I read a syllabus.  I hope you understand if you are a student. 

Well, frankly speaking, after the 6 years of repetition, I still feel this way when I start a new semester.  The good thing is, from my experience, I pretty much know that I will make it through the semester after all, and syllabuses don't scare me too much any more.  Well, it's pretty scary still, but I know that feeling will go away as I walk though the classes every week (and study!). 

...and here I am.  This is my second semester as a graduate student. 

I hope now you got a sense of who I am.  This is me, Kayoko, or please call me Kay, if it's a bit different for you to pronounce (or read) my name.  Thank you for reading my first blog, and nice meeting with all of you.  I hope I have a chance to get to know you better, too!

Kay

I know this is not the first time you have seen this, but SIS is going down on Friday, February 15 and will not be available until Thursday, February 21.  This means you can’t do drop/add (this stops the 14th) check grades, do a degree progress report (yes, you can find what you have left to take...just not during this time), or anything that has to do with your records.  Do not fear!!!  Oncourse will still be available and all classes will continue as normal!

This means academic advisors will not be able to run records during this time, either.  If you want an appointment with a Kelley advisor while the system is down you have to call and make it by 5 on the 13th.  On the 14th we are running records all day for the following week. 

What will I be doing during this time?  I will be seeing the students that made appointments, answering e-mail, entering advising notes into our system, filing, cleaning out files, cleaning out e-mail.  All sorts of fun stuff. 

I will NOT be seeing students when the system comes up because I am the office "go to" person and will be helping anyone who has difficulty with the new system.  This means our staff and faculty.

We will all make it through this time with no problem if we all work together!  I know our office does this very well.  I am sure our campus and the whole IU system will get along as well.

Let me know what you think of the new system when it comes up!

Deb

Hello Friends!

I'd like to introduce you to the newest member we've spotted (get it, SPOTTED? I know, lame-o...) on the IUPUI campus......

He needs a name and we would like for you to help! So, leave a comment with suggestions!

When I first started the Kelley program last Fall a friend referred me to a blog over at Bnet, an online management resource from the folks at CNET Networks. The blogger was someone a year or two older than me who had also decided to go back to school part time and document her experiences and share them with humanity through the magic of the Internet.

It’s an interesting read and it always reminds me that every MBA program is not the same.

In a recent entry, she questions whether going back to school to get a law degree would be more valuable than getting an MBA.  She came to such a question when her program provided CEO’s from the “real world” to discuss leadership and she noticed that not a one of them held an MBA. I think the question is valid and I might come back to it in another blog entry. However, I was most interested in the speakers that her program had brought in: “one from the local government, one from a regional bank, and one with an entrepreneur background.”

Her leadership class sounds somewhat like our X522 Enterprise Lecture Series. However, the caliber of presenters is a bit different. The first two weeks of our program alone have featured two successful and well known entrepreneurs/angel investors, a senior manager with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, a senior vice president of FinishMaster, and two senior vice presidents of Adidas-Reebok.

Of the six presenters, five had their MBA. Three of them had received a Kelley MBA and the other two earned their degrees at the University of Chicago and University of Michigan.

Anyone notice a difference?

I don’t know which school the Bnet blogger is attending but it seems to be quite unlike Kelley. People pursue advanced degrees for different reasons and you have to do your research. According to Find-MBA.com there are no less than nineteen institutions offering an MBA in this state alone, so it would be easy to choose one and be frustrated. Personally, I would be underwhelmed in her program.

I expect “real world” speakers of the stature of our presenters because I’m working to become an executive of that level. Anything less would be a disappointment.

I want to apologize for not writing for so long.  Things got a bit crazy here in the office and I didn’t get around to writing.  Right now, things have calmed down just a bit, so I am getting lots of work done and writing my blog is one of them!

Just a quick reminder -- Student Information Systems is going to be down from February 15-February 21.  You will not be able to do any drop, add, bill payment, check transcripts or anything like that.  Oncourse will be unaffected by this.  Just don’t do any schedule changing during this time.

I am taking a class again this semester and I really like it.  It is an online class, so I don’t have to go anywhere, and I really like that.  However, because it is online, there is a HUGE amount of writing that has to be done.  Thing is, I enjoy doing these projects.

That is my school life, now for my office life!  I am working on getting things ready for Commencement.  It sounds like it is so early to get started, but it takes a long time to get everything ready to run smoothly on the big day.  I have to find award winners, those that are going to tentatively graduate with honors, send a list to the photographers, and all sorts of other things. 

It won’t be too long until priority registration starts for summer and fall.  Then I will be checking all the August graduates to make sure they have everything for graduation.  Then it will be Commencement Day! 

This year will be difference since the RCA Dome will be gone and the Lucas Oil Stadium will not be ready yet.  It makes it a bit "scary" not knowing exactly how things will be done (don’t worry, we will know by the big day) but exciting knowing it will be different!  No other graduating class will have one just like this one!

Well, it is the end of the day.  Talk later!

Hello all and good day! This is the first blog I have ever had the opportunity to contribute toward and I'm not exactly sure what to include. However, in my non-blog interactions, I typically have no trouble finding items and situations to rant, rave, complain, and offer insight towards which makes this situation all the stranger as I haven't created a post since becoming a BizBlogger late last fall.

For this inaugural posting (which has not been quite as timely as I had hoped) I have a few things to address which have been puzzling to me as of late. I may not cover each of these topics to their fullest extent in this initial posting but I hope to stimulate interest and additional conversation going forward throughout the semester. With that, I suppose I should lay out those 'issues' that have been going through my mind the past several weeks.
The beginning of the spring semester Job searches, careers, majors, and interests 'Time Management' (can you really manage time?) And a little something I'd like to call the 'fun factor' Ah, and one additional thing I'd like to throw out there in order to get some expectations in alignment, is that these may not be covered conclusively or in any real sequential order. My hope is to cover these in some fashion so that they are interesting and thought provoking to some extent. That said, I may jump around a bit as I tend to be a little spacey (sp?) and have the tendency to ramble, digress, and generally get a little (or a lot) off track of whatever it was that I was talking about. And as I've just looked up and noticed that I have three paragraphs and a list of bullet points written already, all without any real content created, you've probably already noticed that my attention has the tendency to jump around a bit. Anyways, here goes... 

A New Semester!

Well it is the beginning of the spring semester, and it's a whopping 4 degrees (Fahrenheit, although if it were measured in Celsius we'd all be a little warmer to say the least. Check out www.worldclimate.com for all sorts of weather-related fun). But for lack of better nomenclature, the semester that occurs between January and May gets the spring name. Probably better than 'Winter/Spring/but mostly cold semester' although we students in Indiana wouldn't be fooled by the name. At any rate, the semester is a few weeks in and we are rolling into classes. Hooray! Hopefully they are worthwhile, interesting, and will offer the utmost in learning for us all (what else could once expect out of the Kelley curriculum?)

This semester is shaping up to be a good one. For me, it's the my second to last and I'm enrolled in many courses that contribute quite a bit to my intended interests and what I'd like to do for a living (although I haven't quite figured that one out yet). But yes, spring typically brings feelings of joy because after 16 or so weeks, the majority of us are rewarded with a little something nice. That something nice is warm weather, and glorious glorious summertime. However, summer isn't all that it used to be back in the day where one could kick it next to the pool, listening to tunes, and soaking up some rays. For many college students (particularly those enrolled in Kelley) summer is more about taking some extra classes, working to pay for the fall semester (for the sake of this post I will avoid another weather/nomenclature tangent), or taking on that coveted summer internship to advance in the field we hope to pursue as a career rather than relaxing and basking in all of summer's glory.

But for some others, summer won't be much more than some warmer weather. Each May (as well as June & August) many Kelley students take the next major step in their lives and get ready to toss their goofy graduation cap high into the air. With diploma in hand (hopefully signed, that is) they walk across the stage and get ready to embark upon the next great journey in life...the 'real' world. 

Jobs, Careers, & 'Real World': Are they all they're cracked up to be?

A good friend of mine recently graduated with a degree from Kelley with a concentration in Finance. This particular individual was an excellent student, with high GPA, solid campus involvement, and a level of intellect that cannot be expressed by standard grading metrics. In addition to all of these academic standards, this guy has great personal character, responsibility, and a good head on his shoulders. That said, it's no surprise he landed a job prior to graduation.

While he indeed did find a job, and one somewhat related to his major to boot, he is not happy working there and feels that his talents, skills, and abilities are not being even close to properly utilized. He is involved in a strong company in a stable yet growing industry and yet his satisfaction - or dissatisfaction - in work right now is having a negative effect on his life in general. He is determined, however, to take the measures necessary to find a function in work that is fulfilling and where he can achieve personal and professional growth and contribute positively to the company in which he is employed.

But why should we as Kelley graduates have to settle for this after the fact? It seems that in many cases, business students limit ourselves to whichever function is most related to our majors. That is, students majoring in finance look for jobs in finance, students in marketing look for marketing positions, HR majors look for a profession in which they can practice HR. But what do these majors do for us if we end up doing something we don't like, even if it is what we 'majored in' during our tenure at Kelley? Positions, job descriptions, and the nature of one's work are almost solely determined by one's employer. That is, the employer is the one who crafts these items and designates the function in which one will contribute. It seems as if the only true applicable major in which one can truly exercise what he or she has learned in college is that of accounting as it is a practice based on principles and is more or less non-subjective. But what about the students that major in these other areas with less boundaries and gray areas? What is it that we are supposed to do following graduation? Kelley students have, or will at some point, take X320 (Career Planning and Placement). This class is intended to help students identify where they can best apply themselves after college and during their career. Probably the best message conveyed in this course is demonstrated through the exercise on the first day of class. For those of you who have taken this it, you know what I'm talking about. That's right...the 'skills & interests' inventory packet.

This is intended to help students identify what they are interested in, what they're good at, and where they have room to grow and develop. However, even after identifying these items, we continue to limit ourselves to our chosen major. That is, we narrow our focus to only the functional areas in which we can 'apply' the knowledge amassed in our core concentration classes. Wow, it seems that I have gone on a little rant about this topic and have somewhat digressed. But to sum up my point (at least for this post)...
Don't limit your scope to your major. Take a look at yourself from all facets and identify what really hits home with you...The things that drive you to be successful, that empower you to do your best work, and the tasks and situations that you find enjoyment in doing.

As the example of the recent grad at the beginning of this section illustrates, you can find something to do in your major but you may not enjoy doing it. Look at how your skills, interests, and abilities play into other fields and functions and get creative. Look for a position or industry where you can truly leverage your assets to accelerate yourself and achieve. These are things that will really differentiate you from everyone else. It's not only your GPA, your involvement, your work experience...it's you, your personality, your skills, and interests that can really set you apart from the crowd and put you on the track for success. 

Err, for lack of a better section heading, this is the Conclusion

While I don't have a substantial amount of empirical evidence to prove any of this, I'm sure we all know someone - either ourselves or someone else - in a similar situation or who may be in one at some point soon. I encourage that we all take a look at what's going on around us and take a good look at where we want to be and figure out how we can best get there using what we have and what we can take on. More to come on these types of things in posts down the road, so stay
tuned...

O, and I almost forgot!

Stay tuned some goodies in upcoming posts in respect to the other two points that were bulleted in the opening section and which are also reiterated below:

    •    Time management (or the lack thereof)
    •    The fun factor/Rule #3

It's rather interesting that I ran out of time to talk about time management...and that many of you are probably thinking that rule #3 had something to do with it. Perhaps. Perhaps not. I suppose we'll find out soon.

And with that, so long!

All right, Cincinnati, it is time for this town to get down! You've got Johnny... Doctor Johnny Fever, and I am burnin' up in here! We all in critical condition, babies, but you can tell me where it hurts, 'cause I got the healing prescription here from the big 'KRP musical medicine cabinet. Now I am talking about your 50,000 watt intensive care unit, babies! So just sit right down, relax, open your ears real wide and say, "Give it to me straight, Doctor, I can take it!"