Best Places for Coffee & Studying in Tulsa

Tomorrow is the first day of Autumn, and nothing says "Happy Fall" better than a Pumpkin Spice Latte!

Here are some of my favorite places to get a cup o' joe and study here in Tulsa:

• Starbucks. We have quite a few of these around town…at least a dozen. Find your favorite one and get to know the baristas. They have been known to allow free 2nd cups of coffee.
  


• Kaffe Bona. 2 locations within just a few miles of ORU. They have a lot of tables and leather couches for the perfect studying atmosphere, although it can get a little loud sometimes (just bring earbuds). And, bonus, they offer ORU students a discount!



• Nordaggios. The classic coffee shop located across the street from ORU, so even if you don’t have a car, a nice jaunt across the street can stimulate your brain for studying with a cup of roasted joe (discounts here too for ORU students).



• Barnes & Noble. This place is usually quite crowded but occasionally there are some free tables…however, power outlets are no where to be found (just charge up before you g0).



• Cosi. This little café is just a few miles from ORU and not only offers oven-baked bread sandwiches, pizzas, and an assortment of coffee drinks, but it has free wi-fi, s’mores, and an outlet at almost every table They also offer $2 off your order when you flash your ORU ID!



• Library. There are lots of these around town. Besides the one on campus which has multiple locations conducive to studying, the Tulsa public libraries have also been known to be great places to get away and think. Again, no coffee here, but with all the Starbucks in town, there’s probably one less than a mile from whatever library you go to – and some libraries have been known to have little coffee carts.



• Shades of Brown. This is a coffee shop in Brookside with funky décor and some back rooms to avoid the activity at the front of the store. Amazing hot spiced chai!



• Coffee Shop on Cherry Street. This place is on 15th Street near Utica Square so it is a bit further than some of the nearby places to ORU (a plus if you want to get-away). A bit eclectic like Shades of Brown but great atmosphere with plenty of tables! Beware of their homemade pies and cookies. ;)
  

These are just some of the places I have found in Tulsa that have been great places to study. If you are from Tulsa or are currently studying here, feel free to share your favorite study place as well – I’m always looking for additional places to check out!

The Best Places to Eat, See & Play in Tulsa

For all of you Tulsa-newbies, this blog post below should become your places-to-eat-see-and-play-in-Tulsa checklist before you graduate!

Your City Guide to Tulsa, Oklahoma

Get the low-down on where all the action happens in Downtown, Cherry Steet, Utica Square, Brookside, and everywhere in between. ORU even got a shout-out at the very end for our "futuristic" architecture design (yes, we know it's unique)!

Happy exploring!

P.S. Tell us, what are your favorite places to eat, see and play at in Tulsa?

Celebrating Our Differences

“We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.”
--Maya Angelous

The Fall term is off to a fabulous start on the campus of ORU!

We have 50 new students in the MBA and Master of Not for Profit Management programs, from all over the world.

That’s one of the best things about ORU… diversity.

China, Zambia, Brazil, Ethiopia, Angola, Sweden, Zimbabwe, El Salvador, Nigeria and Barbados… just a few of the countries represented by our new students. And of course, we love our USA students too!

The Importance of Diversity in a Team

Understanding that each individual has his or her own skill set, knowledge and worldview is a vital concept. A group of individuals sharing their unique (and often diverse) assets is an integral part of what teamwork is all about.

A person’s cultural background can offer areas of possibilities you might not have otherwise incorporated into your work. To employ the fundamentals of diversity and teamwork, utilize differences between others while respecting those differences as well.

Communication is key. Keep those lines open by sharing your viewpoints. Teamwork is cooperating together as a team, working toward a common goal.

VIDEO: Cultural Diversity - Tips for communicating with cultural awareness

How to Succeed in Grad Business School

This post below was written by the former Grad Business Representative, Rebecca, and provided such great insight I thought I’d share it again! Enjoy.

--Elle




It is the first day of a new school year! This is a day to celebrate - the start of something new!

I have been asked by students over the past few years what advice I would give to them as they begin the journey of graduate studies (or continue in them) so I thought I would pass on some of what I have learned as a graduate student (as well as working full-time and being married) that I believe can assist in helping you become a successful student.


* Always work ahead. If you know you have 10 books to read during the semester, start early (talking to myself here as well). And if you finish one early, begin the next. If you know a test is coming up, don't wait until the night before to begin studying - start preparing for it early. This will give you more time to soak in the knowledge while not being incredibly stressed out the night before a test (you can actually get some decent sleep by doing this).

* Set early deadlines. This kind of applies to working ahead - when you know the deadline for submitting a paper, set an early deadline for yourself to finish it...like maybe a week early. This will give you time to review it several times, make all those nice grammatical corrections, and make your paper spectacular.

* Engage in the classroom. Don't just sit there. Be a sponge. Ask questions. Apply what you learn in the classroom to your life.

* Enjoy the process of learning. Don't wish away the class or count down the weeks until it's over. All that will do will leave you anxious. Instead, take in all you can and live in the now. It will do you no good to look so far ahead that you can't see what's directly in front of you. Enjoy the journey.

* Give yourself a night off. It does no good to burn yourself out from studying. I always try to schedule Friday nights as my night off from studying (unless of course it's finals week or something major is coming up the next week). Again, this kind of coincides with working ahead so you can have the night off, but do it. It will refresh your mind and allow you to be more focused later on.

* Get to know people in the program. Don't be an island. The people in your classes all have busy lives too, but they can be an immense encouragement to you during stressful times. Some people come from far-away places, some have years of experience, others have families or careers or both. Get to know them - especially since you will have group projects in nearly every class. Making connections now with your classmates can lead to a lifetime of friendships and connections around the world.

* Pray. Perhaps being in a graduate program already lends itself to giving you great opportunities for increasing prayer in your life, but this is definitely a time in your life that you don't want to forget to pray. Pray for your classmates, your professors, your families and friends, yourself...cast your cares to the Lord and trust in Him (but apply yourself too). He's got everything under control - even in the most stressful of times.

I know this is going to be a fantastic year, full of amazing discoveries, and memories along the way. And when you don't feel like doing that homework, just remember this is only a season and it'll be worth it in the end! (I know I will probably need to be reminded of this myself somewhere during the semester.)

Whether we're ready or not, it's time to welcome in the new academic year!

3 Ways to Maximize the Rest of Your Summer Break

Hard to believe, but summer vacation is about to come to an end as the new term starts in just 15 days!

Here are 3 ways you can maximize the rest of your glorious summer break:


1. If you haven't been having a lot of it already, make FUN a necessary element of these next two weeks!

Call your best friend or a long-long buddy you've been meaning to connect with, and try a few of these great summer activities.

• Go to a Drillers game



• Volunteer at a local charity like John 3:16 Mission
  


• Watch a Friday night movie on the Philbrook Museum lawn



• Catch $2 gelato night at Mod's Coffee & Crepes
  


• Bike on Riverside
  


• Maybe even squeeze in some lake time or a float trip!
  

2. Prep for the new term by doing all the new-school-year To-Do's.

Buy a few new pieces for your wardrobe to freshen it up, take inventory of your school supply needs, start thinking about what classes to take (and enroll if you want to ensure your spot!), and catch up on any chores, projects or big errands before your schedule gets super busy again.

The most important part is to start now so you don't stress yourself out the week classes begin!


3. Begin with the end in mind.

Start thinking about this upcoming term and see yourself at the very end of Finals Week in December. Ask yourself: What do I want to gain out of the Fall 2011 term?

Once you've identified a few personal and professional goals, write them down (frame it if necessary) and review them daily and weekly.

Plan to succeed, and you will!



P.S. If you are a new or returning student, plan to join us for Group Advisement & Orientation on Wednesday, August 10th from 10-11AM in GC4116.

It's very important that you attend; you'll receive advice on what classes to take, how to register for classes, your Degree Plan Sheet, validation and enrollment, and personal one-on-one advisement.

Mid-semester Tips

Spring Break has been over for a week, the weather is getting warmer, and graduation paraphernalia is beginning to be seen on campus. That only means one thing....we are getting closer to the semester - and the year - being finished! In fact, only five more weeks remain of the spring 2011 semester. Now before you begin to stress out about all the things left that need to be done (myself included), here are a few tips that may help in finalizing those research papers or reading assignments...

In my experience with the capstone level course of Strategic Management, I feel I have picked up a few tricks of the trade. To give a background of what this course entails, a company is given to you for you to research just about every single item of, to perform multiple analyses, and the select strategies for the company to pursue. Honestly, I don't find it extremely difficult in terms of the information to produce; what I find difficulty is the time it takes to perform one of these research projects in the very limited amount of time I have: about 3 weeks. It is not uncommon to have about 200-300 pages of information. So how do I organize all this research into a nice and neat orderly paper?

Well, perhaps to the chargrin of environmentalists, I print a bunch of information (but don't worry, it is one recycled or scrap paper!). I organize my findings by category and then by group. After compiling the sources together, I then take my lovely fat yellow highlighter and a colored pen and begin reading away. As I highlight information I write in the margin what it pertain to within my research. Does it apply to the mission of the organziation, it's capabilities, a financial aspect? After going through my research with my handy dandy writing utinzels, I then begin organizing my findings through a bulleted format in a Word document while also citing every point. As I write the bullet point I am putting it into my own words, thus avoiding the evils of plagerism. After spending some time going through all of my highlighted sections and rewording them, it is then time for the paragraph formation.

I generally look for trends or topics that seemed to repeat themselves and group them together before writing the sections. I have noticed that through this approach, sections that I once thought would take hours, don't take quite as long...they still take hours, but I can write about a 15-18 page paper in under 2 hours using this approach. Granted, that doesn't include the time it takes to do the research, read/highlight it, and then type it into my own words, but I love the fact that I can organize and write a spiffy paper in what feels like less time. Perhaps this system may help you, maybe not. I just felt like passing on the tip since it has helped me.

With just several weeks left of the semester, it is important to make sure you don't let your time get away from you. It can be hard to stay motivated, but you can do it! Keep pressing on, keep working hard, and remember that what you're learning now will be beneficial sometime in your future.

Snow on ORU

Today Tulsa is expected to hit 60 degrees. Last week we had over 14 inches of snow on the ground. Is it possible to have a snowball fight while wearing shorts? In Oklahoma it is.

Two weeks ago Tulsa received the most snow it's ever received in a 24-hour period: 14+ inches. Two days later we hit with a 20% chance of snow flurries becoming 4 inches. Last Tuesday the winter weather came again, giving us another 6 inches of snow. So within a ten-day period, we received two feet of snow. Now, for some folks who live up North, 2 feet may seem like nothing, but to us here in Tulsa, this is something that had never happened before. Schools and businesses were shut for days (in fact, the Tulsa Public Schools didn't have school for almost 2 weeks!).

Among all this snow, we also had our Homecoming events on campus. Nearly 100 business alumni braved the snow and Arctic temperatures to meet up once again for our Power Luncheon. Quite a number of ORU alumni gathered for the Homecoming Banquet and then cheered as our basketball team on to a great win.

With the higher temperatures coming Tulsa's way and melting what has been on the ground the last two weeks , these pictures now seem but a memory, but I hope you still enjoy them!