A Gathering of Grad Students

This past weekend was the annual fall GBA event and this year we held it on campus by Lake Evelyn. Nice fall weather, nice scenerly, lots of food...and rain. That's right - we had a picnic in the rain! Luckly there was a gazbo so we all enjoyed each other's company and the span of food. Here are some pictures from the event:

More pictures can be found on our facebook page. The picnic was a huge hit - and I look forward to more times of fellowship with our amazing graduate students!

New College of Business Lobby

The College of Business' new lobby has been officially unveiled! Yesterday we had our ribbon-cutting ceremony, complete with our dean, president, the donors, some trustees, professors, and dozens of students. Below you can see some of the before pictures:

First the LCD board was attached to the wall and then our ticker tape. Following that, we tore out the carpet (and not just in our lobby, the hallways too) and painted the walls:
Then it was time to bring in the furniture and have a celebration!

Fall Revival

Where else can you get a master's education where the quality of the education is only part of what is offered...where the spiritual and physical components that make us human are also considered?

At ORU, we believe that not only is it important to get a quality education that will allow you to do whatever it is God has called you to do, but the physical and spiritual parts are considered just as important. Without an understanding of leading a healthy lifestyle, what good is the call that you have on your life unless you can physically do it? Without learning and growing in God, what good is that call?

Today and tomorrow consist of what is known on campus as Fall Revival - additional Chapel times - to focus in on God and his plan for our lives. It is so important that all classes have been cancelled today and tomorrow (until after the morning service). A special speaker will be coming in tonight. I don't know if I know of any other campus that specially takes time out of the class schedule to draw closer to the Lord during additional services.

This is just another area that makes ORU so unique and gives something additional to graduate students as they prepare for the business realm.

27 Days

What is 27 days from now, you might ask? Well, 27 class days from now it will be the beginning of Thanksgiving break. It's not like I'm counting down the number of classes I have because I can't wait to be done and I won't be keeping a calendar next to my computer crossing off days until then, but I just wanted to show how fast this semester will soon be coming to an end. Perhaps my counting days until Thanksgiving Break may have some to do with what I will be doing during that time. And what exactly could I be doing that would usher me to count class days left on the first day back from Fall Break? Traveling to Europe!

I have been extremely blessed with a family that loves to travel and can put aside differences for a week in some random location in the world. This year the location of our annual family reunion is in Germany and Austria. And while I am so excited to be headed for Europe, I know it means I must buckle down on my studies over the next 5 weeks (yes, only 5...plus 2 days on the 6th week) in order to be able fully enjoy a trip to Europe without lingering projects, papers, and assignments.

Hopefully we all will be able to push through these next several weeks and have some great time management!

Photo credit: from Epoch Times

Learning during Break

Although it's Fall Break, it doesn't mean that I'm on break from learning or trying to apply what I'm learning to life. Sometime during this past week I drove over a nail. Nail in tire = air escaping = flat tire. So my husband put the spare tire on and went to find out if a nearby car place could fix it up. He went to a car maintenance place not too far from our home. I had never been to it since I usually take my car to the dealership for an oil change or check-up. Since it was closer to our home though, he decided to check out. We were hoping they would charge a small fee for plugging the tire. They charged nothing. Instead they just said if we ever needed something done to feel free to drop by their place. They definitely won over my recommendation to people. And while I'll probably still go to the dealer for some of the bigger maintenance, it's good to know that just 2 miles from my house I can take my car in to a place where they believe knowing what they offer is something of value before selling them something.

This event reminded me of so many things I've been reading in my Marketing class - from sampling, to offering something free, to giving something of value, to creating a relationship with a customer...it's all very interesting to see some of these things played out in everyday life - and applying those incidences to what's being taught in the classroom.

Fall Break

Although the temperature reads nearly 90 degrees outside, Fall Break is here! For some, this week may include traveling while for others, it means staying in Tulsa working, studying, maybe catching up on sleep...

For me, it means that while I don't have class, I will be at work. However, this does not mean I will not be enjoying my week off of class! My schedule this next week (besides work), includes the following:

-Read, read, and read! Definitely want to take advantage of this week and try to read ahead for my classes. I'd like to try and read everything left, but I still want to enjoy some of the week "off" too.

-Photography! While I am enrolled as a part-time graduate student only 2 classes away from finishing my MBA (and the rest of this semester's classes), I am also enrolled in a photography school through distance study and really need to get my next project turned in. I figured it's also a great time to enjoy this amazing weather and take my camera around town.

-Clean. For some reason, my house just seems to get cluttered during school (maybe I'm applying all my organizational skills to homework and class...), so on the agenda this week is to definitely get the house ready for the second half of this semester.

-Have fun! In the middle of all cleaning, getting ahead, and photography, I want to just have some fun doing simple things...like maybe watching a movie or going out to a coffee shop to chat and not because I need to study.

Whatever we all do, the week is bound to move quickly, so enjoy it and take advantage of it!

International Experiences

I love how I can pass through the hallways of ORU and hear languages other than my native tongue. From Spanish, to German, Russian, and Swahili, the flair of international students can definitely be heard on the campus of ORU. I believe this really adds a dimension to ORU that not many campuses have. This year, 56 different nations are represented on the campus of ORU. Within the Graduate School of Business, nearly 20 nations are present, giving us about 30% of all countries on ORU in our graduate business classes.

Having such a number of international students in classes gives a greater understanding of the world in which we live as well as giving opportunities to make international connections. I appreciate being able to learn not only about globalization, but being able to live it within my classes.

Two years ago I was given the privilege of traveling to Asia for a three-week recruitment trip to six different countries. Getting to meet prospective students where they live and seeing everything they have to do in order to study in the US made me realize how much of a process it is to get here and gives me an even greater respect for those in my courses.

I thoroughly enjoy traveling to different parts of the world, meeting new people, and seeing new things. If I can't travel all the time, at least I can learn more about the international students in my classes - where they're from, what they feel, how they react to different things mentioned in class.

Tips for Midterm Week

Fall Break is one week away, but before students can go frolicking into the wild blue yonder for a week, we must pass the intense week of Midterms.

When I was in my undergraduate studies some classes pushed midterms until after break or just had a normal test. Midterms for graduate studies are quite different. It's putting everything and more that has been studied thus far onto paper in just 150 minutes of time. One specific class I have to thank for my feelings of frenzied-ness comes in the form of Marketing Management. This class makes me not only feel like I'm in grad school, it makes me know I'm in grad school. Besides our notes from lectures and the chapters from the textbook, we've been reading additional books each week since before the semester began (yes, before). Put all of this stuff together and it leaves LOTS of information to study or prepare for. So, in honor of this class and what I'm reviewing, I thought I would pull a few things from some of the books we've read in the class and use them as tips of the week because some of them can truly be used this week...

*Get some sleep. Yes, as tempting as it can be to pull all-nighters, it really might not be that beneficial to you. According to Fried & Hansson of the book Rework, all nighters could become habits that lead to stubbornness, lack of creativity, diminished morale, and irritability. Add to that, when you're sitting down to take a test covering information from the past 8 weeks, pulling an all-nighter the night before probably will not have helped much. By now you either know it or you don't. Stressing out and lack of sleep can be no bueno for taking exams.

*According to Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, your initial reactions to something (thin-slicing) can be correct, so don't discount your first thoughts about the answer to a question on a test. At the same time, be vigilant in reviewing your work, as I believe it is beneficial to review your work to make sure you didn't forget something.

*Take a deep breath - it's going to be okay. Rework also specifies this in the book as says to resist those urges to panic. With midterms this week, I know several people may be feeling a bit like panicking - but don't. It won't give you more time studying, it will take away. It won't help you feel better, it will make you feel worse. It doesn't encourage, so just hit the books and study what you can.

Another tip I would give from just personal experience would be to study what you don't know. Such a simple concept but it can really be helpful. I have a habit of studying everything. Things I know and things I'm not strong in. By going over everything, I'm taking away some of the time I could be reviewing those areas I need more time in. So, as easy as it sounds, don't dwell on what you know - push yourself in those areas you need to develop.

Put it all together with some prayers and maybe a morning coffee, and go do well!

Tulsa State Fair & Chick-fil-A

Last night my husband and I went to the Tulsa State Fair to check on the status of the pictures I entered and the one of my puppy in black and white won second place! Yay! I feel as digital photography is becoming more accessible to the mass population, hidden talents of people are beginning to surface. Some incredible talent is displayed there and I am glad to be among those recognized at the fair.

After roaming the stands of greasy fried food and through the chaotic lines of people trying to take a 60 second ride on a traveling carnival machine, I was ready to go and eat something a little more health concise then a Krispy Kreme burger or fried stick of butter (who eats this stuff?!?). So off to Chick-fil-A we went...away from the crowds, away from the smell of fried grease, and somewhere a little closer to our house.

Chick-fil-A always does a good job in trying to show their appreciation for the customer. It is unheard of to not hear an employee say, "My pleasure" after a customer says thanks or thank you. Last night was no exception to great customer service. We went inside to order since it was one of those rare times when there were no screaming kids inside with lines to the back of the door. The girl who took our order had "In Training" written under her name on her name badge. The service I received from her though made me feel like she was a manager in training. When I couldn't decide what to order, she made a suggestion that actually caused me to consider the choice (which is what I ended up going for). I'm not sure if she purposely recommended a higher priced item (if she did, she was real good it) but it's what I decided to order. She made us laugh during our order, told us she'd bring our food to us (which she promptly did), got our picky orders right, and complemented us. Because of the great service I felt I received and the fact that I truly enjoyed the food she recommended, I'll probably get that next time I go there, which translates into additional revenue for the restaurant.

On our way out, my husband made it a point to tell the manager on duty how well the girl in training did. Now I understand the purpose behind writing those two little words on a badge of those in training. If more companies did that, those in training would actually become challenged to become great employees.