The Life of Christopher J Adams

They DO walk a lot in New York City

2009-01-18T12:31:00.000-08:00

Hello Readers! Welcome to the first post of 2009 in The Life of Christopher J. Adams.

While I was back in Rochester for a heavenly two weeks encompassing both Christmas and New Year's, my first December in the city showed me just how well NYC does the holidays. The tree in Rockefeller Plaza, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular (starring the Rockettes), and the decorations adourning Macy's at Herald Square... all showed me that Christmas is inextricably synonymous with the image and culture of NYC. But the holidays, with their festive bright lights, songs, and reunions with old friends and family, are now behind us.

Coming off the high of the holidays, we are in the midst of difficult times. Forgetting for a moment the recession that we all face, this is a difficult time of year in general. The decorations come down, and we are parted from our friends and family to once again face the world. This time, we don't face it with those reunions and festivities serving as a bright light at the end of the tunnel ahead of us- we face a long, challenging slog to spring amid cold days and long nights of winter.

What is a person, especially one out on his or her own, to do? One surprising side effect of living in the city, which I hadn't noticed until having gone back to Rochester, is that one feels better simply from having to walk everywhere. Moving around all the time, we here in the city get a lot more exercise than I realized. Only after returning to Rochester and starting to feel a certain... stationary slumpishness... did I notice this subtle feeling. I hadn't thought about it before, but I don't seem to see as many overweight or obese people around here. Brief though it is, walking up and down subway stairs almost every day is in and of itself exercise. I can recall having first moved here and being generally tired all the time. All the walking was new, but in all fairness, the city can get very hot in the summertime!

Okay, Chris... where are you going with all this? This month, the purpose of my post is twofold: First, and as usual, to talk about recent acts of volunteerism and corporate social responsibility in which I've participated (what is this blog if not a Chris Adams PR mouthpiece?). Second, and also as usual, to share what advice I can based on my experiences.

This month, I see a way to blend the two. The advice I would like to share is a great way to kick the winter blues while at the same time participating in a worthwhile, noteworthy event. Generally staying moving certainly helps, but advancing a worthwhile cause while you do it?! Yes! It was for that reason that, this past Fall, I participated in two walk-based charity events.

(Yes, I know most walks don't happen in the winter, but volunteerism in general is a great way to meet people and stay active)!

The first walk was my usual event, The Alzheimer's Association's annual Memory Walk. This was my first time participating in the walk in New York City, which presented some challenges, but did not prevent it from being a resounding success! The walk as a whole saw at least 392 teams raise over $935,000 for the local chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. Yours truly lead his team, the Rochesterian Coalition (a collection of NYC-based Rochester expats and alumni) to raise $2,080 of that. This placed our rank at the 54th-highest fundraising team. For six people in a city this size, I was very impressed by my team's performance. Next year, I hope to make both the count of team members and dollars raised even higher!

While the first walk was organized around personal friends, the second one was a nationwide collaboration by MMC, the parent company of my employer, Mercer. All across the country, teams from MMC participated in the American Cancer Society's walk, "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer." For New York's Central Park walk, Team MMC boasted two impressive rankings for its first year participating in the walk: #2 ranking company team, and #2 team in general. It was a great way to see Central Park in Fall, as well as meet other employees from other Mercer departments and other MMC sister companies.

With over 200 team members, our Team MMC of New York personally raised over $47,000. Factoring in MMC teams from other offices, we raised over $80,000 nationally (including matching). In total, the walk raised over $2,700,000 for the American Cancer Society... incredibile. Yours truly was more than happy to be another face in the crowd amid such numerous volunteers!

So, my readers... kick the winter blues and meet new people by getting involved! Read to elementary students during your lunch break, build a house with Habitat for Humanity, or volunteer at a soup kitchen or shelter. You may just find that helping others helps you just as much as it does them! Until next time!

My Feature in University of Ottawa's Newsletter

2008-12-12T12:16:00.000-08:00

Hello Readers, Christopher Adams here!

Once again, I find myself apologizing for the long interval between updates. As you can imagine, moving to a new city, into a new apartment, and starting a new job is quite involved and means quite a bit of change! I promise to update everybody on all these new developments soon.

In the meantime, I wanted to share with you the news that the University of Ottawa's Telfer School of Management recently featured me in its e-newsletter for alumni of the Canadian Leadership Orientation Program (CLOP). The program's purpose is to expose US MBA students to the business, economic, and government environment of Canada. Some of you may recall this program from an earlier story I wrote on it:

http://www.chrisjadams.net/2007/06/canadian-leadership-orientation-program.html

Here is the full version of the article itself, featuring one of my counterparts from the 2008 class:
http://www.industrymailout.com/Industry/View.aspx?id=118278&q=94960282&qz=125ce3

Until next time!

Anything BUT an Ivory Tower

2008-05-04T14:58:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers, welcome to the May edition of the Life of Christopher J Adams!

Now, one may be tempted to think that having a job lined up and only being registered for 3 classes is a situation that lends itself well to slacking, but I can assure you that that couldn't be farther from reality. Life is busy as ever as I try to wrap up my Simon career with a bang. This month, I'd like to share with you the latest developments regarding Simon's bid for the prestigious Team MBA Award.

Team MBA is "a nationwide initiative in which friends of the MBA community gather together to perform community service and participate in charity events to promote the goodwill of the MBA." The program is administered by GMAC, the Graduate Management Admission Council (the same people who administer the GMAT exams). Simon will typically engage in Team MBA-related volunteerism twice per academic year, once in the fall and once in the spring.

Last weekend, Simon maintained its tradition of Team MBA volunteerism by sending a group of students to participate in Rochester's Clean Sweep program. Clean Sweep is a city beautification initiative in which volunteers hit the streets of a city neighborhood to pick up debris, remove graffiti, and generally spruce up the place. Last year, the program was responsible for removing over 1500 tons of debris from the city's streets!

Meeting at Genessee Valley Park, the Simon team worked for several hours raking leaves, sweeping sidewalks, and collecting garbage from Cottage and Elba Streets in Rochester's 19th Ward. Terrence Liverpool (below, in orange), an MBA candidate in the class of 2008 and a good friend of mine, lead our team in this tremendously successful event. Look carefully and you'll see yours truly in back, under the tent. Also pictured from our team are (left to right) James Wright, Bridget Heinsler, Sarah McCue, Raghu Gupta, and Ramandeep Kukreja.

Events like these are always enjoyable, not only for the fact that we have an opportunity to spend time with each other out in the sunshine and fresh air, but also because it is through our participation in them that we help shape perceptions of the university. Being that Kaplan recently branded the University of Rochester one the nation's "New Ivies," it's easy for some to fall into the trap of thinking that Simon's culture is one of arrogance or residence in an "ivory tower." Those who spend time with us in activities such as these will tell you how much of a fallacy that is. In fact, Simon's participation in this community outreach event represents a microcosm of the univerity's efforts to reach out through direct investment in the 19th Ward (via initiatives like Riverview Apartments and participation in the Brooks Landing project).

Simon's participation in this event was preceedeed by it's fall event, in which it sent a 44-person team of students, faculty, staff, and friends to represent it in the Alzheimer's Association's Annual Memory Walk. If Clean Sweep was Terrence's pet project, the Memory Walk was mine. Simon's contribution was so strong that our team raised more money than any other team in the city (at roughly $7,125). To see an article from Simon Business magazine featuring our team, click on the picture at right. (depending on your browser, it may be best viewed at 75% zoom in IE).

Teresa Galbier, CEO of the Rochester chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, wrote this of Simon's participation as part of her recommendation of Simon:

"The leadership of these young people for our cause is a true testament to their dedication to a world without Alzheimer's. With their energy and enthusiasm they will be establishing themselves in their own right as the leaders of tomorrow. They exemplify what it takes to make a difference and they are making that difference each and every day by supporting those who are affected by Alzheimer's disease. I am personally proud to call them my friends"!

When combined with Simon's participation in the annual Polar Bear Plunge to benefit the Special Olympics, the school has raised over $10,000 for charitable organizations in the last year. For a school of Simon's size, that's nothing short of incredible. If that isn't Team MBA Award material, I'd love to see what is... and even if it doesn't win us the award, I think it certainly demonstrates our gratitude and desire to give back to our community.

That's all for this edition, folks. If you participated in any of these events and have any particular memories you'd care to share, I'd love for you to add them. Until next time!

The Simon Immersion Program

2008-02-21T13:41:00.000-08:00

Hello Readers,

Welcome to the latest installment in the Life of Christopher J Adams!

Once again, I find myself needing to apologize for neglecting this publication for so long. As you can well imagine, they keep us quite busy at Simon. That's actually what I wanted to write about. It's really amazing that after having been at Simon for only a year and several months, I feel like a major participant and stakeholder in its well-being.

When one goes to business school, it's more than just an education being purchased. It's a lifelong admission to a network of colleagues who have studied at your alma mater before you, with you, and after you. For that reason, your relationship with your business school as an alumnus or alumna (ideally) persists long after your studies are finished. It is in that spirit that I've joined with several initiatives to improve my school.

One such initiative is the Simon Immersion Program, whose goal is to extend a proper welcome to new members of our Simon family. Several weeks ago, the program's co-creators and I (pictured above) had the opportunity to test our initiative on the January (Red) Cohort. The initial feedback from this diverse group of students, coming to Rochester from all over the world, was encouraging.

It was successful enough that the Admissions department asked me to write a guest contribution to its blog, which I wanted to share with everyone:
http://simonschool.typepad.com/admissionsblog/2008/02/draft-the-simon.html

Over the next few months, I'll be working with the initiative's co-creators to further improve the program based on the initial feedback we've gotten. In the meantime, feel free to comment with any thoughts and suggestions.

Until next time...

Should I get my MBA now? Advice for those out of Undergrad

2007-08-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers! Recently, many people have been asking me the same questions:

Should I get my MBA now? Is it true what they say about my lack of work experience impacting what I get out of the program? What are the things I need to think about?

Friends, I remember struggling a great deal with this exact same question. That is why I would like to devote this post to a discussion of some of the things you might think about in making this difficult decision. If you've found this page, the issue probably is weighing heavily on you. Trust me, you're not the only one. No one will deny it's a major decision.

A Tough Choice...
For me, the most difficult question was not whether or not I should get an MBA. I knew that sooner or later, it was in my future. The question I wrestled with was when that would be. The challenge you'll encounter is that few people can really give you an unbiased answer. I mean, has there ever been a person who went through an MBA program immediately after graduating, then went out and got work experience, then returned and went through an MBA program again? I venture a guess the number is somewhere between tiny to zero.

Why I think I can comment on it...
Being about halfway finished with my MBA studies at the Simon School of Business (University of Rochester), I've seen arguements both for getting it done now and for waiting a few years. Simon is the perfect MBA program to observe in answering this question, as about 25% of the student population is comprised of "Early Leaders"- those of us academic high-achievers the school accepted into the program direct out of our undergrad programs.

What's in an MBA?
Every program will be different, but the key characteristic of an MBA is that it's a very well-rounded degree. Over the course of your studies, you'll learn basic survival skills in the major areas of business: Finance, Marketing, Operations Management, Management Information Systems, Accounting, Organizational Design and Theory, Economics, and likely International Business. I like to say that MBA's are meant to be the marines of the business world. Much the same way a marine can be pulled from a desk job and placed on the battlefield, ready to fight immediately, an MBA-holder is trained to be able to hold his or her own when placed in a wide variety of business situations, becoming fully functional in a short period of time. It truly is a dynamic degree, one originally intended for individuals with little business background who wanted to learn how to manage others and interact commerically within their respective fields.

Tell me the answer, already! Should I get my MBA Now?
Sorry to disappoint you, but my answer for now must remain "maybe." You've probably heard the critique that individuals who enter an MBA program immediately after completing their undergrad studies won't get the same quality of education out of it. Critics claim that students who do so 1) Won't be able to apply experiences to cases, discussions , or projects in class, and 2) won't be able to relate to class discussions as well as their classmates who have work experience.

The Arguement FOR...
From my expreriences thus far, this is simply untrue. Granted I studied business in my undergrad years and many of the students at Simon were from foreign contries (thus at first the English was a factor), but I was one of the most frequent contributors to class discussions. In fact, coming directly out of undergrad and already being in an academic mindset, I was often able to relate to the discussions BETTER than those who had been out of school for years. In addition, the act of doing homework assignments and readings will be easier for someone right out of undergrad than for someone who has had time to him or herself after leaving work.

Your life is likely much simpler than that of someone coming back from years of work. At this point, you're not as likely to have obligations to a spouse or children and can focus on your studies. Not to mention a job! Barring student loans piling up, you may not yet have to split yourself between a job to pay the bills and your studies to get the degree. The general nature of the MBA gives you time to gain exposure to many new career areas. If you're not yet sure what you want to do with your life, exposure to these new things may help you decide. Lastly, if you aren't yet working a full-time job, you're not giving up a large paycheck to come back and study. You'll be able to pay off the investment in the MBA much more quickly with the opportunity cost of lost working time so low. Think how difficult it would be to be making bucks at a full-time job, enjoying a degree of financial freedom, and then getting to tighten your belt finacially just as you're buckling down with the books. Bottom line: It can be very difficult to come back later.

Arguements AGAINST:
While I will say I'm able to persevere in my program, and that I do successfully learn a tremendous amount, I've interpreted the critics' words in a different way. In a certain regard, I'm not getting the same amount out of my MBA as those with work experience because, unlike them, I'm much less likely to know what I want to get out of it. While an MBA is a general degree at it's base, you'll have the opportunity to focus your studies in multiple areas of specialization. People generally do so because they would like a career in a specific area. To have an idea for what that area is, it helps to have experienced the real world for a while.

Some people are really surprised when I tell them that Business School, including one ranked as highly as Simon, is not really about getting good grades. Sure you see some Ph.D. candidates who are fanatical about straight A's, but by and large, grades simply don't have the same importance they do in undergrad. Granted they will be more important for getting into some fields than others, but by and large, if you do a decent job, you get the degree you're paying for. Generally, your professors (eccentric though they may seem at times) are not out to get you.

No, Business School is not simply about getting good grades toward a degree. It's about your entry into a network of individuals who have a common bond in attendance at that school, and for that reason, those individuals in positions of influence in the corporate world will show preference for you when hiring season comes. Yes, my friends, Business School is largely about networking. Without knowing what you want to get out of your MBA, it can be extremely difficult to pick relevant elective classes, target employers for your job search, and reach out to alumni working for those employers. It's a big cloud hanging over your head, and many of us Early Leaders straight out of undergrad struggle with it. For this reason, you might benefit by giving yourself a year or two working within the field you studied in your undergraduate years. It will give you valuable time to think and evaluate the path of advancement you might hope to acheive through your MBA. Bottom Line: Before you start the program, have at least some idea what you would like to get out of it.

Like so many things in life, your decision on whether now is the right time to pursue an MBA will depend on the plusses and minuses unique to you. Should I get my MBA? As it turns out, there's no better person to ask than yourself. Give yourself time to see where you're going, but don't wait too long such that it's too hard to go back for it. Questions and comments are welcomed and appreciated!

Chris

MBA Overview on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Business_Administration

MBA.com: The home of GMAC, the people who administer the GMAT Exam:
http://www.mba.com/mba

A really Nifty Return on Investment Calculator on the MBA, provided by Forbes:
http://www.forbes.com/2005/08/16/cz_05mba_business_schools_gain_calulator.html

Another Person's Experience with his MBA:
http://www.brendonwilson.com/blog/2005/03/21/should-you-do-an-mba/

The Canadian Leadership Orientation Program

2007-06-17T19:33:00.000-07:00

When you think of Canada, what comes to mind?

Hockey? Molson? Maple Syrup? Canadian Bacon? (both the delicious breakfast meat and the hilarious movie starring John Candy). Canadian Geese? (those really stubborn black-headed ones that just stare at you as you honk your car horn to get them to finish crossing the street). Actors like Alex Trebek or Jim Carey? Really friendly people who end their questions with "eh?", say "about" with a heavier U, and end their alphabet with "zed" instead of "zee"?

(One of my Canadian friends insists Hockey is the most important of Canada's exports).

While these things are (for the most part) true, there are many important facts about Canada that more Americans should know. Now we here in Rochester have a slight advantage over many of our American counterparts, since Canada for us is just across Lake Ontario, but I'm talking about things more important than dispelling the common mistatement that Toronto is its capital (It's Ottawa, by the way).

The Canadian Leadership Orientation Program, which I had the pleasure of recently attending with 19 other MBA students from top schools across the US, is put on by the University of Ottawa's Telfer School of Management and sponsored by the governments of Ontario and Quebec. During the program, I had the pleasure of attending a week of lectures by some of Canada's leaders of business, academia, and government. These individuals included:

1) Adam Chowaniec, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tundra Semiconductor Corporation and Chair of the Ontario Research and Innovation Council

2) Glen Hodgson, Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist, The Conference Board of Canada

3) Ms. Elyse Allan, President and CEO of GE Canada

4) Senior Deputy Governor Paul Jenkins and Deputy Governor Tiff Macklem, The Bank of Canada

5) Thomas d'Aquino, Cheif Executive and Presidetn of the Canadian Council of Cheif Executives (CCCE)
6) James Blanchard, Former US Ambassador to Canada

7) Michael Kergin, former Canadian Ambassador to the United States

8) David Wilkins, current US Ambassador to Canada
9) Mr. Michael McAdoo, Vice-President, Strategic and Business Development, Bombadier Aerospace

10) Mr. Claude Robert, CEO, Robert Transport

11) Murray D. Smith, Alberta's Representative to the United States

12) Diane Wilhelmy, Former Deputy Minister of International Relations and Delegate General, Quebec Government House in New York

13) Mr. Stefan Routhier, Deputy Harbour Master, Marine Division, Port of Montreal

14) The Hon. Perrin Beatty, President and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters

Suffice it to say, I have experienced many facets of Canada between the lectures, sightseeing, and nightlife (some MBA students at HEC Montreal took us out for a night on the town). That said, what are some of the things the US should know about Canada?

1) Some of them disapprove of our pretending to be Canadian for our own safety when we travel abroad. "Hey, our reputation's still clean! Don't go ruining it now!"
2) The US's number one foreign supplier of oil is not Saudi Arabia. It is Canada, and most of it comes from the western province of Alberta.
3) The Canadian provinces are each unique, and act more independently from each other than do US states. I'm not talking about just Quebec, either. Many Canadians wonder why Alberta sells so much of its oil to the US before selling it to the rest of Canada first!

4) In a given year, the US does more trade with Canada across a single bridge crossing than it does with all of Japan!

5) Canada and the US share an integrated electricity grid and supply almost all of each others' electricity imports. Canada is a major supplier of electricity (overwhelmingly clean hydroelectricity) to New England, New York, the Upper Midwest, the Pacific Northwest and California.

6) Canada is the third largest producer and the second largest exporter of natural gas in the world. Canada supplies the US with 85% of its natural gas imports. Canada is developing Arctic pipelines and LNG terminals to provide more natural gas to the North American market.

7) Over 80% of Canada's exports are to the US.

8) None of the 9/11 hijackers came into the US through Canada. The NORAD commander on duty who scrambled American Jets to respond that morning was a Canadian.

9) Canada-US Trade supports 7.1 Million US Jobs. And finally...

10) New York's exports alone to Canada total $10.9 Billion annually.

Now go forth with a newfound appreciation for our neighbor (or neighbour) to the North!

What is RSS?

2007-03-04T10:38:00.000-08:00

While I usually devote this blog to the latest developments in my life, I wanted to take a moment and discuss something relevant to anyone who checks certain blogs on a regular basis. For those of you already familiar with RSS feeds, you need not read on. For those as yet unfamialiar, you'll probably find this quick discussion very useful.

What is an RSS Feed?

Long story short, an RSS feed is a tool that allows you to "subscribe" to your favourite blogs. If you have a certain set of blogs you like to check on a regular basis, it can be extremely useful. Rather than spend an inordinate amount of time hopping around the web to the sites of the blogs you like to read (and sometimes only to find that your time was wasted since no new update has been posted), RSS feeds can be used to collect blog updates and funnel them directly to you. Because you're "subscribing" these blogs, RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication."

Is it complicated to set up and use?

Nope. In fact, you can learn how to set it up in just a few seconds. For example, suppose you wanted to recieve automatic updates whenever I post a new entry here. If you're using the latest version of Internet Explorer, look in the upper right corner of your browser. You should see the orange symbol up there. If the symbol is grayed out, it means that no feeds are available for you to use to subscribe to the page. If the symbol is orange, click on it. it will take you to a simpler version of the webpage, showing only the portion of the website which is updated or changed. Toward the top of the page, you will see a link labeled "Subscribe to this Feed." In the window that pops up, enter a name for the subscription that will be easy for you to remember, then hit "subscribe." There! You're done.

How do I see the updates?

With the latest version of Internet Explorer open, click on the star symbol in the upper left. This is your favorites center. Click on feeds. With your cursor over the name of the feed, click on the two green arrows to the right of the feed name. This will refresh the feed and bolden the feed name if a new entry has been made. Click it, and presto, the latest entry will appear before your eyes.

What should I do with it?

Simple. Subscribe to my blog!

Young Adult Advocacy Competition Results Announced

2007-02-23T09:15:00.000-08:00

As some of you may recall, I submitted an entry for the Alzheimer's Association's Young Adult Advocacy Essay Competition several months back. The time has passed, and the results are in: While I won't be winning a trip to Washington, DC, to testify before congress, I did win an honorable mention. Am I disappointed? A little, though what's intriguing about the results is that I might be the only gentleman on the list. Some of the names are questionable, but I believe they're all female:

Alzheimer's Association Young Adult Essay Competition
First Place:
Kristen Czenszak, PA
Second Place:
Jessica Linberts, WI
Honorable Mention:
Christopher Adams, NY
Emily Balfour, GA
Mary Beeson, NE
Caitlin English, NY
Bobbie Marie Gregg, TN
Allison Mohler, CT
Hashini Seneviratne, MD
Kelley Snead, PA
Kate Tebben, SC
Shira Wender, FL

Just the same, I've been a busy boy in getting ready for this year's Memory Walk. Each year, several clubs at Simon band together to participate in an event called Team MBA. I'm proud to announce that the Memory Walk has been selected as Team MBA's fall volunteerism event. My vision is to get a network of clubs from different universities in the area involved in the event, possibly competing with one another. This seems like a great year to test the power of the Facebook event invitation function in a fundraising capacity...

My "First Person" article selected for print!

2007-02-08T19:17:00.000-08:00

As many of you are aware, I've been actively involved with our local chapter of the Alzheimer's Association for some time now. Recently, I was tapped on the shoulder to write a submission for the association's regional newsletter. The "First Person" section highlights local individuals coping with the loss of a loved one and those fighting for a cure. In my submission, I talk about the loss of my father and what I'm doing to have my revenge on the disease... I highly encourage you to read the short artice (it's only 500 words or so, but might just have a powerful impact on you). Besides, it makes reference to the movie "Road to Perdition"! You can find it at the following page:

http://www.alz-rochesterny.org/genericContent.php?contentID=54

It is now more important than ever for us to find a cure for this thing. Early onset of the disease has become more frequent with each passing year. Our aging baby-boomers, a huge portion of our population as a country, will contribute to a doubling of the population affected by Alzheimer's in several years' time. Why do we need to speak out? The current administration, though juggling many priorities, has decided to cut Alzheimer's research funding for the 2008 budget. Let's just hope my other competition advocacy essay gives me access to congress...

Simulation Competition Results... at last!

2007-01-27T12:05:00.000-08:00

The following is an article I have written to be featured in WATS, or The World According To Simon. WATS is Simon School's monthly internet newsletter. Since writing this article, I was notified I had won a scholarship increase from 15% to 25%! This represents an additional $7,500 in tuition money. Having spent about 96 hours on the simulation competition, this sum represents a payoff of roughly $78 per hour spent!

High Stakes: Red Cohort Student Reflects on his experience competing for $75,000 in Simon's Second Annual Business Simulation Competition
Christopher Adams

$75,000 in free Simon tuition… I almost couldn’t imagine how it would feel to win such a sum of money. As I stood there, it was all I could do to focus on the moment rather than drift off into thoughts of what it would be like to win. It was an excellent time to remain focused, too… I was giving a ten minute presentation that, along with two interviews, would determine whether or not I would win such a grand prize. Public speaking rarely made me nervous. Prior to that moment, I had addressed entire lecture rooms of people, alone, for upwards of half an hour. And yet, though there were fewer than a dozen people in that room, they would have a greater impact on my future than any of my prior audiences. $75,000 was a lot to be riding on ten minutes with a panel of judges… it had better have been a good presentation.

I couldn’t help but wonder if some of my fellow contestants were thinking something similar that day of Friday, January 12. Each of us had made it to the final round of the second annual Simon Business Simulation Competition, and each of us was vying for one of several scholarships. Along with the full-ride, several partial scholarships were up for grabs. These included two 75% tuition scholarships, two 50% tuition scholarships, and two 25% tuition scholarships, or seven in total. Thirteen of us, from all around the world, had come to compete in the final round. Six of us, I reasoned, would leave with nothing. In the simulation’s first year, two of the presenters displayed such intelligence that two full-ride scholarships were awarded. Even with this in mind, the odds hung over my head.

Months prior, I had received a call from my grandfather about a notice he found in the Democrat and Chronicle describing the simulation. Having grown up on simulations like SimCity, Powerhouse, and Virtual Business, I figured I had a decent shot of winning and put up the $35 to join the contest… even if I was a 21 year-old local competing against business-savvy minds from around the globe (many with years of work experience).

The Simulation, Web Marketplace Business Simulator, pitted each of us original 75 contestants against three simulation-run companies in the PC manufacturing and retailing business. Over the course of eight decision periods, each lasting several days, we made business decisions based on output reports from the simulation. Once all players’ decisions were submitted, the simulation would process these and produce the next set of output for the next competition round. Early decisions were simplistic, like naming our companies and choosing which consumer segments to target. Later decisions became much more complicated, like deciphering consumer preferences based on market research data, and designing PCs based on these reports. One of my fellow contestants was an undergraduate classmate of mine, and we would regularly discuss strategy (though very cautiously, so as not to give away any of our secrets).

Of those 75 who competed in the first round, 25 had made it to round two after several weeks of competition. Among them were my friend and I. From here, contestants were divided into five marketplace worlds of five contestants each. In this round, we would compete against each other rather than against artificial intelligence-run companies. This time, our decisions would impact one other. If a competitor moved into another’s home market and dumped their product below cost to put the other out of business, it was personal. My friend and I had been placed in the same marketplace world, and became even more cautious around each other than we had been before.

Round 2 was also significantly more complicated. Rather than just 3 market segments to target, there were 5. There weren’t just 4 world regions in which to expand, there were 5 regions with 4 specific cities in each… 20 markets for which to make decisions! In addition, we would now be responsible for decisions ranging from manufacturing schedules to research and development projects to quality assurance programs. We could also cross-license technologies to each other via contracts over email. Certain ethical dilemmas even came into play, such as my friend and I avoiding using our relationship as a basis for collusion.

By the final week of Round 2, each decision period started to consume between six to eight hours of time. Because the simulator always processed everyone’s decisions at 2pm local time on the specified days, I would always open my email at 2:10pm with anticipation, hoping for the notice that the next round’s results were available for viewing. Had my decisions produced favorable results?

The risky nature of some of my decisions made some of them a gamble. Midway through Round 2, I realized that my lead in my marketplace world was deteriorating and I needed to do something drastic that none of my competitors was likely to do. I took a huge risk by taking out a large loan, dramatically increasing my plant capacity, and opening sales offices in all corners of the world. One can imagine my relief at the next round’s results, when my gamble paid off and my score shot up by over 400% (I should count myself lucky that no one was around to witness my personal victory dance). I had hoped that such a mammoth jump in score would catapult me into first place, but alas, it was not to be. While I was pleased to have placed fourth for the round, not placing first isn’t what surprised me. What surprised me was that the person who placed first actually had a score over four times greater than my own! How had he done it?!

Fortunately, Round 3’s evaluation was not weighted by Round 2’s scores. While the first two rounds of the competition had used the simulation to evaluate contestants’ ability to analyze information and make critical decisions, Round 3’s challenges would be different: We 15 top performers would come to Simon to present how we played the game… thus eloquence and finesse were the new criteria for victory. Indeed, 13 of us arrived on Friday, January 12 to convince the judges that each of us had our name on the grand prize. Included in this group of finalists were Meredith Graham, a fellow member of the Red Cohort, and Chris Tytler, my undergraduate friend. Of course, there could be only one grand prize winner. I wished my competitors good luck… (but not too much good luck).

Recounting my strategy of the past few months of play, I realized I had breezed through my 10-minute presentation in 8 minutes. I didn’t view it as a terrible thing- more time for questions and answers. Whether during the presentation or the two interviews that followed, a common theme of inquiry was to describe a problem that arose and how I solved it. My “preventative maintenance” to preserve my lead in Round 2 made for an excellent discussion point. How excellent a discussion point it was, I have yet to see… at the time I write this, I do not yet know the judges’ decisions about who will win what. Whatever the decisions, the experience will have been very rewarding. It is not every day that someone gets to go head to head with some of his most intelligent peers in a competition run by one of the most prestigious business schools in the world.

A Presentation Well Done!

2006-12-19T23:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I delivered my final thesis presentation to the College of Business Honors Advisory Board, a handful of professors, two outside guests, and my biggest supporter through the entire process... literally... my mother. Before even beginning the meat and potatoes of the presentation, I had to let everyone know how grateful I am for her continued support as I devoted my time to my research rather than supporting myself alone. I also owe my thesis advisor, Dr. Neil Hair, a great deal of thanks for his continued guidance and support throughout the project.

I was quite pleased with the turnout and the level of interest the audience showed by actively participating in the question and answer session. The presentation itself was 35 minutes long, followed by a 25 minute Q&A. After the experience provided by Dr. Phil Tyler's professional selling course, speaking in front of a room of people alone for half an hour wasn't as intimidating a thing as one might imagine. I was a bit nervous about the crowd size given the way the college was promoting the event with flyers and the display on its atrium LCD screen, but it turned out as an excellent event.

For more information about what I actually covered in the presentation itself, please see my previous post. While I'll be holding off on releasing my actual findings until official publication of my research, an audio recording of the presentation will be made available on my website soon. From here, my next steps will be to finish drafting up the thesis itself, submit conference papers on it to the American Marketing Association (for an opportunity to present at its annual conference), and try for publication in The Journal of Interactive Marketing.

College of Business Honors Program:

http://www.rit.edu/~cobhon/index.php3

American Marketing Association:

http://www.marketingpower.com/

The Journal of Interactive Marketing:

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jabout/38979/ProductInformation.html

Personal Branding Thesis Presentation!

2006-12-14T13:42:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, 19 December, from 4:30 to 5PM, I will be presenting my thesis research at the E. Phillip Saunders College of Business at RIT. This presentation represents over 300 hours of research time and has been over a year in the making. It will be in the newly completed breakout rooms 1225/1235. Those interested in attending are more than welcome.The title of my thesis is "Marketing Professionals' Perceptions of Personally-Branded Websites."

What is Personal Branding, and why should you care?

The fact is, we are branding each other every day. It is human nature to make assumptions about one's past, personality, and attitudes based on his or her physical appearance. Many a personal drama can be attributed to this behavior, to be sure. Personal Branding is the art and science of deliberately controlling others' perceptions about oneself. One need only take a few moments to consider how one does this each and every day (the clothes one wears, one's physique, one's tone of voice, etc). With more and more people using the internet, web pages are increasingly becoming a means by which people may come to conclusions about each other. This is especially true in the context of business, where experts or consultants use personally-branded web pages to sell their services to businesses looking for someone who can be of help. My research examines the thoughts and reactions of marketing professionals from academia and industry to eleven personally-branded websites. See the reactions and conclusions they come to based on everything from the colors of their webpages to the looks on the proprietors' faces in their photos.

Think this doesn't apply to you? Look no further than your own webpage... your Facebook or Myspace profile, your blog, your online journal, or instant messenger profile... this list goes on in more ways than you may realize...

See you on the 19th!

Acceptance, Advocacy, Competition, Research...

2006-12-01T22:16:00.000-08:00

Despite being finished with classes at RIT, I've found myself busier than ever. A great deal has been happening, not the least of which my acceptance to the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester! I'll be starting Orientation there on 2 January. Lest anyone think I'm escaping the quarter system, think again. Simon is one of the schools at UR also on quarters. No rest for the wicked! I can now breathe a sigh of relief at having been accepted, as most who apply don't get in. In fact, University of Rochester has been included among Kaplan College Guide's elite "New Ivies." I suppose the committment to good grades is paying off!

Unfortunately, education of such quality and reputation doesn't come cheap. In fact, two years of graduate business education there will run about $75,000. For that reason, I have been participating in the Second Annual Simon Business Simulation Competition. The competition draws entrants from all over the world, each of us hoping to win a full-ride scholarship or one of several partial scholarships ranging from 25% to 75%. Currently, we are taking a very much appreciated break after completing round two. The competition is broken down into three rounds, the first of which being a simple version of the simulation in which players compete alone against artificial intelligences. From that group (about 75 strong), the top 25 performers are selected to move on to round two (a more complicated version of the simulation in which each of the 8 decision periods took about 6 hours). At the end of round 2, I sit at 4th place in score (see adjacent graph for relative scores). Round three will involve presentations at Simon of how we played the Simulation. Last year, two full-ride scholarships were awarded. I think I have a good shot for at least one of the partials.

Also of note, I've entered an essay competition for those between 18 and 25 being put on by the Alzheimer's Association. The questions are what can Alzheimer's advocacy accomplish and how can young adults recruit other young adults to pursue advocacy projects? Given my thesis research, I had no shortage of things to mention. The winners will be announced at the end of december, the winner given free travel and admission to a national alzheimer's advocacy event in Washington, DC (along with a press conference and the opportunity to testify before Congress). Fingers crossed, they'll choose my entry!

Finally, I have some news on the thesis front. Because of unforseen delays, I will not be able to make the deadline necessary to present in Iceland. However, my new deadline for completion is 15 December for presenting at a conference in the US being put on by the AMA (American Marketing Association). My research is beginning to bear fruit, manifested in the first of ten HVM's (Hierarchical Value Maps), shown at right.

Simon School:
http://simon.rochester.edu/

Marketplace Simulation:
http://www.marketplace6.com/mindex.php?sl=en-us

Alzheimer's Young Adult Essay Competition:
http://www.kintera.org/site/apps/ka/ct/contactus.asp?c=mmKXLbP8E&b=2232681&en=aeKDLJMqF6KDLUPpG3KEJSNBLgIELKPsFiKLIXNEIsE

American Marketing Association:
http://www.marketingpower.com/

Alzheimer's- The Hidden Killer

2006-11-16T13:57:00.000-08:00

Today, I had the distinct pleasure of attending the Alzheimer's Association's 25th Annual Luncheon at Oak Hill Country Club. The luncheon is a wonderful dress-up affair, which combines the annual Quality of Life Awards, a brief Board of Directors Meeting, and a Keynote Speech. This year's speaker was Mr. Harry Johns, President and CEO of the National Alzheimer's Association. A Kellogg graduate and former director within the American Cancer Society, Mr. Johns discussed some grave truths about the disease.

For example, few people know that 1 in 10 people over the age of 65 have the disease. Over the age of 85, that figure jumps to 1 in 2. That's right- half of all people over the age of 85 have Alzheimer's Disease or a related form of dementia. If current trends hold true, within the next half-century, the medicare expenditure on treatment of Alzheimer's will balloon to the expenditure of the entire program today. More and more people below the age of 65 are being diagnosed with the disease each year. In fact, all- 100%- of diagnosies occurr post-symptom. No one knows they have Alzheimer's until after its effects, like short-term memory loss, occur.

Though Alzheimer's doesn't recieve the kind of attention that AIDS, Cancer, or Heart Disease do, we simply cannot afford to ignore it. There is, however, hope. Serious advancements are being made in pre-symptom detection measures, including the PET scan. For example, it is known that the plaque which forms in the brain, believed to be the cause of Alzheimer's and related dementia, forms long before the individual is diagnosed with the disease. Thus, this early detection opportunity will give individuals affected several extra years to start drug regimens to slow the progression of the disease. In fact, there are 9 drugs currently in Phase III clinical trials which target Alzheimer's disease. The two of these closest to entering the FDA review process are Alzamed and Florizan. Within 3 or 4 years, those afflicted with the disease will see help. This isn't a bad horizon, given that the typical drug, from concept to pharmacy shelves, has a development time of 12 to 17 years!

As the Association assists medical researchers in finding a cure, it also provides vital caregiving and education programs to communities across the country. In Rochester, Mary E. McCarthy (at right in picture), the winner of the 8th annual Quality of Life Award, does this through programs at St. Ann's Community. She was presented the award by Teresa Galbier, President and CEO of the Rochester Chapter (At left in Picture).

Alzheimer's Association National:
http://www.alz.org/

Rochester Chapter:
http://www.alz-rochesterny.org/

Emotional Branding

2006-10-16T16:55:00.000-07:00

Last night, I celebrated a major achievment... well, the only person I celebrated with was my thesis advisor over MSN messenger, being he was the only one available of very few people who could appreciate it: I completed the Content Analysis phase of research on my thesis. Content Analysis has been the longest phase thus far, coming in at 90 hours. This brings my total time spent on the thesis to 210 hours. In no time, I'll be ready to submit my research papers to EMAC... the European Marketing Academy, for it's annual conference in Reykjavik, Iceland (Pictured below). If my paper is selected among those worthy of presenting, I'll be flying there for the conference in May of next summer to discuss my findings with visiters to the conference.

This acheivement got me thinking... My research on Personal Branding websites has repeatedly confirmed the idea that for a brand to be effective, it must bring with it some form of emotional involement. It's no wonder Pillsbury launched it's "My heart to yours" campaign or Friendly's it's "You, me, and Friendly's." So, I wondered, what brands are effective in drawing me as a consumer because of emotional attachment? The answer surprised me. Those who know me well will tell you that my favorite beverage is Guinness (specifically from draught, but the bottled version works well too). The smell of it, the taste of it, the beautiful tan head it develops atop its thick black fullness... I enjoyed it enough to pay a visit to the Guinness Factory in Dublin, Ireland, and sample a complimentary pint at the bar on the top floor of the factory (which afforded a 360 degree view of the city). When people see me drinking a Guinness, they can't help but notice it's stylized black bottle. I can't help but feel special, like a connesseur, when people see me drink it. Yes... Guiness has done a fine job branding.

Guinness has done a fine job with marketing, period... as I write this, I'm wearing a "Guinness: St. James' Gate, Dublin" T-shirt. The story of how I came to buy it is funny. While visiting the Guinness Factory, I sampled my complimentary pint on an empty stomach. Needless to say, this put me in a very good mood. I must say I felt quite accomplished (or perhaps the most foolish) at being the only one in my traveling group to complete my entire pint. I did this just in time to board the elevator to the ground floor, which empties its riders directly into the gift shop. The rest, as they say, is history.

The ironic thing is, before my study abroad in the UK, I thought Guinness was too heavy and expensive. I rarely bought it... much less praised it. Perhaps when I first inhale the scent of this fine brew now, I enjoy it because it reminds me of the fun I had and the people I met on my trip... ladies and gentlemen, that's the power of using emotion in branding.

Meeting the Indian Ambassador

2006-09-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of meeting The Honorable A.R. Ghanashyam, Deputy Consul General, Consulate General of India, New York. His presentation was entitled Doing Business In India. At left is a picture of us together after speaking on matters of international relations and business. At the far left in the picture are fellow members of IBG, Rain and Ashley, and at far right is Karolina Kotas, its president. It was such an amazing opportunity to speak with him one on one. The last line of the man's resume reads something akin to "secured the release of 200+ hostages from an Air India liner hijacked by terrorists." Our conversations ranged from the role of population control in economic development to how India is outsourcing call centres to the Phillippeans because even the Indians are getting sick of telemarketing.

Other presenters included Ms. Alpa Patel, Esquire, of Hiscock & Barclay, LLP, who spoke on Cultural and Legal Aspects of Business In India, John Tracy of Mohawk Global Logistics, who spoke on Logistics and Infrastructure, I.C. Shah, President of ICS Telecom, Inc, who spoke on The Rochester Business Experience, and Dr. Intekhab Alam, a professor of marketing at SUNY Geneseo, whose presentation Tying it All Together included fascinating pictures of the foods McDonalds markets in India. Have you ever heard of a McAloo sandwich or the Maharaja Mac?

Over lunch, the entire panel was joined by Mr. Carlos Carballada, the Commissioner of Economic Development for the City of Rochester. Several of my readers will be pleased to know I enlightened him as to the dearth of things for youths under 21 to do in this city, and the fact that because they tend to live with or recieve significant support from their parents, they actually do spend a significant amount of the money they earn!

Finally, I cannot forget to thank Ms. Sharon Badenhop for once again including students like yours truly, from local universities, in this a event. She is included to my immediate right in the picture at right. The next presentation will be entitled Negotiating Across Borders, and will occur on October 24 at the Strathallan Hotel on East Ave.

For more information, visit the IRG's website. IRG: http://www.irgnet.org/

The Alzheimer's Memory Walk '06

2006-09-16T13:04:00.000-07:00

Today, I captained the Lowenthal Coalition of Teams in the Alzheimer's Association's Annual Memory Walk. The Coalition was composed of members of the usual Lowenthal Service Group, but this year also included members of the Business Leaders of Tomorrow special interest floor, as well as the Alpha Phi Omega chapter at Alfred University. This was the first time Lowenthal partnered with a group outside RIT for the walk. The entire event itself pulled in over $62,000 for the Alzheimer's Association. Our team had 22 members and raised over $2900. I raised $2325 of that amount personally. This made it 3.75% of the total raised by the walk. This was a tremendous increase over the amount I pulled in last year, $1800. Next year, I'm setting the personal bar at $2500. I think it would even be fun to try and generate a large amount of money for an account, and set up a perpetuity to make an annual donation automatically. Setting goals is so important for motivation when it comes to this sort of thing. It's always a pleasure to serve this worthy cause in memory of my father. It also gets the name of the E. Philip Saunders College of Business out there as serving the community.

I want to take a moment and give a special thanks to my committed team! That lunch after the walk was well deserved. Excellent work!

The Summer of Buzz- Part IV

2006-08-22T23:29:00.000-07:00

So, that's pretty much been my summer. Since returning, my friend Derek has turned 21. This week, Shaji, our mutual friend, will be turning. In my spare time, I've been working on my thesis on Personal Branding. As of today, I've spent roughly 110 hours on the thing and am looking forward to completing it by november. Hopefully, that will be doable. In a week, my friend James and I will make our annual pilgrimage to Polimeni's, a wonderful restaurant in Canadaigua, right on the water's edge. Each year, we would visit Sonenburg Gardens for the Halloween and Christmas events there. Though the victorian mansion had closed and undergone rough times, we continued our tradition of visiting that quaint town.

On a final note about the summer, my experience abroad has led me to take an inventory of all the places I've been and all the places I have wonderful friends. Certainly, the song about making new friends but keeping the old, one is silver and the other is gold, rings true. I love my friends I've known since high school in the sincerest possible way, and now, I'm lucky enough to have some unforgettable memories to share with individuals from Canada and China. The map you see above outlines four colors. The darkest red is the US, obviously my base of operation and having the majority of my friends. The bright red outlines countries I've both visited and have friends in (Canada being the close second to the US). The pinkish ones are places I've visited, but have no friends in. The gray areas are countries I have friends in, but have never visited.

Why all these personal notes in a professional blog? Simple... Any employer looks for an individual who can balance work and play... balanced individuals are good workers and happier people. That, and RIT is out for the summer amid the recently completed renovation of the (newly named) E. Philip Saunders College of Business. While the study abroad technically was academically-oriented and professional in nature, let's face it...the true emphasis lies in the experiences that will become memories for a lifetime. I have since volunteered to become a peer mentor for those considering studying abroad... just to give them that little extra nudge to plunge in.

Summer of Buzz- Part III

2006-08-22T22:53:00.000-07:00

Though there is so much to remember about this summer, the highlight had to be the month I spent studying in the UK at Herstmonceux Castle, pictured left, and the subsequent week spent visiting Ireland and France. The International Study Centre at Herstmonceux (pronounced Herstmonsoo) was created when Dr. Alfred Bader, a man made very wealthy of the buying and selling of rare artworks (the man owns several VanGoughs), purchased the castle and donated it to Queens University, in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Why is RIT affiliated with Queen's and the ISC, thus having its banner proudly hung in the cafeteria? Dr. Bader's son is an RIT alum...

For those of you adept at Google Earth, Check this out:

Halley Road, Herstmonceux, Whealden, East Sussex, BN27, UK

Looking at the image that comes up, know that the complex basically covers one end of Halley Road to the other. Starting at the right, the main entrance comes off Wartling road. Observatory domes of varying size can be seen on Bradley Road, the location of the complex's science centre. The road to the south of it leads to a giant observatory dome that always looked so imposing on its distant hillside. It's the circular object at the southern tip of the road.

Continuing left, the Castle itself is the brown area in the corner of Halley Road and the next road going North, or "up," with the loop at the end. The dark area at the bottom and right of the brown spot is the water of the moat. Finally, the small road at the left, or western side of the complex is the home to the dorm, Bader Hall, at its end. For perspective, the walk to the castle from Bader takes about five minutes. Along this road is an actively used observatory, which nightly beams a concentrated ray of green light into the sky and tracks satellites for readjustment. Very cool to watch. From Bader Hall at the southern tip of this road, one can look out to the "lower right" and see the channel. Zoom out, for a moment, until you see the water, and realize just how far that is (about three or four kilometers)

There is simply too much to discuss about it to cover in a single blog entry, but if you have access to facebook, you can look at the multiple albums I created during my time abroad.

Herstmonceux Castle Website:
http://www.herstmonceux-castle.com/

International Study Centre Website:
http://www.queensu.ca/isc/

Summer of Buzz- Part II

2006-08-22T18:29:00.000-07:00

A great deal happened in the two weeks between graduation and leaving for my study abroad in England. With three things to celebrate, it was time for a party. Thus, we threw the "Happy 21st/Happy Graduation/Good Luck in Europe, Chris Party" here at the house, with plenty of friends, family, and neighbors in attendance. From there, we all made a trip over to my friend Melinda's house. It was a great time.

A few days later, I actually turned 21. My friend James, now living in Rochester's center of culture and college life, Park Avenue, had me and some friends over to his apartment to celebrate on the night of my turning. At left is a picture of Spot Coffee, one of the more popular hangouts of East Avenue. From James' apartment, we walked down to the bars and clubs on the corner of East Avenue and Alexander street. I certainly did celebrate... I recall, on the way back to James' apartment, dancing around on the front lawn of the Rochester Museum and Science center proclaiming "I love science!" repeatedly. James was kind enough to capture this spectacle on his cellular phone.

The final memory I have from this interim period is of going canoeing on Irondequoit Bay with my friend, Dustin, just a day before leaving for the UK. An interesting part about studying abroad is that it makes you appreciate your home all the more both before and after leaving. Thus, I went on an "explore Irondequoit" kick.

The Summer of Buzz- Part I

2006-08-22T17:58:00.000-07:00

It has been a very long time since I've taken a moment to update this blog, but with very good reason. This summer has been filled with non-stop activity. To begin, I went through graduation ceremonies in late May. It was a wonderful day, memorable for so many reasons. What I think I remember most was the presence of my family and friends, and all the wonderful noise they made upon hearing my name announced first among the International Business majors. My friends from High School, Pete, Dustin, and Melinda came to show their support, as did my mother, who has probably shaped me as a person more than anyone else. What I never would have believed would happen, however, were my grandparents making it out for the day. My grandfather is over 90 years old, and (pictured far right) is in very good shape.

Mom had taken Lauren (my sister) and I out to dinner the previous night, following convocation. The latter ceremony, commencement, was the one in which members of the College of Business walked the stage individually. Following this, my friends and I went to a graduation party of one of my classmates in Genessee Valley Park and celebrated over dinner. Something about the memory of cruising into the sunset in my friend's yellow mustang on that day, listening to "Swamped" by the group Lacuna Coil, will be forever engraved into my memory.

Joining the Club...

2006-05-29T13:49:00.000-07:00

With the coming of the end of the academic year, I have been invited to join Beta Gamma Sigma, the business honors fraternity. Individuals in the top 7% of their class in their junior year and top 10% of their class in their senior year at AACSB-accredited institutions are invited to join. For graduate MBA students, the top 20% are invited to join. It is an internationally recognized organization and one I am proud to be a part of. At left is the golden key of Beta Gamma Sigma.

Also with the end of the year come award ceremonies. The Lowenthal Group had its end of year recognition ceremony recently, a wonderful reception with Peter Rosenthal, the faculty advisor to the program, and Interim Dean Wayne Morse. I was recognized as a service leader, officer of the group, and graduating senior. At right is a picture of myself and Peter.

Chicago

2006-05-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

For this year's COB Honors Program trip, the group headed to Chicago. At left is a picture of yours truly with (from Left to right) Joel Azariah (my roommate), Layton, Inga, and Amy. The honors program provides many opportunities to interact with individuals in high places in industry (often in faraway places). For this trip, we visited the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade), one of only two physical trading floors left in the US. Most are now virtual, like the NASDAQ. I have never seen such a tremendous hub of activity, with hundreds of people in colorful trading jackets shouting at each other to complete their trades before the closing bell.

But these trips are not only serious business. We had the opportunity to check out the Navy Pier and the top of the John Hancock Center, as well as stop at the original Uno Pizzaria. It's the funniest thing to see this little brick building surrounded by towering glass skyscrapers on all sides. Let's face it... for us small city residents, even riding the subway is fun...

City of Chicago:
http://www.ci.chi.il.us/city/webportal/home.do
Chicago Board of Trade:
http://www.cbot.com/

My work included on Neilhair.com!

2006-05-14T22:03:00.000-07:00

Neilhair.com has decided to include a brief synopsis of my latest research project, my Honors senior thesis: "Marketing Professionals' Perceptions of Personal Branding and Personally Branded Websites." Check it out at the following address:

http://www.neilhair.com/?page_id=91

Rochester (had) debris too...

2006-05-11T22:44:00.000-07:00

I owe Brian Patterson a thank-you for finding this pic. I recieved an email from him recently asking, "Hey, isn't that you and Joel (my roommate) there"? Indeed, that was us (fourth and fifth from the left) helping out during RIT ROCS, RIT's day of mass volunteerism in the Rochester community. It was quite a happy memory from fall of 2004. We were working with RochesterCares to clean up a recently demolished garage on the property of an elderly woman. Over the course of the morning, we turned the pile of rubble into a clean, tamed back yard. It was a great time and a good deed. RIT ROCS was and is an excellent event.

The following year, I was able to convince RIT President Al Simone to include the Alzheimer's Association's Memory Walk as one of the official events. The event has special significance to me, as early onset Alzheimer's killed my father. Leading a team from RIT's College of Business's Lowenthal Group, I was able to raise $1800 personally, a testament to my Father. Other team members made great contributions, bringing our team total to over $2600. Next year, my personal goal is $2200.

RochesterCares:

http://www.rochestercares.org/